Nona's Market

Merry Christmas!

If you haven’t gotten your card in the mail yet, wait for it. It’s not news that I’m a procrastinator.

This Christmas was the most wonderful, yet. (Even though Jojo’s first present opened was a Toy Story book & wanted nothing to do with opening the rest of them. Maybe we’ll save them for his birthday in Feb?)

Morning: stockings + coffee
BRUNCH! creamed spinach eggs benedict + Best Stop Boudin + crawfish grits.
Afternoon: Monty Python & the Holy Grail + nap.
Dinner: lamb & pork meatballs with our bestie fam.
Dessert: bread pudding + King Cake

What else would you make for the King on His birthday?! KINGCAKE! yum.

Merry Christmas from the Cooke’s.
Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!

Published on December 26, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

DIY: LOVE was born on this day.

Out of all the Christmas cards I got this year, so far, my favorite is one from my uber-crafty friend Quinn: LOVE was born on this day. So that’s my theme & inspiration this year. Focus on what’s important, teach Joey those truths, and give Him glory.

In that decision, the easiest reminders are visual, and none more representative than the Nativity Scene. My mom gave my little Jo the Little People Christmas Story Nativity Scene, and that’s a great place to start. Nothing is cuter than a might-as-well-be-2 year old running around “BEBE. JESUS… MAMA. MARY… CAMEL… HE. HAW… SAUSY…” (where he got Sausy from, I have no clue! He knows “cow” and even says it. And now, it’s for every cow he sees. We’re hoping it’s not his imaginary cow-friend with red eyes in the window.)

This year, I made our Nativity Scene from this Matchbox set I found at Ten Thousand Villages. That store has a pretty interesting backstory with us, which I’ll talk about later. I know it’s hard for something to be so little that it fits into a Matchbox and NOT be cute. I fell in love… & made a terrarium.

My supplies:
- glass bowl
- reddish sand
- moss variety pack
- matchbox Nativity scene

Directions: layer.

Merry Christmas.
Love was born on this day.

Published on December 23, 2011 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: baby Jesus, Christmas, DIY, donkey, fair trade, fisher price, gift, hand-made, handmade, Jesus, joseph, lamp, last minute, little people, mary, matchbox, moss, Nativity, procrastination, sand, sheep, small nativity, south austin, south congress, ten thousand villages, terrarium.

Headbands: listed!

You know you have a little girl that the only way she could be any cuter is if she was wearing one of these sweet felt flower headbands! They’re finally for sale in my Etsy shop (see The Goods link up-top). Some LSU. Some Christmas. Some Hanukkah… and some fun & funky color pairings. I promise you won’t find any rhinestones here!!

Order before December 15 to get them before Christmas!
If you live in Austin, message me & I’ll make sure you get it way before then. …and overnight is always an option if you need one for a Christmas photo prop (slacker!).

*Meet Rebecca, my newest baby model. She’ll give you a cavity with her sweetness… & she’s polite to boot: she says “excuse me” when you’re in her way.

Published on December 9, 2011 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: baby, Christmas, crochet, felt flower, football, geaux tigers, girl, headband, infant, LSU, polka dot, purple and gold, toddler.

Cyber Monday 2011

use coupon code MONDAY2011 for a 20% discount in Nona’s Market today!
Merry Christmas to you!!

Here’s a new listing for a baby girl set in my shop:
pink & aqua damask. eyelet lace. so sweet & feminine.

Published on November 28, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: 9-hole button, aqua, baby shower, coupon code, cyber monday, damask, discount, eyelet, felt flower, feminine, gift set, headband, lace, pacifier clip, pink.

Craft Fellowship: Sock Monkeys for Bastrop.

For the past few weeks, the Craft Fellowship that I host through my church has been working on Craft Hope‘s Project 15: Sock Monkeys for Texas. Bastrop is a little city just east of Austin destroyed by the devastating wildfires that ripped through there this past Labor Day weekend. 1600 homes were consumed.

The last project Craft Hope unveiled was to make sock monkeys for the kids that had fallen victim to the fires. Our only requirement for this project was that they must be totally handmade.

Our favorite part was coming up with little touches to make each one special: hand-knit scarves, felt button hearts, ruffle cuffs, bow tie. The hardest part for us was keeping some of them uni-sex.

Every Thursday, a group of about 8 women from my church (Christ Community Church in Austin, TX–you can follow us online.) get together at my house with their ducklings in tow. We mostly talk about crafting, our children, & our husbands. What I feel blessed about most is the native bond we’re weaving while creating for others with our hands.

Published on November 15, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: bastrop, charity, craft hope, felt buttons, sock monkeys.

Peppa likes to hunt.

Apparently, my friend Noelle has friends that love to hunt & are expecting… So she asked me for a onesie like she’s ordered before, except this time, she asked if I could make the hedgehog with RealTree print.

Well, I couldn’t find any hunter’s camo at the fabric store. (I looked for a half hour in one store, asked a worker, nothing… and last week, I found it. story of my life.) I checked Academy & Cabela’s for something cheap & RealTree, and my best option was tees. I wanted it to look better than that.

I had a great idea.
Some of my family fanatically hunts, too. My dad & his cousins. My husband’s fam. What they’ve told me is that deer can’t see bright orange; hunters wear it so they can be seen by fellow hunters & still remain camouflaged from the deer (or boar, whatev). When I tried to figure out a way to incorporate this into the onesie, I figured they had to make RealTree onesies!! I found a set online & made the hedgehog bright orange.

Meet Peppa the hunter:

You can order the set in my store here.
Please allow order & ship time.

Published on November 15, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: 0-6m, 6 month, Academy, apg, applique, baby, Cabela's, camo, gift set, hedgehog, hunting, orange, realtree.

GEAUX SAINTS… (& Aggies)

The first Saints shirts are for sale in my shop!!! Available in all sizes onesie to toddler tees… long-sleeve as well.

The Texas A&M tees aren’t available in onesie because the clay buttons (the A & the M) are too heavy for soft, delicate onesie material. The Aggie Peppa is available on a onesie, though!!
…because sometimes hedgehogs love maroon.

I know I’m probably gonna get some flack for the A&M shirts, since we’re tiger fans. So here’s the story on why I made them: My friend’s kiddo Gabe turned 2. She’s a HUGE fan because that’s where she and her husband went to college, even though I met her at LSU on a mission trip to Nicaragua. (Visit the PROJECT CHACOCENTE, where we worked, here.) I thought since she knew how much Tigers we were, if I made her Gabey an Aggie shirt, she’d know how much I love her!!

but don’t get it wrong: BEAT BAMA!

Published on November 4, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: 9 hole buttons, aggie, ATM, black and gold, college station, fleur de lis, hedgehog, maroon, new orleans, peppa, polka dot, saints, texas a and m, texas a&m, toddler tee, who dat.

Spider Sacks: FAIL.

Halloween is my favorite holiday… so I wrangled a few of my friend Melody’s kiddos (from Mama Melody) to help me craft these really cute spider sacks I found on the Modern Parents Messy Kids website. (I love this website! Easy, innovative crafts families & teachers can use to spark creative thinking in their kids’ minds.) Okay, so most of the time, the crafts are easy. This time, I failed.

*gasp!*
*sob.*

Her directions were very clear, WITH pictures… See her DIY post for the sacks here.

Our problem was we didn’t use enough glue in our water. oops. Maybe next Halloween.

The win: we had loads of fun blowing the balloons up & letting them “toot” around the room. The babies loved chasing the full balloons and got scared when they popped them. *giggles* (Happy Halloween to me!!)

Anyone ever really excited about a project… and fail?

Published on October 28, 2011 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

Elgin Pumpkin Fest

Take advantage of Pumpkin Fests early for your fall/Halloween pumpkin pictures! Last weekend, we went to Elgin Christmas tree farm for their Pumpkin Fest. October in Austin, TX is still so hot. When we left for the festival, we were all cutesy-fall-bundled. By the time we got there, sweaters & vests came off, sleeves rolled, & I at least waited until after pictures to put Joey in shorts. If you’re anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line, try to go in the morning-time for pictures so you’re not sweating (a clear indicator that you’re lying with your fake-fall attire… your sister in Colorado will laugh at you).

The best thing about going to Elgin was the BBQ. Really, that & the Christmas tree farm is all it’s known for. We got sausage, brisket, & chopped beef. It’s definitely worth a stop at Southside Market.

Published on October 28, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: barbeque, BBQ, Christmas tree, elgin, family photo, farm, patch, pumpkin, Texas.

Pumpkin Fudge.

Do yourself a favor.

Find a Cabela’s near you, click HERE… and grab yourself a brick or two of their PUMPKIN FUDGE. It’s amazing. Rich, delicious, pumpkin-y… just as it should be. I had mine while watching a movie late-night with the husband.

How do you like your fudge?

Published on October 28, 2011 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: brick, Cabela's, dessert, fall, fudge, pumpkin.