Fall is here!

Fall is finally here and I'm thrilled. This is my favorite season with sunny, mild days, cool and crisp evenings. This is the season for mulled wine, sweaters, warm stews and a few new distractions this year. First on the list of new things: canning. I've never canned before, but we have an apple tree in our backyard with the yummiest apples...and four boxes of them in our garage! I've decided that apple pie filling and spiced apples will be the fate of most of them and canning is just the ticket. This week I will venture into the wild unknown of home canning. I'll keep you posted!

In the realm of finished projects:



A new jumper for Emma! I love this cute fleece with the Scottie dogs and I bought it before Emma was born to make into a unisex bunting but I never got that far. Thankfully, it's been waiting until now for the perfect project. I lined the top with some spare fabric (love the polka dots!!) and I thought the red buttons were a perfect finish.


An apple pie or two to test bake the apples and try a new recipe. Since I was too lazy to make the top crust I did a cinnamon streusel topping instead. The verdict? Five stars!

A Healthier Life

Some of you know about my latest endeavors to be a healthier me (physically and mentally), others of you don't. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about I'll go through the whole gambit.

The day my daughter was born I weighed in at 213 lbs. Scary, especially considering I am just over 5' 3" tall and was 145 before I was pregnant and 120 when I was still a runner and weightlifter. The bottom line: I gained way too much weight and if I ever wanted to see my body and be proud of it again I had a lot of work to do.

In 2006 my after-pregnancy weight was 185 and I worked hard to take 20 lbs off with a calorie restricted diet and mild exercise. Now comes 2007, 165 lbs, and I had stopped losing weight because your body adjusts to your activity level and caloric intake so I was at a standstill again.

After we finally settled into our new house I decided to take the next step: a gym membership. Starting May 1st I've been at the gym 5 days a week working really hard doing pilates twice a week and cardio workouts three times a week. Funny thing, I've only lost another 5 lbs but I've dropped at least one pant size because I've been trading muscle for fat.

Now I want more, I want my pre-pregnant body back and I want it by Christmas. I have so much hard work ahead of me and once a week I workout with a trainer to help me get there. The biggest secret that will get me there is this: LIFT WEIGHTS!!!

If you've always wanted a healthier you I would strongly encourage you to take a long look at your local weight room and visit a while. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns at rest. As a woman, there's an added bonus: lifting weights can significantly reduce a woman's chances of getting osteoporosis. How about another reason? Exercise releases endorphins that are natural mood elevators. Working out is a natural stress reliever, a chance for my daughter to play with other children in the supervised playroom, a means of weight loss, a chance for healthier bones and increased self confidence.

What more could I need? A better diet...and I'll post about that later.

What are you doing to make your life healthier? Give me your suggestions and ideas!!

Birthday Boy

Today is, you guessed it, my husband's birthday. This year I even remembered it!!

Don't laugh, the first year we were married I was sick and totally spaced it was his birthday. It didn't help that we had just gotten back from our honeymoon and my brain was totally fried. Worse: it took me a while to figure out why I had this nagging feeling of forgetting something. He laughed his butt off when I figured it out...four days later. *sigh* He married a blond, he should have known I make to-do lists and have a detailed calendar for a good reason.

Anyway, this year my husband asked for a party and a party it was. We had friends over, a hot grill and booze. My god, I have never seen so much beer in one place that wasn't a bar. We had five plus cases of beer, mojitos, vodka tonics, rum in several flavors ("Aaarrggh, matey!"), several bottles of wine, Jagermister and more. Holy moly. Looking through the pictures it totally cracks me up that you can spot the "before drinking" shots because, well, everyone has their eyes open and their mouths shut.

For your amusement here is a small sampling:

Happy Birthday Morgan!

Here's to Us!

Three years ago we took our vows and toasted a life together as husband and wife. Last night Morgan and I went out for dinner to celebrate our third wedding anniversary and many more to come.

Three years ago we were married and six years ago we started dating. Where did the time go? We opened a bottle of champagne and reminisced about the times we've had and all the things we want to do together in a lifetime of marriage. We laughed and kissed and laughed some more.

How lucky I am to be married to my best friend and the best man I know. So, here's to us.

Up to?

Oh my dears, it's been too long. What have I been up to? Well...

1. I'm working on a Turning Twenty quilt that I hope to piece together this week. It's my fall quilt and I love it so much. Sadly, my craft budget has disappeared for a while so I can't buy batting or backing to finish it just yet. *sniff sniff*


2. I love garagesaleing. This is my most recent and wonderful find. That's right, a Diane Von Furstenburg pattern of her famous wrap dress. The downside: it's for a 43" bust and this pattern predates the multi-size patterns so there is no way in heaven this lovely creation will ever fit me. *sigh* I'm contemplating selling it on e-bay and hoping some beautiful and talented woman will buy it and make it.


3. We went camping and Emma is almost big enough to fit into her size 2 jacket my father bought her forever ago. Doesn't she looks so cute and ready for fall?


4. It came from my garden. It's so big we contemplated tethering it last night so it didn't come for us in our sleep. What? You've never heard of the attack of the killer zucchini?

Frenchy Bag

Today was one of those days that started out overcast and even when the sun came out it was still soggy outdoors. When Emma went down for her nap I went into my sewing room and finished up this cute Frenchy Bag by Amy Butler.

I have to say it was much more involved than any other bag I've made because of the lining and interfacing and pockets, etc. I'm really pleased with the result and I can't wait to start using my new shoulder bag. The fabrics are awesome and I think I might even make a few more in the smaller handbag version for nights out. One in black and white and one with reds in it sounds like it would be awesome. :)

Things that make you smile

This weekend was wonderful and I really wish our little family had more time together than just two days (and the odd evening hours) per week.

On Friday night a wonderful friend of ours let Emma come play with her kids while the Mr. and I enjoyed a nice dinner out at an Italian restaurant. I can't tell you how much Morgan and I have neglected making time alone together since Emma was born. Lately we've been making a bigger effort at finding the time to enjoy each other's company and it's been so nice. I was lucky enough to marry a wonderful man and being with him makes me warm inside...except for my feet which will always be cold. :)

Saturday was a nice day to get out and go to a reservoir up by Park City but it got old as the morning got warmer and there was no shade. Emma enjoyed riding on her daddy's shoulders and as soon as we got back to the car she passed out. Poor little thing was so tired. Next we drove into Salt Lake City to pick out yarn for Morgan's new sweater and then home again home again.


Sunday found us all going north to visit the new Ikea and holy cow do they have a lot of stuff. I especially loved the children's section for their toys. Emma has become obsessed with Thomas the Train and even prefers him over Elmo, so I was pleased to find these adorable train sets for such a reasonable price. I think we can guess where many of Emma's birthday and Christmas gifts are coming from.


Coming home was even nicer because there were rainbows waiting to greet us. It sounds silly but I haven't seen a rainbow in so long I'd forgotten how beautiful they are. Emma certainly seemed to think they were pretty too based on her "wow!"s.


Monday was a lazy day with errands, ice cream, a drive up to the overlook, a stop at the park and snuggling for movies. Aren't they so cute? I hope you all had a great weekend, too.