Zakka Sacred to Athena and the New Year

Aren’t these a hoot? 
Sorry.
There won’t be any more of that.  I promise.  But they are adorable, aren’t they?  I got the idea from the inimitable Moonstitches, who also has made the most beautiful granny hex afghan in the entire world.  The tutorial is easy to follow–the only little glitch is drafting a pattern for yourself.  [...]

Read Full Post »

Bella Mittens

I’m not a Twilight person.  I don’t particularly mind if you are, but I’m just not interested.  But these mittens, as worn by Kristen Stewart in the movie, and as reverse engineered by the talented and generous Marielle Henault, are pretty darned nice.  I’m on pair #2–the first will go to Lauren, my assistant, who [...]

Read Full Post »

Pink of Perfection, belatedly

So I missed this great Pink of Perfection project way back in July:  a happiness list.   (You can check out the  round-up for more information).  I’m not a cheerful person by nature, and although I love cutie-pie stuff, I am myself as far from cute as it is possible for one person who is not, say, Judith Anderson, to [...]

Read Full Post »

Tweetcret Santa Revisited or, I Score Big

My fussing about Tweetcret Santa has not yet come to an end.  Mia Hansen sent me this beautiful little ceramic dish, crafted by Laura McKibbon, a friend of hers whose business is called Cul-de-Sac Design.  It was wrapped in the beautiful Erte print wrapping paper you see as background.  Total coolness!
Thank you, Mia, for resolving my [...]

Read Full Post »

Holiday Baking

I went into cookie overdrive the other night . . . can’t quite explain it, but by the end of the evening, we had chocolate wafers, gingerbread cookies, chocolate chips, and sugar cookies for our usual tray for our beloved McDonald Elementary, plus 2 dozen Chanukah cookies for Tuxedo Boy’s winter party, plus these homemade [...]

Read Full Post »

Breakfast for Supper is the Best

We love breakfast for supper at our house.  Sometimes it’s pancakes, sometimes it’s French toast, and just lately it’s been aebleskivers in Little Sunshine’s special cast iron pan.  I’m still an aebleskiver novice, as you can see from the messy pan.  They’re hard to turn smoothly, and require a lot of watching and fussing. 
But they [...]

Read Full Post »

Tweetcret Santa

One of the blogs I follow is the terrific I Like, a design and coolness kind of blog which first caught my attention with its great pictures of British tearooms and cafes in decline, and its love for Tunnock’s.  Now she’s hosting a Tweetcret Santa. 
I have Secret Santa trauma.  Once upon a time, I went into [...]

Read Full Post »

Little Sunshine’s new winter ensemble

Little Sunshine has outgrown her winter coat from 4 years ago–both physically and spiritually.  A trip to the Ross Dress for Less revealed her hitherto hidden talent for ferreting out high-end fashion.  We traded down from Calvin Klein (a bargain at $130 marked down from $300) to this very elegant Kenneth Cole pea coat.  But [...]

Read Full Post »

My Bread Lament

Recently, Tuxedo Boy helped me make the weekly grocery list.  (Yes, okay, I do the menu/shopping list/only go once a week thing.  I’m pitiful that way.  If I could swing it, I’d always do my laundry on Mondays, too.)
Anyway, he was helping me out, and he had just one request for a special treat:  “Could we [...]

Read Full Post »

Little Sunshine’s Election Night Artwork

Red hots, blueberry Jell-o, and the cutting board. What’s left to say?

Read Full Post »