Our 7th Colorado Thanksgiving

Since Josh and I moved to Colorado from Michigan in January 2003 we have never been able to make it home to Michigan for Thanksgiving. Because many of our friends don't go to their respective "homes" either, we have come up with the tradition of "friends" Thanksgiving. Every year we celebrate the holiday at someone's house and each bring a passing dish to serve for Thanksgiving dinner. It's been my favorite traditions since moving to Colorado, and each year I appreciate my friends more and more. They are truly our *family* in Colorado and I am thankful for all of them.
This year there were 12 of us celebrating, including the first *baby* at Thanksgiving dinner, Jillian! You can see her crying in the photo above; I don't know what Russell is doing to her as she is usually very happy. We spent much of the evening trading off holding Jillian and filling up the beer pitcher with the Golden City Nut Brown from the kegerator.

I was excited that this year with the addition of the downstairs in our house, we would be able to set up a table large enough for all of us to sit down to dinner together. But since we don't have a large table, it was a series of small tables put together in our living room, and it turned out great! Each person in the group was able to bring a chair or table, tablecloth or napkin and we ended up with an eclectic mix of tables and chairs.
I credit Martha Stewart with the beautiful table decorations that are flowers in a glass filled with cranberries, very festive and colorful! I added the nuts myself :)

This year we had quite a feast with Jim doing the turkey which was very juicy and moist. We also had cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, mashed sweet potatoes, homemade foccita bread, salad, avocado grapefruit salad, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce and beats, pumpkin pie and mousse! I am sure I am missing something else good too :)
Jess took some great pics of the food.

No Friends Thanksgiving would be complete without a pack of dogs running around the house. This year there were 6 dogs, and the adult human to dog ratio was 1.8 to 1. The dogs enjoy the gatherings as much as we do, as they are all friends too! Heather was able to get a photo of all six of them together, it might top the human group photo.

It was such a wonderful day, beautiful and sunny Colorado with great friends and great food and I am thankful for each minute of it.

Our 7th Colorado Thanksgiving

Since Josh and I moved to Colorado from Michigan in January 2003 we have never been able to make it home to Michigan for Thanksgiving. Because many of our friends don't go to their respective "homes" either, we have come up with the tradition of "friends" Thanksgiving. Every year we celebrate the holiday at someone's house and each bring a passing dish to serve for Thanksgiving dinner. It's been my favorite traditions since moving to Colorado, and each year I appreciate my friends more and more. They are truly our *family* in Colorado and I am thankful for all of them.
This year there were 12 of us celebrating, including the first *baby* at Thanksgiving dinner, Jillian! You can see her crying in the photo above; I don't know what Russell is doing to her as she is usually very happy. We spent much of the evening trading off holding Jillian and filling up the beer pitcher with the Golden City Nut Brown from the kegerator.

I was excited that this year with the addition of the downstairs in our house, we would be able to set up a table large enough for all of us to sit down to dinner together. But since we don't have a large table, it was a series of small tables put together in our living room, and it turned out great! Each person in the group was able to bring a chair or table, tablecloth or napkin and we ended up with an eclectic mix of tables and chairs.
I credit Martha Stewart with the beautiful table decorations that are flowers in a glass filled with cranberries, very festive and colorful! I added the nuts myself :)

This year we had quite a feast with Jim doing the turkey which was very juicy and moist. We also had cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, mashed sweet potatoes, homemade foccita bread, salad, avocado grapefruit salad, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce and beats, pumpkin pie and mousse! I am sure I am missing something else good too :)
Jess took some great pics of the food.

No Friends Thanksgiving would be complete without a pack of dogs running around the house. This year there were 6 dogs, and the adult human to dog ratio was 1.8 to 1. The dogs enjoy the gatherings as much as we do, as they are all friends too! Heather was able to get a photo of all six of them together, it might top the human group photo.

It was such a wonderful day, beautiful and sunny Colorado with great friends and great food and I am thankful for each minute of it.

~* Knitted a Dog Sweater *~

This weekend I decided to start knitting again! I go in spurts with knitting. Lately, all I use is the Knifty Knitter Loom to knit anything. For me, I just find it much easier, I can stop at any given point in my row and don't worry about my rows unwinding. Also, it ensures that each stitch is even and exact, which is something, I admittedly have trouble with. You can find the loom at any of your local craft stores, I recommend if you are going to get just one loom to get a long loom (as opposed to a circular loom), the reason being you can knit in a circle WITH the long loom, as well as other things. It gives you the most options with just 1 loom.
Our new dog Belle shivers throughout the day and already the winter here has been harsh, so instead of turning up the heat, I decided to knit her a sweater. This is my first try at the dog sweater on the loom, but I think it turned out pretty well. I used the smallest size loom and I could have used the next size up, I also should have made it a little longer. I am in the process of making another one for her.
When I got to the legs, I had a hard time figuring out what to do. Measuring my dog and deciding where the legs would go. Then you skip one peg on either side for the leg openings. Next you gradually decrease so that there are 3 open pegs on either side by taking the thread off two pegs, looping one thread through the loop of the second thread, and the put them both back onto one peg. You continue this until 3 pegs on either side are open for the dogs legs. Knit a few rows for the width of the legs, I knitted about 4 rows. Then you need to increase the thread back onto the pegs gradually and finish off your dog sweater. This website has great directions for increasing and decreasing, plus free loom patters.
I plan on making Belle another one that fits her a little better. I am open to taking custom orders for this design too, so just contact me if you are interested!
www.hip-threads.com

~* Knitted a Dog Sweater *~

This weekend I decided to start knitting again! I go in spurts with knitting. Lately, all I use is the Knifty Knitter Loom to knit anything. For me, I just find it much easier, I can stop at any given point in my row and don't worry about my rows unwinding. Also, it ensures that each stitch is even and exact, which is something, I admittedly have trouble with. You can find the loom at any of your local craft stores, I recommend if you are going to get just one loom to get a long loom (as opposed to a circular loom), the reason being you can knit in a circle WITH the long loom, as well as other things. It gives you the most options with just 1 loom.
Our new dog Belle shivers throughout the day and already the winter here has been harsh, so instead of turning up the heat, I decided to knit her a sweater. This is my first try at the dog sweater on the loom, but I think it turned out pretty well. I used the smallest size loom and I could have used the next size up, I also should have made it a little longer. I am in the process of making another one for her.
When I got to the legs, I had a hard time figuring out what to do. Measuring my dog and deciding where the legs would go. Then you skip one peg on either side for the leg openings. Next you gradually decrease so that there are 3 open pegs on either side by taking the thread off two pegs, looping one thread through the loop of the second thread, and the put them both back onto one peg. You continue this until 3 pegs on either side are open for the dogs legs. Knit a few rows for the width of the legs, I knitted about 4 rows. Then you need to increase the thread back onto the pegs gradually and finish off your dog sweater. This website has great directions for increasing and decreasing, plus free loom patters.
I plan on making Belle another one that fits her a little better. I am open to taking custom orders for this design too, so just contact me if you are interested!
www.hip-threads.com

Open House and Earrings

About a week ago Suzy from HipMountainMama.com sent me an invitation to her Holiday Open House in Loveland, Colorado. Suzy purchases some of my skirts, soaps and headbands for her website, you can check it out here. She has lots of great items that are handmade from very talented ladies and I am so glad to be a part of her site!
I worked really hard this week to make some more jewelry and greeting cards for the open house. It was a fun week of beading and stamping :) My mother, who makes cards wayyy better than me, sent me a bunch of her stamps to borrow and make some new cards. But they still have not arrived, after a week in the mail. Hopefully they aren't lost.
Here are some of my new items.

Open House and Earrings

About a week ago Suzy from HipMountainMama.com sent me an invitation to her Holiday Open House in Loveland, Colorado. Suzy purchases some of my skirts, soaps and headbands for her website, you can check it out here. She has lots of great items that are handmade from very talented ladies and I am so glad to be a part of her site!
I worked really hard this week to make some more jewelry and greeting cards for the open house. It was a fun week of beading and stamping :) My mother, who makes cards wayyy better than me, sent me a bunch of her stamps to borrow and make some new cards. But they still have not arrived, after a week in the mail. Hopefully they aren't lost.
Here are some of my new items.

New *thank you* cards for sale!

I started stamping cards a few years ago after deciding that I wanted to include a handmade "thank you" card to my customers when they bought items from me. My mom loves to stamp and scrapbook, so one year she brought out all of her supplies and we made loads of cards. Now those cards are long gone out to customers, but she has since bought me my own stamping kit.
Now I have decided to package up my cards and sell them to all of you! The package comes with 6 cards and envelopes in an assortment of colors and styles for $4.25 with FREE shipping.
Check them out in my etsy shop to purchase or message me!
You can click here to check out the cards in my etsy shop.

New *thank you* cards for sale!

I started stamping cards a few years ago after deciding that I wanted to include a handmade "thank you" card to my customers when they bought items from me. My mom loves to stamp and scrapbook, so one year she brought out all of her supplies and we made loads of cards. Now those cards are long gone out to customers, but she has since bought me my own stamping kit.
Now I have decided to package up my cards and sell them to all of you! The package comes with 6 cards and envelopes in an assortment of colors and styles for $4.25 with FREE shipping.
Check them out in my etsy shop to purchase or message me!
You can click here to check out the cards in my etsy shop.

Happy Halloween!

Our friends had a Halloween Party last night; which meant I had to decide on a costume again. Early in the week, Josh and I went to The Arc thrift store to check out their selection of costumes, and they had an entire Halloween section full of them! But, I had no idea what I wanted to be, and picked out this Hawaiian dress, and decided to be "Hawaiian." Needless to say, when I got home and tried the dress on, it fit me weird and I didn't like it. ha! I still had no idea what to be until yesterday morning, when "crazy cat lady" popped into my head, lol. I figured I'd get the dogs, cat ears, and they could be my cats. I pulled out some old glasses, old sweater, found a t-shirt I didn't need anymore and wrote "I Heart Cats" on it... I got two buttons of cats, wore pajama pants and slippers. It was a comfy Halloween, that's for sure! Josh dressed up as Dexter (the guy from the TV show, he is a serial killer) but only one other person actually knew who he was, so he was a little bummed about that.
At the party there were some clever costumes, a Freudian Slip, "uninsured", some scary costumes, and as always, some "hot" costumes, a cute bunny and Little Red Riding Hood?.
If my dogs, er, cats, could have kept their ears on, it might have been funnier for me :)
Here is me with my black cat :)

Before the party we went and saw Heather and Russ, and new baby Jillian, who is nearly 1 month old! She wore her pumpkin outfit that we got her when she was born, it was adorable! We passed out candy to the kids in their neighborhood, and saw the cutest costumes on the littlest kids :)
Halloween is such fun, now the official "holiday season" has started...and I really need to start my Christmas gifts.

Happy Halloween!

Our friends had a Halloween Party last night; which meant I had to decide on a costume again. Early in the week, Josh and I went to The Arc thrift store to check out their selection of costumes, and they had an entire Halloween section full of them! But, I had no idea what I wanted to be, and picked out this Hawaiian dress, and decided to be "Hawaiian." Needless to say, when I got home and tried the dress on, it fit me weird and I didn't like it. ha! I still had no idea what to be until yesterday morning, when "crazy cat lady" popped into my head, lol. I figured I'd get the dogs, cat ears, and they could be my cats. I pulled out some old glasses, old sweater, found a t-shirt I didn't need anymore and wrote "I Heart Cats" on it... I got two buttons of cats, wore pajama pants and slippers. It was a comfy Halloween, that's for sure! Josh dressed up as Dexter (the guy from the TV show, he is a serial killer) but only one other person actually knew who he was, so he was a little bummed about that.
At the party there were some clever costumes, a Freudian Slip, "uninsured", some scary costumes, and as always, some "hot" costumes, a cute bunny and Little Red Riding Hood?.
If my dogs, er, cats, could have kept their ears on, it might have been funnier for me :)
Here is me with my black cat :)

Before the party we went and saw Heather and Russ, and new baby Jillian, who is nearly 1 month old! She wore her pumpkin outfit that we got her when she was born, it was adorable! We passed out candy to the kids in their neighborhood, and saw the cutest costumes on the littlest kids :)
Halloween is such fun, now the official "holiday season" has started...and I really need to start my Christmas gifts.