there's no place like gnome.

It’s finally another Friday Favorites.  [It’s been FOR-EV-ER.]  And it’s finally Friday which is my favorite.  After I posted on Monday night, I promptly was up all night, sick as a – something.  Lots of toast, naps, and Gatorade later [in addition to stumbling through two Ash Wednesday services and a funeral], I feel on the mend.  Finally.  You know what else is my favorite?

This pattern really tempts me to branch into sewing clothes.  Can you imagine just a whole bunch of these homemade tanks in my closet to go underneath my cardigans?  I can picture it very, very clearly in my mind …

MEYER LEMON AND POPPYSEED SOURDOUGH WAFFLES WITH A BLOOD ORANGE CARAMEL SAUCE?  [Yes, that required yelling.  That is my excitement level around anything lemon and anything waffles and anything caramel.]  Can you even imagine?

1.21 gigawatts!  Someone is going to make Back to the Future into a musical!

I want a wall of dots.  Think the church would go for that in their parsonage?

Oh, you know me.  Thai food is a weakness of mine.  Hence, these Thai chicken crunch wraps sound dreamy.

It would simply be uncharacteristic to have a Friday Favorites without some sort of quilting link.  Fine, okay, here you go.  A few tips on half square triangles.  I love triangles.

We’ll call that good.  I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much wonderful.  I hope your weekend is wonderful.  I’m getting my haircut by my favorite stylist in the Cities; my weekend can’t NOT be wonderful.  Haircuts are my favorite.

Two weeks in a row!  Are you amazed?  [I am, frankly.]

A friend posted this site to facebook – how cool!  It’s a challenge to find happiness in each day for 100 days.  [Sounds a whole lot like my pledge to joy this year!]

I would just like to point out that The Mindy Project has surpassed The New Girl on my Tuesday night rating scale.  I love The Mindy Project … and I love that television shows are back from their winter breaks.  [Including, most importantly, Downton Abbey, Sherlock soon, and, of course, The Bachelor.]

These are not normally flavors I would pick but for some reason, this coconut tapioca pudding with mango sounds awesome.  The Smitten Kitchen does it again.

Ah!  It’s a PRINTABLE MONSTER CALENDAR!

This fabric combo proves what I already knew – that aqua and red look awesome together.  It think that’s my next hexagon project – aqua and red.  [I’m going to need a smaller project – something smaller than the current state of the Union Jack quilt – to travel with me the next couple months.]

Do you enjoy pomegranates?  I think they’re pretty much a pain to peel and extract but a fun little, seedy, juicy snack.  Need some new pomegranate recipes?  Click here.  And if you want to enjoy a pomegranate blueberry sherbet, run to Trader Joe’s.  I recently bought some and it is so delightful.  

Has anyone seen any favorite movies lately?  I am itching to get the theater and see a whole bunch.  After – what I thought – was a disappointing fall in movie releases, there are too many!  At the top of my list are: Labor Day, Her, American Hustle, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Saving Mr.Banks, The Hobbit, August: Osage County, The Monuments Men … that’s a whole bunch.  Though I’m not afraid to go to movies alone, going with people is more fun – taking applications for movie buddies!

That’s it.  I’m calling it for this Friday Favorites.  Happy, joyful weekends to you all!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a regular Friday Favorite so I’ll make this one extra special.  Promise.

It’s not too late to start this 2014 mood calendar.  Isn’t it super fun?  Each day of the year, you make a face to describe how you felt that day.  Pointless?  Quite.  But still fun.  Or, if you want a more practical, free, printable calendar [I always print two: one for the fridge and one for big-picture planning at church.], check out this one.

New year, new crafty goals.  Here’s to the power of big, crafty goals.  [I think mine are to finish the two quilts I have in progress – the union jack hexagon and gumdrop – and to challenge myself to learn a new quilting skill.]

Busy isn’t respectable anymore.  Can you not say the word busy to describe your life for a week?  a month?  a year?  According to the article, it might change the way you live and view your life.

The kitchn’s 10 Tips that Blew Our Minds This Year.

Hey!  This is where my mom, older brother, and I will be staying while in Dublin in February.  Cozy, right?

Sister leaves for her semester in Dublin on Monday.  When Molly visited me in MN, we wanted to make her something that she could take with her but wouldn’t take up much space in her already-stuffed suitcase.  We decided on a pillowcase.  Something practical and something small.  We didn’t follow this tutorial exactly but it’s a handy one.

Now, the last thing I need is another tote, but this one is made out of an old, discarded sweater.  How fun!

Look at this cute little fairy jar.  I want to make one for absolutely no purpose but that it is cute.  Speaking of jars, I’ve been saving my pesto and salsa jars to make them into cute storage containers.  This tutorial has the creator paint with a brush; I’m going to try spray paint instead.

Enough?  Enough.  Enjoy this first weekend of 2014!

I write this, sitting on the pew in the narthex, and it is EARLY Saturday morning.  3am early.

Why in the world am I awake at 3 in the morning and blogging?

Well, what else am I going to do when I’m hosting a lock-in at ROG and the kiddos are resistant to sleep?  We declared a quiet area and a few youth are sleeping … but the majority of them are talking loudly in the balcony.  And so here I sit, alongside Pastor Jon, as they chit-chat and hopefully grow sleepier by the moment.  Time will tell.

In the meantime, to combat my own sleepy eyes, how about some favorites?

I pretty much freaked when I saw this link.  It’s about creating a giant star for Christmas.  Using tobacco sticks, as she calls them.  Lathe to those of us who grew up hauling bundles of it and making play forts on them in the tobacco shed.  Luck would have it that I have a bundle of it in my garage as I write.  I saved it from my grandpa’s shed, just knowing I would find uses for it sooner or later.  Check.

I wish I had time to make a Christmas quilt.  All the people I follow on Instagram and Twitter who basically quilt for a living are releasing photos of their beautiful Christmas quilts.  *sigh*  Someday.

I know you won’t hardly believe me but I’ve never seen The Hobbit.  [I’m not sure Middle Earth is worth my time if Aragorn isn’t there.]  However, with all the talk of the latest Hobbit movie [especially with its connection to my dear Sherlock], I think I might have to catch myself up.  Here is a guide to eating like a Hobbit.

Chocolate toffee pecan cookies.  Those sound delicious at this point in the morning.  Bring them to me?

I think that’s it.  I think that’s all I have in me so early in the morn.  Enjoy your Saturday.  I’ll be sleeping.

Look out, world.  It’s Friday night.  I have a bottle of wine and the pandora dance pop station playing.  I just vacuumed and baked two cakes.  Things are ca-razy here.  Friday night.  Woot.

So favorites –

I’m serving coffee hour this coming Sunday with another woman.  I’m making these [salted caramel bars] and these [lemon bars].  Maybe some special k bars too [with the mandatory butterscotch in the frosting].  Those will be tomorrow’s project.

One of my favorite quilters that I stalk online and thus feel like we are best friends already – a gal named Jessica who english-paper-pieces-like-awesome-crazy – is hosting a quilting retreat next summer.  In Greece.  On an island.  If only …

Cranberry orange breakfast buns?  I think yes, smitten kitchen.  A thousand times yes.

Are you a handmade gift kind of giver?  Here are 75 inexpensive gifts to make.

I’ve rediscovered an old favorite this past week.  Pilates.  I love pilates.  Turns out Hulu Plus has a variety of 20 minute pilate videos as a part of their morning wake up series.  They’re fun; just ask my core.

I LOVE Advent calendars.  It’s the perfect combination of holiday, tradition, and crafting.  I remember going down to my Grandma Vera’s to open her Advent calendar on various days in December.  [And then eating sponge candy which she kept in a giant bucket in her lazy susan cupboard.  The best.] Here are 35 Advent calendars to make.  This year at ROG we are going to attempt the paper plate Advent calendar.  It should be super awesome.

Lastly – some weekend words of wisdom:

Go be a party.

Here we go –

DIY party poppers, anyone?  Or Christmas crackers as I grew up calling them.  Maybe I’ll start gathering items to make them for Christmas this year.

This black bean pizza with whole wheat crust will make it in my meal rotation at some point.

I think this is funny: How to be interesting at a dinner party.

I LOVE this tshirt quilt.  I have a stack of college tshirts just waiting for the day to be made into a quilt.  I love the incorporation of scrappy fabric in this one!

This pin was my inspiration to liquid starch six yards of fabric to my entryway.  It took less than three hours and about $20, and I’m in love with the result.

Goodness.  I think that’s all for me.  Have a good weekend!  

Here we go again.  It’s Friday.  And I’m oh-so-thankful for that.  What’s on tap for your weekend?  I’ll be off to volunteer with first graders again soon and then it’s off to St.Paul for a three year old birthday party.  I made her this –

What is it?

A crayon roll-up!  I hope she likes it.

Alright.  Enough stalling.  How about those favorites?

I think I need to invest in a doughnut pan.  There are lots of baked doughnut recipes out there these days.  This one – blackberry doughnuts with vanilla bean glaze – sounds particularly delicious.

Upholstery has been on my project list for a long while now.  I want to try my hand at it.  I’m going to start small – recovering my dining room table chairs.  Here are ten tips for upholsterers.

I often buy myself flowers when I get groceries, especially in the middle of winter.  In the duration of a bleak season, I find having living, colorful things in the house is a good emotional boost.  But, you know, grocery store flowers sometimes are lacking, especially the $5 bundle from Hy-Vee that I normally buy.  Here are some fun tips for arranging grocery store flowers that I might need to try …

It’s the simple things in life, right?  You know that saying.  One simple thing that I have come to love: cloth napkins.  Why not, right?  I try to be conscious of the environment and, let’s face it, they’re pretty.   I have a decent stash of them but the next time I find myself bored, I could make a few more.

Traveling anytime soon?  Here is a list of one particular blogger’s favourite travel apps.  [Apparently I’m all about the tips and lists today.]

I’d say that’s enough for now, eh?  Have a happy, joyful, warm weekend!

– from my iphone camera.  It’s a selfish FF – all about me.  Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Estate sales are my favorite.  I’ve only been to a handful but think I should make it a point to find them more often.  I saw a sign in Austin for a sale on Thursday afternoon and dutifully followed it.  I spent $11 and came home with some goodies.

The way making homemade chicken stock makes the house smell.  A chicken carcass floating in water with veggies probably doesn’t look so great but it smells so good.  I plan on making a batch of chicken noodle soup tomorrow with the stock.

Growing hexagons.  I’ve started sewing the basted hexagons together.  It’s growing …

The quilting women are running short on quilt tops.  I volunteered to make one at some point this winter.  This is the fabric they sent home with me … err, wish me luck?

In addition to –

• Returning to the Blooming Prairie elementary school to volunteer on Fridays.  Today was my first day back.  What fun to meet a whole new crew of first graders!
• Drinking wine with church ladies last night.  They invited me over for pastor appreciation month.  Fun.  [Have you appreciated your pastor?]
• Having nothing on my calendar for tomorrow.  [Except perhaps returning to the estate sale.  All is half off tomorrow … ]
• The third book of the Divergent series is out!  My nose has been in the book [on my kindle] since then!
• I’m writing this on my treadmill desk.  Laugh all you want but I like it.

How about a quote again?

The worst enemy of creativity is self-doubt.  [Sylvia Plath]

Happy weekending!

As this post is published, I’m in the Cities.  Friday will be a busy day of preparation and excitement for my friend, Sara’s, wedding!  I’m officiating and so excited and happy for her!

Alas, I’m not leaving you high and dry like I did last week [when I was at the wedding of my seminary friend, Jeanette].  Oh, no, this week I planned ahead and scheduled this post.  All for you.  You’re welcome.

Now how about some favorites –

Brene Brown is offering an ecourse with Oprah.  It’s seriously tempting; I might sign up.  Brene Brown’s books and TED talks are hugely inspirational and helpful in life.  Watch one of her TED talks here.  Plus, there is an art journaling component which is exactly what I studied when I was away on the island this summer!

As you read this, like I mentioned earlier, I’m in the cities.  Chances are I may be sitting down and eating this with the bride-to-be.  We’re having a sleepover and I promised her a pumpkin breakfast the morning of the BIG day.

These two-ingredient cheater cake pops are kind of genius.  Yes, they are.  Yes, indeed, they are.

Want some fun and funky iphone wallpaper options?  Check this out.  I currently employ the bubbles.

Will someone give me a reason to make a crepe cake?

And I think that’s all for now.  Happy weekending!