I was powerless against their typographic wiles

I logged on to Etsy just to see what was going on and I found the DoNotDestroy shop packed with vintage fun. These canisters popped up on the second page and before I had a conscious thought the four were in my shopping cart and I was entering my Paypal password. What's more fun than Helvetica canisters? Nothing! Nothing at all. I've had the accompanying "Salad" bowl for a few years now and hadn't realized I should have been hunting for this canister set. Don't tell Thomas, but the shop owner said she'll see if she can find the matching "Spaghetti" jar. HEYOOH!!

65 and sunny with a light breeze

As the East Coast hunkers down for yet another winter storm (this time with damaging amounts of ice!) let me smugly welcome you to my Southern California garden.

KAPOW! I love Pêche, the peach tree. I might have to make that photo into a poster. Next up is Fred the aloe vera.

Fred was a sad looking clearance plant at Lowes last February. Mother-in-law and I took pity on him and loaded him in the cart. Have you ever tried to lift a giant, spike-ridden aloe plant that's overgrown its pot? Not easy! That's why he has a name, because he has a mind of his own. This year it looks like he's happy with his new digs, I've never seen aloe blossoms before.

This precious purple darling is called society garlic. It'll shoot up about 20 more flower clusters, it's a light addition to all the neighboring succulents.

And then for comedy relief... here's Henry being completely adorable. They're blurry photos but still so cute, so happy, and so free of ice!

January 2011: The good, the bad & the dramatic

We're barely into 2011 and it seems to be winding up to be a slightly ridiculous year. The first week was crazy with preparation for TNNA and the reveal of my new line of knitting patterns. GOOD! The second week was punctuated with a sad phone call about a good friend's death. BAD! The third week we decided to fly to the east coast for the funeral where it snowed 20" and we had subzero temperatures. DRAMATIC! I got to see both my sisters, my brother, my parents, meet my new nephew, and spend time with great friends. GOOD! Our flight home was packed, we had to sit separately and it was delayed by tons of snow. DRAMATIC! By week four we were both sick and exhausted. I'm welcoming February with open arms and hoping for a lot less drama and a lot more relaxing.

Sensing a trend: Sock Monkey!

Sock monkeys seem to be a big hit these days. We had three Christmas gifts in our little house alone. My friend Sue (Hi, Susan!) sent us the Fred & Friends Wine Monkey Wine Caddy. Hello, adorable! I shall call you Ferdinand.

And, my sister-in-law Emily, who writes a great blog over here, sent us a pair of these completely adorable sock monkey egg cups with matching monkey spoons from PG Tips. I kind of like eating breakfast with a cute smiling face staring back at me. I think they need names! What are some good twin names?

And Santa brought Lola got the third sock monkey present. A silly monkey creature that she cuddled to death. With her teeth.

It's great to see knitting winding it's way through popular culture. Knitting is a huge trend in my mind, but it seems all kinds of people really enjoy handknits right now. Is it that people are turning toward simpler times because of the economic downturn? Or, are knitting designers following trends more closely? Or, is knitting just that cool, come on... you know it is.

Henry, The Dog