Itching for Fall

All around me, people are itching for Fall to begin, in more ways than one. (Heat rash, anyone?!)

This summer has been a crazy hot one... and although I'm usually a little sad to be packing up swimsuits, the reality is that this summer was almost too hot to even go to the pool, so I find myself yearning for cool days constantly. The Peanut and I stayed inside more often than not, and we spent a lot of time at indoor play areas (those outdoor playgrounds get insanely HOT. I still don't know why more playgrounds aren't built in the shade.) 

I can remember walking past mall play areas thinking that even if I had kids, I probably wouldn't ever take them to such a loud crazy place. 

And yet, at least once I week, I find myself smiling as the Peanut clamors to get to the steps and slide, running around like he has a firecracker in his pants. 

I've eaten a lot of my words about motherhood in these past two years. I swore I'd never become a mommy blogger and yet you can read my first official mom blog post over here, where I air my confessions. I will be blogging regularly at Chattanooga City Moms Blog for at least the next six months, so be sure to subscribe to their posts if you don't want to miss out! There are quite a few of us contributors on the site, so it's been neat to read different local mom perspectives. Plus, it will give me a chance to be a mommy voice in the community, without turning Typing Sunflowers into the latest mom blog. 

Besides chaos, I'm still making stuff. Like these adorable vertebrae sweaters for ALL OF THE BABIES friends are having. (Seriously ya'll... is it something in the water?!)

I'm also still breaking stuff. Walter, my dear companion and iMac of the past six years, refuses to show me anything on his screen, and it's a costly repair. I'm pretty sure we're going to have to simply bury him somehow in the recycling bin. Until I can get Walter's second brain (aka, my backup hard drive) picked apart, I don't have many other photos to prove any other craftiness to you at the moment, but I can assure you, I've made more of those cardigans than I can count this summer.   

We are now mere days away from the official start of Fall. It's finally raining outside, there is a slight chill in the air, the Sailor is home watching British football (soccer) and the Peanut is sleeping soundly. I can feel the seasons changing. And that's always a good thing.

Falling Fast

This NaNoWriMo is throwing me for a loop, albeit a fun one.

I'm writing whenever the Peanut decides to give me a free moment, which, let's be honest, isn't often. And after a day of chasing him around the apartment, porch, playground, mall (insert any location here!), I find myself plopped on the couch after he's asleep to DVR my way through an hour of television, with a crochet or knit project. 

Then I'm back to writing for a bit. 

I'm only 12,000 words in, and not quite panicky about the fact that November is nearly half over. Sometimes I do my best work at the last minute, on a tight deadline. At this point, I'm not even sure if I care if the novel is any good. I just want to finish it and have a 50,000 word story with a beginning, middle and end. I can always rewrite and polish it later. 

In the meantime, Fall is here in full swing and I don't want to miss it. Some years it's over in one cold and windy night, and when you wake up, the leaves are all on the ground. So I'm still looking up from my laptop and even my crochet hooks every once in a while to see something like this. 

Do you know that feeling when you look at something and the light hits it just right... and you marvel at nature? 

Yep, me too. Whatever you're working on, don't miss what's right under your nose. Or up above it, as the case may be. Sometimes we all need a little fresh air and a break. 

Summer Recap

I may have fibbed when I said I would be back in September. I meant to be, honestly, but then life kind of took over. Even though we extended our summer holiday well into September, the season was far too short. 

REALLY too short. I felt like I needed one final trip to the beach to mark the closure of summer... one last hurrah with the Sailor before he jetted off to another continent to return to sea. But alas, time got away from us, and while we managed to squeeze a ton of things into what should have been a rather relaxed summer, we didn't manage a trip to the beach.

Here's what did happen though:

I went to a dear friend's wedding. Actually, I got a flat tire on the way there and missed the wedding... but the Peanut and I made it in time for the reception. 

I reunited with my college besties for a few days in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. The last time the four of us converged, we were all on the brink of major life changes. This time, we discussed all that we've gone through in 20 years (20 years!) together. 

We moved to a new apartment with a view. The Sailor happened to be thousands of miles away working at the time, so I rallied a work crew and thankfully the Peanut gave me just enough napping time to box up our belongings. 

Only a few days after unpacking the last box, the Peanut and I took a 700 mile road trip to visit friends and family. The Peanut promptly learned to climb stairs at a friend's house.

The Sailor arrived home to our new apartment just in time for the Peanut's first birthday party. I'm not big on giant parties for little people, so I planned to simply celebrate with a cupcake for the little guy. Instead, he decided to get his first cold. The cupcake was quickly forgotten, because it was soon time to pack for...

SINGAPORE! The Sailor had some work training courses to complete, so the Peanut and I tagged along for two weeks. It was a LONG few flights, but worth it. 

Singapore was a food and shopping mecca. On one of the Sailor's earlier trips there, he brought back a magnet that said: 'Survivor Singapore: Out Shop, Out Play, Out Eat.' I thought it was funny back then, but I totally get it now.

I have traveled solo to many places, so obviously wandering around with a baby brought a whole new element to sightseeing. The Peanut and I had a blast together though and it was super special to see Singapore through his eyes, in a way. (Singapore is also very kid friendly... more on that later!)

  

(OK, so we DID manage to get to the beach, but only for a short while.
Just long enough to watch the ships.)

I managed to get a few crafty things started over the summer, like this lofty cross-stitch that I MAY finish by the time the Peanut is 18. 

Finally, I've probably been procrastinating with restarting this blog because I keep thinking it needs a change... a new direction or something. Maybe since I started this blog at the beach, I needed a trip to the ocean to figure out that new direction. I'm still not sure where it's headed, but I hope you'll stick around to find out. 

I hope you all had a wonderful summer! 

Seasons Change

You don't have to tell me that I have neglected this blog for the past few weeks. Every day I wake up and think, 'this is the day that I'll get a post done...'

And then life seems to take over. There are dishes to be washed, diapers to change, meals to make, clothes to clean. Plus the weather is gorgeous, so that means parks to sit in, hikes to take, porches to chill out on.

It really is never-ending. The other day I said to the Sailor that I couldn't understand why I didn't seem to get anything done beside basic survival and making sure the Peanut was fed, clothed, clean and (usually) happy. 

I felt like every other mother I saw was doing waaaaay more than me and still keeping their child fed, clothed, clean and happy. 

The Sailor reminded me that something usually still gives — life doesn't always look as perfect from the inside as from the outside. 

The leaves were just budding as I left for South Africa a few weeks ago. The temperature was about the same in South Africa, but the leaves were falling and there was a slight chill in the air in both the mornings and the evenings. It felt like autumn, as it should in the Southern Hemisphere.  

When we all returned home, spring had already sprung. Spring only lasts about two weeks in these parts, so I had some seasonal confusion. I hadn't yet packed away my winter clothes and I was still searching for non-maternity shorts that I could fit into in my wardrobe. 

I almost gave up on this little spring crochet wreath project, but I had started it before I left for my trip and decided to get it done. (Sidenote: I love, love, love, Repeat Crafter Me's blog. She has the cutest crochet projects and great instructions!) Besides the actual wreath and the green yarn for it, I used up scraps of yarn that I had leftover from other projects (part of my ongoing stash busting), and buttons from my stockpile. I wanted to do the picot edging on the wreath hanger, but ran out of yellow yarn. I figured it was better to improvise and actually get the thing done.

It may feel more like summer here than spring, but the calendar says otherwise. And yes, something 'gave' for me to get this done. Rather than catching up on sleep when the Peanut napped, I caught up on some TV shows and crocheted this wreath. I still feel tired, but at least the outside of the door looks pretty. You'd never know the chaos inside, unless you opened the door, however!

Seasons definitely change, and this is most certainly a different one for me. Hope you're enjoying the weather, wherever you are and whatever season you find yourself in at the moment! 

Closet Cleaning

It's been a week since Fall officially started on the calendar, and I've seen boots and sweaters galore out and about in town. I usually chuckle to myself, because where I live, temperatures are still in the 70s and 80s during the day. 

Just because the calendar says Fall, it doesn't necessarily mean it's boot weather yet, although I did find myself in a pair of jeans this week. No boots though. It's still sandal weather in my book. 

Nevertheless, I found myself itching to at least organize and winterize my wardrobe. The Peanut is sprouting fast and I realized I should make some more room in the apartment for his growing wardrobe, while sorting out my disheveled piles of clothing in the meantime.

I packed away a lot of my clothes during my pregnancy, in part to make room for the few maternity clothes I had. I didn't want to keep reaching for a pair of shorts that didn't fit. I also figured that it would be like a giant shopping spree once I lost the pregnancy weight and opened the suitcase of clothes that I had previously packed away. 

Although I'm still in between sizes, I unpacked the suitcase this week and got to work sorting out my clothes. One thing I learned in nine months of gaining weight... I do NOT need a ton of clothes. While I'm absolutely tired of wearing the same few tank tops and shorts, I realized over the summer that a person doesn't need a lot of clothes to get by in life.

It's made me rethink how I approach dressing myself. I'm definitely trying to buy (and keep!) items that are quality, that I love and that actually look good on me.

I didn't check my Bloglovin' feed this week until today. Frankly, I was too busy cleaning my closet and feeding the Peanut. Ironically, by the time I caught up this morning, I noticed a bevy of blogs had posted about closet cleanings. They've all got great tips, so read them for inspiration if you're also hankering to clean your closet!

Here are my favorites: 

Weekend Goal: Clean Out My Closet

How to Clean Your Closet (and make a little cash)

7 Questions to Ask When Cleaning out Your Closet

Plus, I've previously posted about Spring Cleaning, and frankly, Fall Cleaning shouldn't be much different.  

What are you waiting for? Go forth and find those boots in the back of your closet. Even if the temps are still in the 80s, at least you won't be scrambling for them when the weather finally starts to cool off. Your feet will eventually thank you. 

Spring in the Air?

This morning I saw the first robin of the year. He stared at me through the window and then went about his merry way.

Less than two weeks ago, no robins were to be found and this was the view out my window. 

SNOW. In the south. 

At least I had these awesome pink socks to get me through the chill, and of course, handmade slippers. 

I'm ecstatic to report that within days the weather warmed up enough to melt the snow, and over the weekend, temperatures reached the 70s. That's right, the SEVENTIES! 

I spent far too much time outside to even think about taking photos anywhere... but I did manage to snap a shot of my new batch of Friday Flowers when I returned indoors. 

I do love it when Spring is in the air... especially when it's still February!

Let it (Not) Snow

So 'a chance of flurries' turned into snow yesterday... and the South made national headlines because apparently one inch of this stuff wreaks more havoc around here than a blizzard does in the Northeast. 

This is what's left of the snow on my porch. 

Mind you, it IS chilly and the roads are slick. And apparently salt and sand and those trucks that spread the stuff around are in short supply. 

Having a snow day with one inch of snow is a perfectly delightful way to get cracking on the rest of those fingerless gloves (I'm up four and just started the fifth...) 

I still can't believe how many people were stranded in the 'snowstorm' (kids had to stay overnight in some schools!) and I'm thankful I didn't have to go anywhere yesterday or today. I didn't expect that at all from an inch or two of snow.
 

This is the kind of snow that I grew up with.

That's my old car. 

I know you really can't see it, but I can assure you it was under there, because I'm pretty sure I drove it fairly soon after I shoveled out from under the white stuff. I had a trunk full of kitty litter and a shovel in there, too. Just in case.

A good snowstorm once a year that keeps everyone indoors with a day off is usually good. But I know for many people, this year has seen far too much cold weather. 

This is one of the reasons we moved South. The Sailor doesn't like the cold, or shoveling. I concur. The other night, the light at dusk reminded me a little of spring. It was still frigid out, but I caught a glimpse that winter doesn't last forever (even though in some parts of the States, it may feel like that right now!) 

Here's to hoping for an early thaw -- even if there is a just a dusting of snow in your part of the world. 

apples, apples, apples

Nothing signifies the change in season more to me than getting apples directly from an orchard. Call me old-fashioned, but it's true. They might be the same apples that the grocery store sells under 'local food', but at least once a year I need to symbolically purchase them directly from the orchard itself to kick off my own fall festivities. 

I don't even need to pick them myself. I just need to smell the apples, the cider and to see all of the apple goodness in one place. 
 

A few sunflowers never hurt, either. 

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post for your chance to win the Pyrex Butterfly Gold Butter Dish above! The giveaway ends tonight, October 24 at 23:59 EST. 

In the meantime, I have some apples that need my attention. 

Sugar Cookies for Fall

I had a hard time getting into Fall when the temperatures were still reaching 80 even a week ago. Yesterday, after waking up to 50 degrees, I dug my sweaters and slippers out of hiding; autumnal weather has certainly arrived. 

And with cooler weather, baking season also kicks off! I think sometimes Christmas gets all of the glory for cookie season. I say start early... everyone likes a little (or giant) cookie to go with their hot apple cider in chilly weather.

I wanted to test out the neat leaf cookie cutter I found earlier in the year, plus I had a friend visiting, but really do you ever need an excuse to bake cookies?

If you want to make your own sugar cookie cutouts, here's a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. I used a different one that called for both shortening and butter. (The BHG recipe only calls for butter.) In the end, I simply substituded even more butter for the shortening, so my result was very similar to the BHG recipe. 

Icing of course is optional, but with the leaves turning beautiful shades outside, I didn't think the cookies needed much decorating. 

 
Speaking of butter... don't forget to enter the Everything's Better with a Butter Dish Giveaway if you haven't already!