Crocheted Creations

When I was a little girl I used to read or watch TV snuggled up beside my mother while she crocheted. Whenever my mother wasn't working, cooking, cleaning or doing her best to keep her three small children out of trouble, she would crochet. She crocheted hats, mittens, slippers, sweaters and blankets . . . even our Christmas tree ornaments were crocheted.

I still remember the faint sound of air moving as my mom effortlessly hooked a bit of yarn and pulled the stitch through. My mother's hands moved in fluid motion and sometimes I would catch her steal a glance at the TV and yet her hands remained in motion as if they had independent thought. Each stitch always looked like the last and the finished product was always something to behold.

It was a familiar site in our home to find crochet booklets on the coffee table or tucked away in drawers. I remember looking at all sorts of patterns like: granny squares, various doily patterns, coasters, shawls, you name it. Learning to crochet seemed like learning a new language. I was probably well into my teens before I learned that an Afghan was a type of hound, I always thought it was a blanket.

Because of my mother, I've always admired those who are able to create such beautiful things with their hands. And still today, my mom continues to crochet some of the prettiest clothes and stuffed toys for my girls.




Hopefully I'll have more handmade creations to share with you soon.

Tea for Two

Isn't Seattle gorgeous when it wants to be? Yesterday my girls sat in the backyard for a proper English tea party. They ate tiny cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches along with mini tuna fish sandwiches (for the protein) and snacked on a bowl of cherries. For dessert they ate chocolate chip, cranberry scones and short bread cookies that had a smackeral of dark chocolate layered on top. The scones, homemade; the cookies, courtesy of Pepperidge Farms.

I bought real china tea cups from Value Village for less than $5 so I wasn't the least bit worried about a 5 and 3-year-old handling them. The teapot was purchased several years ago from a mini Harrods store inside of Heathrow Airport. The cherries were placed in a beautiful white bowl with scalloped edges that once belonged to my grandmother. The tablecloth was purchased during a vacation I took with my husband to Spain. All together, though unmatched as it was, it made for a really nice table setting.

The tea: An organic tea made especially for children called Nighty Night. It's marketed as a calming and relaxing tea to help children wind down after a busy day. It smells and taste wonderful (just add a bit of honey if your child prefers it sweet). The tea comes with an adorable bedtime story about Oliver Owl who has trouble sleeping. The hero of the story is Tea-ger the Tiger who makes a special bedtime tea for Oliver with chamomile and linden tree blossoms.

Nighty Night tea also steeps into this pretty pink color -- how cute is that?

The tea party was a success and my children, though not completely soothed by the tea because I think the chocolate gave them a little boost, in the end were very thankful for the lovely tea.

Welcome to The Familiar Home

I've been meaning to start a blog for some time now but with 2 kids, a busy job and a home to keep clean . . . it's becoming increasingly challenging to find the time to do so. Honestly, composing a proper email is considered hard labor let alone maintaining a blog. However, after spending time with 2 kids, 3 if you count my husband, work and daily chores, writing a blog feels like it will come as a nice diversion from what I do for a living. As some of you may know, I spend my days managing the production of direct mail and lately, this is how I spend many nights, but I'd like to branch out and do so much more on my off hours.

The Familiar Home is meant to be a double entendre: it pertains to my abode as well as my neighborhood and city. I've lived in Seattle all my life and each weekend with family in tow, I explore the various neighborhoods, parks, eateries and shops all the while perusing for things that ultimately find their way to my home. For the foods that tantalize my taste buds, they'll eventually make their way into my test kitchen where mostly I don't even come close to achieving the same results, but all I can do is try. My successes are the ones I stuff carelessly into what I lovingly call a recipe binder. Not a single recipe is actually bound, just loosely scattered and closed shut.

So what is familiar to me are the things around me -- my home is my city. I hope you will participate in this blog by sending me recipes, art you've created, pictures or stories about your day. And whenever an idea pops into my head, I'm hoping that I will have the time to blog about it.

I look forward to sharing with you.