Back to school, back to school...

Sigh.  Last time I stopped by here I was gearing up for vacation, and now it's already come and gone!  Fortunately I got to spend it on the Cape with my sister, my brother-in-law, my niece, and their loveable black lab.  We took lots of long walks, cooked and baked to our hearts content, and spent many, many hours snuggling with this little monkey (I mean, how could you not?!).

I miss them already!

Since I've been gone...

Oh dear...it's been a while since I've stopped by here.  Now that it's almost November (gasp!), I decided I need to make my way back into the blogosphere.  First and foremost, let me fill you in on where I've been...

October started off with a bang; or, rather, a midnight drive down to Cape Cod when we got the call that my sister was in labor.  Here's my beautiful (one-month-old!) niece, Sally, here to wish you a Happy Halloween!  Pretty spooky, huh?!

The rest of October went by in a blur: midterm stress, birthday celebrations for a certain tall/dark/handsome someone, a THREE (!!!!) year anniversary celebration, and finally, a visit with Liz!

When Liz arrived in Portland last weekend, it was the first time we had seen each other in almost a year and a half!  That's just unacceptable, if you ask me.  We had the most relaxing weekend involving long walks around town, yummy food, tall glasses of wine, and outlet shopping.  There was even a guest appearance from our most loyal reader.

Lizzo, let's never go that long without seeing each other again!

The Final Countdown

As I mentioned a few months ago, I'm going to be an aunt.   Very soon, in fact - my sister is due TODAY!  As you might expect, things have been a little baby-crazy around here.  It's been especially fun picking up cute toys and imagining a little baby playing with them in just a few weeks!  Here are a few things we've gotten for the littlest member of the family.

Meet Marvin the Lion, the baby's first stuffed animal. (I bought this a week after I found out my sister was pregnant!)

via jellycat.com 

The cutest book of baby haikus:

via haikutwobytwo.com

A DIY mobile (inspired by this one):

via land of nod

A home-sewn blanket:

What are your favorite gifts for new babies?

Puppies!

Earlier this summer, my sister and her husband finally decided to breed their dog, Fisher.  Two weeks ago, the pups were born and I woke up this morning to find some adorable pictures in my inbox that I knew I had to share!  Their eyes aren't open yet, and they mostly just lay around in a pile, but what could be better than a whole pile of puppies to start of your hectic Tuesday?!

Here's the proud, handsome dad (and the #1 coolest dawg around):

And the pups:

Wouldn't you love to spend the day lounging with these furry little guys?

Baby blanket project

Since my sister shared her exciting news recently, I thought I would share a project I've been working on for her - a baby blanket!  I used this pattern - it is really more of a play mat, but I liked it because aside from being warm and snuggly, it can be taken on picnics, tucked into a stroller, or spread on the floor with toys.  Here are some pictures of the work in progress:

After I had the play mat sewn together in it's basic form, I basted it to keep the layers in place while I quilted it.  I used this tutorial since I had no idea what I was doing, and it was very helpful!

Once it was completely basted, I marked the fabric with tiny dots where I would embroider tiny X's.  I used this ruler (SO HANDY!) to make sure the dots were evenly spaced.

Then, I embroidered a small X on each of the pencil-marked dots.  This means the other side has tiny knots on it, but I decided that's okay since they don't compromise how comfy the blanket is.

Finally, I trimmed the blanket with this (bottom right) fabric.  It made the whole blanket much more exciting to look at, and was still gender neutral.

Since I am sewing the trim on by hand, I'm not quite finished yet.  I'll post pics of the final product in a few days. :) 

 

Babies Eating Lemons

Your Tuesday morning pick-me-up: Babies eating lemons. This video is hilarious (just try to disregard the semi-distracting music). The faces those babies make when they take a bite!

Twin Talk

Ok, I give up. Let's just make this "baby week" on See of Love. You've got to see this video. My mom is an identical twin and I sure hope she was this hilarious when she was little.

In other news, it's almost Friday! Hang in there.

In like a lion, out like a....

I don't know went wrong this winter, but March is certainly not going to end quietly in my neck of the woods, and I would not use the phrase "out like a lamb" to describe the weather we've been having lately.  Luckily, I am headed to Richmond this weekend to visit family, including my brand new baby cousin!

via jellycat

I would like to snuggle up with her and this funny guy...

via amazon.com

...and read this book (even if I'm the only one paying attention).