Snow Day! Snow Day! SNOW DAY!

I've been working in the same office for over 10 years now (hard to believe, but it's true!)  And, in all that time, this is the very first year I've had any days off for weather. 

 I've had not one, 

not two, 

but three full snow days! 

The first day was built igloos.

Just look at that light glowing in mine!

I had dreams for that candle...of the roof glassing over with ice...I definitely had better luck icing the outside with buckets of water...look at that sheen! 

Eric was super proud of the heftiness of his creation.

He swore it was bullet proof with those 2 foot walls. 

(I was more impressed that he could cram himself into that small space!)

So here's Eric prepping for the next creation...

 on the roof!

It was a tiny but mighty snowman perched on the peak.

Our poor little Myka wanted to be with us be really did NOT love the snow!

 We lost our power on the second snow day and spent some quality time with board games and cards by candlelight.

Oh what a treat it is to have snow days as adults!

Mermaid Tail

Mermaid Tail for Breckyn

A gumball machine and a mermaid tail...that's what our niece Breckyn really wanted for Christmas.

Well, I couldn't be more excited...it's always my goal to have at least one homemade gift for the Godchildren.  With a little help from pinterest, I came up with this.... 

I found this great tutorial

and I followed it pretty closely.  It was so much fun to have an excuse to buy such sparkly pink fabric!

And large shiny gems...

The project came together so quickly. 

Bonus: I still have enough supplies to create another tail.

It can be tricky to create a fitted item without your little one on hand, but my sister-in-law is always so willing to take measurements and send them to me...

Thank you Chelsie!

I am so pleased; it ended up it fitting Breckyn so well...

 

The little flare at the ankle...

The gathering at the waist...

 She is the little mermaid.  She told me so.

She had the dinglehopper to prove it.

And she also said the purple gem is probably her favorite part 

(and definitely her favorite color).

Oh Breckyn, you are so spunky and always keeping things interesting. We love you so very much.

the LOVE quilt

The Love Quilt

Every year for St. Valentine's Day I like to do something homemade for the one I love most.  (Because we all know handcrafted gifts are the best ;)

Not any old project would do for my Eric; I needed to really make it shine and show him how much all his hard work and dedication really mean to me.  

I scoured my overwhelmingly girly stash for some manly fabric...this is what I came up with:

 

Lots of lovely blue from my nautical loving husband and little pops of orange and yellow to spice things up a bit. Some green for the growing we've done and have yet to do.

I chose this HUGE Ana Marie Horner print for the back of the quilt and bordered that with some Amy Butler honeycomb print...it' hard to decide which side I like better.

 This quilt was my first attempt at a meandering stitch with a free motion foot.  That really took some getting used to, but the more I use it, the more I love it! 

I am pleased as punch with the end result!  Like my Eric this quilt gives comfort.  I'm so blessed to be married to a man I love deeply and truly enjoy being with.  He is my rock in the hard times and a soft spot to fall on when life gets too hard; a quilt will never due justice to what he is and means to me, but this one comes close.

Maybe.

 Myka the dog likes him a lot too!