Today, I am very excited to share a little interview with the talented Yas from Quill and Fox! All of her work is so lovely. I even did my own Valentine card shopping in her shop. Make sure you visit her Etsy shop and site.
Thanks for sparing time for this interview, Yas!
Snow, rain, snow, ice, and more snow. That’s what things have looked like around here for the past week. I like winter weather and the way it makes hibernating indoors with warm blankets, comfort food, and good books extra appealing.
Wow, this post is starting to sound very lazy. But I don’t mind admitting, that if I could sneak an extra day off into this week, I would spend it tucked up reading and eating cake.
1. Bedspread 2. Blankets from Toast 3. The Great Gatsby 4. Lace Cupcakes
5. Slippers by Toast & 6. Bedroom via Design*Sponge
I spent lots of time in college writing letters for Amnesty International and over the last 6 months or so I have been pestering writing to my members of congress about lots of other issues that matter to me. I thought today on this SOPA Blackout Day I should share my tips for writing to your government official.
Here’s how I approach it:
1. Know who to write to.
If you don’t know who your Senators and Representatives are, you can look up them up on the Senate Directory and House of Representatives site. These sites are also great places for finding your representatives’ contact info.
2. Be polite.
On the other end of that email is a real person and you won’t do your cause any good by insulting them. You might not be able to change their mind, but make your best case, be funny, give it the ol’ college try. Insults aren’t going to get you any bonus points.
I’ve had a lot more free time this month to actually use some of the too-many ideas I have for projects. I’ve had this orange wool for ages. I got it in Williamsburg, VA when Joel and I went back in 2010. I bought a second skein in November of last year and I finally got the lacy cowl that I had always planned to make out of it, finished.
Every year before the frosts come, I bring in lots of plants. They end up in pretty much any room that gets some decent sun. Upstairs and down, they really are scattered all over. I grew strawberries for the first time last summer and I brought the strawberry plants in for the winter and the little things completely surprised me by blooming again! I just noticed the mini strawberries a few days ago. There’s one on each plant.
This shot (above) of the tenacious strawberries makes me really want a greenhouse.
I love this being on holiday from schoolwork! It means that for now I can spend my Saturdays working on whatever project or recipe strikes my fancy.
Friday afternoon, I spied this recipe for apple sharlotka on Smitten Kitchen and it looked so good (and easy) I thought I’d give it a shot. The recipe was a snap. Just peel the apples, slice them, and then pile them up in your cake pan. Whisk up eggs, sugar, vanilla, and flour into a thick a batter.
Pour the batter over apples and then bake.
After baking, flip onto a plate and sprinkle with cinnamon. (By the way, it smells amazing!)
Thursday morning the snow came and it has been snowing off and on ever since. We have a nice thick blanket of the stuff and Cors and I keep making little excursions to jump around in the thick banks the wind pushes together. Cors loves the snow!
I love any excuse for getting cozy inside and making tasty food, reading books, and knitting. The snow is such a pretty reason!
We’re supposed to be getting heaps of snow over the next few days and I am so excited! If it’s going to be winter we should have snow. I thought I’d take a little break from looking at the storm map to share three things I’m loving this week.
I ordered this shirt while it was on sale New Year’s Day. New year, new shirt. Somehow I missed that the print on the shirt is made up of pairs of tiny cardinals. What a fun surprise! I love it!
Weekends are always over too quickly and this one just flew! For me, the best way to get back to the work week is a good breakfast of granola and coffee and a favorite playlist. I watched Casablanca and Midnight and Paris this weekend and I think they might be fueling my nostalgic Music Monday:
A brand new year always feels like the right time to do some planning. My poor little Wayside Violet shop was a little stagnant in 2011. I haven’t created any new cozies and, to be honest, I’m surprised that they are still selling like hotcakes. But the lack of freshness is going to change soon, because I have the whole month of January off from school. Which means new things are coming!
2012 Goals for Wayside Violet:
I write about things I like: knitting, fashion, books, and other cozy, lovely things. Thanks for visiting!
marina on a work in progress
Lara on snow day, again
Jessica on snow day, again
Audra on snow day, again
Char on photo inspired: walkies