Ithaca Finds

As you know, Steve and I just got back from a short getaway. We visited Ithaca, New York, where we went to college. While we were up there I had the opportunity to do a little bit of shopping on the Commons and at our favorite beer store. I am excited to use my new wallet and display my new cat. I am also looking forward to enjoying my mix-six pack of fruit beers.

Steve also bought some fancy schmantzy beers but from what I’ve observed so far, they smell like horse blankets! I’ll take the light and fruity beers any day. (I know Steve, I just don’t get it!)

Free as a Bird

As I highlighted last week, I have been sewing birds, a la the Spool pattern. I thought they would make a great mobile for a baby gift, and I finished my first one last night.

The Bird Mobile

I realize the prototype always needs improvements, but overall I am fairly happy with the construction of this mobile. I have to thank Steve for his patience as I strung the birds on the embroidery hoop, as it took a lot longer to construct than I had anticipated and his arms got a little bit tired from holding the hoop.

Baby's View of the Mobile, Sans the Bright Light

Driving Trip: Middlebury, Burlington, Clinton, Hamilton, and Ithaca

A DORM at Middlebury College!

Middlebury, Vermont

Hamilton College

In just three days, Steve, Joe, and I traveled to several beautiful locales in the Northeast to visit small liberal arts colleges, as Joe is a junior in high school and his college adventure is not far away! This trip was particularly exciting for me because I got to visit Vermont for the first time ever, see one of my best friends from college, and spend a day in my college town, Ithaca. We covered 1,000 miles and the weather for our trip was perfect! We had a few overcast skies on Thursday as we trekked to Vermont, but Friday and Saturday were spectacular.

I can’t believe how picturesque Middlebury College, Hamilton College, and Colgate University are. They are all in small towns but their charm is irresistable. While touring these colleges I almost wanted to go back in time, but, alas, I am pretty happy where I am in life right now.

In addition to the college tours, highlights of our trip included: yummy meals (we had fried squash blossoms filled with garlic and drizzled with honey in Burlington, black and white cookies in Hamilton, and black rice pudding at Moosewood in Ithaca), lots of walking excursions, and a trip to our favorite beer store where we made mix-six packs. I’ll post more on my exciting finds on the trip later this week.

Hitting the Road

Steve and I are hitting the road tomorrow morning with his little brother. I am excited to get out of town, visit a new state, eat some tasty meals, and take some pictures.

I am also excited to get away from work, graduate school, and the computer.

I’ll be back soon!

Best Friends

BFFs

Here’s a cute pic of Napoleon and Abe, taken on Sunday morning.

Almost Ready to Take Flight

I’ve been working on these little birds for the last week in hopes that I can construct them into a nice mobile for a baby gift.

I just finished five of them and plan to string them together sometime soon.

Thanks to Spool in Philly for the pattern!

Amy Butler’s Swing Bag, Part 2

Swing Bag, Side 1

Swing Bag, Side 2

I managed to make another Amy Butler Swing Bag this weekend, and I love my fabric and the shape of the purse. I am a little disappointed by my attachment of the straps and some of the uneven stitches caused by my sewing machine’s finicky behavior with home-decor-weight fabrics. However, I love this purse and hope that I’ll forget the imperfections soon! It’s a great new accessory for spring.

Spring Cleaning and Catch-up (and Basketball)

Steve and I are counting down to NEXT weekend because we’ll be traveling to Vermont/Upstate New York with Steve’s little brother, so this weekend is looking like a traditional spring cleaning weekend. Plus, I have about a zillion projects I have started but not finished, so I hope it will also be super productive in that arena too.

The good news is that the NCAA basketball tournament is giving me a reason to watch some TV, so I’ll have some entertainment to keep me going on all of these projects. (GO NOVA!)

Tomorrow is supposed to be sixty degrees, so Steve and I are planning on digging up a new bed in the yard. I can’t wait to see our lilac bush in full bloom!

Getting There . . .

Thanks to my friend Laura, I got some more vibrant fabrics for my color wheel.

Laura's Bright Colors

Every time I look at these parts of the quilt I will think of Amaya, the cutest four year old ever! She is the owner of a quilt that incorporates these (and many other wonderful) fabrics.

Happy Irish Day!

Cute Shamrock Cookies

Yummy Boiled Foods

To commemorate St. Patty’s Day, Steve and I fixed our favorite Irish dishes tonight. Despite it being one day early (statistics is getting in the way of our celebrating tomorrow), it was a great meal. We made three dishes that involved boiling food, one of which was lentils and though they are not Irish they went well with our cabbage and potatoes.

In the spirit of the day I also bought some store-made shamrock cookies. Generally I am opposed to grocery store-bought confections, but I couldn’t resist these cute cookies.

I heart St. Patty’s.