Okay...So we spent the weekend at the beach and I did a lot of knitting -- on the road and at the coast. I finished my first adult hat. When I started I originally intended it to be for my son and since I was using smaller needles than the pattern called for and my son has a big head I added some extra stitches. Well, I added too many and it's way, way, way too big for him! It fits me great and I had fun making it.
I've decided that I absolutely LOVE Halloween. Having a child has totally brought it out in me. I snagged a little magazine at work yesterday that had a ton of recipes and decorating ideas. I figured I'd stow it away for a few years from now and break it out for some fun with Simon. Being that Simon isn't even six months old, we didn't really do anything this year. Well, I made pumpkin pie -- a tradition I intend to keep -- and I handed out candy to the two kids that happened to come by. I also dressed Simon up and took some adorable pics of him in his Bobcat outfit. Here's a few of them that I edited with picnik.
So the "Lol Cats" website inspired me for this. I have a whole album of them on my facebook page and clearly have far to much fun coming up with my captions. The sooner Simon accepts the fact that his mommy is a huge dork the happier he will be... Enjoy!
My husband came across the bog Ikea Hacker and found a lot of really interesting things. It got us thinking of things that we could "hack." I was inspired for the candle I "hacked" below by something I saw on the site. Here's how I did it...
This is what you need...
...A pillar candle, some tea lights, and one of those rectangular vases. All are found in the "home decor" section.
I decided that I wanted my candle "layered" with different shades of the same color. But you could totally do it all one color. That's what Tony thought I was going to do. Anyway...
Next, take your tea lights -- I started with the light red ones -- and cut them in half to get them out of their holder and easily get the wick out. I used 4 of them for each layer. After getting them out, I chopped them into small chunks and put it all in the microwave to melt. The first layers, I melted directly in the vase but subsequent ones I used a microwave safe bowl and just poured the wax into the vase
Anyone who knows me KNOWS that I'm no Suzy-homemaker. My house is often in disarray and always has been. (I'm striving to clean, purge, and re-organize. Really, I am!) But for once...I'm proud to say that I have a cleaning tip! And one that I came up with!
Powell's City of Books is my absolute favorite place in Portland. I'd been having a hard time tracking down a copy of our next book club book -- Girl of the Limberlost -- so I got to make a trip downtown to visit Powell's. Plus, I've been really excited to take Simon with me. So what better day than Thursday (or "Mommy Day" as I like to call it) to do it? And of course I had to document this monumental occasion!
Simon was so anxious to leave...
And he was the hit of the trainride down! He just kept making this low "uuuuhhhh" noise. I think he liked how the vibrations make his voice sound. He does it in the car too.
Once we arrived we made our way to the children's section. 
Might I say that Powell's is kind of a pain to navigate with a stroller. There's just so many stairs that the only way you can get around is to take the elevator and the elevators are so slow there! But it's really a moot point because, let's face it, YOU'RE AT POWELL'S!!!!
By the time we left, Simon was pretty tired out...
Overall it was a successful trip! I stayed within my budget and got a a few books for Simon, a few books for me, and found a new author for Tony. Here's the haul:
And I finally got one of these too...
