WWRW: Pre-Christmas Edition

I'm coming in late and kind of breaking the rules (forgive me Jessica, I'll save you a scoop of Apple Cranberry Crisp) to share some of our favorite Advent/Christmas books. I'll have more next week, I promise. It's been a long day of cooking and cleaning so I'm going to type this up quick like {with affiliate links, but you probably already knew that…}:

The Professor: A Christmas Carol  by Charles Dickens~ Specifically this one illustrated by talented P.J. Lynch

Sunshine: An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco~ She likes the sappy ones.

Shortcake: Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien ~ She has taken to drawing her own pictures including polar bears.

BigBoy: Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt ~ 

It's a new favorite.

Cupcake: A Christmas Carol: A BabyLit Colors Primer ~ We turned on The Muppets Christmas Carol the other night and after hearing a "Bah-Humbug" and "Old Marley was as dead as a door nail," she piped up with "Hey, that's my book!"

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Etsy love… check out the new widget!

Psssssst… The widget? It's over there - - - - - - - - - -> My new Etsy store!

Spicy Miss Jessica was asking for favorite Etsy shops last week so I thought I would post some of mine here and see if anyone has more to add.

Please don't hate me when I say I'm done with my Christmas shopping. I am obsessive like that. Sorry. It's just the way God made me. There are maybe a few things to pick up locally but for the most part, the major stuff is taken care of. This year, I tried to find as much as I could first on Etsy. I LOVE ETSY! I know you do too. It's amazing the incredibly talented artists that you can find there.

First stop, The Fig and Thimble:

  

This is the shop run by Kimberlee's children, you know, when they are not publishing novels or professionally illustrating picture books. In their spare time, they make delightful little things like original watercolor bookmarks and medieval hoods to sell.

Next is this sweet little toy shop located in the hill country of Texas, Hill Country Woodcraft:

 

Beautiful toys, baby gifts and personalized too! Can I tell you how much I love their stick horses, especially the ones with colorful yarn hair?! Adorable! You know, the one thing that annoys me about Etsy is that sometimes you find something beautiful and then find out it ships from Lithuania or the Ukraine. Grrrrrr argh. Well, never fear, because Hill Country Woodcraft is located in the great state of Texas and ships, well… from the Texas Hill Country. If you don't know what that is, I'm sorry. So very, very sorry.

But then again, sometimes the Etsy gods show you something so beautiful that you drool over it and your eyes are so thankful to have lighted upon it that you don't care if it's in Ireland because it's so gorgeous you keep going back to look at it and try to study it to see if there is anyway you could even come close to reproducing something so exquisite (you can't)… In fact, you aren't even sure that you want to post a link to it for fear that someone will buy it and you won't be able to gaze upon it anymore. Sigh. Since this is the only listing Ailish has right now in her shop, I suggest you follow this talented lady from Cork, Ireland because when she posts more, you are gonna want to know!

And speaking of following people, if you follow this here little blog, you might also want to follow my brand spanking new Etsy shop that just opened, um… like yesterday. It's called Waltzing Matilda Makes…. So, what does Waltzing Matilda make? Not sure right now, just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I have no big plans for it immediately. But I like the idea of having a place to offer some extras from the fun we have making over here (quilties, dolls, decorations) and maybe a place for Sunshine to offer some of her hand knitted creations eventually (she's totally stoked about that idea). There are only a couple of little items in there right now but I'm working on a few more. I'd love to know what you think of the shop and what things you might like to see offered there in the future. I make no promises!

Other wonderful Etsy places:
Time Machine Jewelry for your favorite Doctor Who fans!

And these cute little name puzzles by sugargliderwoodworks

{phfr} Late Autumn Edition

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter

THANKSGIVING IS NEXT WEEK!!!!!AHHHHHHHHH!!! {end freakout}

{pretty}

Some of our trees have just recently noticed that it's supposed to be Fall around here. Better late than never!

{happy}

Just a few things that have been keeping my big kids happy: scones with (Mock) Devonshire Cream to take to a book club featuring P.G. Wodehouse's Code of the Woosters, Ninja Vs. Ninja {affiliate links} a surprise hit from the birthday party last week (lots of fun, quick little game of strategy), and homemade peppermint mochas on chilly mornings.

{funny}

 How Latin gets done around here...

…and math too!

{real}

For Jennifer D. who asked for more information on how to make these and who I totally flaked on. I meant to post this last week but didn't. I'm real sorry. (That sentence is only grammatically correct in Texas.) And I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures. I was making them very early in the morning in a dark kitchen. To make the ninja stars:

First, I mixed up some brown sugar and some cinnamon in a bowl. You could add raisins too but my kids don't like raisins so I left them out. Then you take two rectangles of crescent roll dough and lightly smash the dashed line to reattach it. 

Using my pizza cutter, I cut short diagonal lines in each corner. That makes four triangles attached in the center.

This picture is a little backwards. Look at the one on the right first. Fold over one corner of the triangle into the center of the rectangle. Then fold over the same corner on each other triangle. You want to create a pinwheel shape.  Smush down the center so that they don't come apart during baking.

Hope that helps!

WWRW: Awesome Pope Awesome

Pope Awesome and Other Stories by Cari Donaldson {affiliate link}

I am pretty skeptical by nature. It's not a good thing, but it is what it is. It probably goes back to trust issues. Still working on those…always and forever, most likely. So when the latest book comes out from the newest Catholic writer on the block and everyone starts raving about how many times they LOL'd or how many passages they just had to read to their husband, in the back of my mind I tend to think, "Is it really as good as everyone is saying?" Because, let's be honest, we tend to be less critical of our friends (online friends count too) and we cheer and champion their success more than strangers. It's normal, I think, and something we can't really help, even if we wanted to.

That being said, I can say as someone who doesn't know Cari Donaldson any more than anyone else who has read her blog for a relatively brief period of time or anyone who looks at her Instagram pictures, that this book is a truly well-written, enjoyable read! I really did find myself laughing out loud several times and read more than one passage annoyingly out loud to my husband. So, take it from this skeptical girl that when someone says that Pope Awesome and Other Stories is a great book, they really do mean it.

I don't need to tell you what it's about because just about everyone else has done that much better then I can. It's more than just a memoir. So much more… It speaks to the reader on a higher level than a memoir or a collection of funny stories. What it speaks to you no doubt will be different than what it whispered to my heart. Give it a try… you won't be disappointed.

Coming soon...

Pretty new dishcloths!!! I know… total domestic freak right here. I couldn't decide which color I liked better so I picked up one of each. That would be Lily brand Sugar n' Cream in Moondance on the left and Hippie on the right. I like to make a simple seed stitch dish cloth. The other ones I made lasted over two years of near daily use. But they are nowhere near as pretty anymore. Time for some new ones.

So, people usually talk about what they are reading while working on their fiber art, but I just can't read and crochet at the same time. Maybe it's because I have to look at where I'm inserting my hook. I prefer to have something going in the background like a movie or a show. "Bonnet dramas" are my favorite because I love to listen to the wonderful language and beautiful music usually accompanying the action but anything will do. Just not something I need to focus on visually or mentally too much.

I was recently introduced by a dear friend to this version of Sense and Sensibility {affiliate link} and oh my… I think it just might be my new favorite! Yes, that means moving the Emma Thompson version down a peg. First of all, for all you Downton fans… Matthew Crawley as Edward! And for all you Harry Potter fans… Mr. Weasley as Sir John Middleton! And… any Doctor Who fans in the house? Jackson Lake!!! Ok, he might be a little obscure, but he does a fabulous job as Colonel Brandon, as good (maybe even better) than dear Alan Rickman. I can't believe I just typed that. I feel like such a traitor but I'm trying to be honest here.

***Word of caution… the opening scene is a rather intimate scene not written in the book but alluded to between Colonel Brandon's ward and Willoughby. I plan on skipping to about 1:08 minutes in when I show my girls. Not graphic, but just not appropriate for them.

So, how about you? Are you like me and prefer listening while leisurely crafting? What are you watching and working on right now? What are you whipping up and whistling too?

{phfr} Post-Birthday Edition

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

Sunshine gifted her sister with these handmade, bamboo patterned, fingerless gloves for her birthday. They are very pretty!

{happy}

Cupcake was so enthralled by our little ninja family yesterday and so good about not touching them (mostly) that I decided to paint her a set that she could actually touch. She was VERY happy!

{funny}

Everyone always tells me that Cupcake looks like her daddy. I've seen it, but never as clearly as in these two pictures. Her latest thing is to say that everything is "right there, on the corner".

"Cupcake, where is your sippy cup?"
It's right there, on the corner.
(Pointing to the middle of the fireplace hearth, not the corner.)

"Cupcake, where is the Curious George book?"
It's right there, on the corner.
(Pointing to the middle of the couch, not the corner.)

"Cupcake, where is your diaper?"
It's right there, on the corner.

{real}
What do you get when your finger slips and you miss the blowout shot?

Yup. Nothing. Good night all!

A Cute Ninja Golden Birthday

Shortcake is 13 today! 13 on 11/13/13! It's her Golden Birthday!

For the past year, she has been writing a book with her cousin, Hatchick. Hatchick creates some zany comics starring Sneaky Ninja Dude and his infamous sidekick, Crazy Cat, for the family to enjoy. These characters inspired this book they have been working on writing. So, when Shortcake was thinking about what kind of special theme she wanted for her Golden Birthday, she came up with the idea of a Ninja Birthday… but cute ninjas, not scary ninjas.

~decorations~

I made a banner using these adorable digital images from DorkyPrints on Etsy and the free font Japonesa Shadow.  I also colored and hung thirteen ninjas along with some cheap paper lanterns (with electric tea lights) from the ceiling and chandelier. Then we used a lot of colorful, curly ribbon… everywhere!

I love curly ribbon!

The morning started with Cinnamon Ninja Throwing Stars that I made from crescent rolls, brown sugar and cinnamon. Easy peasy and so cute! My boys made a stop motion "film" of the birthday girl catching one in her mouth.

I also set out a bowl of homemade fortune cookies with silly "fortunes" inside. 

I used this recipe and should have read the helpful comments that said to add 2 Tbl. of water to thin out the batter. They would have been better that way, I'm sure, but my kids thought they tasted good and they loved the funny fortunes! They just weren't as crisp as I would have liked. Might have to make some more tomorrow just to see if I can perfect them. The Professor also helped me make some pretty paper throwing stars using these fairly easy to understand instructions which we then scattered around the table for decoration.

Her very special surprise was this tiny little family of ninjas, each one representing one of us. They were also made by a very talented lady on etsy. Can you figure out who each one is supposed to be? I'm sure you can. Cupcake was quite entranced with them!

~activity~

I love having teenagers! I guess I better love it because we have THREE in the house right now! All Shortcake wanted to do for her birthday was go shopping for a new journal (that girl goes through journals like nobody's business) and get some coffee. Whoo hoo! That's my idea of a perfect day right there… if you swap out "journal" for any other kind of book at all.

I posted this picture on Instagram and it wasn't until I got home that I realized that the book in between the two bird covers has a quote by the exceptionally witty but-oh-so-not-really-appropriate-for-a-13th-birthday-picture Dorothy Parker… Guns aren't lawful. Nooses give. Gas smells awful. You might as well live. Lovely. Mom fail!

~cake~

The cake requires a little bit of explanation. My girls have fallen in love with the wonderfully fluffy, soft felt pillows made by Miss Telah Marie (again, on Etsy). Her designs inspired Shortcake's American Ninja shirt this past summer. Well, what she wanted most for her birthday was for Miss Telah to make her a pillow that was a design Shortcake drew of one of her ninja characters from her book. This character's name is Hisohiso and she had very definite ideas about what he should look like. Shortcake drew up her design with color specifications and Miss Telah made it happen. Shortcake didn't see the pillow until today, but I saw it as soon as it arrived. When she asked for a coffee cake as her birthday dessert (with Caramel Frosting… very undecorateable) I came up with the idea of turning her design of the pillow Hisohiso into a cookie Hisohiso and that is who you see here:

Caramel Frosting… not pretty to look at but oh. so. tasty!

My Shortcake is such a creative girl! I have no doubt that one day these characters of hers will come to life on the pages of a book that I can go shopping for... with my coffee in hand!

Book Club 9-1-1: Ballet Shoes

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild 

{affiliate link}

Part of the decorations were these three "necklaces" I made to show the kids what the girls' necklaces might have looked like. The middle one is actually a baby rosary that Sunshine had that looked like little seed pearls. The others were just beads that I purchased at Hobby Lobby strung on some thread. I also used my husband's carved elephant that his grandparents gave him when he was three. I thought it was clever and a couple of the kids actually remembered the quote!

So, this book wasn't a huge hit with the kids in the group. And it wasn't just the pink cover. Most of them found it boring, even the girls. That's OK though. They read it and hopefully it'll mean more to them in the future.

We started off with a quiz game instead of a regular discussion. I divided the kids into 2 teams and each person had to answer a question right in order to win a mini-pack of gum (get it… G.U.M…. Great Uncle Matthew). If they didn't know the answer, they could ask their team for help. Just about all of them answered their questions correctly. And they really liked the extra pictures I printed out of things like a 1930's phonograph in a red box just like Miss Dane's, a Citroen automobile just like Mr. Simpson's, Pevensey Castle which doesn't look much like a castle, a Tenniel Alice and a gold half sovereign like Petrova got on her 12th birthday. It gave them a chance to picture what some of the things in the book looked like.

The activity part, they really liked and I'm wishing I had planned a longer time for this. Since the three girls first learn how to pantomime at the dance academy, I decided to play some pantomime games with the book club kids. They all did really well and enjoyed it tremendously.

Some of our personal fossils on display

After that, we looked at the two fossils we own that were gifts from a dear friend. Then we pretended we were digging for fossils and dug out all the chocolate chips in a chocolate chip cookie using toothpicks and paint brushes. I told them to chip away the cookie like it was rock and brush it away from the fossils (chocolate chips).

Snack time was rather perplexing, since the family in this story is very poor and food isn't discussed much, but they did have some interesting "beavers" with the good Doctors who were teaching them at home. One of the things mentioned was Vienna Cakes and ginger drink. I took Vienna Cake to mean Sachertortes since they are the most famous viennese cakes. I made a simplified version in cupcake form with candy ballet shoes on top.

pink for the girls, white for the boys

And the "ginger drink" in the book was probably ginger tea, but knowing that can be too spicy even for a seasoned tea drinker like myself, I opted for ginger ale.

Here are links to my printable pages for anyone who might be interested:
Talking Points (I used these Q & A's for the quiz/discussion at the beginning of the meeting)
Snack/Activity Ideas (These are just ideas. We didn't use all of them.)


Next up: Kitchen Madonna by Rumer Godden.