Mission Accomplished

EEEEKKKKKKKK!!! I did it!!! I finished Jacob's Christmas quilt and with time to spare. I am so so excited about this and I can't wait to give it to him Friday morning. I ended up making it much smaller then I thought I would. It is just a bit smaller then twin size. Perfect for keeping him warm while playing video games or reading a book. EEEEKKKKKKKK!!! Did I mention I am excited about it?!?

A Little Sunday Fun

...and if these aren't enough... lots more photos on Flickr!

You Shoulda Been Here

Last night, I hosted book club and boy, am I tired, lol. But I am the best kind of tired... the relieved kind... the having-so-many-blessings-you-can't-help-but-giggle kind... okay, and the one-too-many-glasses-of-wine kind too.

I don't get to do a lot of entertaining, so I don't often find myself in a kitchen baking for hours on end. But that is just what I did yesterday. I started about 9am and was still pulling things from the oven at 7:30pm.

Here is the menu I made:
Savory
Mini Stuffed Sweet Peppers (pictured above)- I used a Thai Sweet Chili Pepper Sauce in with the rice and ground beef, and added some corn too. I freaking loved these. I had enough stuffing left over to fill a large pepper and that is going to be my lunch today.
Sausage Bread with Marinara Sauce - Made the bread dough from scratch and everything. I stuffed it with sweet Italian pork sausage and mozzarella cheese. Delish.
Artichoke Dip - a usually party standard right? Well, for mine, I grade in some spicy pepperjack cheese to give it a little kick.
Hubby's Stuffed Mushrooms - Ron's contribution to the night, and he was so excited that there was two left. He also took the kids to the library for two hours, lol. Thanks Ronboy.
Sweet
Cinnamon Monkey Bread - (pictured below) For this, just buy yourself 2 cans of your supermarket jumbo cinnamon rolls, grease a bundt pan, and put cut slices of those uncooked rolls in the pan, bake for 30mins, and pour icing on. Then proceed to pick chunks off with your fingers and licking up the icing. Yeah, yum.
Homemade Peanut/Almond Brittle and Peppermint Bark - wouldn't be the holidays without something minty and covered in chocolate! I love how the brittle turned out. Ron tried to convince me that homemade brittle sucks, but I disagree.
Banana Rum No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes with Crushed Pretzel Crust - I think the name says it all.




After stuffing faces in the kitchen, we (the FOURTEEN!! of us) moved to the living room for our annual white elephant book exchange. Everyone brings a book, wrapped. We draw numbers, then open in order with the option to steal books of previous openers along the way. I now have a fresh copy of Dan Brown's Lost Symbol and can't wait to get started on it. I gave away a copy of Friday Night Knitting along with a cowl I whipped up while cooking all day. Jennifer instantly hid it after opening it so it wouldn't get stolen, lol.

Oh, and we did actually talk about a book. LOL, we had read Shanghai Girls for December. We all disliked the ending and thought it dragged in the middle. Oh well. I wish you all could have been here. There was a wonderful energy in the air. The noise of so many conversations, laughing, and singing... yes, singing. Max, my friend Renee's baby boy, was here and we sang him "You Are My Sunshine".



We voted on selections for next month too. I had the girls choose from The Host, Her Fearful Symmetry, The Red Tent, Sam's Letters To Jennifer, and Blink. What would you have picked? We picked Sam's Letters To Jennifer with Her Fearful Symmetry a very close second.

The night wound down around 10pm. We always seem to vote on the book and then scoot out the door. It was a school night after all, lol, and I was ready for bed. Now... I gotta get that quilt finished!!

Seriously Spoiled

Back in August I gushed about what a treat it was to get to spend a weekend with my best friend. At the time, I thought it would be at least another year or so before I would get the chance to see her again. In a wonderful Christmasy turn of events, she came up for the week!! She is staying with her mother-in-law, so we aren't getting to spend every waking moment together. But, we got to have a girly night out on Saturday, sit and drink coffee while sewing on Monday, and yesterday we went shopping and had wonderful hubby-created dinner, sat at the kitchen table reminiscing with old photos of the kids and giggling while trying to get the perfect picture of the two of us.

Getting more time with her is the best Christmas present ever.

Because It's Tradition...

Who doesn't make Christmas cookies every year?

More Than I Can Chew?

In yesterday's post I mentioned that I would talk more next week about Jacob's Momma-made Christmas gift. That was the plan anyway... I was going to start it next week and thus blog about it. However, last night, I started doing the math for his gift and had a mild panic attack. I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this one. Let me tell ya about what's going on...


If you have been reading for a while now, you might remember that Lauren and Andrew both received quilts for their birthdays this year. You might also have noticed that I didn't get around to making one for Jacob. I had way to much on my plate when his birthday rolled round, and although I had terrible guilt over it, I promised myself that he would get one for Christmas. Well, obviously, it's Christmas and the boy needs his quilt.


I bought the fabric a while back, so I am all set there. I am using an Anna Maria Horner Palette Pile with lots of yellows, greens, and blues, with some browns too. I hemmed and hawed for a while over the pattern I would use and finally settled on a String Quilt with help from a tutorial on Film In The Fridge. I started drawing a little diagram, and running the numbers... I need to make NINETY SIX squares to get the size I want!! OH MY STARS!! Those 96 squares become 24 larger squares that make up a really cool diamond pattern... but dang, it is going to be a ton of work.


So I am scrapping the mental timeline I initially had set for this project and making it my top priority. I cut all the fabric this morning and started piecing the facing together. I am about 20% of the way done with that. I may decrease the number of total squares so that it is 20 total blocks instead of 24, but we'll see. I won't be able to work on it again until Monday, since Jacob will be home all weekend. I hope, hope, hope to be able to finish the facing by Monday... or lunch time on Tuesday at the latest. Then, I will make the quilt sandwich on Tuesday.


Then... I gotta spend Wednesday and Thursday doing book club stuff. You know, the cleaning and the cooking. Eeekkk!! Friday, I can start the actually quilting and hope to have it done by next Monday (the Monday before Christmas). I am getting tired just thinking about it. Good thing I have most of my other handmade gifts finished already!!

Christmas Crafting

With last week's book contribution deadline behind me and the dining room project squared away, I have jumped head first into my Christmas crafting. For the past few years now, I have made an effort to hand make something special for each member of my family. The is Ron, Jacob, Andrew, Lauren, Mom, Dad, and Sister. I never officially take "The Handmade Pledge" that everyone talks about in the crafty community because there will be plenty of trips to Target in my near future, but still everyone gets *something* made by me.

Since learning to knit two Christmases ago, the ideas for things to make have really expanded. I mean seriously, how many pairs of homemade pajama pants does one kid really need? It is wonderful to have other options! Like sweaters, and hats, and mittens, and cowls, and now... SOCKS!!

I attempted to knit a pair of socks once. It was about 2 months into my knitting career, lol, and I totally sucked at it. When I would knit on double pointed needles, I would get ladders in the spaces between the two needles. My alter ego, Carrie, that likes things to be perfect couldn't stand those tiny little gaps. So, my one sock was ripped out and the yarn given to my knitting guru, Lindsey, and she knit my socks for me.

Fast forward two years, picture me and Lindsey and some other ladies sitting in the Barnes and Noble cafe after yoga last week. Lindsey pulls out a ball of yarn and in about an hour she has whipped up about 4inches of an ankle of a sock to be knit for her Dad for Christmas. The yarn was a heavier weight, not sock yarn, so it was a quicker knit. And the pattern was simple and quick to memorize. Although my alter ego was telling me "no, Kerry, don't even think about it... you get ladders when you knit socks, and besides you'll never finish them in time, and you have too many other things to do..." I told her to shut it and I popped into the yarn store on Tuesday and grabbed what I needed to knit up a pair.

I started it Tuesday afternoon, turned the heel by that night, finished the foot and toe yesterday morning, started the second sock in the afternoon, and hot diggity dog is was done by bed time!! Seriously, I just knit two socks in about 36 hours, a good chunk of which I was sleeping during, lol. So more like 24 hours. The best part... NO LADDERS!! See, I learned to twirl my needles moving a few stitches each time so that the seem is never in the same place. *sigh* Now I want to make some for myself.

I won't say who these are for... just someone on my list stated earlier. LOL... I have too many snoopers in my family that are no doubt dropping into the blog to see what is going to be under the tree in a few weeks. I will tell you some of the other projects though and who they are for...

Ron - a hat and hmmm... maybe some quick socks
Jacob - a quilt! (more on this next week)
Andrew - yet to be determined, he is tough this year
Lauren - a sweater and maybe some leg warmers or a cowl
Mom - she snoops so I am not saying
Dad - a hat
Sister - she snoops too and I am not telling

So... what does your Christmas crafting list look like?

Dining Room Doll Up All Done

Well, almost done anyway.

Here it is, my new and improved dining room. I am smitten. I walk in there and I can't remember it ever being another way. I love the blue, which incidentally is NOT the color in my friend's bedroom. We got our aquas crossed. Her's is actually Aqua Bay, mine is Aqua Joy. Close enough. I think my color is a little brighter then her's, her's is a little richer.

I hung the prints frames for the prints next to the front door. There will be three prints from the same artist, Yellena on Etsy. I have adored her work for a while now and finally got myself a print. I loved it so much that I ordered two more. They should be here soon and I can fill in those blank frames. In case you are wondering, I purchase "Morning", "Season", and "Allusion". And if anyone ever wants to get me another one, hint hint wink wink, I am in love with "Spore" and "Amble".


There was much debate in the Bogert house over the height of the chair rail/plate rail. I knew from the beginning that I wanted it set high. Ron however, spoke to one of his buddies during a poker game who said it needed to be at 32inches. I am glad I won this one. I think a low rail would have made the room look squatty. The ceilings are low as it is and making the white area smaller would have made it feel even lower. Ron won out on a different area of debate, the fire place wall. I was thinking the rail should go all the way around the room, but that would have it behind out big mirror over the mantel. Ron said "Just paint that wall a solid color. It'll be stupid having the mirror hanging weird." LOL... only he thought I would paint it all white! HA, no way!! All aqua it is.

I hung my small collection of plates on the wall next to the mantel on the way into the kitchen. I plan to add to this meager grouping as I find special dishes at the estate sales I go to. I hope to fill the wall with them, like something I saw on Design Sponge a while back.


I think I am going to paint a special piece for that big blank area above the side board buffet. I can see a piece forming in my mind and I think it would be cool to have a LARGE piece of my own on display, no? For now though, Andrew's 2nd grade rendition of A Starry Night will do. It is one of my favorite kid art class projects I have ever had brought home to me.


When I set my camera on auto, it kept wanting to turn the flash on. I kept it off though so you could see what I mean about the lighting in this room. It was a overcast day yesterday afternoon and this is just how it was in there. It definitely feels warmer then when the walls where gray. *sigh* I love my new dining room.

SO, what's left? The curtain situation. If I am being totally honest, I don't like curtains. They just bug me for some reason. But, I think the room needs some. I am thinking something wispy and light, maybe in a yellowish off white. I don't know. We'll just have to sit and stew on that a little longer.

Best of 2009 - Challenge

I am not ready to reveal the big dining room update just yet. The paint is done but I am still waiting on some prints I ordered. I don't want to share until they are hanging on the walls. Until they arrive, I am feeling at a loss for words and blog topics, so I am taking a que from this fun blog and joining in on the Best of 2009 topics. I will do it here and there all month, when I am otherwise short on words. Reminicing is fun... you should do it too.

Today's Topic:
December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

I think my biggest challenge in 2009 has been my book. Writing it, finishing the projects, editing it, the photo shoot, the tv spot to promote it, and all the ups and downs that go with it. Jean Campbell, my editor, recently talked about much book writing is like giving birth. Everything from the book pregnancy to the birth with it's release into the world. And I would have to agree.

If you would like to take a stroll down blog memory lane, here are links to posts from 2009 about my journey through writing my first book.

Oh The Glamore Of It
Apropos
Sent Away
Adventures In Loveland
In 3...2...1...
My Book!!!

There is so much more I am looking forward to telling you about in 2010 when the book is actually released. I hope you'll still be here with me then.

Decking Our Halls

The dining room doll up is well underway. The plate rail is up, there are two coats of "Aqua Joy" on the walls, and I plan on getting to work on the antique white this afternoon. I would have started the project on Saturday (and finished by Sunday), but we had to do some decking of the halls!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from this weekend's tree hunting...








Now to finish that painting...

Dolling Up A Dull Dining Room

First of all, WOW!! You all really love my beads! I thank you so much for snatching them up. There are just a few sets left (5, I think, some of which are favorites of mine actually). I plan to package everything up today and send out a flurry of white boxes this afternoon. Which, in most cases, I expect will arrive on your doorsteps by Monday or Tuesday.

So what to do with my sudden, unexpected, earnings from this big de-stash? I am guessing y'all are thinking I will splurge on Christmas goodies, but nope. I have something else in mind. But first, to celebrate, I bought myself a tub of Ben & Jerry's Mint Cookie Chunk Peppermint Ice Cream and rented a movie *I* wanted to watch. (Yeah, Mom rarely gets to choose around here... if it isn't a highly rated kids flick or an action packed space odyssey, we don't see it, ha!) While watching my movie and spooning my ice cream, Ron found a box of cds we had been looking for ever since our move in the summer of '08. We sorted threw them all and after the movie sat up listening to some of our favorites on speakers that are apparently as old as I am and still worth a pretty penny, whatever. (LOL, my husband has a speaker fetish, ask anyone who knows him.) But I digress.

The whole situation gave me a seriously busy brain. I couldn't sleep. And why? because I was designing our dining room in my head until 1am. Yeah, I am weird like that.

I have been disappointed with our dining room since the day I painted it last year. I wanted a rich gray color (if gray can be rich) and instead I got something that looks a little on the lavender side. The room is on the east side of the house, so it gets good light when the sun comes up but by about 10am it is very dim and dreary in there. I have been stewing on the idea that I want to add a darker richer color, but still keep the room bright. Hmmmm... think on it... enter the idea of a chair rail. My plan is to paint the upper 1/3rd of the room a color called "Aqua Joy" from Valspar (which my friend used in her bedroom) and the lower 2/3rd antique white.

I am hosting book club on the 17th so there is no time like the present to doll up another room in the house before having party guests right? I plan on painting next week, picking out some pretty prints for the walls, and changing out the ugly seat cushions on the chairs. Oh, and maybe I'll make some quick curtains. Before all that happens though, you need a "before" tour.

Check out my dining room... today, and as it was on Thanksgiving.


The details: The table and buffet are an antique set that Ron found on Craigslist. Both are solid oak (his favorite kind of wood furniture). We don't intend to keep the chairs, but rather swap them out as time goes on with unique ones we find at sales. We want a whole set of unmatched chairs.


The mantel will get changed up a bit. The trays and plates will be hung on the wall, and the artwork too. I am a little worried that my glass pieces will get lost against the new color, but we will see.


The empty frames are getting moved and prints will hang there. The china cabinet is antique "Empire Style". One I found at another estate sale. I love it. It will stay where it is. And I am making a very conscious effort not to over stuff it. I want to be able to see what is it in.

Now to get the paint and new roller heads and moulding while I am out today mailing off your packages. :)

The Big Bead De-Stash 2009

THE BEADS ARE READY!! Go have at 'em!!
And while you are at it, don't forget to grab a signed copy of Totally Twisted too!!

This Is Gonna Be BIG

Are you ready for this?!? I am destashing my lampwork beads!! Sets are combined, photos are taken, and now, I just need to edit images and load 'em on my site. It is gonna be today!

I'll post here when the links go live!!

Bead Star Winners Revealed!!

YOO HOOO!! I have had to keep a secret from y'all for several months and I just got word this afternoon that I can reveal the news. My piece "Spring Into Action" won an Honorable Mention in Glass Category for the 2009 Bead Star Competition!!

I have had my copy of Bead Star magazine for about a week now. The designs are wonderful and it should be on newsstands soon. Inside, you'll find the instructions for making those big ole coiled springs bonging around this design as well as tutorials for all the other winning designs. How cool is that?

"Spring Into Action" won't be returning to the studio anytime soon though. It is staying with Interweave and will be auctioned off to raise money for the American Heart Association's women's heart-health initiatives during Bead Fest Santa Fe in March. I will be sure to let you know more details about that when I have them.

Congrats to all the winners!! YOO HOOO!!!

My Giddy Heart

I am down right bubbling over these days. I am elated and giddy... especially today. I have had a really full schedule lately so I have taken to writing lots of lists. Why not a list of reasons my heart is giddy?

* I ran in my first race in about 20years on Thanksgiving Day. I did the Webster Turkey Trot 2.5miles in 27mins 21secs and came in 507th out of 2600. Go me!

* Lauren came to me the other day and said "Mom, I am repressful, I think you should teach me to knit." I responded, "do you mean depressed?" To which she said,"yes, I am repressful, it means sad. You should teach me to knit." And I did. She is a natural.

* I finally nailed down the last design for a book I am contributing on. And now I just need to finish writing the tutorials. Last one is always the hardest and it is such a relief to have it done.

* There are colorful Christmas lights on the house that Andrew helped me hang on Saturday. It was his idea to help too, and that never happens.

* I finished knitting Lauren's Christmas sweater and I did the whole thing in front of her, telling her the entire time that it was for me. Apparently, she thinks I can fit in a 7yr old size sweater, nice.

* Grande Peppermint Mochas in the red cup are happening about once a week right now and that is freaking awesome!

* I have been having some seriously debilitating email issues for about two weeks now and after a couple hours work yesterday, I *think* they are FINALLY resolved. So let the emails flow peeps. And if you have emailed me in the last few months and I haven't responded, I probably never got the email (unbeknown to me) so send it again.

* A friend of mine opened a yoga studio locally and is having free classes until the first of the year. I am going tonight AND I am going to go knit at Barnes & Noble with friends afterward. *sigh of delight*

* We awoke to the first snow fall of the season on December 1st! That is some seriously special snow.

My stars I am a very spoiled girl.