Style | What a great look

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Little One | Mmm cozy.

I thought these knitted items were just lovely when I ran across The Velvet Acorn on Etsy. They look so warm and I love how this knitter's creativity shows through each project. What's more is she makes them available in the most lovely colors. Isn't the Sydnie Slouchy just perfect for a little girl? I want the one above for my little guy, and this for myself.

We had dinner at our place with my sister, her roommate, and the F's with their baby girl. It was so fun and, surprisingly, I wasn't very stressed about the evening. I even took a nap this afternoon! We had Pork with french fried onions and mushroom gravy, red potatoes with butter and chives, asparagus cooked with coconut oil, acorn squash, and LGF brought some of the most delicious brownies for dessert. I. Am. Stuffed. And newly obsessed with baking acorn squash. Have you ever tried it?

1. Halve an acorn squash
2. Scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff
3. Put a daub of butter and brown sugar in the hollow
4. Place (skin down) in a pan with 1/4" of water at the bottom
5. Put in the oven at 350˚ F for 45 min. to 1 hour or until soft when you poke a fork in it.
6. Let cool for a few minutes, scoop out the insides and enjoy!

Hope you have a lovely evening. Dishes are done—I'm off to bed!

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Textile | Just a tad...

Not really. I'm over-the-moon jealous that Lena has so many lovely knitted sweaters for her babe. Every day that I dress my little fellow, I want desperately to wrap him in a delightful and cozy sweater. I think that I must learn to knit. It sounds dreadful having to follow all of those directions, and the incessant stopping and asking questions because you're hopelessly stuck sounds not fun. Sorry Mama S... our Christmas visit might be a long one for you.

Time to stop moping. Let the work begin.

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DIY | Fabric Wrapping

I loved this post on Simple Mom about eco-friendly gift wrapping options. I must admit that I pride myself a bit on spending absolutely no money on wrapping items and still making a gift look lovely. It's quite fun. My method is generally the "reuse" one, but I would love to try Furoshiki. Have you heard of it? The great thing about it is people generally don't throw fabric away, so the recipient might just reuse it, too! You never know how far it could travel. This simple mom blogger has several great ideas to share in addition to these. I also love the little story she tells of her dad, raised by parents of the Great Depression, who always painstakingly unwraps gifts in order to preserve the paper and ribbons. Why don't we do that? I'd love to hear about your creative wrapping endeavors!

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Food | Molasses cookies

So excited to make these cookies this week! Several years ago I made the most heavenly ginger molasses cookies and then promptly lost the recipe. I hope these will be a nice replacement cookie for me this Christmas. Any exciting baking endeavors for you this month?

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Inspiration | Under $30 Gift Guide: For your seriously chic and artsy sis

A beautiful hardbound classic from Anthropologie, $14.95

Herringbone Tights from Gap, $14.50

Cozy homemade slippers, $25.00

Floral monogrammed cards from Rifle Paper Co., $18.00

For her impossibly stylish glasses and because she loves a bit of floral in her life from Cath Kidston, $20.00

Passport cover because she loves to travel, $17.00

 Indiana Jones DVD because she likes a bit of adventure, $9.49

 I hope that if you've been stumped on what to give your sister, or perhaps a good friend, you've found something here or that I've at least helped to get your creativity flowing. Happy shopping!

Plus, Something if you want to spend a bit more... but let's face it, it's easy to find gifts that cost "a bit more."

DIY | party cups

I love this idea from Bethany over at b*spoke. I definitely want to do this once we have a bit more cupboard space. Wouldn't it be neat to try this on a menagerie of vintage cups and mugs? I do love the simple black on white look, however.

And now, along the same DIY vein, AH and I just finished hosting a baby shower for our dear friend, and now she is aching for something new to craft. This is the blanket that she made for baby W:

Gorgeous, right?

Aside from suggesting that she make one for me... :) I have a few ideas.

DIY stockings. Since mine definitely haven't happened yet, I'm going to take advantage of these templates!

Felt monogram ornaments. Actually, I recommend just going here for a long list of projects.

For the daring who aren't afraid to lose a finger (or two)

Bake cookies and put in pretty jars with even prettier fabric on top. Next, give to the old man across the street.

This isn't crafty, but way cool: yoga with Babar.

Make a terrarium.

From a few weeks ago... knit a pouf!


And just for fun:
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Style | Blanket sweater

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Inspiration | Aesthetic Outburst

Thanks to Say Yes! To Hoboken, I have been introduced to Aesthetic Outburst, an amazing blog by an amazing momma.

A few great posts from her archives:

What we have to look forward to! (Ha! Love this!)

DIY arrow for kids

The most gorgeous kitchen tiling.

She is making 20 ornaments in 20 days (Brilliant!). My favorite so far.

Style | Minty goodness

I think this dress is lovely. How would you wear it? I'm terrible at envisioning outfits, but I think it would maybe look nice with some cream-colored opaque sweater tights and tall boots. Maybe...

Home | Confession

 
I have watched The Parent Trap 3 times in the last 3 days. Yes, it's true. I hardly ever watch movies, but my love has been gone visiting graduate schools, so Seb and I have been on a vacation of sorts. Hehe... I think he likes it, too. It put him to sleep last night!

Why do I love this movie? Because they meet boys named Wilfred, they eat Fig Newtons, Maureen O'Hara is breathtaking, they carry hard suitcases (why did we ever move to duffles? How dumb.), and because the Grandpa is awesome—especially when he manipulates Maureen O'Hara into refreshing her wardrobe and hair before visiting her ex.

So, in an effort to share my love for this film, I've compiled a few things for you.

- Have you seen Design Sponge's Living in the Parent Trap? It's a must.

-Also, I'm completely taken with the California Ranch house in the movie. I love little cottages and cozy furniture, but if I ever got the chance to live in a place like this, I would probably faint.

-My Parent Trap picks: plaid shirt, checked shirt, dress, sweater skirt, red lipstick, bench, pendleton throw.

-Buy it.

I hope you're inspired to pop this movie in at the earliest opportunity and that you fall in love with it either for the first time, or all over again.

Little One | Liberty Print Bibs

This is too cool not to share immediately. Well, I resisted for about 10 minutes, but I can't stand it anymore. Check this out.

Little One | Cute pacifier clip!

 
Finally! I have come across an adorable pacifier clip. I confess I'm not a huge fan of the ones that just look like ribbon. I love ribbon, but for some reason not as a pacifier clip. My sister bought us this super adorable knitted paci clip that has a little plush bee on it. We've already worn out some of the pieces, but I stitched it all back together and replaced a few parts making it as good as new! It would be nice to have one of these, too, just so I can wash the other one and have a backup (don't worry, I do wash it). Also, speaking from experience, the hardware on this clip look very durable. Maybe you'll find someone to get this for for Christmas or an upcoming baby shower!

Happy Wednesday!

Art | For baby

 
Isn't this lovely? I would love to have one of these to hang above Seb's crib. Sweet dreams!