I'm Sucked In...

To the Twilight books

(get it? Sucked in...vampire books? =D)

Anyway, when the craze happened last year, I was pretty much scoffing at it - I was waaaay too old to be mesmerized by vampires and other like mythical creatures (Harry Potter was different - that started when I was still young[er])

But it's amazing what a couple of 6 hour flights and multiple delays can do to one -- I'm now halfway through my third book (Although I have to say that there were times where I was rolling my eyes at some scenes)

So now, I'm very interested in seeing the movie --- but on the other hand, I'm afraid that the books will then be ruined by, as one blogger so eloquently put it, "a bunch of scrawny teenagers running around"

New "Eyeliner"!

If you've noticed, I have a list of things I'm obsessed with, on the right over there ------->

And if you've noticed, "Making roman shades for the kitchen" has pretty much been one of those "guests who you can't seem to get rid of"

The "funny" part of the story? I've actually finished making the shades MONTHS ago. Only thing was that, when I was just about to hang them, hubby chose to tell me THEN that he doesn't particularly like the print. He couldn't have told me when I first bought the fabric -- he didn't choose to tell me when I had the first one done, nor did he decide to tell me when I had the second one done, before the third.

Oh no...Not my hubby dearest.

Fast forward another few months, and here we are.

I went with Amy Butler's Wood Fern in Ecru print from her Nigella collection (and if he doesn't like it, he can poke his eyes out we can talk about it)

Now, my windows have some custom eyeliner. Or eyeshadow. Or eyelashes. Whichever.


And the neighbours will no longer be subjected to seeing me dance around in my underwear.

(On a less disturbing note, I seem to have an issue keeping paper towels stocked in this house)

*****

For anyone who's interested in making their own roman shades, Martha Stewart's website offers very simple instructions...click here (Although I've had a difficult time finding a pulley system...still looking for that one)

And I've repurposed one of the original curtains to hold my giftwrap. Yes, I spent almost 3 hours making a "bag" for my giftwrap. It even has blackout lining, to prevent my $1 rolls of wrapping paper from fading.

Oy!

Happy Fall!

Today was the first perfect fall day of the year for me, with crisp, cool air that tells me the holidays are near!

I love this time of the year!

A Bunny Rabbit Stopped By...

And she's here to stay...

Thanks Godmother # 3 for hand-making this little cutie!

This Makes Me Wish That Isabel...

Had a little sister...



So I can dress the two alike!



The t-shirt dress is an easy-peasy first clothing to try and make (and will be more so if your sewing machine does not decide to act wonky on you JUST as you're putting the final stitch in) - I used this tutorial as a guideline.
For the next go-around, I would definitely increase the width twofold so that the skirt is more twirl-able.

Pity that summer is pretty much done and over with



Isabel's dress was still too big for her, since I sized it for an 18 month old



It definitely did get in the way of her scurrying around. But it should be perfect for next year.

The mini-me is for Caitlin, my new...cousin? She was born in August.

Oh, how I love little girls!

10 Months Stats

Before I forget, these are some of Isabel's funny little quirks and developments at 10 months:



She still has zero number of chompers, but seems to be working on having her first (or her first FOUR) poke through



She LOVES food. If she sees you eating, she'll drop whatever she's doing and crawl over to you stat. And if she likes what she sees, she'll say "Mmmmmmmmm" in hopes that you'll get the message and give her some of whatever it is that you're eating.

And honestly, who can resist this face?

I know I can't

She loves bananas, yogurt - well, anything sweet really...But her favourite is still the Gerber puffs.

Everything that she loves to eat, she calls them "na na"

(I taught her to say that when I first introduced the banana to her. For some reason, she's associated everything sweet with that)

She walks beautifully with her walker/train - that's probably her favorite toy for now. Thanks so much to John's colleague for his generousity!

She claps, and will start clapping with you

She can stand by herself

She's really starting to enjoy playing with Buddy, and I think he's starting to reciprocate.

Well....lets just put it this way...He's starting to appreciate the scraps of food that Isabel drops from the highchair.

During her meal time, you can bet your chicken nuggets that you'll see his little doggy face peering from under her chair


...And the biggest piece of news for the day...

Isabel gave her daddy a surprise today when he picked her up from daycare



She WALKED towards him by herself!!

I have yet to witness it, but you'll be sure that I'll announce it to the world when that happens!

*Edited to add things I forgot:

- She loves the sound of a bee -- she cracks up at me "buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing" and will try and "bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" herself

- Whenever she drops something (plenty of occurences there!), I'll go uh-oh....she tries but the best she can manage right now is "uh"

- She was born a cuddler, and she still is. I love how she'll go about doing her own thing, but when she's tired, she'll crawl back to me and lay her head on me. Melts my heart.

Ok...

I take it back - She's not feeling much better.

If it's really the teething that's bothering her, can I just not have that option in her? I love her gummy smile anyway. And I'd much rather not have this cranky, cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat, drooly little girl - I prefer my sunny disposition-ed kid.

And she keeps trying to put her finger in my mouth...is she trying to tell me that there's where it hurts??

Help!!

What We Did This Morning

Isabel is 10 months today. But there'll be no "pretty" pictures today.

She was sick on Saturday night and Sunday too - Sunday was one of the crankiest days she's had in awhile. I *think* that it's because she's teething - there's quite a swell in her gums where her left molar is suppose to be.

But since she's never teethed before, this is all just a guess.

So today, I stayed home to monitor her. She's feeling much better.

Even though her hair seems to indicate that she's had a rough time.

And as usual, her Buddy is never far behind.

She played nicely by herself on the floor for the most part.



Until she wanted to show her Mama her toy, so Mama picked her up

And she found something more interesting to play with.

What is it with babies and wires?

And then she proceeded to yank off the DSL wire from my computer. Oy!

(Yes, we have to hook our computers to the wire to go online. We never did figure out how to set up the wireless. That's why we always seem to congregate in the guest room)

And now that I'm really looking at these pictures, it appears that she's about to bust out of her sleeper. We tend to stuff her into clothes until it's very apparent that it's JUST NOT GOING TO FIT.

This outfit does not fit into that category. So she'll continue to wear it.

Yes, we I am really that cheap.


She's settled in for her nap now

Hopefully, it'll last for at least an hour!

Isabel's New Trick

Liberty To All

A few weeks ago, we got the opportunity to visit Liberty Island during the night - It was a special opening of the park to celebrate the release of a new Ken Burns documentary that chronicles the evolution of America's National Parks: The National Parks: America's Best Idea.

This is the first public opening of the park at night and tours were given by park rangers about the history of the island and monument.

To get to the island we have to board the ferry - This is Isabel's first boat ride. And she took it rather well (with the exception of the fog horn - she didn't like that too much) I, on the other hand, seemed to have lost my sea-legs.





It was amazing to be on the island during dusk




And the night views were amazing



NYC in the background

Did I mention that this was my "wedding anniversary present" to my husband? I think I won 1000 brownie points with him.

Just don't tell him that I got the tickets for free. Shhhhh........;)

A Wish

That your days are "Packed With Happiness" too

Have a good week!

How The Other Half Lives...

For his birthday weekend, my husband wanted to visit the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island. This is our second time there, and this time, we visited The Elms and Rosecliff.

Shall I show you around?

We'll start at The Elms.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Oh, what? That's just the carriage house? Oh, I'm sorry.

I don't know how I could have mistaken that.

But since we are here, lets just stop and have some lunch.

Yes, a delicious meal that cost a mere $12.50.

My husband and I split it.

Let's go up to the REAL house now, shall we? My husband shall lead the way.

Almost there...

Here we are.

Lets feel real special and go in through the front door

Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed inside, but you can see some pictures on the Mansions' official website. It was truly gorgeous and I'm glad that it never got torn down, unlike so many of the other mansions that were replaced with apartment buildings.

Next up is Rosecliff - the site where scenes from The Great Gatsby, Amistad and True Lies were shot.

Isabel got quite a bit of attention during this whole trip...Although people kept calling her a "he"...I realize that she's wearing a blue shirt, but shouldn't the hot pink pants and a pink teddy give something away?

(The teddy was a present by Diana & Chuck - if you guys are reading this, thanks again! Isabel LOVES it)

Do you like what you see? The mansion is available for rental if you'd like to hold your wedding reception here....There was actually a wedding scheduled for that night.

Not quite convinced? Maybe a view of its grounds might sway your decision...

That really must have been quite the life

Swings, Slides and Ice-Cream

We went to a neighbouring playground with Isabel for the first time a few weeks ago. I was all excited, because I LOVE playgounds, especially the swings. And I was hoping that she'll love it too.



Oddly enough, that park had a tree dedicated to a "John"

Anyhoo, we decided to start on the swings



It took Isabel a little while to get adjusted to why we decided to plunk her in the middle of a contraption that looked like a rubber diaper that was obviously too big for her



But when we started swinging and cheering her on, she started to humor us with a few smiles like it



She still clutched on for dear life though

We moved on to the slides, hoping that this one will tickle her fancy



Again, she was not impressed



So I took her for a spin to show her how fun it is
See her expression? Yeah...



She's much rather be snoggled by mommy

I decided to just enjoy the swings by myself



Is it just me or did the seats get smaller??
My hips were definitely feeling smooshed after 5 minutes. Childbirth has really done a number on me

With that pleasant thought in mind, we headed down to try out an ice-cream parlor that was recommended by one of hubby's colleagues ;)



I think I'm officially calling this OUR ice-cream joint



The flavors were fab
(I got Rum Raisin and Caramel Turtle...Yes, a small cone comes with two scoops of ice-cream. I was not being greedy)



And the location!




Think anyone would notice if I stole this sign?



While I was busy scheming my grand heist, hubby just sat and enjoyed the view

'
It was a perfectly well-spent Sunday evening