Cute things

I think I'm beginning to figure out the cause of my crafting obsession. Like most deep and profound things, though, it will be long-winded so I'll save that explanation for a post composed at an earlier hour of the eve.

For now, please gawk at this beee-ootiful nursing cover I finished today. I made another one with the same fabrics but flower on top, dot on bottom for my sister, except I made hers first and it took about seven times longer because I was figuring out how to make it as I went and ended up un- and re-stitching approximately 100% of the project. I LOVE these two fabrics together but everyone I know (myself included, heh heh) is birthing boys these days, so I wasn't sure what baby gift I'd make with them. Then I figured a nursing cover is a fashionable extention of MY wardrobe, not the kid's, so pink ribbon totally works.


My other major sewing time-suck has been that set of sister aprons... (murmur, murmur)... They are not my best friends right now. It has taken probably three hours just to figure out which fabrics will make up which parts of the five aprons (I'm sure it doesn't look complicated at a glance of those four cute fabrics featured below, but actually it's so complex that if I tried to explain, none of you would "get it.") And then there was that teeeedious ironing, tracing, and cutting. So, I haven't completed a stitch yet on those but I'm choosing to shelf them for a while for my own sanity (as well as Kyle's) and maybe they'll resurface in time to make it as Mother's Day gifts.

I'm really excited about starting felt food tomorrow. I'd been waiting for felt to go on sale before I stocked up, but turns out all they've done is raise the price of felt so I used a whole sheet of 40% off coupons and bought 9" x 72" (1/4 yard) strips off the bolts. Ellie and I started a pb&j sandwich tonight and plan to make a meat & cheese one soon, and maybe some pancakes, fried eggs, and bacon, depending on how ambitious we feel in the coming days. Erik's favorite toy (besides anything with wheels) is a cheap, plastic toy food set we got him for Christmas, so I'm pretty sure he's gonna gobble all this up, too. If you're struggling to visualize the insane cuteness potential of felt food, check out www.umecrafts.etsy.com for starters. Ridulously cute, I know. My favorite is probably the basket of potstickers or the fruit that you can cut into slices, but of course we're too cheap to purchase her patterns and instructions, so we'll just work our way up to the deluxe box of chocolates and ornate sushi set.

Speaking of sushi, I can't handle it in felt just yet, but the real thing turned out quite scrumptious at Kjerstin's a couple days ago. Feel free to note the contrast between Kjerst and Bob's creations.

But then she gave him some technique pointers and Bob admitted that when it looks like it's supposed to, it actually tastes better, too.

I don't make cute things ALL day long, though, people. My life still very much revolves around the care of this sweet little girl who calls the new baby Charlie and whose favorite time of the week is Sunbeam class at church...

And this funny boy who refuses to sleep in a crib (but he's doing great staying on his blanket on the floor all night/naptime!) and, thanks to Leapfrog's Letter Factory video, knows the sounds of almost all the letters in the alphabet. Not that it will be useful for a while, but it's actually peaked his interest and ability to sit through reading an entire book, so I am well pleased.

And then there's this one who, although according to Baby News (or whoever sends me those weekly updates on the size of my fetus, always relative to a vegetable) is only the size of a cauliflower, appears from the outside to be more like a watermelon. (But that's not a vegetable, I know.) I waddle like I'm ready to deliver any day now, and yet three months remain...

Vagabonds no more!

Well, we finally have a semi-permanent place to call home! It feels oh-so-good to be settling somewhere with the intent to stay long enough to unpack our bags. This past week's projects have centered around furnishing the condo (eating on the floor was not nearly as cool as the Japanese make it look), but I've thankfully managed to squeeze in some creative time, too.

Kyle and I finally celebrated Valentine's Day last weekend by eating at Mimi's Cafe. It was awkward, refreshing, and delightful to sit at a restaurant table all by ourselves (which hadn't happened since maybe Valentine's Day 2008??? That's the last time I recall...) and talk about things completely unrelated to family finances, furnishings, and even the kids. Some red roses also unexpectedly arrived for me at home. I was feeling the love.

Here's another photo montage of recent doings.

A couple weeks ago Dude who does the photographs for the I Spy books was at the BYU Museum of Art introducing his new exhibit, and there were also free milk and cookies so Kallist, Na, and I were not about to miss it.


He also does a lot of photographs of mini-scenes like this one Elle and Kallist are enjoying of Cinderella. I'm actually more impressed with whoever crafted that diorama, but photography is cool, too.

Probably his most inspiring piece was this wall of unopened duck sauce packets. If we take Mom to a few more Chinese fast food joints, we'll probably be ready to make our own. Actually, I really was inspired by this work of art and determination. Do you think he cut a deal with the local Asian eatery or was this a task that required years of hoarding (and eating bad take-out)?

Na was really feeling the magic of the balloon wall.

I think Mish took this one while we were moving and she and her roomie had the kids at the park. Not sure how it made it into this post, but Didi can say "Aunt Mish" now. It's stinkin' cute.

Props to Mac for being a first rate friend, helping Kyle haul our stuff into and out of a rental truck for the 40-minute trek up north. The only furniture we had to our names was a bed, dresser and desk (How did Mom escape without supplying us any chairs?! We're still dumbfounded and disappointed), so I'm still wondering how we managed to fill that truck up to the brim. Also, Kyle drove the truck home while I, yes I, Tiffany Jan Larsen drove our van home all the way from American Fork ON THE FREEWAY! BY MYSELF! I had to giggle when Kyle (who'd left several minutes after me) whizzed by me in the left lane, but overall it was an exceedingly proud moment. And I've actually driven several times since, and haven't even died once. For better or worse, I am now officially a "van mom."

No, we are not too proud to dumpster dive. And yes, Kyle was actually IN the dumpster a few moments after this shot was taken, just to make sure there weren't any other cool, salvageable items hanging out with the neighborhood trash.
This looked a lot prettier in live, panoramic form. The street was lined on both sides with trees laden with freshly fallen snow. It was a very "White Way Delight" moment.

They are smiling now, but Kyle and Bob experienced quite a trial hoisting this beast of a tv from the van onto a rolling chair and up four stairs into the house. If you're thinking this tv weighs less than a sumo wrestler, you'd be wrong. It weighs in at 240 lbs, and I think it's getting bigger all the time. We had to call in reinforcements to get it down to the basement into Bob's quarters, and we're pretty sure we won't ever be taking it back up.

If you are having a baby any time in the next couple years, you can expect/request one of these from me. I always thought the ribbons were decorative but once I figured out they are functional and quite convenient for attaching to stroller, car seat, etc., tag blankies became my new rage. Okay, sort of. This was my first attempt, and my first experience working with "minky" (the thick, soft red and green materials) and, let's just say that the seams were forgiving but still I'm really glad Cathi's new baby doesn't know the difference between a square and a rhombus-shaped blanky yet. Oh yeah, I also made a couple rag-edged burp cloths in these fabrics for Cathi. I used to only craft for myself but I think crafting for friends and family is even more fun, and makes me feel a little less guilty about how much $ and time I spend on fabric. =)

Up next are a set of matching aprons for me, my sisters, and Ellie, still gotta finish Noe's quilt, Mary's bird mobile, and as soon as felt is on sale, I am going to go on a felt food-making rampage! In the meantime, I've enjoyed cooking dinner again (feels like ages since I've done that regularly) and exploring our new hometown. At the top of the list are still finding a midwife and finding a bosom friend for Ellie.

Project Manager Extraordinaire

Here are a few projects I've been working on lately:

-Completing a "mother/daughter" craft project that is technically for Ellie but all my idea. Yes, I saw a darling ribbon tutu at the store and said, "I can totally make that with my own bare hands." And I actually did. (I won't tell you how much I didn't save buying endless spools of ribbon, though.)

I try to stray from parental boasting, but I am not too humble to admit that Ellie has very gifted toes. Some of you have already heard/witnessed this numerous times, but every time she mounts not just onto her "tippy toes," but actually onto the knuckles of her toes during the "Ellie Ballet Show," I am indeed amazed.

When asked for a ballet pose, we were left with this:

Remember how my friend Noe got married last August and I volunteered to make a guest book quilt for her, even though I've never made a quilt before? Haha, well sucker that she is, she consented and the result will be hers forever, no matter how painfully crooked the corners may be. Actually, I think I kind of enjoy quilting. I feel like I'm way too young to be saying that.


Ellie helped me with the layout. This is obviously during the pre-stitching stage. The patchwork is, as of late last night, fully stitched and, contrary to my best estimates ("I think it will be, like, a California King, Noe," I told her), measures considerably smaller than a twin-sized quilt.


-spending Valentine's Day morning constructing a three-piece snowman with head fully intact (I was grateful that at least one of us grew up in Minnesota so knew how to roll a snowball. The cone-shaped mound I was accumulating as the base required serious re-sculpting at Kyle's expert hand.)

It was the kids' first snowman experience and I'm pretty sure they loved every chilly moment of it, almost as much as they thrilled over the second phrase of the primary song coming to fruition: "in the sun he melted, melted, melted...")


Erik is contemplating knocking the head off again. Yes, the scarf serves much more than an aesthetic role.



-catching up with friends over posh drinks and live jazz music at Provo's suavest, trendiest new and fully non-alcoholic joint (Okay, so that's not really a project per se, but a photo of cotton candy-topped Shirley Temples had to make it in.)

We counted the evening as our semi-annual date, and in honor of Kyle's new employment status, we left a 25% tip.

-pushing my domestic skills to the limit with a from-scratch sewing project (and by "scratch" I mean no pattern, no instructions...) Kjerst recruited me as her amateur assistant for an apron-construction project. Hey, I know I'm not the only one who sees those adorable aprons at the mall for $30 and thinks, "I could so make that myself for a fraction of the price." Well, that much is true, but only for an ENORMOUS multiple of the time it takes to purchase an apron, or even the time it takes to earn the money to purchase an apron. Anyway, without a pattern or instructions, we were left mostly to our own intelligence, and especially since most of it was created in the wee hours of the night, I am partial to believe it turned out quite well. Actually, I think it's stinkin' cute and plan on making one for Mish in the not-too-terribly-distant future.

-Oh yes, and my most time-consuming project as of late has been finding us a new home! Yes, we are getting out of this jungle this weekend and into the Salt Lake Valley to give Kyle a closer commute.

Upcoming projects include furnishing our new place, finishing Noe's quilt entirely, whipping up at least a grocery bag of felt food, homemade baby gifts for expectant friends and fam, emergency preparedness kits, finding a midwife and delivery venue, and blogging Disneyland. Um, but not in that order, or along any specific timeline. =)

Return of the Tiff

Woohoo! It's my turn because only the kids are around and they're (supposed to be) sleeping! Kyle and Mom successfully retrieved our goods from California and now Utah is officially our abode. Stuff has been happening right and left, but since the untimely death of our laptop and our spontaneous relocation to Utah, I haven't had the chance to really blog at all. (I read my last post about feeling like I just don't have much to say. I must've been feeling pretty pathetic that day because I actually have LOTS to say at almost all times and no shortage of topics I'd like to blog about.)

Not having the chance to blog lately has little to do with free time and more with the fact that we haven't had any internet access at our rental until Saturday and since then, my online ambitions have held lowest priority, and justifiably so (this being Bob's computer and all, with Kyle on the job prowl and Mom searching for better housing--long story...-- and running the Relief Society from afar). But now they are all gone so it is my time, and so now I bring you a choppy, incomplete report of my recent doings.

Something I did in the past day:

I finished these ridiculously cute but even more ridiculously time-consuming cards for a card exchange with Naomi's Law School Wives Club tomorrow. I originally planned to just make one for a dear relative who's expecting, and soon enough I became possessed to believe it a splendid idea to start whipping them up in mass.


Naomi was kind enough to give/lend me her paper, pen, and other such supplies so I could copy this little clothespin design I found in her idea book (haha, you didn't really think I come up with cute craft ideas on my own, didya?), but tracing, cutting out, and hand-dashing an entire wardrobe of onesies and such (I made 14 cards)... well, I don't plan to ever do that again. So those perfect strangers at the card swap tomorrow better love 'em!

Something I did in the past week:

I caught up with bosom friend Sara during her very brief visit to Utah. She and her husband and I went to the Draper LDS temple open house and then met up with Mary, Barney, and E&E at IKEA where I had a few design fantasies and raided the "as is" section.

Last week also elicited many welcome visits to our new pad, especially since Kyle, Mom, and vehicular transportation were gone for most of the week to CA. Kjerstin is my go-to girl and so I invited her to stay with us while Kyle was gone and she was happy to oblige, bearing gifts, groceries, and a large array of hair accessories.

The above picture really proves my theory about the genderlessness of (especially children's) facial features. Would Didi not make a beautiful daughter?

Something I did in the past two weeks:

Went grocery shopping for the first time since probably last July. (Living with Mom, groceries poured in faster than I could even compose my own grocery list... anyone who's witnessed our abundance of freezers will know what I mean.) And when I'd had enough of the kids' repeated attempts at leaping out of my cart, I got to hand them over to Mom and her sweet ride.

Also in the past couple of weeks, we were staying with our dear friends and surrogate parents, the Williams'. Ellie basically could not get enough of Grandma Mare.

Our stay was cozy, warm, and perfect, thanks to things such as their enormous tub ideal for bubbly adventures and...

70 cats and 33 chickens (1 live cat included). We know. We counted.


Something I did in the past month:

I mourned (and am still mourning) the premature and unexpected passing of Lappy the laptop (don't worry, we never called her that when she was still around). Even more tragic was the cause of her death: a small Chinese coin (valued at a third of a US penny) anonymously shoved into her interior reaked havoc and irreversible damage for some odd months until...(sniff sniff) ... well, you know.

Something I did in the past season:

Celebrated a monumentous Christmas holiday with all of my Goodwin-side relatives. I'm embarrassed to admit that the following is the closest thing I took during those two weeks to a family picture. And now I have "turn on the camera and take at least ONE picture every week" to add to my New Year's resolutions.

Something I did in the past year:

Reigned over Disneyland!!! (And that's the segway into my next post.)

Continued blogging hiatus...

Yes, it's been a while. And it's going to be a while longer. And there's a perfectly reasonable (and aggravating!) explanation for our blogging hiatus, mostly involving the loss of our computer. The more I read of other people's blogs, the less I feel motivated to contribute to my own. It's funny how some people are hesitant to blog because they aren't married and/or don't have children. Some of my most favorite blogs are Christie's, Bryce's, Mish's, and Sara's, and Amy's and Scott's. While the latter two do have children, their posts are not excessively child-centered and are always full of intelligent, meaningful, and more universal observations and reflections -- you know, things interesting to more than just their children's grandparents. Anyway, I'm not trying to demean child-centered blogs-- mine has always been such a blog. Still, my friends and their families seem to have enough cute stuff going on with their blogs that I just haven't felt I have much to contribute to the blog-viewing world. However, I am ultimately keeping this blog around for my posterity, not just for you, my feeble yet loyal blogging audience, so I will get around to posting about our Disneyland trip last September (and work my way toward the present from there), and perhaps by the time I deliver in June, I will have informed all of you, via blog, that I am pregnant.

A particularly great Christmas

Today was a beautiful and memorable Christmas. Planning presents, food, and festivities for a family of 17 and preparing the house for their visit has given me plenty to do over the past weeks, but it has all been worth it. I'll write more thoroughly when I have pictures uploaded, but here are a few highlights:
-the whole family Christmas caroling to friends, with a complete double quartet
-our nativity dramatization, especially the part where it took Ellie (Mary) several scampering attempts to mount onto Bryce (the donkey) and the part where Mish, with gold tinsel wrapped around her limbs, did a jig on the couch, playing the part of the star
-the Russian tea cake cookies Joe's mom sent
-Ellie being truly grateful for her presents and even informing me that "I got too many presents. I don't need a lot of presents, just three presents." Later, she said she was ready to open some more, so the sincerity of her original statement is called into question, but for a three-year-old, it was a nice thought.
-playing True Colors with my siblings-- for how well we know each other, we sure don't seem to see ourselves the way the rest of us do! I laughed harder playing that game than I have in a long time.
-a true group effort that cleared out a spot in the garage for Dad to park his car for the first time in his married life, and Dad declaring it the best Christmas present he's ever received. A little sad, but heartwarming, too.
-making 18 loaves of candy cane bread with Mom
-having a full house-- though the messes seem to always be a step ahead of our efforts, it sure feels great to have all of my siblings and their families here. I'm never happier than when surrounded by these people I love more than any others.
It's been a wonderful and memorable Christmas. I hope you've had a good one, too.

Jewelry for Sale

Mom and I are finally hosting a jewelery sale next week! I bought almost 200 pieces of jewelry in China with the express purpose of selling it for one of my favorite charities, Mothers Without Borders. When postpartum depression was convincing me that my life was not worthwhile, I focused on collecting jewelry for this charity. Keeping in mind the images of children in Africa who are among the world's most destitute, and knowing that this fundraiser would be for them, was an immense help in surviving that year in China.

I am mostly posting these jewelry photos for friends who can come to the event next Tuesday, but the rest of you are welcome to gawk.

Freshwater pearls in three natural colors: white, peach, and champagne, and dyed black pearls. White pearls come in a set with bracelet and earrings (stud or dangle).

Three-strand sets of floating pearls, sizes and shapes varying. Available in 10 colors.

Shell & pearl necklaces in natural and dyed colors.

Coral and turquoise necklace and bracelet sets. Faux-wood beads with various gem inlets.

Swarovski crystal with a single pearl, available in pink, green, and purple.