Photography

 Sometimes, Photography is nice just for photography sake!

Although truthfully, only 1 of these 3 pictures is one I personally took.

One day, perhaps, I'll hang my own photo (that isn't family) on the wall just because!

Quilts

One of my bestest friends made quilts for both my babies.  I LOVE them! 

Hand-made Blanket

A coworker made this for Kiddo before he was born - and it's one of the blankets in our house that has gotten the most use!

I love how it screams "baby" - but is gender neutral.

It also reminds me of both my grandmother's - who crocheted!

Wordless Wednesday

Bunny

When Kiddo was born, a friend made him this bunny.  I took it to another friend to embroider, and it's one of my favorite things of his!

I'm not sure that he is as sentimental about it - after all, he is two - but I like it bunches!

Gift

My friends made this for our wedding - and I really enjoy it!

The pictures have (on the back) where they were taken.

Eventually, it will find its place in our home.  It's been moving around lately!

Strawberry!

When you live somewhere you can pick strawberrys, you should have a strawberry-picking hat!

Actually, it's a bit warm and unseasonable (since strawberrys are picked in May) - but this was Baby G's very first gift - handmade from an old and very dear friend.

Flip-Flops!

These are a cheap (perhaps Old Navy?) pair of flip-flops, that were fancified with a little ribbon and some beads.

Why?

So me and my favorite Austin Trio of friends could get fanciful pedicures!

It's so awesome to get a pedicure with a friend - or two!

I'm a lucky girl.  Both for treating myself to the pedicure, and for the good friends with which to share the pedicures!

Cookbook

One year, my mom and I decided that we would make a cookbook.  And we did.

It's a bit old and out of date, now - so we definitely need a new version!  With the two kids, now, though - it may be a while before I get around to that project!

Kiddo's Bed

This lovely piece of furniture is one of the newest in the house - and is courtesy of my DH!

I love that he makes wonders out of wood!

Silver Songs

For my Girl Scout "Silver" award, a friend and I put together this song-book.

Do you know all the actions - or lyrics - to the songs?

I do.  And I sing them. Often.  Too Often.  Even before I had kids.

At least with Kids, I'm (hopefully) perceived as a little less crazy.

Or maybe not.

But I like campy/silly songs!

Wordless Wednesday

Art... for Charity!

One of the first pieces of true "Art" that I have in my house - which was "won" in a Silent Auction, with the proceeds going to United Way!

A random coworker made this.

A couple years later, she asked for it back.

No!

Definitely, this is one of my favorites.  It's the style of Modern Art or Contemporary art that I enjoy!

4 months!

This picture has had a lot of hands... and feet.. in it!

It started as something daycare did with all the Baby G and her friends.  We had to "guess" which hand/foot print combination belonged to our little one in order to be entered into a drawing.

When Baby G came home with green paint under her nails, it wasn't hard to pick hers out!  Along with 3 other parents, Baby G was entered into a drawing - and I got to take home a white canvas with only hand prints and foot prints!

I had big plans for this canvas, but I had to get permission from the other kids parents to take pictures!  And in the end, I like how this turned out.  It's a little quirky - but so am I.  In many ways, it's very reflective of the art that I "try" to do.  The letters are not all the same size.  Some kids are close up, and others further back.

This canvas reminds me of a handprint project that I did as a kid, in Girl Scouts.  Anyhow - it was a fun project, and will eventually make it's way to Baby G's wall!

Work Stuff

Todays picture comes from the office..

My mug rug and coffee holder.

Both are used.  Every week day.

The mug rug (and I love that phrase) comes courtesy of my crafty friend J, and the mug rug from the mama of one of Kiddo's friends!

Daddy

Daddy made Kiddo and Baby G's crib.

He is definitely more "handy" than I am.  We have 4 pieces of furniture in the house that he has made- including two tables, and two beds.

This is among the neatest things he's made.  The man is talented.  While we lived in Texas, he built his own shed. Yep, Awesome, I tell ya!

Costumes

I can only take credit for wearing my costume - not the handiwork that went into creating it!

For some reason - of all the halloweens we had as kids - this is the one that sticks out to me.  I was my favorite Care Bear - Funshine bear.  My brother, a Sam-in-the-box.  And my sister? A punk rocker or some such thing.

These costumes really highlight our personality.  Even better?  All have homemade elements, and were lovingly crafted by my mama!

Pasta

One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen- courtesy of my MIL who showed me it is actually not so hard - is to make pasta.  Lasagna noodles, to be exact.

It does take extra time, so it's not the easiest thing to do.  And it's almost "ruining" it when we use jarred sauce to finish out the lasagna - since I rarely make the effort to make my own sauce.

However - the end result is always worth it.  Homemade pasta is so much better than the dry stuff!

Wordless (not Wednesday)

Kiddo's room

This tree was painted for Kiddo's room.

Another picture from a while back.

Easy to find this picture, though.  FB is good for something!

Cup for Grandma

Although now a couple years old... this is a ceramic cup that Kiddo - as a baby - painted for his grandma!

Spit Rag

Baby G showing off one of her hand-made spit-rags from Aunt Kim!

Thanksgiving

This was my mom's last Thanksgiving spread.

And I had it basically set up, but hadn't typed words, so it's not posting when it was originally scheduled to post.

Ahh, well.  Enjoy, all the same!

Jambalaya-ish

I decided to get dried beans at the store, and this was my first experiment!  Basically - homeade jambalya.  Beans and rice, garlic and tomatoes, and sausage for good measure.

It only turned out OK - since I am still learning how to best cook dried beans - but it was a fairly decent experiment.  Some experiments have turned out better in the kitchen, and some (much) worse!

Monkey!

Grandma T made this blanket- and pillow - for Kiddo when he was a baby.  As I recall, it came to our house only partially finished at first!

It's fleecy, and snuggly - and Kiddo likes monkeys, so it's fitting for the boy!

I know how much I cherish the items my grandparents made for me - - I hope kiddo cherishes this as he gets older!

Socks...again!

Socks - yes, again.

I'm not sure how many times this year I'll post socks or sock pictures, but I think this brings the total to around 30!  Of course, this is a repost.

This is my only pair of homemade socks.  I have some booties, but those don't count.  I also have friends who make socks frequently - but, as of now, this is my prized handmade pair!

Another Holiday...

This time, Easter!

Every year, I try to do something a bit crafty... even if it is only dying eggs with Kiddo (and now Baby G...but neither helped much in this year's eggs - although if you look behind the red egg, Kiddo had some scribbles on the blue egg...)