Callaloo Soup

30 Days of Blogging at Callaloo Soup

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It's been a busy month around here. I blogged every single day this month! I totally enjoyed it, but it is quite the undertaking. To end off I thought I would link to my favourite posts of the past month.

April 2nd: Easter Eggs, and Easter Baskets

April 5th: Is This a Hybrid Scrapbooking Project?

April 6th: One Little Word

April 15th: Kieran's Birthday Party

April 19th: Wordless Friday

April 27th: I Love a Good Challenge

You can see all the posts from the month by clicking here.

Which ones were your favourites?

Gearing Up for May

April is drawing to a close, so I am working on my plans for May. This was a busy month with Kieran's birthday, school activities, Spring vacation and visiting friends, and May seems to be at least as busy. One project that has now become a constant for me, however busy the month may be, is the Photo-a-Day challenge from Fat Mum Slim.

I started it back in October and have done it every month since. Some months I manage to actually take a photo every day, other months I do what I can. It's all good.

Chantelle posted the list for May today, which is what prompted this blog post, and jumpstarted my planning for the month ahead.

Have you ever played along with the challenge? Is there a challenge or project that you fit into your routine monthly?

 

Instagram Picks of the Week

My pick: he loves his swing

Most likes: Kieran gets a haircut

You can follow me here on Instagram

 

 

19/52 Or I Love a Good Challenge!

I signed up for Goodreads well over a year ago, then promptly forgot about it, as I felt like I didn't need one more website to visit, update and interact on. (Exactly why I never did much with my Google+ account, but that's another story.)

This year though I knew I wanted to read more, so when I heard about the Goodreads Challenge, I decided to revisit the site. I did a quick calculation and estimated that I read around 45 books last year, without even really trying, so I set my goal for 2013 to 52. One book a week seemed pretty reasonable to me.

I gotta say the site seems to be keeping me honest. So far I have read 19 books, which puts me 3 books ahead! I should also admit that having the Kindle does help, as I still have a ton of unread books on there, courtesy of my sister, and it makes it easy to keep up.

I do my reading at night mostly, just before going to sleep. This has long been a habit of mine, in fact I find it hard to fall asleep if I don't read first. Anyone else? The only time this has not been true was during the first 18 months or so with Kieran, the only thing on my mind those days was sleep!

So far this year I have read a pretty wide variety of books, from cheesy chick lit like Take the Cake , to The Hunger Games series,(which I loved) and Imagine: How Creativity Works . Currently I am making my way through The Anne of Green Gables books. If you have a Kindle you can get eight of the Anne books, plus four other books by Lucy Maud Montgomery for only $0.99!

Let's hope that I can keep up with my pace, and that I don't run out of readily available reading material!

Are you a big reader? Have you ever set a reading challenge for yourself?

Hooked on Yarn | More Crochet Baskets

My latest crochet baskets, as in they were completed today! I found a source for the textile yarn online here in France, and bought a spool of black to test it out. Today I remembered that I had two t-shirts in the upcycle pile, and made them into t-shirt yarn using this tutorial  from Craft Passion. So incredibly easy! I will be on the lookout for t-shirts to make into yarn now.

The baskets are perfect for stashing yarn, hooks and other craft supplies. And they work up really fast. I used techniques from a couple of tutorials like this one at Nimi Design, to help me get started on the large basket, but once I got it figured out I was able to make the smaller one completely on my own.

Actually checking it again, I realise that I totally left out the Chain 1 at the start of each row. Oh well, it still worked out!

I totally love them, and plan to get a variety of colours of the yarn (or t-shirts) to make storage baskets for the entire house. I really want to switch out the boring black bins in Kieran's room to give him more pops of colour.

So stay tuned for more!

 

Sister Sketch Reveal! | Yay!

Here's a look back at the April sketch

Download it in three versions here JPG | PDF | Layered Template

Here's my page: a rare one about me!

It's about my attempt to wear more colour, especially during the dark months of winter when black is my go-to.

Some details:

I used the March kit from Studio Calico.

Now go see what Vernell did with the sketch!

Link us up in the comments if you use the sketch.

 

 

 

The Wednesday Window | Mozaique

She finally sat still long enough for me to get a good portrait.

A Few New Vintage Treasures in the Shop!

Now that we are learning more about our new area, and the weather is getting better, the vintage hunt is on with bi-weekly trips of late. I am acquiring things faster than I can list them! Here are a few of the recent additions to the shop.

Antique French Dictionary from 1932. I love that is is called the "new" dictionary. Oh and it's the petit edition too!

This one truly is petit - a New Testament from 1895

If you love rustic style kitchens

check out this pair of country kitchen wooden tools

I was delighted to find 4 of these vintage leather coin purses. Two of them have already been snapped up! I think they would make lovely Mother's Day gifts, or a gift for any woman who loves vintage items.

I am updating the shop every Thursday with at least two items. I plan to pick up the pace in a couple weeks, and will aim to list an item a day until the shop is fully stocked! So keep checking, as you never know what little treasure I will find on my hunts.

Speaking of no More Baby-boy Kieran

Here's what happened last night

Before

After

Sigh. I've already decided that we're never cutting it again!

Instagram Picks of the Week

My pick: We enjoyed some summer weather this past week

Most likes: apple blossoms

You can follow me here on Instagram