The other day--watching Oscar steal yet another apple and crawl off with in held tightly in his teeth--I realized it was time to resurrect my long neglected blog Toddler Fixation.
It was such fun to look back on old photos and Biscuit was loving the videos of herself. I only remembered a handful of the things pictured which made me extra glad for that little piece of dusty, abandoned internet.
Now it's all Oscar content (as often as I remember to post).
I've been informed that some readers just visit this place for the kid photos. Fine. Here you go. And then there are some links.
Little farmer helping me in the garden
eyelashes! cheeks!
you saw this coming, right?
And some blog links. I took down my blog roll because the format was bugging me but a reader (hi, mom) requested some of the links so here are a few I've been enjoying lately.
Early childhood education/ideas/play/creativity/parenting type stuff
Inspiring creative types
Advice and self helpy types
I think this list is long enough for tonight. So here's a parting shot for making it this far. Isn't he adorable?
So I was a bit of a Pinterest skeptic but logged in to see what the fuss was about. And...it's pretty fun and super inspiring. I usually flag inspiring images in Flickr but Pinterest is more curated and I can make categories. And apparently Pinterest has the magical power to make to DO some of the cool things I see.
Cases in point:
I think this image is what made me fall in love with Pinterest. And we have a bit of a problem with remembering the light switch in the bathroom. And a random collection of plastic animals floating around. So in about 2 minutes I made this cute (scary!) reminder for Biscuit.
And placed it right under the light switch. Think it will help?
Also from Pinterest, pizza pretzels!
Ours don't look quite like the recipe but they tasted okay. Honestly, just make regular pizza and forget the pretzel shape but it was fun to try.
And, finally, this shirt tutorial. I'd been meaning to try it for ages anyway but somehow putting it on Pinterest renewed my interest and I've now made two (unsuccessful) shirts. Not the tutorial's fault. I can't size a pattern to save my life.
Way too big.
Way too small. And he looks like a jailbird.
I've mentioned before how much I like Lauren's art. And look what I got! A commission that was a b-day gift from Mr. H.
And the first of her "unlaced" series--a shoe for Oscar that came for Biscuit. So fun!
And I moved our phone and "crap collecting surface" to a less obvious kitchen counter and now have a little tribute to Lauren+felt rock haven. Could use some styling but better than the phone+crap.
My friend Lauren graciously agreed to do a custom painting for me (she doesn't normally do custom work). Yay! And because it was from Lauren it came all cutely packaged (note, I had to unwrap and rewrap this--it was even cuter the first time)
I had given Lauren a bunch of photos from the honestly-not-very-picturesque lake we vacation at each year and she created this painting. Our vacation spot. Only prettier.
I highly recommend having a friend who is a talented painter because then you can give your in laws a super awesome (if I do say so myself) gift in the form of an original painting. I suppose even if you aren't friends with Lauren, or another artist, you could always just buy some art from Etsy. Lauren's pieces are super affordable in addition to being super awesome. And if landscapes aren't your thing she also paints shoes. Thanks so much, Lauren. I think the in laws like it almost as much as me!
How did I just discover this entire blog devoted to Vintage Sheets? Am I late to the party or what? Pretty much 2 minutes after discovering it I sent Jen a link to the ruffle quilt pattern and now she's hosting a pattern give away drawing on her site. Hello Vintage Sheets readers--thanks for stopping by! Non Vintage Sheets readers, head over there and enter by June 29! And thanks, Jen, for the kind mention!
In semi-related news I happened to notice random blog traffic from Apartment Therapy Chicago a few weeks ago. Odd. So I poked around and discovered this post titled: "Beautifully Tended Gardens." Ha. Ha. Ha. I sure hope they don't stop by for an inspection of my weedy mess! It's funny what pops up on the internet.
Let's see, how 'bout some less self serving links?
I think this is the coolest upcycling product I've ever seen. I wonder if I could hack a DIY version....
I'm suddenly, bizarrely fascinated by blogs by those in the publishing industry. Have I mentioned this before? I don't care to write a novel so have no idea what it's about but here are my favorites so far: Intern Spills and Query Shark.
And now, with 50% more randomness, how about a photo of a recent project?
An apron for a little birthday boy. With a velcro neck strap because anything else is just too annoying.
And these mini wooden spoons were in a 2-pack in the JoAnn Fabrics dollar bin. Score! The perfect package toppers for the mini chefs.
These links are very, very cool
My local library allows me to download audio books. For free. From their website. Which I can put on my Mr. H's iPod. The selection is a bit limited but, dude, free audio books! I am currently listening to this book only when I go running (I need the motivation lately!). Not the best book in the universe but a fun listen.
Mr. H and I have discussed almost this exact concept in the category of "businesses that would be so cool to run." It makes me so happy someone is doing it. Now if anyone is selling a mobile sawmill in Sacramento....
Bookscout is the new blog of a new-to-me but not new blogger. It's about....books. Specifically, children's books. I posted a question in the comments section looking for chapter book ideas for Biscuit and the author, Andrea, sent me a totally amazing, personal reply* which was so much more than I would have expected. How are the people of the internet so incredibly talented AND generous?
New Dress a Day is a totally amazing, addictive blog. Thanks, Amy, for the link. Consider me obsessed. So obsessed in fact that I totally copied her idea and refashioned two garments last weekend. Imperfect but oh so fun. Oh, and let me just note how totally impossible it is to take self portraits without a tripod and timer. I really should have taken 5 seconds to set up properly. Oh well.
Up first, what appears to be an embroidered top to an Indian Punjabi suit. Long sleeves, loose fit, slits up the sides to my hip bones. I cut off the sleeves and some length. Sewed up the slits and made a shift dress using some of the excess material to make a belt. One giant orange button and it was done in about 40 minutes. That neckline is great, isn't it?
Wow, these are awful photos! Anyway, next up, a shirt dress made of seersucker that was too big and too short. I cut it off at the armpits, sewed up the front where the buttons are and stitched in several rows with an elastic bobbin thread to cinch the waist. In a perfect world I would have stitched a few more rows but I ran out of bobbin and had to run out the door. Ideally I would have also centered the buttons and moved away from the BBQ before taking the "after" photo.
Fun, eh?
*here is the reply Andrea sent me. Amazing, no?
Hi Melissa!
Thank you for saying hello! Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you; my inbox got REALLY backed up there for a bit, and I'm only now getting everything under control.
I hope you found some great books for your daughter, and if not, I hope I can be of help! The transition from picture books to chapter books at bedtime can really exciting, but it also has its difficulties--namely, finding something you both can enjoy. Chapter books are much more of a commitment than picture books; it's can be hard to find a balance, as you've already discovered with Stewart Little, and A Little Princess. Your daughter will probably love Junie B. Jones; most girls absolutely adore them. Adults, on the other hand... well, adults do not. There's was an article in the NYT a very (VERY) long time ago about the controversy over the Junie B. books, and this post at Oz and Ends has some great insight into things. Also, one of my very favorite book blogs The Diamond in the Window, shared her two cents about Junie in this post (closer to the end). She also does a 'We Recommend' feature which is definitely worth checking out.
As far as sassy female heroines go, I am a Ramona girl through and through. Clementine is also grand. I love Pippi Longstocking, especially the Lauren Child edition, which has great big beautiful illustrations. (Always a plus!) The Mrs. Pigglewiggle books are perfect for that age, as are the Betsy-Tacey and All of a Kind Family series. If you're looking for books that are just a touch less wordy and heavier on the illustrations, the newish chapter book series, Ivy and Bean, about two girls who are unique and sassy and fun, is wonderful. So is Kate DiCamillo's Mercy Watson series--all about the hilarious antics of a family and their pet pig. (She is a Newberry award winning author, so you can't go wrong with those.)
There are so many more and I'm sure I will blog about them eventually, but I hope this helps as a start. Once again, thanks for visiting book-scout and saying hello! Happy reading!
Cheers,
*Andrea (scout.)
Last weekend, after a camping trip with friends, we stopped in for a short visit to Daffodil Hill.
It was opening weekend and boy was it crowded!
This was a baby peacock "nesting" in a pot. Funny.
EGGS
It must be Spring, the hens are producing like crazy. We've gone from 2-4 eggs a day to 4-6 eggs a day (not counting breakage). On Monday we got 6 eggs and since we have 6 hens I feel pretty confident we now know who lays what. We've confirmed that the large, golden twins (Lemony and Snickett) have eggs that are slightly different shades of brown. April lays pinkish tan eggs and the "puff heads" (Amy, Sunshine and Petey) lay small, pointy, white eggs. Biscuit has been using this basket to gather eggs so every day is Easter around here. Of course the chocolate filled eggs next week will still be exciting.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
It seems that many of my fellow bloggers spend a lot of time pouring over books and other written things. Except that they should be poring. I know it looks wrong as pore but according to Merriam Webster, it's right. Pour syrup. Pour on the love. Pore over the letter you received. Okay? Okay. Thanks.
Oh look, it's Mr. Pickles. In a jungle terrarium!
He's surrounded by (felt) rocks!
Luckily, he has many friends of various species.
A purple dragon in a "magic" mason (hard to tell in the photo)
A ladybug in an Atlas
And, of course, a polar bear peeking out of his jungle lair. Genuine polar bear for a genuine mason.
If the Mr. Pickles thing isn't making sense, go here. It's an internet phenomenon! Now you know. I found it via Swistle.
