From This to That

The past few months of my life in one big stack...

I *finally* finished my semester last week and am thrilled to be able to divert my attention to other things for a while without feeling guilty...even just being able to listen to whatever I want on my laptop as I type without getting distracted is completely freeing! I really enjoyed my classes  and feel I've found the right path, but have been eagerly awaiting the freedom that the summer months offer to a student. Between the gallery and the historical society, I am still working a ton but at least have some room to breath a bit between projects now and am geared up to spend as much leftover time as possible sewing up a storm and getting my etsy shop ready for the holidays so that I don't have to worry about it once the fall semester starts up in August.

Curling up with all good things in the falling light
(ahem, yes that is the new special edition of DOMINO!!! Hark, do you hear the angles singing?)

Since submitting my last research paper, I've been indulging in so many of the things  I love that I haven't gotten to enjoy much of these past few months...lots of extravagant cooking, a weekend camping get-away to the cape, a little lot of fabric stashing, and staying up late with my favorite magazines, embroidery, and darning work, while curled up with my cats, husband, and several seasons of How I Met Your Mother. The rewards in life certainly are so much sweeter when you know you've earned them several times over!

 

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...some yardage and fat quarters of AMH's loulouthi velveteen, cotton laminate,
and quilting cotton, Heather Ross' FFAIII in the  pink colorway, some Liberty of London from my Purl Soho trip,
AMH's pastry line and rare centerpiece, and a whole yard of Michael Miller's Vintage Stroll

Ok, so yeah, the above stash hoard is a bit more than I was planning on when I began picturing the reward I'd planned for myself upon the completion of a successful and utterly crazy semester. Luckily I was able to hunt down some sweet deals and it is lovely, ya?! It pretty much just has me smiling every time I look over at the freshly piled stack on my worktable and all I want to do is fondle it and ignore all other responsibilities. THERE, I admitted it!

   Soupe å l'Oignon Gratinée

One of the more elaborate cooking adventures we've managed as of late was Julia Child's recipe for cheesy onion soup, or Soupe å l'Oignon Gratinée, if you're feeling fancy. It's the third recipe I've tried now from her classic "Mastering The Art of French Cooking" and every single one has been superb..of course. The other two were the ratatouille and the riz a l'orientale, which is basically a rice bowl (but o so much more than that and my favorite so far)—who knew such a thing as French comfort food existed and was so completely amazing? Umm...ok so probably lots of you but yeah, I'm learning here folks.

I'm looking forward to being able to blog more often again now and hope to be sharing some finished pieces with you soon...until then, wishing you all just as many good things to be distracted by!

The Summer I've Been Waiting For

A three mile dune hike in early August to get to one of the most beautiful/empty/remote beaches on the north shore
...one heck of a workout but totally worth it.

seesters

Me and the man in Holyoke, MA...it's not summer without an outdoor concert.

The summer sun setting amongst the pines...I can never get enough of that.

The Decemberists + Sara Watkins....so so good.

And to legitimize this post and top it all off: my sister's first sewing project! I promise there was no coercion involved and she is enjoying it...so stinkin proud, I mean look at those neat little stitches!

And now, this disappearing act will continue for just a bit longer as we take off for a camping trip on the cape. Hope you are all enjoying some summer adventures of your own and to see you back here soon!