Happy New Year

Bedtime Story Sweater Pillows

Now that all the kids in my family have opened their Christmas presents, I can show you my favorite sweater pillows that I made--I call them bedtime story sweater pillows.  I got the idea from my little owl pillow that has a pocket on the back. I'm not sure what the pocket is supposed to be for because it's so small (maybe a tooth for the tooth fairy?), but it got me to thinking about pockets and what else I could use one for on a pillow, and I came up with a pocket for a book. Kids always love to have special little places, little compartments for things, and I thought it would be a good spot for a favorite book. I made 12 of them, each with a bookmark, and here are a few of my favorites. Time to snuggle up with a book!

PS. Thanks for your comments about my blog woes!  They made me feel better.  For now, I'll keep doing what I've been doing, but maybe soon I'll have a new look for my blog.

What do you think?

I was hoping to have a new look for my blog for 2010, but now I'm not sure what to do. I wanted to do something different, just to change things up and make it look fresh and stand out a little. I wasn't planning on changing my banner, but maybe re-arranging the categories, or taking some off. I'd really like a 3 column blog, too. But I haven't actually even started because I've been in a bit of a blog funk. I'm just not sure what direction it should take, so I thought I'd see if you have any suggestions. I started my blog to share general things I like, things I do, and places I go, but those are broad topics which can be all over the place. Sometimes people email me wanting to see more family pictures (pictures of Lois) but Andrew often tells me that if I want to write about family, I should have a separate blog for that. I want to take more pictures in stores and write reviews, but I don't know that that should be mixed with our family adventures or Lois updates. Then again, I'm not sure that I have time to keep up with two blogs. I know a lot of people do it, but I'm not sure if I would. Also, sometimes I feel I'm just talking to myself here, and I've thought about not writing my blog at all anymore. So tell me what you think. What kinds of posts do you like to read most? Is there anything you want to see more or less of? I'm sensitive so go easy on me!

PS. The picture above is from a farmer's market in Zurich.  I loved seeing that one yellow tulip among the rest.  It almost looks like it's Photoshoped, but it was really one yellow tulip in the bunch.  

Christmas Dinner

We had a great little family Christmas!  It was the first time it was just the 3 of us, and it was really relaxing and fun.  Lois got a lot of great toys and books, and she even got her first bike, a Skuut! She won't be riding it for a while, but we all still love it.

We also had a great Christmas dinner.  One of our guests was our friend, Mark, a rabbi, so we had a kosher Christmas dinner! To start we had cheese, olives, and our friend Doug's homemade quince paste.  We drank prosecco with pomegranates and Jason's homemade eggnog. We ate short ribs with pearl onions, polenta, roasted cauliflower, and a salad. Then we ate delicious thumbprint cookies for dessert.  Great food; great friends. Christmas was a success!

And thanks, Lisa, for letting me borrow your great votive holders! They helped to make everything merry and bright. 

Festive Breakfast with Lisa

This morning we had Lisa over for a yummy breakfast.  She'll be with family for Christmas, so we wanted to see her before Christmas and thought a festive breakfast this week would be fun.  Also, Lisa is re-opening her shop, The Pickled Hutch, in Pacifica, so we wanted to celebrate.  Andrew made yummy waffles, poached eggs, and bacon.  It was delicious!  I used our leaf-etched, platinum-rimmed china, my favorite star etched glasses, some of my favorite blown glass salt and pepper shakers (I collect salt and pepper shakers), and some cute tea cup embroidered napkins.  I liked the contrast of the fancy plates with the casual napkins. Here are a few pictures of what's in our tummies now. It was nice to have a real breakfast, at the table, and with a good friend.