A Royal Tea Party

Today is the Royal Wedding and you can bet I'm going to a viewing party to celebrate the occasion! It isn't every day there is a royal wedding you know. I'm baking some yummy treats and making finger sandwiches to have at our late night tea party with my girlfriends.

I'm not going to lie. I LOVE tea parties. Our wedding decoration was mostly tea party stuff. If I had it my way, I'd celebrate every occasion with a tea party.

source

I'm off to bake some treats!! Be back soon!

xoxo
Talia Christine

Beansy's Beanie

SIX WEEKS TO GO! Until the Bean's due date that is!!

Pretty crazy exciting isn't it?

It is so rainy and cold here right now! It's PERFECT weather to be cozied up inside knitting, which is exactly what I've been spending a lot of my time doing. I've been knitting up a storm. I started and finished a vest (which is not pictured because it is still drying after two days. Grrr.), finished spinning 650 yards of merino/tencel yarn, and a tiny little beanie to keep our Little warm.




Phil made the wooden buttons for me right before we were engaged! He was still in Australia and I was in Texas and we mailed little things back and forth. I've been saving them and I can't think of a better use for the buttons than for our own little one. They are quite special.

If you're interested in making your own Little a special little hat or for some other Little you know here is the pattern I used:

Ruth's Perfect Fit Baby Hat

The yarn I used was my own handspun yarn and I didn't follow the pattern exactly as I used a thinner yarn than the pattern called for.

Next up? Bean's baby blanket out of the yarn I was working on last week.

xoxo
Talia Christine

Pickled Jalapenos

Have you ever had a project you were super excited about but really really nervous to start? I felt like that with pickling some jalapenos peppers that grew in our garden this year.

Something you should know, I LOVE jalapenos! Always will. I try and eat them with almost everything.

We grew a bunch of them in our garden this year and I wanted to pickle my own but I had no idea where to start. So I didn't, not for awhile anyway... I let them sit on my counter and taunt me everyday until I built up enough courage to just go for it.

And I did.

And they came out great! At least I think so. They still need to sit and pickle awhile, but at least they aren't taunting me anymore.



Mission accomplished. Fears tackled. I'm feeling pretty proud.

Are there are projects you have planned that are intimidating you?


xoxo
Talia Christine

Lovebirds

This week we have had the privilege of meeting and catching up with some long time dear friends of Phil's. They have spent the last year in the Solomon Islands and I have really been looking forward to meeting them for some time.

Jair and Lauretta are such lovely people. I feel really blessed to be able to have met them and have had such good conversation! I think everyone could use a Jair and Lauretta in their life.

Lauretta surprised us with a gorgeous belated wedding gift-- this pair of little love birds with a little egg to match!! I LOVE THEM! I have them sitting next to me right now just so I can gawk and ooh and ahh over them.




The stitching kills me! I love handmade gifts. They are so marvelous.





Aren't they gorgeous? Seriously, what a treasure.

Thanks again, Jair and Lauretta! We love you guys! A lot.

xoxo
Talia Christine

A Blanket For A Bean

With the Bean's due date coming up faster than I can get a grip on, I'm running low on time for handspun and handknit projects before the baby is here! So, I've stepped away from the computer (and the dishes, and the laundry, and tidying up in general. Yes. I'm the worst.) to work away at the wheel to spin up some special yarn for the baby's first blanket.

I still have a bit to go before the yarn is done but here is a little peek at what I've been up to.



If it looks insanely soft and squishy, oh that's because it is. So unbelievably soft.

The wool braid is a merino/tencel blend and it is a dream to spin. I normally would process and dye my own but I wanted splash out a bit and buy something really decadent and baby soft.

It was so worth it.

The wool was purchased from The Yarn Chef on Etsy. Do yourself a favor and also check out her hand dyed yarn shop.

xoxo
Talia Christine

New Job (and back to regular life)

Phil started his new job this morning! I took a bunch of pictures as Phil was getting ready to leave. I'm so proud of that man.



Phil finally got a job with the company he's been wanting to work for for ages.
It's just a hop-skip from our house and Phil can walk to work (and did this morning!).
Congratulations again, Love!

In preparation for the coming week, Phil resigned his job on the kiwifruit orchard and spent this last week at home with me. It was sooooo wonderful spending this week together! I took a break from blogging to soak up every minute with that man. He's the best. He really is.

I have lots of updates and things to do! I've got a whole to-do list that should help with my settling back into regular life.

Have I mentioned that I'm 32 weeks? Only 8 more to go until Beansy's due date! AHH! I'm SO excited, but that means I've only got 8 weeks to go to knit some things for Baby. I've got to get knitting!!!

xoxo
Talia Christine

P.S. - Where does time go? This pregnancy is going by so fast.

Snapshot of my day

Today was a gorgeous crisp fall day. It really felt like Autumn was truly coming today. I spent most of the day mosying about the house, playing dress up to find an outfit for tonight, and best of all... spinning yarn. Lots and lots of alpaca yarn.



It was a really good day.

Happy Weekend!

xoxo
Talia Christine

Our Weekend in Pictures

I love the weekends. It means I get to hang out with Phil and we get to do stuff together! Running weekend errands together is one of my very favorite things.

This weekend we made a quick day trip to Auckland to pick up a two-drawer wooden filing cabinet that we bought. We packed a lunch and were on our way! I love picnic lunches. There is just something about them.


♥


Mr. van der Wel
(Best moustache ever)


On the way we stopped at one of the kiwifruit orchards where Phil works. We knew of a walnut tree there and wanted to see if any of this season's walnuts have fallen yet. We only found a few but they are pretty delicious.



I have a serious crush on our little car. I LOVE it!


Kiwifruit growing on the vine


Pretty little shed



Yum.


Soaking up the sun
(While Phil is foraging... OK, I wasn't a good helper...)

On our way to Auckland we stopped in Pokeno for ice cream. This is a huge deal for me. They have SUPER DELICIOUS ice cream for cheap. I love ice cream!!


Two scoops for me!
(Yes, I would have gotten 2 scoops even if I wasn't pregnant. I got Mint-Cookie Smash and Caramel Toffee. Sigh.)

Best ever.

What did you do this weekend?

xoxo
Talia Christine