Quilt Top Finished & It Snowed!

Yesterday I did a marathon sewing day while watching all three Lord of the Rings movies - extended versions. Good news I finished the quilt top for my brother in the beginning of the third movie.

I don't have a photo yet cause it's so big I just can't get a good picture. I hope to post one soon though. Now all I need is flannel for the back. I am only going to quilt it by stitching x's in the orange squares. That will hold the two pieces together in places all over. The back piece of flannel will also be the border for the front.

It snowed yesterday as well and when I got up at o dark thirty to go walking this morning I discovered at least four inches on my car.


I noticed the other day there are still blooms on my hollyhocks from last summer. Here they are in the snow.

I hope for more and could do without the ice. If it sticks around I will probably be working from home tomorrow. We are going to get our tree up and decorated today and we are doing a Harry Potter marathon.

Sadly I have not decorated much for Christmas. This year it will be the basics but all next year I will be gearing up for decorating my house for Christmas come December 1st!

Christmas Movies

I can't believe Christmas is in 12 days! I'm not nearly ready. I have craft projects to complete - or start, I have gifts to buy and everything needs to be wrapped. We bought our tree last weekend and need to put it up this weekend. I have not even decorated. Ahhhhh! (Picture Makauley Culkin in Home Alone).

I got a little of the third panel of my brothers quilt done last week. Worked long hours and was exhausted most days. This weekend is all about finishing that quilt and anything else I can start. It's supposed to snow too.

Now that we have rearranged the living room I can see the TV from the dining room table where I will sew and that reminded me of my favorite Christmas movies. I tend to enjoy the ones where everything is not picture perfect, slightly dysfunctional families and lot's of drama.

First up is the classic A Christmas Story from 1983. "Ralphie, a young boy growing up in '40's Illinois, dreams of owning a Red Rider BB gun. He sets out to convince the world this is the perfect gift. But along the way, he runs into opposition from his parents, his teacher, and even good 'ol Santa Claus himself." The hubs and I actually have a leg lamp replica but have never had the place to put it. Maybe this year we will find it."


Quote: Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window.

Next up is The Ref from 1994. "Denis Leary plays an unfortunate cat burglar, who is abandoned by his partner in the middle of a heist, and is forced to take an irritating Connecticut couple (Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis) hostage. He soon finds that he took more than he bargained for when the couple's blackmailing son and despicable in-laws step into the picture. Before long they're driving him nuts with their petty bickering and family problems. The only way for him to survive is to be their referee and resolve their differences, before he can be nabbed by the police."


Quote: "Great, I hijacked my [insert favorite expletive] parents."

A more recent holiday movie but one of my favorites (LOVE Diane Keaton) is The Family Stone from 2005. "The Stone family unites in common cause when their favorite son brings his uptight girlfriend home for the Christmas holiday, with plans of proposing. Overwhelmed by the hostile reception, she begs her sister to join her for emotional support, triggering further complications."


Quote: "Christmas is not "clothing optional" this year - we have a guest. "

Another recent favorite is The Holiday from 2006. "In London, Iris Simpkins writes a wedding column in a newspaper and has an unrequited love for her colleague Jasper Bloom. Nearly Christmas, she is informed that Jasper is engaged and will marry another colleague, and her life turns head over heels. In Los Angeles, a movie-trailers maker Amanda Woods has just broken with her unfaithful boyfriend Ethan and wants to forget him. Amanda accesses a house exchange website, and impulsively swaps her mansion for Iris' cottage in Surrey for the holiday along the next two weeks. While in Surrey, Amanda meets Iris' brother and book editor Graham and they fall in love for each other. Meanwhile Iris meet her next door neighbor, the ninety year old screenplay writer Arthur, who helps her to retrieve her self-esteem, and the film composer Miles, and they fall in love for each other."

Quote: "I don't know, but I think what I've got is something slightly resembling... GUMPTION!"

A classic for the entire family is Home Alone from 1990. "In this film, Kevin McAllister is an eight year old boy left at home by his parents, when they leave with the rest of the family for Christmas holidays to Paris. At first he seems to enjoy living alone, but after a while he understands that things aren't so easy. Especially when two robbers decide to break in a particular house. HIS house! Is he able to defend his home?"


Quote: "This is extremely important. Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back. No toys, nothing but Peter, Kate, Buzz, Megan, Linnie and Jeff. And my aunt and my cousins. And if he has time, my Uncle Frank. Okay?"

Another personal favorite is The Santa Clause from 1994. "Divorcee Scott Calvin is disgusted to learn that his ex and her husband have tried - and failed - to break it easy to their 6-year-old son Charlie that Santa isn't real. On Christmas Eve, Scott reads The Night Before Christmas... then receives an unexpected visitor on his roof. When he's startled by Scott's calling out and falls, the Santa impersonator disappears, leaving only an 8-reindeer sleigh and a suit with instructions to put it on if he's involved in an accident. Scott does, and is transported around the town dropping gifts through chimneys until he's taken to the North Pole and informed by a group who claim they're elves that he is now Santa. Charlie is proud of his dad's new job, though Scott's convinced it's a dream. Until his hair turns white, his beard refuses to stay shaved, he gains weight inexplicably, even for his sudden love of junk food... Now he's accepted it, there's just one problem: how to keep it secret from his disbelieving family?"


Quote: "Hey, I know where this is going. The other guy fell, it was an accident. I've got homeowners insurance, and a good attorney, not as good as my wife's - but lets not open up that wound! "

The new version of the classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas from 2000. "Based on the book by the famous Dr. Seuss. Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of Whoville. In Whoville, live the Who's, an almost mutated sort of munchkinlike people. All the Who's love Christmas, yet just outside of their beloved Whoville lives the Grinch. The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos which he equally abhors. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriend the Grinch."


Quote: "The nerve of those Whos. Inviting me down there - and on such short notice. Even if I wanted to go my schedule wouldn't allow it. Four o'clock, wallow in self pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one. 5:30, jazzercize. 6:30, dinner with me. I can't cancel that again. 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing; I'm booked. Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9 I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness. But what would I wear?"

There are a few movies in the theaters this season I want to see. Typically we have the hubs kids Christmas morning and then they go to their mom at noon. The hubs and I have been known to see three movies on a Christmas day.

Four Christmases "When a couple tries to fly away from their family for Christmas, as they do every year, their fun turns around when all flights have been canceled. Now they have to go to four houses to celebrate Christmas while going through memories they don't want to go into and surprises they can't handle while they have to use a safe word to get out of situations ."

Nothing Like the Holidays "A Puerto Rican family living in the area of Humboldt Park in west Chicago face what may be their last Christmas together."

What are your favorite Christmas movies?

Christmas Lights

In Seattle we have some really great Christmas light displays and some not so great. Last night the hubs and I stopped at various places to take some photos. There are two neighborhoods in North Seattle that go all out and decorate. They both have food donation stations and give out candy canes.

The house below decorates in red and white lights every year. They are right at the entrance to the neighborhood. If you are in the north Seattle area of Mount Lake Terrace this neighborhood is just east of 44th off of 228th.

This house has a somewhat tropical flair to it. Palm trees in the winter? Why not?

Sorry for the blurriness of some of these photos. I tried my best. Below is a mailbox that I thought was too cute.

This neighborhood has a bunch of houses with these large blow up characters that have become popular over the last several years. I am not a big fan but here is a favorite Christmas cartoon character.


The next neighborhood is further east down 228th. This neighborhood I think inspired the first one as they have been at it a little longer. All of the houses have these great signs in front of them.

The house with these penguins have a ton of individual lit up animals and characters.

There are a few houses near my place that are a little over the top. If you are quiet enough you can actually hear the electricity. The first one I call the Purple House cause they actually have two tones of purple paint on their house.

There were so many lights I could not get them in to one photo. If you live near the King/Snohomish county line this house is just west of highway 99 on 205th.

This other house is near the Purple House and we drive by it every night on the way home from work. It's off Freemont just south of 205th.

Again, so many lights I had to take two photos. They even have a Christmas countdown clock in their window.

This house is another we drive by every night. Another house with a ton of Christmas lights.

Downtown Edmonds (my town) fountain decorated but missing it's Christmas tree.

This weekend the hubs and I plan to go to Candy Cane Lane in the U District as well as a couple other well known displays. Photos to come soon!

Hand Crafting Update

After spending quite a bit of time yesterday locating the top of my dining room table I was able to make the hubs one of his gifts as he was out with the guys. Sorry no photos cause he reads my blog but I will post one after Christmas. SD and I watched girlie movies, made dinner and I did some sewing.

Today aside from picking up our tree and decorating it and the house and making cookies I plan on devoting all my sewing time to my brothers quilt top. My goal is to finish the top by Tuesday of this week at the latest. Then I will need to get fabric to back it (maybe a middle layer too) at some point, tack it down in several places (a nontraditional way of quilting it) and binding the edges. Then that gift will be done.

I started two knitting projects. These fingerless gloves for SS which I have now ripped out three times. I have made similar gloves with cables with no problems but these are just really stressing me out and I'm not certain why.

I am also making a scarf for my mom with extra yarn I bought for my wrap. I am using the same pattern but making it only three squares wide. I was knitting on that at lunch last Thursday and somehow screwed it up. I am going to try and fix without ripping it all the way out.

I ordered this yarn in the "Wicked Witch" colorway for SD's tabi socks on Friday. I hope it comes really quickly so I can knit those socks up.

With two and a half weeks until Christmas I better get my but in gear!

When Treats Become Habits

Thanks to Money Mate Kate for her comment on my post from yesterday. She directed me to this blog post from last summer at Get Rich Slowly and I felt inspired to post about it today.

This article reminded me of my Uncle. Every ten weeks he get's his haircut and then spends the afternoon in his local Barnes & Noble and buys ten new CD's for his disc changer in his car which he listens to for the next ten weeks. He also is an avid reader and will pick up some books as well. He's an electrical engineer and he and my aunt don't have debt so he is in the position to do this. He's just such a creature of habit.

It's true, I have let what was once an occasional treat become a habit. There were months where I visited Starbucks everyday (granted I worked at their corporate offie as a temp at the time). I do truly like their product but I have let a treat become the norm.

This week cutting back has not been that bad. We had the money to go through the drive through but just didn't. We have become really good at making our own coffee and bringing it with us too. Today makes five days without spending at Starbucks. Hoorah!

Other itmes the article states that became a habit for the author was eating out (check), buying books (check), DVD's (check) and games (not really a problem for me but the hubs likes to game).

Eating out is still a challenge and when we do eat out the hubs and I either order from the appetizer menu (portion sizes are more realistic) or go to places that have great happy hour deals.

I have a love affair with books and breaking the habit of buying was hard. I still buy some books cause I know I will read them again (Clive Cussler for example - I have reread all of his books at least once). I have been using my local library a lot lately and that has really helped my budget. I think I may try PaperBackSwap at some point but don't want the additional mailing expense (though minimal) right now.

DVD's the hubs and I still buy. Although we never buy DVD's of films we have not seen or would not watch time and time again. We recently picked up the new X Files film and it had an interesting feature. You can download a version to your iTunes. The hubs has an iTouch and is now able to watch X Files on it. He's just too excited.

As I said before I am not big in to gaming but the rest of my family is. We have a second generation Xbox and a Wii. The Wii was actually my idea and I have played some games on it I love. Can't wait to get a Wii fit board.

What are your treats that have turned in to habits?

Starbucks Will Not Get All My Money

Today is day four without having visited Starbucks. We are pretty broke until we get paid Friday so tomorrow will most definitely be day five. Since we bought a French press it's been a lot easier to make our own coffee every morning. We have an espresso maker but we really don't have that much time in the morning to utilize it. Our goal this month is to only go to Starbucks twice a week.

Handmade Christmas - Henrybella's

One of the gal's whose blogs I read just started her own bakery. As part of my handmade Christmas I have decided to also buy gifts from small business like hers. If you get a second check out her blog and here in the link that goes directly to her bakery site.