I’m back! But I’ve moved…

Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve last visited this space… I’ve decided to start fresh over at Thornwoodknits.com. I’d love it if you’d stop by the new site and say hi!

-Jenny

Thankful.

Today I am thankful for the mundane. The simple. The little everyday things. A bowl full of ripe tomatoes; a little bear waiting for his nose. The way the light looks as it filters through the blinds. Working from home on a Friday. An old musty book.

Life is good.

my perch.

One of my favorite spots in the new house is the big comfy chair with ottoman in my knitting room, which overlooks the entryway and dining room…I love to sit and work on my knitting, consider paint colors for the house, read books (about to start Gone Girl, despite all of the apparent hulabaloo about the ending), sketch, or drink Manhattans while I spend hours browsing pinning items to my Pinterest boards. Sometimes I’ll move to the dining room when I want to blog, but will almost always end up back in the chair. The blue quilt and bear-claw pillow were made by my mother-in-law as a wedding gift. It’s my cozy little perch. How about you? Do you have a favorite spot in the house?

in the kitchen

On Sundays, I love to spend the day in the kitchen…this weekend, Ghiradelli chocolate chip cookies were made, as were french radish, butter and sea salt sandwiches. I used a little of that fresh Amish butter we bought from the Dutch farmer’s market. If you’ve never tried this classic french pairing, I highly recommend you do…you’ll never look at radishes the same way again! Three of my favorite things in the kitchen are my little red tea-pot, the mason jar salt and pepper shakers (you can buy a set here), and the red carnations.  Aren’t those red carnations cheery? They were my grandmother’s favorite flower to give us as little girls, so once a month, I pick up a small bunch ($4) at the grocery store. They last forever and need very little care; every time I look at them, I think of her.

a rainy afternoon.

On Friday, I took off from work and spent the day happily cooped up in the house. What made it even nicer was the nice, long thunderstorm that kept the sky gray for most of the afternoon. There was a little reading, a little knitting, and afterwards, a peek in the garden where I found a little visitor in the ivy plant on our steps. We planted some heirloom, cherry, and beefsteak tomatoes a few weeks ago, and we are eagerly awaiting our late-summer goodies. I hung a few more pictures on the walls and finally unpacked my wine glasses. Slowly but surely, the house is getting homier.  Lately, the best days seem to be when I wake up and go to bed without leaving the house all day.

 

 

a leisurely morning

My boss was sweet enough to let me come in an hour late yesterday morning…it was so nice to sit at the table and enjoy some hot toast with peanuts butter, a steaming cup of coffee, and sweet blueberries from the market. Most days feel so repetitive; I feel like I go from bed to shower to car to office without blinking an eye. Like the movie Groundhog Day, or like being on autopilot. So this morning, I took that precious extra hour to appreciate all of the little things around the house that I usually walk by day after day without taking much notice…it’s nice to slow down every now and then. The best part was getting in a few rows of knitting before work! It really is the little things, isn’t it?

hand-knit dishcloths

It’s so much fun to knit for the new house…currently, I’m working on a set of dishcloths with cheery stripes for the kitchen. Bev’s waffle-knit dishcloths are – hands down – my favorite dishcloth pattern to knit. They are strong, sturdy, and wash up beautifully. The red and yellow striped versions are finished:

Blue and green stripes are next…

farmer’s market

On Sunday, the hubby and I took a took a trip to a local farmer’s market, where everything is either grown on-site or sourced from local farms. We brought home a small bounty of goodies for the week:

I love how the cantaloupe looks like crocheted lace, don’t you?

We plan on tossing those beautiful baby potatoes with salt, pepper and olive oil and grilling them to go alongside some gorgeous NY strip steaks. Fresh off the grill, we’ll top the potatoes with some fresh Amish roll-butter before serving:

What’s your favorite thing to buy at the farmer’s market?

more stitching

{image via poise gets cozy}

Alicia over at Posie Gets Cozy has me completely hooked on cross-stitching. I just finished her Winterwoods sampler and my fingers are already itching to start another. Thankfully, she recently designed this sweet summer sampler, complete with red, ripe strawberries and a little bee hive!

{image via poise gets cozy}

This pattern is PDF only, not a kit, but luckily there is a tiny embroidery shop tucked away in a farm house nearby that sells the variegated floss used in the sampler. It would be nice to have a gallery wall of these pretty samplers in the knitting room, don’t you think?

The pattern is $6 and can be purchased in Alicia’s shop. Happy stitching!

around the house…

 

 

Wishing I could be home, puttering about the house, working on little projects…