musa-blue java ice cream

believe it or not the musa 'blue java' ice cream is a banana tree. not just any banana tree but by far the fastest growing one. during a trip to the austin, tx farmers market during anthony's parents visit we became the proud owner of one of these palms. a gift from anthony's father~ we hope to have fruit as early as next year.

pepper's new haircut

pepper in boston sporting his cable knit sweater called "cabled delight" designed by jil eaton knit with hand-dyed manos del uruguay yarn.

peppers new hair cut part 2

now pepper with his san antonio military shave.

what a cute boy.

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happy birthday grandma

happy birthday to grandma! she turns 89 today and to celebrate we took her to have chicken fired steak. for those who don't know, chicken fried steak is neither chicken or steak but rather a cheap piece of beef that has been beaten until it can be beaten no more, breaded and fried like chicken- always served with mashed potatoes and gravy. this is one of our families favorite treats. as a gift i made her a giant cupcake. yummy.

congratulations anthony

i don't feel the need to explain.
for all my friends who are interested in all of the good eats we had while my concert twin was here and some other food goodies, reviews and home made recipes check out her awesome blog on my links "sunday night dinner"

new friend

i found a new friend today. he seems to not be very camera shy.

could this be the next contender to the geico gecko?

baby dress

i owe a good friend of mine a gift for her (semi) newborn ms lizzy rose. even her name makes me smile nevermind her q-t pictures.
everything for baby has a good selection of gifts for newborns.


the book comes complete with full size patterns for all of the projects in the back of the book. it also rates each project by ease and estimates the time it would take to complete the project. i chose linen dress on page 85 for a 6m-12m baby. i think the book assumes more than basic sewing knowledge and terms. i looked up how to add bias to an armhole and ended up leaving out the knife pleat because i was nervous her little arms may need a little more space as she grows. i embellished the dress with a set of cute gingham buttons that leigh gave me. i have just been waiting for the perfect project to use them.

look what came in the post today!

i love unexpected packages in the post. i love it even more when it is a thoughtful gift from a dear friend. most of the goodies came from the herb bar in austin, tx which is a must now on my list of places to visit.

thanks mer

cowboys

after a few margaritas at one of the best mexican restaurants in san antonio we worked up the nerve to head to the western bar cowboy dance hall. as unbelievable as it might sound we ended up going again the following night.

the evening was surreal. there was well over 1000 people there, live bull riding, an mechanical bull (and well~ anthony was the only brave one of us to give this a shot) and, of course, live country music. cowboys also came complete with pool tables, boot shine stand and shop (if you left your hat and belt buckle at home. )

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"toto, we're not in kansas anymore"

j versus k/ bloc party @ stubbs

my concert twin is in town for a visit from boston. we have a weekend of food planned with a little free time for some other activities and stubbs had to be one of our top 5 places to go. i have to say that she was a real trooper~ with temperatures outside the entire night in the 90's. stubbs was the last show on bloc party's us tour, they played fab and we were treated to a new song they have never played before.

very satisfying.

mini takes the states

august 18th marks the beging of the road trip to end all road trips rally. i am one of 6000 beautiful coopers taking part. my registration materials have just arrived in the post & i think they are positively worth sharing.


the kit came with:
1)mini takes the states tavelogue
(where you can go through state customs and get your "passport" stamped at each rally point, mark off the license plates as you see them, keep track of your new motoring friends & keep a travel log on each location)
2)registered mini takes the state wrist band in order to participate.
3)mini quarantine kit
(for use to get you out of the office and on the road for the whole journey. complete with official letter to boss explaining illness.)

sadly i can't make my planned trip from the albuquerque/amarillo/dallas leg because we have family coming to stay- but i am planning on kidnapping them and hitting the road to take place in the dallas events
-zoom200

daisy

i love birthdays! "daisy" is a purse from the book junior knits patterns. the bag is knit in one piece starting with the stockinette stitch lining then knitting the outside of the bag in seed stitch.

this is a birthday present for hannah. hannah just turned 4 years old! we are going to her birthday party today.

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happy birthday hanna!