What's up, Chuck?

How was your weekend?  Ours flew by way too quickly. A college friend came up from Maryland to visit us.  We hung out at home on Friday and Sunday, but on Saturday I put on my non-mommy clothes and explored Manhattan with her.

Ooh la la.  I felt like I was in college again.  It was so nice having her around....
 and I miss her a whole bunch already. 

Here are some photos from our weekend:

Chuck and I attended a friend's birthday party.  As you can see, he kept the party going as we walked home.

My friend's a pretty good storyteller....

and artistic to boot.  (Can you believe that she doodled this shirt freehand with fabric markers? Whoa.)

We tried Xi'an Famous Foods' hand-pulled noodles... Yummy oxtail...

and watched a Broadway show...

 and toured Soho (which, by the way, is really just way too glamorous for me....)

I also found out that Topshop teamed up with Project CANVAS to raise funds for art programs in the city.  If you're interested in supporting art programs (and getting a pair of one-of-a-kind kicks), visit Topshop's Soho store.  Local artists will personally decorate your purchased shoes until 8/8.

Happy Monday!

What's up Chuck?

We live across the street from a playground, dog run, and basketball court.  Lately, Chuck's been spending half of his time on the playground and half of his time on the basketball court.

At first he just stood on the sidelines.  He'd point at the players and chant, "Basketball, basketball." But now he insists on bringing his tiny basketball out and dribbling on the court...with the teenage boys. Eek!

And of course, like any good basketball player, he diligently practices his dribbling at home too...


P7317002.AVI from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.
 
(Oh boy, I am really thankful that we either have thick floors or very understanding downstairs neighbors.)

Have a great weekend.  See you next week!

Guest Post: Thoughts on Faith and Crafting

Hi everyone! 

 If you're looking for a crafty, crapt-filled post, you're not going to find it here.

Today I'm sharing some of my thoughts on crafting and my faith over at my friend Lisa's blog, About Proximity.  I'd love it if you came and visited me there.

See you later!

Melted Perler bead braided bracelet

Maybe you're like me.

You rushed out to buy a huge tub of Perler beads because you had to make an awesome Perler bead bowl.

But now you find yourself staring at a huge tub of tiny colorful cylinders, wondering what you're going to do with all of them.

Well, how about making a braided Perler bead bracelet?

Oooh.  Arm Candy.

Materials:
- Colored hemp cord
- Perler beads
- Wax paper
- Baking pan
- Scissors
- Tape (or clipboard, or you could just use your foot)
- Button
- Ruler

Voting for Earth911's "Stash your cash" Design Challenge

Let's imagine that you're traveling somewhere and you wanted a sneaky and DIY way to hide your cash from would-be robbers.  What would you make?  How would you make it? 

Go on, take a moment to think about it.  I'll just twiddle my thumbs and wait.  *Twiddle, twiddle* 

Why do I ask?  Well, about a month ago, I was posed this exact question by the staff of Earth911, a neat website providing people with information and ideas for reducing everyday waste. (Can you tell?  These are definitely my kind of people.)

They invited a couple of bloggers to participate in their "Stash your cash" design challenge.  Each blogger had to think up one sneaky way to hide money.  We were allowed to make whatever we wanted, but our solution had to incorporate upcycled and recycled materials.  

Here's my entry:  The Chocolate Bar wallet.

Very crapty... and pretty sneaky.   All the materials were destined for the garbage and now they get a second James Bond-esque life hiding some cash.

If you have a free moment, I'd love for you to vote for your favorite entry here.  The other challengers came up with pretty great ideas, so they're definitely worth checking out.

Hope you have a great start of the week.  We're still battling illness here, but things seem to *hopefully* be on the mend.