Autumn makes me want to...

...knit. When autumn breezes begin to blow, the knitting bug always bites. I begin to create to keep myself and the ones I love warm. This year, I'd like to attempt a sweater...we'll see!

ETA - By the way, that's not me in the picture! I was teaching a friend to knit.

Autumn makes me want to...

...read. The beginning of school and the approach of fall has had me in the reading mood. Some of the books I have been reading:

Knit One, Kill Two, Needled to Death, and A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton. I discovered this series while at the murder mystery bookstore Foul Play in Westerville, Ohio. Knitting plus murder mysteries - what could be better?


Sew What! Bags by Lexie Barnes. I picked this up at my local bookstore before my vacation, and the patterns are absolutely inspiring! I can't wait to try some of them out.

I hope you all are enjoying the approach of autumn. What does the coming fall put you in the mood to do?

The Best Pasta Salad

Right before our road trip to Ohio, North Carolina, and Texas (last state for my best friend's wedding, via airplane), we had five of our plum tomatoes ripen, along with some very full basil plants. Inspired by Tollipop, I decided to turn them into a pasta salad that we could eat on the road (and avoid the deadly fast-food stops!). Here's the recipe:

EmmaBee's Pasta Salad


1/2 lb cooked whole wheat pasta (I used Trader Joe's Oganic Rotini)
5 plumb tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 oz of fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup corn
1 small green bell pepper, diced
handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients in a big bowl, and add the olive oil and vinegar a little at a time until the pasta salad is dressed to your liking.

5 Things...

5 things I'm loving right now:

5. This tea, made into iced tea at lunch.



4. Our vegetable garden.

3. The strawberry and strawberry-rhubarb jams that my sister and I made for the first time.



2. This guy.

1. Reading in my hammock.

Pisa!

The leaning tower is so tiny!I can fit it in my hand, see?


So, Pisa was so much fun! The leaning tower was very cool, and as you can see I took the obligatory silly pictures. Stay tuned for more fun...

Florence!!

After a very long flight (and very little sleep!), 24 other students and I arrived in Florence, Italy with our three professors. This is only my second day here, but I am already falling in love with this city! Here are some pictures from our first two days...

The view from our Swiss air flight out of JKF.

Our view of the Alps from plane number 2!

Dinner out our first night (Pizza with salame piccante, basically the best peperoni pizza ever!)

Today, with the Duomo in the background!

Some famous dome (hehehe...)

I hope to have more to show you soon!

My First Post!

Hi! I'm EmmaBee, a crafty girl from Long Island, New York. Here, I plan to post about my creations and my life.

Onto the creation of the day:

My yoga mat bag used to be a pair of Old Navy corduroy cargo pants. They were from when I was in middle school (I'm 20 now), and one of the cargo pockets had ripped in half...twice. So, however much I loved those pants, it was time for them to move on. After I received a yoga mat for Christmas, their destiny was decided.

Here it is, chillin' by the back door.


The Top Cargo pocket holds my mat cleaning spray (made with tea tree oil and lavender) and my cleaning cloth.

The bottom cargo pocket currently holds my hair ties, but I could also fit my cell phone and some cash.

My dog, Happy, approves!