Aaaaanyway. I was recently invited to participate in a Colcha collaboration. I am very excited about this. My group consists of 5 local crafters who are each creating crocheted panels with a common theme. These panels will be joined into a big colcha (blanket). Once our colcha is complete, we are submitting it to be included in a national exhibition!

It’s been an incredibly rewarding exercise. Lately, I’ve been working off of patterns a lot and while enjoyable, it’s not terribly creative. I took a free-form approach to my first panel and I am really happy with the way it is coming along.

I had a couple of unsuccessful starts. It took a little while to visualize how I was going to approach the first panel. I had a clear idea in my head at first, but as I moved along, it transformed several times. I finally decided to not overthink and just move along with the piece. And that wound up being the best strategy.

I’m meeting with some of the other girls today to share panels and discuss the project going forward. I hope to get some pics to share with you!

On Instagram/ Instagrid? Me too: christinaalessi.

I bought a book of knitting patterns last week and finally learned how to knit an earflap hat.

It’s pretty much my favorite thing to do lately.

(Of course I had to work in the owl stitch…)

I also FINALLY completed a sweater I started LAST YEAR.

The style came out a bit girly so I think a certain little G will be inheriting it.

and cold…

and quiet…

and still…

There’s only one place I want to be.

Hooray for flannel sheets, hot tea and snuggly dogs.

Did I really just..?

Yipes.

Anyhoo… 2011 was a pretty good year. Aside from the exciting baby news, I learned some valuable things about myself. I made some changes. I shifted some priorities. I’d like to maintain this momentum in the coming year. I want to keep evolving and learning.

Check it out. I made a helpful graphic.

So here’s to hoping that 2012 continues moving in the right direction. Hope you have a wonderful year!

I’m officially obsessed with it.

I like to dip the leaves in mayonnaise or olive oil with salt and I like to have a side dish. Usually I’ll have some soup or some pasta. Last night, I wanted to mix it up a little.

I had a little bit of quinoa and a little bit of cous cous in the cupboard so I decided to just make both and use them up. I steamed up some broccoli and went hunting for ideas.

I found this recipe for broccoli pesto on one of my favorite recipe sites, 101 Cookbooks and made a few changes according to what I had on hand.

• The first obviously was combining quinoa and cous cous (cooked separately, of course.)
• I also substituted a generous pat of butter and some milk for the heavy cream and olive oil. Truth be told… I completely forgot about the olive oil.
• Also, instead of slivered almonds, I used a mixture of nuts – cashews, almonds and pecans – that my husband roasted the other day.

It was DELICIOUS!!!

This is definitely something I’ll be making again and again.

I did not take a lot of outfit pics this past week and I’ll use the holidays as an excuse. Sounds good, right? So this is kind of a boring outfit post.

(Poochie helped me out with this one.)

I’m wearing a cozy wool tunic with a belt and leggings from Old Navy maternity. I got the tunic at Daffy’s I think.

Note the comfy boots. I will fully admit that I have never been a fan of this type of footwear. I may have even sarcastically referred to them as “fashion boots” in the past. Maybe. But I will now fully admit that they are a dream come true for my aching feets lately. I absolutely love them.

Moving right along…

Layers are my friend. I layer over tank tops pretty much every day… which is basically what I wore before I was pregnant. Today I wore a brown tank top, my favorite Gap sweater from 100 years ago, a multi-colored scarf that I’ve had forever, my Gap maternity jeans and Dankso clogs. Comfort goal achieved!

I still put up my other decorations though. These are my soft little snowman faces. They live in the bay window.

I’ve had this musical angel since I was a baby. It’s next to a picture of my little bean.

I strung up all of the thoughtful Christmas cards from friends and family.

They line our staircase with more little snowman faces.

And finally, the day before Christmas, I took some inspiration from Dottie Angel and made a little Christmas twig of my own.

I found a branch in our park.

I filled a vase with glass beads and little balls of yarn.

And hung up a few little ornaments.

I love the way it looks.

I’m pretty sure that I’ll be putting up a few of these again next year… along with our regular tree.

Baby P is 2 whole weeks old and she is GORGEOUS. Seriously, I just want to eat her up. She is like a precious little baby bird.

This handsome fella came to visit with his mama as well! Look at these cheeks!! I am actually pinching my screen right now.

It was an afternoon filled with cuteness. I’m so in love with these little critters.

I can’t wait for my little guy to meet his friends!!!

On Sunday I decided to give it a try. I feel I should point out that I have tried and failed at making bread several times. I’ve wound up with weird, lumpy, often under-cooked blobs of un-edible goop. I felt very defeated in the bread realm. So let’s celebrate my courage here. I’m really brave.

I went back and forth between Food Coma and Sophisticated Gourmet‘s versions of the recipe. Both are clear and easy to understand. I’m happy to report that I achieved bagels!!! (I made plain. Baby steps…)

Now… pretty, they are not. But they are really delicious!

A bit of butter and a tall glass of ICED TEA (not beer).

I put the rest in the freezer to enjoy for breakfast this week! Hooray for accomplishment!!