Winterwoods Sampler Finished

With nothing but time this weekend, I finished the Winterwoods Cross Stitch Sampler. Seemed rather fitting with all the snow. The next day I knew the exact frame to put it in and got to work. The feeling of finishing a project and finding it absolutely perfect in every way, is pure joy. Even the back stitches! The only thing missing is the big comfy chair for the corner - soon. 

Surprises

This week was full of surprises, both good and bad. We ripped up the carpet in the hallway, up the stairs, and in the boys room. Bad surprise - the very old orange carpet padding had turned into a crumbly stuck on powdery mess that was turning our socks/feet orange. At first I tried to maybe get it wet and see if maybe I could mop it up - nope. Then we turned to hand scraping it into large piles of dusty mess and then sweeping. This got the most of it but there is still some there. Not a pretty site. Good surprise - when we ripped up the boys carpet and padding we found an old calendar from 1945. It's in rough shape, but still perfect for the scrapbook. Another small piece of our houses history. 

Soon the house will be a buzz with projects. I'm looking forward to getting the dining room fireplace in working order, all the hardwood floors refinished, and furniture! After much debate I decided to not stain the hardwood floors but simply leave them in their most natural historic state. It was this lovely post that sealed the deal. Crossing our fingers that our hardwood have just as much natural variation as these. While we are still waiting for quotes on all the work, I've been looking dreaming of furniture. Simplifying our move we got rid of anything we didn't absolutely love or need, that was in need of repair, or just hand me downs. While in theory that was great and did make for a pretty simple move, it's been a nightmare for organization and storage. There is a small part of me doing cartwheels and cheering that soon I will be able to take a picture of a room that is fully furnished and completely renovated!

Now we hunkering down this weekend as another surprise - a blizzard of 2 feet or more of snow is blowing in. Dear hubby stopped at the grocery store and picked up some goodies this morning. In his words it looked more like zombies were coming than snow. Cans of food were actually on aisle floors, like a mob of people just ran through. With all the snow, we were lucky to get an adult snow day, making our weekend a long 4 day one. If that wasn't a nice enough surprise, to be able to snuggle inside with the family, dear hubby got me flowers. My favorite - white daisies. Sometimes he just gets me. 

Getting Inspired

Lately everything seemed lack luster. Nothing to take pictures of, nothing of interest, and everyday feeling the same. It wasn't, but just uninspiring. I dislike that. It feels like I have no motivation to even pick up the camera or finish a project, never mind start one. Which tends to lead to a very quiet place here.
Then I start to think of all the fun things coming up. A couple more birthdays to plan, home improvement projects, ideas of stitching colorful threads, and visiting vintage shops for much needed furniture (btw still haven't found a good local thrifting spot). Add in some Mumford & Sons music and a couple lit candles - the inspiration comes back, like finding an old friend.
Rooms here that haven't gotten their fair share behind the lens, start to get their turn. Whole food menus get prepared and planned. Thoughts get scribbled down. Toes get painted. New plants, add new life. All it took was a little coaxing.

Her 6th Birthday

I can't believe she is 6! From the most serious baby to a little girl who can't stop smiling and singing. She is still all hair and legs. Her birthday was a simple Snow White theme, with black and white silhouettes. I made the invitations that you had to read in a mirror, they said "Who is the fairest birthday girl of all? Lips as red as berries and full of silly tricks, the fair maiden Aries this chill winter day is six. Please join us this enchanted day Jan 27th at 2pm - At the castle on the hill"

There was a different plan for the cake, one with a bunny and woodland friends, but that one just wasn't coming out the way it was planned. So with birthday girls approval we changed it up to more of a black and white cake with Polka dot and striped candles. Blowing out the candles she made a wish - one I hope comes true. As long as it doesn't involve growing up any faster than she already is.

Day Dreaming of Wildflowers

It's so bitterly cold outside. In fact it's making me want to hibernate in a large pile of quilts with fuzzy socks on and do nothing else. This week has gone by in a blink with little to show for it except for messy bed hair. 

While I could focus on the impending snow fall - I'm trying instead to dream of wildflowers. Cottage garden plans for this old place, with scattered potted flowers, and a willow stick arbor. 

Those plans will have to be put on hold for a bit. We have birthdays galore to celebrate this week. My mom's birthday is today and Aries is turning 6 on Saturday. When she said she wanted a snow white birthday I'm not so sure she had actual white snow in mind. Tomorrow there is a cake to start, Sunday a party to through, and then pictures to share.

Winter Walk

 

Yesterday we took a winter walk through the neighborhood, soaking in all the pretty historical houses. The kids picked out their favorites, as I pointed out mine. While dear hubby told me not to worry about taking photos - there was still a small part of me that felt odd taking photos of other peoples homes, hence the blurriness. Most photos were taken as if I wasn't really taking a photo - spy mode.

In our neighborhood there are gingerbread pink cottages, fairytale stone homes, and even very New England colonials. While little pieces of history are coming in about our home, I've always felt like some of the houses could be related. Their stonework matching.

This of course was all an assumption, until an email I received from the cities historian who confirmed it to be true. Our home was part of the "Rock Lawn" estate purchased in 1878 by Charles B. and Olive W. Platt. After Olive's husband passed in 1883 she began developing the property - I'm sure she needed a project to keep her mind off things. Our house was part of couple building permits that she applied for in 1890. The other permits were for homes on surrounding street - that all have the same stonework.  

Amazing! While I still haven't found any pictures, documents of names and the people who lived here are starting to flood in. It's like a house family tree.

Research

 This week was filled with slow mornings. The warmness of the blankets in the chilly morning, the need for coffee, tea, or something to wake you up, bed hair, and lots of pajama wearing till noon. Sweet Odyn has been waking up everyday for what feels like forever around 1am. He charms me with cuteness and snuggles into the bed with me.

I've been doing a lot of research on the house, finally finding some names and documents of people who use to live here. Unfortunately no pictures yet. Moon, Munro, Benson, Daisy, Margaretta, Wilhelmina, and Lottie - are just some of the interesting names. Can't wait to compile them all together - in fact I  put the Castle on the Hill on a waiting list for a portrait from this lovely lady. Aren't her house portraits amazing?!

Now I am off to plan a snow white party for the princess of this castle. There is a count down till her 6th birthday. She already picked out what cake she would like me to make - it needs to have a brown bunny, squirrel, and be white as snow. Love her!

Hallway

The first home project of the new year will be our hallway. It includes the stairs, that lead to the window bench, that connects the upstairs to the downstairs. This little piece of our house needs to be bright, welcoming, as it also includes our front door. Without much light it's a little difficult to take pictures here. I've tried and tried to take pictures of the stairs - maybe it's the winter light, the shag green carpeting or the yellowed wallpaper that is soaking up all the light. The stairs, one of the most charming aspects of our home. They are unlike any other I've seen, splitting and wrapping around. 

Yesterday I tried again to research our home. We all took a trip to the library - getting our new cards was a highlight for the kids. While dear hubby took them to meet the library turtle and explore the children's section, I snuck away to the local history. It was extensive and I'm grateful that the librarians were extremely helpful. They pointed me to the exact portion I needed. Hunkering down, I browsed book after book, and felt much like I was in a movie - trying to find the mystery, solve the riddle, find hidden secrets. This time with  no luck - except a business card to the cities historian. Maybe he is the piece to this puzzle.

Craftiness

I have a feeling that this year is going to be filled with lots of craftiness. Aries got this wonderful Eric Carle watercolor book from my mother for Christmas. Odyn and her have been painting their hearts out. Of course  I took this opportunity to use it as some new wall art.

My new year resolution was to finish a craft before starting another, and if you looked into my crafty cupboard you would realize how hard this is. Lots of abandoned half finished projects lay about. Since I finished up my scarf I can now happily move on to another project I've been wanting to start - Alicia Paulson's Winterwoods Cross Stitch Sampler. The colors are perfect for our new home and I can't wait to frame it up once it's done. Now to decide if it should go in the dining room, the living room, or hallway?

Sea Lattice Scarf

This was the last craft of 2012. Finished about an hour before the ball dropped. It's my first real knitting project following an actual pattern. Lacey, delicate, and soft - it's everything a scarf should be. There are plenty of mistakes in there. Some that are very noticeable and some that are not. Usually I would rip it all out try again, make it perfect. But this one was made just for me. Imperfections and all. It's about the experience, the lessons, the practice and not so much the results - even if I do think it came out pretty wonderful. 

I added all the info of it on my Ravelry page - if you want to know the fine details :)