Thrifted Owls, Acorns and Famous Australian Children

So I went thrifting, but did not thrift famous Australian children. More on that in a moment...

See my new jammies? I own nothing like them. But when I saw them, they made me laugh, so I had to *splurge*. It's funny because they're actually a children's size, but I knew holding them up that they would fit. In perfect silky turquoise condition, the pants and shirt fit indeed. Extra bonus: all children's clothes were 30% off!

Look at those prints... it reminds me of this owl. I am loving Seattle thrift stores!

Just days ago, I mentioned to my dear H that I wanted salt and pepper shakers. What a curious item for me to want to own, seeing as how I never use salt or pepper. Ever.

Accidentally turning down the wrong aisle, led me to more squirrel/acorn goodness. Behold these simple wooden acorn salt and pepper shakers - unused. Score!

I also bought Charlotte 22 books. At .79 cents a piece, we can go a little crazy. Ok, a lot crazy. I've always maintained that I'll never skimp on books for the children. We don't mind being the "book people down the street with no t.v." ;)

Speaking of books, my husband recently announced the birth of our son, Henry, to an acquaintance. She asked about any older children. Yes, there's Charlotte. "Wow," she replied, "just like the Australian tv show!" WHAT?!

We thought we dodged that bullet by not naming our son Wilbur.

A quick google search helped us find the series of books by author Bob Graham. His series that was turned into a hit tv show. (With no tv, we just didn't know!) See more here. My dear H surprised us by secretly purchasing a copy for us to keep. Yep, more books. We just can't have too many...

And Charlotte (in the book) wears glasses, just like my Charlotte. Gotta love it!

No-Sew Fleece Scarf

Another great scarf tutorial was found through One Pretty Thing -- this time from Creative Jewish Mom. This one is for Charlotte. She chose chocolate brown and lavender fleece. (Sorry for the terrible photo -- I blame it on these overcast Seattle days!)

It's a super easy, no-sew scarf that I made using fleece scraps, scissors and masking tape.

First, take two pieces of fleece in 1/2 the width + 2 inches of your ideal scarf width, and in the desired length. Tape a line 2 inches in from one long edge on each half. (see pic)

Now carefully cut even strips 1.5 cm apart down the length of the scarf.

Next, tie two strips together - one from each half. Make each knot the same (i.e. - right over left, right over left).

Finally, wrap around your neck and be warm!

Wooly Sheep and Warm Legs

My daughter and I made wooly sheep this morning. She calls them "lamb-ees". We found the idea through One Pretty Thing. She has wonderful crafting ideas for kids amongst all her gatherings from around the internet.

First, we gathered up some scrap yarn, an empty cardboard box (yes, I'm an official Washingtonian because I finally got some Ugg boots) some clothes pins, paint, brushes, glue and scissors.

Paint the clothespins black... along with the faces of the kidney bean shape you cut out of the cardboard. Let dry. Next, pinch the clothespins onto a glued area at the bottom of your bean shape. These will be your legs. Finally, clip one end of the yarn under one leg before the glue dries and start wrapping. Keep wrapping the yarn until your sheep is as fluffy as you'd like... or you run out of scrap yarn.

Ta-da! Sheep! I left their faces plain because I sort of like the amish look. But, you could add eyes, ears, a tail... etc.

Also, since Henry decided to nap a few days ago, I was able to whip up four more pairs of baby legs for Charlotte. I was sort of disappointed in the heart socks from Target as they frayed after just one wearing. But, they are still perfect for Valentine's Day.

Now to the laundry and dishes... ;)

Mantle Decor

The mystery is revealed... I've decorated the mantle in our new home. Remember the small "S" from here? And I made the big "S" and the squirrel art, the acorn jar was a gift from dear H a couple of years ago and the twig leaf was a decoration from our previous house. Since we are forest-y folk, it all suits us perfectly.

We love this fireplace. We use it all the time to stay cozy.

A complete living room makeover is on the way too... Because our home is a rental - and all white, it gave us a clean palate to work with. But, there are limitations... such as, lots of windows and no curtain rods! So, stay tuned for further decorating updates.
This is what our mantle looked like at Christmastime. It was still odd to see 4 stockings this year. But it was also great to see 4 stockings this year :)

P.S. Thank you to One Pretty Thing for featuring Charlotte's Scottish Birthday Party in the Birthday Roundup yesterday!

Squirrel Silhouette

Let me introduce you to "Squirrel." Everybody, this is Squirrel... Squirrel, this is everybody.

This is the first artwork I've ever painted on canvas. In case you didn't know, I cannot draw. But, I definitely can trace, cut out posterboard to use as a stencil and paint large open spaces with a paintbrush.

I created Mr. Squirrel for a specific purpose, which I will be bringing to you shortly...
I also painted this mystery shape. It's a nice chocolate brown color. This, too, will be part of the project I will be showing you soon.

That's what I've been up to lately.

Gnome Baby Legs

If you're looking for my Baby Legs Tutorial, go here.

Just days before delivering Henry, my sewing/nesting bug kicked in to high gear. While rushing through Target, I scooped up the last two pair of gnome socks... that's right, GNOME socks! I nearly cried tears of joy. C wears the baby legs and I wear the socks. Perfect!

We've always been a bit gnome crazy. (See here, here and here.)My daughter has been bonkers over snowmen ever since she could point and yell, "MEN!" so these baby legs were added to the mix.

We're settling into our new home comfortably...

after all, a gnome means we're home :)

Happy Plaid and Lace Scarf

Here's a scarf that I made as a Christmas gift for my best girl friend. It was inspired by Lera's post here about homespun cotton scarves. (See how much of it we're wearing on Charlotte's birthday?)

Please forgive the reflective flash photography... (this scarf was being sewn in the late night hours just a week after Henry was born, and just days before our big move.) The fabric was simply cut to size, hemmed with vintage, thrifted lace and ribbon bows.

Sorry Julie, but I tried it on before wrapping it up for you.

Turquoise is such a radiant color on my dear friend and this happy plaid just suits her. So does the lace.

I see more plaid scarves on the horizon here. Who can have too many scarves??

A Scottish Themed Bagpipe Birthday Party

It all started, over the summer, when father and daughter stumbled upon 3 veteran bagpipers practicing in a local park. Charlotte was mesmerized when they played,"Amazing Grace". She couldn't stop talking about it. She made her Papa pretend to BE bagpipes while sing-piping "Amazing Grace". We downloaded the song from iTunes. She listens to it constantly. A birthday theme was born.

In our tribute to Scotland for Charlotte's Bagpiping 3rd Birthday, gobs of plaid were worn, Scottish flags of St. Andrew's Cross were flown, shortbread cookies were eaten, our Scottish Terrier ran wild while wellies were thrown and Robert Burns was mentioned while our bagpipe theme song played in the background.

Since we just moved and many boxes are still unpacked, I could not find our printer or blue construction paper. However, I did have 3 Scotch-brite scrubbing pads, ribbon and glue. Here's Charlotte's crafty birthday banner...

We also enjoyed black licorice scotty dog candy from Trader Joe's...

and our own version of Fisherman's Pie for dinner. I considered making tablet, but we're trying to avoid solid sugar food!

Charlotte received a muff from Grandma, who watched her open it via skype. (She hasn't stopped wearing it since.)

Henry slept the whole time.

We participated in a traditional Scottish game called Welly Throwing. Here's how you play:

Take a pair of Wellington rain boots outside.

Throw them.

Enjoy the fun.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Charlotte. I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. And may all your days be filled with the sweet sounds of bagpipes.

Northwestern Hospitality

Many thanks to Jamie, David & Amelia of Bungalow Bee for their Seattle hospitality. Jamie is a blogging buddy who makes a mean Chicken Tortilla Soup - and insisted on bringing us this delicious meal as we (and our new baby boy) are newcomers to the city.

It was delightful to finally meet Jamie, and her family, in person. We cannot express how much we appreciate their thoughtfulness. It has helped us in the transition of missing the familiar things about our former town and friendly neighbors, to feeling more at home here in Seattle.

Btw Jamie, I think I'll be needing that recipe... this is one of my husband's favorites. And I had seconds :) Thank you, too, for the cupcakes! Delicious. We are so blessed.

We're Here

We arrived at our new home, in Seattle, 11 days ago. (That's us down in the corner.) Even though most of our belongings are still in boxes, we managed to make our way downtown for dinner one evening. (At this point, I still had not been able to find any boxes with pants that fit me - thank goodness for safety pins!) But, since Grandma was visiting and deserved a dinner out - out we went.

We set up a fresh Christmas tree and decorated it. I even managed to make Charlotte a promised Christmas present...Even when a mommy doesn't have time to make anything crafty between moving and a new baby, when her daughter looks up with doe eyes and asks, "Can you make me a purple scarf for Christmas, Mommy?" Who can say no?

I didn't have a pattern. But I recall liking the half double crochet stitch and the shell stitch. Using an "I" hook, I chained 109 stitches, made 4 rows of half double stitches on each side and finished with the shell stitch for the border. At a finished length of 3 inches wide by 40 inches long, the scarf turned out sweet and petite, just like my girl.

Our boy, Henry, is 3 weeks old in this bath picture. He's already changing and growing a bit. But compared to my husband's hands, he is still very tiny indeed. We wish everyone a very blessed and Merry Christmas in celebration of our savior's birth!