baby sloth

a night out

2012-01-28T16:39:00.002-06:00

Robert and I went on a date last night! And by "date" I mean we went somewhere by ourselves for the first time in over 2 months. We were super nervous about leaving Audrey with a babysitter (our good friend), but I was finally able to relax and enjoy myself. It was a lovely night!

We saw Jason Isbell play at the Franklin Theatre, the old movie theater in downtown Franklin that was recently renovated. It was so nice to just sit in the dark and listen to music, and not worry about having to jump up and take care of the baby! Of course, the show started at our usual bedtime, so we were super sleepy... but it was fun all the same. When we came home Audrey was already asleep. So good!

We love our little buddy, but it was good to get a break. We may need to do that more often! We have a whole waiting list of babysitters. Keep up the charm, baby!

Life is getting pretty good

2012-01-14T15:41:00.000-06:00

This whole baby thing is starting to be pretty fun! I couldn't choose a favorite out of this set of photos. My one regret in life is that I was eating some white cheddar puffs before these were taken, and you can see some cheese dust on my chin. Shameful!

Audrey will be 8 weeks old on Tuesday. She's become a very alert little friend, and we're having a pretty good time. One of these days I'll find the time to update a little more regularly...

Goals for the New Year

2011-12-29T16:25:00.000-06:00

Another year is almost over! So much has changed, but it hardly feels like any time has passed at all since this time last year. It’s scary how quickly a year can pass, isn’t it? If you’re not careful, it can go by without accomplishing anything. Most of 2011 for me was consumed by pregnancy and all the planning, dreaming and doctor’s appointments that go along with it. My biggest goal for the year was to take care of myself and have a healthy baby, and I totally did that! It’s a big deal, so I’m patting myself on the back. Way to go, me!

I don’t really do resolutions, because we all know that those are made to be broken. But I do like to have some basic goals and dreams for the year, things I can look forward to and aim for. To quote Sylvia Plath, “We must be moving, working, making dreams to run toward; the poverty of life without dreams is too horrible to imagine…”

Here are my goals for 2012! In no particular order of importance…

Get less squishy. Yeah, I had a baby a month ago. I gained 30 pounds during pregnancy and have already lost just about all of it. But things are just not the same! I’m a fairly lazy person, so I’m not going to push myself very hard, but I would like to work on firming up a bit.
Be a better friend, family member, and neighbor. I want to keep in touch more with people. Having a baby has brought me so much closer to my parents, because they want a lot of updates and I need a lot of support! I want to keep that up, and also remember to reach out to friends. I’m a bit of a loner, and Robert and I tend to isolate ourselves and live in our own little world (we're such a duprass). I want to nourish and build our support system, because sometimes we need other people! Also…
Make some friends who have children. We don’t have any! I’d like some future friends for baby, plus it’s always nice to talk to other mothers about things. (Because childless friends only want to hear so much about diapers and sleepless nights!)
Remember to use my creative outlets. I want to find the time to blog regularly, keep up with my own personal journal and do a few little craft projects! Nothing too ambitious. Maybe take a few photos that don't feature a baby.
Enjoy every baby moment. This one sort of goes without saying, but I thought I’d say it anyway… I know the next year will fly as quickly as this one, and Audrey is going to go through so many changes! And on top of that…
Enjoy every moment with Robert! I always knew that I didn’t want our relationship to get lost in the confusion of parenting, and so far we’ve been keeping it real. True, we don’t get as much quality time alone, but it’s the little moments that count. I always thought “date nights” sounded stupid, but now I feel like we’re due a few. I wouldn’t have survived the last few weeks without him. He has taken such good care of me!! Let me boast a little more: while I was recovering from giving birth he took over all the household chores, cooked and fed me (sometimes literally) 3 meals a day, and has been 100% involved in every bit of baby care. Plus he has big muscles. Haha. Seriously, though, I never want to stop letting him know every day how super in love with him I am.

Okay, I’ll stop before this gets out of control. What are your goals for the new year? Do you have lofty aspirations or do you keep it simple?

best friends forever!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-25T12:21:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone is having a nice holiday weekend! We're having a quiet Christmas at home this year, and filling our weekend with cinnamon rolls, Harry Potter reading parties, humble little gifts, and hugs.

shhh...

2011-12-17T20:50:00.000-06:00

Boy, it's been quiet over here! Just thought I'd pop in to say hello and that we're doing fine. The first couple of weeks with a new baby were really rough (nothing could have prepared us for the shock!!), but we have finally settled into a sort of routine. We're having a pretty good time with our new little friend. I can't believe she'll be a month old next week.

Maybe one day soon I'll be able to get around to visiting some blogs -- I have over 900 unread items in my Google Reader. Yikes!! Hope everyone is having a lovely December and enjoying the season. See you later!

Introducing...

2011-11-27T13:33:00.000-06:00

5 days old!

Day one...

Our big day came and went successfully! I will have to post more details later, when I can find the time. Life with a newborn is exhausting, and there is a huge learning curve! But each day gets a little easier and we are so in love with our new little friend.

She was born on 11/22/11 at 3:47 p.m. and was 8 pounds, 10 ounces and 21.5 inches long. I made a big baby!! She is absolutely beautiful and we are so proud.

I may be quiet for a long while. Thank you all for your sweet comments, and sorry in advance for the little bit of radio silence that I'm sure will be going on here. We're still adjusting to our new life as parents!

Dreamy Thanksgiving Foods

2011-11-21T09:00:00.009-06:00

Startling fact: In just a couple of days, a baby will live in my house. I’m being induced tomorrow morning! We are beyond excited. While we get settled and adjusted, it might be quiet here for a little while. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Thursday is Thanksgiving, and hopefully we'll be coming home from the hospital that morning. My parents will be in town, so we’re going to throw together an impromptu meal.

Have you tried kabocha or delicata squash before? I like winter squash!

For those of you who have Thanksgiving plans, what’s on the menu? Look, my plans are a bit up in the air right now so I have to settle with some food fantasizing! I’ll be honest and tell you that I’ve never really enjoyed traditional Thanksgiving food. That’s not actually a secret; it’s been a joke in my family for years. While everyone else would pile up their plates with food, I usually just had a few bites of turkey and one or two dinner rolls. Dessert was the only part I cared about. But last year Robert and I hosted Thanksgiving for his family, and we came up with a menu that everyone really enjoyed!!

We ordered a country ham from Benton’s and then made a bunch of neat side dishes. [If you are a carnivore, you have to try Benton’s bacon at some point in your life. It’s made of magic.] For sides we had honey wheat rolls (so good with butter!), these awesome sweet potatoes with pecans and goat cheese, some kind of stuffed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and a salad made with broccolini and sun dried tomatoes. And dessert? Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake. Need I say more? (Wait, I will: it has a crust made of ginger snaps!) It was awesome!

This year we’re going to keep it easy for ourselves. I’m sure I’ll be in a daze and everything will be crazy, so we might just have to wing it. But as of now Robert is planning to make a pizza… Yes, pizza! Butternut squash pizza, of course. We have to keep it autumnal around here. This is one of our go-to recipes, though we usually skip the sage and replace the gorgonzola with feta or chevre. We’re REALLY hoping to have time to make this salted caramel cheesecake pie (just look at it!), but just to be on the safe side we bought a frozen pie for backup. Pie is pretty much the only staple for a Thanksgiving meal, in my opinion.

So what’s on your menu? Whether you go the traditional turkey route or do something a little different, I hope everyone has a lovely day and gets some quality time with family! We’ll be focused on a new little family member over here, so the food will just be a side note.

I feel like I have so much to be thankful for this year! You know, aside from food. Happy Early Thanksgiving!

Worth Reading: Opal Whiteley's Diary

2011-11-18T09:00:00.001-06:00

While we're all waiting around for baby to decide to show her pretty face… read any good books lately? I don’t mean just mildly entertaining or interesting books, but the kind that are so wonderful you want to tell everyone about them. You know, the type of book that you just keep telling your significant other or best friend about, even when they’re tired of hearing you read your favorite excerpts? Yes, the type that makes you feel like an enthusiastic bookworm!

If you’re looking for something nice to read on a chilly day while you cuddle up with a cup of tea or cocoa, I have an idea for you. And if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, maybe this will make your summer reading list!

Recently I came across a copy of this book, The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow: The Rediscovered Diary of Opal Whitely. I originally intended to give it to my sister because it looked like something she would find interesting. Then I started reading it, and knew that I MUST keep it for myself. But I also knew I needed to get another copy to give to my mom, because I think she would absolutely love it. It’s that kind of book. I’ve acquired two copies so far and am looking for a cheap third. I need to share this with people.

Here’s a quick summary from Amazon: “Innocent and intimate, this haunting diary reveals the life of a kind of feminine Peter Pan in the Oregon wilderness.” I’m not sure that does Opal any justice. She was definitely some sort of child genius, and she was definitely disconnected from reality. She talked to trees, the wind, the creek, animals. And they talked back to her in a way. She ended up living out most of her life in a mental hospital. So her story is ultimately sad, but the diary was written very early in her childhood. She had such a unique voice, and said the sweetest things. She carried toads and mice in her pockets, had a hospital for sick animals, and a nursery for baby animals. She named trees and animals the most exciting things; my favorite is the mouse named Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus. She left notes for fairies and angels in the woods, and created a cathedral where she would hold religious services for all of her animals. Everything was full of magic and wonder.

To put it simply, this diary is one of the most adorable things I’ve ever read. It’s occasionally sad, because Opal didn’t understand a lot of things about people and no one took the time to explain them to her. She was in trouble on a daily basis with her mother for naively doing things completely wrong (think Amelia Bedelia but in the early 1900s: she took all things literally and would throw a butter churn in the river if her mother said she wished to never see it again), and the punishments she endured sound quite cruel. But Opal never complained, and there were a few adults in her life who obviously adored her and played along with her magical worldview.

Can you tell how into this book I am? It’s one of those that is fun to randomly open up and start reading at any place. I think you’ll like it! Unless you don’t enjoy animals, nature, or the wonder of childhood. It’s also fascinating from a psychological standpoint, so I can’t really imagine anyone not liking it, unless they’re just plain grumpy.

Read it, if you can find a copy. Check your local library first! There are multiple editions, some with more back story than others.

So what about you? Have any books you’re just itching to share with everyone? Tell me about them!

Week 39

2011-11-16T14:15:00.000-06:00

There are only 5 days left until my estimated due date! I know that date doesn't mean a whole lot, and I kind of expect to see it pass before we get to meet our little one. But every day is a waiting game now. Everyone is constantly asking me if anything has changed, and how I feel. There are times when I have new sensations or random contractions, and I start to wonder if maybe labor is starting... but it never turns out to be the real thing! Waiting is incredibly hard.

Dress from Motherhood Maternity

So while we wait, let's admire this giant belly of mine. When I look at these pictures, I can't believe they're even real. I also can't believe that in just a couple of weeks, I won't be this big. I'll be able to roll over on my belly!! I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that. Life is about to get a little insane, but I'm ready to go ahead and get started on it.

This is one of those mandatory pregnancy poses.

Thank you to everyone who has dropped by in the last few days! It means a lot to me to return to this space and be greeted by familiar faces and some new ones as well.

welcome back, me!

2011-11-13T10:30:00.001-06:00

This blog has taken a good long nap, but I think it’s time for a revival! I’ve done a lot of thinking, reading, writing and growing in the past year. I feel like I’ve become a more genuine person, more aware of who I am and who I want to be. I’ve become more confident and comfortable with my own personality, and I’m ready to share again with anyone who’s willing to read!

The activity here died down last year because I didn’t have a lot of excitement going on in life, and it was starting to bore even me! I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to read it. I became anxious about putting out such mediocre content, and also a little paranoid about sharing my life with so many strangers. I was having a lot of anxiety issues. So I just sort of disappeared without warning. I apologize to any readers who were worried about me, but no one really came looking for me so I assumed my absence was no big deal! I decided not to stress about the blogosphere and just get on with my life.

What did I do with my quiet year? I stopped reading so many blogs, especially fashion blogs. I wore t-shirts and jeans nearly every day and didn't worry about dressing up. I didn’t worry about vintage stuff or keeping an Etsy shop. I decided I didn’t need to go back to school like I’d been talking about. Last November, I found out I was pregnant and then a week later had a miscarriage. That was another reason for not wanting to come back to blogging: what could I say about it? I just wanted to be quiet and alone. (But I am completely ready to talk about it now!) I worked for an anger management counselor for a while. I spent a nice Christmas in Texas with my family. I got a really nice new laptop, and didn’t use it to blog. I made a tumblr account, and didn't use it to blog. We made more friends in real life. I started working regularly at the goat farm, though I had to stop after a while. Robert and I had our 3-year wedding anniversary and spent an interesting weekend on a river boat in Chattanooga. Robert turned 30, I turned 25, and I found my first gray hair. I became an excellent temporary receptionist. None of it seemed blog-worthy!

But I’ve been growing in other ways too. For the last 9 months…

18 weeks...

24 weeks...

31 weeks...

34 weeks...

38 weeks...

That’s right: I’m about to have a baby! We had to wait 3 months after the miscarriage to try again. It felt like forever, because we’d become really set on having a baby. But we did it! Early pregnancy was scary and I was considered high risk for a while - we found out I had low progesterone as well as low thyroid levels. We got all of that fixed up and crossed our fingers that it would turn out okay. And so far, it has. (I'll get back to you after the whole "birth" experience.) Looking back from this point, it has been a relatively normal and healthy pregnancy! But I’ve also been to more doctors in the past year than in all of my previous years of life combined. It’s a little ridiculous.

Our estimated due date is in 8 days. I’ve already started dilating and labor could begin at any time in the next couple of weeks! Needless to say, it’s an exciting time. What does the future hold? Well, for a while I’m just going to be a stay at home mom and have a good time raising our daughter. We are so excited about everything to come! And I don’t know if it’s the thyroid medication or just the building excitement of pregnancy, but I’ve had such a good attitude about everything for the past several months. I’m looking forward to every new stage of life that's coming up.

So why am I reviving this old blog? To record all of the new excitement, and to share it with old friends. I feel very inspired and have a lot of ideas about what I want to do here! I’m not making any promises about what I will blog about or how often I will write. I’m not putting any pressure on myself. But I do want to give blogging another go. I think I'm ready: I stayed awake almost ALL NIGHT writing future posts in my brain. It was very irritating, but that tells me that I'm excited about this and I should move forward.

If you’re one of my old readers (or a new one!), please drop in to say hello. I would love to reconnect! I don’t read nearly as many blogs as I did in the past, simply because it takes so much time, but I will always take the time to come visit anyone who leaves me a sweet comment.

How has everyone been? Anyone reading this at all? Echo… echo…

it's almost october...

2010-09-30T11:36:00.007-05:00

But here are some pictures from September-- just a few little things that have piled up on my camera. It's been a nice, quiet month.

A mysterious cat came to visit our backyard! [blurry effect thanks to the window screen]

The cat was gone by the time I went out to meet him, but I rediscovered the amazingness of our big tree.

Spying on Robert through some flowers.

Finally framed this print, which I got for my birthday. It's in our bedroom, and the green sky matches the wall.

I drew this monkey and was really impressed with myself. You can't see it, but he has glitter highlights. Been working through this book about drawing (which was also a birthday present)!

And finally, the new friend who's gracing the walls of our hallway. Another birthday gift -- it was a good birthday!

The weather is getting nice and cool here! My sister and her husband will be coming to visit us at the end of next week, and staying for a few days. I'm fairly excited about everything. How have you all been? I think this is a really fun time of year, when the seasons change.

pixies

2010-09-21T15:20:00.005-05:00

It's sort of old news now, but we saw the Pixies play at the Ryman Auditorium about a week and a half ago. This is the same place where we saw Arcade Fire last month, but we had much better seats this time: we were in the front row of the balcony! Wonderful view. The lighting and smoke machines made it hard to get many good pictures, but you can see the rest of mine here if you're interested.

Before they came out and during the first song or so, Un Chien Andalou was playing on the screen behind the stage. That was exciting! During other songs they had mini avant-garde movies playing. The concert was great. They played all of Doolittle and a lot of B-sides, along with a few other things.

Here are a couple of videos that I made! I was so happy that no one was standing in front of us. I was also VERY happy about the guy standing next to me. He was a really conservative looking man, probably about 50 years old, and he was wearing earplugs. But he was rocking out so hard in his own way. And by that, I mean he was standing with his hands folded in front of him, and every once in a while he would play air drums or guitar. It was probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Now, for the adorable La La Love You:

Monkey Gone to Heaven:

Kim Deal also made me really happy, because she kept smiling and she just seemed so excited to be there. She's the best! During their first encore, they played Into The White [check out that video to see them all in 1991 and how much they've changed...], but something went wrong and like half of the microphones stopped working, so we didn't get to hear Kim sing the whole thing! That was sad. After a really long intermission (I've never stayed at a concert for that long afterward with nothing going on), they came back and did a second encore, with all systems working.

More videos can be found here! Some aren't complete (either because I didn't start recording for a few seconds or because my camera ran out of room and stopped recording..), but I feel they're pretty nice!

painting detective

2010-09-14T09:58:00.004-05:00

I've had a few days off recently, and finally decided to tackle one of the larger projects I've had on my to-do list. We've been in our house for over 6 months, and I'm finally getting around to repainting the baseboards!

Ugly baseboards in our bedroom!

Some of the rooms in our house are just fine, but the bedrooms show evidence of many paint changes that were never quite finalized. For example: the above picture, taken in our bedroom. As I've been repainting, I've pieced together the history of this room, like a detective. Here's what I think is going on...

At some point in time, our bedroom was wallpapered. Later on, someone painted over the wallpaper with red. Also at some point, the trim around the room was painted green.... and then someone put carpet in the room. Somebody repainted the trim a white color, obviously while the carpet was still in. And then someone came along, painted the room green, and pulled up the carpet. This is where we came into the story! The baseboards are cream with a layer of green at the bottom, as well as carpet fibers still stuck in the corners.

I've been going around sanding down the weird texture where the carpet met the wood (I guess it's glue I'm sanding off?), pulling bits off carpet off, and repainting everything white. After this I'll need to touch up the green paint, because you can still see some red at the edges. The reason I believe there's wallpaper under there is that the paint seems to curl up at the edges, making it really hard to get a clean line. Maybe one day we'll strip everything down and see what's under there! For now, I just want a pretty cover-up job. That's what all of the previous residents tried to do, I suppose. Everyone who's lived in this house for the past 48 years has been really lazy. That's what I'm going to assume. We will carry on the tradition.

P.S. We saw the Pixies last weekend!! Anyone who's interested can check out my pictures here. I'm planning a bigger post for later about it -- I made a few videos too! Robert wants to clean up the sound on them before we put them online. He's a magician or something.

cute, creepy and crawly creatures

2010-09-09T09:33:00.005-05:00

I've been keeping busy and quiet online lately! I didn't think I had much to blog about until I was uploading a recent batch of photos from my camera ("recent" meaning stuff from all of last month) and noticed a theme.

I really like taking pictures of little creatures. Real or artificial. Here are some from the last little bit!

This little friend landed on my brother-in-law's foot and hung around for 10-15 minutes.

Pacman ghost candies that I bought for Robert

I love this little guy! I'm pretty sure it's a Sedge Wren, or something closely related.

Walking salt & pepper robots! They bring your seasonings to you. Birthday present!

Yesterday afternoon when Robert got home from work, he ran up to the house. Before I could say anything, he said, "get your camera! I've got something to show you!" When I asked what it was, he said... "a muppet."

This guy was hanging out on the lock on our shed. For a creepy crawly thing, he is the cutest one I've ever seen.

We transferred him to a leaf, and he curled up in a little ball. I believe he's something in the Arctiidae family, destined to grow up into a moth! They're also called Woolly Bears. I really like that.

Here's another woolly bear, who got a hair cut a while back.

fall fashion inspiration

2010-09-02T12:40:00.005-05:00

Thank you all for the sweet birthday wishes on my last entry! I had a great day and being 24 has been nice so far.

I just wanted to pop in and do something fashion related. When's the last time I talked about fashion here?! It's been quite a while. I've been having fun dressing up for work lately -- I just haven't had any time for pictures! But this is something neat.

fall fashion set 1 by chumblyface

Anja over at Clever Nettle is participating in a Polyvore fall fashion contest, and anybody who wants can help contribute. My first collage (made during breakfast this morning) is above. I haven't had much time to play around with it since, but this is FUN. Go over to her blog and use the mini editor to make a nice set! She's filled it with her favorite fall clothes, and it's a really great collection. The blogger with the best entries in their collection will receive a $1000 gift card, as well as a $1000 gift card to give out to one reader. So! Head over and check it out if you're so inclined.*

I'm pretty excited about the upcoming season! It's starting to cool down a bit here, and I'm loving it. The trees are doing that magical thing, too! You know the thing!! Where a bunch of leaves fall in slow motion and it makes you excited about life?

*This is NOT my contest; I am simply directing folks over to Anja's blog because she thought it would be fun to have a lot of people contribute! :) Should she win, she will receive the gift cards and choose a reader to win one!

EDIT: [days later...] Here is another set I made! I like this one much better. However, today, September 6th, is pretty much the last day to contribute! It's still fun to play around with.

Untitled by chumblyface

it's my birthday!

2010-08-24T13:28:00.003-05:00

Today is my golden birthday - I'm 24 on the 24th! I worked a half day and then came home to find that Robert had been decorating with balloons! He's really cute.

I'm *this* tall today! This picture is very shady.

Tonight there will be a little party, and a big cheesecake and lots of fun! 23 was a pretty good year for me. Let's see what we can do with 24!

move your feet from hot pavement and into the grass

2010-08-12T07:09:00.005-05:00

A few nights ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Arcade Fire play at the Ryman Auditorium.

If you don't know about them, you pretty much need to. Hands down the BEST concert I've ever been to.

They're so talented and full of energy - between every song it seemed like they would run around and trade instruments.

These are just a few of my favorites, but I made a flickr album with all the rest! Go check it out if you're interested -- I think I got some pretty good shots!

A few days before they came to Nashville, they played in New York and it was broadcast live. We watched that and got really psyched for the concert we were about to go to. You can check out some of the videos here, to get a feel for their shows. It was just the neatest thing I've experienced! Being at the Ryman was a big part of it: that's the first time we've been there, but it was AWESOME. It's actually an old church, full of rows of pews. So you can sit down if you like, but when everybody is rocking out during the show, you don't have to get too close to any strangers. Pretty neat!

Their new album The Suburbs is really wonderful! And I will admit that I feel a silly kinship with it because Win Butler grew up in The Woodlands, Texas, and I lived there for a while. I actually spent most of my childhood just south of there. So although many of the sentiments could apply to any old suburbs, they were inspired by the suburbs of Houston - those are MY 'burbs! Haha.

book review: the people of paper

2010-08-05T13:27:00.006-05:00

It's finally time for another book review for the Slow Readers! We're just now finishing up our 3rd book: The People of Paper by Salvador Plascensia. I've been reading along the whole time, but I was too lazy [/didn't feel very compelled] to post a review for the last book. This one was worth writing about.

The book is written from many different points of view: sometimes a character will get an entire chapter, while other chapters are divided into 3 columns on each page, all focusing on different characters in the book. Once you get into that flow it's not too hard to follow, even though new characters are introduced throughout the book. There were some very exciting characters, like...

The literary structure isn't the only interesting thing -- there are also a lot of neat formatting surprises tucked away in the book. I was always happy to discover them.

I won't go into the plot, because it might give away too much for anyone who hasn't read the book and is planning on it. It's definitely something that makes you think quite a bit. Some readers on the forum were talking about taking notes and trying to read it again to gain more insight. I think it would definitely be worth a second read, once you understand everything that's going on in the book.

One of the biggest themes I noticed in the book was sadness, and how each character seemed to have their own cure. But the cures all seemed self-destructive, as if there's just no escaping the sadness. Overall, it could easily be said that the book is about mourning.

But it's very surreal, and that's what kept my interest. I don't think I could read a book about lost love if it didn't include binary code by a mechanical tortoise.

There were some sweet parts, and there were a lot of not-so-sweet parts [even some very ugly parts], but all in all it was enjoyable and thought-provoking. I can say no more since Robert is reading the book now, and he already informed me that I spoiled it by telling him some other things. Oops!!

Can't wait to see what's next for the Slow Readers!

lately

2010-07-26T11:45:00.005-05:00

New record: almost a month without blogging!! Sorry, everyone: it just sort of happened. I've been out of my online habits lately, and I think that's actually a good thing for me. When I'm keeping busy in real life, I don't feel like I need this outlet. But now that I actually have a day off with no plans, I'll share some pretty pictures from the last few weeks! Just a tiny peek.

Recently I have...

...let some giant sunflowers take over the kitchen

...had some zinnias hanging around in a jar

...discovered a fallen robin's nest

...spied a giant butterfly

...attended a gorgeous wedding

...blueberry waffles!!

...been moth-watching...

...AND MORE! Much much more. Those were just the pretty bits. Now for the apologies: sorry I haven't been around to visit everyone! I actually haven't been reading blogs, because I know I won't have time to comment in any sort of meaningful way. Didn't mean to disappear like that, but I just haven't felt too much like talking lately. Everything is good over here. I'm being contentedly quiet.

bear in the mail

2010-07-01T07:05:00.003-05:00

When I got home from work yesterday, there was a package for me. It was from Robert's mom. We were pretty curious about what it could be...

And I was somewhat confused until I read the letter she sent along. This is Bear - a stuffed animal that belonged to Robert when he was little. It's obviously supposed to be a monkey, but he called it Bear. That makes sense to me, because it doesn't even have a monkey tail! I can understand getting it confused with a bear.

She said that Bear needs some stitching, but after seeing Toy Story 3 she thought that Robert might want him back. Isn't that the sweetest thing? She also sent along some great little pictures.

You can see Bear was missing an eye for a while. And he's wearing one of Robert's t-shirts -- isn't that considerate?

Robert told me he's "totally embarrassed" of what he's wearing in these pictures. ha ha ha!! I like it. I think I married into a really cute family.

chickens!

2010-06-21T11:31:00.003-05:00

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend and is starting the week out in a pleasant way. I just needed to show you some pictures of chickens.

As you may have gathered by now, I've got connections with some wonderful people who make goat cheese. I've started helping them on Fridays, and whenever I drive up to the farm, I'm greeted first thing by chickens.

I think this little one was ready to hop in the car with me.

They immediately run up to anyone who arrives. They're really curious!

They're as pretty as can be, for chickens.

They're also a little crazy, and like to lay their eggs in various barns where no one can find them.

They're very happy little chickens! Sorry, no recent pictures of the baby goats... though the last time I saw them, they were beginning to look like teenaged goats. Really, some are getting beards and some look like they have mohawks - real tough guys!! I've been leaving my camera in the car [thus the photos taken from the driver's seat] more often now, because it's silly to carry it around when I'm there to work... or even to just hang out -- it's kind of like taking pictures of a friend's house every time you go over: makes you seem a little kooky!

news and new things

2010-06-17T07:13:00.003-05:00

Finally, an update! I'm going to tell you a secret: I started working part time this week. One 4-day weekend already passed without me finding time to blog! That's how productive things have been around here. But I mean "productive" in REAL life. On Fridays, I am helping with goat cheese out at our friends' dairy. At the beginning of this week I applied for college, hoping I can finish up a 4-year degree since I only have a little 2-year one! At long last, tomorrow, I'm seeing a doctor about my ear problem that's been going on for probably 2 years --all that medicine a year and a half ago never really cleared up the problem!

So, that's what I've been doing! I feel sad that my blog has suffered, but I'm incredibly proud that I seem to be out of the rut I was in for about a year. I don't know if it came through on my blog or not, but I had no idea what I was doing that whole time I didn't have a job. And I wasn't really doing much with my spare time.

Now, on to the pretty stuff! When we were in Memphis last time, Robert's mom gave me a big selection of amazing vintage housewares!

Chalkware bird, hanging up in our kitchen. She gave me a couple of these with just fruit on them, too, but I'm not sure where to hang them.

Amazing yellow chair/stool. The foot stool folds up under the chair.

Last but not least: things Robert cross-stitched when he was a kid [Awesome Dude and Surfin' Pig]!!! Aren't these hilariously wonderful? I put them up in his office.

There were several more things, but I haven't had a chance to find places for them around our house yet. I'm happy that these colorful items are finding a new home, and that our house is so exciting. It's definitely not boring over here!

what can i say?

2010-06-08T06:58:00.002-05:00

I am obviously being a terrible blogger right now!

I sit in front of a computer all day at work, so when I get home I don't really feel like getting near one. [And, sweet employee that I am, I haven't been using the internet at work to catch up on blog reading... YET] Instead, in my down time at home, I've been hanging out with some newly acquired toys: a hula hoop, a Hello Kitty coloring book, Picross 3D for the Nintendo DS. I can't even use my brain to think about real things anymore. I think I've turned into a 7 year old.

These are some of Robert's toys - Lego space cop and.. a bad guy?

If you walked into my house right now, you would think that there MUST be some children around... but it's just us.

I think it's going to be pretty quiet around here until I get some real time off. I haven't even taken any pictures in the last 2 weeks. I will be back in the not-too-distant future!

pink palace museum

2010-05-31T11:15:00.009-05:00

Uh oh, I went a whole week without posting! It felt like a month. Here are the predictable apologies for being very busy. Things have balanced out quite a bit, though: I am way less stressed than I was a couple of weeks ago. I began working for a non-profit organization last week, and it's very close to my home. I was originally going to be part-time, but they've asked me to start out full-time just until I finish up this first project I'm working on. I won't share many details, but the important part is that I really like the work and I feel content with everything!

Here are some pictures from our (anniversary/birthday/graduation) visit to Memphis last weekend-- specifically our visit to the Pink Palace Museum! This was my second visit to the museum, and I believe we really only go there because it's a piece of nostalgia from Robert's childhood. Unfortunately, the museum seems to have very little funding and the exhibits haven't really been updated since the 80s. We mostly just like to pose with the scary mannequins.

At least they have a narwhal tusk!! They also have a shrunken head, but we didn't get around to it this time.

Here you use your imagination to "get small" and then look through some microscopes.

Or just pretend you have shadow friends.

They keep this dinosaur around, even though you can see he's falling apart. In the past he would stomp and roar if you gave him a quarter. He doesn't do anything now.

New friend?

He's a cool guy.

Next up: Early America! This picture always reminds me of Rasputina.

Are you ready for some mannequins? I'm leaving out the guy with the gangrenous foot (being sawed off by another mannequin). It's really gross.

Why, hello!

A pink-haired leprechaun is about to receive a shot from a jovial doctor... ?

This part always makes me cringe. You REALLY don't want to know what those tools are all for.

That's.. it. That's all I've got. Sweet dreams! I'll try to set up some more pleasant / less bizarre posts for this week. I'll also try to come round and visit everyone's blogs! Sorry I've been flaky!

the big 2 year anniversary

2010-05-24T17:07:00.003-05:00

We're back home from our little trip to Memphis! It was a nice time and I have plenty of fun pictures to post... on another day when I'm not entirely exhausted! I need a nap.

Saturday night after Robert and I went out to dinner for our wedding anniversary, we got some ice cream. We were sitting outside on a bench and realized that we were basically in the exact same spot where we met for the first time in 2005 (after being friends online for a couple of years). So cute!! There's definitely nothing romantic about Memphis, but it is a really comfortable and nostalgic place because it's where a lot of important parts of our relationship started.

Hope everyone has a pleasant week!

i miss the calm

2010-05-21T19:06:00.004-05:00

I'm still alive! And for the first time in a couple of weeks, I feel like I can breathe because we're taking a 4-day weekend. While it's been nice to make some money and have something semi-important to do, working full time has really overwhelmed me. It might be wimpy to admit that, but it's true! I miss having time to think and write, time to clean the house, and quiet time in general.

Next week I'll begin working 3 days a week, and I think I'll be able to cope much better with that. Maybe I was having housewife withdrawals, but I've been exhausted and cranky. Let's look at some calming images from the good times (a.k.a. a few weeks ago).

A perfect pie meringue! Made and baked by Robert, but I put the swirls on and I'm proud of my handiwork.

The good old days when the kitchen table was occasionally free of clutter [and I made centerpieces using wine glasses & roses? HA].

Stunning view from the top of the hill at Noble Springs Dairy. At least I can always go back there!

I've also missed having time to actually read and comment on blogs! I tried to catch up a little bit today, but I still feel like I've been a bit of a flake as far as being a blog-buddy. Sorry, everyone! Perhaps I'll adjust in the near future.

Tomorrow is our 2-year wedding anniversary, and we're heading down to Memphis for some adventures and also to attend the little brother[in-law]'s graduation! I'm planning to take a million pictures of everything, and hopefully I'll have time to post some things when we get back.

baby sloths

2010-05-18T06:43:00.001-05:00

Hey, everybody! I am WAY too busy to actually do things on the internet, but I had to share this with you. Working full time is really wearing me out, but luckily this job will be over at the end of the week and then I'm going on to something part-time! Temping is kind of neat.

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday and rest of the week!

strawberry season

2010-05-11T08:00:00.003-05:00

Here I am, getting fancy with a scheduled-post. Apologies for the slowness on replying to comments. I will be around to visit you all soon! I'm using italics!

Our first CSA basket of the season!

Last Saturday, we picked up our first CSA basket for this year! What's a CSA? Check out this post I wrote way-back-when for an explanation! It's basically a wonderful way to help local farmers, make yourself eat vegetables, and have a great supply of food!

This year we purchased a share with Beaverdam Creek Farm, because they deliver to the Franklin Farmer's Market, and we go there every Saturday morning. We received a lot of greens, some radishes, and --best of the best-- STRAWBERRIES! So tasty. We actually bought an extra container of the strawberries, and by the next day we'd eaten ALL of them. So sweet and fresh! I can't wait to see what vegetables we get next time, and especially as the weather warms up.

Receiving a CSA share really forces us to eat healthier, because we plan the week's menu around what vegetables we're receiving for the week, instead of planning around whatever's on sale at the grocery store or whatever we're craving-- a dangerous game!

Does anyone have any favorite ways to cook spinach and other leafy greens? I'm not big on salads, and it seems there aren't too many ways to eat them... Any yummy ideas?

mother's day: a dinosaur story

2010-05-09T10:04:00.007-05:00

Today is Mother's Day here in America! Perhaps in some other places, too: it's hard to keep up with all of the different holidays. Anyhow, if it's Mother's Day where you live, remember to show your mom some appreciation! Here is my post from last year, complete with some cute photos of my mom from the '70s. This year I'm going to do something a little different. Honestly, I just want to show you some dinosaur pictures. And I figured this could somehow fall under the category of motherly things.

During the weekend of the great flood, Robert and I spent our indoors time hatching a dinosaur egg that some friends gave to us. What follows is the photo log we made so we could keep everyone updated with the latest happenings of the baby dino. Robert took about half of these pictures. Enjoy!

The experiment began Friday night. Dino egg went into the water.

This is how it looked when we woke up Saturday.

Things began happening fairly quickly.

We ate some scrambled eggs. A little pink dinosaur looked on in wonder.

Around 10 a.m., something began to emerge!

An eye appeared around noon.

Around 3 p.m. we saw what it's head sort of looked like!

Just an hour later we saw a smile!

5 p.m. - nothing much was happening, but Robert started picking at the egg.

We had strawberry pancakes for dinner. YUM! I could eat breakfast foods for every meal. Sometimes I do.

Just before we went to bed Saturday night... we'd been chipping at the egg again. Impatient!

Next morning: you can see his neck grew longer!

Sunday, 2 p.m.: A little more peeling away at the egg revealed his lumpy legs.

2 hours later: we finally took him out of the egg shell and let him just soak some more, hoping his tail and legs would get longer.

His legs got a little chunkier, but never longer! And the tail stayed stubby. After a couple days of extra soaking, we decided he was done growing. He's all dried out now!

In other news, I began working on Friday! It's just a 2-week temporary position, but already it feels so nice to keep busy all day. A little hectic after not working full-time in almost a year and a half... but I'm enjoying it! I'm still adjusting to the time constraints and not being online all day, so I may be a little scarce around here. Just a warning-- If you don't hear from me for a bit, you know what I'm up to: getting paper cuts!

As far as post-flood updates, things are going fine around our house. Still may need some roof repairs, and we're still under water restrictions [which is still driving me crazy because it means cutting back on doing dishes and laundry], but things are otherwise fine! That's just my case, however. Can't forget that there are still people in the Nashville area (and other places) who are without homes because of the flood!

three cheers for the bright side!

2010-05-05T14:41:00.004-05:00

The last time I won a prize from The Bright Side Project, it didn't show up. I won't name the contributor, but for some reason they didn't follow through with getting my prize to me. No big deal! But four months and a couple of emails later, I received a package in my mailbox from the contributor's former publicist.

She sent me a couple of cute headbands as a sort of consolation prize. I thought that was a sweet gesture! This one makes me feel like a Girl Scout - specifically a Brownie. Brownie colors are yellow and brown, right? Or maybe it's brown and blue. Did it change? Either way, I'm feeling girl scouty! And I can't stop sneezing.

Big thanks to The Bright Side Project, Miss B, and Connie from Moderne Press!

the flood

2010-05-04T14:35:00.003-05:00

So, as I said in my last post, Nashville (and various other places in the South) flooded this past weekend. Not just any old flood-- more rain than has ever fallen here in recorded history. Isn't that... insane? A little bit. I didn't even get close to seeing the worst, but I'll share with you what I did see!

It started Saturday morning. It was pouring, but Robert and I went to the Franklin farmer's market anyway. We lingered there about twice as long as usual, because we were in no hurry to get back out in the rain. No one wanted to leave. It was scary rain. But we finally did leave, and made it home to hide out. We really didn't know how bad it was going to get, and when we thought the rain might let up in the afternoon, we left the house again to try to finish our grocery shopping.

Our next door neighbor's house... picket fence is where our back yard begins.

That was probably a bad idea. The rain was beating down so hard that we decided to just go to a nearby store, instead of Trader Joe's like we'd been planning. So, we were in Publix, doing some grocery shopping, and the tornado sirens started up. Someone made an announcement about everyone standing in the back of the store until the sirens stopped. Robert, persistent shopper that he is, continued to search for muesli. He got chided twice by employees for walking down aisles. Rebel!! The sirens stopped once and then started again and we all stood in the back of the store. Employees started to pass out free cookies. Everyone was making phone calls-- I texted my sister for good measure. I overheard that a tornado was on the ground in Spring Hill - South of us - but luckily it never hit Franklin. We got out of there as soon as we could and decided we'd stay home the rest of the day.

But on the way home, we had to turn around FOUR times because of flooded roads. Either a road would be blocked by the police, or there would be so much water that we were afraid to cross. It got to the point where we weren't sure we'd be able to get to our house. But we finally did. See the above picture? I'm not entirely sure when I took that, but the water was even higher at one point. It covered one end of our street.

Robert went next door to check on our neighbor, and sure enough water was already coming into her house. We invited her to park her car at our house and come over, and she brought her cat! Very adorable cat, by the way, which meowed a lot and then took a nap under our couch. Wish I'd taken a picture but you don't really do that kind of thing during emergencies! We just sat and talked for a couple of hours, until the rain had slowed down and some of the water had receded. She went back to make sure things were looking okay, and then took her kitty home to start trying to clean up.

The crazy rains continued all through the night, and all day Sunday. There was about an hour long break in there, during which we went outside... to clean out the gutters a little and also to see if water had seeped into our crawlspace.

Here's our scary-looking crawlspace! Nothing pretty here.

YEP, water was in there! A crawlspace is like a basement, but with only room to crawl in, and that's where our water heater and all the access to our house's pipes and wiring is kept. Creepy, eh? Creepier when it's full of dirty water. We began bailing out buckets full of water. Robert crouched in the crawlspace and filled up the buckets while I tossed the water out on the lawn. Very tiring, very dirty. We got as much water out as we could, and it's still drying out under there. We also discovered a couple of leaks in the attic, and yesterday some brown spots appeared on the ceiling of the front room. :( We're checking into roofers - may need some repairs.

At least everything will be very green after all this rain!

As it is, a lot of places are still covered in water, and we're very lucky to have come out so dry. All of the main roads in Franklin are open again, and people are going back to work. Here's all I can complain about:

-possible roof repairs
-a damp crawlspace
-all of the mud we tracked into the house
-not being able to use as much water as I want

We're under emergency water restrictions right now, meaning we're only supposed to use water for bathing and cooking. The dirty clothes pile is really starting to drive me crazy, but I'm leaving it alone for the good of our town! Hopefully the water will recede and things will go back to normal very soon! I know we'll recover quickly, but there are plenty of people in the South who lost their homes because of this.

In more cheerful news, we used our indoor time this weekend to hatch a dinosaur egg, and I will have pictures of that process later this week. :)

"exciting weekend" indeed

2010-05-03T15:24:00.003-05:00

If you're not aware (and I get the feeling that most of the world isn't), this past weekend was a terrible one weather-wise for the Nashville area and much of middle Tennessee. The storms have moved on and are affecting other states now, but at least 12 people have died from the flooding this past weekend in Tennessee alone. You can check The Tennessean for updates and details- there is plenty of craziness going around.

Franklin got hit pretty hard, but we were fortunate here in our house [some water got in the crawlspace under the house, and we found some leaks in the attic.. but no huge damage]. I will be back later on in the week, maybe with some pictures! I just thought I'd pop in and make others aware of the situation, and let you know the reason for me not being around too much. Honestly, there's nothing scary going on at our house. Robert stayed home from work today and we planted some peppers and tomatoes in the yard-- though the traffic is so terrible from flooded roads that he had to walk to the hardware store to buy the plants.

We were lucky, but plenty of others weren't! Here's a list of ways to help, if anyone is interested.

bunnies for your friday

2010-04-30T10:41:00.003-05:00

You know how I always get excited when I see that rabbit in my backyard? Maybe you don't know, but there's a rabbit that comes around all the time, and we're pretty sure it lives under the storage barn. Anyway, last week I discovered something even more exciting...

Baby rabbits! There was a mysterious tuft of fur in the middle of our yard, and I just had to investigate. Look at the little cuties I found burrowed under it! I tried not to intrude once I realized there were babies in there, but I did want a quick picture. They've been moved since then [whether it was because their mom knew a big storm was coming the next day or because we got too close, I'm not sure], but I'm still happy to know that they're around.

I think I've also spotted their possible father!

Hope everyone has an exciting weekend ahead!

perspective

2010-04-28T12:58:00.004-05:00

A very dramatic robin

I wanted to thank everybody who joined in on the conversation yesterday. I'm planning to reply to everyone in turn, when I have a bit more time. In retrospect, it looks like I was whining. A little self-indulgent whine is allowed on personal blogs, right? But there were some valid thoughts in there. Sometimes it's easy to lose perspective, and the comments I received did help me gain some. I've been trying to balance a lot of areas in my life lately, as well as trying to be more true to myself -- there are plenty of awkward moments in the process. Thanks for sticking with me!

And just so you know, I did go ahead and list that plaid skirt in my Etsy shop! It's been almost 2 months since anything was added to the shop, so that was somewhat refreshing.

mixed feelings

2010-04-27T10:12:00.004-05:00

Here are some skirts I bought specifically to go into my Etsy shop, but which might never make it in. I thought they were too tight at the waist, but then I took pictures (intended for the item listings) and realized they're REALLY cute anyway, and now I'm trying to figure out if I'm willing to compromise comfort for style. It's a real conundrum. They will probably make their way into the shop in a few months, when I realize I'm not willing to be uncomfortable for more than 15 minutes. That's my prediction.

And here is an interesting blog post* on "bloggers with perfect, beautiful, craftsy lives" that make people feel jealous and insecure... or something. A part of me thinks it's a waste of ranting, because I know that blogs are a place for people to present themselves as they wish, and obviously most of us don't have perfect lives. We have insecurities, we have messes, we have problems - we just don't want to share them all of the time. Having control over a blog means you can ignore the bad stuff and show off the good stuff.

Another part of me understands that jealousy sentiment, though. There are times when I've fallen into that pit of browsing through seemingly-perfect pictures and lives and feeling like I will never be as talented or praised as others. And that's why I don't share everything on my blog all of the time. There are probably hundreds of pictures on my computer that I intended to blog about, but in the end just felt too inferior to post. And that's not cool.

I started this blog as a place to share some of my creativity (and also because I had recently quit my full time job and blogging was a fun, time-consuming activity). Over time, instead of just sharing things I would have done anyway, I think I started creating content specifically for the blog. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's just not what I intended to do, and I don't like the way things have been going.

I haven't been posting outfit photos as often, because I no longer feel the need. There was a time when I enjoyed the feedback and compliments, but I think I'm at a point in my life where I don't need that outside encouragement: I'm content to wear whatever and not show it off. [That's no guarantee I won't do more in the future, but it's how I feel at the moment.] On the flipside, I've been disappointed to discover that outfit posts garner the most comments. There are a few friendly, faithful readers who will comment on just about anything - and it means a lot to me! - but it can feel like an insult when I've taken the time to think out a blog post on some other topic that I find interesting and only get a handful of comments. What upsets me most is how upset I get over this petty stuff. It's really made me rethink my motives for blogging: why do I even keep this up?

This is in no way a warning that I'm about to delete my blog, or something to make readers feel guilty or other bloggers feel like I'm insulting them. I just thought it would be an interesting discussion to have. Do you ever feel this way about blogging?

*I can't believe that some of the bloggers they listed were people I interact with online... Girls, I guess you should take it as a compliment that your blogs are pretty enough to make it into such a piece!

record store day recap

2010-04-22T14:41:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday was Record Store Day. Although I lugged my camera around, I didn't take any pictures. We spent much of the day in East Nashville hanging out with some new [amazingly awesome] buddies. I got lost on the wrong side of the river once and we spotted a wax museum -- I would have taken a photo of that, but I was busy driving. There were several other silly moments that needed to be captured, but luckily someone else had a camera and mine stayed tucked away. I get really camera-shy around other people: not afraid to have my picture taken, but afraid to take pictures. It happens!

Anyway, we visited both The Groove and Grimey's. Here are the goodies we brought home! Not too many since we're on a tight budget, but good enough stuff.

Left to right: Decoration Day by the Drive-By Truckers, Misery Is A Butterfly by Blonde Redhead and a 7" single of We're Gonna Rise by The Breeders

The Breeders and Blonde Redhead albums were "my" purchases, while Robert picked up Decoration Day. I won't lie though, I wanted to own it too! The Drive-By Truckers are the the most rocking of Southern Rock bands ever to exist. None of these were special Record Store Day releases - we couldn't find any of the ones we were looking for! Either they sold out before we came, or our local stores didn't have them. It was still a nice day.

Our stuff came in this handy bag, which has a pocket inside for 45s. Blogger decided to turn the picture and I'm too lazy to fix it.

Vinyl is such a fun way to listen to music. I'm no audiophile and I can't truly tell if music sounds better on a record player, but it's definitely a more tactile experience: very hands-on. Listening to records is an activity within itself: you put the needle on, then you sit on the floor and look at the nice big album art [a must] and then you have to be around to flip the record over.

Here are some music videos!

The Breeders have probably been my absolute favorite band for the last couple of years. I listen to them nonstop. I see no reason to stop.

Before this musical era of my life, Blonde Redhead was probably my "favorite band" for a little while. Still think they're brilliant, but listening to them does remind me of glummer times in my life! Here's a more upbeat song, though the video is a little too... uncanny valley for me -- meaning, if you don't like creepy humanlike robots, don't watch it.

Happy listening!

things I've been wearing

2010-04-20T12:22:00.005-05:00

This morning I was in a panic. I had an appointment at 10 at a temp agency, and I suddenly decided to dress very professionally. This is something I should have thought about yesterday, but yesterday I said to myself, "oh, I'll just wear those black pants and a nice shirt." I forgot that I don't actually own any nice shirts. Fancy shirts, maybe, but not anything that could be defined as "professional" or "business casual" or anything normal like that. No no, I ditched most of my business clothes when I quit my office job over a year ago. I did keep one button-up blouse around, just in case. I've wanted to banish it from my closet so many times, but the voice of reason in my head told me that I should keep it for emergencies. The problem is, I don't even like it. I don't even like it at all. It looks fine in this picture, but it has slightly puffed sleeves and a funny tie in the back, and this morning I just felt silly when I put it on.

peg leg?

But it was the most professional-looking top I had, so I decided to go with it. However, once I'd decided on that I most certainly couldn't wear the black pants: they're probably not even the same shade of black. So, a skirt? Do I own any business-like skirts? Oh, not really. 'Cept this one which, like the black blouse, has been hanging in my closet just in case. And lucky me, this is one of the skirts I chose for the wardrobe challenge! Funny enough, I only wore it because I felt forced. The shoes, too - I haven't worn them in ages, but I keep them just in case. So, by this great misfortune, I ended up wearing 3 pieces I don't really enjoy - but they worked together, at least! My appointment went fine, and now I'm planning to stock up on some professional clothes that I actually want to wear.

By the way, can you tell I got a haircut? I bet not! It looked pretty neat the day of the trim, but it's descended back into madness. Here is somewhat of a before picture-- it was getting really long:

And an outfit from last week! And finally, a picture in a room you haven't seen yet! This is the room that we informally call "the scary room" or my "craft room." I've warmed up to the bright green paint a little, while Robert seems to be hating it more and more. Want to know something funny? This is the house's master bedroom... the previous owners actually slept in this monstrosity. We chose one of the smaller bedrooms with a less offensive green paint color as our own. Maybe one day we'll repaint it, but it's certainly exciting! I painted my sewing machine table white a couple of weeks ago - it was originally yellow and that was just not working with the green walls.

Happy Tuesday!

happy friday!

2010-04-16T12:59:00.004-05:00

I'm keeping busy over here! Just wanted to share this pretty butterfly I saw yesterday morning. Doesn't it look magical? Hazy soft-focus achieved by shooting through the window screen - for some reason it just dawned on me that it's the same thing which made these photos so fuzzy but dreamlike. I like it!

Tomorrow (April 17th) is Record Store Day! Record stores all over the world will be having neat sales and also free shows. Check to see if you have a participating store nearby! We're definitely going to hit up Grimey's early on -- wanted to go last year, but I was too scared of the parking situation. Seems I'm getting more confident in my navigating-Nashville skills!

goodbye, ants!

2010-04-14T17:50:00.004-05:00

For about a week, Robert and I had a snazzy little ant farm. It was pretty interesting at first, but it quickly became obvious the ants were really just trying to escape. They gave up digging tunnels and began climbing up the walls and biting at the rubber seal around the top.

So today we set the ants free! Robert wrote a post about it here, with more pictures. We debated over it a little bit, but decided we'd rather let them run free in the front yard than die while obviously trying to escape the special NASA gel they lived in. It was really getting depressing to watch.

Sorry, Tim! Sorry we let the ants go! It was still a neat Christmas present. And Robert learned how to use the macro settings on my camera to take pictures of the ants! That was cute.

UPDATE: The next day -- Well, we spoke a bit too soon. Although we set the ant farm in the yard and gave the ants a couple of hours to evacuate, about half of them didn't seem to want freedom. It was getting dark, so we brought the stragglers back inside! The tunnels are a lot less crowded now, and the ants are actually working again instead of climbing up the walls. We may do a second freedom attempt this evening.

shoes and things

2010-04-12T11:12:00.002-05:00

It's Monday again! These Mondays just keep happening, don't they? Let's ponder some things.

Yikes, sharp-lookin' ankles.

Like these shoes. I really think these shoes are adorable and they fit me perfectly, but I'm also not sure I'll really ever wear them. So they may or may not be going into my Etsy shop soon! Oh, my poor, neglected Etsy shop. For some reason I just can't make myself get back into the habit of regularly updating. I think it will live on, but just barely.

I have been trying to spend less time on the internet and more time in real life, so here's my blanket apology for not visiting and commenting on blogs as much lately! I will do what I can, but I'm hoping to make a permanent shift of habits and it may affect my blog posting and commenting. You may not even notice it, but I thought I'd mention it just in case you do.

As someone who doesn't really have a job and stays home every day, the internet can be a good thing and a bad thing. Yes, it's an amazing source of information and inspiration, but some days I get information and inspiration OVERLOAD: seeing endless creativity from other people stifles my own creativity. And I end up wasting a lot of time. Last week I began limiting my time online, and the change was almost instant-- I felt a major surge of energy and accomplished so many things that I've been putting off. I know I can't expect every day to be like that, but I feel I should give myself the chance to have those days, and that means less sitting around in front of the computer! I need to take action to make things happen: an obvious fact that can easily be forgotten when I'm distracted. And that's what the internet feels like to me so often: a big distraction.

Diana totally nailed the feeling in this post about taking a blog break. I'm trying to make my daily schedule more well-rounded, and also pushing myself to try new things instead of getting stuck in the same old ruts!

house updates

2010-04-07T09:14:00.006-05:00

Time for a few more pictures of the house! More specifically, changes that occurred while my mom was here a little while ago. She's incredibly handy and good at decorating -- she also had some money for us from my aunt, and personally wanted to buy me a bunch of "housewarming gifts". I protested quite a bit, but it was really generous and we ended up with a lot of things we've been wanting/needing.

Okay, we didn't really need those valances over the windows, but we were in an antique shop and the pattern-- kitschy blue and green maple leaves-- totally caught my eye! Really cute, and they go with the room. The chairs are nothing new: just some swanky vintage Samsonite folding chairs that Robert's mom found in the garbage (a fact which I love to repeat because that's so cute/hardcore). Until we get some better seating in this room, they'll do!

The lighting in the above picture is a little off, but that's the biggest purchase we made!! I've been on the lookout for a big piece to go in our kitchen for extra storage - and this was perfect. Oddly enough, we found it at a thrift store for $89. Not too bad considering everything I've seen like this online is at least $300! I don't have any pictures of the backside, but it's made from old shipping crates: it says SINGER SEWING MACHINES. Pretty neat! Also, just around the corner you can see some boots I thrifted specifically for visiting baby goats and farms on muddy days.

A peek of what's inside. We're using the bottom half as a pantry, but the top is currently used for cookbooks and pretty things. All of these pictures were taken at different times, because I'm never really happy with the lighting, and the arrangement keeps changing!

This latch looks pretty old to me, but it's not even original to the piece - you can also see an old keyhole and a hole where another knob used to be.

I think this primitive latch might be original to the piece. This picture is probably truest to the color - sorry about all of the different lighting in these pictures!

More of what's inside...

My mom put these two things together - I hadn't even realized they have a similar pattern. I've been using the big bowl to hold vegetables that don't need to be refrigerated.

I had one empty canister, and decided to fill it with a jumble of silicone baking cups.

Plenty more house updates to come! This week I'm working on paint touch ups - I love most all of the colors that came with the house, but whoever painted was a little sloppy.

spring is really really here!

2010-04-05T12:52:00.005-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! Despite the fact that our water heater has been busted since Friday (and will not be replaced until tomorrow...), this weekend actually turned out to be quite nice.

I found this duck in our front yard a couple of weeks ago. I like him, even though he needs a bath.

This is as close as we got to Easter eggs: naturally green & blue eggs from Araucana chickens!

Can I tell you a secret? I met some more baby goats yesterday. Robert got to meet them too! Oh... I guess one picture won't hurt! Any more and I might need to change the name of this blog to "baby goat."

I love you, baby goat.

I have baby goat fever. You can probably tell.

I have a big backlog of photos that I've been meaning to post here for a couple of weeks - all sorts of things! I'm going to try to get them posted this week. Sometimes my priorities just get messed up, you know? House pictures are overshadowed by the urgency to show you baby goats...

the birds, again

2010-04-01T10:11:00.002-05:00

Another outfit for my wardrobe challenge! In 2 weeks I've only managed to put together 3 outfits (out of 12) -- this is definitely going to drag on a while. But I'm determined to complete it! Now that it's warmer outside, I know I'll be wearing skirts and dresses much more often. It feels SO GOOD in the sun!

This is what I wore yesterday to meet Robert for lunch.

Cardigan: Anthropologie / Dress: Converse (from Target) / Slip: Vintage Hem / Sandals: Target

I thought the birds might be too busy with the zipper, but it worked out just fine!

And I remembered to accessorize! Ring: my lavaliere / Cuff bracelet: stamp

Ah, macro settings... so much detail. Can you see where the ring starts to irritate my finger after a few hours? That's why I don't wear it so often! Too bad, because it's one of my favorite pieces of jewelry.

Oh and if you didn't see my baby goat post yesterday, go back and look! They're worth looking at a lot. I keep showing them to people just so I can stare at them more.

baby goats

2010-03-31T13:23:00.006-05:00

Here are some pictures of what I was doing last Friday! Back in November, Robert and I had our first little farm tour at Noble Springs Dairy. Now that the weather is warming up, I knew it would be the perfect place to take my mom when she came to visit. My dad was also in town, but he was here for business and kept himself busy with meetings. We got in some quality time, but there were a couple of days when it was mainly just me and my mom hanging around - which she loved! :)

We spent a whole afternoon on the farm [thank you, thank you, thank you, Justyne!], and it was basically heaven. Gorgeous weather, friendly happy animals. Friendly, happy people!

Speckled chicken!

Horse with grassy green lips!

Mini graveyard from the 1800s?

Now for the main event: BABY GOATS. I've been wanting to see them for a few weeks, and Robert is jealous that he hasn't met them yet. I wish they could come over and romp in our backyard. They're so adorable and full of energy.

We got to help feed them!

There is nothing so serene as feeding baby goats.

And the milky lips after they eat... TOO CUTE!

ensemble number two!

2010-03-29T15:24:00.003-05:00

I'm back, kind of! Do you ever find that after spending a few days away from the internet, it seems like a chore to return? I do. Some days I wish I wasn't even friends with the internet, because it distracts me so much from other adventures I could be having.

I have plenty of exciting pictures and stories from this past weekend to share, but I thought I'd ease back into blogging with the second outfit for my self-imposed wardrobe challenge. To be honest, this is something I only wore for about 30 minutes. I was t-shirt & jeansing it again, but put this on when my mom got out her camera to take some pictures of me and Robert in front of our house. And then I changed back into my boring clothes so I could work in our yard. But I will wear this again for some fanciful occasion! Minus the stripey socks, haha.

Check out my new [perfectly well-worn Justin] boots! I like them for their simplicity. I had some nice thrifting luck over the past few days. More on that later!

quick update

2010-03-25T08:16:00.003-05:00

I know I said I was going to schedule some blog posts for later this week, but I lied. Or forgot. Or was too busy.

So what you get now is a quick update and a "I'll be back later!" note.

Spring is here! The last two days were beautiful. Short sleeve weather, no jacket required - call it what you will. Of course, today is a big rainy mess. The kind of rainy day where you have to get up early and go get a new windshield wiper for the car at the last minute because you should have done it before a rainy day when you have to drive a long way to pick up your mom at the airport. Robert deserves a trophy for his help with that.

Look at my rabbit friend. Look at him eating a leaf! I'm so in love.

Okay, that's about all I have time for! I have a couple of hours to finish cleaning the house before I've got to head to the airport. My mom and I are going to have some fun adventures over the next couple of days-- I hope! I hope the sun comes back and we get to visit some baby goats on a farm.

I hope you all have a wonderful rest-of-the-week and exciting weekend! I will probably not be online much until the beginning of next week.

feathered friends

2010-03-22T15:04:00.004-05:00

Earlier today I was making a peanut butter & jelly sandwich (the lunch of champions!) when I happened to look out the kitchen window. Look who I saw!

A pair of Mourning Doves!

I think I've seen this couple around the yard before, but they were hanging out right on the back porch! They sat there for at least 5 minutes, preening and looking around. I think the one on the left settled in for a short nap. For some reason it was very exciting to me. We've heard a lot of dove calls here (so annoying when you're trying to sleep in and they're right outside the window), but I'd never really put a face to the noise!

A little later on I was washing some dishes and again happened to glance up... to see this guy!

An American Robin

There are plenty of these robins around and I love them. But again, this was the first time I'd noticed one so close to the house. I guess this is just a popular spot to preen and hop around (and use the bathroom, as you can see). He reminds me of a bird Sam would draw!

So it seems I've become an amateur birdwatcher! I guess this is what happens when you have a yard and plenty of windows -- there is so much to see! Yes, yes, I am also entirely aware of the comings and goings of our mailman and all of the neighbors too... and the children who are playing in our front yard right now. There's a concrete drainage ditch running along the side of our yard, and every day these kids play in it on their way home from school. And most every day, their dad yells at them. Good show!

I hope I'm not boring anyone! My brain is in a million different places right now. My parents are coming to visit this week, so I'll be fairly busy preparing for them and also spending time with them. I'll try to schedule an exciting post for later this week. Happy Monday!

WAIT! I need to add something very important, in case you weren't aware. Tomorrow (March 23rd, between 12-8 p.m.) is free ice cream cone day at Ben & Jerry's! If you have a participating shop nearby, try to go! It will be worth it. Robert and I went last year. [Ahh, the good old days when he didn't have a job and we just adventured around doing free stuff! And if you check out that old post, I was raving about birds even then.]

ensemble number one!

2010-03-19T16:14:00.005-05:00

Today I put together the first outfit for my wardrobe challenge!

Sorry the picture's a little blurred! Still finding the best spots for lighting in this house.

I'm going to give myself an extra high-five for using this dress, because it's something I thrifted months ago and have never worn! It came with a matching long jacket, and I was thinking I might wear it to my sister's wedding [but didn't]. I originally had a pair of black tights and grey shoes on, because it's still a little chilly here, but after a couple of hours they needed to come off. Not only were they uncomfortable, but when I looked at my first set of pictures, I looked entirely unbalanced. I decided that my pale legs would be a better match for the neutrals!

I don't know if this dress is very flattering on me: it's a bit tight on my hips but not as fitted in the waist as I would like... but I still think this would be a nice thing to wear on a summer evening! Guess I'm getting a bit ahead of the seasons.

But it's warming up! We're hoping to spend some time in the yard this weekend. Happy Friday!

wardrobe challenge

2010-03-18T12:34:00.005-05:00

I've been dressing really terribly lately: just outright boring! Jeans and t-shirts have become my every day wear because I'm at home most of the time. It makes sense to me, but I also know it doesn't make for an exciting blog post -- which is exactly why I haven't done an outfit post in forever. But today I came upon an idea that sounds like a fun way to get some of my nice clothes back into rotation. I found the idea at What I Wore, who was inspired by La Fille D'or.

The challenge is to find 3 items in your closet which you never wear, and then over a couple of weeks try to create 4 outfits based around each item (for a total of 12 outfits). Here are my 3!

This little sweater shrug that I got on clearance at Anthropologie a while back..

...for obvious reasons. I can never find a good way to wear it!

This pleated skirt.

Seems like a simple enough piece, but I hardly ever use it.

I bought this skirt to go under my wedding dress, but feel like I should get more use from it.

It has neat pleating and is great for layering. I think I never wear it because I'm afraid I'll get it dirty.

I'm not sure I can get all 12 outfits into a 2-week period, but I'll play dress up around the house and see what I can put together! This should get me motivated to dress a little nicer!

bits of the weekend

2010-03-15T15:13:00.008-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Mine was pleasant and busy. Before I get to other things, I may as well show you a few more house pictures. Robert didn't believe that I could get the house into shape for our first guests, but he was wrong!! Do I get a prize? [Joking.. he was quite appreciative of my hard work!! But I did really hear him tell his dad on the phone that it was going to be messy. Psh!] Compare to these pictures if you wish!

Finally got some curtains (at Target) to cover up the back door!

They create a nice glow during the day. Now we can control the privacy and lighting in there.

More of the front room... Updated for the essential magician poster & paper lantern.

I think things are coming along really nicely here! There are still a few rooms I haven't shown around, either because they're slightly cluttered or slightly boring. But we're getting there. I'm totally in love with this house and I don't mind taking the time to clean it. I lived in 5 different apartments before this, and never put much effort into decorating because I knew I'd be moving on soon [and I am sincerely lazy]. So this is quite refreshing!

Now, here are a few pictures from the weekend. I'm glad that Robert's family likes to go to thrift shops and estate sales; I haven't been doing much of that on my own lately! So we did some fun shopping and exploring around town, along with eating too many yummy foods.

We found a robot. The person who lives here must be exciting! They also had 2 vulture sculptures in their yard, made out of old tools.

Look what we got at an estate sale for $5...

A box full of records from the 40s! Haven't listened to any of them yet.

Thrifted dress. I didn't get my tripod out, so all pictures of the full thing were unsuccessful. It's bright and happy.

Thrifted shirt + hilarity. I heard Robert coming and knew he was going to walk right into the picture, and it apparently just DELIGHTED me.

cheery songs for a rainy thursday

2010-03-11T11:29:00.003-06:00

Just this morning I decided that I like these two songs by She & Him. I know, I'm really slow at music and everyone else has been talking about these for a while. It's hard for me to get into certain music sometimes! But this morning these are just right. So far all of the other songs I've heard by She & Him are a bit too slow for me to enjoy.

I feel like these videos are simply an excuse for Zooey Deschanel to dress up and be adorable, but that's okay too.

I'm going to mop the floors of the entire house today, so I need some happy music to keep me going! Robert's family is coming up for a visit this weekend and it's time to get the house in tip top shape.

What are some of your favorite cheerful songs to listen to while getting things done?

on the bookshelf

2010-03-08T11:44:00.006-06:00

It's finally time to see some house pictures! There is still a bit to do in the unpacking department, but the front room of our house is really shaping up. It's the first room I've really been excited about decorating. Since we have a separate den where the television and couch live, this room had a lot of possibilities: we didn't have any furniture to put in it!

Last week we bought two bookcases from someone on Craigslist, and we were finally able to display the bulk of our book collection. So the front room is just books and the record player right now. As soon as we add some seating I think this will become a really great hang-out room!

I'm really happy with our wood floors and painted walls.

A peek at the bright red [and still messy] kitchen...

A stack of vintage children's books - they make me happy.

The elephant clock from decoylab!

Robert just had this hand, for some reason. He told me to find a use for it and I did!

Cat bottle! Pretty comic books by Chris Ware. This bookcase is mostly comics...

...with a few of my books thrown in, and a Polaroid Land Camera!

More books. Apple canister from ModishVintage.

Here's another bookcase. It's been around a while [and doesn't lean to the left - that was just me].

And there I am, too. My hair is getting longer, but I don't have much else going on!

Since I took these pictures, a few things have changed. Hung a picture over the record player, added a lace doily under the lamp, spilled coffee all over my shirt. It's been a busy time.

This week the housely-focus has been finding curtains for a few choice windows (including the back door, seen in the 2nd photo). Just this morning I found a solution for the window in our bathroom, which had previously just been covered with a towel whenever we were in there. More pictures to come later! What do you think so far? I can't wait to have some people over!

book review: half broke horses

2010-03-04T07:30:00.001-06:00

The day is finally here to review Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls! This is the first book the Slow Readers Book Club took on. You'll probably see a lot of talk about it today as there are over 230 members in the club now and many of them will be posting a review to their blogs.

First of all: great cover photo, right? I went through several chapters of the book imagining the main character, Lily Casey Smith, as the girl on the left and thinking the other two must be her siblings Buster and Helen. Then I realized that it's one of those Dorothea Lange photos for the Farm Security Administration taken during the Depression! So those aren't the Casey kids. I know, this is irrelevant to the story -- it's just one of the first things I made a note of because I like having mental images of characters. However, there are some real pictures of the family scattered throughout the book.

I just realized this may turn out to be really rambly and I'd like to apologize. It's been a while since I've had to do a book report! And since no one is grading me (presumably) I'm probably not going to work too hard on making it perfect.

Overall, I enjoyed the book-- more than I thought I was going to. Jeannette Walls writes in first person from her grandmother Lily's point of view, and the book has the feel of stories handed down from a grandmother. Not a polite grandmother, mind you, but a really hardcore grandma! One to be admired for her hard life and maybe feared a little bit. For her time, she seems to have been fairly forward-thinking. The book follows Lily from childhood until her own children are grown up, and throughout her life she is an incredibly independent woman. I don't want to give away too many plot points for those of you who'd like to read the book in the future, but I would like to share some of my favorite quotes.

The following exchange is between Lily and her daughter. At the time, they were living with a Polygamist group where Lily worked as a teacher.

"That's what they believe," I told her, "but that doesn't mean it's true."

"Then why do they believe it?"

"America is a free country," I said. "And that means people are free to believe whatever cockamamie thing they want to believe."

"So they don't have to believe it if they don't want to?" Rosemary asked.

"No, they don't."

"But do they know that?"

Smart kid. That, I came to see, was the heart of the matter. You were free to choose enslavement, but the choice was a free one only if you knew what your alternatives were.

I really liked the way Lily was always questioning authority and common beliefs. And it was interesting to see how her own views on life progressed throughout the book: as a child she really looked up to her father and his way of doing things; when she grew up, however, she saw how hard headed and old fashioned he was sometimes. Similarly, as she grew older in the book she seemed to become more set in her ways and more stubborn with her own daughter. Of course, all of this is written from my grandaughter's perspective, with input from Rosemary (Jeannette's mother and Lily's daughter), so I know there have to be some missing pieces that were filled in.

Here's another quote that I like -- this one is between Lily and her husband and they're talking about their daughter's decisions...

"I feel like I failed," I said.

"Don't beat yourself up," Jim said. "She might not have turned out like you planned, but that don't mean she turned out wrong."

I feel like that's something all parents should keep in mind! You know, however many exciting things go on in this book, I think a lot of it comes down to a mother-daughter relationship. The book ends abruptly without many resolutions, and the rest of the story picks up in The Glass Castle, also by Jeannette Walls. It's a memoir about her own life: a really wild ride, both fascinating and sad. After finishing Half Broke Horses, I checked out The Glass Castle at the library and finished reading it in one weekend. I can't stop thinking about it.

For those wondering about the title "Half Broke Horses," Lily grew up breaking [taming] horses with her dad. A good part of the book takes place on a ranch, so the horse references continue throughout the book. She also refers to quite a few people as half broke horses - wild spirits who are just barely tamed.

The book isn't perfect, and I say that mostly because there were some unanswered questions and scenes I wish had been further elaborated. But I also know that Ms. Walls was trying to stay as true to life as she could, and she didn't have all of the details. It's understandable!

I would definitely recommend reading this book [followed by The Glass Castle], and I'm looking forward to the next book club assignment! If you would like to join the Slow Readers, we have a forum here. Happy reading!

good neighbors

2010-03-02T14:15:00.004-06:00

Hello! Hope everyone is having a swell week so far. I can tell this week is going to be another tiring one for me. Thankfully all of the moving is done now, but there is still plenty of unpacking to do and annoying paperwork to make sure our address is updated everywhere. It will be nice when things have settled down!

It DOES feel like we live in the house now, though it's still a big mess. But I love it here and I just wanted to let everyone know that we have some amazing neighbors. The day we started moving in, we met 4 of our neighbors. This past weekend we found ourselves inside one of their houses, sitting and talking. Yesterday afternoon, I peeked out the window and saw a couple headed my way with...

these flowers

and a pie.

THE NEIGHBORS BROUGHT US A PIE. There's pretty much no better way to win my friendship -- you have to be nice and friendly of course, but a pie basically seals the deal. (Any sweets, really.)

I've never been fond of chocolate pie, but this one is like a cross between brownies and pudding. And reminiscent of cookie dough. I don't know, it's amazing. I see a bright future ahead for us in this neighborhood!

around the yard

2010-02-26T13:26:00.006-06:00

Happy Friday!! We're not entirely done moving into the house, but I thought I'd take a little break to share some pictures. The inside is a bit crowded with boxes, so these are mainly from outside. I'm so excited to finally have a yard and I keep noticing new details all the time.

The view from the kitchen sink..

Tiny little pine cones! They're about 1 inch tall & are EVERYWHERE! I like 'em.

So many birds... This one's not the cutest I've seen, but I liked the picture.

Look who I saw this morning! And immediately after, it snowed for a few minutes. Magic!

Haha, I've been looking out the windows a lot! I was at home alone all day yesterday waiting for the internet people to come set everything up, and I got really bored... There's no lack of things to do, but constantly organizing is a little tiresome! We've spent 2 nights in the house already, but I don't think it will feel like we really live here until we get everything settled into the right place.

an end to the complaints!

2010-02-23T19:05:00.003-06:00

You can all stop commiserating with my sorrows now. :)

Everything was settled this evening with the house and we have the keys now! We also have a bunch of Girl Scout cookies, thanks to our realtor. In the end, everything turned out all right. Better than all right, maybe!

Tomorrow will be our big moving day... so I'll be quiet for a while now, but should be back with plenty of house pictures in the next few days!

complaints

2010-02-23T08:43:00.008-06:00

A little rose plant I bought for the new house last week... which is still not in the house.

All of that optimism and problem-ignoring last week didn't really help me out -- we still haven't got our house. Thursday afternoon we were informed that there was going to be a delay because of some paperwork, and then Friday we found out it wouldn't happen until the next week. Yesterday we were led to believe that it might occur, but now it's been pushed back to this afternoon... and still there are no guarantees.

You can imagine what a nuisance it's been. This past weekend we had so much planned, and we had to cancel everything. Now, if we get the house today (or tomorrow, or whenever), instead of Robert's family coming up on the weekend to help like they'd planned to, it will be during the middle of the week. So unless we get any volunteers who don't have to work normal days, it will be just me and Robert moving all of our furniture. As my mom says, I'm "weak as a kitten" so this should be really exciting. Oh, not to mention it was a beautiful, WARM weekend, and now it's rainy and cold again. It would have been lovely to move a couple of days ago.

Unfortunately, since we're so good at organizing, we're already paying the utility bills for the house and our mail is going there as well. The only thing getting in our way is, y'know, paperwork and the fact that we don't have keys to the place. It's all fairly set in stone, but this scheduling and rescheduling is starting to get quite outrageous.

SO, hopefully I'll have some really neat pictures to share with you soon, but until then I'm just going to be sulking around our apartment and being continually disappointed while the title company leisurely screws up our schedule every.single.day. If it happens again today, I'm not sure what I'll do. Probably more of the same, since I've come to realize that my attitude can in no way affect the outcome of this situation. Agh, bureaucracy!

Sorry for whining. I've been trying to hold back in hopes that I'd have nice news soon, but.. nope. The reason this is such a big deal is that we're supposed to be out of our apartment by the end of this upcoming weekend. So each day this is delayed means a bigger time crunch for us and the moving schedule.

One good thing about today: I just figured out why my pictures have been so blurry lately when I make them big on here! That shouldn't be a problem anymore - if you feel like it go back a bit and look at how much clearer my pictures are now (for example: this post was totally blurry before). This post by Pip at Meet Me At Mike's is to thank!

what i need right now...

2010-02-18T15:35:00.003-06:00

...is one of these vintage owl cookie jars. Full of some delicious cookies, of course! Today is turning out to be a little bit stressful - let's do some owl therapy! Haha, seriously, every time I get stressed out it really helps to go to Etsy and just put in some exciting keywords ("owl cookie jar" or "dinosaur robot" or "oxford heels") and just browse away my cares!

Winking Owl! - $42 from PotKettleBlack

Exciting owl! - $55 from iamthemandy

Art Deco Owl! - $100 from RetroRedeux

I think all of these guys are amazing. And I'm glad to know the winking owl is out there -- my mother-in-law has the exact same cookie jar in a lighter cream color!

Hope you're all having a better Thursday than I am! Let's not speak of my problems and perhaps they'll go away. :)

a little etsy update

2010-02-16T17:32:00.003-06:00

I'm sorry there hasn't been too much of interest or substance on my blog lately: there is a crazy amount of packing and moving-related stuff going on over here! We're doing one final walk through the house tomorrow and then signing closing documents on Friday. Yep, in 3 days Robert and I will be homeowners! We are already planning our first night in the house: it's a celebration between the two of us that will hopefully involve some Girl Scout cookies.

I promise to share some pictures as soon as I can! It's not my house yet so I don't feel comfortable creeping about with a camera (though I'm sure that's perfectly normal), but soon... Ooh, let me give you some teasers: built in 1962, hardwood floors, exciting paint colors. Use your imagination!

Now, enough daydreaming. I've done one last mini update in my Etsy shop. Some of these things have finally come out of the what-should-I-do-with-this pile and made it into the shop!

This dress!

This skirt!

This apron!

This rain coat!

This dress!

I will be putting my shop into vacation mode on Thursday evening and it won't be back up until things are settled at the new place. So if you're interested in any of these things, go ahead and buy them so I don't have to move them to the new house. Haha!

Oh, oh! And can I just tell you about how brave and strong Robert is? He slipped on the ice while biking today and got all banged up (physically + busted his new cell phone). However, he continued his trek to work (it's 4 miles each way) and stayed there all day. I think I would have cried a lot about it. But again, he's manly!! :)

sweet love!

2010-02-12T19:54:00.006-06:00

I love weekends.

Look what Robert brought home for me! A big ol' cupcake from Gigi's!

This is my submission for Anna's Much Love Monday: RED project!

Of course, it had to endure a bike ride in a backpack...

And it eventually toppled. But I'm about to eat it and I'm sure it will be delicious!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and a happy Valentine's Day on Sunday!

the storque!

2010-02-11T15:31:00.003-06:00

Today is becoming quite exciting: one of the items from my etsy shop was featured in a library-themed article on The Storque! This is something I realized after making 2 sales (which was equal to half of my stock at the time.. haha) and receiving 3 random messages that just contained questions or compliments about my shop.

While my shop hovers in the spotlight briefly, I'm trying to get as many new items added as I can. I know I've been a bit lazy about things, and this is a big push in the right direction.

For any of you who have just discovered my blog because of the Storque feature: Hello! Thank you so much for visiting and saying nice things.

Check out the feature here. I hope everyone else is having a nice Thursday! Mine has been full of pleasant surprises.

keeping busy

2010-02-09T13:14:00.005-06:00

I haven't got anything visually exciting to share today, but I thought a "hello" was in order. I've been keeping pretty busy lately. How are all of you? Here are some things I've been up to..

Wearing tights all the time. It's still snowy around here!

Trying out a new hairstyle for blah days -- It's really easy: just put your hair up in a ponytail and then tuck it back through .. if that makes sense! Even as the day wears on and it gets messy, it looks cute.

I helped Robert clean out his closet and then commandeered some of his unwanted pullover sweaters.

Here's the big reveal: notice what's going on in this last photo? Packing! If you've been reading my blog for the last year, you've already seen me go through 2 moves... but this one is different! I've almost mentioned it a couple of times here, but it seems like if I discuss it too much, I might burst the bubble! ("What bubble?" you ask. The imaginary bubble around the house we're about to buy, of course. It's a fragile thing!) I am incredibly excited, as you can imagine. It's not 100% final yet, but it should be by the end of next week, and we're going to start moving in immediately. So I've got a lot to do! I hope you won't mind if I'm a bit scarce. I will share more when I can!

happy shoes

2010-02-05T12:31:00.008-06:00

A little while ago, Anne at a cup full of sunshine tagged me with the Happy 101 award. I'm supposed to list 10 things that make me happy. I started out doing that, but felt that things were getting a little repetitious. So I decided to cheat, and I hope no one minds -- I'm going to show 10 pairs of shoes from Etsy that make me happy!

These are in no particular order. I didn't even pay attention to size or price, because I'm in no position to be spending money on shoes at the moment. Feel free to buy any of these and then take lovely pictures in them so I can live vicariously through you! (Click the pictures to go to the listings.)

Saddle shoes!

Ah, the beads on the ends of the laces!

Exciting boots!

Fancy wingtips!

The embroidered Zodiac logo is killing me with cuteness..

So snappy and bright.

Perfectly awesome.

Aren't these beautiful?

Totally ideal boots.

A sweet pair of wedges.

Ahh, wasn't that nice? Ogling shoes is just therapeutic for me, somehow! I found all of these a couple of days ago when I was doing some comparative pricing for a pair of shoes I listed in my shop. I became highly distracted, as you may have guessed. Happy Friday!

the snowy weekend

2010-02-02T13:51:00.006-06:00

Things have begun to melt and thaw out, but everything around here is so slippery that schools are still closed! This past weekend was really long and relaxing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Caught up on sleep, compulsively worked crossword puzzles, ate too many snacks, and went on a few adventures in the snow. Since this is the South and no one knows how to handle snow, most people chose to go places on foot instead of driving. I think the snow got more people outside. I don't know what's with that, but I suppose it just feels like a bizarre phenomenon that must be experienced full-on! I seriously haven't seen snow like this in at least 10 years.

There was just a little bit of snow at first.

And then suddenly, everything was covered!

We went on daytime walks..

..and a nighttime visit to the cemetery! I wanted to experiment with flash. Spooky!

LOVE this. I haven't even seen this one in daylight before.

Everything had a perfect layer of ice.

And as if the sidewalk wasn't already slippery enough, look what we found! It made me laugh.

Another fun thing about this weekend was talking to neighbors. Robert and I are sort of hermits most of the time, but something about crazy weather seems to get everyone outside and talking. This happens in Texas around hurricane time too: everybody starts working together and having dinner together and playing outside in the crazy weather. I love it. Something about temporary inconveniences -- electricity going out, not being able to drive, school/work being canceled -- is just dead exciting. As long as there's not too much damage and nobody gets hurt, of course! This weekend was one of those nice little pockets of inconvenience that turns out to be exciting.

shiny buttons

2010-01-29T11:21:00.004-06:00

At long last, I've done a very small update in my Etsy shop! Nothing too exciting, just a couple lots of buttons. I was going through an old sewing box yesterday afternoon and found plenty of things I don't need or want. It's small, but it's a start! My shop was really starting to empty out.

Today is turning out to be quite exciting. It's snowing hard and sticking! Robert was just let out of work early. I'm hoping to get some fun snow pictures this afternoon. It's probably not much snow compared to what some places get, but you wouldn't believe how excited I am. C'mon, I'm from Texas!! I did live in Colorado for a few years as a kid, and my snow memories are quite dear to me! I think that's why I'm so thrilled. I hope this keeps up on into the night, because some of my favorite times as a kid were laying out in the snow (in my hot pink snow suit) watching it come down. Happy Friday, everyone!

film scans

2010-01-26T15:29:00.005-06:00

Anyone remember when I mentioned getting out my "real camera" and shooting a roll of film last month? Here are some of the photos! I was really disappointed to discover that the shutter on my Minolta XG-1 sticks [most likely from disuse]... and therefore most of my pictures were way overexposed. That's something I would like to fix before using any more film up, because charming as some of the mistakes were, they were completely unpredictable! That might be the fun of a toy camera, but this was once a dependably accurate machine and I'd like to restore it.

I recently acquired a scanner from freecycle - so exciting! Now, on with the prints! Here are the couple that came out the way I wanted them:

I gathered up some little friends for a group portrait. That's a mogwai in the back! I made the heart pillow guys.

Real gingerbread man (from dozen) with glass gingerbread person (vintage Avon)

This isn't quite right, but I like it anyway. Reminds me of the old food blog!

Now, onto the overexposed prints... These are the few that came out kind of nice even though I was going for something completely different. All of the other prints looked horrible! [And yes, I swear it's the shutter's fault. I made notes of the settings I used for each exposure; I have back-to-back photos using the same settings at the same time where one frame is perfect and the next over-exposed. Not my fault!] Oh, despite all my whining I'm really fond of the below pictures.

Franklin had this NOEL sign up downtown for all of December. Have I mentioned how cute this town is?

Crummy print, but look at that gigantic brussels sprout stalk! Is it not impressive?

I can't throw away light bulbs when they go out, so I collect them. Really like the shape.

There's that gingerbread man again, resting atop a stack of presents!

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement on the last post! I'm doing fine: the person who died was a good-friend-of-some-of-my-good-friends, and the difficulty for me has been in comforting those who were closer to him. But thank you all, nonetheless! I'm incredibly appreciative of your support (in all ways).

five senses friday

2010-01-22T15:42:00.006-06:00

Hey everyone! I've been keeping pretty busy around here... I recently started applying for jobs and lately Robert and I have been house hunting! It's definitely exciting in a real world kind of way, but unfortunately I don't have any pretty pictures of those activities (I know: I should), so you'll have to use your imagination!

How about a round of Five Senses Friday?

Tasting: Apple Pie French Toast!! So yummy. (Recipe via Closet Cooking) Also this week: chicken tingas (like spicy tacos with potatoes and peppers), blueberry buttermilk cake, homemade tomato soup and sourdough bread, and Gobi Manchurian [which was *way* spicy but delicious]. I am ridiculously spoiled in the food department thanks to Robert!

Seeing: Grey skies- it's been awfully rainy this week. Also seeing words on the page: I finally started reading Half Broke Horses for the Slow Readers Book Club! (We have a forum for discussion now!)

Smelling: The above mentioned foods? I always have a hard time thinking of smells! The Gobi Manchurian ('specially the fried cauliflower) smell stuck around our apartment a while, but it was okay!

This was an excellent package from Amazon!

Hearing: This week I've been listening to Devo (because Robert just got into this album and he keeps putting the record on!) and Elliott Smith's XO which I just got on vinyl. When I love every song on an album, it must be acquired in every format.

Feeling: Cold hands. A little sunshine earlier on in the week. Burning mouth from Gobi Manchurian. More than a few tears when I found out someone I've known since high school passed away. It's always so startling and sad when someone near your own age dies.

Aside from that last sad bit, it's been a pretty productive and satisfying week. I hope your week has been great and that the upcoming weekend is even better.

my sister's wedding

2010-01-19T15:26:00.005-06:00

At long last, here are those wedding photos I've been talking about! Apologies for taking so long to post them, but I wanted to make some improvements to my blog format and how I share pictures. How do you like the new format, by the way? Thank you all for the tips on larger pictures!

Sarah and Timothy were married on January 9, 2010 at t'afia in Houston. It's an adorable little restaurant that serves amazing food made with local ingredients -- they even host a farmer's market on Saturdays that Robert and I attended regularly in the past!

Many of my shots from the ceremony are a little grainy and blurred because I was also hopping around making a video of the whole thing and couldn't mess with camera settings at the time.

However, there was a little sunlight left when we went upstairs for dinner, so I was able to grab some good shots! Below is one of my favorites.

We had a delicious three-course meal and it was really fun to sit around talking to everyone. I was able to see some of my family that I haven't seen since I moved away, and it was just an exciting time in general!

The name cards for the table settings (below) were penned by Betsy Dunlap Calligraphy.

After the dinner was over and we'd said goodbye to family, all of us "young people" headed over to a party for other friends who hadn't attended the wedding. It was held at a community center, and we had a blast just exploring that place. We found one room that was decorated with someone's old furniture, and that became everyone's favorite portrait spot.

There was also a ping pong table, a piano, and a skateboard we found in a closet... Haha, it was a really SILLY night. I was wearing a dress from the 40s and came home to realize I had ripped both armpits. Unfortunate! That is what happens when one parties in dainty old clothing.

It was a really beautiful wedding and such a fun party we had afterward! Best wishes to Sarah and Tim!

1 year of blogging!

2010-01-13T15:19:00.006-06:00

Tasty cupcakes from a long, long time ago.

Today is my blog's one year birthday! It's still just a baby, but it's grown a lot. I don't have anything special planned (for the blog or in real life), but I couldn't forget to mention it.

Thank you to everyone who reads along and leaves me sweet comments! You're greatly appreciated. I feel like I have a lovely community of inspiring people to learn from.

Happy Birthday, baby sloth!!

And a bit of trivia for everyone: for the first couple of weeks, my blog was named "has anyone seen the iguana?" for a line from the song Sinister Foxx by The Breeders! I figured that would get kinda old. Baby sloths never go out of style, though.

embroidered gifts

2010-01-12T12:15:00.004-06:00

I'm back from my trip to Houston! My sister's wedding was really beautiful and since I was named the "official" photographer, I have plenty of pretty pictures to share. I haven't gone through and edited them all yet, so you'll just have to wait a few days. Instead, here are a couple of pictures of recent embroidery projects! These are both things I gave as gifts: now that all holidays and special events are over, I can freely post them here.

Above: I added some hedgehog excitement to a pair of place mats. That was my wedding present to Sarah and Tim. (You two better looove them!) And below is the Christmas present I made for Tim, my new brother-in-law. It's a combination stuffed animal / ornament thing. This was the gift I mailed off before photographing; I finally got my chance this past weekend. I had so much fun making the owl -- embroidering on felt is kind of neat! All patterns are from Sublime Stitching.

These last couple of months have been very busy with holidays and traveling, and I feel like my new year is just now getting started (even though January is almost halfway over)! I know I didn't make any resolutions, but I would like to start trying some new things with my blog. Specifically: widening it, using larger pictures, and also I'd like to make a watermark for my photos and start using it all the time. Anyone have any tips on how to go about doing those things?

Hope you're all having a wonderful week so far!

slow readers and slowreader

2010-01-08T08:00:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: All Slow Reader activity now takes place in this Facebook group!

Image by Gabbi

Have you heard about the Slow Readers Book Club? I bet you have, since so many neat bloggers have joined it already. But I thought I'd do my part to spread the word (and formally declare myself a member). You can find more details over here at Diana's blog, but the main idea is to slow down and enjoy reading. The first book is going to be Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, and we're going to review it on March 4th. That gives you plenty of time to locate the book (I'm checking it out at the library) and enjoy it! If you'd like to be added to the mailing list (for book discussion between now and the review date), email Diana at diana@ourcitylights.org!

And because the name reminded me of the band Slowreader, here is a song for you to listen to! It's a pretty / sad song!

a friendly reminder

2010-01-05T13:41:00.005-06:00

Just a quick note to self (and for the benefit of others):

Do NOT leave shoes lying around in the middle of the hallway, especially if they are high heels. Especially if you're in a hurry and you're running around barefoot. It will only lead to pain! This is the lesson I learned yesterday when I stumbled on these pretty shoes and then landed (with all my weight) on the heel of one. I have a giant red mark on the bottom of my right foot and it still sort of hurts!

Accessorizing!

But I can forgive the shoes, and I'm even going to take them on a little vacation with me. Ugh, I spent probably 3 hours yesterday trying to figure out what to wear to my sister's wedding! I think I've found the perfect outfit, but of course it involves a dress that needs to be repaired. I better get busy!

Shoes - vintage from Retropolis in Houston
Cuff bracelet - Clare Stoker, courtesy of the BSP a while ago!
Purse - surprisingly, it's from Target a few years back

I'm a little worried about our travel plans for Thursday because it's supposed to snow like crazy [2-4 inches]... but hopefully everything will work out! You know what? I've been having a crummy day, but my faith in today has just been restored: when I went over to the Bright Side Project to grab the link, I found out I won something else. Now it's a GOOD day. (And I cannot stress enough how awesome BSP is!)

OKAY, everyone, I'm going to be on a blog break for a while! We're spending a few days in Houston and I'll be back here once everything has settled down. Have a good week! I hope everyone is enjoying 2010!! Sorry for all of the exclamation marks - I'm really stressed out and you can pretend I'm kind of yelling every sentence if you want.

2010!

2010-01-03T17:14:00.003-06:00

The new year is here! How did you celebrate? My friends Lisa and Erika drove up to visit us and spent three nights: it was like one really long party. We had so much fun! Robert was incredibly hospitable and made lots of yummy food for everyone: I did my best to keep up with the dishes. Since we're sort of homebodies, we didn't take them to see many sights in Nashville, but we did walk around downtown Franklin, though it was uncomfortably freezing. Mostly we opted to stay indoors and do cozy activities. We stayed up too late, slept in mornings, and finished two jigsaw puzzles (one nature scene from the 1940s and a startling He-Man puzzle which was TOO much fun). Trust me, it was a good time.

AND IT SNOWED!! Saturday morning. The snow didn't stick because it was a beautiful sunny day, but the gigantic flakes were enough for me. Unfortunately I didn't get to take many pictures. Oh well; it may snow again later this week. Do you know what else is happening this week? I'm flying back to Houston for my sister's wedding. I've still got a few days here, but everything has been so busy that I'm not sure if I'll have time for another update before leaving! I'll try to pop back in soon.

Sorry this post is horribly lacking in interesting photos [because all of the photos from the last few days are too hilarious and scandalous to share on this blog]. I'll be back with more to share!

pretty presents

2009-12-30T08:53:00.004-06:00

2009 is coming to an end!! How do you feel about that? It seemed to go by so quickly, but it was a happy year... so many changes! I lived in 3 different cities this year, but I think we've finally found the one where we're going to settle down for a while. All is well.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite gifts that I received for Christmas this year. Don't worry, this'll be the only present post. Gifts this year seemed to be mostly tea-party themed, or "let's help Rebecca stay warm since she doesn't have any winter clothes" themed. Both good causes, I feel.

A little owl! I think this is a cream pitcher.

Gorgeous little hand-bound book! Not sure what I'll put in it.

Cup and saucer!

This exciting set it something Robert's mom found in their backyard years ago. They dug it up!!

I think it's neat!

Jacket from Robert's grandparents - It allows me to look like a turtle, and I'm down with anything turtle-y.

For all of you who received Christmas presents: what was your favorite? I've got to run off now and get busy making things pretty around here -- a couple of friends from Texas are driving up to spend New Year's Eve with us! I probably won't have much time to post here in the next couple of days, so HAPPY NEW YEAR! See you again in 2010!

scenes from christmas

2009-12-28T07:28:00.003-06:00

I'm back! We got home Saturday evening, but we've been busy unpacking and settling back in (and playing Plants vs Zombies, which my sister gave Robert for Christmas, and which we both quickly got addicted to). We had a nice Christmas in Memphis! I hope all of you had a good week as well. Here are some pictures from the last few days!

I really like this snow person.

This is Luna. She's a nice dog.

We made snowmen (/robots?) with marshmallows and pretzel sticks and chocolate chips!

This masterpiece is by Justin, by bro-in-law.

That's pretty much all I've got. There are pictures of everyone opening presents in pajamas, but they were taken on a different camera and they'll probably never show up here - so sorry, everyone! There were some really neat gifts that I'll get around to sharing later; right now everything is strewn across the living room floor and I really need to get organized. Happy Monday!

christmas break

2009-12-23T07:44:00.005-06:00

Happy Wednesday! Or Friday-Wednesday, as I'm thinking of it. Every day this week feels like a Friday. Tomorrow morning Robert and I will drive to Memphis, where we're spending Christmas! It's going to be my first Christmas with his family, and I'm pretty excited about it.

Fancy wrapping paper selection.

Gingerbread man scissors, which I use year-round.

To be honest and cheesy with you, this time of year reminds me of a couple of Christmases ago, just after Robert had moved to Texas. [Quick note for the uninitiated: I'm from Houston, Robert is from Memphis, and we dated long-distance for a while.] We were getting accustomed to having each other around ALL the time, and then he went back home for Christmas. It was the saddest Christmas EVER. We had an okay time with our families, but we missed each other terribly-- I was "house sitting" his apartment and I would just go there to hang out and read his Daniel Pinkwater books and think about how much I liked him [Robert, that is. But I like Daniel Pinkwater too!]. He was only gone for a few days, but the way we talked on the phone, you would think we would never see each other again. And that is when we knew that we had to marry each other and be together forever-ever. Sounds silly, but we began planning as soon as he got back, and we were married less than half a year later. Now we're on our second Christmas together! It's a good time.

But enough of that! I will be away from here for a few days. I hope everyone has a lovely holiday season (or whatever you want to call it). Tell me if you have any exciting plans!

cookies and such

2009-12-21T11:28:00.005-06:00

Happy Monday, everyone! Can you believe that Christmas is this week? I can't, but I'm excited about it anyway. And in just a week and a few days, it will be 2010! It was odd enough entering the 2000s, but we're now going into the 2010s - isn't it crazy? I suppose that's how time works (it just keeps happening), but it still surprises me.

I've been keeping busy with the upcoming holidays, but I have a couple of things to share!

A VERY thoughtful couple ordered a box of cookies for us from Dozen. I've mentioned Dozen before: the bakery that uses local ingredients and sells at our farmer's market. This past Saturday when we walked up to buy some stuff (for other people, of course...) we were handed this box and told that someone called it in for us. Robert and I were completely bewildered. To be honest-- and this will tell you just how dorky we are-- we thought maybe that was a joke. But it was real and when we figured that out we were very happy.

Cookie Party!

YUM!

So: thank you Meaghan and William!! This was a perfect gift for us. And thanks to Claire for being an amazing baker!

Also, if anyone can tell the difference, I got a haircut this weekend! Kept the length, but got more layers. I'm actually happy with it, though it looked questionable and slightly frightening right after being cut: hair stylists have a way of making my hair very big. I don't think they know how to deal with it. But it's all good as far as maintenance on my end, though I do look like someone from an 80s glam metal music video when I wake up in the morning.

Hope everyone is having a nice week so far!

hello there

2009-12-16T17:26:00.002-06:00

hippo!

My digital camera just arrived back home from being repaired!! I've tested it out and everything is in perfect working order. It had been freezing up and generally being annoying, so this is very nice! I'm so glad that my family purchased a warranty when they bought this camera for me a couple of years ago for Christmas. And luckily the whole repair process went really smoothly and quickly. I would totally recommend getting a SquareTrade warranty if you're in the market for something to cover an expensive electronic purchase!

That is all for now. I'm just excited about having my camera back. Still haven't finished up that roll of film I started, though I'm getting near the end! A couple of times the shutter seemed to get stuck while I was taking photos, so I'm crossing my fingers that my SLR camera is still in good shape and that the photos come out okay!

One last note: I recently spent a couple of days doing a really neat embroidery project as a gift for someone, but I didn't photograph it before wrapping it up and sending it away in the mail! Can't say what it is yet, but I'll have to force the recipient to take photos of it for me! (Isn't that sweet?)

help-portrait

2009-12-14T12:38:00.004-06:00

Since I'm without any pictures to share this week, I thought it might be nice to share something else. A Nashville photographer started a project called Help-Portrait that has gone worldwide. The mission is for photographers to share their skills and give back to the community by taking portraits of needy families for free. It may not sound so significant, but when you think of how many of us take cameras for granted and how many people there are who have never had their photo taken... It's one way to make people feel special and beautiful! I will let this video speak for itself. This was actually a test run they did in October -- the real project started a couple of days ago (Dec. 12th), and I'm not sure if it's going to be a yearly event, but it's definitely worth watching! Be sure to visit their website if it's something that interests you - it made me a little teary eyed!

recent projects

2009-12-11T08:06:00.005-06:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Do you realize that Christmas is exactly 2 weeks from today? I just noticed. There are so many things I need to do: self-imposed assignments like finishing up little creative projects and sending out cards! I still haven't finished those stockings that I mentioned making... but here's a peek:

Yeah, those are green strawberries. I like doing crafts with whatever I have on hand, and this seemed to be the only white-ish material that looked festive enough for the top of the stockings! It's an old feedsack print, so it gets historical points as well. Boy, I guess it's lucky that I also happened to have normal fabric for the rest of the project, or these might look particularly silly.

Hello, real camera.

In the sad news department, I sent my digital camera off to be repaired this week. I had a hard time boxing it up- I had to stop and take a few last pictures with it and then take pictures of it with my other camera... all sorts of parental things like that! Hopefully it will come back soon working better than ever.

The upside to all this is that I finally pulled out my regular old 35mm camera! I was slow to start taking pictures with it; all of the manual settings made me quite nervous. A few years ago I had the f/stops memorized and knew exactly what settings to use for certain lighting conditions, but I've had to relearn a lot of that this week. I've also had to relearn how to use the giant, external flash. It's so much fun to play with! I think with digital photography the main satisfaction is being able to automatically see your pictures and retake them if you're not happy. You can't do that with film, but you get the satisfaction of learning and understanding exactly what each component of the camera does*. It's a neat feeling!

*Not that you can't do that with a digital camera.. but digital makes it easier to go all-automatic and not worry about apertures and shutter speeds!

ebay'd

2009-12-08T14:15:00.007-06:00

I really despise Ebay from a seller's point of view. However, there is some appeal to an auction that ends in a few days. I got an email from Ebay this morning about half price seller's fees and decided to list some things! These are all items which have expired from my Etsy shop that I've had trouble letting go of (attachment issues). I decided to start everything at $5 and see what happens! Please visit the listings if you're interested in anything. Each listing only has one picture because there's NO WAY I was going to pay 15 cents per extra picture! [Again: I do not like you, Ebay.] But I'll gladly provide extra pictures if anyone asks! Sorry for the lack of excitement in the item descriptions - these are just sort of quick and dirty listings! I have too much stuff laying around that needs to find a new home!

Handmade Vintage Dress - Size Small

Pussybow Blouse - Size 6

Plaid Shorts - Size 9/10

Handmade Vintage Checkerboard Skirt

Bert Yelin Bed Jacket

Chainlink Sweater - Size Medium

Striped Drop Waist Dress - Size 12

Again, if you're interested in anything here and need more details, just let me know! If you're not interested, just move along.

I have a few projects going on right now, and I suppose I better start taking some pictures (though it's rainy and gray here and the lighting is terrible): I'm sending my camera in to be repaired! I've been having problems with the zoom on my digital camera and it's still under warranty so I'm getting that taken care of. I really hope it will be fixed and back in my hands by Christmas. If not, I've got a backup plan! I bought a bunch of film yesterday and got out my Minolta XG-1. Hopefully I'll get a chance to start playing with that soon.

some facts and things

2009-12-03T13:13:00.011-06:00

Thank you all for the sweet comments on the pictures from my last post! Everyone seems to be smitten with Zazie the hedgehog. She's cute, but she's also a grumpy little thing - I just enjoy taking pictures of her and rubbing her stomach when she's not curled up in a spiny ball. Hedgehogs can be found at exotic pet stores: my sister bought Zazie at S&S Exotic Animals in Houston. [They also sell two-toed sloths .. for $2000! Eep. Oh, wouldn't it be great to wake up December 25th to find a baby sloth climbing around on your Christmas tree? Hint hint.]

Hanging around. I hope you enjoy those shadows to the left!

How does everyone like December so far? I think it's spectacular! We put up our tiny, fake Christmas tree yesterday and I wrapped the first present... I'm excited about this month.

On another fun note, Emma Wallace from Emma's Music passed this Beautiful Blogger Award on to me. Thank you so much, Emma! For anyone who hasn't visited her blog, Emma is a musician with a fantastic voice. Her blog is full of good stuff, and each week she puts up a new song sketch. Check it out!

Here are the rules that came with the award:

1) Thank the person who nominated me for this award.
2) Copy the award & place it on my blog.
3) Link to the person who nominated me for this award.
4) Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.
5) Nominate 7 bloggers.
6) Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate.

So, 7 interesting things about myself? Hmm. Many of you probably know more about me than you should, so I will stay off any previously-discussed topics and just go with whatever pops into my head first.

1. Yesterday Robert and I watched The Straight Story: a G-rated Disney movie directed by David Lynch (?!) about an old man driving his tractor across Iowa. Then we worked on a jigsaw puzzle and listened to Beatles records. We almost died from wholesomeness.

2. A couple of weeks ago I said I was going to get a haircut, but I never got around to it! That's pretty boring, actually.

3. I have lost the motivation / inspiration needed to update my Etsy shop. :( Has that happened to anyone else? I was going to take pictures of some stuff yesterday, but I just dread the entire process, and have been dreading it for months now. I think I'm bored with it, and I really need to come to terms with that + figure out what I want to do next.

4. I'm also coming to terms with the fact that I dress myself like a 5-year old, and that's funny. I can't make myself care about fashion. Boring! I have not shopped for clothes in a few months, and I'm okay with that. This may be related to the previous fact - even vintage isn't exciting me right now.

5. Did I just blow your mind with those last 2 facts? I hope not! I've had some blogging issues as well lately: I'm just not sure what to put here and who is in my audience and what is entertaining anymore. I often feel that I yammer on about insignificant things, and I do not enjoy the finished product when I do that! If I had more self-control, this would be a pictures only blog, but I feel the need to narrate.

6. Sticking to this candid trend, I can't seem to figure out what to do with my life right now. It's not a bad thing, it's just a weird spot to be in. I'm done with school (and not interested in going back), I have no job (but can't decide if I want one), and I'm just unsure about what comes next! I also feel this is a good thing - obviously if my circumstances were different I'd be forced to find a job and stick with it. So this is an exploratory phase! I'm just not sure where it's going...

7. It's hard to follow those last 3! I will just say that it feels nice to get all of that out there. I'm usually quite reserved on this blog, trying to keep everything upbeat and neutral, but I'm not really like that most of the time.

Well, that was enlightening! Now, onto the 7 bloggers I want to pass the award to. Some of these are newer finds for me, while others are blogs I've been reading for some time now (and have probably awarded before.. but they're just that good).

Oranges and Apples

dailee dose

Ambiguous Alliterative Abomination

All of these blogs are written by multi-talented people who are just lovely! (Feel free to take the award and pass it along, or ignore it if you don't feel like digging up 7 interesting facts.. haha).

This afternoon I'm planning to make Christmas stockings! I'm going to use this template. They'll be small but that's okay because a) we have nowhere to hang them and b) who likes to put a lot of stuff in stockings? Not I. I just want to make some pretty badly. I'll let you know if they come out well! If not, we shall pretend I never mentioned them.

pictures from my trip home

2009-11-29T17:41:00.010-06:00

I'm back! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and excellent weekend. The past few days have been so full and busy! A lot happened in Texas: two Thanksgiving meals with different families, a couple of mini-reunions with high school friends, visits to favorite restaurants, and a lot of general hanging around with people! Here are the prettiest things that I was able to capture.

Zazie, my sister's hedgehog!

That's MY DOG. We got him when I was 12. I haven't seen in 9 months! He's crazy. Do you like his outfit?

Most of the rest of these pictures are nature shots. My parents recently bought some land and we got to spend an afternoon there! It was originally a Christmas tree farm, so there are plenty of overgrown fir trees, along with a pond and a shack! Really, the building on the land was appraised as a shack, and for good reason. My mom is planning to fix it up for fun. They're not going to live there, but it's a neat place to visit! I had a lot of fun finding little things to photograph.

This guy is just a neighbor! He wouldn't come talk to us.

Caterpillar buddy

Sap! They were chopping down some trees to clear a little road.

Peeling paint on the door of the shack. I like it.

Grasshopper pal!

The view from my sister's front door.

The pool at my sister's apartment complex. MONEY!

All in all I think it was a nice visit! But it's good to be back. And there's plenty to catch up on here!

thanksgiving break

2009-11-25T09:35:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone is having a splendid week. If you're in America, you probably get a few days off for Thanksgiving - hooray, long weekend! I'm heading to Houston today and won't return until Saturday. I won't be blogging from there, so I thought I'd say so long for the moment.

Horse and Buggy skirt from stephaniebracciano

But I couldn't leave you without something pretty to look at. Yesterday I began trolling Etsy for possible Christmas presents. While going through my favorite shops, I spotted this skirt -- isn't it amazing? I love it!

And on that note, goodbye for a little while!

happy friday / weekend!

2009-11-20T12:27:00.004-06:00

carrot bread

For a tasty recipe, pop on over to the hungry lemur! Just so you know, I only enjoy carrots when they're shredded up and baked into something tasty...

I've tried to like carrots, raw and cooked, but I just can't do it. When I was a kid, my mom always had baby carrot sticks around, in hopes that my sister and I would eat them as snacks and become less picky eaters. Occasionally I would forget what carrots tasted like and grab a couple to eat. But I could never get past the first bite. I vividly remember riding my bike around the neighborhood, chewing on a mouthful of carrot and trying to make myself swallow... Pretty hilarious.

hair long enough to braid

2009-11-18T20:45:00.002-06:00

Hey, check it out! I was playing around with my hair this morning and realized that it's now long enough to braid. That's somewhat of an accomplishment-- and so bittersweet, because I'm planning to get a haircut tomorrow. I think I will aim for longer hair, though, and just get a trim and have the layers shaped up. I sort of miss my long hair from a few years ago!

Top: Delia's / Pants: Forever 21

I think I've had these pants since I was a senior in high school. They're an old standby. And the thermal top is from at least 3 years ago, but it's so good! Check out the thumb holes and cartoon owls printed all over it. I'm glad it's cold enough to wear again. Today was a day for nostalgic fashion!

Hat: from my cousin / Hoodie: ??

I had to add some layers later on in the day. The hat was a necessity as my hair had become quite messy -- it's long enough to braid, but not long enough to stay in place very long. This little red hoodie has been around for ages. It's funny how I can wear a 40 or 50 year old dress and not make a big deal about its history, but this thing was with me on my first dates with my first boyfriend. Hahaha. I think I've had it since I was about 14... Is that cute or scary?

In other news, I listed a purse in my etsy shop today... Nothing too exciting! And although it's been two months since Robert and I added anything to our food blog, we haven't forgotten it! A new recipe is on its way - promise! (Hint hint: write the text, Sir Robert!)

recently

2009-11-16T19:57:00.006-06:00

I've been kind of quiet here lately. To be honest it's because I'm trying to figure out what happens next in my life. Big, vague ideas! Anyway, part of that is trying to spend less time online. And spending less time reading blogs. I sincerely hope that no one feels ignored - I'm still catching up on all of your blogs when I get time, but often I'm so behind that I just reply to the most recent blog entries!

Just wanted to put that out there. I have time to catch up tonight because Robert is at a basketball game with a co-worker. Isn't that weird? It's weird for him. It may be the "manliest" thing he's done in his whole life. Heh, male bonding! I think it's cute that he was invited out. So, here are some pictures from the past week!

I think I may keep the above shoes, which are from the vintage stash which Robert's grandmother passed along to me. She wants me to try sell everything, but I'm afraid these aren't in good enough condition - the insoles of the shoes are barely clinging on. I don't know if they can be glued [anyone have any advice?], but I wouldn't be comfortable selling them in this condition. I still think they're very elegant!

Madeleines from dozen

Yesterday afternoon, Robert and I went for a little walk and got somewhat lost... It was exciting! I didn't realize that the main road we live off of went on for so long. We've never walked out that far, but we found some amazing fields and were able to see barns in the distance.

On the way home we made a kitty friend! This gorgeous little cat was very cuddly, but wouldn't stay still for a good photo. It also tried to follow us home, and the best idea we could think of was to run away. We just started running, and the cat followed for a few feet but then gave up. We felt really silly and we laughed about it the rest of the way home. I just didn't want to lead it too far from home!

Speaking of, I'll be headed back "home" for Thanksgiving next week - it will be my first trip back to Texas since February. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed here, and all that has happened!

the ostrich set

2009-11-12T15:33:00.003-06:00

Hello! Just wanted to pop in and mention that there are two new items in my Etsy shop! A matching purse and pair of shoes, ostrich style...

Both of these things belonged to Robert's grandma. She called me a few weeks ago to ask if I would like to sell some of her vintage clothes! I agreed: a week later my father-in-law knocked on the door with a box full of shoes and purses, and a few items of clothing.

It seemed right to start by listing this pair of items, which she called "the ostrich set." I think that's so cute! They're not even the same brand, but they do match quite well.

This shade of pink is not my style, but I do find the well-worn shoes very charming for some reason. I think the purse is made from synthetic material, but the shoes are made from real leather that's embossed to look like ostrich skin.

Anyway, since I'm doing this for someone else I'm going to try to be efficient about it and get everything listed quickly... Hopefully I'll have more items to share very soon!

the interconnectedness of life

2009-11-08T20:54:00.003-06:00

I have had the most excellent weekend. I'm sure I say that every week, but this one was seriously exciting! I hope my blog isn't becoming a bore to anyone, but lately all I can think about is local stuff. I've been reading and enjoying Wendell Berry lately. Local food, local economy, the local scenery... I feel like this weekend was a good model for how I'd like to live all the time.

And luckily, it IS becoming how I live more and more. I'm glad that Robert and I can practice what we preach most of the time about sustainability and local food. We were very responsible consumers this weekend. I don't know about all of you, but buying stuff usually makes me feel bad. However, when I support a local business, especially by buying food that is grown or made where I live, I feel really good about it. I would like to get more involved with the community, though: being a consumer and contributing money is one thing, but it's not the same as doing and getting personally involved.

We ate too many sweets and drank too much coffee this weekend, but I don't regret those things! The sweets came from a new baker we met at the farmer's market who uses local ingredients (including the very milk that we had to drink after eating one of her cookies)! And we spent a good 3 hours talking to some new friends at a great little coffee shop in a small town.

We also spent an afternoon touring Noble Springs Dairy. We buy goat cheese every week from them at the farmer's market, so we were pretty excited when they announced they'd be doing tours! We got to meet all of the animals - although they only produce goat cheese to sell, they have horses, cows, chickens, goats, bees and even some dogs and cats. Best part? They're only 5 miles away from where we live: so close!

Robert and I had an awesome time petting the goats, and we even got to try our hand at milking. That was a special little experience... After the tour we had a nice snack and bought some of their honey. It was the best way to spend an afternoon and I'm so glad we got to do it! I'm sure we'll be returning in the future. :)

I didn't want to overflow my blog with pictures of goats (though I hope no one would mind; they're pretty cute!), so these are just a few of the many photos taken. You can see more on my flickr.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to lately! Apologies to anyone looking for fashion pictures or creative inspiration - those things just haven't been on my mind much lately. However, I hope you enjoy what I'm sharing here, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject! Do you care about this sort of stuff?

I'm just happy because today Robert said he wouldn't mind living on a farm -- I was trying to convince him we needed to buy one last week! I think now that he's met some friendly farm animals he's seeing the appeal. We're not at all prepared to make a jump into that kind of lifestyle, but I like being able to see it as a future possibility.

shiny shoes

2009-11-03T14:05:00.002-06:00

Hey, everybody! Can you believe it's already November? It's surprising to me, especially upon realizing that I didn't list anything in my Etsy shop at all during October! I just sort of fell out of the habit. However, I'm hoping to begin listing some neat items that have piled up around here - for de-cluttering purposes as well as to make some extra money for buying Christmas presents!

So, ogle these shoes with me. Aren't they dreamy? Some of you long-term readers may remember them from this post back in May: I bought them from a burlesque dancer. I've been hanging onto them because they fit me and they're so perfect, but... every time I plan to wear them in real life, I walk around for a few minutes and end up putting them back in the closet. They're a bit tight on my toes, and the heels are almost 3 inches. I feel silly wearing them!

It is a sad story. But now they're up for sale! To be entirely honest, I didn't know they were really vintage at first. They look brand new, but they're by Johansen -- a quick Etsy search will show you some other gorgeous vintage shoes by the same company!

Here's what I learned from my research:

The Johansen company has been making shoes since 1876.
They are now owned by a company that makes the standard Oxford shoes for all branches of the US military.
Johansen also produces the Paradise Kittens brand, a pair of which can be seen here!

Once again, the collective sigh of so many people wishing for tinier feet! Or, more realistically, wishing that there were more vintage shoes available in bigger sizes!

I'm going to try to get around to adding some actual clothes to my shop this week as well. Hope everyone's week is off to a good start!