Sunday, December 6, 2009

23

hallelujah, we're starting to make some decisions and (kind of) feeling like we're making progress on the house. this week we got our new tankless water heater and the old removed from the kitchen (thank god!) and we got about half of our paint. and decided on appliances. The weekend work took longer than expected but we're still right around on track because we got some extra other stuff done in place of the stuff we didn't.
so, ths is pretty much what our entire weekend looked like (plus, lots of super messy caulk, and old weatherstripping and adhesive remover and lots of sore muscles):



here's the primer - also got some paint - that we got 30% off and used lots of this weekend (thanks green sacramento)




and here is what's to come next weekend (oh god, and lots more priming and painting):


here's the paint we ordered for the concrete in the laundry room


and the color we tinted it (second from bottom)



and, just for kicks and so i can think about something other than paint (which i am most definitely still pulling from my hair):

this is the doorbell we've decided on


these are the house numbers we...well, that i purchased without spousal consent. i fessed up immediately, though, if that counts for anything. they're just so much cheaper than the ones i really love and very similar; i couldn't resist. photo from shelterrific


and here are some other items i wish i had gotten approval to buy and put on the walls (though the list really could go on forever and ever, and i'm tired):




but, of course, there are more important things first, like getting our electrical done without killing ourselves, trying to not fall off ladders, and avoiding the crawl space.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

22

well, i clearly haven't done much but cook lately. and eat. mostly there's been eating. i never liked thanksgiving much until i was an adult and was responsible for some cooking because then i could make and eat whatever i liked. this year, that included:

rice krispie treats. that's right. this was a few days before thanksgiving. we had to get our stomachs prepared for the food to come.
the most amazing apple crisp; recipe courtesy of a friend's mom, who seems to do no wrong in the kitchen from what i've seen.

this barley and mushroom pie. smitten kitchen (who also can do no wrong in my book) was right - it needed a tiny bit of something, but was still very, very good. why don't we cook with puff pastry more often? it's delicious.

and there were all the things we don't have pictures of, like the fantastic stuffing the husband made, or the post-thanksgiving gathering with friends that is always one of my favorite parts of tthe holiday. we also worked on the house this weekend and are going to look at appliances today. and, i found a treasure trove of artifacts from my childhood in some boxes my family brought to me a few weeks ago: pottery i made in high school, old tapes and cards, and a page from the script of the play i was in that brought me to meet my husband. it was pretty sweet to reminisce.
of course, there was also the debbie gibson collection.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

21

this past weekend was pretty productive once i accepted that the husband was traveling to the great northwest and i was...at home without him. i think i had a harder time this time than other times he's toured, because i mostly just missed him rather than being able to get excited about having the place to myself and getting uninterupted craft time, but i was still so excited for him, so that helped. and then i could get down to business:

i finished this little ruffled number in my class


hemmed the thrifted skirt on the left and made the skirt on the right



baked apple-cinnamon cake bread, among other items, all of which i have already eaten


cleaned it on up around the apartment, and started daydreaming about this place



and most important of all, welcomed this guy home

Monday, October 5, 2009

20

yikes, i've been absent for a while. between anniversaries, out-of-town visitors, insane work schedules, planning birthday parties, classes, halloween (to protect the innocent, i won't post any pictures) and buying a house, i've been a little lost. i've got to get myself back on track. which is to say bake something delicious this weekend, if i have anything to say about it. some highlights from the last month:
lots of eating (and mess-making) to celebrate our anniversary

perusing 2007's guinness world record holder for largest corn maze with bonus ecclectically decorated pumpkin patch
(which we never got to find our way through, unfortunately)


a successful surprise birthday party where we did some of our favorite things


like wearing fake hair


and singing songs from the early 90s around a fire.

my brother, husband and i went out of town with my visiting dad and stepmom on a lovely roadtrip to the coast

where we ate lots of salt water taffy (actually, i ate a giant chick-o-stick)

oh, and we bought a house...i'm still recovering from the shock that it's really happening!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

19

sigh. i'm having a really tough week.

on the bright side, i got this super rad and much-appreciated package in the mail!
and it's our 3-year wedding anniversary, so some celebration is coming our way. i really need some good so i'm so grateful for the upcoming fun.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

18

i've completely failed at doing this once a week. let's try again.

things have been so busy, but there should be no excuses. i've been working on and unraveling and reworking a new sweater and some knee socks:


and there's been some excitement, too:

-as we get 2 channels, i'm not entirely sure but it seems like new and old shows are starting up again. it reminds me that i'm so ready for this, though i'm never sure which is harder: the wait or the obsession during the season, which leaves my stomachs in knots as i get confused and have my mind repeatedly blown. great poster, too.

-how have i lived my life so long without this movie? it had all my favorite hallmarks of a truly fantastic 80s movie, though it was missing matthew broderick and the words "two dollars": never a fan before, i am now - andrew mccarthy's intense pining and, later, blissed-out craziness, judd nelson - i mean, those nostrils! oh, but that seriously, seriously gorgeous hair!, and ally sheedy doing anything at all. rob lowe's attempt at a sax career, demi moore's non-cocaine related intervention, and emilio estevez being completely insane were just icing.

-and seeing rad things at the state fair and, wow, just...this:

Thursday, August 27, 2009

17

clearly i am obsessed with eating:

the top two are recent purchases, the rest are from the library. i didn't realize until i got them home, but i notice a theme...

and i love knitting socks:

especially sweet little knee socks

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

16

new sweater:

this one needs to be washed to smooth everything out, but i think i've got a good idea of the kinks in the pattern and how i want to work them out and it's just about a done deal

Sunday, August 9, 2009

15

my weekend (because it looks more productive in photos):





Thursday, August 6, 2009

14

nortagemdar, you were right! this is a prototype so i'm going to play around with it a little still, but i think i like where it's starting from and i'm excited about playing with it some more:


also, just for kicks and because they match, a new favorite find:

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

13

another pants trial:


working on a prototype of a new pattern:


Monday, August 3, 2009

12

swatching for a variation of this project:

from left: debbie bliss eco cotton, sublime organic cotton, plymouth earth oceanside organic cotton

i love the vanilla color of the sublime but...


...i think plymouth is my favorite of the three for this project. i've used the others for other projects and loved them but i think this will be the right one for this project.