baby anne quilts

moving...

2011-03-12T18:38:00.003-06:00

My blog is moving. Or at least I'm moving from this blog and starting a new one. I know, this will be my third blog, but this new one won't be so topic forced as my first two. I'll feel like I have a little more freedom in what to post and how often. Anyway, that's what I'm doing.

So come join me over here....http://heather-harwood.blogspot.com/

favorite shop friday: petit plat

2010-10-15T08:39:00.003-05:00

Two birthdays ago Karl gave my a dollhouse! A beautiful Victorian inspired dollhouse that I get to put together myself (if Karl doesn't beat me to it) and paint and, best of all, decorate! Right now the dollhouse is stored away in an unused room until we can get the upstairs farther along in our renovations but I finally get around to looking for teeny tiny sofas and beds and armoires I will also be filling the teeny tiny kitchen cupboards with the teeny tiny food of Stephanie Kilgast from her shop Petit Plat.

No that's not my breakfast (I wish!)...

nor is this my dinner...

Isn't her work amazing?

Don't have a dollhouse? Stephenie also makes her looks-good-enough-to-eat food into jewelry. Find her shop at http://petitplat.etsy.com.

pumpkin patch

2010-10-13T11:21:00.001-05:00

happy belated birthday

2010-10-08T07:00:00.011-05:00

Two months ago today, Axel turned 1!

August 8th was a Sunday so we invited the family over for dinner to celebrate. Axel had fun opening gifts and playing with the wrapping paper and he loved the banners and mobiles I made to decorate. I think he had a pretty happy birthday!

Invitations, front and back:

I made his 1 onesie with some scrap fabric.

The mobiles were easy peasy to make...here's the tutorial from Project Wedding.

And the cake...

...came from I Am Baker. Very tasty!

6 months old and super-cute!

2010-02-08T08:00:00.002-06:00

favorite shop friday: bibitty

2009-12-04T15:13:00.002-06:00

I like being bilingual and I hope Axel will be bilingual, too. Today's shop can help get him started.

Bibitty creates and sells alphabets with gorgeous and charming imagery in several languages including English...

French...

Italian...

Spanish...

These alphabets are so gorgeous, in fact, I can easily imagine using them to decorate more than a nursery...a living room, a study, a kitchen...

Check out Bibitty's world of words at http://bibitty.etsy.com/ and their blog at http://bibitty.blogspot.com/.

a fairy is born

2009-11-24T11:03:00.000-06:00

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy. So there ought to be one fairy for every boy or girl." - Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.

Last Thursday, Axel laughed for the first time!!

He developed a little giggle that was really just a quick exhale when he smiled sometimes. But Thursday evening I was watching something on TV and Karl was in Axel's room changing his diaper and singing to him and I begin to notice a giggle between Karl's singing. By the time I make it into his room, that giggle has become a full out laugh!

I grabbed my camera and made a little video of Axel laughing for his very first time...

favorite shop friday: letterary press

2009-11-20T09:00:00.001-06:00

Personally, I feel the slow death of the hand written word a sad one. I appreciate the ease and speed of the digital age, but there was always something about finding a letter in your mailbox that makes you feel that someone out there really loves you...and you have tangible evidence of your friendship.

Letterary Press offers cards with quotes from great writers to inspire us to in turn write and preserve the most important and intimate words to each other.

You'll find great literary minds such as Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau and many others to help you communicate your thoughts...

Marty of Letteraery Press uses only soy based inks and salvaged or recycled papers for her cards and they're all beautifully letter pressed.

Find all her lovely designs and inspired words at http://letterarypress.etsy.com/.

henry and my slightly simplified life

2009-11-19T09:00:00.000-06:00

"In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness." Henry David Thoreau

Many people have asked us why we wanted to remain in Germany. Aren't we happier back in our familiar home in the USA? There are many things I miss in Germany including our friends and the chance to travel but there's just something about the lifestyle we had there that tips the scale over our life in America.

Of course, taking weekend trips to Paris, planning vacations to see castles even though we can see castles out our bedroom window, the daily sound of church bells and summer evenings in a Biergarten...yes, all of those things are wonderful. But when Karl and I discuss what we really love about living in Germany it's always the lifestyle we had there that is near impossible to duplicate in the US that tips that scale. And I believe it is actually a quote from Henry David Thoreau that may best sum up what I loved about our life there: "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity."

In Germany it just seemed much easier in many ways to make our life simpler. To enjoy the simple worthwhile things about life every day. About 5 months before we moved back to the US we got rid of our car. We wanted to cut some living costs and also wanted to see if we could comfortably live without a car. And you know what? Between the car costs and gas we saved about 300 euros a month and found life so much more enjoyable without a car!

Strangely, going without a car was great for our marriage. Even though we could previously chat while we drove places together, we found that chatting while on a train or on bikes was much more meaningful when weren't stressed with traffic or needing to pay attention to signs. Getting places took a bit more planning sometimes, but the getting there much more fun: watching the beautiful Black Forest flash by, reading books, having conversations, listening to pod casts. Often trains took much more scenic routes than the Autobahn. We rode our bikes a lot more which was great exercise and a lot of fun. And, because Germany has such a great public transportation system, we rarely felt trapped or unconvinced with getting anywhere. I even found I took more trips to nearby cities and sites just for the fun of it. Somehow it was just easier to explore without the car. But, unfortunately, going car-less is near impossible in the States. But hopefully we can build a life here that only needs one car...

One of the big selling points of this house we bought is it's location. We are two blocks from our church, a block and a half from the library, two blocks from a great park, three or four blocks from Axel's future elementary school and a walkable distance from old town Katy's city center with fabric shops and antique stores and restaurants. I love being able to walk to church every week, load Axel into the stroller and head up to the library once a week or so (I find I've been getting a lot of reading done as I nurse him!) and I look forward to when Axel gets a little older and we can walk up to the park to feed the ducks and have a picnic and someday walk him to his first day at school. In other words, I love the opportunity to be outside as I get to places and to live somewhere compact enough that I don't always need a car!

And I like not being dependant on something and being able to simplify my life just that much more.

A replica of Thoreau's simple cabin home in the woods at Walden Pond.
Photo by Steven Erat at TalkingTree.com

henry's journal

2009-11-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” Henry David Thoreau

A year or so ago I found a great blog: This Date from Henry David Thoreau's Journal. I love reading what Thoreau was writing 150 years ago today.

Not only do I love to read his truely poetic descriptions of nature and observations of humanity, but I get inspired to write myself. I've been a journal keeper most of my life. Lately, though, I've been pretty bad at it. A baby is keeping me busy. Which is exactly why I should be writing now, too, and recording my adventures of new motherhood. In fact, I've started (started but not doing a very good job of keeping) a journal for Axel as well. I want to record his milestones, his precious and funny moments, significant things that happen in his little life that he'll forget. I'm a keeper of two lives right now and I really need to stop typing this post and start writing in some journals...

henry books

2009-11-17T09:00:00.003-06:00

"A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.” Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was writing for adults, philsophers and transcendentalists, but author and artists D.B. Johnson has proven that his ideas are for all ages, young and old!

D.B. Johnson has created books about Henry David Thoreau for children. I love these books! Read about Henry hiking, building, walking, climbing, and working. All with gorgeous artwork!

I don't own them yet, but you can bet I will soon and Axel will learn about Henry a lot sooner than I did!

walden, henry and me

2009-11-16T14:25:00.003-06:00

"How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book." Henry David Thoreau

I first read Henry David Thoreau's book Walden back in high school. It was the first time I ever read a book (that wasn't a textbook or scriptures) and marked it up with a pencil. I remember reading about three pages in, grabbing a pencil, and immediately went back to page one and started marking passages. I love this book. It's a book I can pick up and just open randomly and start reading. What a gem!

I think the book and Thoreau's experiment of living in the woods, alone and largely self-sufficient, is often misunderstood. It seems many people assume that Thoreau wants all of us to return to a life close to nature, living off of nature, and isolating ourselves from society and machines. I don't think this is at all what he wanted us to understand from his experiment. I think he wanted us to simply some take time to examine our individual lives in our society and evaluate how we can simplify our lives to live, as it puts it, more "deliberately".

Thoreau wants us, I think, to find a balance in our lives and to ask ourselves what things are getting in our way of enjoying life and the people in it? What kind of schedule have we committed ourselves to that keep us from family and home? What kind of debts and financial decisions are keeping us trapped?

Cumbering our lives is so easy to do and I certainly have been guilty of it. As Thoreau himself said, "Our life is frittered away by detail."

Reading Walden, or skimming through the marked up passages of my copy, always helps me to remember to realign my life to what is most important and to loosen up my ties to things I really don't need nor ultimately want.

This week I'm celebrating Walden and Henry David Thoreau with a series of posts on Thoreau and his influence on me.

By the way...the photographs in this entry come from a photographer, Smári, who has spent a year creating a gorgeous album of images of the pond in all seasons. I've never visited Walden Pond in Massachusetts but these photographs truly take me there...

All images copyright © 2008 Smari
http://waldenproject.com/

my little guy

2009-11-12T11:44:00.000-06:00

go, trabi, go!

2009-11-09T15:43:00.004-06:00

Unlike my husband, I don't have much interest in cars. I just want my car to get me where I'm going. But I do have a dream car...the East German Trabant.

I fell in love with this little guy when I was a missionary in Berlin, lured by its cute car shape, its dirty looking colors, a body you could rip apart with your hands (Karl did once, too), its loud "putt-putt-putt" engine, its tiny interior, the multi-year waiting list to own one and the fact it can't go over 55 mph. What's not to love!?

A year and a half after the Berlin Wall fell and 6 months after the renuification of Germany produciton on the Trabi stopped. For perhaps obvious reasons.

The city of Berlin is my favorite place ever for many reasons. One of which is how it is a city constantly changing. History continuously makes it's mark on Berlin. And the little Trabants still putting around it are one more mark of history on Berlin.

On this anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall it seems even those bits of Berlin that seem to remain part of it's past are still changing the face of its city...the Trabant is coming back! This time with a little less Communism and a little more class...

via ViaMichelin

favorite shop friday: joom

2009-11-06T19:44:00.002-06:00

Joom is known for her pillows and the birds that adorns them. But she adorns her birds on many more things.

Enjoy the birds of Joom!

soft birds...

printed birds...

baby birds...

and birds to carry...

Find Joom and her birds at http://joom.etsy.com/.

seriously cupcakes in cyperspace

2009-11-03T10:07:00.000-06:00

Remember how my sister Susan makes the best cupcakes ever? No, really... Best. Cupcakes. Ever.

Her business, Seriously Cupcakes, is still booming and she just opened a website! Go to http://www.seriouslycupcakes.com/.

If you live in the West Houston area you can order her yummy cupcakes (like Pumpkin and Italian Cream and Boston Cream and Triple Coconut) through her website and Susan will personally bake, decorate and deliver them!

And if you don't live in the West Houston area...well, you can drool over the photos.

favorite shop friday: beane and company

2009-10-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

I loved Axel in his little blessing suit. I was really hard to find a suit I liked for him that didn't look like a mini-tuxedo as if he were a mini-adult or was too baby-ish. I finally found a white linen suit with decorative buttons...sweet and cute but not too baby-ish and just handsome enough!

I loved it on him so much I need to give some credit to the wonderful shop that made it for him!

Jenna at Beane and Company makes special occasion clothes for little boys and girls. She has beautiful designs in lots of sizes and they are hand-made to order.

Winter White Faux Fur Capelet

Boy's Khaki Suit

Organza Flower Girl Dress

And Jenna is opening up an adult-sized store, too, so you don't have to be jealous of all the little guys.

Find Beane and Co. at: http://beaneandco.etsy.com/.

my blessed boy

2009-10-29T14:59:00.000-05:00

A month ago on September 27th Axel was blessed by his father. Karl's parents flew out for the occasion and, of course, to meet their newest grand baby. It was a happy meeting!

My brother, sister-in-law and their son, Max, also came. Max and Axel liked each other a lot.

Here they are at Axel's blessing. Silly boys.

And Axel's blessing was beautiful...

I'm so grateful he was born into such a wonderful family that loves him. And it is such an honor to be his mother!

I can't wait to see him grow up...but at the same time I just want to freeze him just the cute little way he is right now!

to be a poet

2009-10-28T08:20:00.002-05:00

On Poets.org today there are ideas on how to dress as your favorite poet for Halloween. Now I know what I want to be for Halloween!

Maybe I'll dress Axel up as a little Walt Whitman to my Emily Dickinson. He'd look cute with a beard of butterflies!

doors and windows 9

2009-10-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

Burg Thurant, Germany

Bruges, Belgium

Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany

Paris, France

Great Blasket Island, Ireland

butterfly catcher

2009-10-26T10:05:00.000-05:00

My sister showed me these butterflies on Ali Edwards blog and then she made one and I made one, too.

And then I made another.

They're easy peasy (just paper, a frame, a decorative hole punch and double-stick foam dots) and quite pretty, I think. They're going to hang in my downstairs bathroom.

You can make one, too. Directions are here. More inspiration and variations are here and here.

this american life

2009-10-24T09:18:00.001-05:00

I like public radio. One of my favorite public radio shows is This American Life.

I discovered it when I lived in Michigan and my sister had me listen to the episode My Big Break (because I'm a Beatles fan and she knew I'd find Act One fun) and then listened to it once in a while on the radio and when we lived in Germany I began listening to it online. It became my favorite home companion: I'd listen as I cleaned my apartment and as I quilted and as I traveled on trains.

Now I like to listen as I clean my house and as I quilt and as I nurse Axel.

I like their everyman stories that I can relate to (like babysitting ) and their not so everyman bizarre tales from life (like baby swapping).

Here are some of my favorite episodes:

Fiasco
New Beginnings (Their very first episode and Act One is one of my most favorite stories I've heard on This American Life.)
Americans in Paris (Brings sweet memories of my own trips to Paris to mind...including all those loud-talking American tourists.)

The Super

Backed into a Corner (I love the story of the girl working at the Quiznos.)

If you've never listened I'd encourage you to use this list to give it a try. If you're already a fan, then what are some of your favorites?

favorite shop friday: simple sweet design

2009-10-23T07:29:00.004-05:00

There are things growing over at Simple Sweet Design...

moss covered things...

warm tree bark things...

and mobile hanging things...

Lisa at Simple Sweet Designs makes really beautiful things for inside your home taken from the life outside. My favorite are her gorgeous family trees that come with differing number of branches to fit your family size and for which you can order additional leaves so that they can continue to grow as your family grows...

Find more life for your home at http://simplesweetdesings.etsy.com/.

international quilt festival 6

2009-10-22T02:00:00.000-05:00

international quilt festival 5

2009-10-21T02:00:00.001-05:00

international quilt festival 4

2009-10-20T02:00:00.001-05:00

international quilt festival 3

2009-10-19T02:00:00.000-05:00

international quilt festival 2

2009-10-18T02:00:00.000-05:00

international quilt festival

2009-10-17T14:42:00.003-05:00

Every year one of the world's largest quilt shows happens in my home city. I didn't know this until I began quilting about 5 years ago and not living in Houston any more. Last year Karl and I moved back just one week after the festival closed...bummer!

So this year I finally got to go! It was amazing! And much bigger than I was expecting! There were hundreds of vendors and a couple dozen exhibitions.

There were traditional quilts...

and contempoary quilts...

a quilt the size of a postcard...

and an 80-foot long quilt...

There were Japanese-made quilts, Russian quilts and a forest of German quilts...

Now I feel all inspired by the amazing quilts on display so I'm going to share them with you, too. Every day this week I'll share a quilt that amazed me. Starting with...

favorite shop friday: oh coco

2009-10-16T10:31:00.001-05:00

It's been nearly one year since Karl and I moved back to the States from Europe. And I still miss it. Especially when I found this shop last week: Oh Coco.

Coco use to live there, too, and took some beautiful photos during her own European adventures that make me so homesick...

Heimweg Berlin

But even if you haven't been there...man, aren't these just pretty?! Don't you want one to just escape into?!

Welcome Home

Find her shop and your own bit of Europe here: http://ohcoco.etsy.com/.

Shadows of Siena

axel wolfgang

2009-08-27T00:50:00.001-05:00

8 August 2009

11:52 pm

8 lbs 2 oz

20.5 inches long

This beautiful, beautiful boy arrived after 24 hours of labor, 1 hour and 15 minutes of pushing and a C-section...and all worth it!

I'm in love!

11 years ago today...

2009-08-01T15:25:00.005-05:00

...I met this boy!

Since that day here are just a few of the things he's given me: an education; a sewing machine and fabric so I could learn to quilt; a study abroad in Cambridge, England; two years in Germany; a birthday in Ireland...

motherhood...

and now...a home of our own:

We're homeowners, folks! Real, live, mortgage-carrying homeowners!

Talk about making all my wildest dreams come true! I can't wait to see what this boy has next in store for me!

cruisin'

2009-06-06T01:13:00.001-05:00

Karl and I just celebrated our 10th anniversary. That's right, folks, a whole decade!! We can't hardly believe it ourselves!

Since it's the big one-oh and we've got a baby on the way that will complicate any big trips like this in the near future (and despite the fact we've been saving to buy a house), we decided to take advantage of living near a port town and go on our very first cruise!

Heather and Karl are cruisers!

Although we originally planned our 5-day sojourn in the Gulf of Mexico during the week of our actual anniversary (18 May), my pregnancy demanded that we actually go in early April (see my prego post from 12 March). We left Galveston on the Carnival Ecstasy on 4 April, spent a day in Progresso, Mexico on 6 April, then Cozumel, Mexico on 7 April, and returned to Galveston on 9 April.

We really weren't all that interested in the Mexican ports, and to save money (saving for a house, remember?) we opted out of any shore excursions, but we did get off the boat and wandered the shopping and beach for a couple of hours at each port. On the ship we ate great food, relaxed with books on the deck, ate more great food, relaxed with more books in our room, played miniature golf, ate more yummy food, swam one morning while the ship was in port and everyone was on shore and no where near the pool, ate delicious food, and took night-time strolls on the deck after filling, yummy dinners!

One of the funnest parts of the cruise was bringing Flat Stanley with us everywhere! My niece, Amanda, in Detroit was doing the Flat Stanley project in her class where the kids make and mail off and paper man to someone they know in the world. That person sends back photos and letters of what Flat Stanley has done in that part of the world. Karl and I actually did a similar project for a friend and another niece while we were living in Germany so it was great fun to do it again for Amanda! We realized during our cruise that 90% of our photos had Flat Stanley in them! We really did have fun picking locations for Stanley to get his portrait taken. So...here's some photos of our fun, relaxing cruise with our new friend, Flat Stanley!

Flat Stanley and our ship!

Flat Stanley and our fun ship!

Flat Stanley and our fancy ship! (Yes, that's Karl at the bar in one of the Hawaiian shirts he wore every day or our cruise.)

Flat Stanley and the blue blue water of Mexico!

Flat Stanley at the on-ship art auction (we actually won a free lithograph at the auction)!

Flat Stanley on the Mexican shore!

Flat Stanley being beaten by Karl at minature golf on the ship!

favorite shop friday: sarah clemens clothing

2009-06-05T06:29:00.001-05:00

Sarah Clemens makes clothing. Girly, frilly, whimsical, a little traditional and a little raw, and oh so comfortable looking clothing!

And I just can't decide which one is my favorite...

Don't they just make you want to twirl?

Check out more of Sarah's pretty designs at her shop:
http://sarahclemensclothing.etsy.com/

today is my dad's birthday!

2009-06-04T06:57:00.003-05:00

I wish I didn't have your nose but thank you sooooo much for those eyelashes!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

doors and windows 8

2009-06-03T04:44:00.001-05:00

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

prego update

2009-03-21T09:26:00.000-05:00

Today I am 20 weeks pregnant....half way there!!*

So I thought I'd give you a little update on how things are going in the the whole baby-making department: cravings, aversions, annoyances, pleasant surprises, things I'm learning and the like.

Aversion: Toothpaste makes me gag. This is very annoying. I think it's the strong mint flavor (because I'm not very partial to any other minty things these days either.) I've tried kid-flavored toothpaste and that makes me gag, too. But if anyone knows of a toothpaste that doesn't have a strong flavor...let me know...please?

Annoyance: Heartburn, heartburn, heartburn. I have never in my life had heartburn. In fact, my husband had to tell me what this was. It started back in January and I would get it a few times a week. Then that turned into every day. Then multiple times a day. Then I would have to sit up in bed reading for an hour or so at night because I couldn't lay down due to the heartburn. Then I had to start sleeping propped up on two pillows because I was waking up with heartburn. And it didn't matter what I ate...I got heartburn. Heartburn sucks.

Pleasant surprise: My doctor got me a prescription medicine for the heartburn this week...oh. My. GOODNESS!!! My life is good again!! Pregnancy is fun again! I love my doctor!!

Another pleasant surprise: I have full, soft, pretty hair! I had heard that pregnancy makes your nails and hair grow faster. I couldn't care less about my nails but I was surprised to find that my hair isn't just growing a little faster, it's getting fuller and softer, too! My sister and I were cursed with thin, straight, thin, thin hair. And now...for a little while at least...mine's looking pretty good! Good baby!

Craving: Thousand Island salad dressing was my most favorite salad dressing as a kid. And then I grew up and discovered there were more salad dressings in the world besides Thousand Island and I've rarely touched it since. In fact I became much more partial to vinaigrettes. One of the nice things about this pregnancy is that I've been craving healthy foods, especially salads. But the dressing? Thousand Island, please!! In fact, I'm really not digging the vinaigrettes anymore and the thought of Thousand Island makes me salivate! (Really! I'm salivating right now!) I'm reverting to my childhood!

Something I've learned: You can't go on a cruise if you're 24 weeks pregnant. Karl and I are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this May (I know, right?! 10 years!!). And since it's kind of a landmark anniversary and since it's our last chance for a big getaway before the baby comes we decided to go on a cruise! So we booked it for the week of our anniversary...and THEN saw the fine print! If you're 24 weeks pregnant or later they won't let you on the boat! And how pregnant was I going to be? Well, a lot later than 24 weeks. So...a long customer service phone call later...we got the cruise changed to April when I'm in my 23rd week of pregnancy.

And how's the baby itself doing? Well...see for yourself:

Everything's healthy and strong and in its place! We just got this ultrasound on Tuesday and we opted NOT to find out if it's a girl or a boy. Even though everyone seems to hate us for it, we like the idea of drawing out the excitement and anticipation and adding a fun surprise at the end of all this!

*A note to those not in the know...the normal gestation period for a human baby is 40 weeks. I've always hated it when my pregnant friends talk about their pregnancies or their babies like I should know exactly what they're talking about when I've never been pregnant, never had babies and have no clue. Heck, I'm 20 weeks pregnant and still have no clue. So...for all you clue-less like me: 20 weeks is exactly half way...even though an on-time birth is considered anywhere between 38 and 42 weeks, 40 is average.

favorite shop friday: mayberry sparrow

2009-03-20T10:37:00.001-05:00

I love rubber stamps. I never know what to do with them...but I love them. Today's shop is Mayberry Sparrow and has not only some wonderful handmade rubber stamps, but I just might be able to find real use for these...

custom bookplate stamp

garment tag washing instructions stamps

And these are just so great I have to find a reason to use them...

lucky origami crane stamps

mamaw's sewing machine stamp

But if you're like me and still can't find reasons to use rubber stamps, Corra of Mayberry Sparrow has other great handmade stuff in her shop like...

Fiona's crazy quilt notecards

soda pop can ornaments

If for no other reason to visit Mayberry Sparrow (at http://corrabelle.etsy.com/) at least check out the story behind the name in her shop Profile or read her fun blog! Some people are just born with great creating genius! But that's one reason why her stamps are so great...she let's us do some great creating with a little of her genius!

kikeriki

2009-03-17T09:30:00.001-05:00

When I was a missionary in Germany many years ago, I learned that German roosters do not say "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" They say "Kikeriki!" It never occured to me that different cultures would reproduce the sounds animals make in such a completely different way!

Last year I somehow stumbled on the coolest website called BzzzzPeek. Their mission is to record children all over the world making animal and vehicle sounds so you can hear and compare them. And it is the cutest site!

For instance, in Croatia a dog says "vowvow" and in Japan a cat says "miamia".

And in America flies say "bzzzz" while in Germany they say "zoomzoom" but in France they say "bzzzzpeek"!

german music: karpatenhund

2009-03-04T01:20:00.002-06:00

I'm missing Germany today and since I can't eat Doenners nor ride the train to Karlsruhe nor gaze at the Black Forest out my window at least I can still listen to German music!

Today's group is from Cologne and the girl lead singer in this band (Claire Oelkers) is also a VeeJay for German MTV which is how I first saw her. Karl told me she also had a band and then I heard the band and I really like the band! And now you get to hear the band!

The band is called Karpatenhund (which literally means Carpathian Dog).

They have kind of a fun pop-y sound typical of a lot of German popular music (sounds that get stuck in your head but you really don't mind). Here are a couple of their best known songs:

Zusammen Verschwinden (Disappear Together)

Gegen den Rest (Against the Rest)

And I always really liked this one, Ist es das was du wolltest (Is that what you wanted)...

See? Happy stuff!

If you like like I like you can listen to more here.

happy heart day!

2009-02-14T02:24:00.001-06:00

Enjoy someone you love today!

I am!

favorite shop friday: vintage kids books

2009-02-13T04:00:00.002-06:00

I've always loved a good children's book. There is nothing better than a delightful story with charming illustrations. Now that I'm expecting and have an even bigger reason to start collecting my favorite children's books I've been finding the desire to not just find the best new books but to scout out all the favorites I was reading as a kid. And this week I found the perfect shop to help me do that: Vintage Kids Books.

A fellow Texas mom finds vintage children's books you remember and love and many you wish you had. Then passes the chance for you to buy them at super deals.

I can't wait for my baby to be able to read Mouse Soup (by the great Arnold Lobel) all by himself which I read through I don't how many times as I was learning to read.

I still remember exactly where all the Nancy Drew books were in my town library growing up...it was the first shelf I went to when we took our family trips to the library. You better believe I want a daughter of mine is going to get the chance to solve mysteries with Nancy and George with their classic 1950s covers.

And then there are the books I never had but I can't imagine would not be cool to have...like this 1958 book on space travel...written before anyone was even traveling through space!

Vintage Kids Books is filled with great books for kids waiting to be discovered and re-discovered and you'll find it at http://vintagekidsbooks.etsy.com/. Plus this shop has a great blog, http://www.vintagechildrensbooksmykidloves.com/, where you can keep up with the latest book finds and reviews of tons of great vintage books.

Now go read a book!

babylein

2009-02-11T01:44:00.000-06:00

Yes, yes, I know. I disappeared off the face of the earth. Actually I've been here I just haven't been here.

So what have I been doing? Well...not much actually. It's amazing how a change of scenery can completely throw your routines off.

Plus, I've been a bit distracted and unfocused lately...

...why is it that pregnancy causes your brain to turn to mush?

doors and windows 7

2008-12-10T09:23:00.000-06:00

Steinbach, Germany

favorite shop friday: mister rob

2008-12-05T08:11:00.000-06:00

Today I bring you the delightfully wonderful work of Mister Rob!

Mr. Rob Ryan has a wonderful little shop filled with the most wonderful tiles, screenprints and lasercuts from his UK studio.

The skill involved in his work is impressive enough, but it's the simple imagination that goes into his designs that make him unique...

These are words and images I would like to invite into my world! Invite them into yours at http://misterrob.etsy.com/.

spam-a-lot

2008-12-04T00:16:00.001-06:00

On one of our days in Minnesota we took a trip to one of the funnest places I've ever been...the Spam Museum. Yes, that's right...Spam!

In the little community of Austin, Minnesota, the Hormel plant is in full swing making so many food products Americans love and one that if you don't love it, you have to have a least have a sense of humour about it (because Hormel certainly does!).

So, yeah, Hormel built this whole museum dedicated to Spam. The museum is, of course, very educational: you learn about the history of Spam, the role Spam played during World War II, and how Spam is made and canned. And it's all a ton of fun: race each other in canning Spam, play a game show testing your Spam knowledge, and, of course, watch the entire Monty Python Spam skit. And then there's the gift shop with not just every variety of Spam you didn't know existed but over 300 objects with the word Spam on it.

And if you didn't like Spam already going into the museum...well, you're still not going to like Spam coming out. But you'll be able to give Spam some credit for providing a really fun afternoon !

old-fashion american road trip

2008-12-03T09:04:00.001-06:00

What is it about a change of location that totally messes up your routines? My day-to-day really hasn't changed much since moving to Texas but I just can't seem to get my blogging in anymore!

I suppose I am having new distractions. My husband just found a new job in a little town just west of Houston so now we're hunting for a new car and a new home and I'm still job hunting myself. But we took a break from all of this hunting for Thanksgiving last week and drove up to Minnesota with my parents to spend the holiday with my mother's sisters and their families.

Rochester Minnesota is about an 18-hour drive (20 hours with rest stops, gas stops, and food stops) from Houston and we drove it all straight through. It was actually not a bad drive at all. And I have actually been craving a good road trip for a while.

I realized while I was living in Germany that road trips are truly an American thing. No one loves their cars so much, has such a lack of a train system, and has created an entire highway/interstate culture like Americans.

I noticed driving long-distance in Germany that you just don't get those long stretches of roads with nothing. There is always something. European towns are so compact with relatively little distance between that you're always within sight of at least a village and the major cities are never more than an hour or so away from each other. You never get "away" from anything.

As you drive cross-country in America, as many of you know, most of your trip is going to be empty fields of grain or cattle with the occasional farm house and truck stop and last-stop-shopping for American Indian artifacts and hand-painted billboards advertising the state's best BBQ. I missed those long stretches of flat plains and the endless winding through mountains without seeing a bit of civilization.

So this road trip to Minnesota really made feel that I arrived home.

And our Thanksgiving was really good, too!

favorite shop friday: la belle fairy

2008-11-21T03:29:00.001-06:00

I've just finished reading some books written in a Victorian fashion with much talk of cravats and petticoats and waistcoats and corsets and so I've been in a lady-like Victorian kind of mood and began eyeing what corsets could be found on Etsy. I've found the funnest shop filled with pretty corsets prefect for when I'm in these period piece kind of moods!

La Belle Fairy is your one-stop shopping for all your cinching, boning, lacing, flattering figure needs!

Such pretty shapes...

Such soft satins...

Such romance and femininity...

So much fun!

And don't worry about fit...these corsets are custom made in Canada to fit your figure!

Of course you need a corset! Find your perfect figure at http://labellefairy.etsy.com/!

my sister, the cupcake baker

2008-11-18T02:25:00.001-06:00

Man, have I ever been neglectful!

Sorry for the lack of posts the past couple of weeks...I've been getting settled here: getting over jet-lag, sprucing up my resume for job-hunting, hanging out with family and trying to get used to being in America again. I'm missing Germany something awful but I'm seeing a lot of perks to being back in Texas...like the yummy Texas food and spending more time with my family than I've had for the past two years (or more!).

One thing I've been especially enjoying that combines food I can't get in Germany and my family is my sister's new cupcake business! She started up a cupcake baking business, Seriously Cupcakes, this past year and I've been dying to taste her work for months, espeically since Germans don't make cupcakes...but now I'm cursing her evilness because I'm surrounded with cupcakes I can't stop eating!

Susan seriously makes a good cupcake! I'm deeply impressed at how good she can make a simple vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting (but it's probably the vanilla sugar, vanilla bean and Madegascar vanilla extract she uses in both the cake and cream cheese frosting...not to mention the obscene amount of butter). Just when I thought I was starting to get tired of eating such rich little cakes, she brings over some coconut cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting (a total of 6 sticks of butter went into these little bits of heaven) and I'm hooked again.

If you're in the Houston area and are interested in getting addicted to some amazingly good cupcakes, you can contact my sister, Susan, through her cupcake-y blog, No Seriously, No...Seriously.

americans!

2008-11-01T00:09:00.001-05:00

And so...we are back in America.

Our long traveling went smoothly. But we're feeling a little more European than American right now with all the streets feeling too wide, the cars too big, the city too sprawling, and the east Texas air too humid. We're going to have to do some adjusting! So let's make this an All-American post today! And what's more American than Chuck Norris!?

Are you familiar with Chuck Norris' 1986 cartoon, Chuck Norris Karate Kommando? It is horribly made, kind of strange, and hilarious.

This is one of my favorite clips from the few episodes that got made. I find it strangely poignant.

Is Chuck trying to tell us something about American culture? Discuss.

favorite shop friday: loyalty and blood

2008-10-30T22:50:00.000-05:00

Today is Halloween (and I wish you all a fun and happy one!) but I'm spending my holiday traveling from one continent to another! I'm flying over the Atlantic today making that same great journey my ancestors made 150 years ago when they decided to immigrate from Germany to the United States. Except my journey will be made in a crowded airplane instead of a crowded boat and I'll arrive the same day I leave instead of weeks later and I'll be comfortably dressed in a T-shirt instead of a corset with my airplane snacks and books in a tote bag. So in honor of my long flight abroad today, let's take a look at look at some great tote bags and comfy T-shirts with images of ships and flight and family monograms and a new home, shall we?

Allow me to introduce Loyalty and Blood! This is a very cool shop of T-shirts, totes and jewelry.

The T-shirts are beautifully done with strong simple graphics...

The totes (my personal favorite) are screen printed with gorgeous alphabets...

And the jewelry is unique and carries on the vintage feel of many of Loyalty and Blood's other designs...

I love this shop. I love the vintage yet modern designs and I can wait to add one of those letter tote bags to my new American shopping trips. And, of course, this necklace is just the thing I need for my new home!

Find more of Maggie and David's brilliance at http://loyaltyandblood.etsy.com/!

quilting politics

2008-10-29T03:57:00.003-05:00

Flag, 1915, made by Belle Engley of Kingston, Michigan. cottons, pieced, 78.5 x 67.5 inches. Collection of Marcia and Ron Spark.

The US Presidential election is only a week away. Karl and I will be making it back to the States in time to vote on the 4th, but we decided to go ahead and send in our absentee ballots last week, so our choice has been made and our duty as US citizens is already taken care of. But I know many of you US Americans are still making choices and looking forward to voting next week and I got to thinking, being the quilter and history buff that I am, about the roll quilts have playing in United Sates politics.

Did you know that quilts have played an important role in American politics?

It's only since 1919 that women in the US had the right to vote but American women have been playing an active role in politics since long before that and largely through their quilting.

The 19th century brought a growing population through immigration and and growing populations mean growing social problems. Women created organizations to improve education, prisons, temperance in drinking, abolition of war and slavery, and women's rights. The money to run these causes were raised at fairs, festivals and bazaars where they sold their baked goods, needlework and, yes, quilts.

The Civil War brought more cause for fundraising and more quilts being made to finance the buying of gun boats and hospital supplies and still more quilts were made to send out to the soldiers themselves. Quilts were used by Abolitionists to express their antislavery viewpoints and the names of traditional quilting patterns were changed to reflect their views: for example Job's Tears became Slave Chain and Jacob's Ladder became Underground Railway.

In the 20th century women continued to express their political and patriotic points of view through quilting. Magazines and newspapers called for quilts to send to "Our Boys Over There" and to sell to raise money for the war cause.

But I'm happy to see that with the right to vote, women have not entirely given up the public voice quilting gave us. One of my favorite modern quilters, Denyse Schmidt, has made this beautiful quilt to help raise funds for the Barack Obama campaign. You can find her fundraising page by clicking here.

No matter what your political sway, quilts like this help us to remember, at least help me to remember, that voting is an earned right for all of us. I'm glad my voice in politics today is counted in the private ballot box but I'm also glad that there were many women before me that took advantage of a public voice through fabric and needlework. Although a quilt didn't "count" in elections, they certainly made a difference in our history.

Stars and Stripes, c. 1876, cottons, pieced, 12.5 x 15.5 inches. Thelma Moore-Morris Doll Quilt Collection.

Facts and photos from The American Quilt: A History of Cloth and Comfort 1750-1950 by Roderick Kiracofe

favorite shop friday: made with love by hannah

2008-10-24T12:50:00.002-05:00

I've been a big fan of today's shop for a long time. Mostly because of this...the Schwarzwalder Skirt!

And since I'm saying goodbye to my Schwarzwald this week, it seemed the perfect time to feature Made With Love By Hannah!

Her prints and skirts perfectly capture the kitsch that Germany is so good at (which is why, I guess, they invented the word for it). It's a cozy kitsch that I see so much of around my home from the knick knacks cluttering the local Biergarten to the gnomes and sheep and cherubs covering the lawns in our neighborhood. So Hannah's shop makes me feel right at home!

Visit Hannah's haven for all things knick knack-y and ric rac-y (or if you're just feeling homesick for Germany like I will be!) at http://madewithlovebyhannah.etsy.com/ and check out her blog at http://madewithlovebyhannah.com/WordPress/ for sneak peek at what she's been creating!

mein schwarzwald

2008-10-23T05:12:00.000-05:00

After two years and one month in Germany, Karl and I are moving back the the US at the end of them moth.

We had hoped to make our home here, which started out as a temporary 6 month assignment for his job, into a permanent home, but things haven't worked out as we hoped. And now we're returning.

The decision has made us sad because this is so much our Home. This place has affected us in many ways for the better. There is so much we are going to miss about living in Germany. One of which is the view out my window of the Black Forest. Every day we've lived here I've been amazed that I'm so lucky. Often those thoughts come when I look out our bedroom window at the beautiful green forested mountains with its castle ruins.

I've been trying to soak in that view as much as possible this past week since we've learned we're going to be returning to the States at the end of the month. Unfortunately, it's been a rainy and foggy week and there hasn't been much to see out my window...

But I've taken many shots of our view over the past two years, I love it so much. So, in farewell to my beautiful view, here's my little bit of the Black Forest for you to enjoy, too...

...*sigh*....I'm sure going to miss this place.

favorite shop friday: plum creek mercantile

2008-10-17T04:00:00.000-05:00

This week's shop is as simple and brilliant as it's products...reusable food bags!

Say goodbye to going through boxes of throw-away plastic baggies and say hello to Plum Creek Mercantile.

Candyce provides you with fabric food baggies, the perfect size for your sandwich and snacks, and quart-size and gallon-size bulk food bags.

They are pretty, washable, reusable, made with natural cotton and close securely. They are perfect for packed lunches, your toddler's finger foods, travel snacks and whether you want to save some cash on repeatly buying plastic throw-away baggies or have the environment's health in mind.

Find your food's next best friend at http://plumcreekmercantile.etsy.com/.

fall in the forest

2008-10-16T14:20:00.000-05:00

In the past couple of weeks, the autumn season has hit the Black Forest in full force and it is beautiful!

This past Saturday Karl and I went up into the Forest mountains with our cameras and our friends, Thomas and Denise, to enjoy the colors...

Denise tries her luck...

doors and windows 6

2008-10-14T02:54:00.001-05:00

Bruges, Belgium

fire party in my room, guys!

2008-10-13T02:05:00.001-05:00

One thing I always look forward to when I travel through Europe is the hotel rooms. In America, a hotel room is a hotel room is a hotel room. They're all pretty much the same size, have the same layout, and the same predictable hotel cable TV. In Europe...you never really know what you're going to get and I love that!

I've stayed in all kinds of price ranges from cheap 8 euro a night hostels to some pricier places that feel, well, quite American. But I usually sleep in some lower-priced budget hotels (40-70 euros a night...except for London where it's a confirmed miracle to find anything under 100 pounds a night!) that usually consist of mix-matchy furniture, towels that came from somebody's mother's linen closet, and sometimes there's a bathroom in the room, sometimes the shower's in the room and the toilet's down the hall, and sometimes you get a sink and the shower and toilet are shared by the floor. Sometimes there's a TV, often there's not, and I don't know that I've ever had an alarm clock included in my room.

Almost always they are housed in some ancient European building with rustic medieval wooden beams or beautiful 19th century ceiling molding and the rooms often have some odd size as a result from creating several rooms from what use to be one large space. I never know how big or small they're going to be...for example, when I took my sister and her husband to Paris last year, they stayed in a room that was at least three times the size of my decently sized single room with a ceiling probably twice as high, but in Amsterdam I had quite a nicely sized bathroom in my stylishly decorated room but with just enough space on either side of my bed that I could place my bottle of water and travel alarm clock between the bed and the wall but I had to crawl over the end of the bed to get in and out...smallest room ever!

But they are always clean and neat, always have very friendly staff (which is often the married couple that own the place), a heavenly, light yet filling European breakfast ("good morning, hot chocolate, baguettes and Nutella!") and I've never had a disappointed stay...if sometimes a surprising one!

My cute little hotel in Bruges was no exception!

Cute, medieval building with mix-matchy furniture including a big cozy bed!

A married couple staff that kept my room clean and served me a simply divine breakfast!

But when I first checked in, I noticed this little box on the wall outside my room...

With this sign written in several different languages...

Three guesses who checked into room number 7 (with the only fire escape on the floor)....!

I laughed so hard when I saw that! Thankfully, I never awoke to the sound of breaking glass and a key fumbling in my door. With or without the smell of smoke!

favorite shop friday: royal buffet

2008-10-10T03:13:00.003-05:00

I love paper. Stationary, greeting cards, an empty journal, blank or decorated...paper is a happy thing with so many possibilities.

I recently discovered a shop that gives paper even more possibilites.

Royal Buffet is paper cut and strung along and glued together to create the lovliest, most delicate creations to brighten your life!

Mollie often uses French paper (why is it that French automatically makes things so much prettier?) and the forms of birds and butterflies to make her creations seem to float.

But there is so much many more possibilies when she has a pair of scisscors in her hands...I know my husband would love this garland of cars:

This wreath of butterflies would be so welcoming on my door:

Mollie's paper is so inspiring and would be so perfect for a certain celebration or simply to brighten up a corner of your room. She has so much more in her shop so go check it out: http://royalbuffet.etsy.com/.

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Don't forget! Today is the last day to take advantage of the 10% off sale in my shop!!

wind through the poplar trees

2008-10-09T06:26:00.001-05:00

On one of my days in Bruges I took a guided bike ride around the countryside outside Bruges.

Belgium is one of those flat low countries of Europe where there are almost more bicycles than people, so a bike ride felt a necessary thing to really experience that Flemish corner of Belgium. I grew up in the flat plains of Oklahoma and Texas so even through I've lived in several mountainous and hilly places since then, I've always felt so comfortable being surrounded by flat lands and wide skies. And the low land of Flanders was so, so beautiful!

Our guide rode us out along the canals lined with poplar trees that lean to one side because of the constant wind from the sea--the wind blowing through the poplars, our guide commented, is the true sound of Flanders--to the little town of Damme and back again. We got some history of the area (Flanders was literally Europe's battlefield until their independence and the creation of the Flemish/French/German speaking country of Belgium) and watched the huge (nothing but muscle!) Belgium Blue cows grazing. We passed by windmills and over canals winding their way up to Amsterdam and stopped for coffee, hot chocolate and beers at a canal-side cafe. And passed by a lot of fellow bikers riding from town to town. All accompanied by the sound of the wind blowing through the poplar trees.

You can see all my Bruges photos here including more from my Flemish bike ride!

fairy tale town

2008-10-08T10:45:00.001-05:00

I spent about 3 days in Bruges, Belgium, September 17 through the 20th. Bruges isn't like Paris or London where you spend your time cramming tons of wonderful things in a few days, picking and choosing what to do and what's going to be skipped because there is just too much to do and too little time.

Bruges is smaller. Bruges is calmer. Bruges is a few beautiful churches, a couple of small (but excellent) museums, and a city center with a few too many tourists (but even the tourists can't manage to ruin Bruges).

But, mostly, Bruges is street after street after street of brick medieval Flemish houses. And you can spend one day doing the museums and churches and all those tourist-y things and the rest of your time strolling the winding streets, getting lost down tiny alleys, resting on a bench in front of a park of swans, cruising down canals not even bothering to pay attention to the tour guide, stepping out of the way of horse drawn carriages again and again, browsing through an antique market, taking way too many photos of way too many beautiful streets and buildings, and dreading the day when the magic has to end and you have to board that train towards home.

At least that's what I did.

And that's just a sampling of all the ridiculous beauty Bruges had to offer. I mean really ridiculous. I'm going to have to show you some more photos because really, it's just impossible to take a bad photo in Bruges so click here for my Flickr set of Bruges. (And there are even more great photos I didn't upload onto Flickr. Ridiculous.)

cologne cathedral

2008-10-07T03:11:00.004-05:00

So, I went to Belgium a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing! I knew it was going to be amazing so that was no surprise. There were many cool things about my little trip, but one of the coolest was the nice surprise when got my train ticket and I found that I had over an hour and a half wait in the Cologne, Germany train station switching trains on my way to Belgium on September 17th.

Cologne is known for it's big beautiful cathedral begun (as it stands now) in the mid-1200s and so I hoped that would be enough time to go find and see it. I was delighted to find out that the cathedral is literally at the front doorstep of the train station so I was able to spend all my extra time straining my neck up at stained glass windows and stone saints and towering vaulted ceilings amongst chapel altarpieces and working art conservators and praying pilgrims and burning candles.

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Remember that my shop is still having a 10% off the listed price sale in celebration of EtsyBaby's first birthday...but only through October 10th!

favorite shop friday: 4th ave soap co.

2008-10-03T02:29:00.000-05:00

Have I got a treat for you today....please let me introduce to you the 4th Ave. Soap Co.!

I love soap companies, I love buying things that make me feel pretty and clean and fresh. And there are so many choices out there...but when I spotted the 4th Ave. Soap Co. I knew I had found a potential friend for life. Body and bath products that are high quality, healthy, and so pretty looking that I know I'm going to become just as pretty by using them! Let me show you what I mean...

Vegan Antioxidant Facial Toner for all skin types...

Madagascar Vanilla Body Butter with butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, vitamin E, and aloe juice...

Lily of the Valley Olive Oil soap (by the way...my husband has recently discovered the moisturizing qualities of oilve oil soap and he swears by it...and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing this pretty bar of soap on next to our bathroom sink so I think it's going to be a must-have for us!)...

Pink Sugar Oatmeal Soap...

Black Irish Aftershave...

Creme Brulee Glossy Lip Balm (Mmmmmm!)...

And I need to stop there before I start showing off every one of Sarah's beautiful products and spoil of the fun of discovering them all for yourselves...and there is so much more to discover! So go to http://4thAveSoapCo.etsy.com and start feeling pretty and clean and fresh yourself!

shop announcement: 10% off sale!

2008-10-01T03:54:00.001-05:00

EtsyBABY© is celebrating their 1st Birthday! Team Members (including ME!) are celebrating with discounts, free shipping and free baby goodies through October 1st - 10th!

You can find a list of all the participating shops with their offers here and here.

You'll find baby anne quilts on that list, too! As part of this 10 day celebration of a great team of shops, I am offering a 10% discount off all orders (before shipping) through Friday, October 10th!

Here's a taste of some of the amazing handmade baby shops you'll want to get to know during this 10 day celebration:

tadpole creations

little bird creations

knit style

baby anne quilts

a weekend with family i don't even know

2008-09-29T04:53:00.001-05:00

So...where have I been, right?

Sorry for disappearing off the blog-o-sphere. I blame a weekend in Gotha, a few days in Belgium, my husband finally coming home to distract me, and a miserable cold we both caught. I still have the cold, but I'm getting sick and tired of feeling sick and tired so I'm determined to get back to you, dear readers, and reassure you that I still live.

But although I have lots to post about, I'm going to start off slowly...because I am still sick and tired...with a little report on a surprisly cool weekend, September 13 and 14, in the German town of Gotha meeting family I hardly knew existed.

So, here's the backstory on this strange little weekend I had. Remember last November when I was in the States visiting my family and Karl searched out his distant German relatives in Gotha and made a very cool film about it? That film was shown at his huge family's annual reunion in February and it inspired one of his uncles to visit Germany. Uncle David planned to come to Germany with one of his sons who was going to be attending a medical conference in Munich and make his own visit to these German relatives. He'd been planning this trip for months with my husband who was going to serve as a translater for him. And then Karl decided to take a trip home for his neice's wedding. So guess who got delegated to be his uncle's translator?

Now, keep in mind that although I've meet many of Karl's relatives I've by no means met them all and I can't even keep straight half the ones I have met. That's how big his family is. I mean really big. Early in our relationship we would often go to his family events and the following scenerio happened to us far more than once: someone would come up and talk to us, they'd leave, I'd ask Karl who that was, and he'd respond with "I'm not sure, I think it was one of my cousins."

Karl's mother was the third of 13 children and I don't think anyone in the family really knows how many first cousins my husband has...everyone seemed to have lost track at 80. In fact, my brother ended up marrying one of my husband's cousins...his family it THAT big. It was bound to happen.

So...long story short, Karl has a big family and I was suddenly in charge of meeting with people I've never met before to show them around a town I've never been before and translate with some German people I've also never met before and that's how much I love my husband!

But it really turned out to be a very, very cool weekend. Karl's family was a delight (not that I was surprised, his family IS amazing!), the Germans were very gracious, we had a lot of fun and I impressed even myself with my German language skills!

I was so busy translating between families most of the time I didn't get many pictures taken, but here are a few...

Gotha is the town where Karl's grandfather, Henry, was born. His grandfather's mother, Gretchen, was also born there and she was the one who made the decision to leave for America, thus separating the German and American lines of his family.

First stop was Wolfgang's house who was the star of Karl's film. I arrived with Karl's uncle David, his son Geoff and Geoff's wife Kathleen with their two sons Jon and Will. They graciously fed us a wonderful meal including tasty Thuringer Wurst (a local specialty!). Then they gave us a tour of the Protestant church next door to their home where Wolfgang and his son restored the original church pews. Wolfgang's son, Wilfred, continues to wind the church clock taking it over from Wolfgang when he retired who had taken over the job from his own father.

Wolfgang's family invited over another cousin, Annemarie, who had some great stories of the family. We all watched Karl's finished film together and I think Wolfgang was very proud of it!

The reason great-grandmother Gretchen decided to leave Germany for America was because she and her mother was baptized into the LDS church when she was a child. After she started her own family she felt the need to move to the States where she could be closer to others of her faith. She only ever described the location of her baptism vaguely but after a bit of research we found a possible location...here is Uncle David with his grandsons at a possible baptism location for David's grandmother. Her choice both to be baptized and to relocate her family to America had obvious far-reaching consequences for Karl's family and I think this trip to Gotha was not only a exploration of family roots but an aknowlegdment of her sacrifices for giving her family the best she could.

Geoff and his sons gazing up at the birthplace of great-grandmother Gretchen.

Geoff and his son Will in front of grandfather Henry's birthplace.

More distant cousins... Klaus and his wife (sorry for the bad photo!). They weren't expecting us and we very nearly didn't find their house. But they were incredibly welcoming once I explained we were distant American relatives!

I had so much fun and I'm so glad I can no longer call these family member, both the Germans and the Americans, strangers. And I even forgave my husband for leaving me all alone to deal with this! And this post turned out longer than I intended and I'm starting to feel that cold again so I'm off to drown myself in juice and cough suppressent on the couch in front of the TV...

favorite shop friday: artquirk

2008-09-19T01:00:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite things about living in and traveling around Europe is the architecture! And I've recently discovered Nina Clough who has a little shop called Artquirk filled with her architectural drawings of places all over Europe.

Chimneys in Dublin

A bit of Paris

Her chosen architectural subjects aren't the iconic views one would expect from some of these famous locales...but as a result you get the sense of the place, it's mood and view that only the locals really see and appreciate.

Telephone box

Flowers in Greece

Street in Riga

Nina has such a delicate style and, I think, perfectly captures the mood of the places she paints...the urban comfort of Dublin, the prettiness of Paris, the freshness of Greece...I been to some of these places and Nina's artwork only makes me want to see more!

Escape with Nina's artwork at her shop, http://artquirk.etsy.com/, where she also has beautiful images of nature, fairy tales and where you can even commission her to paint a portriat of your own home!

favorite shop friday: liza rietz

2008-09-12T01:35:00.001-05:00

Liza Rietz designs and makes clothes. Her designs are so fresh and unique and yet so classically familiar.

I like knowing I can be the 1920s flapper (the ultimate modern woman) that I always wanted to be...

I like that I can be pretty and ruffly and feminine (like every modern woman wants to be, deep down inside)...

And I love that I can wear a gorgeous hat!

Why don't modern people wear hats anymore like they use to? Well, we can all start wearing them again because how can we resist Liza's "cloche"(French for "bell-shaped") hats? They will make our heads so much better looking!

If you're lucky enough to live in the Portland area you can visit her studio and shop in person: http://www.lizarietz.com/. Or if you're unlucky like me then you can buy them at http://lizarietz.etsy.com/.

world rivers and the rhine

2008-09-11T09:19:00.000-05:00

Remember our bike ride to France a few weeks ago? Well, I had another motive to head to the Rhine that day. I wanted to participate in the World Rivers project and dip a piece of fabric in the Rhine.

"World Rivers is a global collaboration uniting people through the element of water. Individuals from around the world dip white fabric in selected rivers. The fabric is then sewn together into a magnificent curtain. International participants, like rivers flowing to the ocean, join together to form a larger whole.

"World Rivers reveals a story of water, through the personal experience of many.

"World Rivers reveals civilization's connection to water while documenting our time in history."

That description if from the website which you'll find here with lots more information on the project including lots of photos and comments from other participants from around the world.

I was asked to participate by Lee from Looking for Fiddleheads and she is further asking for anyone and everyone around the world to send her pieces of white fabric (almost any size will do) that has been dipped in a river or lake. She's in the process of sewing together these fabric pieces into a giant curtan, connecting the people and the water together.

I liked making a physical connection to my river...I think we often forget how important our waters are for us. We turn on a facet to retrive the water we use and our travels are by car and train and plane and rarely by water anymore...but participating in this project made me remember how important the Rhine is to Germany.

The Rhine was a major trade and travel route in centuries past. As you travel up the Autobahn that runs parallel to our bit of the Rhine on one side and the Black Forest hills on the other, you notice a lot - A LOT - of ruined castles on the hills that look down on the river, which means that this was a major source of power for those controlling the traffic on the river for a long time.

Not just for trade and travel, but the Rhine has been the center of political disputes as well. For centuries France and Germany has bickered over the true border between their lands...the Germans claimed the French Vosges mountains should be the border between the countries and France claimed the Rhine is the natural dividing line. As a result the French Alsace region just on the other side of the Rhine has gone back and forth between being German and French resulting in a unique joining of culture.

The Rhine is mighty, powerful, beautiful and immensly influential in the history of this part of the world. It's amazing to think how water not only gives us life but also forms our lives and cultures and histories!

You can participate, too!! Click here to see how you can become a part of this international project!

a barefoot birthday with butter

2008-09-10T15:51:00.000-05:00

My good friend Denise turned 28 today and invited a few friends to spend the afternoon with her for a picnic and a barefoot hike to celebrate!

This is what my bicycle basket looked liked this morning after buying flowers for the birthday girl, some rustic bread for the picnic, and some fresh mint for the butter recipes I wanted to try out to go with the bread:

The group of us drove outside a town near Pforzheim where we ate our yummy picnic in a grassy field and my mint butter turned out pretty good! I made some walnut butter, too, and that was also rather tasty! I got the recipes from a German magazine so I'll share them (translated to English) with you...

Walnut Butter
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 bundle of fresh parsley, finely chopped
250 g butter (about 1 cup), room temperature
150 g crushed walnuts (about 1/2 cup)
salt & pepper
Add about 1/3 of the butter to a pan with the shallot and garlic cook til the butter's melted. Then add the parsley and walnuts and cook for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Take the pan off the heat and let cool a little. Mix with the rest of the butter then let cool completely in the fridge.

Mint Butter
250 g butter (about 1 cup), room temperature
3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh mint
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt & pepper
Mix it all together then put in the fridge!

After our picnic we took a barefoot hike! There was a trail through a forest that was designed to be walked barefoot! We took off our shoes and walked along a soft forest trail where there were opportunities for all kinds of textures for our feet to walk on: sticks, leaves, moss, cork, pebbles. And there was a tree house and log balance beams and mud and water and every kind of natural texture your feet could possible want to explore! I've never seen a hiking trail like this and it was so much fun!

Walking on pebbles then sand...

Your humble narrator...

Knee deep and giggling in muddy water...

vermont forest quilts

2008-09-09T01:55:00.003-05:00

I just finished a big commission to create two twin-sized quilts for a woman's Vermont home. She like my Black Forest baby quilt in my shop and wanted something similar for her summer home in the Vermont forest. I got photos of them in the garden yesterday...

The pattern is my own invention with green tree forms against blue and I hand-quilted leaves with white thread in the tree tops and floating down to the ground below.

Each quilt has a slightly different pattern, as you can see. She wanted the solid green and blue to match the color scheme of her summer home and I gave them a white binding to hold the colors together.

The backs have three rows of uneven stripes.

I like how they turned out. It's always fun to work with pretty patterned fabrics but using all solids in this case helped to concentrate the design on the trees and quilted leaves...there's both a simplicity in the fabrics and a complexity in the patterns. An idea I see in a lot of Amish quilts. Not that my humble quilts can stand up in the same room as the brillant work of the Amish...but I like being inspired by brillance!

keeping happy while karl is gone

2008-09-08T05:07:00.005-05:00

A week ago today Karl flew out to the States to visit his family.

The first time we ever spent a significant amount of time apart in our marriage, I noticed that I didn't laugh much without him around. I realized that I laugh every day with Karl. I love that about our marriage. Every day there is laughter in our home. I still notice that lack of laughter when we spend time apart.

Karl won't be home for another couple of weeks, but, until then, I'm finding ways to distract myself from missing him and finding other things to make me laugh.

I have discovered a couple of blogs recently that keep me in stiches on a daily basis. Go Fug Yourself is some fashion fun from Jessica and Heather. They make the world aware of the awful - or rather fugly (fugly = "fantastically ugly") - clothing the rich and famous are choosing to wear. Now, I have no interest in fashion or being a fashion police, but these chicks point out the obvious in such a hilarious way I consider reading their blog as daily excercise for my abs! (This photo from Aug. 18, 2008...I would recommend reading its description!)

Cake Wrecks gives me the giggles, too. My sister pointed me in the direction of this blog of professional cakes that "go horribly, horribly wrong." Just looking at these strange cakes would give me laughter enough, but Jen's hilarious commentary takes the cake! (Sorry for the pun. I couldn't resist.)

But I've got more than blogs to keep me company. A few years ago Karl gave me all three seasons of the original Star Trek series for my birthday...yes, I'm a little bit of a Trekkie (and Karl is so proud!). So I've been going through all the seasons this past week. Original Star Trek is so much fun! The show really has some fascinating themes and thought-provoking comments on human nature...but so much of it just makes me giggle! I mean, who knew there were so many beautiful alien women in the universe for Kirk to womanize! Enjoy this little clip from one of my favorite episodes...

So that's what's been distracting me from missing my Karl the past week. But during the next two weeks I'll be distracing myself with some fun little trips!

I'll be spending a couple of days this coming weekend visiting with some of Karl's family in the German town of Gotha and then I'll spend of few heavenly days on my own here...

favorite shop friday: electric boogaloo

2008-09-05T02:26:00.004-05:00

My sister, Susan, is married to a very cool guy. He's also a bit of a science nerd.

I first met Andrew when I went out for their wedding and when I first got there it was explained to me that I wouldn't be able to meet him for a few days becuase he was at "crack camp" learning how to safely disassemble an illegal crack cocaine lab. He works for the police department identifying confiscated illegal drugs where he is known for decorating his desk with novelty marijuana leaf Christmas lights. He's such a cool guy but he's also a bit of a chemistry nerd! That's why I'm very much looking forward to Susan and Andrew having kids because I already have the perfect baby shower gifts picked out for them!

Electric Boogaloo specializes in artwork for the nerdy baby!

Susan will get to review her baby's ABCs with nerdy flashcards where A stands for Atom and Z for Zoological Oddity!

Andrew can prepare his toddler for school by reviewing Newton's three laws of motion!

And their baby will be able to learn to count in prime numbers with this prime numbers counting chart!

As my sister's little family star-gazes at night they'll be able to remind Junior of the Hertzprung-Russel diagram that charts out the relative ages and phases of stars with this pretty print!

The art is beautifully rendered and the science is proven and even though I've never considered myself a science nerd I'm feeling the need to start learning my prime numbers. Tiffany, who is the science nerd behind all this wonderful nerdy baby art, has a blog (http://www.electricboogaloo.net/wordpress) and a shop (http://electricboogaloo.etsy.com/ or http://www.tiffanyard.com/) for the nerd in all of us!

doors and windows 5

2008-09-04T03:18:00.001-05:00

Strasbourg, France

Dublin, Ireland

Riquewihr, France

Baden-Baden Altes Schloss, Germany

Meersburg, Germany

a day worth the sunburn

2008-09-01T01:25:00.005-05:00

On Saturday I had another race day!

I spent a sunny day at the horse races enjoying all the hats and horses. This time I wore my own race day hat I got just for the occasion...

Here are some of my favorite photos of the day! (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

All you need to enjoy a day at the races: a hat, some shade, and some bubbly!

First of all: cute parasol! Second: hot dress, mom!

This horse was a beautiful white/grey color...when he was wet with sweat after the race he turned pink!

I got this shot as this jocky was thrown from his horse...

Jockey groupies!

favorite shop friday: something's hiding in here

2008-08-29T04:03:00.002-05:00

Something's Hiding in Here is one of the many creative endevors of Shauna and Stephen and I suppose the best category for their shop would be novelty. But that doesn't quite seem to do it justice.

Novelty: an article of trade whose value is chiefly decorative, comic, or the like and whose appeal is often transitory (definition from dictionary.com).

Ok, I guess their Paint by Number USA is mainly decorative...

...and their faux (real) bois charm is quite comical (get it?...it's real wood that's painted with fake wood grain!!...get it?!...hee hee!...)...

But I'll have to put my foot down with "tranisitory appeal". I mean, what is more timeless than a mustache on a stick?

The fake mustache has always been comical (and decorative, come to think of it) and always will be!

And take a look at these report card pennants...

...won't those elementary school grades of fail and incomplete haunt us all forever? (Don't worry...this set also includes "very good" and "pass.")

And, I don't know about you, but my wishes will continue to be granted by tossing coins in a fountain, blowing out all my birthday candles, and pulling on one of these...

But as I mentioned...this wonderful shop with anything but a transitory appeal (if you ask me) is only one of the many creative endevors of Shauna and Stephen...to keep tabs on all they do (including catching a glimpse of their truely incredible studio and home) don't miss thier blog: http://somethingshidinginhere.typepad.com/. And buy all of the above items (including many more variations of the fake mustache) at http://somethingshidinghere.etsy.com/.

nienie day

2008-08-28T03:59:00.004-05:00

I didn't start reading blogs until I started writing a blog. I started with the blogs of people I knew. I then was introduced to a few blogs by people I didn't know. And that's when I started to realize what an incredible thing blogging can be. I began to be daily inspired by...well, by all of you. By your creativity, by your joys and sorrows, by your humor, by your unique perspectives. I find blogs amazing because they prove how amazing we can all be. I am a wife, a sister, and a daughter, a homemaker and an art historian, a quilter and a small (very small) business owner...and I would not be as good at these things without all of you and if I fall short of my aspirations (and, believe me, I do!) it's not because you have not already shown me what I could be and do!

I discovered the NieNie Dialogues some time ago and I didn't hesitate to add Stephanie's blog to my sidebar (maybe you've discovered it, too?). Stephanie has a beautiful family, a delightful home, and creative talents that I can only aspire to (and I do!). She's not only a beautiful woman she is an obviously amazing mother and homemaker and is completely in love with her husband! She takes incredible photographs of her life and I'm so grateful she shares her talents with us through her blog...I have been inspired by her more than once!

Recently, however, tragedy has struck the NieNie family. Stephanie and her husband were involved in a small airplane crash and they now need help in their recovery. And so, once again, the blogging community is putting me in awe! Another creative mom I aspire to someday be like, Design Mom, is declaring today NieNie Day! Head over to her blog for a silent auction to help raise funds for the family and for a super-huge list of blogs participating in today's festivities with special posts and more auctions. If you've been in the mood for some fresh blog reading...today's your day! You can also simply click on the button below to donate financially to the family (all funds will go directly to medical bills and household managment as they recover).

favorite shop friday: sodeco

2008-08-22T15:59:00.001-05:00

Wall graphics seem to be all the rage right now. I've noticed a lot....A LOT...of shops on Etsy.com that sell vinyl wall graphics to apply to your home walls and most of these shops have really great designs. But I recently came across one shop that really stood out to me...Sodeco.

Sodeco are Denise and Ana in Toronto and they have created - I think - some of the most unique and beutiful wall graphics I've yet seen. They are simple, elegant, and beautiful.

Dog diadem

You can order your wall graphic in a variety of colors, they are easy to apply and remove, and Sodeco will even do custom orders if you have something new in mind.

AND, these girls are so cool that they are offering all of you here on this blog a 15% discount on any order! Just add the code "etsydecals" in the comments to seller section at check-out, then wait for a revised invoice before paying. And they do ship around the world so no matter where you are you've go the chance to make your home that much more beautiful!

Find all of these designs and many more from Sodeco (and go get that discount!) at http://sodeco.etsy.com/.

tour de france

2008-08-19T03:14:00.001-05:00

We live very close to France. About 14 kilometers, actually. We often hop over the border to see a movie (the French play American movies in their original English language more often than the Germans who seem to prefer to dub over movies into German), go to a yummy restaurant, or buy French groceries (and yes, we love to say to each other "Let's go the France, today!"). But ever since we moved here we've been wanting to ride our bikes over to the border. On Saturday, we finally did!

This past week I've been making cookies, eating cookies, sitting on the couch finishing up a big quilting project, and watching athletes half my age breaking world records at the Olympics so maybe I just felt inspired to get us off our butts, but we finally had a non-rainy Saturday and so we ventured out to France!

We made our first stop just a couple of blocks from home to buy some sweet and declicious white raspberries from the self-serve food stand as a biking snack and then rode on through several little German villages and beautiful fields and orchards and nature preserves toward the Rhine.

This house smelled so good as we rode by!

Then, just before we reached the Rhine river...Karl got a flat tire!

So we walked our bikes the last quarter of a kilometer or so to the ferry that crosses us over to France.

Goodbye Germany!

Once in France we walked into the little town laying just on the other side of the Rhine and found a grocery store with bike-repairing supplies and made camp in front of a closed resturant to make repairs.

We muched on our bakery snacks bought in one of the German villages then made our way back to the Rhine, having accomplished our mission and tired out by that flat tire.

An old World War II barrack on the French side of the Rhine, not used since the French were trying to keep the Germans on the other side of the river:

In passing through one of the German villages, we noticed the local Bicycle Society was having a Summer Festival so we made a stop for some festival food.

We made one more stop at the self-serve food stand for some homemade pickles and plum jam and felt very satisfied (if exhausted) arriving home having finally accomplished this little goal we made for ourselves so long ago! Take that Olympic medalists!

Home again...the well-stocked self-serve stand in our little Oberweier:

It was such a lovely day! But, now...back to the couch...

schwäbisch gmünd library

2008-08-18T01:50:00.005-05:00

The Hospice of the Almshouse Brothers in Schwäbisch Gmünd was founded in 1269 and in 1434 a half-timber building for the Almshouse was built as part of a complex of Alms buildings and a mill surrounding a pretty courtyard. Today, that half-timber Almshouse is the town's public library. I originally ducked into the library to find a toilet to use and was awe-struck by the building itself. I ended up spending about an hour in the buliding, first wandering through it's wooden-beamed rooms, then sitting in a corner to read in this old and incredible space.

See? Didn't I tell you this was the coolest library ever?

My favorite space was this room called the Uhrenzimmer. It was built in 1596 as an office for the Almshouse and is now apparently used for weddings. I found my way there, found the door open, and just as I stepped inside this stunning room but I before I could get the camera out of my bag, I was shooed out as the room was getting prepared for a wedding. So all I can show you is the door into the room with the little hanging sign on the doorknob letting us know that there is a wedding in session. But imagine the kind of room (dark wooden walls, floors and ceilings with old Renaissance windows) that beautiful wooden doorway would lead you to and that's exactly what lays beyond it!

favorite shop friday: cathy cullis

2008-08-15T02:16:00.001-05:00

Cathy Cullis is an artist. Her ink is thread and her paper is linen, newsprint, and yellowed novels and the result is beautiful!

With trailing threads, unfinished fabric edges, sketchy figures, there a sense of the improvised in her work but, as Cathy puts it, her pieces are still "carefully constructed, considered." In fact, Cathy calls her work "visual poems" and I think that's the best way to describe them because they are certainly lyrical and while they have an abbreviated quality there is quite a depth to them, I think.

Expected to believe:

Fashionable:

Her pieces can but framed but can also be worn like this beautiful pendant and brooch:

Cathy's beautiful work can be found at http://cathycullis.etsy.com/.

schwäbisch gmünd churches

2008-08-14T03:48:00.000-05:00

We visited three different churches during our day in Schwäbisch Gmünd and they were all very different from each other.

The first was St. John's, a Romanesque church built between 1220 and 1250. It was being restored and the inside floor of the church was littered with the original gargoyles and saints from the outside of the church.

I climbed up the church tower where I got a beautiful view of the next church we visited...

The Holy Cross Cathedral is a Gothic church built btween 1315 and 1521. It had a big beautiful organ and pretty side chapels and gorgeous windows!

The last church we visited was really a chapel. Two chapels, actually. And it was very unique! St. Salvator was built on a hill overlooking the town in 1617. The path going up the hill has little chapels containing sculptural vignettes of Christ's Life.

The two chapels (an upper chapel and lower chapel) were built into caves with beautiful carvings both inside and outside cut into the rock.

All three of these churches were very beautiful and represented a completely different era in architecture. It was so neat to see a mini history of church design all in one afternoon!

schwäbisch gmünd

2008-08-09T02:42:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Karl had to go to a small town called Schwäbisch Gmünd (say "shvay-bish g-moondt) on the far side of Stuttgart and I decided to tag along. The town was charming! As Karl was busy with business, I wandered around the charming town, and then we met up together and wandered around some more. Here is some of the charm we explored...

We actually also saw three very interesting churches and the coolest library I've ever seen but I'm going to save those photos for another day!

favorite shop friday: swellkid

2008-08-08T00:46:00.001-05:00

Carrie's wonderful shop, Swellkid, helps us learn our ABCs by taking us back to the day when boys dressed sharp and Q stood for Queen for a Day!

These retro alphabets are so much fun! They'd be great for a baby's room or your own rooms.

Carrie will also gladly take cutsom orders so that your letters can stand for whatever you want: M for merry-go-round, modern, or...?

Find her swell alphabets at http://swellkid.etsy.com/.

etsy baby shower

2008-08-07T15:44:00.001-05:00

There is a regularly-held virtual baby shower held by Etsy sellers...it's kind of cool: any seller or buyer on Etsy can add their name to the mom-to-be list and several sellers are assigned to ship them a free baby or mommy gift. I've participated before and it's pretty fun to meet new babies around the globe!

Here is the little quilt I made for this spring's baby shower for Boxie's new little baby girl (front and back views):

I just used scraps I had on hand to do a pink and yellow tummy-time quilt. It's fun to surprise a distant mom with a little bundle of love! And Boxie let me know that her little angel is already getting a lot of cuddle time with it! I love knowing my quilts are getting the cuddly love they were made for!

i just thought this was kinda funny...

2008-08-05T02:32:00.002-05:00

The 31. Annual European Juggling Convention is in town! How cool is that?!

Outside the convention center as I walked by last night there was juggling galore along with other juggling-related activities like tight-rope walking and unicycle riding.

And, have no fear, there was an ambulance on hand to take care of any juggling-related injuries.

I had no idea that the juggling community was so well organized that they had conventions!

And what do they do at juggling conventions? Discuss the latest technological advances in bowling pins? PowerPoint presentations on the physics of throwing and catching more things in the air than you have hands to hold? Sale subscriptions to some industry-related magazine called something like Juggling Today?

And this convention is going on all week! Is there really that much going on in the world of juggling to convene about? I am really really curious as to what goes on at this convention! Besides lots of juggling! Actually...maybe that's enough. I imagine jugglers and the sons of jugglers aren't the popular kids in school and maybe it's just enough to get together with your fellow jugglers and for once not be the weird guy that can throw and catch a dozen balls in the air at once.

favorite shop friday: be happy now

2008-08-01T03:24:00.000-05:00

I love the name of today's shop, Be Happy Now, because you can't be but happy looking at Jenny's absolutely charming, happy artwork!

Someone tied to the tree:

Happy Rain:

Creatures that live in the sky:

She just finished her degree at an art and design academy where she wrote and illustrated this charming book for her final project...but you can buy her other tiny books filled with her artwork, too.

Jenny lives and works in Jerusalem and has so much creativity coming out of her not even the toilet rolls are safe from her artistic eye!

Her artwork can bring you instant happiness, I'm sure! Find her happy shop at http://behappynow.etsy.com/.

doors and windows 4

2008-07-30T02:11:00.002-05:00

Houston, Texas

Dingle, Ireland

Versailles, France

Oberkirch, Germany

Cambridge, England

barack and berlin

2008-07-28T04:06:00.001-05:00

Last Thursday, July 24th, Barak Obama came to town!

Senator Obama made his tour through Europe last week and made a significant stop in Berlin Thursday. I'm sure everyone has heard all about the visit and the speech he made in front of the Siegessäule. I really wish I had made the trip to Berlin to attend his speech (I did look into to a train ticket, buy they were pretty pricey that week) because I believe it was really a significant moment for the German-American relationship, and a significant moment for Obama, especially if he is elected President.

For decades, Germany has had a very good relationship with the United States. Ever since the end of World War II, the US has had a special place in the heart of Germans. Part of the reason for that is the famous Luftbrücke (Air Bridge) over Berlin. When Russia cut off East Berlin with West Berlin in 1948, known as the Berlin Blockade, the United States flew over the Russian occupied part of the city dropping supplies. Germans who were young at the time especially remember the kindness of the Americans to include candy and chocolate for the children in their supply drops.

The American Presidents who have visited Germany are always the most popular with the Germans. I think sometimes that Germans regard John F. Kennedy as one of their own presidents! In 1963 JFK made a significant speech in front of the Schöneberg town hall in West Berlin where he famously said, "Ich bin ein Berliner." I actually once live in an apartment for a few months just a couple of blocks away from the Schöneberg town hall and the square in front of the building, where there is a daily market, is now called John-F.-Kennedy-platz. And in 1987, Ronald Reagan made his famous speech in front of the Berlin Wall at Brandenburg Gate declaring: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Even Bill Clinton and the first President Bush made visits to Germany early in their Presidences which thrilled the Germans.

That relationship, unfortunately, has been significantly damaged with the current President Bush. Disagreements over the Iraq War, comments from Secretary of Defense Donlad H. Rumsfeld that Europe was "irrelevant," and the simple fact that Bush waited far too long to pay a visit to the country (not until 2005), all but ruined the traditionally friendly relationship between the countries. I can tell you from my own experiences that very often Germans that I meet here will eventually ask me the question "So what you do think of President Bush?" sizing me up as an American by my attitude toward our President and his policies.

But it seems that Barack Obama's visit last week is already doing a lot to help mend our relationship in the common German's mind. For the most part, the Germans were thrilled to welcome him to Berlin. His visit and his speech have already done a lot, I think, to lay a new, more positive foundation in the future German-American relationship.

And I know that there is a lot of criticism over Obama's European tour and his Berlin speech, and I don't pretend to think that this visit will create a canidate with sudden foreign experience nor a worthy JFK-pretender, but, no matter whom I intend to vote for this November, as an American ex-pat in Germany, I'm so glad someone in the States is considering this tense relationship between my two homes.

Missed the speech? Read a full transcript here. And all the photos came from here.

ipod, my pod!

2008-07-26T07:31:00.000-05:00

I asked my husband for an iPod for my birthday. I don't think I've ever thrilled him more. He bought his iPod as a graduation present for himself and he has been begging me to let him get me one ever since. But I never saw the need for the amount of money they cost. But I've been wanting one lately. And yesterday my pretty new little iPod arrived in the mail!!

I ordered a pretty case for it from Handmade Pretties and Karl helped me put lots of music and episodes of The Office on it last night and this morning (once I was able to get it out of my husband's hands) I laid on the sofa far too long listening to my iPod shuffle through all my new music while playing solitaire included with my iPod games.

I'm looking forward to good times to be shared with my new little pretty friend!

favorite shop friday: sugar cookie couture

2008-07-25T01:56:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned before that I have a cookie cutter collection. I love my little collection and I'm always on the look-out for new, unique forms...but I hardly ever use them. I make sugar cookies maybe twice a year.

But I found a shop that not only uses unique and adorable forms but makes the cookies for me so I don't have to clean up the mess afterwards...plus, decorates them more beautifully then I could ever hope to have the talent for! Feast your eyes on Sugar Cookie Couture!

Although they look too beautiful to eat, Linzy of Sugar Cookie Couture assures me they are too delicious not to eat! And not only can you order beautiful, delicious cookies from her, Linzy will also work with you to design your own unique cookies for whatever event you're having.

Now stop drooling on your keyboard and go order your cookies at http://sugarcookiecouture.etsy.com.

"and so the two walked..."

2008-07-23T02:44:00.002-05:00

When I spent the afternoon at the Karlsruhe Palace last week, I went looking for a pretty sclupture hidden in the trees that I found the first time I went to the palace gardens. I know nothing about the sculpture other than it has a date of 1866 on it and there is a beautiful inscription on the pillar between the couple that reads, "Also gingen die zwei entgegen der sinkenden Sonne" - "And so the two walked against the setting sun." I climbed up the stones it stands on and braved the broken beer bottles, cigarette butts and graffiti and got some detail photos of the pair.

And so the two walked...

market tote swap

2008-07-22T02:26:00.001-05:00

So, remember how In a Nutshell had her summer Market Tote Bag Swap? Wanna see the bag I made?

I made it from some heavy-weight cotton I had leftover from another bag project and the red arrow block I found in this book I recently bought with great quilts with house blocks.

So I guess the arrow is really a house but it looked more like an arrow to me. But I really liked how the block turned out no matter if it's a house or an arrow!

friendship baby quilt

2008-07-21T02:07:00.000-05:00

During the 1840s in the United States a new kind of quilt appeared: the friendship quilt. This quilt was made by a group of family and friends to commemorate special events like marriage, birth ,someone moving away, or death. All the love of the community around a person created a soft, warm, beautiful quilt.

I had the privilege of helping create a friendship quilt for a baby to commemorate both his brith and death. A pregnant woman at my church learned her baby had a medical condition he would not survive. So the women at my church joined forces for a quilt...something he would sadly never be able to use in life but give his parents, who could not buy any baby items for their son, something tangible to help remember him.

Each woman made a cross-stitch and I pieced them all together and quilted petal patterns. The result was as unique as all the women taking part. While some cross-stitch pictures were beautifully done, others were a little rough but sweet, and all together they created a quilt that showed the love of each of these women for this little family and their baby. It was really an honor to be a part of the creation of this memorial for their tiny son.

Here are a few photos of the finished quilt. (I'm sorry the lighting is so bad. I kept forgetting to take photos of it until late the night before it was given to the family and then I hurridly enlisted my husband's help and got some photos of it in our bathroom.) (Oh, and I don't recommend piecing cross-stitching into a quilt. I've learned you can't wash them...or all the colors will run.)

german music: sportfreunde stiller

2008-07-19T02:39:00.000-05:00

There's a big music festival going on in Karlsruhe this weekend called Das Fest. Lots of well-known musicians come and play all weekend and the best part about it is that it's all free!

One of Karl's favorite German bands, Sportfreunde Stiller, was playing last night so he went to watch them (I didn't feel up to all the crowds, so I stayed home watching Friends and quilting).

The crowd last night at Das Fest...

...enjoying Sportfreunde Stiller...

Sportfreunde Stiller is three guys from Munich...

...who use to play soccer together. Their best known song is actually an annoyingly catchy song about German soccer (which we've been hearing a lot lately with the Euro Championship recently ended). But their other stuff is pretty good. I've always thought of them with a typically cheery German sound.

Alles Roger (Everything Roger):

Ohne deine Liebe (Without your Love):

favorite shop friday: bridget davies

2008-07-18T02:11:00.001-05:00

Bridget Davies is an embroidery designer who will design and hand make the most beautiful handbags, passport holders and pillows that may ever be in your possession!

Her fabrics are fairly neutral in color so they are sure to go with whatever you have and are made with wonderful-to-the-touch fabrics like suede and silk.

Although she lives in the UK, I think her work as a bit of a feminine, Parisian touch. At least, I can easily imagine them in my pretty, little, hard-wood floored, apartment of my dreams with French doors looking out to the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben or the Colosseum or some European view. But no matter what you view is or where you travel to, Bridget Davies' designs are sure to pretty it up!

Bring a little bit of prettiness into your life from http://bridgetdavies.etsy.com.

schloss karlsruhe

2008-07-16T15:25:00.002-05:00

Today I spent most of the day at the Karlsruhe Palace.

The city of Karlsruhe is about 30 minutes north of us. Karlsruhe is known for its excellent university, for being the seat of the German Supreme Court and for it's beautiful 18th-century palace. The margraves and grand dukes of Baden (this region of Germany) lived in this palace between 1715 and 1918. Although the palace was hit by bombs in World War II, it was slowly rebuilt after the war and is now a museum of the area's history.

The palace was built as the center of the city designed around it with avenues fanning out from it like the spokes of a wheel (which is where the city's nick-name, die Fächerstadt - the Fan City). The city spreads out from the front of the castle but the back of the castle has expansive gardens and trees and meadows. I've spent much time in the gardens and wandering the palace grounds, but today was the first time I visited the museum inside.

Afterwards I read a book sitting on the grass behind the museum, then wandered the grounds some more. One of the things I love about these kinds of palaces and palace gardens of Europe is the thought that these places were never built for the likes of me. And yet, here I am, enjoying gardens planted for a duke!

The palace tower from the gardens:

A view of the font of the palace looking out to the city from the top of the tower:

Kicking off my shoes:

The little train the runs through the gardens:

favorite shop friday: keep calm and carry on

2008-07-11T05:38:00.004-05:00

Karl and I have had a bit of a stressful week so I thought it would be a good week to feature this shop: Keep Calm and Carry On.

Back in 1939, British King George VI commissioned propaganda posters at the outbreak of the war and, maybe because they are just so cool but maybe because we need the comforting again, they are making a comeback in our contemporary society: Keep Calm and Carry On. It's so simple, so direct, so British. So calming.

Thanks to today's shop, you can carry around your own bit of calming influence in the form of hand-printed bags:

shopping bags...

sailor duffel bags...

and (my favorite) retro flight bags...

You can find these bags at http://keepcalmandcarryon.etsy.com but there are a lot more comforting propaganda to be found at their website at http://www.keepcalmandcarryon.com.

Now, keep calm. And carry on.

mork and me

2008-07-10T02:22:00.001-05:00

I've been doing a lot of quilting lately...and I'll show you all I've been creating as they get finished...but that also means I've been watching a lot of TV, too. I tend to put in a dvd when I get my quilting out. I usually put in some chick-flick while I cut or sew or quilt (that or listen to This American Life online). But this past week I've been distracting myself with old episodes of Mork and Mindy. I haven't seen this show for years and years but for some nostalgic reason or other I asked my husband to find the first season for us to watch again and this week it's been keeping me company as I work.

I have fond memories of Mork and Mindy. When I was little, my parents would take us the Mr. Gaddy's Pizza where there was a big-screen TV and we would have pizza and root beer as a family and watch Mork and Mindy on the big screen. It was such a simple thing but it was one of our favorite family traditions (aren't the simple ones always the most memorable?). Watching Mork and Mindy again, I'm remembering what a weird, happy little show it was and finding that I still crave pizza and root beer and missing my family as I watch it. It's strange that Robin Williams in all his rainbow clothes can make my whole childhood come back to me...

our fourth

2008-07-08T01:37:00.000-05:00

Even in Germany we were able to celebrate American Independence Day!

On the 4th we were able to have a barbeque with some other American friends, making the evening a very American event. We had hamburgers and hot dogs, baked beans and pasta salads, and cupcakes and ice cream sundaes! Of course, the hamburgers were eaten with Italian ciabatta bread, the hot dogs were really German bratwursts and the cupcakes were make with dark German chocolate and much of our conversations were of various summer trips to Greece and France and Ireland and our enjoyment of German culture so the evening still had a very international flair! But, then, American culture is a melting pot itself!

I made the cupcakes and they were so yummy! Cakes and cupcakes are not at all German so I made them from scratch from this amazing recipe. They were easy and turned out very rich and chocolaty and super-moist...almost brownie-like. I took the recommendation of this amazing blogger and "frosted" them with whip cream and added fresh raspberries on top...they tasted sooo good with the rich chocolate! I must insist you try them out!

favorite shop friday: look for fiddleheads

2008-07-04T02:27:00.000-05:00

This week I'm sticking with the clothing trend and featuring good old-fashioned, comfy t-shirts!

What I've always found fascinating about t-shirts is that there is really only one way to sew one up, but infinite ways of designing them so that they always have the potential to be completely unique!

Today's shop is Look For Fiddleheads, offering many unique designs for the traditional t-shirt! The shop name comes from childhood memories of searching for coiled baby ferns and the shirt designs are inspired by images in grandmother's old books. The result is fun, classic t-shirts hand-printed for men and women, often in hand-dyed colors.

Here are a few of my favorites...

Type B:

Inventing Toast:

Butterfly:

Well Dressed Men:

Always mindful of avoiding waste, Look For Fiddleheads uses all the "mistake" prints to created some very cool laptop bags...

Find your unique Look For Fiddleheads t-shirt at http://lookforfiddleheads.etsy.com.