Life According To Instagram

Quite a bit of sewing going on, mostly because I just love spending time in my new sewing space! Everything has a place and it's just SO much easier to do anything with clear surfaces. Definitely don't miss having to shift things to make those clear surfaces so I could sew or cut fabric!

I seem to be obsessed with flying geese and HSTs lately. Do you guys go through phases too? Tell me you do so I feel marginally better, thanks.

I've been enjoying cooking with gas again :) I forget how much quicker it is, and I don't have to be super gentle with my pots and pans lest I crack the stove top.

Also enjoying having so many good places to eat nearby. Our newest favourite is the Korean place a few minutes down the street. And then we found out a Korean BBQ is opening up nearby very soon... YAY!

And we've been making these banana peanut butter smoothies... so flipping good! We'd gone to Pinkberry and the hubs had one and fell in love with the combination. I figured we could recreate it at home, and so we did! With some honey added in for good measure. It's an especially brilliant thing to have when I'm driving to work and I can drink my brekkie hehe!

Mostly, we're just enjoying our new home. I feel good here, like it's a good fit. I wake up and I smile because I realise again that we're in our new home. And our second sofa FINALLY arrived. Bloody ten weeks to arrive, but well worth the wait! It's incredibly comfy, and enormous. I mean look at my leg stumps when I sit in the sofa! I've already accidentally on purpose fallen asleep on the sofa... so so good. Looking forward to many more accidental naps in the future!

And yes, I'm in jammies all bloody day long and I will not apologise for it :)

Instagram

How was everyone's weekend? We had a lovely weekend together... actually out of the house! We went to Northampton, ate at our favourite Mexican place, walked around and loved it. On Sunday we went to our favourite Vietnamese place and omgsogood. Having spent the last couple of weeks kind of homebound because we weren't well, I think going to the local dump would've been exciting too. Well, maybe not.

Anyway, here's some pictures from Instagram...

Out and About:
- I'm attempting to 'pick' the hub's nose while he's driving. I'm a hoot.

- MEXICAN FOOOOOOD! Tortilla soup, a chicken burrito and chicken quesadillas. Not a word was spoken as we inhaled them.

- Stripes! I love stripes, even though I'm short and probably shouldn't be wearing horizontal stripes. But I have come to terms with my shortness. It's not like everyone doesn't already know I'm pocket-sized...

- I'm a NINJA! Again, car shenanigans.

Food... I Cooked It:
- Chili with a floating corn muffin.

- Pasta, pesto, chicken. Yum.

- Pork chops with roasted brussel sprouts.

- Salmon (trout, really... because it was on sale) patties with dill sauce and salad.

And then there's cats. Ah the cats :)

Oh Hi. I've Been Busy...

My sisters have been here so the blog's been super quiet... my apologies. It's going to continue to be a bit quiet until they leave... apologies again. We've been having loads of fun, shopping and eating... and there's been lots of laughing. Lots. 

I didn't take my camera with me to Brooklyn, so here's some pictures from my iPhone...

- A girl at the train station who thinks she's Lady GaGa. I don't know how she walked around in those stupid shoes, but she managed just fine. I would've been flat on my face on the first step.

- We had dinner at Buttermilk Channel the evening I arrived and OMG it was SO good. Soooo good.

- Amended posters in the subway always make me laugh.

- Greenlight Bookstore... one of my favourites.

- Lunch at Bark Hot Dogs. We ordered way too much... and finished it all. Shame.

- Ice cream at Van Leeuwen. Nom nom nom.

- One evening we got super lazy after we got back to the apartment so we ordered pizzas from Speedy Romeo. Holy crap it was good. With a pizza named The Dick Dale, how could it not be?

- Chicken and waffles at Mike's Coffeeshop. So good.

And when we returned to CT, the eating didn't stop...

- Lunch at Pho Boston. Yummiest noodles ever.

- Rein's Deli... a necessary stop!

- PINKBERRY!!! I love this chocolate hazelnut flavour. Please let them have it always and forever.

- I roasted a thing of beef. It was delicious and my house smelled so lovely.

- We got our nails did.

- Found adult onesies at Target which I want my sister to buy because she insisted she wanted them.

- Encountered a lot of cuteness this morning at the farmer's market.

- And then had more Pinkberry. Because we could.

Instagram

Yesterday, my sister professed her love for Instagram. I really, really love it too. It makes sharing things so easy, it's got an entire community on there, and it's just hilarious fun. It does make blogging about stuff redundant at times, but since when has that stopped me?

This bunch of photos are called Pictures Featuring My Left Hand...

I was ironing the hub's shirt and I found an almond in his shirt pocket. His response? "Oh. So that's where it went." Good grief.

One of the hydrangea flowers from the garden. The hubs had trimmed the bushes and chopped this one off with about half an inch of stem left, so I had to float it in a bowl. It's still looking good, actually!

Giant blueberry. 'Nuf said.

Mutant cherry. It's either giving birth or has a giant hemorrhoid. 

The first salad I made with the grape tomatoes from my garden!!! I was grinning while eating. Not advisable.

Blueberry buckle I made with some vanilla ice cream. So good.

Prawn / shrimp salad I made one evening when I was completely out of ideas.

Bunless burger (it's messy but kind of fun to eat), a hot dog and coleslaw... summer eats :)

And of course, the cats. Sometimes I want to squish them into a ball and carry them in my pockets. But I won't. For now.

Instagram

- First peep at the baby grape tomatoes :)

- A mini quilt I quilted and put the binding on... photos to come!

- Finally washed my Sparkling Cider quilt and put it on the bed.

- Very tempted to wear red and navy Saltwater sandals together. Maybe on 4th of July?

- The hubs very pleased with rounding up the rowdy kitties. Don't they look like one cat, two heads?

- Isobel. Drunk.

- Isobel. Cross-eyed.

- Isobel. Pretending to ride a horse? Rocket? Hugging the couch? Look at the intensity in her face. Silliest cat that ever lived.

Life According To Instagram

This past weekend, the hubs and I were sick so we had no adventures. Actually the hubs fell sick just before I did, and decided that I was stealing his thunder by falling sick too. He's such a dork. 

I wish I'd been able to go to Spring Market in Kansas City but some friends and I had our own fun on Instagram. We started tagging our pictures with #notgoingtomarket and it was hilarious fun. We ended up with something like 304 pictures from various folks! 

My first entry to #notgoingtomarket... on the couch in my jammies, watching my weird cat look out the window. Which freaks me out because I always think there's something there.

Me and my silly face, because I'm obviously so thrilled to be home.

Started another little paper piecing project with Hello Luscious.

And me holding my tiny cat in my fingers. Because I'm funny and I know it.

Made myself lots of iced coffee because the weather turned icky.

Received my cute button sewing box from See Jane Work!

I still laugh at the sign at the jewellery store in the plaza I work in...

On the sofa with Isobel, being stalked by Matilda.

A salad platter at our favourite deli... chicken, potato and egg salads, served with bagel chips. My sister Averil LOVES the stuff and I like ordering it because it reminds me of her :) Also because it tastes really yummy. But mostly the sister thing.

Made some Mexican lasagna for dinner and it's SO good.

Salmon was on sale last week so salmon patties for dinner!

I ran errands during the week and treated myself to some Pinkberry because it was sooooo humid. And because I'm greedy.

And as always, kitties!!! That last picture... They'd been fighting seconds before it was taken. Then they just kind of lay down and gazed into each others' eyes. Freaking weird cats.

Instagram

Instagram pictures from the last few days...

I dug out a bag from my wardrobe and found $5.26 in it. It's pathetic how excited I was about it.

Met Shannon to hang out and we ended up at Pinkberry. Again. We both got salted caramel yogurt, Shannon's with chocolate chips, and mine with toasted almonds. Which cost exactly $5.26. I'm not even shitting you.

When she dropped me off, we went to check to see if my lilac bush had bloomed... and it had!!! So beautiful! :)

And in my mailbox was a Spring Carnival template set from Katy! She'd very kindly sent it to me as a birthday gift and I can't wait to get started!!!

Quilted the baby quilt, and put the binding on later that evening. I'll never tire of sewing on binding. I hope.

And then I made hexagons on the couch and in bed, which then became the baby bib!

And as always, there's the kitties! Awww mah babies :)

Instagram

It's been a while since I've inundated you with pictures I inundate people with on Instagram... 

A couple of quilty projects I've worked on lately. The Little Apples Circle quilt and the baby quilt I'm making for friends. The latter is basted and halfway quilted. I'll get my shit together and finish it soon. Pinkie swear.

A few things I've chowed down on lately. My first ever iceberg wedge salad. SO GOOD! I almost didn't mind the bacon bits floating about.

Steamed cheeseburgers with oozing cheese... good grief. The hubs and I didn't utter a word while we breathed in our burgers. Words would've ruined the moment.

Pinkberry opened close by so Shannon and I went to do some shopping and partake of some yogurty goodness. We'd tried once before when we had lunch together with our husbands but the men refused to wait in line. Wussies. Also, I must say that every time I have Pinkberry, I think of the Seinfeld episode where they keep eating that delicious non-fat yogurt and put on weight. This stuff can't be great for you because it tastes too bloody good.

And finally, eggplant fries. The only way I voluntarily eat eggplant.

As Aneela has so aptly called it... This is CAT SPAM. But look at them! Can you blame me??? :) My babies! Also, they are still in love with that stupid box and Matilda has adopted the basin I use for hand washing clothes. Never buy your cats beds because you might as well just set fire to the money.

And just to cement my fate as crazy cat lady, here's Izzy being extremely cute and clueless. The very last picture is what happens when you call her name. She's so cross-eyed, she has no idea where you are. I think it's the cutest thing ever.

Instagram

A few pics from my Instagram...

Eaten: Made mushroom cream sauce to pour over chicken; obsessed with whole wheat pockets stuffed with roast beef, turkey and salad; my rubbish version of shepherd's pie; and a delicious Tilapia sandwich at Rein's Deli.

Quilty: Using my Make Life... jelly roll to make a baby quilt for a dear friend back in Singapore; basting said Make Life... quilt; the quilting on the Chopsticks quilt; and some lovely Ta Dots plus a Moda Bella and Kona in the mail.

Etcetera: Pretty tulips; Izzy; extreme close-up of Matilda; and honey wheat pretzels, my fave.

Instagram

A few pictures from my Instagram...

Halfway through quilting the churn dash quilt; beautiful solids from the first Block of the Month I'll be doing! (Amish with a Twist); hand quilting my little improv quilt in bed; and some shot cottons I bought on Etsy recently :)

Bibambap from Trader Joe's; tried a new chicken recipe (I highly recommend it!); gyoza drenched in sriracha; and spinach and ricotta lasagna.

Life According To Instagram

I realised I haven't been posting pictures I'd taken on Instagram so here's a few of my faves...

Quilty things... Basting the churn dash quilt; arranging blocks for a custom baby quilt; playing with the Moda Bella Solids card; and figuring out a layout for the Pickle Dish mini quilt I started.

Cooked, baked & eaten... Quesadillas; German pancakes; Italian wedding soup; and a mini white chocolate cheesecake.

And of course, there's the cats :) The cats have adopted a box and I don't have the heart to get rid of it even though the sight of it irritates me. Also, they're fluff monsters and there's always enough fluff on the carpet to make a small cat.

Life According To Instagram

Some pictures I took with Instagram...

My sister Aurelia decided that each sister needed a Domo dressed as a dino. Looks like an army of Domos...

A quilt label we sell at the shop that I think I need to sew onto myself.

Sunsets... because I love them so.

I take really terrible daily outfit pictures that aren't even daily. Also, I dress super boring.

I got back into cross-stitching... A gnome for my sister Aurelia, and a ladybug bear for me! 

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas :)

Clockwise: The care package from my family in Singapore, a holly bush I saw, sending out Christmas cards; and a poinsettia a customer brought into the shop.

And as always, snuggling with the kitties. There's actually many, MANY more kitty pictures. I'll spare you. You're welcome.

Instagram

My love affair with Instagram continues :)

(Seriously, if you're not on there, you really should join... It's so much fun!)

Food!

Clockwise: Salmon and corn; escargot (because we were feeling fancy); homemade chicken nuggets and mashed sweet potatoes; and duck noodle soup at our favourite Vietnamese restaurant.

Things that make me go heehee...

Clockwise: Half the lint from drying the Strings Attached quilt... HALF; looking at my coffee flask, water bottle and make-up case, I had the realisation that I really like red; my sneakers in card form!; and  a knight in shining armour checking out a fur coat!

Quilty business :)

Clockwise: Giving the rotary cutter a workout with trimming blocks; more cutting... blech; my co-worker gave me two gorgeous Kaffe Fassett fabrics in thanks for taking her shift at short notice; and quilt designing is messy business!!!

Kitties!!!! 'Nuff said :)

The piece de resistance... This made me laugh out loud in the shop and scare everyone within a 50 ft radius of me.

Back In The Studio

I got back in the studio yesterday! :) I sewed all day and it was awesome!!! I do love my electricity heehee... Here's some Instagram proof!

I worked on a custom quilt, and these are the first four blocks done. It's unnatural how much I love stars. I think I like these... there's a filter on the picture so the colour's not 100% correct, but they're all green, pink, grey, yellow and brown Kona solids. Keeping track of what I've paired with what to avoid a repeat if possible is a bit of a pain but I have 16 blocks done and am hoping to finish the last four tonight. And then I have to think about how to quilt this... Loopy quilting? Straight line? Suggestions?

These girls spent most of yesterday underfoot, trying to distract me from sewing, begging for cuddles. It's hard to be annoyed when they're this cute. They finally ended up laying on my spot on the couch, waiting for me to join them when I was all done :)

And just because, here's what the sky looked like this evening. With the time change, dusk comes much too early, so at least there's a pretty sky to look at when 5pm rolls around.

Alrighty, I'm going to check on my pork stew and then sew! Wheeeeeeeee! :) Honestly, I'd hug electricity if it didn't zap the crap out of me.