Summer Remains

Woa....to catch up (if that's possible) here is an end-of-summer glance:

Family Harper's Ferry Trip:

Last picture of Heather I have before she went off to school!

This was in July (I think). We saw "Liberty Smith" at Ford's Theatre, and it was absolutely fantastic. Family friend Millie joined us on Joel's first date.

quilting? close to it.

I needed a temple bag, and I had purchased some fabric (jelly rolls, or whatever you call it: scraps of fabric)

And so it began. Do not look closely at the stitches... but I do love the colors.

Tada! Many pockets on the inside, including a hook for two hangers. Mom let me use a vinyl cutting board to make the bottom of the bag structurally secure.

Cookie Crazy!

I went over to Jenny's in NJ, and we made some of the hugest cookies I have ever made in my life, short of a bar cookie. It's the LeVain Cookie, and I am so impressed by this bakery; on its website, it even thanks the fans and quotes "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

Here's Sarah's head next to some we recreated at home:

Copycat recipe for chocolate chip cookies (We added about 3/4 cup cocoa and 1/2 cup sugar to the recipe to make it double chocolate.

Summer Projects, continued

I've been doing some embroidery. If I have already posted these, I apologize, but here they are: my tortilla towels.

Summer Discovery

I was once in Fairfax for a dr. appointment, and I saw a sign that said, "Fluffy Thoughts, this way." Curious, I stopped in.

$1 each day old cupcakes? Done and done. We liked the Smore's and the Peanut Butter Mouse best.

Hair-be-gone!

Another summer pastime: Cutting Trina's hair.

Before:

and after:

August 2011 update: Even more after:

A new hobby!

Some people have said, "So, what have you been up to?" I am never quite sure how to answer that question. Um...getting healthy? Tons of family vacations? Organizing things?

Well, amongst those busy and fun things, I've also picked up a few new hobbies. Added to jewelry-making, baking, reading, writing real letters, etc, I can now add: embroidery. Lest I sound like a grandma, let me tell you: my greatest aspiration is to be a grandma. And to sing like a black woman. And to be Hispanic. But those things aside, I have found this particular pastime to be very stress-relieving. I highly recommend it.

I picked up an iron-on pattern and am making myself some towels to hold my tortillas in.

Here's another view of a towel that's already finished:

And of course, some frogs to throw in as well. They were too cute to pass up.