Happy Holidays!

Just a very very short, pictureless post (as I have been far too busy with other things!) to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas! Hope you all have a fantastic holiday season. I may or may not post before 2010, depending on how chaotic life gets over the next week!

xx

Kristin and Finley :o)

pool time

Being another beautiful day today, we had originally planned for a beach day, but the wind was blowing a gale and nobody like sand blown in the face! So Luke got his male-lungs onto it and blew up the paddling pool for Finley and I. Thanks Luke!

And nothing beats a post-pool Banana Smoothie... we make ours with bananas, natural yoghurt, a spoonful of honey, and dash of vanilla essence, and soy milk..... YUM!!

Hope you are also enjoying this beautiful weekend!

"beam?"

A couple of weeks ago, Finley and I made a bountiful harvest from the Broad Bean (or Fava Bean) plants that he befriended a little bee amongst a couple of months back. Finley was fascinated with the little "beams" inside the pods and had a great time helping me shell them all. Needless to say, as is the way with 21 month olds, he insisted on the raw-bean-taste-test and when he discovered that they weren't to his taste he insisted on trying to prod them into my mouth... hmm, thanks sweetheart! (yuck!)

My favourite thing to do with Broad Beans (and the main reason we grow them) is to make Falafel. I use the recipe below, given to me by a kind friend.

Falafel

1 cup Broad (fava) Beans (frozen or fresh I have used both)

1 can Chickpeas or equiv. re-hydrated dried chickpeas

1/3 cup chopped parsley (italian is better, but english/curled is fine and is what I use most of the time)

1 small red onion chopped fine

1/3 cup plain flour

2 tsp dried coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 scant tsp baking soda

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor, roll into balls, drop into breadcrumbs if thats what you prefer (yummy!), refrigerate for an hour or so and then shallow fry in oil til golden.

I like to make a big batch and keep the flattened Falafel balls in the freezer. Unfortunately no photo's of my Falafel balls sorry... the freezer is exactly where they are, awaiting easy peasy newborn meals come january!

xx

My sewing machines don't know what has hit them...

Nesting instinct maybe? Whatever it is, it has been highly productive and I have been sewing away like a little sweatshop worker (literally... our kitchen thermometer peaked at 31 degrees today... whoar, thats HOT for november!).

All available on Trademe. Tonnes more photo's of Finny's latest modelling shoot over on my Flickr.

xxx

rockets and owls...

Just a peek at a couple of the auctions I have up on trademe this week. Click on the photograph to be taken to the listing. Bigger sizes coming in both applique designs, but for now I've run out of grey marle jersey knit! Thanks!! xx

oh I am a shocker...

Just when I thought I was coping, life has been getting a little on top of us at the moment. We've had chickenpox (well not me personally... poor fin has had it), Luke has been away doing lots of training for work and gallavanting around on NZ Navy ships, good friends have said good-bye for overseas endevours, other friends have had wee babies, sewing has been done (and a little bit of knitting), refridgerators have threatened to give up living, doctors have ordered moles to be urgently removed (again not me... Lukes polynesian skin falls victim this time), and the reality of having just 10 short weeks til number 2 graces us with his presence has slapped me in the face. And pretty hard too.

Finley has also reached a milestone, so facing the fact that my little boy is growing up is pretty overwhelming. Especially thinking about him being a big brother (which I am sure he will be wonderful at)... very overwhelming!

Finley at 21 months fast asleep first go in his big boy bed. Such a proud moment!

And on another note, I have listed a whole haul of goodies on trademe this week, including some new ideas! Click here to check it out :o)

xx

sunshine and strawberries

After a week long battle with a horrible cold (evidence running down F's upper lip...), Finley and I were able to get outside this morning and make the most of some sun, before the weather packs it in, as is our forecast for the weekend.

I am in love with the colour of these pansies right now.

And look! we have strawberries! and it's only October!

I have also just updated my Etsy and Felt stores to include this new hoodie (well, there is 4 indentical, 3 for sale as F has snotted all over this one already!). Not as much work as I had hoped to achieve over the week, but given how we've been feeling here at least it's something!!

Have a fantastic weekend wherever you may be :o)

xx

rain rain rain

I had great intentions today of taking photo's of hoodies that I've finished over the last few days, but it's been far too dark and stormy outside to get decent pictures! Instead I've listed this jacket that I made a few months back in my Etsy store, and the rest will just have to wait!

Have a wonderful weekend!

B is for...

when you start the day on a bad note...

After a late one last night, getting up 4 times during the night and then a 5am start, today didn't start well. And to make matters worse it was raining... pooh. But in my opinion, cupcakes make the world a better place...

taste testing the batter

before icing and....

After!! Yum!

I swear as soon as I had these little treasures in the oven and baking, the sun came out!! AND I found my referal form (that I had lost and spent 2 hours looking for last night) for my anatomy scan!

We made them for Luke to say... Happy First Date Anniversary!! 4 years is such a short time, really.

And on another note, I really hate how Blogger makes all my photo's all horrible and grainy :(

xx

BTW..... Its a??? I have my scan at 1pm tomorrow. I dont know how I am going to manage to sleep!!

ALSO... listed new auctions today, and updated my etsy store, as promised!

at long last...

After a couple of months of lack of motivation and lack of time to do much, I FINALLY have a shop update planned for my Etsy store and for some new auctions to go up on Trademe tomorrow. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled too, because I'll be opening a Felt store over the next few days too!

Why keeping so busy you ask?? You see I am counting the hours til our anatomy scan on wednesday and am trying to make the hours and days go faster!!!

Hope you all had fabulous weekends!!

xx

paint!!

We have been incredibly lucky with a run of good weather this week after a horribly wet weekend. Just thought I'd share some photos of what Fin and I got up to while it was too wet to do anyhting fun outside. Daddy kindly moved the car out of the garage for us and we got stuck right in with some paint!! Finley adores painting and drawing so it's really special for us to see the creative side of our wee man.

Have a great week! XX

a bit of shameless advertising

Some of you may have noticed a few months back, Finleys gorgeous little crochet hat. My wonderfully talented Mum has been selling her gorgeous little crochet hats on Trademe for quite a while now, and I just thought I'd share some of her pretty new 100% cotton designs for summer! Makes me wish I was a little girl again!






She has also, in the last week opened a brand new Etsy Store! Featuring 100% wool hats for both little girls and boys. Previously she has stuck to acrylic for the availability of colours and to keep the cost down, but I think she has finally realised that wool is where its at ;).







And I just love these little booties she has in her Trademe store at the moment. Almost makes me wish my feet were teeny tiny!!

xxx

projects

Firstly, thank-you so much for the well wishes regarding Granfather Geoffery's passing. It really does mean alot to our little family.

Forgive me for not having much to say over the last couple of weeks. among other things, Finley suddenly decided that sleep is not the coolest thing in the world anymore and as a result I have been absolutely shattered (just when I thought pregnancy with an 18 monther couldn't make you feel any worse!).

As promised, here is a picture of the pram-blanket squares in progress for our little pipi. I had to go pretty non-gender (but I love the colours for either, so I'm not worried) because I still haven't had my anatomy scan (fingers crossed for the next couple of weeks).

I just adore red and baby-blue together, dont you?

And because I really havent felt like doing much else but sitting on my backside on the couch lately, I have also started knitting a wee pair of overalls for pipi's first autumn.

So yes. 21 weeks now. Just over halfway. At this rate, January is going to roll around far far too fast.

Hope you all had fantastic weekends. I'm off to make yet another piece of cinnamon on toast!!

xx

goodbyes

**I made a promise to myself that I would blog more often than once a week/ every 10 days, but it doesnt seem to be working!!**



Sadly Lukes grandfather passed away (at the ripe old age of 94) last sunday, which has meant not much mood for taking photo's, despite a trip to Hawkes Bay with beautiful weather and plenty of opportunity.

I managed to start making a granny square blanket (photo's to come later) and Luke's mum encouraged me off to her local op-shop, which I have been meaning to visit everytime we see his folks.

Sadly we are unable to go to the funeral which is to be held in Sydney (where he lived), so we spent some quality time with Lukes parents and reminded ourselves of the importance of whanau. I myself only met Geoffery the once (and sadly he never met Finley), but he certainly left the impression of being amazingly intellegent, spirited and energetic (he was still attending yoga up to 2 months before he passed). He experienced much through his time, including surviving the blitz in London and the long haul on the boat to New Zealand. Old age just becomes some of us in the end, no matter how healthy and spirited we are and Geoffery certainly gave it a good haul. Rest in peace our old friend, you led a good life and will be in a better place now.

Luke, Grandfather Geoffery and I. Easter 2007.

Sorry for the sad post, back to happiness soon I promise!! And to clarify in case of confusion... Lukes mum was born in London, so Luke is actually half british, but you'd never guess just by looking at him obviously!!

xx

Spring!!

Spring has defintely arrived here in our part of the Bay of Plenty. Finley and I made the most of a beautiful, warm morning by getting outside and into the garden. I discovered that I have tulips emerging, and one is even in flower already! This year is my first attempt at growing bulbs (I have Irises in too) so I am thrilled to bits that they survived my lack of garden knowledge!


Now that the warmer weather seems to be with us I will have to get onto getting some sunflower and nasturtium seeds in. I adore nasturtiums in summer salads, yum! Although Luke isn't so keen on eating flowers...

We only have 6 strawberry plants in so far (with more waiting to be transplanted and plans to get morw from the shops), and they are in flower already


I also discovered some new growth on my poor tamarillo trees, which are a bit worse for wear after the huge hail-storm we had earlier in the year. They got quite badly frosted too, so I am very happy the seem to be coming away again.


Finley and I investigated Lukes garden to see what he has coming along, where F was fascinated with a busy little bee going about his work amongst the broad beans. He stood for ages watching and humming to the little bee, looking at me with a smile and following it around the garden. It really surprised me that he grasped that it was a "bee" after me only saying it a couple of times (he doesn't have many proper words), and not once did he try to touch it.

finley watching the bee

the little bee with his head buried in a flower

gently touching dada's plants


And here is a bit of a sneak preview of something I have been working on. Not sure when I will have any of this new applique ready to sell as I've been hectic of late, but for now F looks super-cool in his new tee-shirt!!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

xx