so much back-tack love!!

**after spell-checking i realized that this is a ridiculously long post with tons of pictures, sorry if it takes a long time to load!

i realized when i sat down to write this post that i never mentioned that i was participating in the back-tack swap! how did such a wonderful thing as that slip my mind? i have no idea. the most amazing package arrived at my doorstep from my sweet backtack pal. can i reveal? i think so, the amazingly talented mary! look at all the goodness she sent me!

here are some closeups and then i will gush over the contents...

so first off, WOW! can you believe it? i love the fabric and what mary did with it. i have been wanting a needle roll for a while now. much, much nicer looking than the clear plastic totebox i have been lugging around. and the matching pouch filled to the brim with knitting goodies...how awesome. i mentioned that i have been wanting to try to knit some socks, and she sent the most beautiful, softest yarn i have ever seen. i am almost afraid to try anything with it, what if i ruin it??? exclusively found at purl in soho i might add. there is also a really cool bookbinding primer from the 50s and that cd is an electronic copy of a book on how to knit a whole enchanted castle!! if i was a really good mom, i would knit the whole thing up for eliot for christmas. im not that good. maybe someday. oh and for kicks, she even threw in the leftover fabric!! thank you so, so much mary. i am blown away by your talent and generosity!

gosh, on my own meager crafting note, i managed to whip up a bag for my sisters birthday a few days late, but i dont think she will mind. except for the solid chartreuse fabric for the handles and on the inside, the rest is made from some martha stewart tea towels i scored at kmart last week. i was so happy to find something in my stash that coordinated so well. even though she lives in town i am going to mail it because we all know how fun it is to get mail.

here is a peek at the inside. i was so happy to have enough leftovers to make a pocket for the inside. hillary was right, those magnetic snaps are freakishly strong.

we had a great time at the wedding last weekend. it was very strange to be without the huffsters. i put them to bed at my parents house and then met up with david to see a movie friday night. in the theater! wow! afterwards we were itching for some coffee and grub so we headed over to nichols lunch. its this awesome diner that has been around since the 30s and is open 24 hours a day. you sit down to eat a three dollar breakfast at 1:30 in morning next to just about anyone from a homeless guy to a drag queen from the bar next door. the evening was so, whats the word... oh yeah, "single" for us. in the david and hannah pre-kids sense. it was nice to have some time to sit and talk and more importantly to sleep in the next morning. i forgot what a luxury it is to sleep until nine. pure heaven. just the perfect amount of sleeping in, not too much so that you feel like your day is wasted, but enough to feel decadent. the wedding on saturday was beautiful, it was at a beautiful old farmstead that has been in the grooms family since the late 1800's. we spent the evening outside enjoying good weather and good company. it must have been a good night since i was able to get david to have his picture taken with me.

if you are very observant and have a good memory you will notice that i have no tan lines! i had good success with the neutrogena build-a-tan product. it also helps that this isnt a closeup, but it did even things out pretty good. at least it didnt look like i was still wearing a wife-beater under my dress. that was my goal anyway. and last but certainly not least in this tremendously long post, i couldnt help but throw in a picture of the yummy smoothies we have been having for dessert every night. you just cant go wrong with relaxing on the porch swing with your family, enjoying a summer night, drinking a big glass of this...