Happy Halloween my pretties!!!

trick or treating with the kids...dance party at the Common and then drinks and snacks and more candy with our friends at home...what a perfect Halloween!!!

Kitty

This is what I have made for Lily for Christmas, so far...Pointy Kitty from WeeWonderfuls (I got the idea from the wonderful blog Annas Dagar) and a felted ball...I have A LOT more work to do...I'd love to make her one of these little Gnome Houses and some little dolls and a stuffed elephant, little hedgehogs, stuff like that.I always have such high hopes for what I can accomplish for Christmas, but this year, since I do have more time at home and Lily can entertain herself a little bit, I would be very happy if I could make most of the presents. Being able to stay home and be the one to care for Lily is such a gift for me and I am always trying to find ways to save money and make money...it occured to me this weekend that by making gifts I am making money by not spending money. So frugal, I know, but hey, this is my way to "live the dream" as my friend Melissa says :) Whatever works!

slow day

Felted acorn garland...thank you bluebirdbaby for the inspiration











Lilykins was a sick little girl yesterday...just a fever and a cold. Isn't it kind of nice when they are sick but not too sick? Lily gets so snuggly and quiet, it's the only time she's not in constant motion. So we stayed home all day in our jammies and watched a lot of tv. I finished up a few things...got a lovely package in the mail and ended the day with a kick ass dinner that Mike and I got to enjoy all by our lonesomes...a nice day overall!

Morning

Too little of this....I'm trying to
get some Christmas gifts made ... A lot of this :(
but today was not the day

Noon

Shoes!!!!! Finally came in the mail :) Aren't these little red boots adorable??? Sarah Jane Down the Lane, I think you will have to add them to the list of red love :)





Night

Scallops, broccoli, Jasmine rice with a white wine and cream sauce...seriously good...with a glass of Vinho Verde...aaaaahhhh it's the weekend.

Bittersweet

Finally got the window boxes and the front steps dressed for autumn this morning...and I would just like to say to my handsome husband..."see honey, bittersweet vine is NOT a weed...you just have to be patient and wait a long while till it shows its true beauty <3"

busy, busy, busy

Just no time to write a post...because I've been so busy doing what I love to do! So I will leave you with some photos of what I've been up to :)

Red wool coat for Lily,don't you just love red coats on little girls?... from the Kitschykoo asymmetrical jacket pattern, reversible, of course

with the hem from a repurposed cashmere sweater inserted on either side of the collar and closed with a snap so it will keep Lily's neck nice and warm

inner lined with some extra chennille baby blankets for warmth

this is the other side...lovely Paula Prass fabric...appliques on the collar...elasticized cuffs :)

This is the first coat I made for the babe...corduroy, flannel and owls! I love the coat but the colors are just not good on Lily...she actually looks like she's coming down with something when she wears it, pale and sickly :( So naturally I had to make her the red wool and birds coat...much better!

These two sets are an order I made for a friend....monkey pants and appliqued onesies...am loving the hedgehog applique :)

I finished up curtains for my Mom's kitchen and now I am on to Christmas gifts...it's going to be a handmade Christmas this year....my poor Mia, I can tell she cringes at the thought...hehe...don't worry, maybe there'll be some MAC makeup in that handmade makeup bag ;)

Tempest and Calm

I don't have a picture to go along with this post...too wet today to take a camera, even if I could have managed to find it...one of those days...but almost in a good way...is that possible? Let me start at the beginning...which was at 3:17 AM...Lily woke up screaming from a nightmare, and I mean SCREAMING...no ignoring her so she could settle down to go back to sleep. So I dragged myself from bed and picked her up and tried to soothe her but in my stupor I decided to just bring her back to bed...BAD idea. She can't sleep with us, it took me until she was a year old to realize this(my other kids LOVED to co-sleep and I just assumed all babies would...another way in which I was so. wrong. about how much I knew about babies ) Sooo...finally I got up with her, followed by Mike and we took turns going back to bed until it was a more decent hour...needless to say Lily was miserable and cranky and crying and impossible. The day just seemed set up to suck...big time...rainy, cranky, horrible. Lo and behold though, this kid does surprise me...she fell asleep in the car on the way to school drop off , continued sleeping when I took her out of the car and put her on the couch...woke up in a fab mood...sweet, funny and soft. I decided we should just get out and have a girl's morning. My most favorite thing to do with anyone really, is to go to a local bakery, A& J King for their awesome pastries and bread and muffins and coffee. So, i packed her up in the car in the pouring rain, drove downtown and we had a lovely treat...as we were sitting enjoying our breakfast the sun came out...as it was still raining! Crazy weather to go with our crazy morning. Then off to the museum for storytime and then shopping for a couple of little, sweet toys at the gift store and then the walk through the downtown with all of the spooky and whimsical Halloween store window displays...perfect for a little kid! And then....a HUGE black cloud appeared, seemingly from nowhere and let loose the most ferocious thunderstorm...leaves by the thousands were spiralling up into great plumes...rain was driving every which way...thunder and lightening...it was kind of scary, more than kind of scary...Lily was hysterical...but, we made it home, got ourselves settled and whew! Crisis over, calm restored and ...the sun is out! What a nutty day...and it's only noon....oh my

Halloween has begun...

Baby Squirrel...couldn't get Lily to put the bottle down...but she kept the costume "dat mama made" on all night long :)

Let the festivities begin!!!....if you live in Salem anyway....most of the world that celebrates Halloween has until October 31 to get a costume together, but if you live here in Salem then the pressure is on for the first Thursday in October. In time for the Haunted Happenings Halloween Parade. THE event that kicks off the Halloween season. The parade is really the only event that is for the families that live in Salem. It's my favorite...all the school kids march with their schools, Mia conducted the Middle School Marching Band...and it's just a happy, funny, slightly spooky evening where you see your neighbors and friends and check out the adorable costumes, have a hot cider and the whole thing is wrapped up by 8pm...just in time for the kiddos to go home and go to bed and the grownups to put their feet up and have a nice glass of wine....to fortify ourselves for the craziness that is to come...oh my, October in Salem....

Squirrel Lily and her best friend "Jasmine" Maddie