Pixie slippers...

I decided I needed to get going on Christmas projects for some wee people I know.  There is one little girl that reminds me of a little pixie.

That being said, I made these squares 

into these slippers!

which I had to try on...just for fun....even though they didn't really fit me.....toooo small.

If you want to make your own, you can find the layout instructions here.  I did NOT make a regular granny square though....I made these slippers using the Solid Granny Square Motif pattern.  
I just made the pom-poms around my fingers and attached them to the front with a bow.  They are just for decoration.

I think these will be precious for a little someone I know come Christmas morning!

Chilly dog.....

Mojo is always miserable when it gets hot so we shave him a couple times each summer......

Doesn't he look cute!?



Of course, sometimes he gets chilly and has to snuggle down......

Next time we get a boy dog that needs to be shaved we'll name him Willy so when we shave him we can call him "Chilly Willy!"

crochet hangers......

Many, many years ago, someone gave me a set of 3 crocheted hangers.  I don't remember who gave them to me or why but they are the best hangers ever.  Nothing ever falls off of them.  I've always thought I'd make more but never did....(I'm slow like that.)  

Until now.
    
I decided it was nuts not to make more and started on this little summer project to pretty up my closet.

There are tons of "patterns" out there but they are all basically just crocheting around hangers so if you can crochet, you can do it.  

I wanted mine a bit sturdier so I held 2 together before crocheting around them.   If you do this, just make sure your hangers match up in size/shape.
Some people skip the hook end but the ones I were given went to the end and have lasted all these year so I decided to follow suit.  To secure the tip, I slid the last stitch up, applied a teeny bit of E6000 and then slid the stitch back down and tapped the yarn together.  

I added a little picot trim at the bottom and a flower at the neck. (I found the cute little flower pattern via creativejewishmom.com's blog here.)

By the end of the summer, I hope to have most of my mismatched hangers tossed and replaced with these pretty ones instead.

What a weekend!

This weekend went by in a flash.  I spent some time sewing new collars for the dogs and then I crocheted around wire hangers (more on that later...) and did mundane things like laundry.  But in between all that, I tried new recipes and had a surprise!

Saturday morning,  Dean and I were watching Pioneer Woman and decided to try her Olive Bread recipe.  
Oh. My. Goodness. it was good.  I love green olives but not black....but I am so glad I didn't change the recipe because it needed the blend.
Anyway, if you like olives and cheese you will love this bread so here is the link to the recipe.

Saturday night, Dean and the kids surprised me with dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants.  It is always good and we can laugh and visit without being afraid of being too loud.   As we were leaving to go, I let the dogs in and noticed THIS guy in the backyard and did a little jig!    

I named him Gimley the Giant Tortoise and promptly planted him with a pretty geranium.

Then late Saturday night we had company arrive,  so Sunday I made something I found on pinterest.  
Everyone at work was raving about it and since we had more to feed, I thought I'd try it.  Everyone liked it and voted it a "keeper"....here is the link.

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Mother's Day as I did!

little gardens....

It was no secret that I was not thrilled with our yard when we moved here.  Dean and I always had large yards with large veggie gardens and this yard just didn't give us the space we were used to. 

I fought against it at first,  but gradually I gave in and got creative and over the years, we've made it work.  
Now we only grow what we have room for and REALLY use all the time.  Fresh herbs, tomatoes, lettuces....things like that...although I would love to grow some onions and potatoes.......hmmmmmm.

For those who don't believe you can grow things successfully in containers.....my herb garden tub is exploding!  It is growing so fast that I can't harvest it quick enough.  

FYI: It is filled half way up with empty water bottles and I think that is why it does so well.  Nothing ever gets root bound.

The basil, which always does well...and I use it constantly!  I started with 6 plants the first year and went to 4 plants a couple years ago.  This year I only planted 2 and I still have too much to use without harvesting as I go along.   I'm not complaining though, my basil butter and cubes are always good to have in the freezer.  

I have the entire length of the small veggie garden planted with nasturtiums...in fact you can't see the lettuce or arugula behind it because they have grown so tall!  Our tomatoes are happy though, they are a natural deterrent. 

Nasturtiums are also edible and have a peppery flavor...and their blooms are gorgeous!

We've had several salads with the lettuce and arugula already....if you've not had arugula, you are missing out.  It is peppery and nutty at the same time.  Just delicious and super easy to grow.

The mint is spreading out.  This year, I need to make Dean some mint jelly.....I don't actually care for it in food (I know, weird...) but I do harvest it for the bath tub.    If you've never tried mint in the tub after a long day, you really should!  It smells heavenly.

This year's addition......blueberry bushes!  We love them and since it doesn't look like we'll be leaving anytime soon, we planted some along our fence line.  

So, how does your garden grow?

pretty and pink

I love the color pink.    Years ago, before I was married,  I painted my entire house pink.  I used Waverly fabrics and the entire house had this lovely, girly vibe.   
Thankfully, Dean is comfortable with his "manliness" so he really didn't care that he lived in a pink house for 6 years!
  
I don't have pink walls or pink flowery curtains anymore.  I don't have much pink in my wardrobe either.....but I am still drawn to the color....to me, it is such a happy color.

With pink on the brain, I did a bit of crocheting over the weekend and made 2 more scarves for the "Pink Scarf Project."  (2 left to reach my goal!)

I got this pattern out of "Stitch n Bitch" Crochet.

same pink yarn, using a different pattern I found online at hook and press

Then Dean and I went to the garden center and found the orchids on sale!  

Well, we decided on these 2 lovelies for his May "Orchid of the Month" club gift.

This was one I felt we couldn't pass up...I love the speckles...somewhat like Cheetah spots.  I love pink and green together and this just worked with the rooster picture behind it.

But this one is Dean's favorite.  It is huge with 3 large sprays of flowers.  It takes up half the space on the piano!   I took several photos of it but the close ups show it off the best.

Pink is the perfect color for May, don't you think? 

" Slow buds the pink dawn like a rose From out night's gray and cloudy sheath; Softly and still it grows and grows, Petal by petal, leaf by leaf." 

growing celery and other pinteresting things...

I have posted about growing green onions from their roots before.  If you want to see that post, click here.

I've been doing it for years....long before pinterest came along.  I think over the last 20 years, I've spent a grand total of 5 bucks on them...maybe not even that much, and that is only because sometimes when I've moved, I've left them behind in the yard.

Last month, I read on pinterest that you can do the same thing with celery so thought I'd give it a shot.  Since mine had no roots on it, I scored the bottom with a knife.

 Then I stuck it into my herb garden on April 11th....

Not quite a month later and we have this....new life! 

If it continues to do well, I will make a spot in the garden and do a small row of it.

While browsing sewing ideas, I saw this one about a toothbrush holder made from a hand towel....

and liked it so much I made 3...

then I found this pin on home made Rosemary Mint fabric softener and had to give it a try.  

It works quite well which makes me happy since it cost just pennies to make.  I found this on the same site as the eye makeup remover I posted about   She has other cleaning recipes I am going to try out too.....

Turns out , I'm not the only one playing on pinterest.   

Kaela  found this pin where you freeze yogurt into little dots.  She used strawberry flavored yogurt and squeezed it out of a plastic baggie....

....and liked it so much she has done it several times.   Don't you love her "bowl?"   hahahaha!

nothing like eating out of a cupcake liner container!