I walked into Whole Foods on Saturday and there they were.  Again.  Peonies in December.  Of course, I bought them.  This time, however, my excuse is that I am feeling very festive.  That is something to celebrate.

What is making you feel festive today? 

So, the packing list is up on the Cookie website.  You can find it there.  Or you can find it over with the tutorials and such.  Here.  It should print out on a normal piece of computer paper with some space at the bottom for you to customize it as needed.  Remember, your kids don't care if you can't draw.  Just go for it.

I hope this makes your holiday travel easier.  I'm psyched to have one to print out for myself.  Yay!  Back to my weekend.... 

When I was in New York last month, I stopped at Purl and drooled over all the gorgeous yarns.  I was having a hard time focusing, there was so much goodness in one store.  Kristin, who was with me, has way more restraint than I do.  (I know - I never told you all about that bloggy meet up.  Bad me.  It has nothing to do with Kristin - she's completelycharming, as you would imagine.  And we had such a nice day together, shopping all over NYC.)  I don't think she bought a thing because she wants to finish her sweater first.  Oh no, not me.  I bought some Koigu just because it is pretty.  Sigh.

When I got home, I came to the realization that I love sock yarn.  Love it.  But, um, I don't really like knitting socks.  Not a bit.   Then I remembered Maritza made a lovely cowl out of sock yarn, so I looked for her post and copied her.

I wore my cowl today and I adore it.  In fact, I already have another one on the needles.  ;)  If you want specifics, go check out Maritza's post.  She gives you all the details.  I used about 1 1/2 skeins of my yarn.  I don't know which color it is - I lost the tag.  If I had to guess, I'd go with 610 (113).

I am gearing up for a cold, but festive weekend.  I've been slowly working on decorating the house for the holidays and I am feeling so much more festive than I did last year.  I changed the way I am doing  some things and I think that is helping.  I'll share some more thoughts next week.  And if I have seemed absent on your blogs, it's because I haven't been reading many recently.  I plan on doing some catch up reading in the slow moments this weekend.  That's it for now - I have a date to get ready for!  Happy Friday, everyone.

Jane came up with the idea for her birthday shirt.  I think we were discussing how this year would be her last year in single digits when she piped up with, "Not in Roman Numerals!"

So...here it is.  IX.  Double digits this year and next year, a single X.

I made it while she was sleeping, the night before her big day.  She loves it - thank goodness.  I just never know with her.

I have to tell you all about the cake, too.  Jane loves peanut butter.  Loves it.  She requested a peanut butter cake.  I thought about making her this cake from Smitten Kitchen, but thought it would be too rich for her tastes.  She also doesn't like cream cheese frosting (crazy, I know!).  We went back to the old standby of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting with some Reese's on top.  Then, Emily gave me the great idea of putting a layer of Ina's Peanut Butter Frosting (scroll down) in between the chocolate layers.  It was genius!  So so good.  Try it.  You won't be sorry.

Off to string lights on the tree and get out the nutcrackers.  Happy Thursday everyone!

So here I am, nine years of motherhood behind me.  At times, I can hardly believe it and then in some moments, I feel as if it has always been this way.

Sweet Jane.  Have I said that every year?  If I didn't, I should have because it is true.  This girl is sweet to the core.  She always has been and will continue to be, I am sure.  Some things about Jane at age nine:

She is loving and kind.
She is friendly and polite.
She is a voracious reader, or in her words, she "gobbles up books".  Right now it is all Harry Potter, all the time.  She finished the final book on Thanksgiving Day and right away started reading the first one again.
If I were to tell her that she could go to Hogwart's, she'd be packing a bag.
She is an artist and really likes fashion.
She has her very own style - some of it good, some of it bad, some of it brilliant.
She won't wear skirts.
She really dislikes pink.
Red is her favorite color.
She likes to swim, play volleyball and ride her bike.
Social studies and science are her favorite subjects.
She is 1/2" taller than Kate.
She never puts away her laundry and her room is mostly a mess.
When she grows up, she wants to be an artist.
She might even go to fashion school.
She is dramatic - very, very dramatic.
She is "mostly a vegetarian" (her words).
Pizza is her favorite food.

Happy Birthday Jane!  I am so lucky to be your mom.  I love you lots!