Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Read All About It!

I'm set. Completely and totally set for tomorrow. We are hosting a New Year's Eve bash, because we are now old and the only hope we have of staying awake until midnight is having a group of friends here to prod us on. (We consider staying up until midnight and eating finger foods celebratory.) Anyway, my plan for the entire day involves sitting in my chair with my feet up and tackling my brand new stack of wonderful reading material. I have it all set up and waiting for me. I'm determined to do absolutely nothing until our friends arrive. And then I'll sit around and do nothing some more while visiting with them and eating appetizers. :)

Anyhoo, the merry merries have been fantastic this year, but I kid you not I have been on the move ever since we carved the Thanksgiving turkey. I have not stopped for even a moment, and as fun as it has all been, I need to catch my breath. And a nap. So I'm planning ahead for a day of rest. And reading. And list making. It won't be a "things I will definitely make" list. It will be more of a "things I would make one day if I had a babysitter, a chef, and a laundry service" list. Or maybe a "things I adore and will try really hard to make time for" list. In any event, I have some fantastic new material to devour for list making purposes.

Originally, the forecast called for bad weather and possibly snow tomorrow. That is what prompted my day-of-reading-by-the-fireplace plan. However, I was tricked. The snow arrived yesterday, two days early, and they are now predicting beautiful weather tomorrow. I hope the weatherman stays true to form and is dead wrong about his predictions. :) I'm rooting for snow and cold, and at the very least overcast and drizzly, because that would make for a perfect reading day. My Starbucks captures the sentiment so perfectly.

Because it's Starbucks. And therefore perfect.

Okay, on to the agenda....

I plan to start with this little gem that my Dad and Suzanne gave to me. Of all the crafts I love, I've never tried my hand at cake decorating before. This book is sure to inspire, and just from giving it a brief glance, I am relieved to know that there are some ideas for less complicated cupcakes that I actually have an outside chance of mastering. Look at this cute idea for sunflower cupcakes. I know for sure I can manage getting the Oreo stuck on the top of the cupcake. With a little luck and practice, maybe I could add the petals and ladybug too. This one caught my eye because my husband's family is from Kansas, and they love Kansas sunflowers!

(Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson)

Next, I'll move on to this clothing book book that Hannah gave me. I saw it in Hobby Lobby one day and may have mentioned 643 times how cute it was in great hopes that someone would put it under the tree for me. Hannah came through. :) Every page has an adorable clothing item that is simply constructed and cleverly embellished. Then, the back of the book has full sized patterns for each item. I will have a ball sewing for Emma from this book. She would look so sweet in this precious wool poncho. And I'm a firm believer that the only thing that makes a two year old cuter is wearing a flower half the size of her head.

(Making Children's Clothes by Emma Hardy)

My Mom also gave me this cookbook that I originally read about on a blog. We found a copy one day in a quilt shop and admired it together. I love to read cookbooks from cover to cover, like a good novel. Of course, I read from the back cover to the front, because I always feel compelled to start with the desserts. I have my eye on the recipe for raspberry ripple ice cream in this book. Yum!

(Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros)

Lastly, I'm hoping that a small visitor may feel inclined to climb in my chair and share in some snuggle and reading time, so I'm including our new set of Amy Rosenthal's books on my list. These are darling. My favorite is Little Pea. Little Pea wants to eat a big bowl of his most favorite food - spinach! But before he can have his spinach, his parents make him eat five whole pieces of candy. Blech! The concept is so cute and the illustrations are charming. We're adding this set to our long and growing list of favorite stories. :)

I figure by the time my guests arrive tomorrow evening I'll have a finely honed list of cupcakes to bake, clothes to sew, and recipes to try. There's one more list I intend to contemplate. I've never done a great job of keeping track of resolutions, but I plan to be more purposeful in my goal planning for this year. I really want to give some careful thought to some new year's resolutions, and formulate a reasonable plan for some accountability. All from the comfort of my little yellow chair. :)

Mr. Winter, please blow back into town. I'm ready for you.



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