A few of my favorite things....



lazy mornings in pajamas...playing games...good old fashioned fun!



life anyone???



creativity...Leo in his rainsuit!



goodwill hunting...... couldn't pass these lovely shoes up even though they are too small for my foot!




champagne mangos...by the caseful...in a pretty purple box!





handmade love...from a daughter who was missing her mother




Hot Sauce!! on popcorn, on eggs, on anything...we start em young here!


a giveaway!!!!!! I have had 399 sales on etsy and would like to offer an incentive to the individual who helps me make it to 400! I am offering a free crazy daisy tee to the person who makes my 400th sale in my etsy shop!



and I promise a post about quilt market soon!!

Join a Quilt along....





since coming home from Quilt Market - photos and post to come this weekend....I have been dreaming of working on a quilt. Luck would have it that I came across Old Red Barn's blog and she is hosting a quilt along! I am heading down to pick some fabric from my stash and join the fun!

Looking for a sweet treat....

I made these cookies yesterday for my book group last night and there was not a crumb remaining!



Pecan Sandies

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
* 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in vanilla and salt. With mixer on low, gradually add flour, beating just until combined. Fold in pecans.
2. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, and place on two baking sheets, 2 inches apart. With the dampened bottom of a glass, lightly flatten each ball.
3. Bake until cookies are golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool. (To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 5 days.)

Makes 18

from Martha Stewart's Everday Food April 2009

Enjoy!

Fresh for Spring!

I have been busy sewing, photographing and listing some of my new spring goodies the past couple of weeks and have been neglecting my blog a bit - so sorry!

Pop over to my etsy store to see the goodies I have listed - and even more will be posted throughout the week!

Happy Mothers day!!!

I wanted to use this post to share with you the special gift I made my mom this mothers day. My mom is truly one of a kind....she had me at 19 and even though she and my father were barely more than children themselves, they did a wonderful job raising my siblings and I.

My mom has always supported my endeavors wholeheartedly...and while she can not sew a seam or knit a stitch herself she is still interested in my creations and addictions. Well...this mother's day she may have started me on a new addiction.....

my parents have moved into a new house and my dad built a beautiful buffet that separates the dining room from the living room (maybe I get some of my creativity from him !?!?)...welll, I thought it would be fun to make a table runner for my mom for the new buffet...but I have never quilted before.

So a new challenge was set - and of course I waited until yesterday to start this project....have I mentioned before I procrastinate a bit???

so...I decided to use my favorite log cabin pattern - mix it up with my mom's favorite colors - blues, greens & purple....never having quilted before I made more than a few mistakes but in the end the result was pretty cool...









the edges got a bit wonky but it lends character to the piece...ha ha ha :0

so to my one of a kind mom - a true one of a kind gift!

thanks for helping me become the mom that I am today! I LOVE you!

Trompe L'oeil....

does anyone know if that is the correct term for these delicious creations from Dirty Ass Soaps? Or can that term only be used for paintings???

I spotted these divine creations recently on another blog and was so smitten I just had to share....




can you say delish! How much fun would it be to get dirty knowing you had these soaps to get clean with!

I love their store description on etsy....

"Here at Dirty Ass Soaps, we like to make your mouth water with our kickass food soaps. We love to push the limits, and we make both realistic and graphic representations of your favorite foods. Whether you're a vegan or meat eater, you will fall in love with our creations. If you prefer to not have food soaps, don't worry! We make the best toy soaps on the market.. from soaps that look like real Legos to video game controllers like Nintendo!

All of our soaps use the highest quality ingredients. Everything we sell is also free of Sodium Laurel/Laureth Sulfate. SLS dissolves the natural oils in your skin, and essentially negates the glycerin or shea butter. It's also VERY irritating to most people, even people with not so sensitive skin. So, we just don't use it!"

pop over to the Glamorous WAHM blog for a chance to win a gift certificate to their store and get the code worth 2 free chocolate dipped strawberries with any $10 purchase!

Sis Boom..Rah Rah Rah!

no it's not a cheerleading cheer...it's a celebration of the gorgeous new fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom fame!

Jennifer sent me a delicious package of fabrics to play with last week - with the promise of some samples for quilt market in May.



I snuck a little play time over the weekend and the result was this....



and a bit of this....






I love how her fabrics mix and match across collections - it was fun exploring my stash of older sis boom to see what works with the new.

Let me know if you would like to see these in my etsy store!

Oh Happy Day.......it's another giveaway!

Aren't you glad you popped by today! I have another fantastic giveaway to offer my faithful blog readers.

Last week I was contacted by CSN Rugs to see if I would be interested in offering one lucky blog reader a FREE RUG! Yes...a free rug from CSN rugs

! They will even ship it to you free if you are in the United States or Canada.

So...what does this rug look like you ask....believe me it was a hard decision to pick just one as they have a beautiful selection on their website. I was torn between something for the kids rooms or something a bit more versatile so I settled on this beautiful accent rug



This area rug is beautifully versatile in design and color, and complements a broad range of decorating styles. This Chocolate and Blue Floral Wool Rug offers an intricate design in a vibrant chocolate brown and blue coloring.

Features:

* Hand-tufted in China of 100% better quality wool
* Vibrant and intricate floral rug
* Primarily colored chocolate brown with blue accents
* Available in the following sizes: 2' 6" x 4' 6" OR 2' x 3'

So...how do you win???

Leave a comment on this post - be sure to leave me an email address so I can put you in touch with CSN Rugs if you are the lucky winner!

Good Luck & have fun!!

Another gock's frocks giveaway!

One of my favorite ebay designers Cree from Bowznstuff contacted me last week to see if she could interview me for her new endeavor....This Is Boutique. I was very flattered that she had asked and heartily agreed...so if you have not had your fill of me yet, pop over to her new blog and check out my interview and the giveaway that she is sponsoring!

Good Luck!!

Women to Watch...

Last week I had the honor of being nominated for a column in our local paper called Women To Watch....They interviewed me and I had a little photoshoot at my house with one of the photogs from the paper - it was a lot of fun and surprising how many people commented to me afterwards that they had seen me in the paper!



Occupation: Owner and creative vision behind gock’s frocks…individually inspired designs. A handmade clothing and accessory (for children and women) business — primarily web-based at www.gocksfrocks.etsy.com but I also participate in a few regional shows.

Community activities: Co-leader of QABATS youth program at Third Presbyterian Church, leader of Discover Great New Writers/Cornell Alumni Book Group at Barnes & Noble; dining room ministry at Third Presbyterian Church; steering committee Fine Arts Festival Calkins Road Middle School; parent volunteer coordinator Calkins Road Middle School; Pittsford PTSA Room Parent; Listening Post Parent Coordinator Calkins Road Middle School.

My favorite thing to do in Rochester: I love taking my kids to some of my favorite places from my childhood in Rochester: Cobbs Hill Reservoir, Skywalk downtown, Highland Park Conservatory, Charlotte Beach and the river, Manhattan Square Park, Jines, the Little, Anderson Alley to visit the artists…

Biggest challenge I’ve overcome and how I did it: Just after we were married my husband and I moved to Poland as part of a volunteer program that he was participating in. We went after receiving only 2 ½ weeks of Polish language instruction. We continued with lessons once we were there and immersed ourselves in the culture to better understand our new home. We stayed for 3 ½ years and were fairly fluent in Polish by the time we moved back to the states. We still have our own special “Pol-english” we use at home if we don’t want the kids to understand what is being said!

One thing I have always wanted to do but never have: Oh, a long list...I would love to travel to Asia someday and I would also love to give my kids the opportunity to spend time living abroad. It gives you such a different perspective on life when it is viewed through another lens.

If I could change one thing about myself it would be: I would love to be a more patient person…both with myself and others.

The talent I would most like to have: I’ve always wished for more grace on the dance floor.

The one thing I can’t live without: Only one? How about good strong coffee, books & fabric!

The song that best describes my life: “What a Wonderful Life.”

One of my favorite sayings is: Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.

Actress I’d like to portray me in a movie about my life: Emma Thompson.

Washington DC - part 3

The Cherry Blossoms.....

dreamy, cotton candy pink
blue sky, clouds drift by
pink snow falls, dappled light glows

New goodies at Betty's Closet!

I finally got around to listing the fabulous Andalucia Ribbons I have that coordinate with Patty's gorgeous fabrics!



and I have also just listed 2 of Patty's patterns - Frida and Kyoko!

Washington DC - Part 2

Back to our tour of Washington DC....

At the Museum of the American Indian - which is an amazing piece of architecture



I turned the camera over to Eily and she got some great shots of her brothers!




Klem was having fun modeling for his sister!





where there is water....you will find Leo with a "boat"

Drumroll please...........

I am thrilled to announce the winners of my 200th post Blog Giveaway!!! My daughter and her friend had the honor of drawing my 3 lucky winners....



all of your entries were recorded and placed in a bowl...next time I will set it up a bit differently so I can make use of the random number generator - you live & you learn!

The first name was chosen to win the prize of a $50 gift certificate to my etsy store!





and then we drew the next name for a log cabin pillow cover.....





and the 3rd winner for the fat quarters...


Congratulations Ladies! I will be contacting you shortly!!!

Our Trip to Washington - Part 1

2 weeks ago we snuck the kids out of school for 2 days to take them to Gettysburg & Washington DC. It just so happened that it was the peak weekend for the cherry blossoms and the festival was in full swing.

Our first stop was the Capitol ....we arrived Fri night& popped into the city to see the sites all lit up.









dinner in Chinatown after seeing the Capitol!

Saturday morning we headed back to the Mall to visit the Smithsonian and the monuments. Sunny but cold & WINDY! When we arrived the groups were lining up for the Cherry Blossom Parade - we got to see a really fun battle of the bands, te Cherry Blossom Queen and lots of other fun groups....









stay tuned for part 2!

A Red Carpet Debut!

we arrived home last night after 4 days away with limited internet access so imagine my surprise & delight when I opened an email from Style Cafe Moms letting me know that one of my skirts had graced the red carpet!

Back in February I had purchased a spot in 3 celebrity gift baskets that were being sent to celebrities to help raise awareness of the CPSIA and its impact on the handcrafted community. I sent along childrens items for Jenny Garth, Brooke Burke & Jessica Alba's children. In return I received photos from celebrity cafe moms of all of the items sent in the gift baskets...quite a few things to say the least! I pushed it all to the back of my mind until last night when I checked my email.

Brooke Burke's daughter Heaven Rain wore my skirt to the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and had her photo taken on the red carpet! I let out a yelp of glee which left my husband perplexed but my kids thrilled (fans of nickelodeon that they are!)...so, without further ado...I am pleased to present Miss Heaven Rain in her very own gock's frocks Olivia skirt!