February Love

It's grey and February here. This morning I woke up and it was practically blizzarding.

We celebrated our first Valentine's Day ever. It was great! Brian made me dinner and dessert (curry chicken over rice and cream cheese pie) and it was delicious. He did a great job even though I had to help him out a bit. :)

Life has been nice and slow this February. Last February was a different story - Brian called me for the first time on Feb. 19th and from then on life was crazy for a while.

So we've been together a year now! Crazy how fast it's gone. 

Hopefully tomorrow I will have a post about Valentine's Day and Jill's birthday party I had for her. I have a rather funny story to tell about Brian trying to get me flowers WHILE I was with him, but it will have to wait for later.

Quilt, finished.

I finally finished the quilt which, incidentally, I bought all the material for the day Brian called and said "Um, hi, it's Brian Kohl, can I talk to you for a minute?" And that's when we started dating. :)  So naturally I put it all away until my life had settled down a little. 

It's I guess not technically a "quilt" in that it's not pieced at all. Both sides are solid and it's quilted vertically in diagonal-ish lines and randomly. I got the tutorial here.

I didn't quilt mine as much as she did because I got tired of doing all the lines. Also mine aren't too straight but that's ok, you can't really tell.

 It's made with Kona cotton, I think the white is "Bone" and I don't know what the teal-ish one is called. After all I did buy the material a year ago. :)

I always feel bad for the white side because I usually have it facing down so it won't get dirty or something. But I actually like the white side better.

In other sewing news, I stayed home from work yesterday because I had a fever (actually I'm home from work today as well, which is probably why I'm finally blogging) and I spent the day drafting a little dress pattern and sewing it.

Unfortunately I don't think it would actually fit a real child as I didn't have any around to measure so I just made it up. And the neck is huge. Oh well, I had a great time making it and learned a lot in the process. As usual, I should have followed a pattern but for some reason that always sounds too boring so I never do it, which is why many of my projects don't turn out. At first, at least - I think the next time I try a dress it will be much better!

If

If

when an answer I did not expect 

comes to a prayer which I 

believed I truly meant,

      I shrink back from it; 

if the burden my Lord asks me to bear

be not the burden of my 

heart’s choice, 

      and I fret inwardly and do not 

welcome His will,

then I know nothing of Calvary love.

-excerpt from "If" by Amy Carmichael

A very good friend of mine lent me Amy Carmichael's little book If several years ago - and I keep forgetting to send it back to her. But every once in a while I pull it out and read the stanzas that all begin with the word "if" and end with the words "then I know nothing of Calvary love."

It'f a very compelling little book. 

Cocoa: A Story in Pictures

Family Picture

We spent Christmas with my family down in Colorado this year. It was lots of fun to have Brian there too! We always try to get a family picture... which leads me to ask, why are family pictures always a bit stressful? Ok, so it wasn't that bad, and in most of them we are smiling, but a Becker tradition is to take at least one silly picture and usually one serious picture too. We really did have a merry Christmas, trust me.

Christmas, Instagram version

Monday Night, Tomato Soup

Around the time Brian and I got engaged, I said to him (rather fiercely I'm afraid) "I am not going to be the kind of wife who cooks and cleans all the time. I don't like doing those things! Okay?"

Like a good fiance, he quickly assured me that all was well and I didn't need to be anything I wasn't, that he would help with cleaning... etc.

Of course, all along I knew I would actually be the one who cooks and cleans for the most part. And I actually don't mind it too much. But sometimes, after a busy, cold Monday, I just make grilled cheese and tomato soup for my husband. And I like it that he doesn't expect anything grand.

And I like it that sandwiches are his favorite food anyway.

O Christmas Tree.

Christmas Stockings!

My mom made us all Christmas stocking when we were little and I wanted to do the same for Brian and me. I looked all over the web and on Pinterest to try to find a good pattern but I didn't really find one I liked - then I saw a picture of one on Etsy so I kind of copied it, adding a few things here and there. 

Also, I took several pictures of them over a few days because it was almost impossible to find somewhere in our apartment where the lighting AND background were conducive to a good photo!

So yes, I did take pictures of them hanging on a wall, the Christmas tree,

a door, and even the refrigerator... however those ones didn't make the blog cut.

Now all I can think when I look at them is that I should have made them BIGGER so as to hold more PRESENTS!! ... Okay kidding. At least mostly.

Aberle Photoshoot

On Saturday morning I took pictures of my friend Abby's family. They turned out great and it was lots of fun - even though it had to be around 28 degrees and it started snowing in the middle of it... Owen, (whom you might remember from his newborn photoshoot), wasn't too excited about being outside in the freezing cold weather but he did a good job being cute anyway!  Here's a sample of the shoot:

Stick With Me Baby

Love this so much.

Pillow

I bought a couple vintage-looking handkerchiefs at a store last week and used one to sew a little pillow for the living room.

Of course, I didn't follow a pattern... too much work, I thought to myself. I could easily make a pillow. That is why the back isn't big enough and why I had to sew a little button loop on to pretend I meant it to be like that.

It's okay though, I like it anyway.

Comfort, Comfort

Tell her that her sins I cover,

And her warfare now is over.

(hymn: Comfort, Comfort Ye My People)

Afternoon Sewing; or, Always Listen to Your Mother #2

I spent yesterday afternoon sewing Christmas things - after, of course, Brian and I stood in two very long lines at Joann Fabrics trying to get out by 12:00 to get the discount. Brian, as it turns out, is not a Joann's fan.

I'll post a picture of what I made as soon as I finish it! For now, just know that if only I had carefully read the directions like my mom always told (tells) me to, I wouldn't have had to rip out all the stitches 2 times.

Model shots, in woods.

My youngest sister Emily, as I have mentioned before, is probably my best photography model because she actually thinks it's fun.

Even though I dressed her up and did her hair (messy...) and made her tromp through snow and mud in heels...

she enjoyed it. No really. Although, much of the time she was saying "Come on Christy, I'm cold!"

I just said "Come on! Just a few more! Then you can just get in the car and be warm. But it's almost dark and I just want to take a few more..."

I've always been relatively good at getting my own way.

 But obviously, she was having a good time too. Love that little sister of mine.