Winding our way through VA wine country

Okay, so obviously the Charlottesville area of Virginia is no Napa Valley, but it has plenty of wineries, cool shops, and restaurants to discover and it is a whole lot closer to me than California. Virginia wine country is also home to a wonderful piece of our nation's history as well- Jefferson's masterpiece-Monticello. I journeyed west with a few friends for a winery bachelorette weekend this fall. 
The weather forecast was gloomy (the bride-to-be packed rainboots), but it turned out to be a beautiful weekend full of wine, food, and good times with some of my favorite people. I will let the photos speak for themselves. If you live within driving distance to a winery or two, I highly recommend planning a winery weekend getaway. It is nice to taste wine with knowledgable staff to describe what was used to create the flavors and it is also great to see the winemaking process firsthand. We also visited Blue Mountain Brewery for lunch one afternoon. I tried some of their beer and brought some back for my beer loving better half. Don't you just love the flip flop wine glass holders? Adorable. While we were driving between locations I did manage to squeeze in a little crafting and cast on a hat gift project. (Christmas is still coming) Cheers to great adventures with the girls!

Book Review Wednesday 10.5.11- "Knits Men Want"

Book of the week: "Knits Men Want: the 10 Rules Every Woman Should Know Before Knitting for a Man" by Bruce Weinstein.

So, I think I have mentioned that I have a husband who is generally extremely supportive of my crafting habit. He goes with me to the supply stores. He listens to me talk (at-length) about yarn, and patterns, and projects. I thought I would be nice and try and make him something this Christmas...until I showed him this book and actually asked him if he wanted me to knit him something. He didn't seem that enthusiastic...after reading this book I realized that he may never be enthusiastic about getting a knitted garment from me. It is just a fact of life that most men don't care much about what they wear. Let's get on to the business at hand.

Book Review: My favorite quote from this book speaks to a truth I have discovered along the married way-- "Men like three things: simple designs, muted color, and soft fabrics. And to hell with what the magazines, fashion columns, and yes, even their women, tell them they should wear." The author lays out his ten rules to accompany various projects that should please all men. My favorites were "Rule #2: Men Resist Change" and "Rule #10: When in doubt, make him something basic." Rule two accompanies a great pattern for a basic pullover and rule ten accompanies a watch cap pattern. I have given this a lot of thought and I think I am sticking with #10. Knitters can rarely go wrong with simple hat gifts. Who doesn't like a nice, soft hat? Now I just need to find a nice, soft, muted color yarn to fit this project and I think my husband and I will both be pleased with the finished product. If you are considered making a knitted gift for a man in your life, pick this book up. The advice is honest and the patterns are well laid out. This is a great addition to the vast array of knitting books out there because most do not specifially address the tricky subject of knitting for a man. Definitely worth a look.

Apples, Apples, and Apples, Oh My!

I decided to drag myself out of my city-fied grocery store comfort and head to an apple orhard this fall. Little bird looooooves fruit of any variety and has a daily fix of apple juice. I thought she might get a kick out of seeing where apples actually grow. We went down to Carolina to visit family and squeezed our orchard adventure into the trip. Just down the road from my in-laws is this great place- J and A Orchards. After a very happy and loud "Apple" exclamation from our sweet girl, we got busy picking and filled a 1/2 bushel bucket.

I got home with this big bag of apples and was suddenly struck by the fact that I didn't really have any concrete plans for said apples. A busy week of work and party throwing went by and the bag was still sitting in my kitchen staring me in the face. I decided to tackle the bag with a variety of apple creations. I made:
an apple pie, of course, because one can never go wrong with pie
apple jam (recipe taken from the Jansdotter book I reviewed recently)
apple sauce (slow cooker recipe from allrecipes.com)
apple pumpkin muffins (also found here on allrecipes.com)

I am just about apple-d out. I love apples, but I think I will create a more concrete plan for the picked apples creations before we go again next year.

CSA Goodness...oh the vegetables

My twelve year old self would say "oh the horrors" when looking at this photo. All those vegetables. Our summer community supported agriculture program (CSA)through the Five Points Market is wrapping up...I have enjoyed the "what are we getting" anticipation that comes with this program. It is nice to have someone else corralling local and regional fresh fruits and veggies, but we are going to skip the fall CSA.

Our fall plans include several trips down to NC, wedding showers, trips, and ceremonies, festivals, running, and about one trillion other things. I just don't see it as a good option when we will be out of town and running like mad. I am looking forward to the butternut squash risotto that my husband will make from the last of our summer CSA. Looking forward to seeing the CSA peaches and berries next summer(or apples as my daughter is currently calling every piece of fruit she sees)!!!

Book Review Wednesday 9.28.11

Book of the week:
Paper + Craft: 25 charming gifts, accents, and accessories to make from paper
Authors: Minhee and Truman Cho

Authors are owners of business Paper + Cup, based out of New York. So many cool businesses and bakeries exist in New York City, it really is a shame that the frenetic pace of life there scares me. I could never, never live there. Maybe the reason "the city" is so choc' full of creative and baked goodness is because it never rests...it is always changing and growing. At any rate, let's get down to business and talk about the book.
I loved this book. It has accessible projects that would be great for paper crafters at all skill levels. I particularly loved the birdie mobile, the animal drink markers, and the silhouettes. I love that the authors encourage others to not just follow the directions word for word, but to use the projects as a jumping off point to explore the reader's creative side. The authors' introduction includes this great quote that I had to include in the post: "The allure of crafting is that it fills the mundane with substance, and regardless of the imperfections or irregularities that will happen along the way, it is still entirely "yours," no matter how simple the object."
After reading through the book and browsing the projects a few times, I plan to adapt the birdie mobile bird pattern and use them for future party decor or a few handmade cards. They include a project with paper mustaches that is so adorable. I don't know where or when, but I want to take some silly mustache photos. I love the sense of whimsy in this book. The projects are fun and light. Any craft book with a cover of a dog in a chair chilling out in a party hat is worth exploring. Buy it if you are looking for some fun paper projects to add to your never ending crafting project list.

This Moment 9.23.11

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. (From Soule Mama...love this tradition so I am striving to do this as well...I need to take more time to savor and it will be such a treat to look back and remember these moments)

Book Review Wednesday 9.21.11 "Crafting a Meaningful Home"

Book of the Week: Crafting a Meaningful Home: 27 DIY Projects to Tell Stories, Hold Memories, and Celebrate Family Heritage by Meg Mateo Ilasco

My review: Love, love this thought included in the author's introduction "the homes I find most interesting and comfortable- the ones that really resonate with me- are the ones that reveal stories about the people who live in them." This book is a collaborative effort highlighting projects from 27 very different artists who work in a wide range of mediums and make very personal items for their homes, ranging from plaster cast replicas of Phillipine folk art to hooked rugs made of fabric scraps to a fridge decoupaged with old maps of London. I did find one project that I absolutely loved:  the Sihouettes on Canvas made by Haile McCollum of Thomasville, Georgia. I have never made a silhouette before, but am thinking of trying this out. I love the way this artwork blends past and present. Silhouettes capture a moment/stage in a child's life and are incredibly visually striking. Let's add this to my project list. How long is my project list now? I don't want to know.