New Knitting Pattern

I just released my latest pattern for sale in my Etsy Store!

This is the pattern we will be casting on at this month at Knitting class on Monday, July 26th.  If you are in the greater Seattle area and would like to attend class, contact me for details!

And of course.... today is your last day to post a comment on my 150k post for your chance to win the awesome collection of blog candy!

Teacher Gifts and other Gift Ideas

Before I get too involved in this post, I want to remind you all about my 150k hit blog candy!  Read all about it (and post a comment) at yesterday's entry.  :)  The drawing is only two days away!

This post is probably coming a bit late, as most kids are out of school, but it might be one to tuck away in the ol' noggin for next year.  In the two years that Sammie has been "school age" (preschool that is), I have found it pretty difficult to find meaningful and thoughtful gifts for her teachers.  I like to give practical gifts, but those don't always convey the depth of our feelings for the teacher.  I think we hit the bullseye this year, however.  :)  I got the idea from my friend and fellow knitter, Deb!

Market Bags!

And wouldn't you know, my monthly knit-along group (not the one I teach, but THIS ONE that I participate in through my favorite knitting store Twisted) had a market bag pattern this month!  SCORE!

I knit these two bags up pretty quick - they only took about 2 hours each.  Then we filled them with fresh apples.  I asked Dave for a good apple recipe, and he reminded me of our favorite breakfast dish - Apple Pancake Sam (and YES, that's the actual name of the recipe from the Tassajara Bread Book!).  It was perfect. Not only a delicious dish, but the name of it would remind her teachers of our precious little Sammie Girl.  

Here is a close-up of the 4x6 Recipe Card I included with the gift.  I used the Summer Cottage digi kit from The Shabby Shoppe.  After printing the cards, I tucked them in a CTMH Flip Flap.  It worked perfectly!

Now if market bags aren't your thing, you might want to consider the My Creations Memory Keeper Box.  They are made from sturdy white chipboard, and have a magnetic closure.  They are perfect for keeping treasures, cards, 9x9 Accordion Albums, and more!

Here is my latest one.  (I have a customer who purchases these as birthday gifts for all her friends.  She orders one for each friend having a birthday every  month.  Isn't that thoughtful?).  I used some left over Stampin' Up papers, and the stamp is from The Greeting Farm.  The embellishments are all CTMH.  I always include a matching gift card holder with my boxes.  At Christmas, we gave Sammie's teachers personalized boxes filled with baked treats, and a gift card to an office supply store. 

I used my cell phone for these images, so they aren't super crisp.  Sorry!  :)

Hopefully this has helped sparked some creative ideas in the gift giving department!

More Vacation - and 150K hits!

Hey folks,
We're back from our vacation!  We had an amazing time, and it felt so good to have a full week to relax.  :)

Before I show you more vacation photos, I want to say a huge THANK YOU for visiting my blog so faithfully over the last two years.  Can you believe I'm about to reach 150,000 hits?!?!  AMAZING!  In honor of that milestone, I'd like to give away some blog candy!

Post a comment here, and I'll pick a lucky winner the morning of July 1st!  This "candy" is worth over $70!!!

Now, back to vacation photos!  :)  

My favorite little shop in Cannon Beach (besides the yarn store)

Happy Girl

Sam's new favorite game:

A new hat design - the 1st Birthday Cake Hat:

Side view (after she tried to pull it off)

Top View:

Pizza A'fetta lunch:

Date night!!!

Gotta love happy hour.  The "Rose Rolls" were sooooo good!

Num, Num, Num (as Ruby would say)

Date night continues at the Seaside Library (yes, we are old):

Date Night ends on a fatteningly lovely high note: 

Vacation!

We're on vacation in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  :)

We've had an awesome time so far, even though the weather hasn't been spectacular.  I've gotten some knitting done, we took Sammie to see Toy Story 3 (so cute!), we've played on the beach, and best of all - gotten to eat Dave's amazing cooking!

Here are some highlights...

Ruby Layouts

I made a few more Studio J Layouts tonight and had to share.  I just love this program!  I think I've yet to use the same paper packet twice for my layouts.  :)

Remember: "You never pay to play with Studio J!"  I just made that phrase up, but it's true!  You can use the complete, FULL version of Studio J by clicking here.  

Upload your photos, pick a layout, some papers, and give it a try!  You only pay for the layouts to be printed and shipped to you.  And you can save your work and come back later.  Purchase 5 or more layouts and get FREE page protectors.  Purchase 10 or more layouts and get FREE shipping!

500!

For once I wasn't neglecting the blog.  No, that's not why I haven't blogged all week.

Truly, the reason for the lack of posting has been that this is my 500th (yes, five HUNDREDTH) post.  I wanted it to be something special, meaningful, inspiring, etc.  And I'm totally out of all that right now!  All last week I scoured my brain trying to come up with something cool for the 500th post, and nada - nothing.

Sorry!

Really... I'm very dissatisfied about this.  It's eating away at me.  It makes me feel like a bad blogger.  But, honestly, we can't all be amazing bloggers all of the time.  I guess this is just a season in my life where other things are taking priority.  Lots. and. lots. of. other. things.  These are all good things, but I really miss my time in blogland.

I'll do better!  I promise!  :)

In the meantime, I taught a knitting class on Saturday.  We casted on these lovelies: my newest pattern - the "Skyscraper Fingerless Gloves".

I think the ladies enjoyed them.  It was hard to tell because we were really busy devouring the amazing Peach Tarts that Dave made us for dessert.  (Yes, Dave makes desserts for my knitting class attendees!  He rocks that way).  This tart was pure decadence.  Imagine the best peach pie filling you've ever tasted, but instead of pie crust, it was paired with a buttery lemon short cake instead.  Num-num-num-num (as my little Ruby likes to say).  

The picture really doesn't do it justice.  And you'll have to pardon me as I wipe the saliva off my chin.  Did I say yum?!

If you'd like to purchase my Skyscraper pattern just visit my Etsy or Ravelry stores.  :)  

And I'll try to come up with some great "Pearls of Wisdom" for my 1000th post I guess.  

Goodie Box Day!

It's goodie box day over at my website!   Click HERE if you want to check it out!

(or go to www.nonapearl.myctmh.com!)

Studio J Layouts

Last night I held a free crop in my studio, and while my customers were busy creating I made a few Studio-J layouts!  I just love how fast and easy (and beautiful) the pages turn out!  In just under 4 hours, I was able to make all 5 of these layouts - including journaling!

As you can see, it's been a while since I was able to do scrapbooking.  These photos go back to September of 2009 for Ruby's baby shower.  I also scrapped Thanksgiving, and Christmas pictures.  I only have 1 more Christmas layout to go, and I can start working on 2010 pictures!  YAY!  For someone as busy as me, I love the versatility, flexibility and speed of the Studio J scrapbooking option.

Check out my layouts!  Click on the photos to see the pages larger!

Want to try out Studio J for yourself?  It's FREE to play with the FULL version of the software and there's nothing to download to your computer - only pay for the layouts you want printed and mailed to you!

Try it out at www.nonapearl.myctmh.com and click on "Studio J Online Scrapbooking" in the menu on the left side of the page!

Brag on my hubby...

I haven't really blogged much about Dave lately, but oooohhhhh man, does he deserve high praise.

Ever since he graduated last August, Dave has become as enamored with cooking as I am with knitting - maybe even more so (and that is saying A LOT).  He has been reading cookbooks and commentaries by famous chefs, watching youtube tutorials, and even ordered a set of cooking dvds.  He has experimented, and taken over the kitchen to the point that everything in there is "his" now.  I love it!

I think the best part of Dave's new hobby is that I don't have to cook any more.  It was a chore for me, but it is a JOY for him.  Can I just say I'm smitten with my husband all over again?

Here are a few photos of the meals he has created for our family lately:

This was a Spinach salad topped with brown sugar-baked bacon, sauted baby pb mushrooms, sliced and crumbled quail eggs and a honey mustard vinegarette.  It was paired with flank steak, potatoes, and asparagus.

This was a Thai Coconut Chicken Curry with kale served over brown rice.

Shirred Egg on toast with chives - a favorite for breakfast dinners

This one was from a meal when Dave was cooking his way through Rick Bayless' book.  WOW - so yummy but I think I gained about 5 pounds from eating so much homemade guacamole...

It was - Roasted poblano guacamole with garlic and parsley (served with blue corn chips)

- Grilled steak tacos with roasted poblanos and grilled onions
- Mexican rice (cooked properly...soaked, drained, fried, and simmered with sauted onion and garlic)

It's a GOODIE box day!

Jackpot June is going in full swing!  Today only get a $200 collection of amazing *surprise* CTMH products for only $80!!!  This collection is available only while supplies last, so don't delay!

Find this deal on my CTMH WEBSITE (www.nonapearl.myctmh.com)