the kids are all here

Today we hung out with Lucy, Henry, Micah and Erin while Sara went to Atlanta on a shoot. It was really fun watching all three kids - they are so crazy different. 

Lucy in the Bumbo, chewing/sucking on a spatula while Erin tries out the Nikon... Hehe.

After Sara got back, I played around with her new Nikon D700! :D I had already shot with Amy's D700, but this time I got to use Sara's new 35mm and 125mm macro (or something like that). It was fun, I really enjoy having sharp photos. 

I am very happy with today's pictures. :) I've been taking fewer and fewer repeated pictures, and I'm liking it that way. You know, I just take one pictures of my breakfast, because that's all I am going to use. There's no need to take four or five, just get it right the first time and be done. I had to take a few more with the Nikon, because I'm not used to the locations of the dials and buttons. 

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am blogging for myself. I find myself wondering what other people would want to see... but that's silly. I follow blogs because I want to see what they want to post, not because I want to see what they think I want to see. I am documenting my life in pictures and writing. It makes everything so much easier when I remember my thesis. :)

Good night!

- caroline

my quilt, finally

Today's breakfast consisted of left-over tart, an English muffin and Poirot. It was nice. :)

I finally took pics of my quilt! It is very hard to take interesting pictures of a blanket. They are so flat and such. This was the best I could do - I was on the computer, looked out the window and saw the beautiful light and had to do something in it, so the quilt was my perfect candidate. 

For a little back story on the blanket... I was inspired to make it when I found a box of scrap fabric in the attic - really old stuff, some of Mom used to make clothes for Sara, Logan and Griffin, and the like. They were very, very small scraps, so cutting them into 3x3 squares was my only option. From there, I simply decided to make it an alternating pattern of color and muslin, and added more fabrics, though all of which are used in something else. I bought nothing for the sole purpose of my quilt. There are fabrics used in our stockings, aprons, quilts, baby quilts, curtains, etc. And then I hand stitched around each colored square for about four months. And voilà!

Oh yes, and Christina! I love my hula hoop. It is lovely! I actually took that image while hooping. It was tricky! 

We ended the evening with some choco ice cream and then watched Sherlock! It was very good! Have I mentioned how much I adore Steven Moffat?? He's bloody brilliant. I was very uncertain about the idea of putting Sherlock Holmes in modern day, and not changing the names or anything, but it is working. I really liked it.

I started using my Flickr account again today. I think I'll be posting more pictures on my blog than on Flickr, but if you'd like to check me out or follow me: http://www.flickr.com/photos/streamofviolets/

Now for some more Poirot!

- caroline

what i've been up to

What have I been up to for three days? All absent from the blog? You'd think I'd be doing very distracting things. Not so much. First there was the crazy storm, during which I knitted by Ugly Betty Blanket. Mom named it. It is simply a blanket made of squares and rectangles of scrap yarn in different stitches. I've been knitting it while we watch Ugly Betty - and really, it's kind of mismatched and odd like her. :P

There was a beautiful early morning that I caught - for some reason I woke up around 5 am and saw this sky out my window...

Then that morning I made French toast from the Cook's recipe. It's sooooo good. You wouldn't think that this lumpy bread:

Would turn into this gorgeous breakfast!

Then for the past two days I've been painting. I got the new Anthropologie catalog and was inspired. The photography was really top-notch in this issue, and I especially liked the cover, and the first page with the old red convertible. So classy.

And here was my watercolor interpretation... I was not aiming to replicate it, just base my painting on it. Left is at the end of day one, right is at the end of day two (today):

Quinn kept me company while I painted outside on the porch. The weather has been lovely. Quinn is carving a mask out of cedar wood. It smells awesome, though reminds me of hamsters. ;)  And no, those are not hand tattoos. Just ballpoint ink. 

I picked up three Agatha Christie novels today at the library. I'm excited to read them. Griffin leant me The ABC Murders and I really enjoyed it, plus I love the Poirot TV movies, so I thought I'd give the real text a shot. :)

Oh oh oh, also, we made a really yummy Kale and Green Onion Tart for lunch today. I found the recipe from The Granary and it is so good. Here is the link if you're interested in making it --> The Granary Blog: Kale and Onion Tart

Okay, time for bed. Probably gonna go practice parallel parking again tomorrow. I find it difficult. Grr. 

- caroline

it's getting warmer

Today was really warm! I painted my toes a second coat of blue, had tuna & crackers for breakfast at 11am and started choosing photos for my frames. Gosh darn it, I just remembered that I should have taken pics of my quilt. :( Now it's going to storm like nobody's business and be wet for days. 

Logan gave me three houseplants for my graduation. They are so cute. I need to take pictures of the other two, but I didn't have them situated at the time.  

Okay, lunch was really yummy. I promise that I'm not a paid Trader Joe's advocate! However, me and Quinn made the Mandarin Orange Chicken (frozen) from Trader Joe's and it was super good. Just added some broccoli and made some rice. 

I went to Mom's LLL planning meeting tonight at 2 Story to knit, and FINALLY got to sell some clothes to Suska, the consignment shop two doors down. Yay! We shall see if they sell... Okay, today's boring post is over. It's supposed to storm, so I'm going to shut down my computer and go watch Burlesque with Mum. And I mean the movie, not the genre. :P

I promise a more interesting post for tomorrow! Maybe some art? 

- caroline

leisure time

Yesterday was our first day of work at Hallie Jane's Catering. It was nice - it felt very familiar and fun to be at an event, working to make the day run as planned. I've been to so many weddings that even going to a sorority formal (as our first job was) seemed normal. The only difference was that it involved hauling heavy tables, chairs and food, not being able to join in the dancing, and being sore the next day. But all in all, I really enjoyed the work. I have been physically stagnant for too long - too many hours in a chair, indoors. I'm getting sick of it. It was fun to haul and set up and do team work - and outdoors, no less.

The yummiest part of the day was during my 2:00 am shower, when the hot water activated the smell of fried shrimp! But no, I enjoyed the 2 am shower, and crawling into bed completely exhausted. :)

I made a kale and mushroom omelette this morning with cheddar and parmesan. It was gooood. Logan has been making kale forever, however, I had only had it steamed, with balsamic vinegar (which is really good). But for lunch Friday, Sara said that she puts it in a skillet - that was also pretty good, so I thought it would probably work for an omelette. It has a bit of stringy crunch to it, but I like it that way.

Today we hung out with Logan, Erin & Micah, Sara & Lucy, and later on, Griffin & Jamie. Logan & Erin made this ridiculously good cheesecake yesterday, and we got to have some on their balcony, in the lovely weather. 

Micah is such a cutie. And he's going to be a climbing, exploring, sneaky little kid, very very soon. He sits there and eyes which object would be most interesting to play with, then leaaaaans over, his little fingers opening and closing, trying to grasp on to something. Once he is crawling, he's going to be everywhere.

Our original plan was to go to Memorial Park, but it was jam packed. So after lunch at L&E's, we went to Harris Shoals park in Watkinsville. It's a cute little place, with a very cool playground. Not much walking to do, however, though there seemed to be a trail that would have probably been a bit much on the stroller.

Photo by Quinn

Hehe. Ashlan, if your reading -- somehow this picture reminds me of SCAD... :P 

Photos by Quinn

Photo by Quinn

Photo by Quinn

Holy cow. They are both so cute. Micah had just woken up, and he sits there in the swing, staring, holding the chain with one hand, and his toes with the other. And Lucy? Could she look more like a girl? So adorable in that little bonnet.

Photo on the right by Quinn

So today was lovely. Tomorrow I think I might order photos for my frames... L&E had a whole pile of new prints, they look so fun. It's definitely next on my list. 

Okay, well, it's very late, so I should be off to bed now.

Good night! Sleep tight.

Don't let the bed bugs bite.

- caroline

ps. I always wonder - how exactly are you supposed to stop the bed bugs from biting?