Pinteresting, Vol.6

Happy Friday and Happy Halloween and welcome to Pinteresting! The part of the show where I roundup my favorite pins from this week and share them with the world. I pin recipes, decorating ideas, religious stuff, teaching thoughts, funny stuff from Tumblr, kids' activities, crafting ideas, knitting/crochet patterns, and cute cat pictures.


1) 

This Christmas Prep List

Now that Hallowtide is upon us, we can finally begin turning our eyes to the holiday season.  This list is for the thing you can do in November (which starts tomorrow, by the way!) to prepare for the holiday crazies. It is far from comprehensive and some of the things on the list are a bit frivolous and silly. I do like the idea of doubling some dinners to freeze, making a gift-giving list, getting a haircut, and giving your house a deep clean. Since my current house mate is planning to move out December 1st, I feel like November will be the month to do some serious deep cleaning while we pack up his stuff.

 2) 

Soul Cakes Recipe

Haley at Carrots for Michaelmas tweaked a more traditional recipe for these gluten free little cakes, traditionally given to people during Hallowtide, especially on the Feast of All Souls, to remember to pray for our dead as well as to recall that death is not the end. You can google All Souls' Day traditions and come up with a plethora of information. I plan to make them but I think I'm going the plenty-of-gluten route because I happen to have regular AP flour on hand. 

3) 

Cauliflower Tater Tots

I love cauliflower. Alton Brown actually did a special episode of Good Eats (probably my favorite foodie show of all time) dedicated to this member of the cabbage family. But even the great Alton did not think to use them in tater tots. I'm really loving all the clever recipes for things that are substituting some of the heavy starchiness of potatoes (as wonderful and delicious and God-given as they are, they're not the healthiest thing in large quantities) with cauliflower. This recipe looks crazy simple and very smart. The only change I'd make is I would probably leave out the bell pepper. I wonder if you could pre-form a bunch of them and put them in the freezer to bake at one's leisure? mmm....

4)

This Tea Set

This tea for two tea set is so lovely. It's functional and extremely beautiful in its simplicity. There's even a tea light holder beneath the pot to keep the bottom warm! I don't know if this could ever replace my precious little white teapot but it really is lovely.

5) 

This Christmas Printable

After J&M's Sweet Sixteen, I've become a teensy bit obsessed with chalkboard art. Granted, I'm not a very good freehand artist (at all), but I feel like I did so much research on it that it would be foolish not to put it to use. I even bought a roll of self-adhesive chalkboard paper from Michael's which I intend to apply to the back wall of the kitchen between the pantry and the fridge. I think putting these kinds of pretty messages up would brighten up the kitchen considerably.

6)  

This ornament

I originally pinned this because I know someone who is really into penguins. But I started thinking about it, and about all the amigurumi patterns I have, and thought, What if we made a bunch of ornament-sized, Christmas themed amigurumi for the holidays??? I doubt I'll have time to dedicate to a project like this in time for this Christmas, but it's a fun idea. It was actually something I thought about doing last year when the gifts for my immediate family were in the form of donations to Heifer International (I was going to knit a bee ornament for my mom because I gifted a hive of bees in her name, a goat for my dad, bunnies for my sisters, and so on.)

 

That's it for this week's edition of Pinteresting! I always enjoy curating my favorite, most recent pins. If you're not currently on Pinterest, make sure you take a moment to say goodbye to your loved ones before you log on, because there's no going back! You can follow me on Pinterest (any or all of my boards, find your cup of tea) HERE.

love,

Willow

 

**Author's Note: None of the images in this post are my property. I have borrowed them from Pinterest and made my best effort to ensure that the Pinterest pages linked to link to an original source. If you see your work here and want it taken down please see my About page and contact me. Thank you for not suing.**

Pinteresting, Vol. 5

Happy Friday and welcome to Pinteresting! The part of the show where I roundup my favorite pins from this week and share them with the world. I pin recipes, decorating ideas, religious stuff, teaching thoughts, funny stuff from Tumblr, kids' activities, crafting ideas, knitting/crochet patterns, and cute cat pictures.

On to the Pinteresting list!

1)

 Upright Pin Curls/Faux Bob Retro Curls

The Freckled Fox is seriously an internet gem. She has looooooong hair but her hairstyles work for almost everyone. Also, she talks about how to make a style work for different types of hair in most of her tutorials. This one is pretty labor intensive, but if you're going to a Mad Men or Gatsby party or dressing up for Halloween or a wedding, this look is so classic. Go look at her other tutorials because they are awesome.

2)  

This cute Flower Stitch

This is really cute and would be a fun motif to play with (if I ever get around to stitching things in a designerly way - someday maybe). The page it's from even has a video that shows you how to do it which is neat. Somebody want to make a doll blanket or something with this flower stitch as a border or something?

3)

Lemon. Sunflower. Cupcakes.

I know, summer's over and we've crossed into pumpkin-spice-flavored-everything season, but I came across these and they are so cute! I love lemony flavored sweet stuff and I really can't get over how the centers of the sunflowers are oreos. I'm definitely going to make these for some summery occasion next year.

4)

Mr. Rogers Quote

Mr. Rogers. Everyone's favorite cardigan-wearing neighbor says it best. It's hard to remember in today's "Cult of Parenthood" that children don't really need to speak Spanish before they're 5 - they need to know how to play. Play is how they learn cause and effect, consequences, problem solving, interpersonal relationships, communication, and a host of other things that are vital to being functional, productive, healthy adults. Disagree if you will, but I'd rather hang out with kids who have wild imaginations than kids who can talk back to me in 4 languages.

5)

A Dressed Up Treat Plate

I love baking for my neighbors and friends. I hate giving these treats on my good plates or worse - a boring, flimsy paper plate. This hack comes to the rescue! I have tons of ribbon in a box in my closet that I pull out from time to time and use to decorate gift bags and things. Why not use it to dress up a disposable paper plate? Now you can give away delicious baked goodies with lovely presentation without having to come knocking 2 weeks later asking for your decorative plate back. Win-win!

6)

Decorating with Magnets

If you're like me and rent your current accommodations, decorating can be a bit of a challenge. You're (generally) not allowed to punch holes in the walls and you don't want to use too much tape because after a while tape will rip away the paint and then you lose your security deposit which leads to lots of sad faces all around. :( Tacks still put holes in the walls but they're far less intrusive than nails and tape and magnets are fun. I don't know if this is the best solution but it certainly looks neat!

That's it for this week's edition of Pinteresting! I always enjoy curating my favorite, most recent pins. If you're not currently on Pinterest, make sure you take a moment to say goodbye to your loved ones before you log on, because there's no going back! You can follow me on Pinterest (any or all of my boards, find your cup of tea) HERE.

love,

Willow

 

**Author's Note: None of the images in this post are my property. I have borrowed them from Pinterest and made my best effort to ensure that the Pinterest pages linked to link to an original source. If you see your work here and want it taken down please see my About page and contact me. Thank you for not suing.**

Yarn Along - Too Coowl for School

Greetings! Obviously one of favorite things is reading, but I also quite love knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little link-up so once you're done here go visit and see what everyone else is up to.

 

The Christmas knitting crazy fest continues! For serious, I was babysitting last Saturday night and after the littles went to sleep I wrapped up J's this-is-not-a-Christmas-themed-hat slouch. As in, I was finishing the last round of decreases as the parents walked in at 10pm. The next day (or was it that night? who remembers these things?), I cast on for this cowl. I'm making it for my cousin who asked me nicely to knit her something for Christmas and since she wears the stuff I make her, she gets what she wants.  

It's a darker, cooler red than this. The light was wonky. Mea culpa.

I met the Cables and Eyelets Cowl a few years ago, and it started with the hat which can be found here. I love the hat, I love the pattern, I love that a Harry Potter superfan figured out how to knit something our darling Hermione wore in one scene of a movie... And I love that it so perfectly modifies into a cowl. It's great. The first one I made was meant for a friend but I wound up keeping it and sweet heavens it is the most delicious thing to have around one's neck! I'm very excited to make one for my darling cousin, C--------.

Reading: I haven't just been reading, I've been lesson planning. It's that time of year again! Yes, it's mid-October and that means that Confirmation classes are starting up NEXT WEEK so I'm hard at work putting together the first few discussions. I always feel better about starting classes when I know I have the first few weeks planned. I'm teaching 2nd year preparation this year which is a whole new ballgame for me, so do send up a little prayer for me that I don't muck it up too badly? Much thanks. The curriculum our parish uses is college level material for the 2nd years. Oh, lordy...

Found at THIS Etsy Shop

If you want to know what else I've got on my needles, head on over to my Ravelry page for a look-see.

That's it for me today. What have you been knitting and reading lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!

Love,

Willow

 

*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. The "Coffee and Jesus" print is property of Evan Bell and linked to that Etsy shop. All other images used in this post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with my express permission. See my About Page for details.*

Pinteresting, Vol. 4

Happy Friday and welcome to Pinteresting! The part of the show where I roundup my favorite pins from this week and share them with the world. I pin recipes, decorating ideas, religious stuff, teaching thoughts, funny stuff from Tumblr, kids' activities, crafting ideas, knitting/crochet patterns, and cute cat pictures.


1)

 These Old-Fashioned Dating Rules

 I'm an old-fashioned person at heart (don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone and modern medicine and indoor plumbing) and I think old-fashioned values should make a comeback. Old fashioned values like being clear about your intentions when you date someone. The modern dating scene is complicated and confusing and nobody seems to say what they mean anymore and that is one of the main reasons I will probably be a spinster. Oh well.

2)

Christmas Tree Light Hack

 Guys, I am trying so freaking hard to refrain from turning this into an OMG CHRISTMAS blog. Yet everywhere you look, Christmas stuff is popping up. Let's be real: Christmas stuff has been out since the day after Labor Day back in September. What the frick, y'all. Anyway, this is a super cool trick brought to us by the folks that deck the Rockefeller tree in NYC (and who knows better than them, amiright?) about stringing lights on the tree vertically to light your tree from the inside out so to speak. When I deck my tree in December, I'll let you know if this is legit or just a waste of lights.

3)

This tank top

This is something that pretty much sums me up. My cat lives with me, comes to work with me (he's currently on the other side of my desk chowing down on kitty kibble) and is basically my bestest dude. I don't get out much these days - having no moneys as it happens - so I spend most of my time with the fuzzy beast.

4)

This Quote

 I'm not entirely sure where it's from or who said it, but the caption on what I pinned was a quote from Thucydides:

"The society that separates scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools." -Thucydides

I dunno, guys, I just think it's important to be "tempered by knowledge" and courageous as well. 

5) 

Hanging wreaths on windows

 The person who came up with this (the original poster's dad) is a damn genius. I have two big windows in our downstairs (yes, only two) and our front door is made of reinforced steel with a wiry metal security door in front of it. My mother has jerry-rigged (spelling?) an old welcome sign hanger that has various painted wrought-iron signs for all the seasons. Right now it's a jack-o-lantern. It's cute, but around the holidays I'd like to be able to hang a proper wreath. Maybe next month I'll diy a couple to hang on our windows with this idea. It's a wire hanger cut and shaped with pliers.

6)

Stash-busting bookmarks

If you're a knitter, you probably have a stash. I'm always running into a problem where I have tons of scraps leftover from my projects. Sometimes I can make other smallish projects, or I can do pom pom garlands or little bunting or baby stuff, but other times I'm at a loss. Enter these. I'm a big reader, my sister is a big reader, I have lots of readerly friends... and the readers I know and love will casually use an old tissue as a bookmark but there's something sweet and special about a fabric bookmark. These patterns call for superfine yarn (who actually uses that, really?) but I'm pretty sure they can be adapted for heavier weight yarn with a little jiggery-pokery.

7) 

 
This is important. Please write it down or put it in your phone. If not for you, then do it for someone else. I checked and the number is correct. Suicide is hard to talk about but the people at the other end of this number make it their job to talk about it. 

That's it for this week's edition of Pinteresting! I always enjoy curating my favorite, most recent pins. If you're not currently on Pinterest, make sure you take a moment to say goodbye to your loved ones before you log on, because there's no going back! You can follow me on Pinterest (any or all of my boards, find your cup of tea) HERE.

love,

Willow

 

**Author's Note: None of the images in this post are my property. I have borrowed them from Pinterest and made my best effort to ensure that the Pinterest pages linked to link to an original source. If you see your work here and want it taken down please see my About page and contact me. Thank you for not suing.**

Yarn Along - Keep (Jaclyn) Weird

Greetings! Obviously one of favorite things is reading, but I also quite love knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little link-up so once you're done here go visit and see what everyone else is up to.

 

I meant to post this last week or the week before. I dunno, ever since the party happened my head is all screwy. Read on!

I finished M's Snowflakes hat. It's currently blocking along with my Cedar Leaf Shawlette.  Still in hyper-Christmas-knit mode, I immediately cast on for J's version of the Checked Slouch. I've had to go a little slower on this one, though, because so much knitting (I finished M's hat in 11 days!) with so much wool was actually drying out my hands and making them hurt. At least, I'm blaming the wool. It may be something completely different, but I'm blaming the wool.

**UPDATE** Jac's hat is basically done, I just need to weave in ends and block and give it a pom-pom (because what is the point of a funky hat if it doesn't have a pom pom!?). I don't think it looks too Christmasy, and neither do you, got it? Good. Also, the party was fun.

It does not look like a Christmas hat. Shut up.

I'm doing J's hat in cream, a dark coral/rose, and a light, springy green. I'm praying it doesn't look too Christmasy. Does it look too Christmasy? I was originally going to do it with a dark tweedy green but it definitely looked like Christmas. I switched to the darker blue from M's hat and it started looking like the 4th of July or a berry cobbler hat. Argh! So I went with a Kramer Perfection wool blend in a lighter green and so far it looks more like spring than Christmas.

Sorry for the crappy iPhone pic. But see? It's called Sprout!

I plan to work a few more rows and make a decision on Sunday because OMG SWEET SIXTEEN. I'm starting to freak out. We have about 35 confirmed guests which means we're planning on about 10 walk-ins and we're still working on the playlist and I'm beginning to panic. It'll be fine, I'm sure. I just need the week to go by faster.

Oh, I called the project "Keep (Jaclyn) Weird" as a play on the famous "Keep Portland Weird" and the fact that this sister is particularly proud of her weirdness. High school, man. I don't miss that part of it.

Reading lately: Honestly, not much. As I finished Snowflakes I was watching Bones on Netflix and focusing on the decreases. Then I cast on for J's hat and I've been party-prepping and haven't done a lot of reading. I did pick up and read a few chapters of Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday? the last couple of nights. It's very entertaining and full of history (so very much something I love). I'm all but done with it though, so I think I'll go back to listening to Neverwhere and perhaps pick up The Privilege of Being Catholic for my bedtime reading.

That's it for me and this week's knitting! What are you knitting or reading this week? Let me know in comments and then hop on over to Ginny's and see what everyone else is up to. Then, think of me fondly as I work madly to pull off an epic Sweet Sixteen. (Do you get my joke? I made a "Think of Me" reference and it's a masquerade party, a la Phantom of the Opera? Get it???)




Love,

Willow

 *Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. All other images used in this post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with my express permission. See my About Page for details.*