two years :: part two

These greeted me this morning:

(I only have my phone with me, but when these get back to the apt, they are going to be gloriously photographed with a for-real camera)

I married a pretty wonderful guy.  I may drive him crazy, and he may drive me crazy, but hey, at least we're going to the same place!

Seriously, though, I'm a very happy and very fortunate girl to have him in my life.  Giggle and snicker as you desire, but we're newlyweds and we're allowed to be all silly and mushy and lovey-dovey.

Right?

two years:: part one

Two years ago today, Cory and I spent five and a half hours at a Starbuck's.

So much has happened since then...









This was a really simple and fun project to make.

I love it.  Now we have those usual milestones all recorded on paper and slightly illustrated.   It'll be fun to add more as life goes on--and fun to look back upon later.

reminiscing

our wedding day was great fun.

I was looking through the "photobooth" album we set up with my mom's macbook, and rediscovered the happy pictures of young Miss N.  She is five and a half, not five, the baby of her family, and enormously adorable for her itty-bitty size.

So, without further ado, Miss N.

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mother-daughter time: the tasty rewards

delicious.

I think she can visit anytime!

three phones a hangin'

three phones a hangin'

Originally uploaded by Darwin Bell

Today, I think that J. and I were wishing our phones looked like this, so that they would be more fun to answer a hundred times in an hour.
Three and a half weeks remain until classes start, and about two weeks after that, we can breathe, and a few months later, we can really breathe and maybe sleep.
At least, that's what I've heard.

These have seriously great colors, no? Check out other bits of the photostream.

enjoying a bit of mother-daughter time

Mother Daughter 9th Plate

Originally uploaded by inferno55

my mom is visiting. hooray!

Calling Etsy Crafters to the Pillowcase Challenge :: Etsy Blog

I'm in.

Anyone else?

{image credit}

Calling Etsy Crafters to the Pillowcase Challenge :: Etsy Blog.

A pillowcase is one of the simplest items to sew.  I think I may try to come up with my own pattern for some embellishments and post them.

If you can sew, join in!

If you can't, you could learn.  This is a great starter project with a great purpose.

good morning sunday

tower of goodness

Originally uploaded by iampoohie

Sundays are the days that we take a break.  We're together, in the same town, in our own home.

Cory's mom makes enormously delicious chocolate chip pancakes on a weekly basis.  They're perfectly round and thin.  After months of staying with my now-in-laws almost every weekend, I came to love the dessert-like breakfast almost as Cory.

So I attempt to recreate said pancakes on a weekly basis.  Sometimes they turn out perfect and pretty, but most of the time, they look like one great big chocolate and pancake mess.

Does this affect the taste?

Not in the slightest.  We still eat every last bite.

fun found about: etsy

This makes me squee.

squee!

Mini Yellow Book Necklace by HesedBooksAndGifts on Etsy.

This, too:

today is one of these days

I'm thinking about posting a flickr photo a day.  Lately, I've become very fond of browsing whatever category suits my mood.  Today, I typed in "coffee and books" and came across this lovely and inspiring image.

view photo

I feel more content with the slew of reading I'm about to begin for my fairy tale class.  I've never taken such a fun and enjoyable course.  I mean, I loved all my literature courses, no doubt, and really loved the semi-controversial classes I took last spring, but this one is simply enjoyable.  There's so much more to childhood fairy tales than the glass slipper fitting Cinderella's tiny feet.  Did you know that the slipper is only made of glass in seven of the three hundred forty-five Cinderella variations logged in the sixties?  It has appeared in more variations logged since then, but it's still in the minority.  Very interesting, no?

Ok.  Time for coffee, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar, and listening to the lecture.

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Thought for the day - on a Chalkboard wall...

Thought for the day - on a Chalkboard wall...

Originally uploaded by Handmade Evolution

I'll admit that I'm usually a fan of light-colored neutral walls, but sometimes I think it would be fun to darken one a bit and create an ever-changeable background. I know I'd love to use it in a kid's room someday, but it would be great in an office, too--especially if combined with magnetic strips or paint. It'd be a giant bulletin board of a wall. I'm liking this thought.
I need to bring my bulletin board from my old room to the apt soon.

definitely want to do this #2: done!

I have looked for a nice comforter for our bed.

I had one that was the right weight and size, but according to Cory, it was a little bit too feminine (probably true).  So I had the idea in my head to make a duvet cover.

I finally got around to it on Thursday.  I had fabric (a gift), a king-sized flat sheet, and a twin-sized flat sheet, none of which were in use.  I followed (loosely) this tutorial from design*sponge, particularly to use the french seams.  I'm so glad I did, because the entire project looks more finished.  Now with a bit of straightening up, we'll have quite a nice looking room.

our home - a set on Flickr

I also had some fun decorating our bathroom.  More on that later...

one yard wonders: project #1

A little before the wedding, I took a trip to Barnes and Noble to use a gift card leftover from Christmas.  How it survived so long, I don't know, but it bought me a novel and it bought me this book.

It's super fun.

For my first project, I decided to make a cover for these useful but unattractive storage drawers.

[caption id="attachment_257" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I have five of the white ones you can hardly see, next to the blue unit. This was taken my old apartment."][/caption]

I used this project:

It went fairly well, though I missed a bit on the measurements (math has never been my strong suit)  and should've used a different fabric for the front.  I clothespinned some lightweight sheer something over it, and it looks better now.  It was too much of a watermelon at first.  Oops.

But, overall, I like the results.

[caption id="attachment_259" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="before and after"][/caption]

The room still needs some work, but I really like how it feels.  Once I get a desk down to this place, it'll be the perfect workspace as I finish my last undergraduate class.

why I miss Domino magazine

Interior Inspiration: Living room

Originally uploaded by ishandchi

ah, if only another magazine of such great style and fun still existed...
Maybe I'll have to put in a few extra hours of work and buy the Domino book of decorating (instead of loving the library copy so much I don't want to return it).

I mean, look at that butterfly on the wall, and those silhouette pillows.  The wallpaper could stand to go (but I guess it's pretty for wallpaper), but the furniture, the floor...I think I would feel perpetually inspired in such a room.

quick project: old sheet=new dress

I'm posting this in the current craftster challenge.  Kat had the link to the site, I saw it, and a few weeks later...

[gallery]

One twin-size fitted sheet from when I was ten, two nearly-empty spools of thread, and my circa-1980s Pfaff, inherited from my aunt via my mother.



It needs some alterations to be worn alone, but with a top and a cute sweater, it's ready to go.  I think I'll wear it to work tomorrow.

Maybe tomorrow (when I'm not dozing), I'll post how I did it.  I made many mistakes along the way, though, so my instructions may be lacking.

eh, goodnight.

ventures into the blogosphere: snippet and ink, etc.

I took a nostalgic trip back to wedding planning and looked at the weekend links on Snippet&Ink.

One sent me here and then I found these beauties:



Baroque Bookshelves, Home Accessories | Graham and Green Home Accents

They're so stinking nifty.  I'd love to take some plain boxes and put frames around them to replicate the effect, hopefully for less than forty-five pounds (whatever that may presently be in in dollars).

why my best friend rocks

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Kat made this herself for our wedding.  I didn't get a good shot of the label attached to the underside, but it records the occasion of the gift and its creator.  It is one of the sweetest gifts I have ever received.  So much time and effort and patience went into the quilt's creation.

It also looks amazing, in all the Amy Butler Fabrics and their awesome colors.

I was then inspired to go to the library and I found this book:

If I have time between working and doing homework for my Literary Fairy Tale class, maybe I'll try to follow in Kat's shoes.  We do wear the same little size, after all.  But I'm more likely to pick up the copy of the Domino Book of Decorating that I also found, or get thoroughly lost in my newest read (Middlesex).

Oh well.  Kat will always be the craft queen, methinks.

fun found about: creature comforts

A long time ago in a Chick-fil-a far, far away, Sunshine was my nickname.  It was relatively ironic on Saturdays, when I opened, but not so much on Tuesday nights, when they had too few people until I arrived at four.

So I posted this immediately.

One Good Thing: You Are My Sunshine Art Print - Home - Creature Comforts - daily inspiration, style, diy projects + freebies.

:)

thrifting

I started my new job at Cville University this week and made a quick discovery: I have almost no professional clothes.  I mean, I had some from my practicum in  2008, but not enough for everyday wear.

So I went to goodwill and a local consignment store and came away with five shirts, five sweaters, and a skirt for about $33.  Yeah.  It made my day.

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I've been having a good bit of fun thrifting and assorted objects found at my parents' house.  For the next few weeks, Cory and I will be working in different cities :(.  I will have a bit of time on my hands-when I'm not working, anyway-so expect a few more projects in the near future.  The internet is spotty, but we're working on that.

I am really loving working in at the university.  I didn't hate Chick-fil-A, but working this new job is rewarding.  I do a lot of little detail work, but it actually matters for the people involved.  I have part of the responsibility for enabling students in their academic careers-something that matters a lot to me.  These degrees can do so much for these students' futures, and I get to be a part of it.  I've come to realize that this is the reason I wanted to go into education when I started college.

I hope everyone is having a lovely fourth!  We're eating burgers and such tonight.  What are you up to?

um...

AMAZING!

Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » weekly wrap up + faber poetry giveaway!

enough said.