Saturday night and I ain't got nobody

On Saturday night Les went to a UFC event so I decided to find myself a project.  From midnight to 3:00am I was making this sock monkey.  Gus's latest obsession has been monkeys so I thought he'd enjoy it.  When Gus woke up Sunday morning (at 5:00am - great night sleep) the monkey was sitting in his bed - he adopted it immediately.  He gave it lots of kisses that first couple hours.  He decided to name the monkey - "two" (or is it too, or to?)

This is the 2nd sock animal I've made.  First was the horse Les name gluestick; I made him while I was pregnant.  I'm already kind of anxious to make more - an elephant perhaps or a giraffe?

HGTV

I watched Design Star on HGTV last season and I voted for the cute and sassy Kim Myles. And I know my vote counted because she won. I quite enjoy her show Myles of Style. I haven't loved everything she's done but she has a very accessible style. Here are two projects that I thought reflected some genius.

This mantle was made out of a dining table. I love this idea! I want to try it.
This second project was a family room/ media room. I love the spicy orange walls with the bold lime green. Check out the way she organized the books by color in the bottom photo.



By the way, I am really disappointed with the changes on HGTV. I'm sorry to say the designers we see don't come close to the rooms of those fabulous Canadian designers Debbie Travis for heavens sake, Sarah Richardson, My Parents House. I also loved Kenneth Brown. Where did they go?

Good Things

I really like this towel organizer I found on the Martha Stewart website. She has this amazing team of people that come up with ideas like this and then she gets the credit. This might make a cozy addition to our new remodeled guest bathroom.

Horton

On Saturday evening Les went to the Priesthood session and then to dinner with my sister's husband Mark and a co-worker. So, my sister and I decided to take the kids to see Horton Hears a Who. This was to be Gus's first ever movie in the theater and I was a little apprehensive about how he would act. (I was pretty confident considering how well he did at a Jazz game just a few weeks ago) I packed up lots of treats and I had a talk with Gus beforehand about what was going to happen... we were going to watch a "show" (his word) in a big dark room on a TV lots bigger than ours - and the movie was about a cartoon elephant. Gus loves elephants, so from that moment on, until we got to the movie, he was doing his elephant impression.

The movie was super outstanding. It is very rare that I leave a movie and think - I can't wait to buy that movie. Gus did so well that I kind of felt bad Les wasn't there to see his reaction to the new experience. At first he was a little nervous - it was loud and the screen was so big. I did put some tissue in his ears - (which he took out immediately and put in his mouth.) But, soon he was oohing and ahhing, at one moment he even stood on my lap and cheered.

Blake Family Cruise

Les and I have decided that the Blake family has waited long enough and we are finally going on a cruise! That's right - I said Family - we're taking Gus. We got what we think is a pretty sweet hook up from Les's cousin. We will depart in November for a 7 night extravaganza to the Mexican Riviera, on a boat that Les's dad already nicknamed the Tijuana Sea Witch. (We have some Grandmas & Grandpas/ babysitters coming with us - thank goodness)

Now I need some advice from all of you... has anyone been on a Norwegian Cruise? Is this a good cruiseline? Kid friendly? Non-drinker friendly? What about Mexican cruises - anyone experienced in this field?

Recipe 1.5

I have a follow-up to the blonde brownies post. These cc cookies (recipe from Les's aunt Sharon) are maybe the best homemade cookies I've ever tasted - crispy on the outside, soft inside. However, I have not yet been able to master them. For some reason mine come out too flat. Nevertheless, here is the recipe if you'd like to see if you can do a better job than me. And, if you find the answer to my problem please tell.

Cream together:
1 cup shortening (those crisco shortening sticks work really well)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
Mix in:
1 t vanilla
1 t soda
1 cup flour
Then add:
1-2 1/2 cups flour (depending on how much moisture is in the air - this is my problem!)
3/4 t salt

Mix together and add 6 ozs chocolate chips
Bake at 350 for about 13 minutes.

Boops

Gus in Boots (which he calls boops - a little too close to something else that he shouldn't be saying at this age)