Last night......

Last night was the 4th game of the NBA Finals. I was pretty sure I was on my own for dinner. To my surprise Ryan went to the store before i got home and brought me some flowers and also stuff to make for dinner. I have never actually BBQ ed in my life so I chose last night to give it a shot.


I have to say I think I did a pretty good job. The tin foil joint looking things are corn on the cob ready to go on the grill. The opened tin foil thing is a veggie pack. It was filled with sliced mushrooms, red potatoes, green beans, a diced clove of garlic, a shallot, toss in some butter and some salt and pepper. Behold, you have a REALLY FREAKIN GOOD side dish to BBQ chicken.





Of course the flowers next to the bouquet he bought me last week.

Summer Reading List

I made two New Years Resolutions.

1. Read 30 books in 2009

2. To finish all of the book club books before the meetings

So far in 2009 I have read 9 books. I need to step my game up a bit. I have read all of the book club books except for one. I was about 3/4 of the way done with it before the meeting. It was just a sucky book and I could barely force myself to pick it up.

In an effort to inspire myself to get reading I started browsing Amazon and I have compiled a list of books I would like to read before September 1, 2009.

The book club books are a must and I would like to read them first.

Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon

If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

Technically this was a book club book from last year. My pick actually. I started it and for some reason was not enjoying it at all. The members of my book club could not say enough good things about it. I am going to give it another chance and see what I think.

Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb

I may be the last person on earth to have never finished the Harry Potter books. For several years now I have avoided all conversations and websites that may reveal a plot twist. Unfortunately I have not been very successful and have a general idea what is going to happen. I was not really planning on reading these any time soon but I think its become necessary if I want to be surprised at all. I cannot keep plugging my ears and singing "la la la la" every time a preview for the movie comes on television. Honestly I am little hostile when people bring up Harry Potter. I threaten bodily harm if they spoil anything for me. In the interest in not catching an assault record I really want to pick up the last of this series and just get it over with. Harry Potter books 4,5,6, and 7.

I may run a little bit over my set time limit....but I am going to try my best.

All images courtesy of Amazon.com.

**Edit** I do not know what is up with the weird spacing.....I cannot seem to get it to do anything I want it to. So you get my jumbled up mashed together entry today....grrrr

What my day looks like

First, HAPPY FRIDAY!

Second, the camera phone pictures are as good as it gets today and probably most days. I have a love/hate relationship with my camera phone. I love it cause its always ready but I hate it cause the picture quality sucks. If I waited to post things that were photographed then downloaded to a computer things would never get posted. Lets face it I am not the most regular blog poster type person anyway.

So without further ado this is what my Friday looks like:

This man right here is a keeper. (The dog is his mother's that we were dog sitting for and is not allowed on furniture. Us being the rule abiding couple invited the dog on the couch to take this picture and send to his mother no less than 10 minutes after the dog was dropped off.)

The lovely man in the above picture surprised me at work with these.

and this. (5 layer dip and chips)

No meal of chips and dip is complete without a beverage. Notice the concern for my health (read: Green Tea) and my weight (read: Diet). I won't read too much into the "Diet" part and just enjoy the sweetness that is Ryan. (also notice my cleavage is about to attack the bottle. Maybe I should reconsider having pictures with that much cleavage on my desk at work.)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!!

Collecting

I am a thrift store shopper and a flea market regular. Anyone who has shopped at either knows that it can be overwhelming. I spent years buying things with no rhyme or reason. I ended up with an eclectic mix of things. In some cases eclectic can be good. In my case it was bad, very bad. Everything just appeared hap hazard and random with little styling. Not a bright spot in my decorating history. I am a firm believer in buying what you love and figuring out where to put it later, but within a few limits. For me if I am browsing a thrift store and I see something that catches my eye it must meet one or more of the following criteria:

1. Am I currently collecting the item?

2. Do I love it?

3. Is it vintage?

4. Is it in a color that would coordinate with my house?

If I answer "yes" to number one then it goes in my basket. If I answer "yes" to number two I must also answer yes to one of the other questions or it goes back on the shelf. The same goes for questions three and four.

By asking myself these questions it helps to assure what I bring home is something will be a part of my house for years to come. Take a look at a few of my collections. Pardon the crappy camera phone pictures. I am having a hard time locating my normal camera.

Here we have my globe collection. By default you can also see my vintage typewriter collection. I only have two so far but I plan on adding more as I come across them.

Here is a close up on one of the typewriters. If you look below the typewriter you can see my collection of Strawberry Shortcake Miniatures from 1980-84. Of course there is my vintage jewelry collection. I also plan on adding more to the wire lady. Eventually I expect she will be covered in costume jewelry.

For those of you wondering about the Strawberry Shortcake Minis this is a picture of one of the 64 that are available. This image and mini are from the Etsy shop Trunkofprettys.

I have many many more collections. I'll post pictures soon.

Cardigan of the Day

This cardigan is brought to us by Ann Taylor LOFT. I like it for warm weather. Just enough to keep your shoulders warm in a movie theatre. Its cure enough to be warn on casual Friday around the office. Toss it over any tank and jeans.

Etsy Break

Its no secret that I am addicted to Etsy. In this economy its extra important to support the little guy. Take a look and see if there is something you can't live without. (personally that fabric is calling my name) Its summer and i have been loving all the strawberries.

This lovely lady is from a seller I have had the pleasure of buying from Trunkofprettys. If you are looking for strawberries then you have to at least take a peek at the one and only Strawberry Shortcake.

Print of her original painting Diana Evans.

This fabric is a real treat from the 1930s. Thank you Rubysdaughter.

Hand made cups from ElegantWare. These would be so pretty on a window sill above a sink.

WWII Keep Calm and Carry On Strawberry chapstick from LeastLikely2Breed.

The most darling stud earrings from Fluffington.

Happy shopping folks!

Back in the saddle.....

This is a picture of what my day looks like.

To the untrained eye that is a grouping of things that seem totally unrelated and they are....the only common thread is that I had to remove them all from my purse to photograph them on my desk at work. Things are slow here. I have a sneaking suspicion that I may be in line at the unemployment office soon. Until I actually get that news officially I am in the office and waiting for something to happen. In the meantime I have to find ways to entertain myself. The book is next month's book club selection. I'm on page 130 and I would recommend My Sister's Keeper to anyone who is looking for a quick read. The fabric, needles and the orange pancake thing are supplies to make fabric yo-yos. I have posted about these before and this is what I am going for here:

Image and inspiration from Heather Bailey.

I plan to make this out of the yo-yos.

Image from Allsorts. S. jealous that she found this at a garage sale.

The orange pancake is actually a very handy tool for making yo-yos. Sandwich your fabric between the two plates and do a running stitch around the edges using the little notched provided and you have a yo-yo in about 3 minutes.

I have a tendency to walk away from projects half way through so we'll see how much I actually get done.

Cardigan of the Day

What is the one article of clothing that can fix most of your clothing woes? The cardigan! Retaining water today and need to hide your tummy? What do you need? A Cardigan! Need to take that cute tank top from summer to fall? Cardigan! Want to make that questionably sexy top work appropriate? Cardigan! Meeting your boyfriend’s parents for the first time? Cardigan!

So to honor the one and only piece of clothing that is appropriate in all social situations I am starting a Cardigan of the Day post to my blog. I am not committing to posting about a cardigan every day but I will post about a cardigan whenever the mood strikes that particular day.

So without further adieu here is your first cardigan today brought to us from the always appropriate J. Crew.

Sad Stories in shoe shopping :(

Once there was this girl who loved shoes. She was at the mall one day and wandered into ALDO where she stumbled upon a pair pf paten leather peep toe pumps with a leopard print. It was love at first sight. The relationship was doomed from the beginning when the snotty sales girl informed her that they did not have her size in stock.

Slightly deflated but not completely defeated she made the purchase online from ALDO's website. She waited and waited for two days until her beloved shoes arrived via UPS Ground. To her total shock and complete dismay the shoes were incredibly small and uncomfortable. Her size was indeed printed on the bottom of the shoe and to her knowledge her feet had not grown over night.

For our heroine this was a sad sad day indeed. To add insult to injury she must pay for return shipping to the tune of $11 as ALDO will not accept an in store refund due to her paying for the shoes via Paypal.

Goodbye lovely shoes. It was nice knowing ya!

Moral of the store is that ALDO sucks and that Italian Sizing is not consistent. Just because you are a 40 in one designer does not mean that you are a 40 in every designer.

Back to the crafts!

A while back I talked about creating a craft area. There has been much work to that space.

Just as a reminder I needed a space that could be dining area as well as a space for me to do crafts.

This is the look I would love to have. Photo from Country Living.

This is what I have to work with. Photos courtesy of me.

Yes, it is a bit messy and there is an extra table top in the corner but I see potential. I think with a little creativity and some elbow grease I can make this boring space into something special. I will begin work this week. I'll keep you posted as I go.

Also I am now a Derby Girl as in Roller Derby. Try outs were yesterday and I could hardly move this morning. My muscles are so sore. I'll have to thank Aimee for this later. It was her big idea.

Impulse buy?

I own this.



Therefore I think I should also own this.



That is all. Carry on.

Etsy Gift Guide the Valentine/Felt version

Etsy has quickly become my favorite website. As a person who enjoys working with my hands and creating things I love to support fellow craftsmen. Etsy has so may categories and listings that it can sometimes be overwhelming. For your browsing pleasure here is my Valentine Gift Guide the Felt Version.


How adorable is this couple with their heart shaped faces. From Etsy seller The Cupcake Girls.



The whimsy of this little bird pin would punch up a simple jeans and cardigan outfit. From Siiri's Etsy shop.


This is a pin cushion from Smarmypants shop. I can personally vouch for the quality and the absolute cuteness of this particular item. I bought a pin cushion from this seller at Christmas and could not believe how absolutely adorable this is in person.


Cute little addition to any key ring from absolutefelt's shop.



Cute little necklaces from mynta. No Valentines Day Gift Guide would be complete without jewelry right.

Dreaming Big!

I have crafts on the brain. I have been searching online to find the best studios for inspiration and ideas. There were a couple of spaces that I would love to have. For now they will have to be put away in the "someday" file.

This is a room, or attic as the case may be, created by the one and only Martha Stewart.

This is Heather Bailey's studio. The colors and the furniture makes this something I could only dream of having.

This is the studio of another favorite blogs, Makingitlovely. She owns and operates Pink Loves Brown out of this space.

Tomorrow I may have some photos of my craft space but we'll see how motivated I get.

Inspiration

I am a crafter. My ideal life would be to stay home and make things. By “things” I mean all sorts of things. I crochet. I knit(admittedly not well). I make jewelry. I paint. I sew. Anything that strikes me as interesting I will dissect it and figure out hose to make it then give it my all. Because I have such an unfocused interest in making anything and everything I have accumulated a massive about of supplies and random craft related stuff.

Ryan is moving into my 650 square feet of space. Two people and their stuff occupying my (soon to be our) apartment calls for some serious organization. I have devised a plan of attack. I will tackle one area of the space at a time. The biggest area of concern is my dining area. It does double duty. It serves as a place for Ryan and I to eat dinner but also as a space for my crafting and craft supplies. It is out in the open so it must be attractive to the eye and organized for easy use.

Below are images that have been surfing through my mind.

From Country Living Magazine, There is something appealing about having all the chaos contained in a closet like this. As pretty as this is I don't see it as a solution for my need. I do think that the bins and baskets would look great in my dining/craft area.

From moline's photostream on Flickr. I love the colors and the mix of collections and crafting.

This is also on Flickr from nestdecorating's photostream. I have a feeling that my space will end up similar to this. I am okay with that. This is the look of creativity and a happy crafter/sewer/jewelry maker.

If I had a goal in mind for my craft area this would be it. I love the mix of vintage and new. You can see everything but it is not perfect. I could spend many happy hours in this area creating and trying new techniques.

Wardrobe upgrade part 4

Okay so this is not the brown slouchy bag that I promised. Genuinely I could not find a single one that I liked. As soon as I do find out I'll be sure to post about it.

Among many other items I am in major need of a stylish black flat shoe. I love flat shoes as an alternative to the tennis shoe. Don't get me wrong the tennis shoe has its place. But the cute flat shoe can Punch up an outfit. It can make jeans and a polo shirt acceptable in the office on Fridays. At least in my office. I have gold flats and silver flats but I am missing that go to pair of black flats.

I love the snake print. Just a little added interest but still dark and very versatile. These are on Zappos.

Zappos snapped the picture of these shoes at a very odd angle for the shoe. Check out the other views on the website. Totally adorable.

Technically these are not black but there were too cute to not mention. They are not the most affordable option. These are from J. Crew and the good thing about J. Crew is that they have sales regularly.

I am not sure what to think of pointed tow flats. I am more of a round toe girl. But I could be persuaded to make an exception for these from Banana Republic.