Thrift Thursday 8.1.13

I spent a long weekend up in Minneapolis visiting our kids and grandsons, and my sister Jan was there as well. Our son and his girlfriend have a new dog who also came to visit. She is a very sweet cattle dog mix stray named Juniper. The boys were a bit wary of her to begin with, but they all warmed up to each other nicely.  

Yesterday morning we had some time to spare before heading to the airport, so I took Jan to one of my favorite thrift stores, Savers.  I always seem to find something there I can't resist.  This was yesterday's find...

KLM Delft houses.  These are given to customers flying in business class on KLM.  They contain a Bols liqueur that I have never had the nerve to try.  We have several from our trip to India and a trip Mike took to Abu Dhabi a few years before that.  These were $1.99 a piece, so I had to buy all of them.  Only one was a duplicate (I think there are close to 100 altogether).

 I also found this lovely piece from Les Olivades. I am not sure if it is a large scarf or a  small tablecloth (29" square), but for $1.99, I couldn't leave it there!

My adorable grandsons

Arthur on the left, Charlie on the right. They spent the night with us at the loft and I got to dress them in the cute Scottie smocked rompers that I had bought (and their mother would never put on them :-)

They have matured so much since we last saw them at the beginning of May, walking everywhere, climbing, babbling and playing with each other.  Got home yesterday and miss them already...

My Mother's Day card

Just wanted to show you how CUTE the boys are! Kate is now working for General Mills as a community engagement specialist for Cheerios.  This was at a birthday party for the boys.  If you look closely, you will notice the Cheerios on the cake and on their hats.

My last three weeks

I flew home to Houston on July 20.  It was good to be home, although the Houston weather remains insufferable in the summer.  I was happy to see my cats, although they have settled into a routine with Mike.  As I posted on Facebook, my husband said something I never thought I would hear:  "Where's the Furminator?"  After three months away, it took me a while to settle back into things at home.  I worked the 24th, drove up to see my mom on the 26th, went to my niece's baby shower in Flower Mound on the 28th and drove home that evening to work on the 29th.  Whew!  In the week plus that followed I managed to work three more shifts, see my internist, get my hair highlighted and cut, pick up the dry cleaning and have a mani/pedi.  I was itching to sew something, but I knew I didn't have time to do much.  I remembered that I had this Mary Engelbreit baby panel, so I cut some binding for it out of her iconic cherry fabric and machine sewed it on.  Now I have some hand stitching to do.

We flew back up to Minneapolis last Thursday and took the light rail in from the airport.  There is a stop two blocks from our loft, and it only took 20 minutes to get here...sweet! Visited the boys (and their parents) Thursday evening and Friday morning, then drove down to Milwaukee on Friday afternoon.  On Saturday we attended the wedding of the daughter of a high school friend and on Sunday we got together with my BFF Marjorie's family.  It was wonderful to see so many old  long-time friends.  We drove back up to Minneapolis on Monday and had dinner at Muffuletta with our daughter, son-in-law, son and his girlfriend (and the boys!) Yesterday morning we rented Nice Ride bikes and rode them over the Stone Arch Bridge to have breakfast at Wilde Roast.  We are really enjoying the urban setting here.  Yesterday afternoon we drove down to Rochester to attend the retirement dinner of one of Mike's former colleagues.  It was held at the Foundation House of the Mayo Clinic, the former residence of one of its founders.  It was an awesome setting, and we were so happy that the timing worked out so well and that we were able be there.  We drove back this morning, had lunch with Kate, Kyle and the boys, and then I drove Mike to the airport, and he is on his way back to Houston right now.  He will be coming back for Labor Day, so I am on my own for the next two weeks.  I plan to relax, see the boys every day, do some reading and knitting, and enjoy the cooler weather.  And oh yeah, finish sewing this binding on!

Time flies...

Wow, the boys are 11 weeks old today!  I am used to seeing newborns on a regular basis, but it has been such a wonderful experience for me to spend their first 3 months with our grandsons. I will be returning to Houston (and work!) next week and can't even imagine how much I am going to miss seeing them on a daily basis.  

Mike was up last week and we have gotten settled into "the loft."  I did a lot of online shopping to get it furnished.  We have tried to keep it pretty minimal since we will only be here sporadically, but I did splurge on a few things.  I bought this sofa from Ballard Designs an am loving it...really comfy and the slipcover is machine washable!  Lots of stuff from Ikea:  chair and lamps...

Barstools...

Bedframe and mirror...

The Eiffel Tower print was left by the previous tenant.  I wasn't sure about it at first, but it's growing on me.  One thing that we did bring up here is the yellow high chair.  It was mine when I was a baby!  My brother and sister also used it, and then it travelled from California to Wisconsin to Texas.  When Kate was born, my father had all the metal re-chromed, and she and all my nieces and nephews used it.  My youngest niece will be 16 next week, so it had been in my parents' attic for over a decade.  Earlier this year I retrieved it (with the help of my brother).  Mike brought it up last week and we reassembled it.  Not bad for 60 years old...genuine mid-century modern!

They're not quite big enough to use it yet, but look who came over for lunch today!

Exciting news

Well, I have been in Minneapolis for four weeks today.  The boys and their parents are doing well.  I have been staying with them, just trying to support all their efforts dealing with newborn twins.  Mike and I have decided that we want to spend as much time as possible up here watching the boys grow up.  With that in mind we decided to rent an apartment.  After looking at a few apartments, we learned that our expectations we a bit higher.  Then we found this rental condo loft.  It is in an old glass factory built in 1900 that was converted into condos in 2005.  These pictures were taken when it was occupied by the owner who is now living in London.  It is very contemporary, with concrete floors, exposed ductwork, stainless appliances, etc.  We will be furnishing it from scratch, something I have never done before.  Hope to keep the contemporary feel without spending too much money...IKEA here we come!

This is the view as you walk in the front door.  The master bedroom is to the right and the second bedroom is behind the sliding door you see on the left.

The bathroom is across the hall from the master bedroom.

These are looking into the kitchen from the living area.  The glass top island/bar stays, but we will need to get barstools.

These are looking toward the front door.

And this is the living area.

 

One of the things we really like about it is the location.  It is only 2 blocks from the light rail which we will be able to take to the airport and back.  It is also very close the Guthrie Theater and the soon to be torn down Metrodome.  Maybe we will be able to catch a Packer/Viking game! There is heated underground parking, which is a must in Minnesota, especially since we will be keeping a vehicle here. It is just a few blocks from the river and walking distance to many restaurants. It will be a new experience for us to be urban dwellers.  Minneapolis also has a great bike share program that we will take advantage of.

Oh yeah, one more thing, these are the reasons we are doing this...

Sneak peek: baby projects

I have started on a couple of projects for my twin grandsons, due May 9.  Both are fairly simple, but since I need to make two of each, I decided I had better get started!  The nursery will be done in shades of yellow, aqua and gray.  I am knitting chevron baby blankets in these colors.  The gray isn't quite as dark as it appears in this photo.

Of course I wanted to make quilts for them, so when I was in Minneapolis two weekends ago, Kate and I went to Crafty Planet and she chose these fabrics.  I am using them in this pattern for a zig zag quilt that was also originally from the Purl Bee.  I'll keep you posted on my progress...

Did I mention I'm going to be a grandmother?

My daughter Kate is expecting twin boys on May 9th!  We are all very excited, but I am still very nervous...being an L&D nurse I know everything that can go wrong.  So far so good though, boys are growing well and no signs of preterm labor.  I went up to visit for her first baby shower last week. I took a few pictures that I haven't uploaded yet, but here is one her friend Erin took of us and and the huge number of gifts she received.  Erin, who is also pregnant, blogged about it here.

 

While I was up there, we went to Crafty Planet and bought fabric for two crib quilts.  I will be sharing my progress here...I promise!

Summit's Unchained Series Debut: Kolsch

I will have a real post later today, but wanted to share this article by my daughter, Kate.

Summit's Unchained Series Debut: Kolsch

Shared via AddThis