dontcallmebecky

how don't call me becky came to be

It was a momentous day at the library today because I ran into the person who inspired the name for my blog.

Picture me back in 1990...permed hair, big purple glasses, tight rolled jeans. You get the picture. My family started going to a new optometrist's office and the doctor's assistant, Annie, welcomed me at the start of my appointment.

Annie: Hi Rebekah. Do you go by Becky?

Me: Nope, just Rebekah

Annie: Okay, Becky

She continued to call me Becky throughout the appointment and introduced me to others in the office as Becky.

The following year at the optometrist's office

New receptionist: Hi Rebekah...

Annie: Oh, she goes by Becky

New receptionist: okay Becky, right this way

New receptionist now thinks my name is Becky

and the following year...

Optometrist: Hi Rebekah, do you go by Becky?

Me: No, just Rebekah

Annie: (jumping in) She actually goes by Becky

Optometrist now thinks my name is Becky.

Unfortunately, the optometrist's office was quite large and there were four doctors and countless receptionists and assistants on staff. Annie was very insistent that everyone in the office called me Becky, no matter how hard I tried to assure people that I really did go by Rebekah.

Annie was really sweet and always helped me pick out the cutest glasses and patiently taught me how to put in contacts for the first time, but she never caught on to my correct name. It's been about ten years since I've been to that particular office, so it caught me off guard to see Annie in a different environment at the library.

She's the only person that's ever called me Becky more than once. :)

Young@Heart

I admit that I was initially drawn to this film after seeing the cover art on Netflix. Knitting and guitar all in one...yes, please!

 

This was one of the most delightful, sweet and touching documentaries I have seen in a long time. I was laughing and crying throughout the entire film. I highly recommend this! I definitely want to make sure that I stay active and have a great support network like this when I'm older.

Vintage Sheet Fat Quarter Giveaway

I've had this stack of pretty vintage sheet fat quarters (and a few strips of cut fabric too) sitting in my stash for far too long.

I'm hoping they will go to a good home where they will be loved and used more than I have used them. Enter this giveaway by commenting and I'll pick a winner at random tomorrow at 4:00PM EST. Thanks for entering! (I'll ship internationally, too, for all of you outside the USA)

local light show

A family in our town puts up a spectacular light display each year in their yard. They are giving the Griswold family of Christmas Vacation a run for their money with these decorations! It is truly a sight to behold.

They've got lights, figurines and inflatable filling every inch of their yard. People park their cars and take a few minutes to walk up and down the sidewalk to see all of the decorations on display. I think this house is a local landmark at Christmas.

This choir lights up in rhythm with Christmas music that's playing through a loud speaker. And, if you look closely, you can see the countdown to Christmas clock on the left side of the photo above.

They've got a huge nativity scene set up and nine reindeers pulling Santa's sled.

Ever since I first discovered this house about five years ago, we've been bring friends and family by the house during December to see the display for themselves...it's much more impressive in person!

not so secret love

pens, markers and mechanical pencils

in all colors of the rainbow

(Jon has stopped questioning me when I bring a new set of writing utensils into the house)

New favorite website to accompany my love of pens: penaddict.com

New Etsy finds

I've become a tad bit obsessed with etsy lately....here are my latest purchases:

...a repurposed coffee sack bag. This bag is so roomy and sturdy and I love how the hummingbird is positioned on the front.
Store: BeckyBean

...some Carnelian drop earrings from Carissa's new shop. She even included this super cute credit card wallet with a needlepoint design because I was her first customer. (I did not have much luck photographing my own ears, so here's the picture of the earrings in the bag)
Store: Pidoodle

...a messenger bag that's great for mini knitting projects. I first saw this store on Priscilla's blog for a giveaway and then I had to buy my own once I saw it.
Store: Bayanhippo

we're moving...

But before that happens, we're going to have to come up with $2.7 million and find jobs in California...

Jon spotted this fabulous Frank Lloyd Wright house for sale on apartmenttherapy and I'm totally smitten.

I've got a little FLW obsession, so I'm always on the lookout for a new house to tour!

(photo from apartmenttherapy.com)

Recipe Binder & Oatmeal Jumbos

I was on a big organizing kick earlier this year and finally had the chance to set up my recipe binder. I've had this binder in the work for a few years now, having already put all of my recipes into plastic sleeves and into the binder. I went through the binder and took out recipes that I have never made and that don't look too appealing to me anymore and put all my floating tear sheets from the front pocket into plastic sleeves. Previously all of the ripped out articles were jumbled in the front pocket and hard to find. The recipes in the binder are from friends, magazines, websites, blogs, and photocopied from my personal cookbooks that I don't want to ruin with food splatters.

This time around, I added subject dividers with card stock and plastic tabs for ease of searching. For the tabs, I separated the recipes into the following categories.

Favorites
Breakfast
Appetizers
Breads
Vegetables
Soups
Salads
Asian
Main Dish
Fish
Pasta
Pizza
Christmas Cookies
Cookies
Desserts
Beverages


I added a new favorite cookie to our Christmas cookie lineup this year, although it could be used all year. These cookies are so peanut-y and really delicious.

Oatmeal Jumbos

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder*
1/2 teaspoon baking soda*
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
3/4 cup chopped peanuts, walnuts, or pecans (I used peanuts)

* corrections to my previous post are in bold. Sorry for the error!

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Beat the peanut butter and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugars, baking powder, and baking soda; beat until combined. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in the rolled oats, the nuts, and candy-coated milk chocolate pieces.

2. Use a 1/4-cupmeasure or scoop to drop dough 4 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake in a preheated oven about 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. (For smaller cookies, use a teaspoon to drop dough about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven about 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned). Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. Makes 26 large or about 60 small cookies.

fun stuff

• A unique and creative gift box from Carissa:

including a paper ornament, handmade leaf box, cute card, mix cd, glass bead stamp magnets and a yummy assortment of tea.

• Walgreens.com

Their photo site is great, especially their poster/calendar offerings. Just upload 2-40 photos and they will arrange the photos in a collage. You can select border thickness and background color (but not arrangement). I put together a photo collage of classic cars that my dad has photographed for my dad's office and one of our cats for Jon's office and then framed the collages with frames from IKEA.

• Fabric wall hangings

We bought this fabric on ebay a few weeks ago and spent about 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon stapling it to canvas stretcher bars (ours were purchased from a local art supply store, but you can find them online here). There are directions for this project here. It's a great way to display fabric that you love. And, it's a great way to feed our Marimekko addiction!

• A new softie from SotoSofties....these little stuffies are just too cute

meet Sherbert the bunny!

• A sweet new wooden German Candle Pyramid from Jon

I have always wanted one of these and I was so excited to open it up on Christmas!

6 quirks and a swap

Kristena tagged me to list 6 of my quirks

1. I've never seen the Wizard of Oz. I don't think I ever will either, just so that I can claim this title.

2. After working in the towel department at Linens N Things in high school, I'm now really anal about folding towels correctly. I've been relegated to the sole towel folder in our house after I wasn't able to successfully teach Jon the correct way to fold towels. I hate folding towels, but I want them folded my way or no way at all. It's really a lose lose situation!

3. If I know someone's bought a gift for me, I have to know what it is and it kills me if I can't figure it out. I like surprises, but I also like snooping. This quirk has ruined many Christmas and birthday celebrations for me.

4. It really bothers me when people do not have bike seat heights adjusted correctly. I always comment on seat height issues whenever I see them (mostly to myself or anyone who will listen). People: raise your seats! You should not bump your arms with your knees while pedaling and you should not have knee pain from bike riding! Plus, raising your seat will make pedaling much easier and will save you some energy.

5. Before I start reading a new book, I always check to see how many pages the book has, divide that number in half and then excitedly read until the halfway point. I'm always calculating the fraction of the book that I've completed.

6. I hate getting my hands dirty. I have to wear gloves when I garden because dirt totally grosses me out. Whenever I make cookies, I use a cookie/ice cream scoop to grab the correct amount of dough. It totally grosses me out to prepare the Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day recipe, but I do it because the bread is so tasty.

Those are my quirks, now let's hear yours! Leave one of your quirks in the comments section if you like or post 6 quirks on your blog  :)

• • •

I joined this vintage sheet swap at Crafty Little Beana a few weeks ago and have had fun scouring local thrift shops for sheets and pillowcases. Here's a sample of the fabric that I sent in for the swap. I can't wait to see what I get in return!