What Ana Does

We got away for a week over Winter Break to celebrate Christmas with my family -- an annual extravaganza. This year we got a new edition to the family -- a baby boy Harper. So we all flew to him.  I'm not bragging but I got to hold him six times and he often farted on me. So, I'm that auntie.  Me and Baby Nephew We also got time at the beach and a heated pool, but unfortunately the weather was unusually cold for SoCal, so not as much beach as I'd hoped. I was ready for my first surf lesson -- but not if it meant teeth-rattling chills afterwards. Not that it bothered the girls. We also got out for a hike along the coast. And soo much playtime with all the cousins. Loved it.   Five Cousins!  The Girls at the Beach

It's that time again! Let's review my favorite books of 2014:  1. Just One Night  --- This was a novella that finished out the Just One Day , Just One Year books that I so so so so so loved. That second book left out about an hour of information that I obsessed over for a year. This little novella finished it out in a very satisfying way. 2. Isla and the Happily Ever After --- Very few authors can do sappy, cutie YA better than Stephanie Perkins. While it's not a true series, this is a book in a the same world as Lola and the Boy Next Door and Anna and the French Kiss . And those characters are wrapped in this story, as well. Isla is quickly becoming my favorite girl in Stephanie's world. 3. Fangirl --- I checked this out of the library because I wasn't sure about this one. Rainbow Rowell, the darling of YA writers, wrote Eleanor and Park which was too dark for little me. I shouldn't have worried: This book was amazing and took me back to my fresh...

Hard-to-See Before Picture Just by replacing the door with clean white trim and a new, sturdier rod, we really updated the look of the patio doors. Though, it may be impossible to tell from my dark Before picture. Oh well.  That little white table in front (an Ikea find) is the future home of some serious winter herbs, but I've been a little lax in that department. Right now, it's holding the terrarium I'm trying really hard to keep alive. That's been taxing enough.  And we're all happy to have the curtains back, that's for sure. Somedays, I just want to block out the look of our dirty, mossy deck.  The windows, including this patio door, were definitely the biggest investment of 2014. But so well worth it to not feel that draft when walking past this door.  Next year, our first house improvement will be a new, fully-functioning dishwasher. I look forward to pulling glasses out of the dishwasher not covered in soap-residue or peanut butter. Hooray! ...

Happy Hanukkah, one and all. It's been an excellent Hanukkah! The girls have been sufficiently spoiled and I certainly got most of the things on my wish list (sent to David with links and sizes).

About one year ago, to the day, we picked up Benny our beagle from the foster home. He'd been out of the research labs for about a month and was just getting used to life as a dog, and not a lab rat. How could we know what we were all in for? The good parts were experiencing a lot of firsts with Benny. The first time touching snow and grass. The first time he ran at full speed. The early thunderstorms that freaked him out. The first hot, summer days when he couldn't figure out that sitting in the shade would be better than laying in the sun. The bad parts, too. House training him (gross!). Finding out just how sensitive his stomach is (vomiting). He's scared of everything! But, overall, he's been a very good dog for us. He tolerates the girls and all their "attention;" Be it, dressing him, chasing him, Alice is particularly fond of rubbing his nose with her finger. He will occasionally snap when he's had enough. But that is very seldom. Otherwise...

I was thinking today that this is the absolute latest I've sent out our holidays cards in a long time. Usually I'm on it right after Thanksgiving and they're out before the first night of Hanukkah. But here we are. Given, I'm one of the only person who still writes personal greetings on my cards. And because I didn't want to haggle with label making this year, I'm hand-writing all the addresses on about 70 cards. So, yes, it takes time. But, still. Late Late Late.

Sunday might have been the best day ever. Both Leah and Alice had playdates -- one away, and one in the house. So they spent the morning cleaning, prepping and talking to each other about their plans. They even built a fort and created a reading club. And, of course, asking me "how much longer" about every 20 minutes. Then, they were out of my hair for hours. I went all homemade-crazy-kitchen-lady and made yogurt (as usual), granola bars and applesauce. And for dinner, homemade chicken nuggets (with leftovers for lunch today). The fridge is bursting with good foods for the week, and that always puts a smile on my face. Dave spent the day cozy on the sofa watching football and folding a mountain of laundry. I really do miss football season when it's over. He did leave the house to do some research on a new dishwasher, which is desperately need. The situation is getting bad -- I'm contemplating hand-washing dishes. NOOO! After dropping off Leah at her BFF's ...

How Do You Take a Picture of a Window?! What a difference a new window can make!! I'm used to walking into Alice's room and feel a temperature drop, but no more! And it's glorious. The glass, in particular, doesn't get ice cold to the touch. And they open/close like a dream. Like butter! The guys who installed the windows were super nice and friendly -- it took them just about the whole day to get through the eight new windows and patio door. They explained the original builder didn't put flashing above the windows, so water had been easily dripping into the space between the window and house since the beginning -- causing the cracks and failure in insulation. The house settled, as they all do, causing the window casing to warp and not allow the windows to close all the way. And the calking around the windows wasn't done properly -- if at all. All these little problems were addressed and improved -- making the house feel just a little more secure...

I love this time of year because of all the cyber sales. There's just nothing I like more than saving a large percentage off ... and FREE SHIPPING. And this time of year, my inbox is FULL of emails with all kinds of enticing offers. Yours too, right? This is a great opportunity to shop for holidays, obviously, but also for MYSELF! There's usually a few things that I've been drooling over on some shopping site and I'm just waiting for the right excuse to get it. Sometimes, if it's not terribly expensive, I just need a stressful day and a new paycheck to make the purchase. OR, a really get offer. So, on the art.com website, I've been in love with this print for months. And thanks to their robust advertising, every time I'd visit it, it would follow me around to different site as a leave-behind ad. I'd be haunted by it for the whole day.  (You've seen this type of marketing, especially if you use Zappos. You look a shoes. Leave the site. Search Goog...

With every new quilt I create, I focus on learning something new -- as well as continue working on all the other techniques that are hard and baffling. Quilting is hard, no doubt! Fish Quilt for Lon This week, I'm making a quilt for Dave's sweet cousin Sophie and her brand-new baby boy Lonnie. She said her nursery is under-the-sea themed, so I quickly found a fat quarter of fish and coordinating fabrics from my own collection -- and got down to work. I'm improving on the stitch-in-the-ditch quilting, a part I really enjoy the most. And the binding is getting better. But with this quilt I really tried to get the mitered corners correct. I ended up scoring 50% -- two corners came out perfectly. The other two I sewed to the blanket and had to redo. Seam-ripper to the rescue! I even had some leftover fabric to make a quick pennant to string over the crib. And I might get a little pillow out of it, too. Why not use up all that cute fishy fabric? The goal is to get th...

Alice is a bit of drama queen. I think all kindergarteners are, but Alice is especially so. We often catch her in her bedroom alone singing a totally made up narrative in a movie she's creating on the spot. Usually about a mermaid. Or princess. And it's usual very melodramatic and often includes rhyming lyrics. So I signed her up for the park district production of Frozen for 5-6-year-olds, thinking getting her in front of an audience would ignite a love of the theater -- or something like that. This weekend was the final performance. And while it was TOTALLY adorable and she did a fantastic job, she's still on the fence about doing it again for the next season. She's got until this week to let me know. They are doing Pirates and Princesses - the music from Princess Sophia and Jake and the Neverland Pirates . So, it's right up her alley. Meanwhile, Leah (who you can see in the video clip in the white shirt and blue dress) is now begging me to sign her ...

The workers are here installing the new windows. It's cold but sunny this morning. I've offered coffee but they're down to work. They're speedy. While we watch and watch for new efficient windows, here are a few BEFORE pictures. Note the girls have been using dry-erase markers to decorate their windows. Alice's Naked Windows Just In Case You Thought I Was Exaggerating, Here's the Crack Around Alice's Window The Patio Doors - The Wood Trim Never Matched Anything Else in the House Leah's Window. Many of The Windows Closed with This Efficiency, Which Is to Say, Open a Crack Leah's Corner Windows Also of note, poor Benny is beside himself with anxiety. The noise of the saw and the men walking around is giving him frequent heart attacks. Related posts: Here's all the New Window posts Other home improvement projects

It's been Alice's luck to always get the cold room. In New Jersey, her room was an addition over the garage that didn't get insulated very well by the pervious owners. It got so cold that I'd set up a space heater on freezing nights. When we moved to our newer house, I didn't think there would be a "cold room." But, I was wrong. The windows in our house are crappy and some don't actually close all the way -- letting in gusts of freezing air in the winter and warm air all summer. I spend some time each year adding weather stripping and calking around the edges, but it's a losing game. However, in Alice's room, the window is actually separating from the house. Cracks are visible around the perimeter of the window and opening/closing the windows makes the whole thing wobble in its place. Not so good. And obviously, this just allows outside air to pour into the room. Alice's room is routinely 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house. Es...

I've come to understand that it doesn't matter what we do around the end of December -- if we're hosting, traveling, staying home, whatever -- this time of year is stressful . It's just filled with A LOT of everything -- shopping, food, family, social events, school events, work deadlines, tasks, to-dos, cookies, candies, toys, everything. Everything happens in December. And because of this -- and despite all the lists and reminders I create -- I always feel behind and unable to ever catchup. I prioritize and re-shuffle and still something important doesn't get done. I just accept this. It's not all going to workout. But it's a speeding train, the month of December. And once we're rolling, there's no stopping it until January 2 rolls in and all we'll have to remember that crazy month is crumbled to-do lists, too many dirty dishes and lots of phenomenal memories. Hold on tight! Related posts: All the Holiday posts

We're all excited to have our first nephew in the family! Baby Harper has his eyes open to the whole world this morning ... and is ready for a family of women to dote on him every single day. Lucky boy. 6th Time An Auntie, But First Nephew

For a family that travels quite a lot, it doesn't escape me now lucky we get sometimes by not getting sick before or on our trips. So it's especially relevant on this trip, our annual journey  back to New Jersey to be with Dave's family, that I'm reminded of our little luck --- by all getting the flu.  All of us, except for Leah, laid out with coughing, fever and runny noses.  For days.  Easily the worst trip ever. We even infected our hosts --- the good friends we stay with each year. Horrible.  So, let's all take a moment to give thanks for not being ill or contagious around your family.  Happy Thanksgiving! Homeward Bound

Today's lunch brought to you by: Appetizers!! Hummus, Pita, Crackers and Cheese!

Dave unearthed these two adorable pics from deep in his laptop. This is what these ladies looked like when I started this blog in 2011. Lunch With The Girls Alice - Halloween 2011! She Was Blueberry Muffin Relate posts: More more and more Alice

While I was getting my craft-on, our house was turned into the ocean with this little mermaid swimming around. I made that skirt last year at the request of Alice who is in love with mermaids. Seems to be holding up well. My Littlest Mermaid Side note: Though she loves mermaids, she has no interest at all in swimming lessons this winter. None. Related Post: Sewing the mermaid tale tail

I've cleared the schedule and shoved aside all housework to concentrate on sewing projects I've been putting off this weekend First up ... Circle pennant.  I got this lovely felt at my favorite fabric store in SoHo. And this morning I found a circle cutter at Micheal's. Seems like the perfect union.  The verdict: fail. The flannel is too thick to to cut.  Circle-Cutter and Felt = No Go But it works on paper ... So I'm rethinking my plans.  Imagine the Possibilities!!!  Next ... dolly blanket.  I'm terrified of quilt binding so I'm making this mini quilt and following some instructions I recently found.  I Found Fairytale Fabric - Princess And the Pea for This Side The binding came together a little easier than I expected but the corners were another story. Seam ripper to the rescue.  Binding and Corners - Need to Figure that Out The stitch the the ditch has taken the most time. Are they uniform stit...

Lately I've been getting into a few things from the outside world more enthusastically than usual. So here's a roundup: - Death Comes to Pemberly on BBC Mystery! It's a sequel-ish to Pride and Prejudice written by a famous mystery writer. I don't usually give these Jane Austen-wanna-bes too much credit, but this seemed like fun. It was, er, interesting to see my favorite characters in all of lit -- Lizzie Bennett and Darcy -- continue their story and throw them into another crap-storm thanks to Wickham and Lydia. Lydia always ruins EVERYTHING! Once I finish it, I'm pretty sure I'll have to pick up P&P again for yet another re-read. Oh Lizzie, Iloveyouso. - Outlander.  First, you should know I didn't read these books, so I have no context. And this season is only 8 crazy episodes but if you haven't enjoyed the loveliness that is the Scottish accent, men in kilts or Jamie (hubba hubba), you really should. It's slow at times and Claire keeps t...

With a kid sick at home (small fever and cough, sigh), I've had a little time in between meetings and work emails to continue my project of scanning in old family photos my Mom has been generously dropping on my desk. Great-Grandparents -- Dressed up for a Dance From the black and white images that belonged in my Grandma's photo albums, I'm starting to recognize faces of relatives that I never met in real-life. "Hey, there's Grandma Hazel and Grandpa Whitey again!" So, it's a rewarding, though, a never-ending project. Someday, I'd like to make a picture family tree using my Mom's genealogy information and give them as gifts. But that's not in the plans for this year. For now, just scanning. Also in the stacks of photos are pictures of my siblings and I when we were young. Grainy shots from the 1970s and '80s of little girls with rosie cheeks and long bangs. It's fun to look for similarities in the faces of my own kids. Last ...

I voted! It always makes me a little emotional. It feels historical and dramatic and not-a-big-deal all at once. My voice, my thoughts, my political leanings will be heard, even if it's just a drop in a bucket. Here's how it goes: I pick up my ballot with professionalism. Walk to my booth. And as I'm slowly filling in circles a montage of suffragette protests plays in my mind. They're picketing, they're starving themselves, they're stopping traffic and getting thrown into jail. Votes for women!! If it wasn't for them, I would be banned from the polling place by baton-waving policemen. My voice wouldn't be heard. I wouldn't matter to my own government. Not a true citizen but a women "too stupid" to be trusted with the task of choosing my government representatives. Appalling. The music swells as I turn in my ballot. The ghosts of Alice Paul, Emmeline Pankhurst, Susan B. Anthony and numerous others -- in their billowy blouses and oversize...

I suppose I could hire a photographer to take professional photos of the kids -- throw them into a studio or something. But it seems like a waste of money for something I'd rather do myself. So, this weekend I set an "appointment" on Sunday morning to dress up the ladies and get them outside to gather pics for this year's holiday card. The thing I find funny is right now, the girls LOOK FORWARD to picture morning. Which is a complete 180 from my childhood when my Mom forced us into clothes, curled our hair like a mushroom (I have photographic evidence, though I'm sure I'm half to blame for that unfortunate hairstyle) and drove us kicking-and-screaming to a studio. But, then again, there was five of us. Two is a bit more manageable. And my girls are total hams in front of the camera. Here's five things you need to know about taking your own holiday card photo:  Take the photos outside in the early morning. Inside photos are usually too dull or grey. ...

Leah's Rendering of Costumes In the town we live in, they DECIDE when Halloween trick-or-treating takes place. And it's not on Halloween. Oh no, it's far too dangerous in this very rural suburb to let kids walk around subdivisions in the dark. Sigh. So, on Sunday we celebrated Halloween by trick-or-treating at 3pm in the afternoon. We got a sunny, 60degree day. And the streets of our neighborhood were littered with Elsas and superheroes. Leah went as a witch . I made her skirt and pinned on the shawl, belt and bustle. We bought the hat and broom. She was dead-set on finding boots -- which she did at Old Navy. I wanted to do more make-up, but she only allows eyebrow enhancement. We found Alice's costume in a catalog. We had to vote on it, since she liked two different outfits -- shiny mermaid and Little Red Riding Hood . We all voted for Little Red. (I looked into buying the velvet to make the cape myself but it was almost as expensive as the costume.) There ...

Geez! It took me long enough to clear out some time to watch the Outlander series on Starz. And OH BOY am I glad that I did. I knew this show was going to be right in my wheelhouse. History? Check. Pretty dresses? Yes. Romance? Oh yes. Handsome boy? Check! And he's in a kilt! And often shirtless! And with a thick Scottish accent! Does it get friggin better?! Claire, the main character, is growing on me. She's no damsel in distress, which is excellently refreshing. She yells and heads people and knocks out attackers with a chair. She takes care of herself. And she wears thick knit scarves and fingerless gloves, so now all I want to do is knit chunky accessories. The only drawback is I can't understand some of the dialogue because of the Scottish accents. They slip into Gaelic and back to English while I'm lost drinking in scenery or longing looks. But it's moving slow, so I'm not missing any big plot points (I don't think). I'm already on ep...

Eight years later, I finally get my Pearl Jam shirt. From a show I was able to attend. And it fits ... Totally Wearing It At Work Right Now P.S. The show was absolutely brilliant. Eddie Vedder is a rock god.  Rocking Out!