baby anne quilts

go, trabi, go!

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Unlike my husband, I don't have much interest in cars. I just want my car to get me where I'm going. But I do have a dream car...the East German Trabant.

I fell in love with this little guy when I was a missionary in Berlin, lured by its cute car shape, its dirty looking colors, a body you could rip apart with your hands (Karl did once, too), its loud "putt-putt-putt" engine, its tiny interior, the multi-year waiting list to own one and the fact it can't go over 55 mph. What's not to love!?

A year and a half after the Berlin Wall fell and 6 months after the renuification of Germany produciton on the Trabi stopped. For perhaps obvious reasons.

The city of Berlin is my favorite place ever for many reasons. One of which is how it is a city constantly changing. History continuously makes it's mark on Berlin. And the little Trabants still putting around it are one more mark of history on Berlin.

On this anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall it seems even those bits of Berlin that seem to remain part of it's past are still changing the face of its city...the Trabant is coming back! This time with a little less Communism and a little more class...

via ViaMichelin

favorite shop friday: joom

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:44:00 +0000

Joom is known for her pillows and the birds that adorns them. But she adorns her birds on many more things.

Enjoy the birds of Joom!

soft birds...

printed birds...

baby birds...

and birds to carry...

Find Joom and her birds at http://joom.etsy.com/.

seriously cupcakes in cyperspace

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Remember how my sister Susan makes the best cupcakes ever? No, really... Best. Cupcakes. Ever.

Her business, Seriously Cupcakes, is still booming and she just opened a website! Go to http://www.seriouslycupcakes.com/.

If you live in the West Houston area you can order her yummy cupcakes (like Pumpkin and Italian Cream and Boston Cream and Triple Coconut) through her website and Susan will personally bake, decorate and deliver them!

And if you don't live in the West Houston area...well, you can drool over the photos.

favorite shop friday: beane and company

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000

I loved Axel in his little blessing suit. I was really hard to find a suit I liked for him that didn't look like a mini-tuxedo as if he were a mini-adult or was too baby-ish. I finally found a white linen suit with decorative buttons...sweet and cute but not too baby-ish and just handsome enough!

I loved it on him so much I need to give some credit to the wonderful shop that made it for him!

Jenna at Beane and Company makes special occasion clothes for little boys and girls. She has beautiful designs in lots of sizes and they are hand-made to order.

Winter White Faux Fur Capelet

Boy's Khaki Suit

Organza Flower Girl Dress

And Jenna is opening up an adult-sized store, too, so you don't have to be jealous of all the little guys.

Find Beane and Co. at: http://beaneandco.etsy.com/.

my blessed boy

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:59:00 +0000

A month ago on September 27th Axel was blessed by his father. Karl's parents flew out for the occasion and, of course, to meet their newest grand baby. It was a happy meeting!

My brother, sister-in-law and their son, Max, also came. Max and Axel liked each other a lot.

Here they are at Axel's blessing. Silly boys.

And Axel's blessing was beautiful...

I'm so grateful he was born into such a wonderful family that loves him. And it is such an honor to be his mother!

I can't wait to see him grow up...but at the same time I just want to freeze him just the cute little way he is right now!

to be a poet

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:20:00 +0000

On Poets.org today there are ideas on how to dress as your favorite poet for Halloween. Now I know what I want to be for Halloween!

Maybe I'll dress Axel up as a little Walt Whitman to my Emily Dickinson. He'd look cute with a beard of butterflies!

doors and windows 9

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Burg Thurant, Germany

Bruges, Belgium

Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany

Paris, France

Great Blasket Island, Ireland

butterfly catcher

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:05:00 +0000

My sister showed me these butterflies on Ali Edwards blog and then she made one and I made one, too.

And then I made another.

They're easy peasy (just paper, a frame, a decorative hole punch and double-stick foam dots) and quite pretty, I think. They're going to hang in my downstairs bathroom.

You can make one, too. Directions are here. More inspiration and variations are here and here.

this american life

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:18:00 +0000

I like public radio. One of my favorite public radio shows is This American Life.

I discovered it when I lived in Michigan and my sister had me listen to the episode My Big Break (because I'm a Beatles fan and she knew I'd find Act One fun) and then listened to it once in a while on the radio and when we lived in Germany I began listening to it online. It became my favorite home companion: I'd listen as I cleaned my apartment and as I quilted and as I traveled on trains.

Now I like to listen as I clean my house and as I quilt and as I nurse Axel.

I like their everyman stories that I can relate to (like babysitting ) and their not so everyman bizarre tales from life (like baby swapping).

Here are some of my favorite episodes:

Fiasco
New Beginnings (Their very first episode and Act One is one of my most favorite stories I've heard on This American Life.)
Americans in Paris (Brings sweet memories of my own trips to Paris to mind...including all those loud-talking American tourists.)

The Super

Backed into a Corner (I love the story of the girl working at the Quiznos.)

If you've never listened I'd encourage you to use this list to give it a try. If you're already a fan, then what are some of your favorites?

favorite shop friday: simple sweet design

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:29:00 +0000

There are things growing over at Simple Sweet Design...

moss covered things...

warm tree bark things...

and mobile hanging things...

Lisa at Simple Sweet Designs makes really beautiful things for inside your home taken from the life outside. My favorite are her gorgeous family trees that come with differing number of branches to fit your family size and for which you can order additional leaves so that they can continue to grow as your family grows...

Find more life for your home at http://simplesweetdesings.etsy.com/.

international quilt festival 6

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

international quilt festival 5

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

international quilt festival 4

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

international quilt festival 3

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

international quilt festival 2

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

international quilt festival

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:42:00 +0000

Every year one of the world's largest quilt shows happens in my home city. I didn't know this until I began quilting about 5 years ago and not living in Houston any more. Last year Karl and I moved back just one week after the festival closed...bummer!

So this year I finally got to go! It was amazing! And much bigger than I was expecting! There were hundreds of vendors and a couple dozen exhibitions.

There were traditional quilts...

and contempoary quilts...

a quilt the size of a postcard...

and an 80-foot long quilt...

There were Japanese-made quilts, Russian quilts and a forest of German quilts...

Now I feel all inspired by the amazing quilts on display so I'm going to share them with you, too. Every day this week I'll share a quilt that amazed me. Starting with...

favorite shop friday: oh coco

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:31:00 +0000

It's been nearly one year since Karl and I moved back to the States from Europe. And I still miss it. Especially when I found this shop last week: Oh Coco.

Coco use to live there, too, and took some beautiful photos during her own European adventures that make me so homesick...

Heimweg Berlin

But even if you haven't been there...man, aren't these just pretty?! Don't you want one to just escape into?!

Welcome Home

Find her shop and your own bit of Europe here: http://ohcoco.etsy.com/.

Shadows of Siena

axel wolfgang

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:50:00 +0000

8 August 2009

11:52 pm

8 lbs 2 oz

20.5 inches long

This beautiful, beautiful boy arrived after 24 hours of labor, 1 hour and 15 minutes of pushing and a C-section...and all worth it!

I'm in love!

11 years ago today...

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 20:25:00 +0000

...I met this boy!

Since that day here are just a few of the things he's given me: an education; a sewing machine and fabric so I could learn to quilt; a study abroad in Cambridge, England; two years in Germany; a birthday in Ireland...

motherhood...

and now...a home of our own:

We're homeowners, folks! Real, live, mortgage-carrying homeowners!

Talk about making all my wildest dreams come true! I can't wait to see what this boy has next in store for me!

cruisin'

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:13:00 +0000

Karl and I just celebrated our 10th anniversary. That's right, folks, a whole decade!! We can't hardly believe it ourselves!

Since it's the big one-oh and we've got a baby on the way that will complicate any big trips like this in the near future (and despite the fact we've been saving to buy a house), we decided to take advantage of living near a port town and go on our very first cruise!

Heather and Karl are cruisers!

Although we originally planned our 5-day sojourn in the Gulf of Mexico during the week of our actual anniversary (18 May), my pregnancy demanded that we actually go in early April (see my prego post from 12 March). We left Galveston on the Carnival Ecstasy on 4 April, spent a day in Progresso, Mexico on 6 April, then Cozumel, Mexico on 7 April, and returned to Galveston on 9 April.

We really weren't all that interested in the Mexican ports, and to save money (saving for a house, remember?) we opted out of any shore excursions, but we did get off the boat and wandered the shopping and beach for a couple of hours at each port. On the ship we ate great food, relaxed with books on the deck, ate more great food, relaxed with more books in our room, played miniature golf, ate more yummy food, swam one morning while the ship was in port and everyone was on shore and no where near the pool, ate delicious food, and took night-time strolls on the deck after filling, yummy dinners!

One of the funnest parts of the cruise was bringing Flat Stanley with us everywhere! My niece, Amanda, in Detroit was doing the Flat Stanley project in her class where the kids make and mail off and paper man to someone they know in the world. That person sends back photos and letters of what Flat Stanley has done in that part of the world. Karl and I actually did a similar project for a friend and another niece while we were living in Germany so it was great fun to do it again for Amanda! We realized during our cruise that 90% of our photos had Flat Stanley in them! We really did have fun picking locations for Stanley to get his portrait taken. So...here's some photos of our fun, relaxing cruise with our new friend, Flat Stanley!

Flat Stanley and our ship!

Flat Stanley and our fun ship!

Flat Stanley and our fancy ship! (Yes, that's Karl at the bar in one of the Hawaiian shirts he wore every day or our cruise.)

Flat Stanley and the blue blue water of Mexico!

Flat Stanley at the on-ship art auction (we actually won a free lithograph at the auction)!

Flat Stanley on the Mexican shore!

Flat Stanley being beaten by Karl at minature golf on the ship!

favorite shop friday: sarah clemens clothing

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:29:00 +0000

Sarah Clemens makes clothing. Girly, frilly, whimsical, a little traditional and a little raw, and oh so comfortable looking clothing!

And I just can't decide which one is my favorite...

Don't they just make you want to twirl?

Check out more of Sarah's pretty designs at her shop:
http://sarahclemensclothing.etsy.com/

today is my dad's birthday!

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:57:00 +0000

I wish I didn't have your nose but thank you sooooo much for those eyelashes!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

doors and windows 8

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:44:00 +0000

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

prego update

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:26:00 +0000

Today I am 20 weeks pregnant....half way there!!*

So I thought I'd give you a little update on how things are going in the the whole baby-making department: cravings, aversions, annoyances, pleasant surprises, things I'm learning and the like.

Aversion: Toothpaste makes me gag. This is very annoying. I think it's the strong mint flavor (because I'm not very partial to any other minty things these days either.) I've tried kid-flavored toothpaste and that makes me gag, too. But if anyone knows of a toothpaste that doesn't have a strong flavor...let me know...please?

Annoyance: Heartburn, heartburn, heartburn. I have never in my life had heartburn. In fact, my husband had to tell me what this was. It started back in January and I would get it a few times a week. Then that turned into every day. Then multiple times a day. Then I would have to sit up in bed reading for an hour or so at night because I couldn't lay down due to the heartburn. Then I had to start sleeping propped up on two pillows because I was waking up with heartburn. And it didn't matter what I ate...I got heartburn. Heartburn sucks.

Pleasant surprise: My doctor got me a prescription medicine for the heartburn this week...oh. My. GOODNESS!!! My life is good again!! Pregnancy is fun again! I love my doctor!!

Another pleasant surprise: I have full, soft, pretty hair! I had heard that pregnancy makes your nails and hair grow faster. I couldn't care less about my nails but I was surprised to find that my hair isn't just growing a little faster, it's getting fuller and softer, too! My sister and I were cursed with thin, straight, thin, thin hair. And now...for a little while at least...mine's looking pretty good! Good baby!

Craving: Thousand Island salad dressing was my most favorite salad dressing as a kid. And then I grew up and discovered there were more salad dressings in the world besides Thousand Island and I've rarely touched it since. In fact I became much more partial to vinaigrettes. One of the nice things about this pregnancy is that I've been craving healthy foods, especially salads. But the dressing? Thousand Island, please!! In fact, I'm really not digging the vinaigrettes anymore and the thought of Thousand Island makes me salivate! (Really! I'm salivating right now!) I'm reverting to my childhood!

Something I've learned: You can't go on a cruise if you're 24 weeks pregnant. Karl and I are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this May (I know, right?! 10 years!!). And since it's kind of a landmark anniversary and since it's our last chance for a big getaway before the baby comes we decided to go on a cruise! So we booked it for the week of our anniversary...and THEN saw the fine print! If you're 24 weeks pregnant or later they won't let you on the boat! And how pregnant was I going to be? Well, a lot later than 24 weeks. So...a long customer service phone call later...we got the cruise changed to April when I'm in my 23rd week of pregnancy.

And how's the baby itself doing? Well...see for yourself:

Everything's healthy and strong and in its place! We just got this ultrasound on Tuesday and we opted NOT to find out if it's a girl or a boy. Even though everyone seems to hate us for it, we like the idea of drawing out the excitement and anticipation and adding a fun surprise at the end of all this!

*A note to those not in the know...the normal gestation period for a human baby is 40 weeks. I've always hated it when my pregnant friends talk about their pregnancies or their babies like I should know exactly what they're talking about when I've never been pregnant, never had babies and have no clue. Heck, I'm 20 weeks pregnant and still have no clue. So...for all you clue-less like me: 20 weeks is exactly half way...even though an on-time birth is considered anywhere between 38 and 42 weeks, 40 is average.

favorite shop friday: mayberry sparrow

heatherharwood@hotmail.com (heather) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:37:00 +0000

I love rubber stamps. I never know what to do with them...but I love them. Today's shop is Mayberry Sparrow and has not only some wonderful handmade rubber stamps, but I just might be able to find real use for these...

custom bookplate stamp

garment tag washing instructions stamps

And these are just so great I have to find a reason to use them...

lucky origami crane stamps

mamaw's sewing machine stamp

But if you're like me and still can't find reasons to use rubber stamps, Corra of Mayberry Sparrow has other great handmade stuff in her shop like...

Fiona's crazy quilt notecards

soda pop can ornaments

If for no other reason to visit Mayberry Sparrow (at http://corrabelle.etsy.com/) at least check out the story behind the name in her shop Profile or read her fun blog! Some people are just born with great creating genius! But that's one reason why her stamps are so great...she let's us do some great creating with a little of her genius!