My niece did such a great job with breakfast the other morning. Ellie pitched in too…I loved that these two were so eager to cook (Ethan as well!). As I observed Ariana moving herself around the kitchen, I anticipate Ellie will soon follow…I just wish I didn’t like to be in complete control. Heh, Heh…I love to be in the kitchen and it can be difficult for me not to be so focused and not allow others to enjoy.
That will change.
I really am working on projects and not just entertaining or taking photos of my kids!
Of course I can hear the Christmas bells in the distance and I am pretty much on track. I think I thrive on having a few projects going at once. Anyway, here are a couple works…
I shot a photo of a special dog I know and am in the process of seeing her emerge! Can’t wait to see how it all turns out. I’m also eager to give this to the recipient.
This collage is completed. I will soon wrap it up for a gift! I am a bit sentimental because it was my first attempt to use Simon’s darling birds as my main focus. Ellie titled it for me, “finished work”…now go lay some eggs. I didn’t use the last part because it was a bit wordy, and well…she was being pretty silly and…
As I mentioned before, I really was inspired by some incredible individuals to do these “collage stitchings”. A big thanks to those that helped me discover a new process that is satisfying. I love going to my fabric and drawing stash and creating works that I truly love.
Ellie, Si, and Penny had plenty of cousin contact this past weekend. They all had a great time. Unfortunately, Lulu had pnuemonia and was not up for “photo shooting” (thankfully she is doing better).
Here the kids were busy playing with Tinker toys (Ethan loved the grabber, hey Daniel, where did you or Nathan put it? 
)…they all entertained one another really well, so much easier than when they were infants or toddlers.
Sam, my sister’s son.
Ariana and Ellie busy in the kitchen (more of those photos to come!)
Jack, my sister’s oldest son with Simon. Simon had a terrific time with his 3 older BOY cousins!
We feasted at the Shackelford home on Thursday. It was a small gathering, but perfect since I was really busy with work the few days before the day.Thanks to Moveable Feast, we only needed to roast our turkey and I even bought one from them.We had a nice weekend, but I was super busy playing hostess.
We had honey lime sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, cranberry cherry sauce, applesauce, cauliflower and broccoli gratin…and what is best…pecan pie, which I had to myself.
Simon broke out in “CHEERS!” all around. I love that boy.
Jeff and Ariana came out from California for about 5 days. It was nice to get to know Jeff more and just hang out. Nathan’s brother and family joined us on Friday for the weekend.
A surprise visit from my sister and family was fun too. They came out to help with the brownie fanfare. My kids were in cousin heaven.
I swear I have been trying to post photos from our weekend! I do still exist and I am determined to figure out what is going on with iPhoto!! I am a tad aggravated because me, a computer, and troubleshooting do not walk hand in hand.
Stay tuned.
My morning started pretty early today (5:30, to be exact), not only were we anticipating Oprah’s show, but we also are busy with Thanksgiving orders! I made varieties of icings and crisps. It seems like the list will never have an end, but it does and it is such satisfying work. I really appreciate and admire everyone that works at Moveable Feast…noone is a sissy.
I brought my small 13″ TV with me to work and with the help of my my fellow baker pal, we got the set working…had some champagne ready…and we all gathered in the kitchen waiting for our worlds to be knocked upside down (at least Kim and Matt’s)! After our segment, the phone started ringing and customers were showing up asking if we knew we were on Oprah. Uh…yeah…we heard something like that!
A fairly large tent has been erected outside the shop exclusively for brownies. Like I mentioned before, we are also expecting many orders to be picked up on Wednesday so we are ready! It’s fun and I could not be more proud/excited for my sister and Matt. So- if you live in the area, drop by, I’ll be the one in the back making brownies. Heh…kidding?!
But now, I am TIRED and feel so sleepy that I feel nauseous. I sure hope Kim and Matt will catch some Zzzzzzzssss.
Okay everyone, with the permission of my sister, I am allowed to reveal my fun weekend…LAST weekend, now!
As a lot of you know, my sister and her husband Matt have an extraordinary catering/take out shop in Geneva called Moveable Feast. They have been providing food for a certain celebrity that has a TV show here in Chicago. Well, this celebrity has tasted our addictive treats and especially liked our brownies. As some of you may know, she has a “favorite things show”. You guessed it, we are on it! The show airs on Monday and I hope everyone can watch it- also, check out their website and you can order brownies on line! (moveablefeastgeneva.com- I still can’t get the link to work!)
The great part, when we delivered the brownies we stayed and helped plate the samples and got to watch the show from back stage.
Pretty fun…nauseating…overwhelming…the magnitude of this exposure will be immense. Oh and this celebrity is Oprah, if you couldn’t guess and yes, I did see her and she was about an arms length away from me several times…CRAZY, I don’t get star struck, but this was fun!
I am so happy and proud of Kim and Matt. They are 2 people that have such integrity, drive, and creative spirits that I am so grateful to work for them. They have kept with the philosophy of homemade, fresh food and it has paid off. Not that we need a celebrity to tell us what they do is good, but it sure is a nice validation.
This whole thing also made me think about celebrities and how their lives are so ridiculous. What a tough balance of life, and I think being a mother is a juggling act!
So, there you have it…brownies are on a lot of people’s minds…especially Kim and Matt. Good work you two!! By the way, my sister created the label…she is so talented.
Remember, Monday is the show and I think they air it another time in December.
Oh- and as I am gushing about my sister Kim and Matt, my other sister and her husband are pretty fantastic too! Wow…hopefully something will be rubbed off onto me, yes?!
Have you ever uncovered rolls of film you forgot about? Yesterday we picked up some vacation photos (yes, summer ones!) and these summery images were amongst all of them! I forgot about my “pea pod” study and I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning.
I’ll be sharing some of our “at the sea” shots soon. Funny, but all these photos were taken before my blog was really going and I was just using my regular camera and happy with the results. I think I am pretty old fashioned and love the “physical” appeal to holding the actual picture. Of course, having them put on a CD puts me in the 21t century.
Yesterday while we were getting situated in our car after a visit to the library, Si made this observation:
“Wow, that was a short day!”
“What do you mean Simon?”
“It seems like the day went by fast…why is it so dark so soon?”
I looked at the clock and it was only 4:15 in the afternoon, but if it was summer we would have guessed it to be 7:45 at night! Yikes.
That is one con when we see no sun during the day, especially in winter. Crazy, but I like the frigid sunny days of January!
Ever since Penelope could touch her toes she has always managed to pull off her socks. For a few months it was never a big deal because I just love naked baby feet anyway. But when January hit last year and it was getting pretty cold, a barefoot baby could get me in trouble with child neglect.
I had noticed the soft soled shoes by “Bobux” or “Robeez” (they both are great brands) and thought they were too good to be true. Could a child REALLY not be able to pull them off? And at $30 a pop should I risk losing one? Well, with countless pairs of experimental socks I could have purchased 3 pairs of these magical shoes. She at first had the sweet chicks, then the pink maryjanes and now at 19 months I bought the black maryjanes.
I made the big mistake of buying her 2 pair of real shoes thinking that she may reject them when she gets older. In the last week, I probably have put her shoes and socks back on at least 100 times. I don’t know about you, but this is my biggest aggravation. I can handle the napping rejection or the screaming in the car, but the shoe deal drives me nutty.
So now my toddler has a better stock in shoes than I do…but my sanity is back! If you know someone with a baby/toddler or you have one yourself, these are the best and worth every single penny. Honest.
