Plum Stitches

sprinkle shoes

A few things that are making our house a happy place these days...

The sparkle shoes are on constantly, but referred to as 'sprinkle' shoes.  Discovered in the kid's shoe isle of Target.  They also have them in black, silver and red.  Only downside to them is that they've shed some of the glitter, but they were only $12.99.  The Knuffle Bunny books were a gift from my sister-in-law last year at Christmas and Chloe continues to be adore them.  A fun read for both kids and adults.

Over the summer I tried to give up my dryer to save on electricity and keep our kitchen cooler (still not sure if it really as the meter-reader has yet to come when I'm home!)  Anyway, all summer I wanted a new drying rack but held off, for some strange reason.  Now mine has officially kicked it and I'm eying this one.  I'd also been in search of a normal sized spray bottle, Target didn't have them or any other store I went to, until I found one the other day at Whole Foods (go figure!)  Now I'm seeing them everywhere, guess I just wasn't looking in the right places. 

Speaking of Whole Foods, a new one just opened in Milburn/Maplewood, not too far from where we live.  We headed out there the other day and it was great!  I realized as I was downloading directions that we've now been to every Whole Foods in New Jersey.  Not really sure what that says about us?  We're well traveled ;-)

I'm officially obsessed with this steam mop that Carrie blogged about earlier in the week.  I've been to Target, Linen's and Things, Bed, Bath and Beyond, but have come home empty-handed.  Walmart says that they have them, but after the employee was trampled to death in a Long Island store, I'm not planning to go there.  I'll be ordering one later today from Amazon.

By the way, I'm not sure how many people heard about this, but Amazon launched 'frustration-free packaging'.  Finally!  Now if only Fresh Direct could catch on to this and not deliver an order of food in 15 cardboard boxes.

And one last thing, before I stop rambling....I think this is the year I FINALLY make these stockings.  I was checking out Martha Stewart.com today and found a pattern and lots of other ideas.  Check them out here and here.  Monday, I'm going to trek to B and J Fabrics to buy some felt, M&J Trimmings and Tinsel Trading for embellishments. 

Thanksgiving

I just love this holiday - you get eat without guilt!  What could be better than that?? 

We made a pecan pie, which turned out much, much better than last year.  All thanks to the recipe in the Cook's Illustrated cook book.  Actually, the crust recipe is from here, but the pie is from Cook's.  We also celebrated Chloe's birthday again, this time with family and another chocolate cake.

We attempted to get a picture of both kids for our holiday card, but with little success.  Today was a different story - I think I caught them both in a good mood.  This one might stick, but we'll see.

We've been watching a little too much TV lately, which I'm blaming on winter setting in.  Chloe's favorites these days are Ratatouille, Madagascar and Happy Feet and Jack's Big Music Show.  I've been 'trying' to implement quite time, with a little bit of success.  Going to school from 12-3pm has been a little rough for Chloe, particularly if we do something in the morning before school.  It wipes her out.

What else?  I'm scrambling to finish the Daisy Swing Coat - the baby arrived!  Contrary to my thinking, I didn't finish it in time, but I'm hoping this weekend to wrap it up. 

Once again, I have a list of things I'd like to make for Christmas, but I'm just not sure that I'll get them done in time.  My fingers are crossed that I might though.

she's 3!

Wow, those 3 years went by way too fast...

 

And some other great photos a friend took.

   

little daisy swing coat

I just love this little book of pattern!  The best part is that most of the patterns range in sizes from 0 - 3 years.  I'm plugging aways on the Little Daisy Swing Coat as a gift.  This time, I think it will actually be given before the baby arrives.

Chloe turns 3 this weekend - those three years went way too fast.  Last year we didn't have a party for her, as we were in the U.K. for Thanksgiving.  Tis year she's getting one and I think really understands the concept of a party. 

Originally we planned to have the party at our house, but after some thought decided to have it at a pizza place in Paulus Hook (a nearby neighborhood).  Anyway, each of her friends will get to make their own personal pizza.  I love this idea and in hindsight it would have been really easy to do at home, maybe next year.   I think she's going to love it .  She seems to be at the right age, where she's really starting to 'get'  cooking - the measuring, the mixing, etc.  I'm sure much of it has to do with the practical life work in the Montessori curriculum.  Apparently that's her favorite area, a la the carrot chopping.

Gotta run, just realized the time!

first snow

We had big fluffy snow flakes this morning, didn't amount to anything but it was the first snow of the season!

My sister-in-law was here from the U.K. shortly after Phoebe was born and brought this adorable little dress as a gift.  They're very sweet - I'm hoping to make little sweater for both girls to go with them.

Finally, I finished the Fred Textured Sweater. 

Pattern:  Fred Textured Sweater from Natural Knits for Moms and Babies
Size:  Up to 6 months
Yarn:  2 skeins of Moda Dea Washable Wool from AC Moore
Needles:  Size 5 and Size 6 bamboo circular
Notes:  It felt like this took me forever, although it was only two months.  At this point, I'm not sure who I'll give it to as it's much too small at this point for the intended recipient.  Guess I'll save it for the next little boy born.

I picked this pattern book up from our new neighborhood yarn shop, The Stockinette a few weeks ago and have been working on the Little Daisy Swing Coat as a gift.  I love the little sweater on the front and was thinking it might be a good fit for the dresses my SIL gave C&P, just need to find the time.

And lastly, a picture of my hydrangea that's planted in front of our house.  I just love how the blooms change through the seasons.  I think this color is my favorite.

catching up!

I have lots to share, pictures and all, but it's a rainy miserable day here.  All the pictures I've taken so far today have been terrible because of the light, so I'll have to wait and hope for better weather tomorrow.

Phoebe's baby acne finally cleared up a bit - what a horror!  Of course am I a bad parent for even mentioning that one??  Chloe had a brief flare-up after she was born, but Phoebe's was much worse.  We were affectionately calling her 'pizza face' until we heard Chloe start calling her that - we quickly dropped that nickname.

 

And what is this?  Chloe eating carrots! 

We went to her Parent/Teacher conference at HPMS and almost fell on the floor when they showed us this picture.  Our child that won't touch carrots at home is a fan at school.  Needless to say we dug up one of the cutters that they use and gave it to her at home the other night to chop carrots.  Sure enough, she chowed down on them.



Over the weekend we went with friends from the neighborhood to KidRockers at the Living Room on the Lower East Side.  Basically it's a kid-friendly bar event - they get bands to pay short sets, so both the kids and parents can enjoy music.  We saw the Jealous Girlfriends and Mathew and Ira from Nada Surf.  I had Phoebe in a sling for the show (something I wouldn't have dreamed of doing with Chloe at that age!) and was a little worried about the noise level, but it was minimal.  This is lots of fun for anyone that enjoys live music and has young kids!

busy, busy

We've been busy in our house, just not sure what exactly we've been up to.  Well, I suppose it has something to do with a four-week old baby.  So far Phoebe has been pretty easy and we're not sure if she's a good baby or learned all the tricks of the trade with Chloe.  Not that Chloe was a difficult baby, we were just new to the whole parenting thing.

Chloe actually wore her lady bug costume this year.  Last year she flat out refused to wear it.   In theory, I got two years use out of it, right?  We did have a monkey costume that she tried to squeeze into but after three days of wearing it, I think it finally occurred to her that it was too small

Not sure how it happened, but we managed to avoid candy this year for Halloween.  I'm sure that this will probably be the last year for that though. 

Hamilton Park is great for kids on Halloween - there are so many young families that the blocks surrounding the park are over taken kids in costumes.  Best part was that we went to a friend's house for a party with adult and kids beverages.  Chloe had a blast and Phoebe slept in the corner, while we were able to enjoy a few drinks.

Oh and all three of us (Chloe, Phoebe got  and I) managed to squeeze into the voting booth today to cast my vote.  Should have gone after to get my free cup of coffee from Starbucks, but we ran out of time.