A Bit of Travel

Good Day!

I know I have been missing for a few weeks, but I was doing a little traveling. Which isn't entirely an excuse as I have been back for a while now and still hadn't written a blog post or put up anything but I was definitely still on vacation mode and feeling lazy!

I'm actually still feeling rather lazy but I have found that the only way to stop feeling lazy is to get off your butt and do something so here I am!!

My husband and I recently had a wonderful vacation, we went away for two weeks (the longest we've been away ever). And it was wonderful!!

The first part of our trip was dedicated to visiting family! My husband's family lives far away from us and it's always lovely to get a chance to go and spend some quality time with them!! We had an amazing time filled with walks in a neighboring park, board games, delicious dinners and an abundance of quality family time! 

Then it was off to the airport because we were off to Portugal! My parents are living there for a few months (why you ask? just because!).  My parents are always ready for an adventure and decided this was a great time to fulfill a dream of living a few months in another country.  This was an amazing opportunity for us as well! Europe can be an expensive vacation but as we only had to pay for our flights and not accommodations we were able to travel without taking to big a hit to the wallet.

Portugal was amazing!! It is truly beautiful! It has all the charms of Europe in its small winding cobblestone streets, it's rich history and tiled buildings but it has a gorgeous tropical beauty to it as well. Palm trees, rocky cliffs, secluded beaches, and turquoise waters. A large part of the country is coastline so the amount of beaches to visit is crazy! And each beach is unique and beautiful in it's own way!

Here's a couple of the lovely beaches we visited

Aren't they gorgeous?

We also took advantage of their wonderful marketplaces and fish markets

That is something that was absolutely wonderful about Portugal, the abundance of fresh fish and seafood!

I love seafood and ate it at every opportunity! I even tried barnacles!! 

They were awesome!!

The other wonderful thing about Portugal? The Sangria!

It's just about everywhere and it's so tasty!!

We spent a week in Portugal with my parents and had an amazing time but then it was time to say goodbye!

On the way home we also spent a couple of days with my sister who lives far away from us. It was wonderful to spend time with her and her family!! She only moved away recently and although they will only be living away for a year I have been missing her and her family terribly so it was great to spend some quality time with them.

And that wraps up our wonderful vacation time! What about you? have you had a chance to get away? Visit some family or just avoid some of the winter cold?

Crochet By Megs Book Club: The Painted Girls

Hello again!

I hope you got a chance to pick up The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan.

I loved this book! I found the story enchanting especially against the backdrop of 1800s Paris. But I'm getting ahead of myself!

The Painted Girls tells the story of three young sisters in 1800s Paris, their father is dead and their mother is an alcoholic addicted to absinth. Living in abject poverty the girls must struggle to survive and look after one another in a vast and unforgiving city.

The jobs for women are difficult and don't bring in much money. The only way the girls feel they can lift themselves out of their horrible situation is to become ballerinas. 

This story is told few the viewpoints of Antoinette and Marie the two older siblings trying desperately to take care of each other and their younger sister. Both take on far more responsibility than any young girl should and facing the hardships of their situation with all they have.

This book was beautifully told, the story telling wonderfully done. I was so impressed with how well the relationship between sisters was expressed. Every woman with sisters has had the same worries for her sisters, has tried to look out for them, been hurt by them, awed by them and loved them in the same way as these sisters have.

I hope you enjoyed The Painted Girls as much as I did! And if you haven't had a chance to read it yet I hope you will! Please make sure to share your thoughts on the book below!!

And now it's time to pick the next book! Have I mentioned how much I love doing this??

The next book in the Crochet By Megs book club is...... Dance Gladys Dance by Cassie Stocks

I hope you enjoy it!! We'll check back into the book club in 6 weeks to see what you thought of it!!

Garden Planning

It's February!!! I'm officially sick of winter and ready for spring!!!!

Too bad spring is still 2-4 months away.... Sure I could hang my head sadly, depressed about the ongoing cold, feel sorry for myself and my puppy being stuck indoors only to take hurried walks around the block muttering about how cold it is. But instead I'm going to do some garden planning!!

It can be hard to wait when all you want to do is dig in the garden planting veggies and flowers feeling the warm sun on your face but I think spending some time planning out this years garden will be a great way to ward off the winter blues and it makes spring feel closer than it actually is!

Most years I have a very general idea about what I want to do, vague notions about the type of veggies I'll plant and more often than not I get a little behind and end up overwhelmed. But not this year!! My plan this spring involves constructing two more raised garden beds. These ones will not be permanent, I'd like them to be movable so they can be packed up & put away when the weather turns colder. So they will be smaller but deep!  

I have a large garden bed in the back of our yard but it doesn't get nearly enough sun for many veggie crops so it will be for shade loving plants only.  I'm thinking some nice leafy greens. Lettuce, spinach, chard, & arugula and surprise! Beans, Peas, Beets, leeks, onions & Cauliflower are all shade happy plants so they'll be in there too!

On & around the patio it is sunny and hot! This is where I'm planning on putting the two new raised beds as well as many potted plants and some hanging baskets. This is where I'll be planting plenty of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash/pumpkin, and watermelon! I've never grown pumpkin or watermelon before so wish me luck! Hopefully I'll get at least one of each!!

These are the seeds I already have, ready to go for another summer (hopefully) full of produce!!

Don't worry I'm not quite done with the seeds yet! I still have my trusty seed catalogue to pick up what I'm still missing!!

What about you? Are you doing any gardening planning? How are you beating the winter blues?

All the Fun of Meal Planning!

I try not to make New Year's resolutions, if I set anything so specific as a new years resolution I tend to break it and then instead of feeling good I just feel depressed. So instead I try to think of what I'd like to focus on for the year. Then I take steps to address the more general goal!

This year one thing I'm focusing on is healthier eating! We already eat pretty healthy at home but when we're busy we tend to fall on take-out as an ideal bake-up plan. Because of this the goal of healthier eating is essentially less eating out!!

The secret to not eating out for me is actually pretty simple! Meal planning! I know not exactly a state secret but there it is. Simple, easy & effective! We've been doing it for a few weeks now and it has been wonderful!! The best part about it is my husband & I have a week on week off policy so I plan a week & do the cooking and the next week it's his turn!

Can you imagine anything more fabulous? That way neither of us burn out and so far we have taken it upon ourselves to try to wow one another with great healthy meals!! My favorite so far this week?

Prosciutto & Arugala Pizza

Doesn't it look delicious!! And it wasn't even my week to cook!! 

So far I'm loving this New Year's goal!! What about you do you make new year's resolutions? Have you kept them so far??

Good News! I Decided What to Make!!

It's true!! It actually didn't take too long to decide! Normally I can get a little frozen with indecision but with my beautiful new yarn I was able to narrow it down fairly quickly!

I knew I wanted to make something for me to wear. I don't usually make anything for myself, generally I make things for my shop and for my friends and family (there's always a holiday or birthday lurking around the corner it seems!!) but I knew this yarn was for me!

So what did I make you say?? Check it out!

Isn't it gorgeous? A beautiful triangle scarf for me wear! I actually wore it already! I did a little shopping with my sister over the weekend and one of the saleswomen came over to compliment it!!

Very sweet of her and I didn't miss the opportunity to tell her I made it and hey! If she wanted to order one she could visit my etsy shop!

Speaking of, want one? I don't have any posted just yet but send me a message and I'd be happy to custom make one for you! Otherwise wait a couple weeks and I'll have some for you to look through! 

Here's another picture of it! Don't mind the fabulous Rhino photo bombing! You'll also notice I started work on a hat as well! If I have enough yarn left over I think I'll also make a pair of mittens!!

What did you do this weekend? Work on any lovely projects for you to wear around town?

What Should I Make?

This weekend I did a little shopping! My favorite kind of shopping, Yarn shopping! I love walking up and down the aisles in the craft store ogling all the beautiful colors and styles of yarn.

It's like walking up and down aisles of possibility! Seeing all the different colors and combinations one could make I find it endlessly inspiring! I think I must have been feeling a little orange because I fell in love with a couple different orange numbers!

Check it out aren't they beautiful?

I love them all but I think these may be my favorite!

Now the only question is what should I make with them?? I'm thinking maybe a hat & scarf combo? Or maybe a shawl? I just can't decide! But something fun! I can't wait to wear whatever I decide on!

What about you? Have you done any crafty shopping lately? What do you find inspiring?

Crochet By Megs Book Club: Z: A Zelda Fitzgerald Story

Welcome back!! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and were able to put your feet up for part of it and enjoy a good book!!

Z is the story of Zelda Fitzgerald wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald writer of the Great Gatsby and many other books and stories. The book begins when Zelda is only a teenager and first meets Scott Fitzgerald. They fall passionately in love but she realizes he'll never finish his first book while he is thinking of her. She breaks his heart so that he can focus and there begins the ups and downs that will characterize their mad love story.

It is a fabulous story of excess and destruction, love and jealousy and the role a woman plays when she is married to a brilliant or obsessed man.  Whether she has a right to herself and her own career is considered quite questionable in the 1920s.  
I love books set in the 1920s! There is just something so charming about the setting, the excitement, jazz, prohibition, the stirrings of feminism!

This is the second book I've read set in the 20s about the wife of an author. The first was The Paris Wife by Paula McLain and I did like that one better. I felt it pulled me in more whereas I had to work a little to get into this one. But I still quite enjoyed it and it gave me quite a lot to think about!

If you read this book along with me I hope you enjoyed it! Share your thoughts in the comments below! If you didn't get a chance to pick this one up yet I'd highly recommend you do!

For our next book I have selected......

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Hope you get a chance to read along with me!