Happy Halloween

Hi! I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween ^____^

Halloween mishaps!!

What a night!! I got my Halloween goodies baked....except for the sugar cookies (I didn't have time!!). Then all sorts of mishaps occurred while trying to assemble everything!!

I baked my brownies in a 13 x 9 inch pan with the intention of cutting them into various Halloween shapes with some cookie cutters I bought from Target. Turns out they were too big and I only got 10 brownies out of that pan!!!! And of course, I didn't have another box of brownie mix!! O_o"


A few are stacked on top of one another! Aren't they cute, though? Despite my big cookie cutter mishap!

I was ever so thankful that I still had my cupcakes to decorate since the box said it would make 24 cupcakes if 2/3 full....LOL so I got 22 :)


Adorable little spider toothpick decorations!!!

Very cute, don't you think? Yes, I thought so too until I tried to put the top tray over the bottom one on my Chefmate cupcake carrier and they got in the way!!!


My spider-less cupcakes :*(

I bought the Chefmate cupcake carrier earlier this evening at Target because I had nothing to carry them in and I was getting tired of the old plate covered with foil method!!! I like my carrier, but I wish it had more head room.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a fun time getting ready for Halloween tomorrow :)

Happy Stitching/Baking :)

Halloween :)

Tomorrow's Halloween!!! Woohoo :)

Tonight I will be busy baking up a storm. As I mentioned earlier, my sister and her friend are hosting a Halloween party so I'm baking some yummies for it :) It will be a hectic night with cupcakes, sugar cookies, and brownies to make. Jeez!! LOL This is when I need a kitchen like Paula Deen's with two ovens!!!



Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!!! Happy stitching :)

Elements update, 50% finished!!

I promised you I would get my Eau block finished by today!! I just stitched the last rows of the the water carrier :)


Sorry about the dark bit on the linen! I had a damp cloth over it while I was ironing it and it hasn't dried yet ^-^"



Close-up of the Eau block!

I think tomorrow I will start the Feu block :) I'm feeling optimistic about possibly finishing this sampler by the end of the year! I just have to keep working on it. I love stitching on the small designs, the larger ones bog me down a bit! It's all good though :)

In other news, I found a neat Jane Austen blog, which is a sister site to Jane Austen's World. The same author writes another blog called Jane Austen Today! I just happened to see it on her sidebar today! I'm so clueless sometimes. I read her blog and didn't notice the sidebar extras?!? Jeez! I can't wait to read through her sister blog. It discusses movie versions of Austen's books and contemporary authors who have started an 'Austen' revolution by writing 'sequels' to the original books and characters. It is quite neat!

Happy Stitching everyone :)

P.S. Yes, Yuko! The Bienvenue design would make a lovely baby gift!! It's a cute design! I stitched it because I love bunnies ^___^

A welcome from two generations :)

I just remembered yesterday that I promised to take a picture of my aunt's 'Welcome' sign in my grandmother's foyer! I'm so forgetful sometimes O_o"


So pretty!!

My aunt cross stitched this welcome sign in the 1980s, possibly earlier. I quite like it, especially the fabric border! My modern version of a welcome sign is Bienvenue and the French bunnies :) I haven't decided how to frame my stitched piece yet :*(



Who would have thought that as a child I would wander pass the welcome sign for years and later take up cross stitching as an adult?!?!

In other news, I went by our local Fresh Market and instantly met a temptation in the form of gingerbread goodness!!


They were right by the checkout lanes too!!!

These yummy chocolate covered gingerbread cookies come out during the fall....and I can never resist them!! (Sigh)

Happy stitching everyone! Hopefully I can get my Eau block finished on the Elements sampler and have some pics tomorrow :)

Long live the Fall season :)

A nip in the air, leaves changing colors, pumpkin patches, and Halloween bliss!! I never want the Fall to end!

But it's Fall?!

Don't you just wish retail stores wouldn't rush us into the next holiday before the last one is finished?! I realize that Halloween is next week, but my local stores have already started to put Christmas items out for sale?!

(Sigh) It makes me miss England. You weren't rushed into a holiday. Halloween wasn't a big deal; a small section of candy at Tesco and a few costumes at Woolworth's, but otherwise it wasn't the big retail opportunity that the U.S. makes it out to be. Christmas, however, was a big deal in the stores, but you didn't have the rush of customers like in the U.S. Maybe it had something to do with living in a small town like Egham where you just had the High Street shops. The only time I saw people frantically out buying presents was in the nearby town of Staines at their outdoor shopping mall or in London if I dared to brave the crowds of Oxford Street!! (Believe me, it isn't a good idea during the holiday season!!)

Despite my complaints about seeing Christmas displays up before Thanksgiving has come and gone, I look forward every holiday to magazines that have recipes or gift ideas for that season's holiday.



I bought these two magazines recently while I was at my local bookstore and Target. For some reason, I can't resist Martha Stewart special edition magazines during the holidays! They draw me to the magazine section every time even if I'm a couple of feet away...I see Martha Stewart goodness on the cover and I pick one up!!

The magazine Victoria started up either late last year or earlier this year, I don't remember, but I do like to flick through the magazine when it comes out to see if they have any good ideas! I bought this issue of Victoria because it had some nice cookie recipes in the back :) Every year, my family bakes a whole bunch of different cookies and other yummies and pack them in Christmas tins. We send them out to our relatives in Michigan. Needless to say, we are always on the hunt for new cookie recipes to try ^___^

So in my denial of the changing holidays, I bought brownie mix, sugar cookie dough, and cupcake mix today so I can bake goodies for my sister and her friend's Halloween party on Friday!!! Take that evil retailers!!! Mwahahaha!!! ^___^

Have a great weekend!

Antiques yet again!

It's that time of the month again for the antique show at our local Shriner's temple and you know I would be there in search of more brooches!!

I was actually quite good this time. I only bought a few brooches from one of my favorite vendors since she had a booth set up this month. Only 2 brooches for myself, one for my aunt, and another is a Christmas present :)

Adorable, don't you think? I've been on the hunt for a cute dog pin as a Christmas gift, but hadn't seen any that caught my eye. I found this one today at the antique show. He has a little frown on his face and patches of mud on his fur. He reminds me of our dog, Sam, who is a crazy chocolate lab puppy! He loves to dig and get dirty after we have given him a bath?! I absolutely love this pin!! Hopefully, the recipient thinks so as well ^-^"

When I purchased this brooch from the vendor she said it was one of her favorite finds. I told her that I had been eyeing it since the August show, but didn't buy it at the time. I promised myself if it was still available I would purchase it :) It is an older brooch with a Oriental dragon above a purple stone. The brooch has a C-clasp. I will not say that the pin is Victorian in date, but most likely a turn of the century brooch.


Cross-stitch stick pins?!?!?!?! WOW!!!!

I know all my fellow cross stitching readers will like these pins. The vendor had about three plastic tubs full of brooches that she didn't have out on display. I asked if I could rummage through them and found these two pins!!

A close-up of the yellow flower design. I want to say that both pins are stitched on 18 ct Aida fabric over one, but I'm still learning the look of various count fabrics so I'm not entirely sure! If anyone can tell me by looking, I would love to know what count the fabric is!! I would have never thought that cross stitch could be used as jewelry pieces. Just goes to show that you learn new things everyday ^__^

Another close-up, this time of the red flower with petals. Unlike the yellow flower pin, this one seems to have some browning on the fabric, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to purchase these unique pins. It was only $10 for the pair. As soon as I got home, I went over to my aunt's house and showed them to her. I let her pick one for herself since she loves to craft as much as I do. She picked the yellow flower pin :)

In other news, I have a wedding to attend this afternoon. One of my aunt's friends from work is getting married so we are driving across the bay to attend. It should be lovely considering we have beautiful blue skies for the first time in a couple of days. My aunt's friend is a crafter as well. Whenever I go to visit my aunt at her workplace, this lady will be either knitting, crocheting, beading, or cross-stitching. I only wish I could be as talented!

Happy stitching!! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

P.S. Many hugs and love going out to my blog friend Yuko!!

North and South

North and South is perhaps one of my all-time favorite historical period dramas produced by BBC films. Oddly enough, the film came to my attention while I was in England. I was bored one night and ran across a video on Youtube, which featured clips of North and South with John Groban’s song ‘Remember When It Rained’ playing in the background. I had to wait half a year until I returned to the U.S. to see the film. I received the dvd as present for Christmas from my mom, who despite her half-hearted complaints, loves period drama films as much as I do.

The story follows the lives of Margaret Hale (one of the novel’s protagonists) and her family as they move from their small southern town in Helstone to the industrial city of Milton in northern England. Her father resigns from his duties as a clergyman because of lingering doubts with himself and the church. His decision to uproot his family and move to the entirely different city of Milton was motivated partly by his friend’s opinions of the city and the fact that Mr. Hale could seek employment as a tutor to wealthy, working class men who wanted to continue with their education.

Whilst there, the Hales have to come to terms with the fact that life in Milton is drastically different from what they had seen in Helstone. While the sorrows of the working class in Helstone were mainly concerned with farming and the land, Milton’s working class dealt with different issues and their working conditions, arguably, were even worse. The lower classes took up various types of employment in the city’s main industry, cotton mills. The hours were long and the wages had been frozen for a couple of years due to the costs of running the mills. The work itself could be potentially dangerous depending on what area of the mill you were assigned to work in. Everyone took a terrible risk by working in the mills because of the ‘fluff,’ i.e. strands of cotton that flew up in the air from the looms and wheels. When ingested, the fluff would settle on the lungs and cause the person to have fits of coughing and difficulty breathing.

Margaret Hale befriends several members of the working class including Bessy Higgins and her father. Bessy had worked in the mills since she was a child and contracted the illness attributed to swallowing fluff. Her father works hard to support his two daughters since their mother had passed away.

Mr. Hale and his family, while appalled by the poverty around them, try their best to provide food and money to poor families in the community when they can afford to do so. In order to provide for his own family, Mr. Hale tutors men in the city who wish to continue their education after having to give up their studies to pursue careers as ‘masters’ or owners of the mills. Mr. Hale is introduced to Mr. John Thornton, the master of Millborough Mills and the novel’s second protagonist, by their mutual friend, Mr. Bell.

Despite the differences in upbringing, temperament, opinions, and social standing, Margaret and Mr. Thornton begin to fall in love and eventually through many obstacles acknowledge one another’s feelings.

After watching the film version with Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage playing the lead characters, I immediately ran to my local bookstore to purchase the book version by Elizabeth Gaskell only to find that no one had the book in stock. As typical of classics, you either find them with ease because high schools or colleges are reading them or not at all because bookstores (sadly) do not carry every classic title in their inventory.

I checked by local libraries including my university’s library and no one seemed to have the book. I did find some of Gaskell’s other books like Mary Barton, Cranford, and Wives and Daughters, but not the one book I was hoping to read! In the end I ordered my copy from Amazon and set out to read it when it finally came in the mail. Of course, I got sidetracked with life’s everyday issues and didn’t get back to the book until a month later, but at least I finished reading it eventually!

I found the endings to the film and the book to be perfect. While noticeably the film version ending showed the physical side of the characters’ passion more so than the book, it still captured the idea that they still had more to overcome to be together, especially with their families. The end of the book while giving a satisfactory ending to the main character’s romance also described the two families’ doubts of a marriage between two people of very different social classes:

‘ – but what will she say?’
‘I can guess. Her first exclamation will be, “That man!”’
‘Hush!’ said Margaret, ‘or I shall try and show you your’s mothers indignant tones as she says, “That woman!”’
North and South, Oxford World Classic edition, p. 436

My favorite lines:

From the book:

‘Oh, Mr. Thornton, I am not good enough!’
‘Not good enough! Don’t mock my own deep feelings of unworthiness.’ p. 436

(Mr. Thornton shows Margaret some roses he picked from Helstone)
‘I wanted to see the place where Margaret grew to what she is, even at the worst time of all, when I had no hope of ever calling her mine.’


From the film:

Margaret: “I believe I’ve seen hell and it’s white, snow white.”

I felt this was a poignant statement on the working conditions of factories during the Victorian period. While the factories provided citizens with the opportunity to gain employment and wages to provide for their families, it came with a heavy price of long hours, sometimes low wages, and dangerous working conditions.
Overall, the film version follows the original book quite well. I highly recommend the book to anyone who loves a good classic with social tensions between the classes and a bit of romance. If you’ve read North and South, you would probably like another Victorian classic in the same vein, David Copperfield (yet another one of my faves)!! It calls for a future post so I will not ramble about it this time!

Happy reading or stitching!!

P.S. Thanks, Snowbird, for the spell check :) I don't always catch my mistakes ^___^

Elements update

I've been working this week on my WIP Elements sampler since I've finished with the French bunny pattern.



Once I finish the lady with the white pitcher, I'll be finished with the Eau section of this sampler and 50% done. I think I will start the Fire section of the sampler next :)

Happy Stitching!