Day 3: Ancona

The Church at Ancona, the Cathedral of San Ciriaco, stands tall atop a giant hill, overlooking the port where ships dock and unload supplies and tourists.

Ancient bronze statue inside the archaeological museum.

Scott, the architect major, and I, the the Interior Design graduate, gawked at a seemingly out-of-place minimalist transitional architect firm.

Some of the fam walking through a giant arch on our steady way up to the archaeological museum and duomo.

My tiny little sister found a car that her 5' self was TALLER than! Just look at that expression.

Day 2: Boarding the Costa Victoria

Water taxi in Venice to the shipyard. The Costa Victoria awaits!

Thar she blows!


Carlton is giving our "bed room" a thumbs-up. It was a room big enough for a king size bed with two feet "walking clearance" around three sides of it. Tight quarters!

Day 1: Venice

Since I can't really bare to sit and journal each of our 10 days in Italy/Greece/Croatio quite yet, I'll leave you with a couple pictures from our vacation. Once we've settled a little more, I'll fill you in more!

Sisters in our water taxi from the airport to the hotel. We were so happy to finally see each other!

What we had all been waiting for: GELATO!!!

Basilica di San Marco at Piazza San Marco

Venice sports some lovely pink street lamps.

The famous Rialto Bridge

Sunday, knitty Sunday

About a month ago I had Brittany, a girlfriend from work, come over to the house. I had worn my Desert Rose to our monthly meeting where we all come together for updates and chit-chat, and she was impressed that I had made it all on my very own. I proudly showed her the puff sleeves, the lace inset down the front, and the pretty neckline that I! actually! finished! Okay, okay, one more showing and then I'll stop.

(!!!!!)

So back to when I had Brittany over last month. I taught her how to cast on, and how to create a scarf, knitting every row. She picked a tough yarn to use as a beginner, Lion Brand's Homespun Yarn. It's beautiful because when it's knitted up, it's very fluffy, and has a sort of curly weave. But it's tough to learn with.

It's tough because of how it twists on itself. As a starter, Brittany tended to tug and pull on the working yarn, which caused this particular yarn to bunch up on itself. Once she got the hang of it, and settled into the ease of knitting back and forth for miles on end, the scarf really turned out great. Brittany couldn't wait to show me her finished project, a pretty dusty blue scarf made just by her, just for herself. She even got to wear it proudly on a quick weekend vacation in Colorado! She couldn't wait to start on a new project, and was ready to be challenged. And, to top it off, her best friend/Vespa's nanny (for when we're on "holiday" in a week (!!!)) Sabrina wanted to learn the craft.

Sunday afternoon, the girls drove over to my house. We met up, played with Vespa for a few minutes, and squatted at the computer in front of countless projects on Ravelry. Brittany really wanted to knit something challenging, and Sabrina needed something for a beginner-beginner. I wanted something useful and quick. And after about 30 minutes of girly-giggling around, we found something that we all got excited about--a camera sock! These are the pictures that notanartist posted of her completed project on Ravelry.com along with the quick and easy pattern.

Cute, huh? Quick and easy. It was still quite a bit advanced for Sabrina who had never even held knitting needles before, it was a challenge for Brittany because a) she learned the purl stitch and b) she learned to knit in-the-round and c) she learned how to make decreases as well as stitch the bottom closed. And for me, it's been super-super quick. Here's mine, after about 10 minutes of work during Carlton's eye appointment this afternoon, and an hour of work in front of the tv tonight:

Sabrina, Brittany, and I had a pretty good time. It was a little overwhelming for Sabrina, but she stuck in there like a trooper and is excited to get back together soon to finish hers with assistance. Brittany's has turned out great--she worked on it later that night and is almost finished. And mine, as you can see, is a pretty poppy red color and is ready to be used heavily on our trip through Greece!

Here, you can see Brittany proudly wearing her blue scarf as she learns how to join her double pointed needles for knitting in-the-round. Naked Vespa is entranced by Sabrina's kind-hearted chuckle, and glad that her future nanny is so easily conned into scratching her neck for her.

Sabrina and Brittany, smiling with their cookies and yarn. Yes, I made cookies for the knitting girls!

Brittany can even multitask now... Momma's so proud! Just look at those knitter's fingers, all tangled up to hold the needles just so. Only a knitter can appreciate this pro finger stance!

A Sunday Afternoon Knitting Party tradition, perhaps?

Colorful Birthday Memories

A few weeks ago, we Arizona Joneses celebrated our little niece's 2nd birthday from our house in the desert far, far away from her. I was so sad to miss this special milestone in her little toddler life!

We wanted to send something a little special, because she has gotten to the age where she understands that things are made especially for her. And she definitely knew this was her birthday and it was going to be a very special day that all her loved ones celebrated Katie Anne with smiles, gifts, and cake.

I thought back to my childhood and a flash of a memory came to mind. I remembered a special book that my grandparents had printed especially for me, as a Christmas gift, I think. The book was a treasure to me--after all, it was written about no one other than ME!!! The story told of "Trisha" doing this, and "Trisha" doing that. I remember sitting in my bedroom floor, reading and re-reading and re-re-reading that book forever. Carlton jumped on the idea to find a book that Katie Anne might enjoy reading. After all, her birthday was all about her. Why not read something all about herself too? We found an adorable book telling the tale of Katie Anne on her own little adventure, counting lots of animals.


And then it happened. As soon as the book was ordered, I found something else! Of course. I had to sprint out to Michaels and Joann for supplies right away! Being the Blogger stalker that I am, I came across Inchmark, a fantastic crafting blog that posted a beautiful how-to on creating color flash cards that could also work as a flip card memory game. These were so adorable, I just had to make them. (You should really check her out... she used to do some sort of work for Martha Stewart, and her projects are super. And the blog is so pleasant to look at!) Plus, Martha Stewart had been telepathically urging me to purchase one of her fabulous punches for creating pretty paper crafts. (I already had one, but why not get a second to make pretty trims on the edges of paper projects?) I know, I know... Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart, MARTHA STEWART! But it's not only me... another blogger, Eyelet Sage Studio, has also just recently discovered these marvels.

Joann will cut a sample of fabric for you from any bolt you wish. However, they will charge you for it. They cut a sample the entire length of the bolt, so you've got a length of fabric about 54" long and about 2-3" wide. Each will only cost you a few pennies, because they count this clipping as a fraction of a yard. But this project was totally worth the hassle! Sure, I had lots of long fabric scraps lying around my drafting table, and the pup didn't know what to think of the stinky glue I used, but the final product was precious.

All this project required was some cardstock, scissors, some glue, and the fabric scraps. I embellished the project by using the fancy MS punches for added character and a dab of cuteness. Inchmark also debated laminating her cards. She opted out, so as to not cover up the feeliness of the bright fabrics. I opted in, and just cut the hole with an xacto knite--not a perfect job, but it was alright, and the lamination should hold up a little better for Little Miss I Am Two.

First, I cut the cardstock into the size I needed for the cards. I wanted 16 cards total to create 8 card matches. This meant that I needed 32 pieces of cardstock cut. Then I punched the scallop-edged hole in the center of 16 of the cards (these were the fronts). After that, I punched the lacey edge onto all 32 cards. Zip on over to FedExKinkos to laminate the fronts and backs separately. Zipped back home, glued on the fabrics to the backs of the cards. Then I used my xacto knife to cut around the inside of the hole in the center of the front, where the fabric would be positioned. Glued the fronts to the backs, and trimmed around all the edges once everything dried. This all sounds kinda complicated, but it was actually quite simple, and very fun to create. Take a look at the final product! (I know, a few pictures to show exact steps to finishing the project would have been nice, but I was in a creating frenzy and couldn't bare to stop long enough.)

I set aside all the materials for a condensed overview of what materials the project involved.

This is the entire set, laid on the kitchen table upside down, ready for memory card turnover:

Found two!

And here are all the pretty colors of the rainbow:

Katie took a sweet little video of Katie Anne playing with the cards as flash cards. "Katie Anne, what color is this?" "Puh-ppl." "Good job!" My goodness she's getting big. We are so happy that Katie Anne had such a happy birthday, and I'm very glad that Katie Anne has already enjoyed her gifts!

My Dream Studio

Eyelet Sage Studio, a blog I like to look in on pretty frequently, just posted a question that really interested me. Because I recently took the Sproost Test online in addition to ranting and gushing over various design elements I hate and love, Eyelet's question perked my Interior Designer's interest: "What would your creative space look like?"



I would love to have an open, lofty feel like this room has. Clerestory windows along at least one wall, and full windows from those on down to the floor. Light pine trims framing a creamy white wall. Recessed and track lighting smartly illuminating a glossy cream colored ceiling, reflecting even more clean light on the space below.

Sure, I'd love to have the furniture that's pictured above, but I would still need room for the necessary creative outlets such as an easel for painting with oils, my drafting table for drawing up floor plans... or for painting watercolors... or for the new and cute little Brother, sewing up the next Sewing Green project.

I would add a wall of light pine cubby shelving, each hole fit with its own plastic tub (like the shelving Katie and Saunders got for Katie Anne), and fill them all with my yarn stash in order of the colors of the rainbow, starting with light pink and ending in lavender. I'd also use it to store current (as in, the last year or two only) magazines for inspiration. And art history, color theory, crafting instructional books. A vase of sunflowers, paperwhites, or irises. And maybe even some of my ceramics.

And, again, I'd definitely have to have a hand-knit, hand-felted rug in the space to make the bumpy, scratched, abused, reclaimed black-stained barn wood floors cozy and comfy.



I'd also like a section of a wall--like, 4'x6'--covered in a coarse cork to use as a built-in, tack-on idea board. (Yes, you can buy cork as wallpaper! Amazing, I know.) A shiny white lacquered frame built around it could make it a great focal point. Inspirational magazine clippings, restaurant napkin ideas, and torn-out journal entry thoughts. What else? Fabric swatches that inspire. Paint chips that make me happy. And plenty, plenty, plenty (!) of lists. And a calendar that I picked up on our latest weekend flyaway to Paris, of course, daaaah-ling.


Wouldn't a potter's wheel be perfect, tucked away in a dark corner? I don't know why it's a dark corner in my mind's eye, but I think it would tend to the concentration aspect of throwing pottery... along with a sweet Bose speaker system.

And, now that I'm thinking of it, I really think I have a novel idea here... just bare with me as I think it out, it's something I haven't considered before. I'm thinking of a gallery wall, just on the inside of the doorway to the studio. I'd display drawings, sketches, floorplans, paintings, and shadow boxes of 3-dimensional artwork as well as a few short display shelves... but I wouldn't just display finished works. I think it would be a great way to step back and re-evaluate works-in-progress as well. Ever seen how many unfinished works the great Renaissance masters had? And they're displayed in museums around the world. Why couldn't mine be on display in my own tidy little studio getaway? :)

These are the off-the-top-of-my-head thoughts for my ideal crafting/art making studio. Some day, I hope to have even a couple of these for myself! "What would your creative space look like?"

A Happy Camper

So, we're still a work in progress as far as Vespa's training goes. The barking at home has completely stopped, unless a neighborhood dog walks past her window. But even then, our "VESPA, LEAVE IT!" command works pretty darn well.

I say that we're still a work in progress mainly because of her leash walking aggression. This little 5-6 pound pup thinks the world must submit to her hollering and screaming, just because she says so. I've reduced myself to using an emptied-out contact lens solution bottle as a water squirt bottle on our walks when she starts bubbling up (you remember, the whole "Buh... buh... BAAAAAA!" ordeal). It's perfect for aiming a skinny stream of water right at her, and it definitely grabs her attention when she starts getting out ahead of me or tugging on the leash.

As another approach to taking these serious aggression issues head-on, Carlton and I recently decided that introducing her to groups of dogs might be a positive experience, as well as a great behavior recovery tool. When I was shopping around for pupsitting options for while we're on our cruise vacation with the families, I took a tour of a nearby doggy day camp playground business near Vespa's groomers. Her fantastic groomer Naiomi recommended the place for days that we might have lots of company over (ha! yeah, right), or to get her a bit more exercise, or to let her play with other pup friends while we're at work all day long. Camp Bow Wow requires updated shots (a bad Monday experience for Vespa which turned into a pitiful Tuesday experience for her and me). They also offer a free first day, which they call her "interview day" because they introduce her first to one dog... if they get along okay, they bring in another dog with a different temperament... if that works out alright, she's good to go into the pup club with the rest of the group.

Well, as it turned out, Vespa finally healed from a couple painful and sickening vaccines by Thursday morning when we woke up, and I decided to take her in this morning for her official Interview Day. She and Sadie Sweetheart (yes, they caller her Sadie Sweetheart and I absolutely loved it!), a poodle/shih-tzu/maltese mix got along like the best of girlfriends would. Then Jake, a Chihuahua/mut mix, was introduced. Uh-uh, Momma! Vespa did NOT like the fact that Jake ran into the room and jumped on her face and pounced on her from the left, knocking her down. But once Jake's excitement subsided and Vespa could warm up to him on her terms (slowly and with great caution), things went smoothly. The rest of her stay (she was there from about 8:15 until 2:30) went very well, and we could even check in on her from our home computer via their conveniently-placed web cam in their "Small Dog Indoor" view. I took a couple still views so you could see her "rollin' and patrollin' " activities!

There were actually up to 12-15 small-medium sized dogs in this group, but when I sat to take these still frames, many of them were out for their hour-long lunch breaks. She looks like she might be a little lonely, but I assure you, there was plenty of pup romping and trotting all morning long! And, yes, from what I could tell, she was the itty-bittiest of them all and she held her own quite well with no aggressive behavior whatsoever! Also, when I took these four frames within about a minute of each other, their pupervisors were either in the outdoor area (where the bright light is coming from in the very foreground) or bringing/taking a dog to/from a kennel for lunchtime. They are 100% supervised all day long, which is a total relief in case something does come up.

Here are Vespa's notes about her first day at Camp Bow Wow from the owner herself!


Vespa came in the door, immediately drank about 10 gallons of water, ate a few bites of food, and hasn't lifted her head off the sofa cushion since. This was definitely a great day of playful exercise and fun interaction!

Shopping for Mom, and MORE VERY BIG LEMONS!

I've officially had my very first shopping experience on the quick-growing Etsy site. I've clicked over to see a few things that were linked in a blog or two that I follow, but this was my first intentional "shopping trip" there. I'm really impressed with all the creative crafters out there! Etsy is an online showcase of handmade and reclaimed products, and it's really refreshing to see vintage and handmade things only. What pretty and unusual finds I made! I kept to a tight, pre-travel-to-Greece budget of $20 and purchased the perfect gifts for two special moms. And I actually only spent $18.50 total. UNDER $20??? For TWO gifts??? And free shipping??? Wow, Trisha!

I know, huh? {Buffs fingernails and feels superior to you for a brief second.}

I held back on buying myself a "new" train case. (I'm pretty sure this particular piece of luggage is one of my "I'll have a whole collection of these someday" obsessions.) And, I held back on buying a pretty pink hand-dyed silk yarn. Mommies only tonight. Be looking in your mailboxes within the next 3-7 days, L and V!!!

Carlton brought home "a whole bag or something" of lemons this afternoon. I'm so pleased, all I can do is look at them in their plastic "Thank You" bag and smile. I took a picture with one in my hand this time, so you could gague how gigantic these fruits really are.



What to bake next? Lemon Scones with some sort of vanilla glaze? (I don't have a recipe for the glaze, but it sure sounds good.) Cookies? (You know your mouth is watering over these.) Hmm....

TALES OF A VERY BIG LEMON!

There are TONS of citrus trees around us here in the desert, believe it or not. In fact, they flourish. There is so much fruit in abundance that it is neglected in the yards of Arizonites (?). The branches of their trees heave over the cinder brick walls of each house and spill the citrus fruits onto the sidewalks and streets everywhere you go. (Shhh. Our next-yard neighbor has a couple of orange trees in his yard, and I've gone so far as to tote the stepstool over to the wall and reeeeeeeeach to try and get a few for myself. But, alas, my plan failed me and I couldn't actually reach any for my sneaky, greedy little self.)

Today one of Carlton's fellow work colleagues, Bret, brought in a bunch of lemons from a tree at his home.

"They blew off his tree or somethin', so he brought them to work."
"Why did you only bring me one? This is so awesome!" I proclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Because Geoff took the rest of them in a bag."
Oh, of course. Geoff brought a bag to the whole Very Big Lemon situation. Geoff with his marinades for mouth-watering kabobs and his delicious strawberry margaritas and his lack of Superbowl-watching skills. I wonder what he will do with the gigantic things?


Can you believe the size of the lemons that grew on this guy's tree? In his own yard? At his own house? I took a picture of a lemon I paid $0.50 for at my Fresh & Easy to compare their sizes. And, yes, my paid-for lemon is the same size as any regular store-bought lemon--about the size of your fist. It's really quite amazing!

First and foremost, I must give credit of my kitchen cooking cleanliness to one of Carlton's second cousins, or great-aunts... I think. Debbie Carlton Chastain sewed this beautiful apron just for me as a wedding gift. It's one of my most cherished wedding gifts, and I have it permanently hanging in the kitchen so I can at least look at it. But tonight, with an apparent whirlwind of baking ahead of me, I found it necessary to tie it on tight.


So once Carlton presented me with the gigantic lemon, I decided we were using it ASAP. I cooked my Shredded Chicken Fajita Soft Tacos, which use a bit of lemon juice in them to make the veggies tangy. Then the rest of the lemon was reserved for a recipe I briefly mentioned here before, and haven't gotten out of my mind since--the Creamy Lemon Squares!

Oh, people, this recipe was so much fun to make! However, I totally recommend NOT making this unless you have a little food processor. The cracker crust is totally hard to crunch up into dusty little particles without that nifty machine. I think I spent a really good 15 minutes crunching everything up as tiny-tiny as I possibly could. Other than that, the recipe was fun! I stuck to her recipe exactly, except for the cookie crust.

Creamy Lemon Squares

20 Vanilla Wafers finely crushed (I used Ginger Snaps instead, because really, who doesn't love the flavors of ginger and lemon together? Plus, they were half the cost.)
1/2 all purpose flour
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 cold butter
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8" square cooking dish with foil, folding the foil up over the edges. Mix cooking crumbs, 1/2 c flour, and brown sugar until crumbly--if you squeeze it together, it will stick to itself but break apart easily. Press onto the bottom of the prepared cooking dish. To get an overall evenly-thick crust, use the bottom of a drinking glass to press it into place.

In mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs and 2 tbsp flour. Mix well. Blend in 1 tsp lemon zest, lemon juice, and baking powder. Pour over the crust.

Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the center is set. Cool on the counter until room temperature. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

Yes, I prepare my ingredients in those little ramekins that come with the Pyrex set, because I think it's fun. The prep work is just as much fun as the mixing!

Squish it in real good.

Lemony sugary cheesy filling prep!

Mix it up nice and smooth.

Pour it!

Carlton is taking this to work tomorrow morning to share with his coworkers, as a "thank you for the gigantic lemon" gesture. Plus, all I wanted was to taste it, and if I keep this all for myself I'll definitely turn yellow and explode.

Muddy nose pup

Vespa is hard at work again, digging tiny little holes around our back yard in the dirt. This afternoon, I noticed that Vespa had been missing, and I heard a little bit of scratching on the concrete of our back patio. I had to go see what was going on, and this is what I found:

Diggin', diggin', diggin' a hole (I hired Snoopy as Grounds Crew for cleanup later):

Comin' up for a breath... and I think I found something:

A muddy nose is sooooooo worth my buried treasure!

No, Momma, you can't see what I got. It's mine!

Ok, fine. It's an awesome buried stick. And I'm gonna chew it dead!
Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom....
I smile for the camera now so you'll leave me alone.