A Cutey Purse

When M first married me he had a lot of learning to do. And it isn't what you think. He had been living on his own for a while so he knew how to do the laundry, clean a house, and make a meal. What he had a little harder time with was translating. Apparently my family has a language of its own. While our parents live within two hours of each other, it was like we were from opposite corners of the globe. I remember him struggling early on with the difference between something that was cutey and something that was cutesy. Cutey being complimentary adjective and cutesy being a derogatory adjective. However, M is a smart man and caught on quickly to most of our lingo. And what he didn't catch on to, he simply chose to chalk it up to my family's somewhat goofy nature.

Recently I used Rebekah's pattern for the Phoebe Bag. Rebekah write the blog Arsty Crafty Babe. Definitely a cutey blog and a cutey author. And look what I made! A cutey bag if I ever saw one!!

Here is a picture of the lining fabric and the pocket. (I decided to split the pocket so that my phone could be stashed on one side and other miscellany on the other.)

This is the prefect purse for when I escape the house sans Peachy. I love the fabric. It just screams that spring is on its way. Sewing the bag was quick and easy. Rebekah did an excellent job of making her tutorial clear and easy to understand. 

Want to see some other cutey Phoebe Bags? Search for photos on Flickr.

Can't sew for yourself? Check out Rebekah's cutsey Etsy shop. 

Savory Saturday: Guacamole

I have a confession to make. When I make guacamole I don't follow a recipe. I never really make the same guac twice. I usually just add what sounds good and what I have on hand. However, one of my friends is always talking about the good guacamole recipe that I gave her. Apparently one time I actually paid attention to the ingredients as I mixed. Amazing. On our recent trip I spied "my" guacamole recipe sitting on her counter. I couldn't resist. I copied my own guac recipe. Last night my sister and M helped me to recreate "my" guacamole recipe and now I am sharing it with you!!

Ingredients:

-3 ripe avocados

-1/4 c diced red onion

-hot sauce to taste

-1/2 t cumin

-salt and pepper to taste

-1/4 chopped cilantro

-3 T lime juice

-1/4 c sour cream

Directions:

1. Mash avocados.

2. Add remaining ingredients.

3. Stir.

Open Letter to the Manufacturers of the World

Dear Sirs or Madams,
   When writing assembly directions to include with your product, never underestimate the power of the written word. Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a few simple sentences included with said picture is worth even more than a thousand words. Don't get me wrong, I like my diagrams as much as the next consumer, but those diagrams can be tricky little buggers. Take for example a diagram of a metal pin to be stuck into a baby gate. When one needs to get out a magnifying glass to examine which is the correct end of the metal pin to stick into the gate one may make the mistake of sticking it in the incorrect way. This may lead to problems like the gate not seeming to fit the opening. Which may lead to a phone call to your help line. Which may lead to many minutes of being placed on hold and finally speaking with someone who doesn't really seem to grasp the English number system. This may lead to the incorrect assumption that the gate was mis-manufactured. Which may lead to thinking that the gate needs to be returned. Hopefully the consumer will then realize their error and be able to install the gate correctly. Hopefully. But why even go there? Why not simply include a few words with any diagrams for the literate consumers of the world.
   Thank you for your time in this matter. Sincerely,
Kristi Consumer

We've Reached 10 Months!

Today our Little Peachy is a big (still in the upper percentiles), thriving (Except for a few colds and her ear infection, she is very healthy), smiling (she is constantly smiling at everyone she can make eyes with), scooting (still army crawling, but very proficiently), momma loving (she has problems being away from me, even if she is with her daddy), food eating (lets hope her appetite lets down soon for the grocery bill's sake), teething (her top front teeth are now in and descending), babbling (she loves to use and experiment with her voice) and screechingly happy 10 month old.

I looked down at her hands while I was nursing her yesterday and realized just how big they are. Her fingers are long and she no longer has dimples over her knuckles. They are the hands of a toddler, not the hands of a baby. Part of me is so proud of all that she has grown to be already. The other part of me gets teary eyed just thinking about it. At this stage in her life she doesn't like to let me out of her sight for very long, but I know that a time is coming when she will happily skip away from me doing her own thing.

Ah, darling little girl, keep growing in strength. Keep growing in wisdom. Keep growing in beauty. Just don't grow away from me.

(Aren't this month's pictures silly? I will see if I can grab better ones once she wakes up from her nap. Her second nap today over two hours. Not quite sure what to make of that.)

On the Road Again

This weekend we drove approximately 1216 miles round trip. 

How was it? 

I'll let you be the judge.

Yes, it was that good.