It's about time: 12 goals for 2012

I've been planning this blog post for weeks! It seems like one thing after another kept taking precedence. But enough excuses. This is a new year with new opportunities and endless possibilities. I just love the "fresh-start" feeling the new year brings.

In that spirit, I've set some goals for myself. I figured 12 goals for 2012 had a nice ring to it. So here's my list of 12 things I hope to accomplish in 2012:

1. Finish knitting the wrap sweater I started 3 or 4 years ago.
2. Photograph the collection of childhood sweaters my Nana crocheted for me as a kid.
3. Create 5 free printables for blog.
4. Use up entire stack of printmaking paper.
5. Make a linocut you're really proud of (this will aid in accomplishing item #4).
6. Read a book.
7. Send some of your food photos to a magazine and see if they will print them.
8. Make a spring wreath out of crepe paper.
9. Design a website pro bono.
10. Find a new recipe and make it.
11. Sew a shirt.
12. Frame a piece of artwork.

I'll check things off as I go. Stay tuned.

A Longwood Gardens Christmas with Hipstamatic

Last Thursday evening, Zach and I drove down to Kennett Square to check out this year's Christmas displays at Longwood Gardens. It was magical, as always.

Here's some shots I took with my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app:

Chillin' on Cape Cod

Zach and I spent the long holiday weekend relaxing on Cape Cod at his parents' vacation home. Zach's dad met us there, and we were able to spend a couple days visiting with him before he had to head home. While we were there, Jean and Josh (Zach's bro and sis-in-law) also popped down for a short visit. Of course, no visit to the cape is complete without taking a gander at what's kicking around in the basement. The house was built in the 60s so there's lots of cool vintage stuff interspersed amongst some not-so-cool vintage stuff. But it's all waiting to be rediscovered. This trip we found (Josh found, to be exact) a cool blow up raft designed for lounging on the water with your best pair of oversized, white-rimmed sunglasses (think Jackie O) and a cool beverage at your disposal. What? there's no cup holder for said beverage? Well this cannot be allowed! Don't panic. Jean took care of this gross over site by the raft-building people.

It was a lovely weekend filled with birthday cake (for Zach's b-day), micro brew (for everyone), a brewery tour of Cape Cod Beer, some night-time beach walking, a bit of fishing, and lots of kayaking and eating (plus some yard work thrown in for good measure.).

I'll leave you with this lovely shot of the water taken from the back deck. It looks like it was taken in the middle of autumn but those golden tones are actually salt-damaged leaves caused by hurricane Irene when she got all pissy and flung a bunch of salt water around. I still think it looks lovely though.

Did anyone do anything fun this Labor Day weekend? I'd love to hear about it.

Craft Day: Valentine's Day cards

Well, I must admit I'm shocked that Brook and I have been able to pull off two, that's right, TWO craft days! It's all very exciting, and I'm hoping we can continue gathering once a month to create and chat. For February we decided it would be nice to make Valentine's day cards. Brook found this lovely little tutorial over at Martha Stewart Living. It entailed printing rose-like shapes with the cut end of lettuce heads and celery stalks - simple yet lovely. So we dug out the inks, colorful cards, and decorative paper and started stamping. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and even the skeptic in the bunch got excited about the project (yay!) when she realized we were using block printing ink (not just stamp pads).

Although the veggie stamps played an important role in our card creations, many of us ended up rolling the ink directly onto the card which created some amazing patterns and textures. I showed everyone how to do a rainbow roll (rolling out two separate inks then merging the colors together in the center to create a third color), which resulted in some really lovely designs. Everyone was super creative.

As I look over the photos I took using the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone, I'm realizing I didn't really capture the amazing patterns that everyone created. Evidently I was in artsy-hipstamatic mode instead of document-it-accurately mode. So forgive me ladies for not representing your work properly here! Never-the-less, I think the photos show the basics which I hope is helpful. There's still time to create a few valentine cards using this method, so get stamping and share the love!

A New Year's Resolution of Sorts

At one point in the life of this blog, I had a few followers. Some people even wrote comments and got excited about my promised projects and room redos. Alas, I have really let things slide here at FGD, and I fear anyone who was once interested has long since given up. Well, the year is fresh and new, and I've got a plan for this blog (for once!). So to all you wonderful people out there who have stopped by to see what was up, only to be left with a few terrible "before" shots of my house and no follow-up; I promise, "after" shots are coming! So please stay tuned.

3, 2, 1....Happy New Year!

It's that time of year again; time to declare our new year's resolutions. Typically I don't get caught up in the frenzy, but this year I've decided to give it a whirl and see what happens. To that end, I've selected a unique, never-been-done-before resolution - I am going to maintain a photo blog. Okay, so I won't be getting any points for originality, but hopefully I'll improve my photography skills and learn more about lighting and photographing candid shots of people. If you're interested in seeing my progress you can head over to my Project 30 blog at:

fiercegirldesign.wordpress.com

Each month I'll select a new theme to photograph and at the end of 2010, if everything goes according to plan, I should have 365 photos posted.

Anyone else out there have a resolution they would like to share? I'd love to hear about it.

Happy New Year everyone!

Lenten Results

Well, I wasn't nearly as successful as I deluded myself into thinking I'd be, but I did accomplish several things that I'm really excited about (one of them wasn't even on the list!).
I started knitting again and I finally figured out a pattern I've been pondering for years. I'm hoping to have it done in time to wear for spring/early summer (if spring would EVER come!). Here's some photos to show you my progress.

Day 1

And so begins my Lenten journey devoid of TV....

For the next forty days I have decided to abstain from watching TV in the hopes that I will become more productive and actually do the things that I've been talking about doing for the past eight to ten years (in some cases), but haven't actually started. To assist me on my journey, I've decided to compile a list of all the projects I'd like to complete during this time in the hopes that it will serve as a sort of accountability keeper. Here goes...

1. Make fleece jacket (#507 for anyone who's interested) for Zach with fabric I bought a LONG time ago (possibly before we were married).
2. Make fleece vest (also #507) for me (more fabric from same time)
3. Make long-sleeved shirt with fabric I bought over three years ago. (I know, I know...enough with the fabric)
4. Make pot holders
5. Make one linocut
6. Frame three pictures
7. Make 11 mugs (2 sets of 4, plus 3 others)

I think that's more than enough. Probably overly optimistic, but at least I have something to shoot for. And since no one usually reads this blog anyway, I can probably get away with only finishing one or two goals. Kidding!

Now where did I put that fabric?

But most importantly, I'm thankful for...

...all the fabulous people (and pets) that make my life good - including all the ones not shown here.

I'm thankful for...

Christmas in NYC • home-grown tomatoes • bananas • retro (and free!) filing cabinets • snow • Dale Chihuly glass • tea • avocados • clouds • Santa Barbara • daffodils • green plants in november • Zach's spice cookies • Boston • Vernors



What are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving 2007

It was a fun day. The food turned out great, and everyone really enjoyed playing w/ the gourds.