Christmas Card and a Big Annoucement!

This year, we're back in the states so I actually got to send out real Christmas cards as opposed to the email ones I've been sending the past couple of years.  Unfortunately, I didn't order enough, so I wasn't able to send one to everyone I wanted to.  But then again, where do you draw the line of who should get a card?  Maybe I should stick with email cards after all...:-)

Anyway, this is our card!  You can click on the image below to view the front of the card in a larger format.

Wish You Merry Christmas Card

Turn your favorite family photos into Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to provide you with a link to read the back of the card.  However, there's a very important announcement on the back I don't want you to miss!  I didn't have the foresight to bring my computer with me on our trip up to visit family in the Dallas area, so I don't have access to my photos.  I've reverse downloaded some pictures to recreate the back of our card so you won't miss out on our big announcement.  It may not look the best, but you guys will get the point.

Yup, that's right! We're so happy to announce that we are adopting domestically and hopefully will be able to add a little one to our family in the upcoming year!

So, as we enjoy spending our first Christmas in a couple of years with family, we hope that you have a wonderful time with your family as well.  Merry Christmas everyone!

More Finished Blankets!

I'm thinking I may need to put my shop on etsy or some type of website to make selling and ordering easier.  When people find out about my shop, they want to know how to browse and place orders.  I end up directing them to facebook, then to my blog, then to the links on the top right.  Often times, customers get lost in all of that.  I would use etsy, but since my blankets are all unique and custom embroidered, I don't have pictures to post until they are ordered and made.  I usually only buy one of each fabric set for the blankets, perhaps I need to buy multiple sets now.... I guess I could post the fabrics and then a picture of a similar blanket so people can get an idea of what a finished blanket will look like.

Anyone have any ideas on how I can avoid etsy and set up my own shop? Please leave me a comment if you do!

Anyway, here are some more blankets I've finished recently:

Have a great week!

Nothing like friends from Jersey

A couple of weeks ago, some friends stopped by H-town for a visit.  They're both fourth year med-students and were doing interviews all around the great state of Texas.  They were able to squeeze in a day in H-town so I got to take them around and show them this great city.  I love when my friends from Jersey come visit!  We have so many shared childhood memories and there is just a level of ease with each other that can't be replicated elsewhere.

Since they were really only spending one full day in town, we decided to do an "eating tour of Houston".  Our goal was to squeeze in as many places as we could, but just to share one or two plates of the best dishes that establishment to offer.  This way we wouldn't overstuff ourselves and would be able to taste a little of everything.  First, for breakfast, we had breakfast burrito's in jslik's kitchen.  Then, we headed out to Rice U, the Med Center, and then hit our first stop on the eating tour.

First stop:

Goode company for BBQ of course!  Who visit Houston and doesn't eat BBQ?  That's unheard of.

If you're at Goode Company BBQ, you might as well take a pic with the armadillo at the Palace next door...

After a plate of BBQ and a huge slice of pecan pie, we were off to the Galleria to walk it off, but stopped first at the waterwall:

The Waterwall

  

Of course, I had to take them in the Galleria so they could see the ice skating rink


After a bit of watching the skaters, it was time for our next food stop:

Cafe Pita for their awesome cabbage rolls and hummus.
The waiter looked at us funny when we only ordered one plate for 3 people....

After that, it was off to Chinatown for some shopping, and then a Cantonese feast at House of Bowls with some more of our Jersey-turned-Houstonian friends:

We were going to get shaved ice after, but it was getting late and these crazy kids were making a drive up to Dallas at 2 a.m. later that night (or morning I should say).  It was a short visit, but still wonderful.  I'm so glad they came to visit!!

Fabrics and Blankets

Been busy sewing and fabric shopping lately!

Here's a few of my latest projects:

 

 

I've also been doing some shopping and have added a few new fabrics to my shop.  Here are some new options:
 
 

Note, the chevron print can be made with other color combinations as well.  You can check out my new blanket choices here.  I've also added a couple of new fabrics to my bibs and booties choices, you can check those out here.  Happy browsing!

::edit:: I forgot to add that you can contact me at jslikdesigns (at) gmail (dot) com to place orders.  Thanks!

Thanksgiving

Last week, we spent most of the week up in the Dallas area staying with my in-laws.  They just  finished building their dream home and moved into it.  It's a beautiful house, with amazing views out the front and back.  They don't have neighbors across the street and live up on a hill so they have sweeping views of the area and a nearby lake.  Here we are enjoying the views:

Beautiful sunset

Beau enjoying the view

Then from the back patio, they have golf course views.  We enjoyed making comments about golfers' strange fashion choices and making fun of how most the men were teeing off from the women's tees...

Back patio

View of the 17th hole

One day, we ventured out to the club house and practiced a little at the driving range.  Aslik did pretty well, but I did miserably.  Let's put it this way, the best thing aslik could say was, "at least you hit almost every time".  But, in my defense, it was my first time picking up a club in 5 years.  All I can say is that I need ALOT of practice.

This year, I'm really thankful that we're able to spend Thanksgiving in America and with family.  It's just not quite the same when you're in another country!

Hodge Podge Post

Sometimes we have what I call "hodge podge" lunch/dinner in our house.  Basically I fish out a bunch of leftovers, slap them together and create a meal.  It's like having a 7-course meal!  I have to admit, sometimes it gets kind of weird.....like a fruit/veggie/flax smoothie, a bite of pad thai, a fried egg, some miso soup, and half a chicken salad sandwich.  I kid you not, this is literally what I ate for lunch today.  It's a good thing I have a husband that is willing to eat leftovers!

Anyway, now that you've seen a glimpse of my diet, here's a "hodge podge" post of the last couple of weeks.

I went to check out the International quilt festival in downtown Houston and had a great time looking and shopping.  I was pretty much the youngest person in there by 20 years.  Here were some of my favorites:

I think I'm starting to realize that I prefer modern quilts over traditional ones.


This is all done by hand....including the quilting.  RIDICULOUS!


Can you believe this is fabric? I can't believe someone created this with itty bitty pieces of fabric!
This one was one of the top prize winning pieces on display.


Seriously?


This was my personal favorite!  It's just awesome.

After viewing the quilts, I hit the market and bought some fabrics for my shop.  You can check out the new fabrics in my fabric album.  I only bought girl blanket fabrics, I promise I'll shop for some more boy fabrics soon!

I also got to attend the 6th birthday of one of my favorite kiddos.  His cool mom got a guy to come dressed as a storm trooper from Star Wars.  The kids loved it....so did I.  It was my job to photograph the kids with the storm trooper, so of course I had to jump in and get my pic too!

    

And finally, our little "family"(a bunch of friends I grew up in NJ who now live in Houston - yes, we call ourselves a "family") bought a package of tickets for Rockets games this season.  We got to go to the first home game of the season and welcomed Jeremy Lin in true Asian style.  There were so many Asians at the game....aSlik commented that he felt like he was back in China.  Unfortunately I didn't bring my real camera and even more unfortunately, the Rockets lost in overtime.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Next time, I'll remember to bring my real camera!

48 hours in Houston

It's been a fun event filled couple of weeks here.  Besides being busy with some orders, I had a very special visitor come stay with me....my best friend!  She came for some much needed R&R time - she's got 4 kiddos at home that keep her on her feet 24/7.  So, she was more than happy to come see me (sans-kids), have some girl time, eat a ton of food, and sleep in.  Unfortunately, she could only get away for a couple days, so I tried to pack in as much as I could in 48 hours without tiring her out.  This trip was supposed to be for R&R after all!

One of the reasons why we are best friends is that we both LOVE to eat and are not afraid to put it down.  So of course, during my her first solo trip (and first visit to Houston), I took her out to some of the best Houston has to offer.  We had BBQ at Goode Company, Mexican at El Tiempo, Bosnian at Cafe Pita, and Indian at Himalaya.

First stop - Goode Company!

Indian at Himalaya - YUM!

We did some shopping and hit up some antique stores in The Heights area of Houston.  While there, my friend picked some goodies for her husband and kids.  We also stumbled upon a Dia de los Muertos celebration.

  

There were some Aztec tribal dancers on the scene and I couldn't resist taking advantage of a photo op!

I had such a great time with my best friend and I'm sure she thoroughly enjoyed this time to herself.  She could shower, poop, eat, and sleep in peace.  I wish we lived closer!

Ready for the Weekend!

Been sewing up a storm lately.  I love having my sewing space connected to the living room because now I can be inspired by endless episodes of Project Runway while working on my projects.  Those people are crazy talented!

If you haven't noticed, I posted up some links to the right with information about my products.  Check it out and contact me at jslikdesigns gmail com if you'd like to place an order.

Here are some orders that I've finished up the past couple of weeks:

 
 
 
 

I've been working hard this week, sent out a bunch of orders, and cleaned off my sewing station.  My best friend is coming into town tonight, aslik's heading to Big D, so it's gonna be a fun girls' weekend!  I was going to say no sewing, but my best friend has recently started sewing herself and she wants to learn the secrets behind jslik designs.  She's got 4 kids, so she doesn't get much time to sew, eat, sleep, or do anything by herself.  So, this weekend she's coming sans-kids and we're going to have a fun time of sleeping in, eating a ton, watching chick flicks, and maybe a little sewing :-)