for babe: deux.

three months to go and i'm getting the urge to nest. i've been making lots of bits and pieces for babe. two knit blankets are in progress. a couple of small jumpers (sweaters) are being finished up in the evenings. and i've got a list a mile long of other things i'd like to get started on - this wee one won't stay 'wee' for long!

i had it in my head that i wanted to make the baby a blanket - something that maybe could be something held on to - enjoyed - for years. it needed to be suitably sophisticated and large enough to transition from baby-sized to child-sized. oh and it needed to be easy.

in my mind i enjoy sewing. in reality i'm a bit of a lazy seamstress. i like sewing just until the end of the project when i get bored and can't be bothered to finish the seams 'just-so' or be super careful about how the binding goes on...needless to say, i'm probably not going to set up an etsy shop filled with hand sewn creations. oh and those drapes i made last year - they are still un-hemmed. i foresee an afternoon sitting under the windows streaming public radio for distraction in my future.

so easy.

but cute.

and long lasting.

oh and gender neutral.

enter - the ten hour quilt. i saw this on pinterest a long time ago. declared it genius and promptly pinned it to my 'secret' baby board.

but just so you know - it's not ten hours. it took me max five. ok eight if you include the washing and drying. but i mean the washing machine did that - PTL for washing machines, can you imagine the days before there were washing machines?

i did not pre-wash the fabrics. the batting is a bamboo-silk-cotton mix that is supposed to shrink about 5%, combined with 100% cotton cloth, a very hot wash and a hot tumble dry leading to the crinkle quilt look. which helpfully covered up the inevitable puckers in the stitched fabric. top recommendation from this experience - save yourself and buy the bias tape pre-made - it was just brilliant to have pre-made bias tape when it came time for binding.

i simply cannot wait to wrap our little one in this for years and years to come. amazing to think that we're only eleven weeks to go!

linked.

may i just encourage you to visit this today?

may our days reflect this balance of the word and work and wandering. amen and amen.

ann voskamp on how to keep sanity. 

via incourage.me

christmas card 2012.

i downloaded a design from becky higgins again.

this isn't exactly what we're sending because the source i was ordering from wouldn't resize properly...but it's pretty close.

this is what we'll send by email, as a pre-card, we were hoping to get these in the mail much earlier but there was a mistake with the printing and they only arrived over the weekend! i guess we know what my lunch hour will be spent doing this week :)

merry christmas everyone!

i'm linking up with faith's christmas card carousel.

away.

it's come to our attention that we really love london a little bit more, when we don't spend every waking moment in london. she's really very lovely. but then, so are other little bits of this fair isle. we've resolved to try to take little mini-breaks more frequently. just a saturday night away from home can be so refreshing and achieved with such little effort.

this weekend we had hopes for a day at the beach with friends down on the south coast. at lunch on friday i called le boy and said - shall we make a bit of a weekend of it? and so we decided to take a drive down to portsmouth, with a stopover in winchester.

winchester saw us score a fantastic deal on shoes - leather brogues, how i have wanted you for sooooo long. and a wonderful poke around just the loveliest of little shops - the hambledon. it's basically a store of joy. in fact, that is what i declared as we walked in and saw the wall of shelves filled with vintage-y kitchen bits...

i was a goner from the time i saw the weck canning jars. oh. my. word. and i put them to use the other night. i'll explain later.

we ambled around for a couple of hours, and ultimately decided that returning to winchester for a proper visit was really the order of the day. on the list it goes.

we spent the night in portsmouth - a lovely seaside town, with an enormous history of sailing and ports and the shipping trade. after realising that our budget and the cost of touring the ship weren't exactly compatible, we decided to walk around and soak up the free history instead.

we spent the rest of the afternoon napping. it was heavenly.

sunday we drove to christchurch and enjoyed the beach, a little spit of land which requires a 10 minute ride on a toy train or a 25 min walk. we trained out and walked back. it was a lovely day and it was perfect beach weather. blue sky with the occasional cloud (a nice respite from the sun) and HOT. finally.

and so when we returned to our darling city it didn't seem quite so loud or tiring. and we are planning our next getaway.

r-word.

i've spent most of my life interrupting conversations to let people know that using the 'r-word' isn't ok. i'd usually say 'don't say that in front of me please' or 'please don't use that word' and most often i'd get a 'what's it to you' in response. what's it to me?

i have a cousin with down syndrome.

i spent my university years working with special needs children.

i work with people who brilliant and have austism spectrum disorder - you probably do too.

i have friends with ADD.

what's it to me is that i'm not cool with friends and family and colleagues being made fun of. and really, you shouldn't be either.

this video, spells it out brilliantly. i love it. and i hope you'll share this. if you use the r-word, i hope you'll think about it twice next time before opening your mouth.

favourite things.

a few of my favourite things.

dry shampoo - i know that this isn't new, it's not even new to me, but this brand i've been using the last few months is better than any other i've ever tried. charles worthington balancing act.

make up pallets - i hate, and i mean it, carrying around dozens of bits of makeup. i have a simple makeup routine at the best of times, this pallet has done wonders for my post gym makeup routine (as in it gives me incentive to actually put it on!) and i'm so excited to have a small makeup bag for our trip this week - no need for a baggie of liquids at airport security! jemma kidd bio-minerals essentials kit in rose.

grocery delivery - you read that correctly. we get our groceries delivered. a flat fee for the year and we can order as many times as we want, whenever we want. it's freed up so much of our time. a complete fix for our time-crunched city lives.

navy - it's my new black. and i've based my florida wardrobe around it.

travel scale - we don't have a scale in our house, and more than once we've been burned on our way back from a vacation. i picked up this little gizmo the other day and already it's been useful! plus it's pink.

so there you have it - my completely frivolous, totally ridiculous, current favourites list.

pantry.

what to do in a kitchen with no space? we have about 5 cupboards in our teensy kitchen. and both food and dishes for cooking and eating, to store. so how to fix this?

we've put up a couple corner shelves, painted white to match the walls, and we're using glass jars.

to keep from mixing up the sugar and salt, icing sugar and flour and the different types of flour i use, i printed cute labels found on pinterest onto sticker paper (seriously, the most useful stationery item i own!). this was an inexpensive project, gets us away from using plastic to store food in and prettied up the kitchen! all with the added bonus of random food no longer falling on our heads when we open the cupboard doors!

Source: sissyprint.blogspot.com via Brie on Pinterest

i love the look, the old-time feel and the ease of it all. the kitchen is 100% more functional! which makes me one happy lady! 

glass jars from ikea, variety of sizes: £0.90 - £2.69

sticker paper: free

corner shelves (4 total) : £4/shelf

Total cost for new pantry: £30

grace.

i've recently downloaded a new app. 1000 gifts - based on the book 1000 gifts, by ann voskamp, which i'm currently listening to and LOVING. a great[ful] way to list daily thanks, on the go and with your phone. love it.

and so here's mine from today.

how she's always been right beside me.

candlelight illuminating humble (homemade) table.

pillows from old jumpers, now a cozy corner.

new wool waiting for fingers to fly. 

woollens wet on the line - waiting to warm.

a thoughtful gift from my most recent visitor.

 as we enter advent, remembering who HE is! (printable here)

get the app here. 

monday musings.

to say we're in a bit of a big week is an understatement. if i'm honest, things might be quiet here this week, but for good reason.

• marvellous arrives tomorrow 
• i'm getting work squared away for 2.5 weeks off 
• surgery on thursday for a knee that isn't working the way it should
• job interview for le boy on thursday (yes that's the same day as surgery) 
• i'm getting laundry done and the house tidied and meals in the freezer 

it's a lot. but there are so many blessings. 

find printable here.

• marvellous arrives
• i'm fortunate to work for an employer with generous sick leave 
• my surgeon is the best, and this is pretty much the appendectomy of orthopedic surgery
• le boy has a job interview, in a difficult economy 
• we've spent the weekend getting caught up on laundry and making food and sorting life here and there
• i'll spend the next week with two people who love me better than anyone and i'm already grateful for their grace

baby blessings.

i'll start by saying - we're NOT pregnant. we don't intend to be for a while. but as it turns out, everyone around us, is pregnant. i've lost count, and really this makes me extremely happy. i get to knit super cute baby items, i get to hold and play with new babies, i get to give the babies back. someday, someone will hand a baby back to me, just not soon!

and so, i'm always stuck with a little conundrum - what to get the wee babe? there are a ton of cute things out there, but i can make stuff. and i like making stuff. and i like that it's fast. baby knitting, is so so so fast. i love it. in fact, i've been pre-baby knitting. the other night le boy asked who the latest item on my needles was for, and i said, i don't know, but there will be someone. the littleness of it all is super cute. and the quickness of it all is super gratifying. plus, i love knowing that new babes are wearing something made with a little bit of love.

i found this darling printable on the 'on to baby' site - the follow on site from the weddingchicks - we used wedding chicks for all our stationery at the wedding and i LOVED it. as a cute little gift i made booties with some matching note cards. one of which i used as our card, and a few others for them to use as notes from the babe.

the bootie pattern can be found here.

lately.

it was a weekend of projects and friends and relaxing and it was wonderful. all of my photos are of half-finished things, so not yet ready to post.

but i wouldn't leave you empty handed.

on saturday after i had spent time painting and sewing and cleaning and organising, le boy was tasked with dinner. he pulled a ziploc bag out of the freezer and asked if this was the spaghetti sauce? i glanced up from what i was doing and said, oh yes! umm, just kidding. i talked myself out of a meltdown - it wasn't the end of the world, but man was a hungry and a little annoyed, it all got better with food, even if it was inventive!

now, i know this has happened to all of us, and i know you're saying, brie, come on, a sharpie would solve this. but now, where's the fun in that? so to avoid eating brisket over pasta for a second time (although, actually, it was pretty good!) i've downloaded, printed and cut out these freezer labels. courtesy of our favourite, martha.

i used a few sheets of sticker paper and voila! amazing.

i'll be back later in the week with an update on our kitchen organisation project. it also involves labels and food storage. and a printable!

for now, download, print off and keep these handy in the kitchen. save your marriage, save yourself.

cards.

i'm a big believer in christmas cards. truthfully, i've not been great at the whole thing in the past, but i love love love sending cards, receiving cards - looking at people's cards online. living abroad means that we need to be even more on the ball. i've recently made our christmas cards and while i'm not going to show you just yet what we've chosen. i will point you to the fabulous site where i got my download.


becky higgins. there's a photo scrapbooking idea that she came up with called project life - so super cool and i think it may just top my christmas wish list - i would love a way to keep all the memories that i shoot with my camera in a more tangible way!

on her free stuff page - free people - you can download lots of goodies, but particularly at the moment, christmas and holiday cards!

i gave myself a crash course on using picnik premium to add a photo to our selected card and i just love how it turned out! (ps, with picnik premium you can do layering, so you don't need to have photoshop or elements - i got a one month subscription for less than £3, if i like it, i'll upgrade to the yearly subscription, plus i love how it integrates with my picasa pool for the blog!)

we have a couple of 'family guidelines' when i comes to our cards - first, we don't say 'happy holidays.' we are big believers that christmas is about christ. so the card must say 'merry christmas.' second, if possible we'd like a place for a scripture verse. finally, we wanted a meaningful picture - we have dozens to choose from this year, so that was easy!

i've placed my free order with snapfish (new customers get 40 free prints) and paid the shipping. i plan to write the cards when i'm laid up with the knee and need a distraction.

i'll post our card later, but for now - enjoy deciding which you'll choose!

twenty-five::newlywed::homemaking

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

 

 

if i'm honest, i cannot take full responsibility for this small tip. but i will gladly share the credit with my husband. currently le boy walks me to and from the train station every day. it's one of the silver linings of our current situation. when we get in the door and turn off the alarm, drop bags and kick off shoes, we wander down the hall. sometimes, i stop at the bedroom and change from work clothes into 'play clothes' (marvellous's word for the clothes that didn't get worn to school or work, it stuck. it's here to stay.) continuing my wander takes me into the dining room and the itty-bitty kitchen. and usually i'm quickly to work starting dinner.

on my best days i pause at the dining room table, the big, thick, oak dining table we're oh so happy to have been left by our landlords, and i light the candles. the thanksgiving centrepiece is slowly being eaten, or melted. and this is my first tip. light candles. we have candles everywhere - the bedroom, the bathroom, the dining room and the lounge. why not the kitchen? it's that itty-bitty. when i light the candles on the table, i take a second to pray for peace in our home.

tip two is where i can't take all the credit. i'd like to, but it wouldn't be neighbourly. le boy and i like to spend this pre-dinner time together, often he'll sit at the table while i'm busy in the kitchen, he sets the table and we chat about our days. and somewhere in there he reaches for the nearest laptop and turns on some music. we've been favouring classical as of late - it's just so calming. tonight i'm hoping we play this.

thanksgiving print found here.

light a candle. play some music. pray for peace in your home. and calm yourself. even the busiest home can be peaceful.

twenty::newlywed::homemaking

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

i mentioned that i was changing out our curtains the other day. the old curtains were intended to match a purple wall - which is no longer purple. and really, the flowers weren't really our style anyway. i was looking for an inexpensive option (remember, we're on a budget). inspired by pinterest to go with drop cloths and yes, i'm a little behind the times, i realise this was cool about two years ago, but i didn't have a flat to decorate two years ago...

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Brie on Pinterest

i dispatched le boy to our local diy store - he's definitely making friends with the owner! and he returned with two drop cloths of 12'x12'. we've got one of those drapery hanging systems which has hooks and eyes - i wasn't really looking forward to the sewing, but determined to make this experiment work! as it turned out once i'd washed the drop cloths and looked at the whole system - that i could wiggle the hooks through the drop cloths without any sewing - a big bonus is that drop cloths are already hemmed! 

here's a before: 

and here's a few afters...taken at night (darkness is falling at about 6pm these days...)

the next afternoon le boy and i took a walk around the neighbourhood and our local park.

can i pause for a moment and just say how blessed we feel to live in our neighbourhood? there are families with children everywhere! which might seem normal for a neighbourhood with a park, except that this is london and generally children are nowhere to be seen. the park has a small pond/lake, a couple of playgrounds, a track and field area, enormous playing fields, three sets of tennis courts, a mini-putt and a fantastic running/cycle route - we LOVE it.

on the way back i asked le boy to go in ahead and draw the curtains, i wanted to ensure they looked good from the street side too! and in the process i took a few shots of our lovely house. oh how we love it!

where's le boy?

the wrought iron:

our red door:

 

and the gate: 

fourteen::newlywed::homemaking

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

so i was writing an email to my sister, a.b.barton, detailing my plans for saturday. le boy is helping a friend move and i have the day to myself (blissful!)

here are a list of things that i'm hoping to maybe accomplish?

envelope pillow cases for our living room - the current pillows don't seem to work well with the emerging colour scheme...

Source: freshlypickedblog.com via Brie on Pinterest

but if i'm honest, i'll be a little bit more lazy, i probably won't cut out the three separate pieces - perhaps my own 'lazy' tutorial is on the way?

stenciling the feature wall...

Source: dreamhomediy.com via Brie on Pinterest

but using a slightly different pattern.

printing off and hanging up photos on our walls from the wedding...

creating a slip cover for the plastic bin cum coffee table, which actually works really well, just looks a little ugly...

creating new drapes out of dropcloths...

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Kate on Pinterest

so it's an ambitious list - i'm also adding in grocery shopping, meal planning and a cupboard inventory - it's pantry meals this week!

Source: briebarton.blogspot.com via Brie on Pinterest

Source: briebarton.blogspot.com via Brie on Pinterest

along with a long-needed, long-distance skype date to colorado. it'll be a full day. i won't accomplish everything. but some of it will get done. and other bits will wait for later. i'm cool with that.

eight::newlywed::homemaking

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

it's thanksgiving weekend around our house. so this will be brief. just a quick peek into how we've decorated for the holiday, and a link to the printables - loving what can be found online these days...

 

we are abundantly blessed. 

1 thessalonians scripture  

give thanks banner