Napkins!

I had a silly amount of extra fabric hanging around, taking up space, and generally not being useful. Inspired by this Black Apple post, I decided to make some cloth napkins for our home. I used what I had, but I found that fat quarters were the perfect size for producing 4 small, fold-over-once napkins.
I started by cutting the fabric to the general size I wanted and then trimming the edges with pinking shears. Then I folded the edges over, ironed them flat and hemmed them up, leaving the pinked (?) edges visible.

 I wasn't very selective about the fabric I chose, since I was trying to put some of the extra stuff to use, so we ended up with a variety of colors and patterns...even a few Dora the Explorer that I had left over from a Christmas stocking I made a few years ago! My hemming and cutting wasn't very precise either, but I figure it doesn't matter that much to us, as long as they get the job done.

Engine House 9

Fig and I stopped by the Tacoma Farmers Market this evening, after he picked me up from work, and decided to grab some nibbles at Engine House 9. Its a restaurant/bar/brew pub in what used to be a fire engine house (duh). Great atmosphere, great service, and in a nice location, right off of 6th and Pine in the heart of the 6th Ave district in Tacoma. We split the appetizer platter (yummy mac and cheese bites) and a beer sampler. I love brew pubs that serve these. Seriously, tiny glasses of beer make me unreasonably happy. If you are planning on checking it out, I recommend the Porter. Its a delicious, dark, smooth stout.

Harry Potter Giveaway on Mary Rebecca's blog!

I've been invited to partcipate in a Harry Potter giveaway over at Mary Rebecca's blog! Check it out! I've contributed a set of my small Harry Potter cards.

Now get over to Mary Rebecca's blog, check out her awesome posts, and enter the HP giveaway!

Pride and Prejudice

I am slightly ashamed to admit this, but I only recently read Pride and Prejudice. Its not that I was opposed to reading it, I just never got around to picking it up. I have friends that are positively obsessed with Ms. Austen's work and now that I have finally finished P&P I completely understand. To be fair, I did try to read P&P a few times in the past, but as Meg Ryan's character so accurately says in You've Got Mail, "I get lost in the language–words like thither, mischance, felicity..." One of my favorite movies, by the way. Fig recommended that I start out with training wheels first. So, on his suggestion I read Sorcery and Cecelia before trying Austen again. He was right, once I got used to the language and style it was so easy to pick up P&P. I still get lost in the sometimes run-on sentences, but I love her work all the same. 
Now that I have a deep love for Ms. Austen's work, especially Pride and Prejudice with the wonderful Mr. Darcy, here is small a collection of fun Austen finds from Etsy:

I just purchased this one for myself, but you can purchase a similar one here from CleverApple. Just lovely! (Photo Credit)

I own this mug, which I purchased here from Brookish. (Photo Credit)

I don't have one of these yet, but I've been thinking it might be wonderful to have one for the crisp fall weather. (Photo Credit)

This beautiful and well-crafted towel hangs in my kitchen. Brookish is a great place to find beautiful, lovingly made Jane Austen goods. (Photo Credit)

One can only hope... If I had known about this card I think I might have sent it to a dear friend who went through a terrible time in the way of love a few years ago. However, I do believe she has found her Mr. Darcy now. (Photo Credit)

Nan Lawson's work is amazing, of course, and this print is no exception. Love, love it. (Photo Credit)

Bogachiel

Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Fig and I took a drive up the 101 and ended up in the Bogachiel State Park. We camped overnight, hiked the Bogachiel trail, visited Forks, and made smores!
The weather was fine with just a light shower toward the end of our hike and a nice downpour that forced us into the tent to listen the rain patter while we played cards. We both agreed that the only thing that might have made it the night better was if we had a book on tape (or ipod with travel speaker)...Harry Potter or Jonathan Strange would have been perfect!

If you are in the area and looking for a fun, easy trail to hike, I totally recommend this one. The campsite is just a short drive across the street and 2 miles or so to the trailhead. It was mostly flat, after the steep hike down to the trail, and only a few slopes here and there. Beautiful mossy forest, a river, secret tree bridges! Just lovely, can't wait to get back there.

Baby Finds

My very dear friend is pregnant with her first child. This has prompted me to being looking closer at all of the adorable baby stuff there is out there. Here are just a few great finds from Etsy:

Business Lunch Bib: anaapple

Deer Shelf: MapleShadeKids

Bat Baby Onesie: CausticThreads

Dino Wet Bag: modmomME

Gnome Onesie: TheWishingElephant

Hedgie Booties: funkyshapes

Owl Hat: amberneecrochet