Decorating

It's not much, but I finally have something hanging on the walls downstairs.  It only took 2 1/2 years!  I'm so excited that one item on the wall is my PSU quilt.  I treasure this quilt, since it was my first fully hand-quilted item that was given to Hubby while we were first dating.  It's certainly not a rugged quilt and not one I ever really intended to use as a quilt.  I love walking in from the garage to see that quilt hanging
up everyday!

I also got around to framing and hanging several French photos that I bought Hubby for his birthday last year!  Fortunately, I found these gifts a few months ago.  Unfortunately, I haven't found the photo from Ratatouille that I bought him two years ago.  I guess that means I will have to re-order it!  I hate procrastinating...

Quiet

I hate to leave my blog quiet for so long.  But, I must admit that there is very little for me to share with you during this time of the year.  Work has been very busy,  I'm still waiting for spring to start on my garden, and I'm currently working on a project that I won't be able to share with you until it's finished and gifted to a special someone. Perhaps I'll stop back sometime this weekend!

Projects

I've been incredibly busy with work and my creative juices have, unfortunately, been placed on the back burner for quite some time.  My goal this year is to take control of my time and ensure that I have clear divisions between work and play.  With that being said, I'm taking back my weekends.

This past weekend Alice came over to restart her quilting project so that she can stick to her New Year's goal of completing it this year.  I pulled out some overdue sewing projects.  One of which was Mom H's wall hanging that I gave her at Christmas, 2011.  Technically it just needed a backing to hang it, but instead, I was inspired to quilt it.  And, thankfully, it was small enough that I completed it this weekend.  It looks so much better!

I also had an opportunity to update Remy's invisible fence collar with a brand new, handmade fabric collar.  I wasn't a fan of his bright red nylon collar and nothing online struck me.  It was an easy project and I finished it within a few hours.

I also spent many hours sorting all of my photos from 2008-2012.  This included both digital file and prints.  What a project!  It's not complete, but I feel in control, at least.  I hope to get back to my scrapbooks from 2009-2011.

Finally, I organized all my scrap fabric by color and placed them in clear bins.  This is one of the final steps to reorganizing my craft closet.  There is so much fabric that I am inspired to create several, easy lap quilts.  Inspired!

Pasta

Yesterday, Hubby and I had a date that involved making fresh pasta.  It was our first experience since purchasing the KitchenAid pasta maker attachment.  We weren't quite sure how the dough was supposed to look or feel, and we were quite concerned with how dry it was.

We scrapped the first batch thinking I accidentally measured the flour incorrectly.  The second time around was not any better, but we were out of flour for a third batch.  We searched online to find out the "secret" that we were missing and I drove to the store for more flour.  As we went to throw out batch number two, we both decided to give it a try.  Turns out, it was just fine!

Running the dough through the pasta maker was such fun.  Hubby and I both loved it and although we don't have many cooked meals, I think there will be a lot more fresh pasta on our dinner plates when we do!!