too much of a good thing

Praying for summer

2011-05-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

Do you think getting my toes ready for summer will convince the sun that it's time for summer and that it's ok to stay out for more than one day at a time?

The Benefits of Being a Pregnant Fattie

2011-05-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

Scene: Work party/reception last night (the first one I've been to all year...yay for being able to stay awake past 6 pm!). Packed deck. Me and a group of girls are chatting....likely talking about how they have wine and I have a bottle of water.

Samantha says "Let's go down by the river. It's cooler down there," and she leads the way.

After a minute of not really getting anywhere because of all the people, she turns around and says to me, "Hey fattie!" (which, coming from Samantha, is basically a term of endearment). "You go first. People will get out of the way because of your belly."

We all laugh because she's being ridiculous and shuffle around so I can be at the front of the line.

I almost wish I was joking, but I didn't even have to take one step before the person blocking us stepped out of my way.

I guess there are some benefits of being a pregnant fattie.

Oh hi, blog. It's me, Leyla.

2011-05-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

Oh hi, blog. It's me, Leyla.

It's been a while. I know it's a cliche, but I haven't been ignoring you...I've just been distracted with other...things.

The other "things" are really just one thing....it's called sleep.

No, I haven't turned into a lazy bum who sleeps all day long. There's a reason I crash as soon as I get home from work.

Turns out, plus means positive. And the first plus sign wasn't a fluke.

I took that test like three days after my last post. I never really meant to quit blogging...I was just too tired. And unmotivated. And scared, and confused, and frustrated. Probably all the emotions that are expected when your husband is unemployed and you live three hours away from your mom and you discover you're having an unplanned baby.

In a perfect world, Isaac and I would be living in a cute little home in Bend as first-time homeowners, he would have full-time work and I would have a part-time consulting gig. I would carefully document my pregnancy either on the blog or in a cute flowery little journal, and take weekly belly pictures and be as happy and cute as can be in adorable maternity clothes.

In reality....I haven't written/blogged/journaled one single minute of this pregnancy, and I'm going to slap the next person who sits in my office and tells me "Oh, I loved being pregnant."

Really?! Really??!?!? What part of throwing up, insane fatigue, sore boobs, hating your favorite foods, growing out of all your clothes, having no energy, taking gross vitamins, and crying at the drop of a hat is fun?

Deep breath.

It's gotten marginally better. I can make it through dinner now - and it all stays in my stomach. I haven't cried over nothing in more a week, and I've acquired a few maternity clothes that I don't hate.

Plus, finding out yesterday we can call the baby a "she" instead of an "it" makes it something to look forward to.

How To: Crochet a Cable Headband / Ear Warmer

2011-01-20T15:29:00.000-08:00

So....my aunt-in-law (is that the title for my husband's aunt?) asked me to make a few Christmas gifts for her to give to her daughters. When she said she wanted a "headband," I thought she meant the simple crochet flower or zipper headbands I make.

I was wrong.

She handed me a pattern book and asked me to make two earwarmers. After getting super frustrated with the pattern in this book, I finally figured out a way to adapt it.

It crochets up pretty quickly - it took me an evening, start to finish.

Gauge

Width should be 4 inches; height is unimportant.

Stitches

Cable: Skip next dc, working around from front to back, *insert hook around post of dc in row below, yo and pull up a loop, (yo and pull through two loops).* Around post of skipped stitch, repeat from * to *.

Back Post Cable (BPCable): Skip next dc, working from back to front, *insert hook around post of dc, yo and pull up a loop, (yo and pull through two loops) twice.* Around the post of the skipped stitch, repeat from * to *.

Supplies

Worsted weight yarn (I used Bernat satin)

Size I hook, or size necessary for gauge.

Ch 19.

Row 1) Dc in fourth ch from hook and in each ch across.

Row 2) Ch 2 (counts as first hdc, now and throughout); work BPdc around next 2 dc, (work FPdc around next 2 dc, work BPdc around next dc) across to last dc, hdc in last dc.

Row 3) Ch 2, work Cable, (work BPdc around each of next 2 dc, work Cable) across, hdc in last hdc.

Row 4) Ch 2, work BP Cable, (work FPdc in next 2 dc, work BP Cable in next 2 dc) across, work hdc in next hdc.

Repeat Rows 3 & 4 for 20 inches, ending by working Row 3.

Finish off, leaving long tail. Sew seam, gather up tightly and weave in ends.

*I write down patterns I make up all the time, but usually it's in a shorthand that no one except for me would understand. This is the first time I've tried to write the pattern correctly. If you try it out and run into problems, or need explanations on the Cable stitches, I'd be happy to help!

Oregon is Awesome: Parilla Grill

2011-01-18T22:52:00.000-08:00

We spent the weekend in Central Oregon...I love spending time with my family :)

We were out shopping on Monday and needed dinner. Isaac has been raving about the fish tacos from this little taco grill in Bend called Parilla so we decided to try it.

Isaac had his usual fish tacos...if I liked fish tacos, I would have loved these.

Fresh fried snapper, spinach, spicy corn salsa, red cabbage and a cool ranch sauce...pretty and yummy.

My mom and sister and I got fajita burritos. Cilantro lime rice, black beans, chicken, spicy corn salsa, pico de gallo, sauteed onions and peppers. Sounds good, right?

No flavor. Sadface.

Isaac knows I'm usually pretty picky [and therefore miss out on alot of potential flavors] so he took a bite and said "Yeah, there's no flavor. You just need to put more things on there so there's more flavor.

Um...."well, Isaac, you told me the corn salsa was spicy. And I put tomatoes [usually gross] and peppers and onions [always gross cuz of the texture but the flavor is good] on there. Cilantro lime rice usually has flavor. I don't think there were any other flavor options."

Isaac: "Oh. Well, you're right. No flavor. Well, my fish tacos are really good. Sad, babe."

Moral of the story: If you happen to be in Bend [and there are lots of reasons you should go], and really really want fish tacos, go to Parilla. If you want a fajita burrito, I recommend Baja Fresh.

Yeah, the chain restaurant. Which, for the record, I love.

*Turns out I really love Oregon. And since we love exploring and trying new things, I'm going to post about them in a new series called Oregon is Awesome.

Fact.

Project 365: Week 2

2011-01-16T21:54:00.000-08:00

People Make Cool Things: Bohemienne Ivy

2011-01-13T18:54:00.001-08:00

I know I'm way behind the times, but I'm just now starting to love long necklaces. Ivy of Bohemienne Ivy makes some beautiful ones.

(source)

Ivy's shop is mostly handmade items, but this vintage purse is so so beautiful.

(source)

Find Bohemienne Ivy online: Shop | Blog | Facebook

Cuddly Kitty :)

2011-01-12T13:50:00.001-08:00

If there was an award for falling asleep on the couch, I would win it.

If there was an award for cutest cuddly kitty, Maddy would win it.

So So Proud

2011-01-10T14:54:00.000-08:00

I rarely - strike that: I never - write about work. But I can't help it today. Without going too far into the details, I'll just say:

I'm so so proud of this guy.

I worked for this guy for three and a half years and today, he was sworn in as Co-Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.

Three and a half years of blood, sweat and tears paid off today. (Strike that: no blood, unless you count the hundreds of paper cuts I got from stuffing envelopes.)

So proud.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Project 365: Week 1

2011-01-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

After one week, I've learned two things:

1) Taking photos is done.

2) I hate editing.

I can't figure out which program to use, I think I've saved over the originals instead of making copies....ugh. I'm super frustrated right now. Anyway...on to Week 2.

People Make Cool Things: Mya Bruce Designs

2011-01-06T22:13:00.000-08:00

This week I'm featuring Mya Bruce Designs, a mom who named her digital design shop after her two kids. Leah makes super cute announcements and invitations.

I have a thing for elephants...which is probably why this announcement is my favorite :)

Feeling pirate-y?

Um....that's my name. And it's even spelled the way I spell it. Hm.

Find Mya Bruce Designs online : Shop | Facebook

Recipe: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

2011-01-06T14:26:00.001-08:00

If one of your New Years Resolutions

1) was something along the lines of "Eat healthier" or "Lose weight" (like mine is....)
but
2) you know you can't just stop eating sugar cold turkey

then this Chocolate Crinkle Cookie is perfect for you. You can have an entire cookie in only one bite. Perfect.

They're the cutest, tiniest, most adorable cookies I've pretty much ever seen.

I was in a baking mood the other night and we had almost nothing in the house. Almost every other Chocolate Crinkle recipe has unsweetened chocolate in it and we didn't have any and most of them required chilling the dough for 2 hours. It's 11 pm at this point and I had no interest in staying up to 2 in the morning. So after a frustrating search online I found this recipe.

Cocoa? Check. Makes 30 cookies? Perfect. 10 minutes in the freezer instead of 2 hours in the fridge? Wonderful.

First, mix dry ingredients.

Use your fingers to mix in the butter...which is what the recipe recommends. I tried to use the mixer. Since my fingers are in the bowl with cocoa all over them...you can tell it didn't work.

At this point, I'm realizing that there is only going to be enough dough for like 10 cookies. At the most. Ugh.

This picture makes me laugh. Gross.

Spread the dough fairly thin around the bottom of a metal bowl and stick it in the freezer for 10 minutes.

So now I'm like, great. At least this is a quick recipe because I'm going to get like a grand total of two cookies out of it.

Then I read the recipe. I quote: "Spoon level teaspoons of dough..."

Most cookie recipes call for tablespoon-size cookies. This is even better. Tiny little cookies?!?! Yay!

Roll each teaspoon-sized cookie in powdered sugar and bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

Perfection.

ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg, beaten lightly

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Oh hey, 2011

2011-01-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually one for New Years Resolutions. I generally don't like to do whatever everybody else is doing, so if everyone is making resolutions, then I don't want to. Plus I don't like failing at goals I set for myself...so I just tend to ignore the opportunity to set goals for the year.

However...I've been thinking about it and there are a few things I want to accomplish this year.

Here we go!

People Make Cool Things: Chasing the Nuns

2010-12-30T15:06:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't want to wear two turkey legs on their head?

Sarah of Chasing the Nuns has several different crafts featured in her shop but my favorite is this turkey beanie:

(Via)

She also makes tote bags out of t-shirts:

(Via)

I loved Mr. Rogers when I was growing up. Won't you be my neighbor? Dang it, now that song is going to be stuck in my head all day.

Find Sarah online: Shop | Blog | Twitter | Picasa

What not to eat

2010-12-28T15:24:00.000-08:00

If you are allergic to milk fat and trying to cut carbs so you can drop ten pounds to fit into your suits from 18 months ago so you can start a job that requires you to look professional, this should not be your lunch.

If, however, you fit into the 99% of the population who isn't allergic to milk fat and/or isn't trying to lose 10 pounds, then make sure to follow this method of making grilled cheese and also use milk instead of water to thin the concentrated tomato soup. Make sure you have lots of butter in the fridge.

What I'm trying to say is...I'm both allergic to milk fat and trying to lose ten pounds...and I had grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch.

Fail. But so delicious.

PS. The first meeting of the brand-spankin'-new Salem Etsy team was last night! Jessica of DIY Studio wrote about it here. I'm excited to get to know these ladies and introduce Salem to Etsy and handmade. And vintage, of course.

PSS. I've been caring for an invalid today and I must say, I feel pretty helpless. The invalid (aka Isaac) had one of his wisdom teeth removed today. The two dentists he went to today were wonderful - he called this morning to say he wasn't able to sleep last night because of the pain. The dentist got him in for x-rays at 10, and then the emergency tooth removal was at 2. Both were unplanned. I'm pretty impressed that both of those doctors were able to fit him in and I'm super glad he will be able to eat regularly without pain now. Lesson from today: I don't think I'd be a very good nurse. I would feel so bad all the time because I can't fix anything.

At least I'm pretty good at heating up tomato soup.

Christmas in Photos...and learning how to use the Hipstamatic

2010-12-27T15:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the Oregon State Capitol

My niece is going to be a reader :)

My mother-in-law got me Small-Batch Preserving and Slow Cooker Recipes. We got a new Crock Pot and the one time we used it so far was a flop, so the cookbook will come in hand. I've been wanting to learn how to embroider and this book will get me started.

Postscript to this photo...Isaac is so sweet. We were at Craft Warehouse a few days ago and I was looking at this book but decided not to spend the money to buy it. After we moved on, he told me he wanted to go "look for a pattern" and he ran and bought it for me. Love him :)

The perfect way to end the weekend...Isaac beat me at Skip-Bo (pretty sure he was cheating) and then I kicked his butt at Rummikub.

PS. I have a pretty strict rule against paying for apps (which is sort of funny considering most of them only cost a dollar even though I think nothing about spending three bucks on coffee). I've been wanting the Hipstamatic for a long time. It is a little confusing at first, but I think I'm figuring it out. I got the Williamsburg pack for some extra film and a wide lens and I like it much better than the standard films.

Christmas was fantastic but I think we are all ready to be done...right?

Only my boss....

2010-12-23T15:31:00.000-08:00

Most bosses try to motivate their employees. Mine is a bit different. She buys every one in the office "de-motivation" desktop calendars for Christmas.

Hope
May not be warranted at this point.

Goals
It's best to avoid standing directly between a competitive jerk and his goals.

Government
If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions.

Congress
Proudly defending the status quo long after the quo has lost its status

My favorite is the one that will be hanging in our conference room:

Meetings
None of us is as dumb as all of us.

(via Despair.com)

Love my office.

People Make Cool Things: Love Elycia

2010-12-22T17:56:00.000-08:00

I was super excited to find out that I get to feature Elycia's blog and shop this week.

Love Elycia was one of the first blogs I found and liked enough to actually figure out how to use Google Reader in order to keep up with her blog.

Elycia makes funny/cute headbands:

She draws super adorable girls who tell a story...Derby is my favorite, mostly because she crochets!

And apparently her kitties are well behaved enough to be allowed in her craft room.

I try to let Maddy in the craft room...and then get mad at her and throw her out.

LoveElycia online: Shop | Blog | Twitter

*Now that I'm back to blogging on a (semi) regular basis, I've re-joined the BesTeam on Etsy to feature some great artist/crafters. Yay!

Christmas Lights!

2010-12-21T20:22:00.000-08:00

There's a neighborhood in Keizer where almost all the houses decorate with tons of Christmas lights. Isaac and I got hot chocolate and drove through tonight.

Love this saying :)

Go Beavs!

I took a million photos of this Pooh & Tigger display but it moves and it took so long to take the photo that I couldn't make it not blurry. Oh well. Still cute.

If you're trying to get to the North Pole, don't follow this sign...it's pointing west.

We're going to go walk through Magic at the Mill for all the lights and singing, hopefully on Thursday. I've never been but it's supposed to be beautiful. I'm excited.

So Much to (Want to) Make, So Little Time

2010-12-15T20:23:00.001-08:00

On my to-make for fun list....

I'm loving Pinterest! Instead of a long list of bookmarks that would be my to-make list, Pinterest shows me all the pretty pictures. I made the zipper flowers already (the tutorial is kind of hard to understand...or maybe I'm just dumb) and I'm saving toilet paper rolls to make Emma's Toilet Paper Roll Art. Isaac says he can't get over the fact that it's made out of toilet paper rolls so we'll see if I can make something work. Maybe on the miniscule wall space that's in the craft room? Speaking of the craft room, my goal for this weekend is to get it cleaned up and take pictures.

Oh hi, Rabbit Trail....

Back to Pinterest....I've only been using it as a style board and am only really following the front page/Best of Pinterest board. I am afraid that it will be a huge time suck as soon as I start exploring.

Updatin'

2010-12-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

Usually on Monday I write about whatever we did over the weekend. But....we did nothing. As in n-o-t-h-i-n-g, nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was wonderful.

Well, kind of. We did whatever we wanted to without having schedules and timelines. So we went to the Holiday Market, church, lunch with the family.

And.

I updated my Etsy shop. I've been making a ton of stuff but it's been in stores or at craft shows...or in a tote that should be labeled "Things to photograph when you stop procrastinating." But since I built a handy dandy new light box, there's no excuse.

So....after hours of quality time with my camera, the lightbox, and picasa....

I've listed like 25 things to my shop and I have...like....too many more. Like 15 or 20. At least.

Crossing my fingers that those Etsy Transaction emails start coming in!

How to Make an Easy Light Box

2010-12-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

Leaving for work before it's light and coming home after the sun goes down has made it pretty much impossible to take photos for my Etsy shop. So, last week I made a light box.

The step-by-step is in my first guest post on Eben Lemon. Emma's awesome - check out her blog. Oh, and wish her good luck on her final exams :)

Kitty!

2010-12-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

We got a kitten!

Isn't she just so cute? We went to the Humane Society last night. That place, by the way, breaks my heart. I just want to take all the animals home with me.

This guy looks so so sad. I just wanted to give him a big hug.

Turns out Isaac and I have pretty different taste in cats. He likes sleek, short haired cats, and I like the big fluffy ones like this guy:

His name is Ike. We played with him for a while but he basically just sat and didn't want to play at all, so I put him back in his prison.

But then we found this one. She likes playing, she likes cuddling, she purrs, she's house trained, she looks like a tiger. All good things in my book.

It took me a little while to warm up to her. In fact, I wasn't in love with her till we put her in the box and left the Humane Society. She started crying and my heart melted.

She warmed up pretty quick once we got her home. She explored, jumped on everything, ate some food, and then cuddled up. She likes being underneath things like chairs and tables...maybe she feels safer in enclosed areas?

We named her Maddy (short for Madison) but I'm not positive that she looks like a Maddy. Isaac really likes her name so we'll see.

I love her.

Adventures in Reusing in Portland, Part 1

2010-12-06T20:29:00.000-08:00

We discovered two of the most fabulous stores in Portland over the weekend.

Scrap has basically everything you could ever want to craft like fabric, magazines, paint and even the kitchen sink. Literally (kind of):

I had heard about Scrap before but thought it was going to be expensive. It was started by a group of teachers who didn't want to throw away their art supplies and somehow I got it in my head the point of the store was to raise money for schools. (Which, translated, usually means "expensive).

I was wrong.

What would you use paper binding strips for? No idea, but I bet I could come up with something if it only cost fifty cents!

It was almost overwhelming. There was so much amazing-ness that I couldn't decide what I needed, so here's what I ended up with:

Total cost? $2.60. Yes, please!

This post is already photo heavy, so I'll save the next place for tomorrow. All's I'll say is, Isaac loved it. :)

It's quite possible that there was a Santa conference or pub crawl going on in North Portland, because the street was lined with scenes like this:

Blurry, but it makes me laugh.

We ended with dinner at Fire on the Mountain Wings where I felt like a wuss because their mildest sauce was almost too hot for me. We played Trivial Pursuit while we waited for our food.

We didn't really keep score, but I'm pretty sure I lost.

No big deal....

2010-12-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

...but Isaac and I got new Macbook Pros!

My laptop died one night and his is slower than a turtle, so we decided to make the switch. Turns out all my laptop needed was a new power cord...which costs all of $35....oops.

I think it's a rule that you have to post photos of your first experience with Photo Booth.

Learning how to use a Mac is not exactly fun. I've become quite good at googling "how to turn off mac," "what to do when macbook freezes" and "how to find a photo you saved on a mac." So far, google hasn't disappointed, but is there a website or course I should take to learn how to use this thing?

Review: The Pillars of the Earth

2010-12-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth is a sweeping saga of 12th century history, love, church rivalries, and war. Everything you'd expect to find in a medieval intrigue. The book spans an entire generation, telling the story of the political upheaval of Queen Maud and King Steven but without court drama and war being the centerpiece. Instead, it focuses on the fictional town of Kingsbridge and the monks who run the priory and the builders who build the new cathedral.

Books like these always seem to focus on too many characters, leaving me confused about who's who and which side someone is one. (Then again, when earls switched sides as often as they did in the 12th century, it's probably natural to be confused.) Follett did a really good job of focusing on a very small group of characters and really developing every single one into someone I understood and knew.

I love love love historical fiction, and while this is a good book, there was a little bit too much fiction for my taste and not enough history. While the true story of of Maud and Steven was told, it was only the background of a completely made up story. Which is fine if that's what you like but I prefer more history in my historical fiction.

Yay for crossing off #15 in my Unread Library!

You Probably Need an Umbrella Today

2010-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

It's rainy today. I'm trying to convince myself that rain isn't as bad as it seems, so I found all these cute rainy items. My favorite is the elephant in the rainboots. Isn't he so cute?!

Cyber Monday Sale!

2010-11-29T16:02:00.000-08:00

[caption id="attachment_456" align="aligncenter" width="388" caption=" Cyber Monday Sale! Free Shipping plus an additional 10% off with code 'MONDAY10'"][/caption]

Free Shipping isn't much if you only need a card, but if you're buying a notebook or coasters...yeah, that's helpful.

Too Much of a Good Thing Handmade Gifts

Lessons Learned: My First Craft Show

2010-11-23T16:02:00.000-08:00

So my first craft show was last weekend.

It was awesome.

I stressed out about how to display and decorate because designing decorations is not what I'm good at. My sister-in-law rescued me and (if I do say so myself), my booth was super cute.

Isaac had the sign made for me. Isn't it so great?!"]
I don't have anything to compare it to, but I was quite pleased with my sales. Yay for successes!

[/caption] I learned a few things: - Bring food. Sitting in the same spot for a long time makes you want to snack. - Don't shove your face with the food you bring. Eat when it's slow. - Be super nice to the other vendors. They are your best customers :) - Bring something to work on. So many people walked into my booth to ask me what I was making (two scarves, btw), and then ended up browsing and buying. - A good helper is a must. Between sharing a booth with a veteran show participant, and a husband who is super helpful (and brings me good food), my bases were covered. I think I've officially been bitten by the craft show bug. I want to do more but I don't know how to find them...by the time I hear about them, all the spots are already full. It's a dilemma. PS. Sarah of Roost ReImagined and Shirleen of Danner and Soli put on a great show. Pony rides, Santa, and a great holiday atmosphere made the Holiday Heritage Faire perfect. I'm already excited for next year!

Back to Normal Life

2010-11-10T16:06:00.000-08:00

Oh it's good to be back.

Between moving to a new house (yay!) and then Election Day (which necessitated 18 hour days for 15 days straight), this has been the most tiring month I think I've ever had.

I'm glad to be slowly getting back to normal.

There have been goods and bads in the last month.

Good: We won all our campaigns. Elections are definitely interesting. 18 months of blood, sweat and tears all come down to one night. The last few election cycles have been depressing so it was good to celebrate.

Good: Having our own backyard and driveway and no upstairs neighbors is amazing.

Good: With three bedrooms, I have an amazing craft room!

Bad: The house is old and there are lots of things that my construction-working husband wants to fix. It's hard to remember we're just renting and we can't/shouldn't fix everything, even things that really really need to be fixed. I would like to get the rotting out upstairs window fixed, and figure out a way to make the cadet heaters heat the house. It's so so cold in there!

Bad: We ate restaurant food for basically a month straight. Gross.

I feel like I'm playing house. It's fun.

It's good to get back to our regular routines. Church, crafting, TV shows, family...

Speaking of crafting....

(If you're local), Have you been to The Fussy Duck yet? It's a super cute gift shop south of downtown. A few friends and I rented a space. Stop by if you can!

Next, I'm nervous nervous nervous. I'm doing my first show! Call me crazy, but the show is in two weeks and I just signed up...yesterday. Eek! I'm making like mad right now. It's both fun and stressful. I'm most scared about setting up my booth...I don't know how to display my things. Ideas would be very helpful :)

Enough for now. Happy to be back.

Project 365: Week 2

2010-10-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

Why I DIY

2010-10-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

Tara over at Scoutie Girl asked a good question the other day: "why do you DIY?"

While Tara might be moderately interested in my response, I have this feeling that my husband wants to know the answer even more. I think he thinks I'm a tad bit crazy. So....this post is for you, Isaac.

Probably the biggest reason I DIY is because I love taking something plain and turning it into something fun and wonderful.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="410" caption="A pile of satin and tulle can be turned into..."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="...beautiful brooches and hair pins. "][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="328" caption="A stack of songs pulled from a vintage hymnal..."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="409" caption="...can make a composition notebook so much more interesting."][/caption]

Side note: I found this vintage sheet music at an old antique store downtown for twenty-five cents each. The guy at the cash register was handling them very gently as he was ringing me up and I off-handedly said "oh, you don't have to be careful. I'm just going to cut them up." I think he was seriously offended. I'm not a big thrift/vintage shopper....I must have broken some vintage code. Oops.

Anyway....

There are other reasons I DIY.

One, I'm physically incapable of sitting still. Most people's idea of relaxing is sitting in front of the TV. I get so fidgety if I don't have something in my hands...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="409" caption="Something like a few balls of thread, on their way to becoming fall flowers. "][/caption]

And, doing things yourself is so much more fun. I mean, yes, I could have just bought a dresser at Target. But scouring craigslist and picking paint and sanding and painting is my idea of a good time with my husband. Bonus points: it's way cheaper.

Speaking of the dresser, it's drying on the back porch right now. So excited to put it all together, move into our new house in 20 days, and fill it up with yarn and fabric and paper! ~pictures to come soon!~

So, Isaac....does that explain the pile of satin, yarn, paper and beads by the couch in the living room?

*Hopefully I'm not the only one who has to explain these things to her husband.

People Make Cool Things: Kiramaku

2010-10-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="344" caption="Green Gold Chrysanthemum Necklace"][/caption]

Pretty, pretty.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="344" caption="Pink Quartz Ring - Blue Variation"][/caption]

Kiramaku is a shop that sells pretty jewelry in Quebec, Canada. Her shop name means "shine of the ocean" in Japanese, and she chose it because she loves all shiny things. She also sells some of her own artwork. This one is my favorite.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="344" caption="Revised Columbine Original Artwork"][/caption]

Click on the photos to visit her shop.

Find Kiramaku online: Shop | Blog | Twitter

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PS. I had a marathon photo shoot earlier and I'm trying to get photos edited for a massive shop update. I should probably wait and debut each new line one at a time, but I'm impatient. Check the shop later for coasters, notebooks and tiny flowers. I'm most excited about the notebooks - some of them are made with pages from vintage hymnals, sheet music and children's books!

Project 365: Week 1

2010-10-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

I tried Project 365 before and took pictures for a total of...three days. I'm too impatient to wait till the first of the year to start again, we decided to document our second year of marriage.

So far, so good! One week of photos. I'm going to post them once a week, hopefully on Sunday. After a year, we'll order a beautiful photo book to remember our second year together.

People make cool things: Paradise Purls

2010-09-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

When I think "knitting," the first thing that pops into my mind is definitely not "bracelet" but look at how cool this is.

Crochet Bracelet, Black, Brown, Gold, Pink, Ivory

That bracelet is knitted! And so is this necklace.

Awesome.

You can find these cool knitted things at Paradise Purls' shop on Etsy.

Elizabeth makes "normal" knitted things like beanies and scarves too - and this one is on sale!

Find Paradise Purls online: Shop | Blog | Facebook

Hangin' Out with the Curious Pug

2010-09-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

One of the prizes is from yours truly so go enter on Alycia's blog!

Or if you're visiting from the Curious Pug...hi and good luck!

The Best Day

2010-09-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

On a beautiful fall day...

One year to the day after we met...

I married my best friend.

It was the Best Day.

Isaac, I love you more today than I did then.

Give a Shirt

2010-09-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

Homeless students.
900 of them last year in Salem-Keizer, OR, alone.
Not even 18 years old and life has gotten off to a rough start.
One of the biggest barriers between their present and a better future is their education.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act attempts to remove all barriers to homeless students succeeding in school. It does a great job of this–it provides free transportation, free food, lets them choose any school in the district, and protects them from being discriminated against. One thing it doesn’t do is provide clothes.

What difference do clothes make, don’t they have steeper challenges than that?

Imagine not changing your clothes for the next sixty days.

Many of these students have one outfit. One smelly, dirty, doesn’t quite fit, wouldn’t-wear-it-if-I-had-something-else outfit.
Many of these students, not wanting to smell, stand out, and wear their poverty on their sleeve, only come to school a few days a week. People are less likely to notice if they’re at school less.

Not having more than one outfit is a valid reason to not want to go to school every day.
Not having more than one outfit is a stupid reason to not finish school someday.

The problem is…there is nothing they can do about it.

The solution is…there is something you can do about it. What’s that?

GIVE A SHIRT. Literally.

For every shirt sold $10 will be given to help these local homeless students get the clothes they need.

Get a shirt you want–give a shirt they need.
When you stand out–they blend in.

I GIVE A SHIRT.

If I had heard about this project a while ago, I would have thought, "there are much better ways to help homeless kids than buying them new clothes." But after learning more about Give a Shirt and reading and reviewing The Glass Castle, I realize now that new clothes is an important way to give kids the opportunity of a better life.

Give a Shirt was started by a group of local high school students. Each shirt costs $15 - totally reasonable for a cool tee - and $10 goes directly back to the organization.

I bought a teal shirt today and I can't wait to wear it.

Give a Shirt.

The Birds and the Bees

2010-09-21T20:54:00.001-07:00

Yay for fall TV! If you're not watching Parenthood yet, watch the clip. Laugh. Turn to NBC tonight at 10 pm. Come back tomorrow and thank me.

This is probably the show I'm most excited about - well, this and 30 Rock. The story follows a four siblings and their day-to-day lives and struggles. It looks at life from so many different perspectives - Max has Aspergers, Joel was a construction worker who found himself out of work and is now a stay-at-home dad, Lauren is a single mom with teenagers, Hattie is learning to drive. It's funny but more importantly, it's real. I love it.

More new shows air this week - we caught the debut of Lone Star last night. Pretty good but not to the point of making a date with my TV. "Chase" on NBC? ...no thanks.

Hm...What else is worth watching this season? Don't say Glee...I don't like starting a show mid-way through so I'll watch it on Netflix later.

Oktoberfest!

2010-09-20T20:56:00.001-07:00

Judging by the crowds in Mt. Angel yesterday, it's quite possible that I'm the only person in the Mid-Willamette Valley who's never been to Oktoberfest.

So much to see! Arts, crafts, beer....

German dancing...

Authentic German food from Mt Angel Sausage Company...

Authentic festival food like blooming onions. Haha.

Chicken hats wearing traditional German clothes:

And the most beautiful church I've ever seen.

I had never been into a Catholic church...do they all look like this? If so...wow.

I'm quite proud of this picture...I'm trying to learn how to use our new camera and it took me a long time to get this looking like I wanted. Anybody more experienced care to give a little critique?

Meet my friends

2010-09-17T21:00:00.001-07:00

I'd like to introduce you to some new friends of mine.

Gerald is shy and a little clumsy but once he gets to know you, he's pretty friendly. Try not to look up at him all the time...he gets embarrassed about how tall he is.

You might think that Tommy would be mean...I mean, tigers aren't usually that nice. But Tommy is the perfect tiger. He's very protective of his friends.

Ellie the Elephant and Melvin the Monkey are pretty much inseparable.

I got them to pose for a picture the other day. They wanted to wait for their friend Lenny the Lion but he's still working on his mane and he doesn't want any pictures taken before he's all grown up and finished.

Aren't they so cute? This is my first try at amigurimi and I'm loving it! Now I'm on a hunt for patterns...I think a turkey on our Thanksgiving table would be awesome. Any suggestions on where to find a pattern?

PS. Replicas of Ellie, Gerald, Melvin and Tommy will be in my Etsy shop later today but I definitely won't sell these ones. I would never sell my friends...what kind of person do you think I am?