Who-o-o do you love?

Owlie Hat

A little guy for a new little guy expected in September...

but the shower is soon,

and the cool weather will be upon us before we know it!

 Bernat Alpaca Yarn.

Sky, Natural, Wheat, Charcoal

A pattern purchased from the "Easy Makes Me Happy" blog.

If you have not stumbled across this blog it is definitely worth checking out.

For a girly version of the owl hat made last winter click here.

The pattern includes a great tutorial on this feather stitch...

Feathers of a bird, flock together.

Oops, is it the other way around? ;-)

Put them all together and we have:

Owlie!

Who-o-o do YOU love???

Troll Stua aka Shed

There's been an "easy to procrastinate" project
 in the works since Spring 2011:
The Shed (aka Troll Stua) Clean-Up

It started with the revamping of a sun faded sign:

Then continued to the cleaning out of the shed itself:

(Hey, it's even been painted!)

BEFORE                                              AFTER

More "AFTERS":

This one is my favorite:

Yard Life=fertilizers, seeds etc.

Yard Death=weed killers, snail bait etc.

I dream of having the perfect little organizing thing going on...you know, with all the matching containers and labels, like the cover of a organizing publication....

 I'm afraid; however, that I would never get much done and I do not like to run to the store to  purchase anything, let alone take the time to do so; hence, I have accepted that this may very well be the best it may ever get. 

I'm getting closer to being O.K. with that. ;-)

In addition to the revamped sign and some dejunking, organizing and labeling, the outside received some sprucing up, as well.

(What a difference a season makes; the first photo was taken in early Spring and the second photo was taken yesterday, in early Summer. It's no wonder Summer is so well-loved around here.)

BEFORE                                                                           AFTER

Have a Happy Summery Day!

Shortbread Cookie Monster

More Cookies!!!
At it again with a couple more shortbread variations...

Lemon Poppyseed
and
Chocolate Dipped Orange
(with real orange zest)


but this time for a cause...
The NVO was out of town visiting a couple of the kiddos for Father's Day and he arrived home to a belated Father's Day treat of his favorite home baked cookies:

Shortbread, Snickerdoodles and Berlinerkranser.
Recipes found here, here, and here, respectively.

Welcome Home, NVO!!!
We missed you!

Employment Comfort

Sometimes I am fortunate enough to work from home...

sometimes I'm not. 

I like to be home.

So the decision was made to make work seem more like home

 in an effort to confuse my brain as to where I might be:

This helps:

A cushion slip cover for my white IKEA chair:

Source

Oh no! Now the IKEA obsession reaches out beyond the home into the workplace.

Po' co-workers.

The NVO was so kind as to let me take the rosemaled clock he made from this post, to work, and that's where I received the inspiration for the color scheme.

Po' NVO.

You can find step-by-step photo directions to make something similar to this here 

at the delightful Karin aan de haak blog. It's in Dutch but with the combination of translator and the photos it's easy to follow. 

This photo is from the back side showing the "lip" that fits over the cushion.

Do you like dealing with this part as much as I do?

Why do I forget to crochet the ends in as I go?

I suppose I get too excited and something shuts down in my brain. :-)

And get this:

My boss lady let me choose the paint color for the former closet converted into my office.

 Benjamin Moore "White Satin" was the color, of course.

(Same as the lighter Kosestua paint color)

I don't even know I am at work anymore...

better not wear pj's by accident.

Shortbread Flair

A New Shortbread Combination

 Yup, you saw it correctly...

rosemary and sea salt...

and boy, is it ever a taste sensation!

The passion for the shortbread continues, as well as, the passion for new combinations.

This one might be my favorite so far.

For additional variations and my father's famous shortbread recipe and story click here.

Then there's the peppermint and chocolate shortbread cookie here.

Have a Passionately Scrumptious Day!!!

Pennies and Lace by Mrs. M

I have the sweetest blogging friend; 

her name is Mrs. Micawber aka Sue and you can find her here.

She painstakingly publishes the most detailed and easy to follow tutorials on her blog.

This time she has really outdone herself with a C.A.L. of sorts,

(part 1 starts here with links for the other parts here too.) 

and here it is a'la Astri:

And get this: it's now the back of the

"Brød Oppvarming Klut"

pillow from this post:

It started with "pennies":

Then continued with "lace":

Then a little "trim" around the edges:

Put it all together:

Turn the pillow over:

Sew it on:

And there you have it; 

the mighty reversible (according to the mood)

 kitchen sofa pillow with

"Pennies and Lace"

and, by golly, I love it!

Thank you, Sue!!!