Homemade Igloo

Oh gosh - somehow this ALWAYS happens to me. We are hot and heavy on the blog from summer to Christmas and then, January hits and we snuggle up inside and are on the go a lot less meaning I end up with fewer blog posts in the early part of the year.  Well, believe it or not, these pictures are actually from a few weeks ago and we've added even more snow to the mix since then!

While the kids were still remote learning, earlier in Jan, Abby's art teach assigned them a 3D art project and challenged them to make something outside in the snow.  Abby chose a snow fort (or Igloo) and Ryan didn't hesitate to get them the pile of snow they needed - now that he's got the tractor to do the heavy lifting.

Of course, he can't resist the opportunity to say "See, another great use for this tractor" which I've fought him on for so many months.  But, in truth, I DO see some benefits to it now that we've got it.  I'll regret putting that down on paper before I know it.  

It's a little unfair of me to post a picture with me and this Igloo since literally the only thing I helped with was snapping these pictures.  Ryan was off moving wood around when we got these pictures so even though he did most of the work, he's not even here to memorialize it.  Good thing I've got these stories written down so we'll all remember that he did the hard work of shoveling out that little hole for them.

Fast forward just a few weeks and now the bunnies seem to have been making this a little home - the girls tell me there is lots of bunny poop inside there.  HA!  I have a feeling this snow pile will be here in our front yard until May...but, it's the memories that count, right?
 

Horseback Riding Lessons

 

Ever since we moved to Marengo, well, probably Hampshire, Ryan's been wanting to get the kids into horseback riding lessons.  Well, this month it finally became a reality!  Hazel was finally old enough, and Abby was finally interested enough to make it worth the time and money to give it a try.

Right after Christmas I did some Googling to see what was close by and we found a stable that is literally right up the road.  This Momma is very excited about the idea of doing lessons just 5 minutes away!  Most lessons for us, ballet, swim, gymnastics...whatever it's been, have been 30 minutes away.  One of the few drawbacks of living where we do means it takes quite a few miles to get to most things.  I'm not complaining, but I am excited that we're really quite close to the barn we found.

For now each girl takes private lessons for 30 minutes each.  Once they are skilled enough to ride solo we'll combine them together into a group class (likely still just the two of them) and they'll ride for an hour.  Both kids seems super excited about the lessons.  Hazel seems strong enough to do most of the things, including posting, but her tiny little legs are so short it's hard for her to clear the saddle.  Abby on the other hand, my sweet noodle Abby....her muscles need some work.  

Our first day of lessons coincided with Stella's 7th birthday party, which, happened to be horseback riding lessons.  So, on their first day of lessons we had back to back horse activities.  The girls absolutely loved exploring the two barns...pettings, combing and riding the horses...and probably most of all, the barn cats running around.  

So - we'll be seeking out horseback riding on our trip to Yellowstone this summer.  I'll be the only one in the family who is an inexperienced horseback rider.  Which, I'm sure will bring much entertainment to Ryan and the girls!

Sarah's T-Shirt Quilt

Back in the spring, when we were home for weeks and weeks on end, and Ryan was traveling I dug out some of his Purdue rowing t-shirts that his parents, and then us, had been hoarding (for what, almost 20 years now?!?  Good god....) to try and attempt my first ever t-shirt quilt.  I shared that quilt on the blog back in May.  You can read about it here.  I figured, what the heck....and, I learned a lot in doing that project.  It taught me some quilting techniques I'd not used before.

Fast forward a few months into the summer and Sarah asked me if I could make a similar quilt out of her t-shirts from high school.  Why not!?  Nothing else to do!  And, once again, I learned a ton!  First off, I almost always use a pattern that was professionally written.  I can follow directions pretty well...I'm not sure I can just wing a quilt.  But, I knew I'd need to come up with my own layout for this one.  And, I knew I'd need to figure out how to work with all different sized blocks.  A few YouTube videos later, I had graphing paper, a list of block sizes, crayons, glue and scissors and I got to work.  It was actually really fun to make this little mock up!  And, it helped tremendously.  What's funny is that it took me probably 4 or 5 hours just to get to this point.  I hadn't cut a single piece of fabric yet...but I had a plan!  And that's the important part.  

Thanks to the magic of blogging about things in the past, I can quickly flip from pictures of a grid layout, to the finished quilt.  I always feel like the process in between is a little messy, a lot of work, and not very fun to photograph.  Plus, that's what we all really want to see, right?  The finished (or almost finished) product.  Not bad, right!?

Before sending it to the quilter I added a grey boarder to help frame it out a little and I packed it up and sent it out to my quilter right after Thanksgiving.  I was hoping she could have it back to me in time for me to bind it and get it to Aunt Corda before Christmas.  We backed the quilt in minky - my first time using it!  I was really excited to try it out but honestly, I'm not sure I'd use it again.  Maybe it was the minky I bought, but it wasn't as soft as I expected it to be. We quilted it in a pattern called Bauhuas and used a light grey thread.

A Quilt for Auntie Terri

Now that the holidays have come and gone, its time for me to share some of the gifts I made during the late summer/fall.  This quilt came across my Instagram feed and as soon as I saw it I knew that I wanted to make it and that it would be for Auntie Terri.  I honestly can't say what about it made me think of her but it was so feminine and pretty and I just fell in love with the fabric combination.  

The pattern is by a local Chicago quilter, Suzy Quilts who I started following a year or so ago when Chirch - a friend of Ryan's from college turned my friend told me about her. Her quilts tend to be a little more modern which, is sometimes my style...sometimes not.  Anyways, the pattern and the fabric together were an instant hit for me and I pushed "buy" really quickly.

These triangles were MUCH easier to make than the ones used in my Christmas Poinsettia quilt I made last year.  Which, now that I think about it, was also a pattern by Suzy Quilts.  

All in all, I just loved this one!  Almost so much that I considered keeping it.  The final dimensions were 56x56 (I decided I really prefer a rectangle quilt, even for a lap blanket).  We quilted it in Pretty Posies in a light pink thread and it turned out so so pretty.  

Gosh, I didn't realize I picked such a pretty background - the yard just before sunset one evening (before the snow hit!).  Our deck is currently covered in icy snow that'll probably be around for a few months now.

Christmas

I don't know about you all, but we had the best Christmas this year.  For us, the days and weeks that lead up to Christmas are usually full of all the holiday run around, celebrations, get togethers etc...but when it gets to actual Christmas day, we snuggle in here at home and just enjoy a quiet (well, maybe not quiet) day at home opening gifts, eating, drinking and just being together.  So, for us, this year really was no different.

This year was a year of hand made things.  Being home so much gave me lots of time to quilt and knit and craft for friends and family.  But of all the handmade gifts this year, this little armoire for Hazel is my most favorite.  This little doll was a gift Erin gave to Abby her first Christmas and while it didn't replace her Owies, when Hazel came along, this little racoon became her favorite.  Her name is Dolly and she has a little heart embroidered on her chest that says Abby on it.  Erin gave Hazel her very own racoon with her name on it, but...Dolly has always been her go-to.

The idea to get a little armoire and get some new clothes for the dolls came to me around Thanksgiving and when I searched the internet and couldn't find what I wanted, I enlisted the rest of the family to help make it a reality.  Ryan built the most beautiful little chest exactly to my vision including the tiny little hangers that are adorable!  Erin picked out the drawer hardware and painted the front emblem.  For now it'll be a dressing room for her dolls, but maybe someday we'll fashion it into a jewelry box or, maybe leave it just as it is for Hazel's someday kids.  

Since meeting Ryan, we had a tradition of doing a big Christmas brunch on Christmas morning.  We always make quiche, baked French Toast, fruit salad and mimosas....and then, we typically do a big Christmas dinner later in the day.  Since we didn't have any Christmas Eve events this year, we flipped things around a little (great idea Erin!) and had Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve.  Meaning we only cooked one big meal each day and we could spread it out a little bit.  

For Christmas Eve I made my families traditional Christmas dinner of pigs in a blanket (not hot dogs) and Dumplings.  It was my first time making them myself and I have to say, they turned out great!  It was the first time Erin and Dan had ever had the meal too so it was fun to share something from my family with them.

Each year my parents flip flop where they spend Christmas Eve, and this year was supposed to be our year.  Something Abby did NOT forget.  We were sad to not have them here, but I'm hoping that means we get them next year!  I'm hoping 2021 looks much more like "normal"...but I suppose only time will tell.

We wore family PJ's, we ate too much, drank great drinks and had fun just enjoying a weekend of holiday festivities!  With Christmas on a Friday, we had four whole days of lounging, hanging out, playing games and just being together.  It was lovely!  

And now, as I type this, we're all back to work, back on healthier diets, drinking less, working out more and looking forward to all the things 2021 has in store for us.  It felt like a really nice ending to a really crappy year.  Setting the stage for things to be different, for brighter, happier times filled with more family and friends.