A real post? Sort of. . .

I'm going to do it. I'm really going to put up a real post tonight, with real pictures and crafts and amazing garage sale finds and even some spinning. . . I'd say it's going to be awesome, but that might be taking it a little too far.

I am starting to feel like myself again.

So, why am I not just posting right now you might ask. . . Well, because right now I have a lot of things I need to do. . . I need to clean my very scary kitchen, I need to make dinner, and I really need to throw Litt'e Sir's bedding in the laundry because after his nap he woke up, took off his diaper, and let loose in his crib. I am viewing this as a Potty Training success, and please, don't correct me if I'm wrong. I'm like my own interpretation of reality just fine.

So, why am I not doing all of those things right now, why am I here posting about a post that I'm going to post later. . . ah, that all goes back to me feeling like myself, my happy procrastinating self.

But as long as I'm here, how about a little "Things I Like"

Have any of you tried Wyller's Italian Ice? They are like Otter Pops for adults. All four flavors are fantastic (my favorite is the orange cream) but the biggest surprise is the texture, really like Italian Ice. I have found them at Rite Aid and most recently at Albertsons. They are only 50 calories, and the perfect way to cool off during the summer.

Tea Time!

I recently fell in love with a new tea, and it reminded me that I have been wanting to post about some of my other favorites. FYI - For those of you not familiar with my religious affiliations (I'm LDS) I only drink herbal (botanical) non-caffeinated teas, so that is all that will find on my list.

There are four tea houses locally that I enjoy visiting (although I have found that toddlers and tea houses don't go very well together, so I am enjoying my tea at home more often now.)

Let's start off with the one that carries my new obsession. . . hold on one moment while I go start a pot of it for myself.

OK, Teahouse Kuan Yin is located in Wallingford


(click on any of the logos to visit their site.)

My favorites:
-current love is Hibiscus Spice. I am not typically a fan of fruity teas (which usually includes hibiscus) but this is not a sweet tea, it is spicy and cider like.
-I also like their WuWei and Herbal Chai

For those of you not in Seattle, they do sell their teas off of their website, will ship to the US and Canada, and will consider international orders on a case-by-case basis. Note that they do have a $20. minimum.



Next up is TeaCup on Queen Anne Hill, which just moved to a new beautiful location and also stocks more of my favorites that any other place I visit. You can also order many of their teas from their website.

-Coconut Cove is another exception to my general dislike of fruit teas. In the summer this makes a wonderful iced tea.
-Evening in Missoula is probably the tea I drink more than any other tea. It is my go-to favorite. It is a complex blend of 18 different botanicals.
-Province Vanilla Rooibos- another new find, and absolutly wonderful. It will become a staple in my tea cupboard, I'm sure.
-Mocha Hazelnut is another favorite (you won't find it by browsing their site, but you can order it by calling them.) This is a chicory based tea that coffee lovers usually like. It is good with cream and sugar.



Miro Tea in Ballard could easily become my favorite place to go sit and have a cup of tea with a friend. They also carry tasty things to eat with your tea! I haven't had that chance to go here as often as I would like (it is really not toddler friendly) so I haven't tried all of their teas that I would like to yet.

-I do love their Bourbon Street Red (a Rooibos with Vanilla)
-I am thinking I would like to try their Sanctuary infusion

The do not sell their teas online.



And last, but not least, I couldn't leave out the only yarn shop/ tea house combo on this side of the Puget Sound. Yep, knitting and tea go hand in hand, and this kid friendly shop is a sanctuary I visit often.

-Apple Butter Chai is my favorite here.
-I also like Night in Istanbul
- Southern Key Lime
- and really the only lemon/mint tea I really like very well, Forest Glen

they also do no sell their teas online, but I'm guessing they would happily take an order over the phone.

There you go, my favorites. Where are your favorite places to buy and enjoy tea?

Blazing Neeldes

While I was in Utah my Mom and Sister were excited to introduce me to their new LYS, and after a few minutes in the shop, it was pretty clear why.



Blazing Needles is a delightful, beautifully arranged and decorated shop. It is in a lovely restored old house, complete with fireplaces (yes, two of them.) They have a felting closet, a welcoming space for knitters to enjoy themselves, and although it was covered with snow at the time, a "knitting garden" in their backyard.



Their stock, at first, seem limited to me, but I soon realized that it was well thought out and maintained. Instead of carrying a few colors of many different yarns, they stock most if not all of the colors in each of the lines they showcase in the shop. The yarns they have chosen to carry represent both fine yarns and work horse yarns. They include Cascade, Fleece Artist, ShiBui, O Wool and Koigu among others.



They have beautiful models knit up and on display and a lovely coffee and tea table set out to make you feel at home.

So, you are asking, what did I buy. . . Oh, well, let me tell you.

It has been sometime now that I have been inspired by any of the yarns typically seen in LYSs. So when I happened across Shepherd's Wool at Blazing Needles, I was giddy with that new yarn love euphoria!



People, this is melt your heart away soft, bouncy, dreamy, Merino wool. It's worsted weight, 250 yards, lots of beautiful colors and Blazing Needles is one of the few stores that carries it ($9.75 per skein- for those who are interested.)

And now that I have purchased two sweaters worth of this amazing wool, I thought I would share my new found delight with all of you.
Why yes, I do know their contact info!

1365 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
(801) 487-5648
info - at - blazing-needles.com

But wait, don't go away quite yet. I have another treasure from Blazing Needles to share.

The Duke and I collect Raku pottery. (If you are interested, read about the western technique, which all of our pieces are, although we would love to own a Japanese piece someday.) As we were chatting with the owner, Claudia, and she told us about her son's "yarn bowls" that he sells in the shop. She directed me toward the last one that was left, and upon picking it up I exclaimed with glee, "It's Horsehair Raku!" The Duke and I have long admired Horsehair Raku (yes, it uses real hores hair) but have never had the opportunity to aquire a piece. It is an unheard of experience that the Duke is as excited about a yarn store purchase as I am, but it happened with this lovely purchase.
Roman, the artist (and Claudia's son) is a student at Westminster College and sells these yarn bowls (so called because of the notch he has cut into them to guide the yarn out of the bowl) at Blazing Needles, as if I didn't love them enough all ready!!!



Isn't it stunning?

Thanks Mom and Princess P for taking me to such a delightful yarn store. I expect there will be many more fun excursions to my new favorite Utah yarn shop.

Coraline

You like to knit with small needles, do you?

Check this out. . .

crazy awesome amazing.

This is one film I will make a point of seeing (not in a theater, but never-the-less, I will see it.)

Be sure to scroll through some of the other short films, they are all very interesting.

I've Survived

I've made it through another quarter. I do have one last thing to do, but I will take care of it on Monday and it shouldn't take more than an hour or so.

As a reward I went with some friends to the Phinney Ridge Craft Fair and the Urban Craft Uprising this weekend. It was a fantastic day. I obviously can't show you what I bought, as my acquisitions were gifts, but I CAN share with you a few things that I would have like to have bought, but didn't.

In no particular order, here are are few of the fabulous things I saw.


Sprout Jewlery Interesting and modern jewelry that is unique without being over-the-top.


eight3one I've loved these adorable designs for a while now. "W" was the recipient of the Beetle.


Steel Toe Studios I didn't draw PBTB, my brother-in-law this year for Christmas, but if I had, one of these would have been a great gift.


LuCoo Serious cuteness. I would just love to see Little Sir walking (yes walking!) around with this dude on his chest.


Orange Peel Enamel There isn't a lot in her Etsy shop right now because she has items taken down for the craft shows she is doing, so check out her previous sales to get an good look at this beautiful jewelry-art.


Go Robot I had a hard time choosing just one item to feature here. Unusual and interesting stuff.

There were so many others, we were so captivated that we forgot to eat! Be sure to check out the vendor list from Urban Craft Uprising for other great indie crafters.

Must Have Boots

I am not a shoe person. I probably have fewer pairs of shoes than most men. I'm good with a pair of tennis shoe, two pairs of crocs (black and brown,) two pair of short dress boot (black and brown,) two pair of dress shoes (black and brown,) and a couple of pairs of flip flops and sandals. Yep, that's it. I know, super boring.

SO. . . now you know how big of a deal it is that I saw a pair of rain boots and HAD TO HAVE THEM. I bought them right then and there. I've never done that before.

So, here they are. . .



Don't you love it! Stockinette stitch printed on the boot. How could I resist? And I love the colors! Added bonus- now my feet won't get wet during mine and Little Sir's walks this winter.

BTW- they came from DSW and are made by On Your Feet.

Super Talented Friends

I have some very talented friends. I am just loving some of the work one of them showed off on her blog today.

Jeanie and Jewel


Isn't this cool (BTW, it's copyrighted, 2008 by The Paper Nut and I hope that she doesn't get mad at me for posting it here, but I figure since I'm telling all of you how much I love it she probably won't mind.)

If you like good design, baby products, and beautiful stationary products, her blog is likely to become one of your favorites.

Oh yes, and there are rumors of an Etsy shop opening soon!!!

Things I Like

Time for a things I like post!

Have you all heard about Spoonflower?



It is a website that will allow you to design and print your own fabric. Isn't that so freakin' cool! As you can see from their logo they are still in beta, which means that you still have to be invited to use the website. Get on the list here. In the mean time you can keep up with them via their blog. I've all ready designed and ordered my first fabric. I can't wait for it to get here!

Check out these darlings.


Aren't they adorable. They are hand knit in the Shetland Islands by Andrea Williamson. Her other things are really great too.

Lastly, I am belatedly joining the yo yo craze. I went looking on etsy for some inspiration. Who knew the simple yo yo could be so versatile.


Frame a few of them and you have instant art.


You can wear them.


In more than one way.


More than two ways, even. (Is this not amazing and a little bit strange at the same time.)


I love this guy.


Seriously! People are so very creative.

Birds of Flight

Ok, I am not a proponent of any lottery, but have you all seen this commercial? Well, probably most of you haven't because many of you don't live in Washington so let me help you out. It is hysterical! I love it.



Doesn't that penguin look like he is really enjoying himself?

New Wrappers

Little Sir needs to be wrapped up tight in order to sleep. We ran into a problem with his nice double flannel swaddling blankets. . . they are too hot. The poor little dear was cooking in there.

A few friends had told us about these cool muslin blankets by Aden and Anais.

We picked up a pack -



Little Sir is now a not too hot happy sleeper, and too cute for words! I can tell that he really likes them because he has started to sing himself to sleep at night. As if I needed any more reasons to adore this little guy, it just kills me.



Knitting and spinning coming in the next post.

Toyz

Thank you all for your encouragement and support. Princess P. and I have a few fun things up our sleeves to help that seven months (and how ever much time we will wait after that) go by a little quicker. Stay tuned. . .

In the mean time, I got a new toy in the mail.

We recently switched internet providers to Clearwire, which I am super happy with. As an added bonus, they gave us a nice little gift for agreeing to a 2 year contract with them. It was a web certificate that had to be used at one of several specific online stores.

The Duke, being the nice husband that he is, let me use this for my own frivolous purposes.




It's a Creative Zen V plus (mine is 2GB- I didn't think I needed anything more- but you can see that they go up to a whopping 16 GB.)

I love it.

Check out the specs on it. Notice its super tiny size. That photo is pretty close to actual size. Amazing no?

Costco and Cookbooks

I love Costco. I think it's in my genes. I'm 100% positive I've been there grocery shopping with my mom more times than I have been to a regular grocery store. And that is really saying something, because the nearest Costco to the Queen's house is about 30 min. away.

I like Costco so much that I started having my produce delivered to my house so that I didn't have to go to any other grocery stores (with the exception of Central Market, which is just fun.)

You might find it funny to know that I live about a block away from a Sam's Club. I have never been in it. I don't plan on going in it. I will happily drive 3 miles to Costco instead.

I think they have a great business model, (read about it here if you like) and I like that they treat their employees so well. One of my favorite things about Costco is their rotating SKU's. I like that there are a few different things each time I go there. It's fun to see what new products have been deemed worthy to make it into the very limited number of items that Coscto carries.

On my last trip I found this:



I was very excited. You see, my favorite cookbook is this.




I was a happy camper. If you want a taste (he he) of either of these cookbooks, go here. They have provided some of the recipes from the book (although the recipes are not the point of the book, they are just bonus.)

Now, back to Costco love, I thought I would share what I've made for dinner the last two nights. Why? because most of the ingredients came from Costco, of course!

1. Meatball Subs

Items from Costco:
-Frozen Italian Meatballs
-Brown and Serve Sourdough Bread
-Classico Spaghetti Sauce (I didn't use this, but would have if I hadn't been out of it, instead I made some spaghetti sauce, which I didn't want to do because you don't need much for this recipe, but then I froze the rest in appropriate proportions to make this again, so it's OK.)

Other stuff-
-Mozzarella Cheese (for the Duke)
-Almond Cheese (for me)
-Basil

Brown the bread, heat the sauce (add a little basil to it if you like,) heat the meatballs (not with the sauce,) cut the top middle "V" out of the bread (like you are making a bread boat) and cut it in half (each loaf of bread makes 2 subs.) Add 6 meatballs to each bread boat, pour some sauce over them, add the cheese, and top with the top portion of the bread. Eat, be happy.

2. Halo Halo Salad

Stuff from Costco:
-Chicken breast strips
-Hearts of Romain
-Montreal Chicken Seasoning (do they still have this? I don't know)
- Craisins
-Almonds

Other Stuff
-Balsamic Vinegarette Salad Dressing
-Grapefruit (you can probably get this at Costco too, but mine was delivered to me.)

Defrost the chicken strips, sprinkle the seasoning over them, and broil them for about 4 min on each side. Chop the romain, peel and section the grapefruit, add the craisins and the almonds, top with the cooked chicken and dress with the Vinegarette. Easy, yum!

A Happy Discovery

Yesterday I had lunch with a group of moms and their babies. There was a little girl there wearing the cutest Dr. Seuss onesie. I asked her mom where it came from and she said she thought it came from Macy's. I was surprised, I didn't know Macy's had a children's department.
Today Little Sir and I went there today to hunt down a little Dr. Seuss gear. We were happily surprised to find two Dr. Seuss onesies- and a great sale going on. (I could only find a picture of one of them.)



We also had another fun discovery. Macy's has a line of baby clothes called Green Dog that I just love. It also happens to be pretty reasonable (especially when Macy's is having a big sale.)

There was a much bigger selection in the store than they have online, but here is a little sampling of the line.




We picked up a few outfits for "W" and a few for Little Sir. Such fun buying baby clothes!