A Money Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I only wish this were true. Money causes so many problems as of late- the terrible state we are in these days- we all need pick me ups. Watching Hazel is a true pick me up- although I have not yet gotten a camera to share the good times with you again- we're working on it.

The little shop that could- can and is.. Papa Oat travels an hour or more into NYC each day to stake his claim and I dream of finding time to sew to restock the shop. I say dream- because since our half- move I am yet to start a custom order and have not sewn a stitch. The cats have amazingly adapted well to living with my mom's two other kitties. Although at night we keep them separated- just like the Offspring
(yes I went there).

Miss Hazel will be 4 months on Thursday and is now weighing in at 12 lbs 4 oz. She's grabbing EVERYTHING in sight and now I'm happy I'm sporting a super short do these days!This week I'm going to start her on some rice cereal- yum yum!

Just for the sake of blogging with some pictures here are random ones that I found on my parent's computer- cause oh yeah we haven't quite gotten the mac working wit their Internet set up-





( when we first brought Jasper home)
Have a good one- more craftiness and pics of the girl to come!

Live See Make or Sleep Nurse and Forget to Eat

Hazel will be 4 months next week- how time has just flown by. I think this is the longest I've gone without blogging- something. We just came back from a new Whole Foods almost near us with some new friends. A good time was had by all- except now I have a sore throat. With Hazel sleeping lightly on my lap- I wish at this point I would have trained our cats better. As always we are taking on much more than we envisioned and have started moving in with my parents-while still housing things at the old place. I packed up my most summery fabric and my machine and have it all in a pile staring back at me. This weekend- this weekend- this weekend. That is my new mantra. It'll all get done-this weekend.

Although H sleeps through the night now, I am not getting to bed till midnight and rising at 6 to take Z to the train. Once his ticket is up at the end of March- we'll begin a closer & perhaps easier commute ( as I've done both of his and prefer the ferry-train method).

I've started making some clutches and they are patiently awaiting their buttons for closure- however I dropped our digital camera and may have broken it. So I will add that to my list!

I hope the springy weather inspires wonderful things in you.. I need to get into the right frame of mind-which I hope will be coming soon! I'm washing my fabrics and that always inspires me- along with reading SARK and Sabrina Ward Harrison.
be well-

Annie Vs. Jaime

Whenever I have my hair cut short people tell me I look like either Annie Lennox or Jaime Lee Curtis. Like today in line at Ikea, a group of women were sharing a cart-I thought I would be next- but there were actually six women in front of me, so I had to wait. So I was kind of staring into the abyss when this woman said "has anyone ever told you, you look like Jaime Lee Curtis?"

Not that I am complaining- both women were and are gorgeous it's just funny.

In other news, I've gone 4 days without any sort of medicine- just using my peppermint capsules & acaia powder- and eating a gluten-free diet that is a miracle for me. To be able to leave the house and be somewhat carefree is an amazing feeling. This Saturday, my parents are having their last hurrah before we move in with them sometime in late May, so we'll all go over and enjoy an Irish feast. My plan is to make some gluten-free/dairy-free Irish soda bread- one of my favorites for this time of year.

In hoboland- I've been sewing during Hazel's nap time and semi-late nights. I have 3 summery clutches almost finished to share with you. They are one of my favorite things to make and sort of use to be the bread & butter of Hobocamp and I'd like them to make a comeback.

I'm feeling grateful:
for our baby girl, Hazel
for my husband, who works all day and comes home to a bit of a messy place and doesn't think twice about it
for my friends and family I can reach out to
for feeling some relief with my tummy troubles

Quilt While Your Ahead

Thrifted Blanket, originally uploaded by hobocampcrafts.

I'm so beat. The last couple of nights I've been itching.. only to find some small bites on my stomach, back, legs. I've checked the bed- but it is a brand new mattress from Ikea along with bn pillows. Unless there is an old, dirty mattress inside the clean Ikea one- I don't think we have bed bugs. Fleas? I've checked both cats and haven't found anything. But I may get them Frontline- in case. The beds have been stripped- piles of bedding- and our other laundry is going to be squished into bags for washing. Have I mentioned how tired I am? Is it Friday yet?

This is one of the blankets to be washed. I just grabbed everything and anything. To Be Continued...

Humming Along With the Daffodils

Daffodils are usually the first to bloom around here. We spotted some the other day and now they seem to be popping up everywhere. Saturday we spent the night with friends chomping on guacamole, hummus and other tasty bits. Fun was had by way of silly storytelling and playing American Idol 2. Can anyone say "Maneater"? Well I started ff with this one- but kind of failed so I switched to a Killers song. Here is a moment Zach caught, where Hazel was asleep in my arms during the performances.

We've been in the market for a camcorder since before Hazel was born- now that she's here it is kind of important we get one to cherish all of her firsts. With that said we took a gulp as we tried finding parking at the mall on a weekend. I was just amazed. You would have thought it was the holiday season! True, we haven't been there in awhile, but still I was in awe of how many people were out- shopping. Recession- who? Needless to say- we made a mistake being there- too many people we got in and got out- with out much more info than when we started.

In Hoboland, our little shoppe is humming along. We are in a much better place than we were 3 years ago at this time of year and that is all we can really ask for. I've started batting around some new ideas for the spring and even got a little bit of sewing done last night. It is rainy and dark here- otherwise I would have posted some pictures.

Up since 5, there is a meatloaf in the oven for Zach's dinner tonight. I feel so tired, we stayed up waaaay too late on Saturday even after our fun night. We watched some movies and managed to stay up till 4am and still missed SNL!

Well maybe I'll catch a nap if the baby doesn't wake up before the meatloaf is done. Somewhere in between that window a pillow has my name on it. Have a great Monday!

mama's hat

mama's hat, originally uploaded by hobocampcrafts.

On a semi-daily basis we like to be ridiculous. Whether that means dressing Hazel up in our clothes,taking silly cat pictures- we like to keep it real.

Warm weather is almost here and I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to go to the park,plant a garden and other springy things.

Have a great weekend- enjoy the warm weather we are supposed to have!

My New Crush

In the world of craft I've got a new crush. Her shoppe is Wren Willow. Her shirts are hand dyed and perfect for your little crawling- drooling or cooing hipster. A few of my favorites are:

Can you get a cuter model? Wren Willow's keeper is a super sweet mama and hails from New Paltz- ( my college town- that I love). So when you are on the lookout for adorable handmade goodness for baby-toddler or little pips- stop over here!

Tiny Determination

Days are hard.. sometimes..trains break down in front of other trains- causing hundreds to be late-tires are flat- neighbors loud and in the midst of it all we manage to learn new things about ourselves and those around us.

On Monday Hazel turned 3 months- it amazes me how far she's come- what she's learning and how blessed I feel to be a part of this. Sunday she rolled over- I missed it! Can you believe a quick jaunt to Trader Joe's, when I return Zach is telling me how she turned over! I'm not going to let it get me down- I'm glad he shared that moment- and I can't wait to share it too. Her little body is growing stronger as is her personality. She's a whole lot of determination in a tiny 11 pounds and there is so much to learn from her.

I can't wait till our move is set and final. I dream of summer mornings- hanging laundry-washing Hazel outside in the sun- sewing outside and late night barbecues when papa gets home. Oh how I've missed the warm weather!

Turning White Rice Yellow and Other Stories

This morning when I woke up for Hazel's wee morning feed, the snow was coming down in huge snowflakes. With the spotlight that is attached to our building- I could see almost every individual flake. It was pretty beautiful. I pulled up the blinds for the cats- because I think they enjoy the wonder of it all.

Zach worked from home and was a huge help as usual. The babe slept most of the day- only waking for brief jaunts between nursing and kicking in her Rainforest wonderland. I cleaned the car off and made it- alive to my EKG appointment- which I had rescheduled about 4 times. Afterwards I went to get my hair cut. My current cut, just wasn't tailored enough. So um- now it is tailored enough to join the Marines


I have the worst luck at salons. I think it might be more difficult to cut short hair- because it is short to begin with and then they just kinda go overboard. So I know it is only hair- but this is even a little too short for me. I'm grateful for the kind words of my husband and my Flickr friends who are so encouraging.

In other news I added turmeric to white rice and it turned a gorgeous yellow and was quite delicious. I've started packing and I may be a little crazy- but I'd rather have it all ready. I'm also thinking about purchasing some new diapers. Right now we only have 3 reusable diapers and 1 cover. I'd love to be able to go a whole day with reusable. I think we are going to get Bumpkins from Costco.

With that I'm off to bed.. here are a few pictures from the last few days.