Katie’s Blog

Soooo I had a bit of an idiot moment this week. I’m really, really running low on my perfume and I saw it at Superstore for $20 and to myself I thought, “huh that’s really cheap. I never knew.” AND I DIDN’T BUY IT! Surprise, it’s not actually that cheap in real life. It was on sale. Like 66% off. Monday I went to a couple Superstores to hear nothing but, “sorry we must be sold-out.” Yesterday I went to a third store and although they had the perfume the price was no longer a killer deal. Ugh.

I figure that this provides the perfect opportunity to discuss the difference between perfume and toilette. I can’t decide if I’ll stick with my perfume or if I should try out the toilette. Guidance please!

In the McNeill household, there is a tradition that comes around every month on the first day. It’s called “A pinch and a punch for the first of the month” where we children (the term children includes my mother as well) would literally pinch and punch each other as we sang the little rhyme with a hint of menace. This was a source of much contention in our home and despite the “opt out” option that my parents desperately put into play, it never really stood for much. There are specific rules to the game that would sometimes get broken like you can’t pinch and punch someone who has already pinched and punched you so quite often I would pinch and punch a sibling and then tell them to quickly to the same to so-and-so.

I have brought this little piece of luggage along with me into my marriage and as it was contentious in the McNeill home, it is also usually a point of dispute in our little Muirhead family. I am usually victorious at getting Conor first due to my many years of experience. Conor seems to be rather prideful about the whole thing and 9 out of 10 times will not take it like a man. Instead he’ll pinch and punch me back breaking the number one ground rule! And yes we are grown-up bona fide adults. However any evidence of maturity dissolves on the first day of every month.

Warning: this post is no shorty! Read on, read on!

So the reason why this post is going to be a little bit longer is because I recognize that I really haven’t been on a roll when it comes to blogging. Oops! My last 3 posts all pertain to the same event. Usually I’m anti long blog posts because I understand that not everyone is into sitting around on their computer all day reading all about me (for that reason I keep a journal). I say this because there are some blogs that I like to visit that have so much to offer however all the good stuff is mumble-jumbled into a journal entry like submission that I end up just sifting through. And well you know. Then again there are sites like Design*Sponge that really do have so much info that needn’t be sifted through because it’s all relevant. However with an average of 5-6 posts a day it sure can get overwhelming. I’ve definitely taken advantage of bookmarking when it comes to that treasure chest site!

I’ll get some of the best news out: Conor and I are ready for our final mail-in for the Greencard process. Hallelujah! This means that all we’re waiting for now is our interview date and a little more data. Please try to remember us in your prayers. We really want for me to get a greencard on the spot since it sure is annoying to have Conor’s school held-up. So that’s heading straight for the mailbox today as well as another piece of mail that’s been sitting around for a couple weeks now. I swear that email rivals a pit bull in the death of the mailman. Earlier as I pondered this fact I thought that someone really should make up cute templates so that us thankful people can just whip off an email and then I realized that that stepping stone has been cut out of the mountain already and that I could hone in on that, but there’s just something about the tangible!

Speaking of the tangible, I recently discovered a fabulous artist through Design*Sponge; Jessica’s vol.25 blog is a really great site to visit and make sure you check out the prints for sale at the etsy shop. Honestly, the cutest things are available and I just can’t get enough! My personal favourite is the We Are Shaped larger print. It’s definitely going on my “please may I have it?” list, although Conor already told me that when we have our own place again… the usual. Okay so that’s all I wanted to share when it comes to websites I think!

Now onto my life… it really is the little things. Yes, the little things that can totally stress me out and/or eat up my entire day. Like that little button, getting dinner prepped, working on that project or this project, baking cookies, tidying, visiting teachers…. they all add up! Like really fast. So despite that feisty little button (and the even more feisty needle that totally pricked and spilt blood) I am here blogging. So do you want to see what all these little projects are??? That’s what I thought.

Here is the gift blanket that I am madly crocheting away. I had a panic attack at the store when I was picking out the yarn. I was trying to decide what would be most suiting and then I remembered that this is for a baby and that it’s okay for it to be babyish. Phew. Thank goodness for that reality. So although the blanket is turning out to be eastery, it’s still summery and isn’t all that girly.

Next is an update photo of my quilt. A few days ago I was thinking I could finish hand-quilting it by the end of July however now that the crocheted blanket has taken over my life, I might be pushing that due date back like a mean GP. Sigh. It’ll get done right?

We all know that I love to sew and I have in my possession some fabulous fabrics that I purchased for screaming hot deals! The fabric on the bottom is for an apron swap that I’ve signed up for (ps there’s still time for you to sign up too!). Beside the apron, there’s fabric for a jacket, dress, top, skirt…. The second photo is a close-up of the fabric that I’m using to make Amy Butler’s Lotus dress (white w/ black roses) and cami (blue damask) pattern.

I made the most perfect cookies today. It’s been a while since I’ve made such a prime batch. Oatmeal chocolate chip is my favourite. Oh and you gotta make it with the real oats, none of this quick-cook fakey bakey oatmeal stuff.

On an athletic note, I’m still enjoying field hockey even though I have a bit of tendonitis in my left achilles that is coming back to haunt me (it hurts like you wouldn’t believe but it’s very sporadic). There was a practice last night which I attended and the coach, whom I had never met, commented a couple times on my hit. I was pleased with that. I did get a ball or someone else’s stick to my thumb last night which is inhibiting the use of scissors. Good thing I’m not planning on cutting out any fabric in the near future!

And the last photo I’m going to share is one of this really sweet shirt I recently bought. It’s Manhattan’s subway map on a shirt!!! So clever. I love it!

I hope you all enjoy this post despite it’s length. I promise that this will not be a regular occurance (for more than one reason including the amount of time it takes to write a post like this…). I kind of just had some things I wanted to share and figured that I would do it all at once since, well you know…!

Here are some fun shots of the Cranmer gang.

These are a few shots of Vienna enjoying a marshmallow. I really like these photos because they are so childlike.

Here are some sweet photos of my nephew Finn. He was happier tonight than I’ve ever seen him so far. I’m really enjoying his almost laughs (grunts and an occasional shriek) and his flawless skin. I took more pictures of the kids than this, but I thought it would be fun to slowly reveal them, edited and all. So just because you might have gotten an email, doesn’t mean you’ve seen the photos in their full glory.

And my personal favourite….