westie onesie

as a hostess gift to a friend, i sewed a westie applique onto a onesie.  i'm pretty psyched how easy this is and definitely want to start making some more creative appliques than the silhouette of the dog the baby's parents own.  but think it's a good start.  here's a bunch of photos of the process.

homemade stocking - fail

i tried to make my first very own stocking for myself inspired by the tree version of this stocking from pottery barn.  but i didn't like the yarn i chose and wasn't ready to commit the rest of my life to this stocking.  so i frogged it.  and called my dad and had him send my real stocking!  it was fun trying to figure out how to knit a stocking just based on a photo online though (you can see my notes on that yellow note page)...  just need to do some better research on yarn.

funky christmas leg warmies

inspired by a very fashion forward 5 month old who wears leg warmers everyday, i made a christmas color version of this pattern.  this pair, of course, went to the baby who inspired them and i am hoping to make more to spread this cool fashion trend to the other 5 month old babies i know...

knitted uggs used as uggs!

one of the super cool babies i made these uggs for showed up at thanksgiving this year wearing them!  i really didn't think they were practical enough to be worn, but i did modify the pattern a lot by my 5th pair hoping that they could be.  and they did...  and look great.  after so many projects i've made for friends' babies not being used, it's really a pretty great feeling when they actually are.

here is a link to a post i wrote that has a photo of a pair i made for another baby a long time ago.

thanksgiving peeps sushi

one of the activities on thanksgiving this year was making sushi out of peeps.  you can find out how to make it here.  it's not the first thing you'd think of when you'd think of a thanksgiving activity, but this is what we did.  don't judge.

in case you're wondering...  peeps, rice krispy treats, and fruit by the foot.
and also in case you're wondering:  they're better to look at than eat.  although i mainly blame this on my sushi piece choice.  that fruit by the foot really dominates the palate...

brobee costume

i ended up figuring out how to get stripes for my brobee costume for halloween - fabric paint.  i'm not sure why i only thought of fabric dye, but someone suggested fabric paint to me and it just made sense.  i ended up using this fabric paint and lots of masking tape.  i bought this romper from american apparel in white for the body and painted thigh high socks (also from american apparel) for brobee's long arms (i used the middle cardboard from paper towel rolls to extend my arms).  the masking tape was used to keep the fabric paint from spreading to make the stripes.  since the romper was so thin, i also lined the entire inside with 3 inch masking tape so it wouldn't bleed through.  this took forever.  i'm not sure what i was thinking when i took on this project.

for the legs, i bought an actual childrens' brobee costume and cut the legs off to put over a pair of boots i own.  the furry gloves from the costume were put over the end of my arms to finish the costume.  i also added the monobrow from the costume to the brobee hat i knitted.  below are some photos of the process and the final costume.  best part is the boo "deciding" to go as dj lance rock... 

we also got mentioned on a yo gabba gabba fan site!

happy thanksgiving!!

i made my second apple pie of the thanksgiving season last night.  doesn't look as good as the first one i made, but i'm hoping it will taste better since i sliced the apples thinner this time.

this is the recipe i use. (i can't find the original website)  the best part is the homemade crust...

i also made some homemade cranberry sauce out of fresh cranberries and jalapenos from my sister's boyfriend's recipe:

Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen cranberries
2-3 jalapenos whole
(you can chop up one if you like it spicier)
1 cinnamon stick
½ c sugar
Water as needed

In a small saucepan on high heat, combine all the ingredients and fill with water just to
the top of the cranberries. The ice will melt and create more water so don’t add too much
(you can always add more later). Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to low, stirring
occasionally. Continue cooking until it reaches a sauce-like consistency. (Feel free to
add more water if it seems too thick. It usually takes 20-30 minutes to reach the right
consistency so if it seems like it’s happening too fast add more water.) Remove from
heat and put in a heat-proof container. You can keep the whole jalapenos and cinnamon
stick in the cranberry sauce until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature.

Brett's notes:  When I did it I bought fresh cranberries (they sell bags tis time of year) and followed the directions on the back of the bag for how to make sauce out of them (water and sugar), and added the jalapenos and cinnamon as appropriate.  I'd say definitely add 1 jalapeno de-seeded and chopped into the sauce when you start it.  I think if you use fresh cranberries it only takes 5-10 mins, per Larissa it looks like frozen may take longer.

and then i also made two pumpkin pies this season out of an actual pumpkin i cut up and pureed myself.  after spending all the time to puree the pumpkin i found out that "field" pumpkins aren't the ones that go in pies.  but i used it anyway and think it still came out great.  the first pie i did have a small "pie" pumpkin i had used as decoration that i pureed as well.  it was definitely easier to puree and much smoother than the field pumpkin, so in the future i will only use those pumpkins.  i found a maple pumpkin recipe here that i used.  i also made a homemade graham craker crust from this recipe.  in this photo you can see i burnt the crust :(  i blame it on being lazy.  i also didn't crush the graham crackers enough as i would have liked since i was short on time.  the first one i made was better, but i didn't take a photo.

homemade turquoise pillow

i thought my apartment needed some more pillows, so to save money i decided to make one.  although i didn't really end up saving any money since i bought all my materials from britex and it still cost me $40!!  oh well.  i love the pillow.  it's big and turquoise and velvetty.

best sunset of the year

...was about two weeks ago.  as you can see, the sky was ridiculous.  i didn't take too many photos since i wasted all my taking-photos-during-sunset energy the night before when it was, as i know now, but didn't at the time, the 2nd best sunset of the year.  it was a great one to enjoy without the camera though, so i have no regrets.

last of lily + ryan

i finally finished going through lily & ryan's engagement photos.  the entire set is posted here on my website and below are a few of my favorites from the last batch.  they are so cute!!