My mother took my sister's and me to London when we were young.  I couldn't wait to dig out the photos when we returned from our trip last week.  I have 9 photos.  They each were so special and brought back a flood of memories.  I hold those photos so dear to my heart.  It was a such special time.  And a wonderful trip.
I also couldn't wait to download the photos from our trip last week.  We had a fabulous time and I think my children will hold it and the photos close to their hearts.  But they will have about 600 photos.  Ha!
 We arrived in the Fizrovia neighborhood feeling a little woozy from our travels but totally excited to explore.
And, these 10 feet took us around town feeling very grateful.


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Excerpts from Andrews journal.  (That he dictated for me! )
 Notting Hill.  Beautiful.  Portobello Market.  Take more cash next time.  Fabulous flee market finds.  Bought: nothing.  Pizza for lunch at a corner Pub. 
 Big Ben looked, well, Big.  
 We went on a tour through the tower of London.  It was really cool.  The Ravens were cool, too. We went to mass at Westminster Abbey.  It was so much fun to see where Kate and Prince William were married.  (I made my mom wake me up in when I was in fifth grade to see the entire wedding.)
We went to a Pub for fish and chips.  I was bummed the drinking age was 18.  Steve took us to the Grenadier.  It was so cool.  There was money attached all over the ceiling to pay off a man's debt that was killed because he apparently cheated at a game of cards.  They say it is haunted.  I didn't feel any ghosts.
We went to the Natural History Museum.  There was a Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit. It was amazing.  I liked the photo of the scorpion that the 8 year old took.  Liesl, Libby and mom went to the V & A to see the Alexander McQueen Exhibit and then to have tea.  While, Steve and I went to the Imperial War Museum.  I felt like I was traveling through time and proud to be an American. 
We went to Duck and Waffle to eat lunch.  The lift took us 40 stories up and is on the outside of the building.  Libby was afraid.  She doesn't like heights.  Mom took us to Wool and The Gang where we met Ali.  Mom really loves her yarn.  And then we went to see Abbey Road and try to reenact the Beatles album cover.  I was totally embarrassed.  We had dinner and then went to the theater to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.    It was awesome!
Mom, Libby and I went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards and then met Steve at the British Museum.  Libby and I were tired, so we sat most of the time in the lobby, while mom and Steve looked at the Lewis Chessmen, the Mummies and they really liked the Big Marbles.  We then went to get Liesl after her classes and took a train to Taplow then to the Taplow House.  We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and then played a game with Belinda and Samir.  Two other hotel guests who asked if we wanted to play.  It was really great laughing and listening to them talk.
 We were told the queen was in the Castle which was fun to know.  I loved that old Windsor Castle.  


The last day was spent with the France family.  (Mom is going to tell you all about that in her next post. ) And then to the Hinds Head for dinner.  Yumm!

I loved England.  And can't wait to go back.  

-Andrew 

 I read the reviews and followed some of the comments to freeze the peanut butter balls before assembling.  I definitely recommend that step.
 Then make the chocolate cookie dough and form into balls.
 Flatten and fill with one of the peanut butter balls.
 Surround the entire peanut butter ball and roll back into a ball.
See how some of the cookies are smooth and some are cracked.  The cracked cookies are the ones where I followed the recipe.  But then before I baked the second cookie sheet, I decided that perhaps my dough was too dry and I added 1/8 cup of softened butter.  (By the way, I only ever use butter.  Never margarine.)  They definitely contained the peanut butter better, but they were also a little crisper.  Both were amazing.  Honestly, amazing.   I was able to make 28 cookies today.  We have 8 left.

I'm thinking you should remove your butter from the fridge now.  So it will be soft for your weekend of knitting.  And baking.

I have been waiting to make these cookies.  But something was always happening to the ingredients.  First, I accidentally grabbed dates at the store instead of figs.  Then, someone (Andrew) drank the apple juice.  Hey, who ate the orange!

Homemade Fig Newtons. Libby and Andrew both scrunched their noses.  But the adults in the house made "mmmmm" noises.  Time consuming, yes.  Something to try if you like fig newtons?  Heck yes.

I'm making a little progress on my sweater.  If only I would have noticed that I was knitting the neck increases out of the armhole.  Just ripped it back.  I'm not going to sleep until I join the fronts.

 I was in a hurry this week because of our Chicago trip, so I used the recipe box in my brain.  We never tire of this bite of deliciousness.
And finally I have cast on once again for a sweater.  It feels so good to be working on smaller needles and a bigger project.

Have a wonderful weekend!

We took an overnight trip to Chicago.  And while shopping on Michigan Avenue (who am I kidding... b-lined straight for Crate and Barrel) spotted B. A. Friend chalkboard place mats.  To say I was thrilled is an understatement.  They have been carrying them for a few years, but this was the first time I saw them in the store. You can always still purchase them here and here.

P. S.  My bag is a Kelly Moore Bag.  And I LOVE it.  It's a camera bag that fits everything! The bag is only 2 pounds which makes it PERFECT for traveling. I didn't take my camera with me on this trip but still carried the bag.  Cause it just so happens, to fit all the yarn you need.  What could be better!

Happy Friday!

The Only Thing That is Constant is Change.  -Heraclitus

Different window, different house, same girl.  I just can't believe how the time goes.   So grateful for the photos.  Going to recreate some for the boys, too.  

 I knit a hat.
And a dinner that hit the spot on a freezing winter night.
Grateful to be at home.

Happy weekend, friends!

When traveling I alway fill my bag (although, not as much as my sister does) with snacks.  Usually nuts, bars and various trail mixes.  (I love taking a trip with my sister.  Hello, cheese.  Hello, crackers.)
This time, I decided to play around with a recipe and make bars to take on our trip.

But first I wrapped up Toasty.  And past around a little love.
Hope your day was happy.  And you feel it not only on the 14th of February, but every day of your wonderful life.
xx,
leslie
P.S.  I scrolled down to the February 1st post and now I'm headed to the kitchen to make Chocolate Chip cookies.  Don't do it... unless you want to end up in the kitchen making cookies for dinner.

So, I took about 3 cups of peanuts.  Maybe 3 1/2.  I forgot to measure.  And I plopped it into the Vitamix.
 I ended up with about 1 3/4 cups of delicious peanut butter.
Eighteen non crumbly cookies came out of the oven.  Not nearly enough.
Especially when you eat two while knitting thumbs and finishing each pair of toasty.

Happy weekend, friends!

Well, I mentioned that I was working on Toasty.
Just Toasty.
All out of this yarn.  Love this yarn for this project.  Hello machine washable and dry-able.  I love the big wide stripes and playing with color combos.  I'm trying a new thumb technique.   I'll share after I finish.  It might just be our new favorite.
The pairs with only two colors, I knit 21 rows of one color and then changed to a contrasting color knitting for 55 rows.
The pairs with three colors, I knit 2 different colors of 21 rows each and then changed to a third color for 34 rows.
This still makes them 11 inches long.
These will all be Valentine gifts.  I have one more pair to knit.
And THEN I'm on to that sweater!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Batter.
Brownie Batter.
First layer.
Second layer.
Sprinkled with delicious chopped pecans.
Makes one, yummy Brookie.

My friend Suzanne shared the recipe.  They have become a favorite in her home and now a favorite in mine.
The recipe makes 36 2 inch squares.
They lasted 3 days.

Other delicious looking Brookies!

Happy February!