You can't always get what you want...

but it sure is nice when you get cookies! Especially yummy spiderweb and pumpkin and ghost and BLACK CAT cookies!


I was having such a good day yesterday. I got some work done at the house in Cheney, I had a nice lunch with my friend Shadan at Chili's, I found this book:


I got two pieces of mail: the new issue of Gourmet magazine and a package from Aunt Susie full of the excellent Halloween cookies pictured above and a pair of black cat socks. And when I got in the car after lunch, Jake Locker immediately threw a 99-yard touchdown pass.


Good things were happening. It was a GOOD day. I just knew my Huskies were finally going to win a Pac-10 game. But no. I was wrong. Once again, a loss at the very end. Drat!

Feeling Fall-ish

I'm generally not a big fall fan. I'm all about summer and fall is when all the lovely sunshine and heat and flowers and bright colors go away. But there are a few things about fall that I really like:

Halloween. When I was a kid, it was all about the costume and the candy and the running around town trick-or-treating with my friends. Now, well, how could I not love a holiday that provides a perfectly acceptable excuse to wear bright orange shirts with black cats on them? So here's a little Halloween-y collage I just finished. It's 8" by 5.5".

Football. Favorite. Sport. Ever. Football is all wrapped up with happy memories of childhood and family and my dad. We are both obsessed and can discuss our Huskies for many happy hours.

Socks. Now generally, my feet just want to be free. But they are also smallish and way down at the end of my longish legs and they get cold. Snuggling into a cute new pair of socks for the first time each year is as much fun as painting my toenails bright red for the first time in the summer.

See, it always comes back to summer. But I'll go ahead and enjoy fall in the meantime.

Yes Kitten, I agree...

Sometimes you just gotta stop and take a nap.

Fun with clay

Hey look! I finally made something. Something really small...but pretty! Actually, I've been puttering around with several different makings, but mostly in fits and starts. I can't seem to settle down to finish any one thing. I'm honestly a little overwhelmed with ideas.



So today I played a bit with polymer clay. Love love love this book - Mixed Media Mosaics by Laurie Mika. She makes the clay jump up and dance. I want to make millions of little pendants and mosaics. Today I made two. Well, I made some more, but these two are my favorites. I still feel overwhelmed and itchy...at least I made something cute.

trying to find my rhythm

I've been a bit off kilter the past few weeks, just when I need to be establishing a new routine in my new home. The thing is, my routine is no longer completely dominated by stuff I have to do. There's more room for things I want to do (or at least there would be if I could ever get my stuff out of the old house). At the same time, I'm developing a pretty good idea of the way I want to live my life. So establishing the routine is a more mindful process this time around.

I want to include regular time for things like:

cooking good meals
listening to music
hanging out with friends
exercising
making stuff (art, quilts, etc)
reading
blogging (and keeping up with blogs I like)

I'm trying to incorporate this stuff now...if I say I'll wait until I'm less busy, well, that day never comes. Even as the house stuff winds up, we are swinging into football season and many lovely weekends in Seattle, away from my routine.

Yesterday I listened to the latest episode of Alison Lee's Craftcast
The guest was Gabrielle Roth, a dancer/artist who spoke about the rhythms of life and how, if you can find your personal rhythm, you get into a flow where everything happens smoothly.

I can see the flow...I want to get there...but my rhythm is a little off. I feel like the awkward girl at the concert who's clapping half a beat off from the music. Off kilter. But getting closer.

My new pad

This is the new neighborhood. Lovely.


This window is in the studio and immediately became a favorite. The windowsills are nice and wide - perfect for kittens (or big giant cats who think they are kittens).


Love how the living room turned out - bright and fun.


The bedroom is quilty and cottagey and huge - this is just one corner.


Of course, now that I've pretty much got things the way I want them, I have to go get the rest of my junk from the house and mess it all up again.

Happy Birthday to me!

Yeah, I know my birthday was 2 months ago. What's your point? I subscribe to Oprah's philosophy on this point: "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."

So, I spread the celebration out and spent some birthday money on these two wonderful pieces by Debra Greenleaf Campbell.



These just make my heart sing. I purchased them on etsy and I'm just thrilled with how vibrant and wonderful they are in person.

I also spent some birthday money on a modest spree at Haberdashery, my favorite local needlework shop:



Yummy. I'm infatuated with the Caron Watercolors and Wildflowers threads and Haberdashery has a whole wall. The gals at the store know me as "the bright-color girl." ;-)

I'm busy getting settled into the new place and figuring out a new routine. The studio is about 80% unpacked, which turned out to be the perfect amount for me to quit unpacking and start playing.

The best part of moving is...

The boxes! And all the empty drawers and bookcases and other vaguely box-like shapes. So many places for a kitten to jump into!