bucket-o-joy

Christmas centerpiece

2010-12-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by ISLY to make a centerpiece for our table. I absolutely LOVE it!

Quilt finished!

2010-05-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

We got the quilt finished and we love it! The quilt pattern on it is a skyline, but it is subtle and done in variegated thread.

Two New Pillows for Couch

2010-05-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

We got a new couch recently and I had been trying to figure out what kind of pillows to put on it to make the couch a little less "elderly folk" and a little more "us". I converted one of Alec's band t-shirts into a pillow. The other pillow mimics the pattern on the couch, but in a more modern interpretation. I like them both very much. I also learned that Wonder Under is a fantastic product. It makes anything into an iron on, which is fantastically useful.

Yes, I do still have Christmas decorations up from Christmas season. Don't laugh. I'll take them down, I swear. This is my first vacation since January.

Oh Spring Break... how I miss you!

2010-03-26T20:23:00.001-07:00

Sweater Dress Heaven and Posing for Pictures

2010-01-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

I found this lovely hand-knit sweater dress at an estate sale. The cashier told me that the lady's mother-in-law had made it for her but she never wore it because it wasn't her color. I wore it out for the first time today, and the first place I went I got complimented specifically on the color of the dress. I thought that was amusing. It was almost as amusing as the second place I went where the lady told me that I look like the winner of the biggest loser show in this dress. She said, "She was little like you at the end of the show!" I guess I need to wear this more often!

My Mom shared a lot of old photographs with me when I was home for the holidays, along with the stories about my grandmother that I cherish so much. She told me that my grandmother always posed like this in pictures. I think that is so cute and feminine, so i tried to copy her in my photo above.

El Perro Del Mar with Lykke Li

2010-01-15T06:54:00.000-08:00

Beautiful...

My favorite colors

2010-01-13T18:43:00.001-08:00

These are mostly kitchen, but they are ending up all over my house lately too.

This is a fun place to play with color, as was suggested by Amanda.

My Ancestors

2010-01-13T18:27:00.000-08:00

I am the descendant of John Baxter, who died in a duel on the street and has a town in Kansas named after him. This info is from the Baxter Springs Heritage Center & Museum

Settlement within the Cherokee Neutral Lands was restricted to Cherokee settlement. Homesteading was not an option available to land-hungry settlers. However, there was little authority present that could prevent white settlers from entering the Neutral Lands. The law, however, was circumvented. And a few trespassers did venture into the lands intent on setting claim to choice lands.
John Baxter, a resident of neighboring Newton County, Missouri entered the Neutral Lands and lay claim to lands west of Spring River. The year was assumed to be 1849. The exact date is questionable. Baxter was an intriguing character. He had an extremely large, extended family. His eight children had a wide span in ages. Baxter was a self-proclaimed minister, a practitioner of a phenomena called Spiritualism. Largely unknown to the rural Newton County farm families, Baxter and his family were a subject of curiosity.
Wiley Britton, who, as a neighbor boy of the Baxter's, recalled the mysterious Baxter and his family. He described the family as being "enlivened, intelligent, and very liberal for this region. Baxter was an adherent of Universalism who conducted religious services from his home. Baxter was a man of considerable force of character living among us and was distinctly beneficial in bringing about broader religious and political toleration among the people of Newton County.
The Baxters were all extremely talented. They provided newspapers and books which were made available to the community. They possessed an organ. All could sing and would entertain local guests frequently. Great conversationalists, the Baxters were certainly a culturally advanced family compared to their farm neighbors." It is uncertain for what reason, the Baxters elected to depart their Newton County home to move to the Neutral Lands. Perhaps the lure of free lands encouraged their relocation west of the Missouri line.
John Baxter and his large family found land just west of Spring River that they deemed to be attractive and claimed this for themselves. Their claim was entirely illegal, but there was little reason for them to fear being removed from the Neutral Lands.
A small creek fed by numerous springs, one being highly mineral in content, dotted the hillside across from site chosen for the homestead. Abundant timber was found all along Spring River to their east. The homestead lay east of the Military Road which linked Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas to Ft. Gibson, Indian Territory or Cherokee Nation.
The Military Road had originally been surveyed to pass to the east near Spring River and Lowell but its course was altered to the west. John Baxter built his home strategically adjacent to the Road. The springs below his home provided a natural campsite for passers-by. The military convoys frequently traveled the length of the road.
Since no other business ventures were found nearby, Baxter established a mercantile of sorts to cater to the needs of those traveling by. His business came to be known as "Baxter's Place." The Baxter business became a popular wayside stop on the Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Gibson road.
The Baxters were not the only white settlers to take up residence in the Neutral Lands. Another settler by the uncertain name of Rogers or Commons had claimed land on the east side of Spring River. Both families resided near one another, Spring River being a dividing line of sorts. A disagreement arose, however, between the above named individual and a daughter of Baxter over a disputed land claim. Baxter and his son ventured across Spring River to confront the adversary over the "ownership" of the disputed property.
Commons and his family were waiting in their cabin when the Baxters approached. Upon reaching the cabin, civil talk increased into rage, and ultimately shots were fired. The lifeless body of John Baxter lay on the ground. His son continued the volley and killed the son of Commons. The date was December 20, 1860.
The patriarch of the Baxter family was gone. The Baxter era was also over. The entire family departed their homestead in the Cherokee Neutral Lands. Their only vestige of the years spent in this location was the cabin and the grave of the head of the Baxter
family.
The land which John Baxter claimed as his own and the springs that faced his cabin have given rise to the name of the town that we know today as Baxter Springs, Kansas.

Vintage Records

2010-01-08T22:12:00.000-08:00

Alec and I love to listen to vintage records while relaxing at home. I was telling my Mother today about some awesome records I found at an estate sale and how I got two 101 strings records to add to our collection of those and she remembered the coolest thing! She said her parents walked into a hardware store in 60's and there was a 101 strings record playing on one of the old console stereos there and my grandfather loved the records so much he bought the player and the record. I never got to know him, and my grandmother passed away when I was 12 so it made me so happy to have this connection! Here are a few of the 101 strings that we own:

The best thing about these, other than how great they sound, is that you can usually find them for 99 cents at used books stores all of the time. Here's a sample of one of the tracks:

Pesto Lasagna with Spinach and Mushrooms

2010-01-08T21:52:00.001-08:00

I have been a little crock pot obsessed this week. I made this lasagna recipe from cooking light that has been my favorite for years. It is a little complicated but so worth it if you have the time. Both the photo and recipe are from Cooking Light. You can click through to their site from the title of this blog post.

No-boil lasagna noodles are perfect for this recipe, as they absorb all the juices that accumulate in the crockpot. Use 2 (10-ounce) packages of frozen chopped spinach in place of fresh, if you prefer. Also, any mushroom will work.

Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients

* 4 cups torn spinach
* 2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
* 1/2 cup commercial pesto
* 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
* 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded provolone cheese
* 1 (15-ounce) carton fat-free ricotta cheese
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
* 1 (25.5-ounce) bottle fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce
* 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
* Cooking spray
* 1 (8-ounce) package precooked lasagna noodles (12 noodles)

Preparation

Arrange the spinach in a vegetable steamer; steam, covered, 3 minutes or until spinach wilts. Drain, squeeze dry, and coarsely chop. Combine spinach, mushrooms, and pesto in a medium bowl, stirring to combine; set aside.

Combine mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, and beaten egg in a medium bowl, stirring well to combine. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan, and set aside. Combine the pasta sauce and the tomato sauce in a medium bowl.

Spread 1 cup pasta sauce mixture in the bottom of a 6-quart oval electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over pasta sauce mixture; top with 1 cup cheese mixture and 1 cup spinach mixture. Repeat the layers, ending with spinach mixture. Arrange 3 noodles over spinach mixture; top with remaining 1 cup cheese mixture and 1 cup pasta sauce mixture. Place remaining 3 noodles over sauce mixture; spread remaining sauce mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Cover with lid; cook on LOW 5 hours or until done.
Nutritional Information

Calories: 398 (41% from fat)
Fat: 18.2g (sat 7.8g,mono 6.6g,poly 2.3g)
Protein: 22.2g
Carbohydrate: 38.5g
Fiber: 2g
Cholesterol: 56mg
Iron: 2.8mg
Sodium: 1036mg
Calcium: 407mg

Smitten Kitchen's Yummy Brisket

2010-01-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

Since this is my last week of freedom before returning to the grind that will be my life for the next year, I've been celebrating by cooking really decadent meals at home. This brisket turned out so good we ate it for 3 solid days without one complaint about leftovers. Alec and I made this southwestern pulled brisket in the crock pot and it cooked while we slept. I wanted to cook it the whole 10 hours because our grocery store didn't have a 3 lb brisket. The smallest they had was 5lb! I cooked it for 10 hours and kept it on keep warm another hour. I modified the slaw recipe to just be cabbage, cilantro, and red wine vinegar since we don't like raw onions or mayo around here. We served ours on warmed up corn tortillas with a half a grapefruit from the valley on the side and it was a delicious brunch! Not to mention how wonderful the house smelled.

Find the original recipe and more lovely photos here:

(image borrowed from Smitten Kitchen blog)

South Texas

2010-01-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

Alec and I took a trip to South Texas for New Years. We watched a beautiful sunset on the way down.

My hiking goal was to "see" Mexico. The river behind us is the Rio Grande and Mexico is just beyond. The khaki pants are supposed to help the mosquitoes leave you alone. I'm told they are attracted to darker colors. They were definitely attacking Alec's arms more than mine so maybe there is something to that.

Border Patrol!

Isn't this an amazing storm front?

Crafty with Eric!

2010-01-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

My awesome friend Eric came to visit after Christmas and we had some time to be crafty together. It was a craft explosion in my dining room and so much fun! I wish he could live nearby.

He made me this beautiful card. The scan really doesn't do the colors justice. I keeep it on my desk so Eric can make me smile every day. :)

Book for my Mother

2009-12-27T20:27:00.000-08:00

I love my Mom so much and I'm so grateful that our adult relationship has turned out exactly how I hoped it would be. She is amazing! I made her this book to let her know.

Christmas Gifts I received

2009-12-19T14:18:00.003-08:00

Alec and I exchanged gifts early because we'll be out of town for Christmas. These are the fantastic things he got me.

An embossing heat gun and embossing powder! Now I need to come up with some projects for these. I had something in mind when I added these to my wishlist...but since I didn't' write it down... poof! Any ideas?

Biscuit/cookie cutters so I can make TONS of yummy things. I've been wanting to make a recipe for ricotta dill bisquits and now I will!

A Jenny Hart, Sublime Stitching, book full of magic. I can't wait!

Things I Made This Week

2009-12-19T13:53:00.001-08:00

I got quite a bit done this week in spite of not feeling super well. The first project was spray painting this little metal basket to hold keys, wallets, sunglasses etc. at our by-the-door landing place. The basket came as the base of a gift basket, but red was a little more my style.

I finished both Alec's and my stockings this week. I forgot to take a photo before I stuffed his full of stuff so the ankle looks a little wonky. He has mine hidden away somewhere so you'll just have to appreciate his and know that mine is a variation on this theme. They're made of fleece so they'll stand up to all of the heavy gifts inside!

I had seen a wreath like this awhile back on someone's blog, but I don't remember where. I thought it looked pretty easy to do. I used my old streetfinder map that is obsolete with the advent of GPS. That makes me a little sad because I bought streetfinders shortly after learing to drive so I could find my way anyhwere. Now it seems too easy. Working to find things was part of the fun! I cut the map into strips and applied them to the wreath form using mod podge. What a fun craft! You get to have glue all over your fingers just like elementary school!

I wanted more room than what I had for hanging Christmas cards so I chain stitched two colors of yarn together to make a pretty chain. I hadn't chain stitched since i was about 8 years old and luckily it came back, just like riding a bicycle. Back then I chain stitched an entire skein of yarn and never learned how to go back and forth to make it into a blanket. Did anybody else do that?

Hopefully more crafts to come after Christmas!

Jewelry Tree

2009-12-16T10:10:00.001-08:00

So now that school is out for 5 whole precious weeks I have some time for crafty things again. My friend Laura helped me make this jewelry Christmas tree two years ago. I used jewelry I had been saving for years to put it together. There is some of my mom's old jewelry that I used to play with in her jewelry box when I was little as well as some of my grandmother's old broken clip-on earrings. Almost everything on it has some sentimental reason for being there so the tree makes me very happy to put out every year.

Amazing Speech on Marriage in America

2009-12-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

It's too bad her speech did not lead to change at this time in New York State, but hearing politicians speak in this way gives me hope that eventually America will do the right thing and grant equal right to ALL of our citizens.

Senator Diane Savino words are spoken with good purpose but she includes humor, remarking on the "sacred institution" of marriage that brought us such shows as "Bridezillas" and "The Littlest Groom" where 30 desperate women competed for the hand of a dwarf.

Christmas 2009 Playlist

2009-11-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

Needlework from Travieso

2009-11-20T11:53:00.001-08:00

My awesome friend Travieso made us this awesome needle work as a wedding gift, but it took us forever to figure out to how to frame it! I ended up sewing black fabric around all four sides so it now has a fabric mat in the frame. You can't even tell when you look at it! Anyway, Travieso is so cool. He knows tons about astrology and he made us this artistic interpretation of our star charts combined into one. We love it! It is now displayed on the mantle above our fireplace.

Estate Sale Finds!

2009-11-20T09:36:00.001-08:00

It's pretty amazing how many folks will turn up to an estate sale in the pouring rain. I found two super cool things to bring home. I got another pretty Pyrex to add to my collection towards my goal of having a turquoise and red kitchen and a cool old globe.

One Year of Marriage

2009-11-15T12:01:00.001-08:00

Traditionally for your first anniversary you are supposed to give a gift made of paper and for once in my life I decided to be traditional. I got Alec this awesome custom portrait of us done by the totally awesome Ashley G.

We love it!

The Proust Questionnaire

2009-11-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

Alec and I spent several evenings on the couch asking each other these questions. It was fun at home in the cold entertainment. I recommend it!

The Proust Questionnaire
The Proust Questionnaire has its origins in a parlor game popularized (though not devised) by Marcel Proust, the French essayist and novelist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature. Here is the basic Proust Questionnaire.

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
2. What is your greatest fear?
3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
5. Which living person do you most admire?
6. What is your greatest extravagance?
7. What is your current state of mind?
8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
9. On what occasion do you lie?
10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
11. Which living person do you most despise?
12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
16. When and where were you happiest?
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
21. Where would you most like to live?
22. What is your most treasured possession?
23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
24. What is your favorite occupation?
25. What is your most marked characteristic?
26. What do you most value in your friends?
27. Who are your favorite writers?
28. Who is your hero of fiction?
29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
30. Who are your heroes in real life?
31. What are your favorite names?
32. What is it that you most dislike?
33. What is your greatest regret?
34. How would you like to die?
35. What is your motto?

Willis - Word Up

2009-11-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

We are getting closer and closer to our 1st wedding anniversary so I'm getting sentimental and nostalgic. The night we got engaged we were eating at a fancy restaurant in Chicago and this song came on. I asked our waiter what it was because it was the first song we heard (or paid attention to) after we got engaged and he wrote it down on a post it note for me. I never found it until now. I think it is hilarious that it is a cover of Cameo, but I like the way Willis covered the song.

Awesome Quilt Wedding Gift

2009-11-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

Alec's cousin made us the most awesome and thoughtful wedding gift. I have been wanting to post pictures of it but a day of sunshine and my memory and schedule haven't coincided for awhile. Anyway, she made us a lap quilt in the colors we had for our wedding with a monogrammed message on the back along with a really cool red stripe for interest. I love the back just as much as the front. Just in time for cooler weather we have a blanket with style! We keep it on the back of the couch, but we never have any natural lighting indoors because we are surrounded by so many trees so I took it outside so you can see it better. I love love love it!

Thanks, cousin!

Life List

2009-11-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

I made this list awehile back, but all of it still rings true and none of it has been accomplished.....the future looks fun!

1. Travel lots more, but that’s a separate list
2. Learn real photography
3. Master photoshop, lightroom, etc.
4. Sew myself a dress from a pattern (did it in 4th grade and never since)
5. Make a quilt from beginning to end all by myself
6. Expand my cooking skills
7. Make my recipe gathering process more organized and accessible by others
8. Figure out how I’m going to handle keeping up with photographs in the digital age. I used to make complicated photo albums in the film days. Now I almost never print pictures, and I’m just not sure what to do with them that works for my lifestyle.
9. Learn more HTML
10. Make a really weird exercise video on YouTube wearing a side ponytail, and possibly recruit my mother and mother-in-law to co-star in it with me
11. Live on a body of water
12. Walk the entire Lost Pines trail at Bastrop State Park (Texas)
13. Take my Mom on a trip, just the two of us.
14. Take more family trips with my parents and Alec’s too.
15. Someday I want to be the “cool” aunt that my nieces and nephews come visit for a week in the summer when they are older than they are now, but maybe not old enough to drive. That freaks me out.
16. Learn to re-upholster furniture so well that nobody would suspect I did it myself
17. Live outside Texas, even if it is temporary.
18. Learn to be a formatting genius using Excel.

Black and White Afghan

2009-11-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

I wish I had time to learn to make this and actually make it.

Kings of Convenience New Album!

2009-10-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

YAY! I'm so excited they have a new album out! Alec and I saw them live the 1st time we hung out together as friends way back in 2005. They put on a super fun live show.

I've just returned from Nashville!

2009-10-19T14:47:00.001-07:00

Lovely flight there:

Stayed in a crazy hotel that had a whole city underneath the large roof. When I say stayed in, I mean I never went outside!

Learned a TON. So exciting!

Spent time with awesome people (only some of which are pictured here):

Had an awesome flight home:

Men at Beach

2009-10-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

This pattern was included along with some others I picked up at the thrift store. I have yet to convince Alec that this is the must wear outfit of the season. I think today might be a good day to start working on him though...

Tara McPherson embroidery patterns via Sublime Stitching

2009-10-06T14:05:00.001-07:00

Jenny Hart is so awesome. I love Sublime Stitching. They rolled out four new patterns and I was so excited about the Tara McPherson patterns my little mouse starting clicking! Go check them out here!

Go check out Tara McPherson's website while you're at it. She is AMAZING!

Old lady chic

2009-09-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

I love wearing my old lady chic clothing, but I never thought of putting them together in a polyvore style mashup. Here is attempt #1 using SAS classic shoes and an afghan jacket pattern I found at the thrift store.

FAME!

2009-09-25T19:51:00.001-07:00

I went to see it tonight with my friends. It's what you would expect. The best part is that I didn't even go to a cool theater to see it but I still wore this:

20 Questions

2009-09-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

I saw this over on FreckledNest and thought it looked fun.

Wanna play too? Answer these 20 questions on your blog (or just the q's you want to answer) and share a link to your 20q in the comments of this post :) Have fun :)

2. What's the last homecooking you had?

We made this pork loin with a blackberry sauce, green beans with parmesan, and baked beans (we like the beans around here!)

3. What do you miss? (no dead people please)

Since I'm so busy with school most of the time I miss a LOT of the things I used to be able to do when I had free time. I miss traveling more often

Believe it or not, I sometimes miss teaching. I loved seeing the joy of discovery on kiddos' faces. I also loved field trips and picture day and holidays with them!

I miss having dance parties with my awesome friend Eric:

4. What makes you laugh often?

here

5. What's your favorite word?

CAKE! I love the way the word feels in your mouth when you say it. I also love to eat it!

6. What are you trying to quit?

Stressing...

7. What's your favorite commercial right now?

We don't have TV, so the only commercials I see are movie previews online. This one looks so funny.

8. Whose style do you dig?

Masuimi Max and Bernie Dexter. These images from here

9. Link to a great blog you've discovered lately...

Mental Floss Blog

10. What's the last craft you made?

I made a quilt square for Janel's blogger BFF quilt.

11. A photo of the last happy mail you got :]

Alec bought me this shirt as a surprise/gift

12. Something you've got lately?

My new cousin Karen gave me a crochet hook so I can learn to make all kinds of cool things! I like crafts made with fabric and yarn because you end up with something that you can display or gift nicely.

13. What are you looking forward to?

Alec and I have a lot of anniversaries. We don't know exactly when we evolved from friends into dating so we arbitrarily decided it was the first time we ate at Arby's together. We joke that we owe it all to that delicious Arby's sauce. YUM! We call that one our Arby's anniversary and it is coming up on October 13th. Can you guess how we'll celebrate?

14. Post a recent snapshot of yourself.

I realized I don't have any recent snapshots of myself. I either need to recruit Alec to start taking more pictures or start taking them myself. This is from this summer. That's my awesome mother and my awesome husband there with me. I call this picture, "Hello our names are..."

15. Recent Favorite Movie?

I haven't really LOVED any movies I've seen recently and I often choose to watch streaming TV shows instead of movies lately due to the shorter time commitment. Anyway, we've been watching the IT Crowd and LOVE it! It is so hilarious!

17. If a movie were made about you, who would play you?

Ally Sheedy from Breakfast Club, of course.

18. What gives you goosebumps?

Stories about otherworldly events.

19. Share a new obsession.

Embroidery, sewing, crafting in general...whenever I get a moment!

20. What's the meaning of your life?

Being the nicest and best person I can be and inspiring others to be the same.

(So you can copy and paste it easy)
1. Show us the inside of something cute
2. What's the last homecooking you had?
3. What do you miss? (alive)
4. What makes you laugh often?
5. What's your favorite word?
6. What are you trying to quit?
7. What's your favorite commercial right now?
8. Whose style do you dig?
9. Link to a great blog you've discovered lately...
10. What's the last craft you made?
11. A photo of the last happy mail you got :]
12. Something you've got lately?
13. What are you looking forward to?
14. Post a recent snapshot of yourself.
15. Recent Favorite Movie?
16. Something you're working on right now?
17. If a movie were made about you, who would play you?
18. What gives you goosebumps?
19. Share a new obsession.
20. What's the meaning of your life?

Black Cab Sessions - Fleet Foxes

2009-09-21T19:11:00.001-07:00

Awesome music in a bumpy ride.

More Living Room Upgrades - Record Player Time!

2009-09-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

We always had the record player itself, but it stood on a different stand before. You may see the before picture here. This picture shows the old entertainment center and the old record player stand next to the TV. This picture was taken before one of the glass shelves mysteriously shattered while we weren't home. Thank goodness none of the heavy components were on that shelf! Anyway, my awesome friend Jana gave us this record player stand when she moved into a different house and Alec refinished it to match the entertainment center he built. The living room looks so much better and warmer now! I also love having our records alphabetized and accessible. Now I just need to make some cool dividers for them.

MAGIC

2009-09-07T07:32:00.001-07:00

I wish I could find the full length version of this video. It makes me really happy, and my awesome friend Eric told me about it. He always has the magic.

I miss you, Eric!

New Desk!

2009-09-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

I study ALL of the time so I sit at my desk TONS. My old desk, while cute, was not very ergonomic. Since I already have neck/shoulder/wrist issues I really needed to get something that allowed me more leg room to rotate my chair and a place to put my keyboard at a better height. I found this awesome used office supply store in Austin called Cox Office Furniture and they exceeded my expectations by a mile! They had tons of old really cool desks and other office supplies as well as newer stuff. I was in love with this All-steel tanker desk from the 50s but my goal was to get an articulating keyboard tray. The man who works there took the lap drawer off, put an articulating kayboard tray on and now I'm set to go with an awesome desk that is MUCH more comfortable than the old one! YAY!

Old Desk:

New Desk (shown here in an ad from retrooffice.com with the lap drawer still in place:

My actual desk with my ergonomic adjustments:
1) articulating keyboard holder
2) elevated laptop stand

Now I need to find a way to hide the cords that is compatible with a steel desk but still keeps my cords accessible for when my laptop is on the go. hmmm...

Maybe I also need a cool retro phone and/or typewriter.

Joyland

2009-09-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

This sign I found on the doe-c-doe blog makes me so happy, being named Joy and all. I wish I could buy the signs for my house!

This 2nd image is from the Wikipedia page she linked to.

Happy Labor Day!

I'm dreaming of storage...

2009-09-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

Someday when we finally decide to "settle down" and own a home I want to have so much storage. Alec is a collector of books and CDs, and we jointly collect records. I would love to have them all attractively displayed like these inspirational images I found.

from Dwell

from Living Etc

from Unplggd

Weepies video

2009-09-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

This is not at all what I would have expected for a Weepies video so it cracks me up!

I love the lake house!

2009-08-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend was wonderfully relaxing and awesome. I got to spend it with some awesome girlfriends at one of their lake houses. I love the girls. I love the lake! I love paddle boating and eating oreo truffles!

Wedding Album : I <3 Freckled Nest!

2009-08-28T06:10:00.000-07:00

I had such a hard time deciding what to do with my gorgeous wedding pictures from Whitney Lee Photography until I found Leigh-Ann from Freckled Nest . I saw samples of some of her other albums and I knew she was the right person for the job. She was so easy to work with through the design process and she really understood my style and what I was looking for. She did a great job of incorporating my papers and our quotes and I absolutely LOVE the way it all turned out! I'm so excited about it!

Click the title of this post to see her blog post + tutorial on how to make the cover. Click any of the photos to link to the flickr photostream containing more pictures.

Kitchen Appliances

2009-08-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

I have some of the cute applicances, but now I need a shelf to put them on so I don't have to hide them!

I love it!

Colorado!

2009-08-23T17:38:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of this last lovely week in Colorado, where we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to wear jackets. We were sad to return home to not only 108 degree weather, but a broken air conditioner. Thank goodness we got it fixed that same day! Anyway, Colorado is awesome. Maybe we'll move there someday.

Colorado, originally uploaded by joygoldplanet.

Yeah, we climbed to the top of that rock. It was about 7,000 feet above sea level. We started our hike about 5,000 feet. We're hard core.

This is Alec with his aunt and uncle, Suzie and Gary. They took us through the Rocky Mountain National Park. This spot is near the origination of the Colorado River.

Behind us you can see Horsetooth Reservoir. We went boating there the first night we arrived in town. What a way to welcome us to town!

Caffeine vs. Calories

2009-08-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

I found this awesome graph of how caffeine vs. calories. I love the simplicity of it! There's a much bigger version on the original website. Click title of this postfor link.

Handmade Nation

2009-08-13T09:27:00.001-07:00

I am so excited Handmade Nation is finally opening in Austin, Texas! I got my special VIP tickets from Sublime Stitching and I can't wait! It makes me even more happy that I get to go to the Alamo Drafthouse for the event. I don't like regular movie theaters anymore because the Alamo experience has me SPOILED!

I'm also super excited to see these people at the event.

Made With Sweet Love

Purse tutorial

2009-08-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

I want to make this awesome purse I found on the Ric-Rac blog:

Selvedge dress

2009-08-09T08:04:00.001-07:00

This just might be the cutest dress ever. I love the cut of the dress as well as the fact that it's made out of the selvedge of fabric! I need to start working harder on becoming a master seamstress so I can make one!

Found on Ric-Rac blog

Mo-Dettes

2009-08-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

Study, study, study until Monday! This semester will be over in 4 days! This makes me happy! One semester down, 5 more to go!

Music Art Journal + Scat in the Dark

2009-07-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

I've been taking a class in art journaling that combines music with art journaling from the lovely Kara. Note I said "taking" and not "participating". I hope to finish the simple five day class sometime before September. It's been really cool to see the prompts and spend time thinking about them (when I should be studying) and to see everyone else's awesome work. When I finally finish I'll post all of them.

This is the day 5 prompt for nonlyrical music. I cheated and used music with lyrics, but they are all in Japanese so I have no idea what she's actually saying, so this is still my interpretation of how the music feels without guidance from understanding of words. I think this is the happiest music I've ever heard. It makes me think of young love, sunshine, butterflies, puppy dogs and raindrops on my face.

(You can click to make the picture bigger)

Photobooth Picture from Gallery Party

2009-07-12T15:41:00.001-07:00

Our friends who had their CD release party last week had a photobooth at the event and the pictures were awesome and hilarious.

Check out Trevor Ray Thompson, the photographer here

Quilt Project Sneak Peek

2009-07-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

I'd been wanting to replace the duvet cover on our guest bed forever, but I never like anything in the stores. I got this idea, drew it out, got it approved by Alec and the two of us knocked out the top for it this weekend. Hopefully, Alec's mom can help us get it quilted, bound, and finished!

Here are some of the detail fabrics (They're not really crooked, I took the picture from an angle):

Here is the top for the quilt thrown on the bed:

Stewart Joined The Army

2009-07-08T17:40:00.001-07:00

So my brother has 4 kids. When it was time to find a new home for their dog because their new house did not have any yard to speak of for this large dog to frolic in, he had a hard time explaining to the kids where Stewart (the dog) had gone. He told the truth at first, that his friend had taken in the dog to live at his house. When the kids kept begging daily to go visit Stewart, he finally told them that Stewart had joined the army so they couldn't visit him anymore. The army. Ah, parenting.

Alec and I thought this was hysterical and had intended to photoshop a photograph of Stewart in the army that he actually could show the kids. Well, I think a whole year went by and we never did that. Then recently I ran across this fantastic photography project: Fallen Princesses by Dina Goldstein I love her project for many reasons not limited to my feared repercussions of how growing up with tons of fairy tale input without anything to balance that leads to disappointment with real life.

So I jokingly sent this picture to Alec, saying this might be the perfect photo to put Stewart in for my brother and of course then he had to do it. Probably not the best picture to show the kids, but hilarious for the adults who can appreciate that the dog is not in any real danger.

Biliary Tree

2009-07-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

These are the kinds of arts and crafts I'm up to these days. I make internal body structures out of play-doh, photograph them, and label them. Alec helped me with labels. Yes, I'm a huge dork.

Red and Turquoise Kitchen

2009-07-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

I already have a couple red and turquoise kitchen items, some of which are vintage pyrex handed down from my Mom. I want more though! I love this kitchen and these other pyrex items I found on etsy.

photo credit

The above item was from etsy, but it sold so I can't find the link for the seller.

photo from etsy

Summer Playlist

2009-07-04T14:47:00.001-07:00

Happy Independence Day

2009-07-04T09:13:00.001-07:00

We're celebrating independence at our house primarily through sugar. I got Alec a super yummy and beautiful cake as a surprise. It is rich chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream and crumbled Reeses cups. It’s iced in vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream and vanilla fondant, and the accents are in tinted vanilla fondant. Wicked Cakes did such a great job, and I want to eat it at every meal.

I have also been making these Vanilla Raspberry Sundaes from the Martha Stewart magazine's most recent issue. I think I can get behind anything that has to do with sugar lately.

More Improvements on the Home Front

2009-07-02T16:58:00.001-07:00

We forgot to take actual "before" picture for this specific purpose, but I did happen to take a random shot of the living room when we first moved in. Please note the horrible TV stand/entertainment center made of black yuck and glass. I hate furniture made of black yuck and glass. It screams to me of Nagel's art and I feel like I should feather out my hair and wear neon colors.

In addition to the aesthetic issues the stand has it is also a bit more unstable that I think reasonable for an electronics geek husband to own. I was more than a little shocked when I found out the details.

We happen to have a wood working expert in the family who was happy to lend a hand and all of his tools. The picture below is the unit before Alec did any staining or added the "feet".

Finally, you can see the brand new, finished, and crafted totally by hand entertainment center. Ray and Alec did a fantastic job! Yay!

We still have some more furniture projects in the works so the living room won't be "finished" for quite some time.

Baked Beans

2009-06-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Alec walks into the bedroom and sees this on top of my armoire:

Alec: Um, Joy? Why are there baked beans in the bedroom?
Joy: Circuit studying!
Alec: what?
Joy: That's my barbell for adductions!

I try to keep him guessing.

Best Husband Ever

2009-06-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

So I have a huge test in Cross Sectional Anatomy tomorrow and I've been a freak stress ball for about a week. My wonderful husband insisted, and I mean INSISTED that I get a massage tonight because I've studied enough and what I really need is to relax and good a good night's sleep. He's the best.

I'm reposting the story he wrote about how we met that we had previously posted on our wedding website. Who knows how long those stay up, and who ever looks back upon them?

It seems natural to begin with, “So how did we first start dating?” which is pretty darn interesting in its own right... but not the story we’re telling today. So how did it all happen, or better yet, where did we first cross each other’s paths? In keeping with our respective personalities, our introduction required more than a little bit of awkward social circumstance.

Many years back, Alec began working at a new job and within a few weeks of starting, a co-worker and his wife invited him to meet them at a local bar. Though highly uninterested in their choice of venues and doubting having very much at all in common with this couple, Alec didn’t want to appear rude with a new colleague, thereby souring potential relations at work. After a bit of coercing, the offer was accepted. (At the risk of sounding elitist, some editorial content must be injected at this point to further the irony of our meeting and explain that this particular bar is the kind of place Joy and Alec would both generally avoid as if every table and chair brought with it a moderate chance of the plague.)

Upon meeting said co-worker and entering, Alec felt extremely out of place and began people-watching over a few rounds of drinks. Out of an extremely packed bar, there was quite obviously one person who consistently caught his eye… and why wouldn’t she? Even across a dimly lit thirty feet, she had an amazing smile and laugh that spoke of humor and a desire to make her surroundings a place we’d all like to be part of (which Alec likes to say is evident to this very day). She was comfortable with herself, yet without the slightest note of arrogance. She was unique, yet visibly quite genuine and unlabored. Not to mention, she was wearing the greatest black jacket with pink trim. So yes, Joy was sitting at a small table, also looking out of place given the element, and talking with a female friend (who also turned out to be a co-worker at Joy’s recently acquired job).

At any rate, Alec’s co-worker apparently took note of how his surveying the room seemed to linger a little bit longer any time his eyes passed in Joy’s direction. It was at this point that he and his wife began a discussion as to whether Joy and her female friend were there together or “together.” What was Alec’s reaction to this, in a word? Mortified, folks. It didn’t take long at all for the discussion between husband and wife to evolve into a full-scale debate, at which point the wife challenged to go over to the girls’ table and find out. The terrors and humiliation that ran through Alec’s brain were white hot, and despite his protests she proceeded to walk over, introduce herself, and sit down in the last open chair. Seriously? The one person in that establishment to whom Alec might like to talk, and he was unwittingly caught up in a sad social display that would almost certainly result in his looking like an underdeveloped fool. It was at this point that Alec turned to walk out the door, but his co-worker stressed that they could walk across to the other side of the bar as his wife chatted away on her devious little mission.

Sitting on the other side of this place, it was obvious that Alec’s co-worker was trading text messages with someone on a fairly regular basis. After an uncomfortable fifteen minutes, his co-worker informed him that he had to relieve himself and asked Alec to please remove his wife from her conversation? Eager to get it over with and leave, Alec walked over to Joy’s table and before any words had the chance to escape his lips, the wife bolted up from the now-empty chair and said, “Hey Alec, I need to use the restroom. Take my place for me while I’m gone. Joy, this is Alec,” and promptly abandoned him at the table. At this point it dawned on Alec that he’d been set up from the beginning.

The ultimate revelation here was that this couple had planned to see who the new employee would gravitate toward, and then thrust him into a “sink or swim” scenario. The fake debate, text messages, and restroom trip? All part of the ruse. But hey, that night Alec and Joy managed to find great conversation and a bunch of laughs in a sea of striped shirts and popped collars. It’s crazy to think that two people so completely out of place, meeting up with their respective new colleagues for almost identical reasons, were able to establish a friendship lasting many years before dating ever entered into the picture. Well… before they were nebulae, but that’s a whole other story.

** Professionally edited by an OCD journalism major! It's great being surrounded by brilliance.

Circuit Studying

2009-06-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

Last night while I was trying to fall asleep I came up with a brilliant invention - at least it seemed brilliant to me at midnight as I lay in bed nearly asleep. I study 10-12 hours a day and I need a way to relieve some stress. I was trying to figure out how I could exercise without sacrificing study time. I realized I need to circuit study! I will study in 45 minute increments, which is better for memory retention anyway. At the end of each 45 minute study session I'll do some sort of 15 minute exercise like wall angels or jumping jacks or whatever. A studying blog is boring, right?

Rubies

2009-06-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

It may seem like I'm a suddenly a music blog... but um... I'm just listening a lot while I study. A studying blog would be boring. This song makes me happy, and it seems like these stop motion videos are trendy these days, but the amount of work that has to go into them still impresses me every time.

Music Goes Well With Studying

2009-06-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

I love this song, and I think this video prototype is pretty cool too. Thanks, Elsie for talking about Chris Merritt often enough to make me check him out myself. I love him.

Call For Art Entries

2009-06-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

Speaking of bands that belong to my friends that I love (both the friends and the band)...

Whitney Lee who is most famous in Austin, TX for her AMAZING wedding photography is also part of one of the coolest new local Austin bands. I'm going to copy and paste from their post because they say this stuff best:

Black Cock Call for Art – Cash Prize

Austin TX band Black Cock has released their debut album, Robot Child with a God Complex, and they’re ready to celebrate. On July 9, 2009 there will be a private RSVP-only awesome party and art show happening at the Mohawk to do just that. Party includes Real Ale Beer, catered snacks, and other fun stuff like DJs in the private party room upstairs at The Mohawk on Red River.

Black Cock is seeking submissions of artwork that will be on display for the event. One piece will be selected for a $500 cash prize and will be featured on the band’s next album cover, due out Fall of 2009.

Exhibition Theme: Black Cock the band (no porn, please). This can be rooster themed, or it can be inspired by their music, or it can be their likeness (though they really aren't that vain). They're really just looking for work that is loosely related to Black Cock and that will look good as an album cover. Again, please don't submit obscene artwork.

Jurors: Band members – Whitney, Chico, Jordan and Ben

Submission Deadline: July 3, 2009

Guidelines:

• Drop-off your work on Friday July 3, 2009 at 2011 E. 2nd St., Austin TX, 78702. Drop-off hours are 3pm-8pm.

• Out-of-towners are welcome to mail work to us. If you are from out of town please ship to the same address above (Attn: Chico Jones). Please also supply postage for return shipment. After the party we'll post photos of the event so that you can feel like you were there!

• Works can be executed in any media, though please give it to us display-ready. If you have any specific instructions or equipment please let us know!

• If you plan on participating, e-mail blackcockrock@gmail.com ASAP so that we reserve space for you!

• Work submitted must be available July 3, 2009 - July 10, 2009

• Label the back of your work with your name, the title of the piece, the selling price, your phone number, and your e-mail address.

• If someone wants to buy your work, we'll put you in touch with that person directly. If you attend the party we'll try and find you so they can buy from you then. Otherwise we'll supply them with your contact information, and you with theirs.

• Submissions will be juried by the members of Black Cock.

• Winning piece will be featured on the band’s new album with full credit given to the artist. However, to receive the $500 cash prize, the artist must sign a copyright release.

• To spice things up and keep it fair we will also award a smaller cash prize for "people's choice award" and another prize randomly drawn for participating artists. Who knows, maybe the band members have bad taste. We appreciate everyone's participation. Cash value to be determined.

• We will take the utmost care of your artwork. However we have to mention that we don't have insurance. Nor does the venue. Sorry!

• Finally, THIS IS AN RSVP-ONLY EVENT! We'd hate for you to not be able to get in to see your own artwork because the door guy doesn't know better. So please e-mail rsvp@blackcockrock.com to get on the list! And have your friends and family rsvp too!

Fancy Rolling Backpack

2009-06-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'm never much of a fan of sporting name brands on my clothes or other possessions that the public sees because I feel like it is backwards for me to pay for something that advertises for someone else. Shouldn't they be paying me for advertising for them? Anyway, I need this huge rolling office bag for all of my heavy school books, etc and the best one had a brand name on the front. I covered the metal square with the name brand with spackle used for walls to fill in the engraved parts of the brand name. Then I used that metal square as the base of this cupcake. I didn't photograph with the name brand showing but here is just the spackle on the metal:

and here is the final product.

I feel much less dorky rolling this around now.

Highlights From the Weekend List

2009-06-14T20:12:00.001-07:00

Almost everything I did this weekend was out of character, and not what I had originally planned for myself. I had been looking forward to studying and getting ahead with a weekend on my own while Alec was out of town building us something cool - pictures will come later, I promise.

Once I recognized that sleeping and/or studying would be impossible at my house due to the extreme noise problem I:

1) Left town to escape my favorite town to go to my least favorite town.
2) Went to a wood store called Wood World that is located next to Rock Barrel - how convenient. ( I later heard rumors that this store is run by ex-cons, which might explain the mullets)
3) Played Pool in a sports bar while the hockey playoffs were happening.
4) Played darts in the same location, and didn't actually injure anyone.
5) Voluntarily and actually encouraged others to play a doom/horror game that involved slaying monsters and goat girls with my enchanted blade.

I also got to spend some time with my wonderful mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, which is always such a treat. ...and yes, I shared my cupcakes with them.

West Texas - Big Bend, Terlingua, Lajitas, Guadalupe State Park

2009-06-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

I studied for 11 hours straight today. You may begin to notice that my escape from school overload is to plan real-life escapes that we hope to take sometime soon. We're shooting to spend New Years with just us under the beautiful stars of West Texas. For those that don't know, Fort Davis, Texas has the best vantage point in all of North America to see stars. Here are some landscapes from West Texas that are calling my name:

McDonald Observatory:

...which is incidentally where we fell in love. Awwwww.

Nashville!

2009-06-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like I might get to attend my first work-related trip in my new career field later this year! The annual conference is being held in Nashville, Tennessee this Fall and I super duper hope I get to go! The learning seminars look awesome and I'm sure I'll meet lots of future colleagues, which is always a plus when you start looking for a new job. Look how huge the hotel is:

The hotel is adjacent to this!

Maybe I'll get lucky and get to see Dolly Parton, George Jones, or Waylon Jennings doing normal things like walking their dogs or driving their cars just like the stalker trash magazines swear celebrities do!

Hearts On My Feet

2009-06-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been on a kick of adding heart shapes to things like my school binders, sticker on my computer, and other random things. Today when I got a pedicure the girl asked me if I wanted a design and I asked her on a whim if she could draw a heart. She asked me if I was serious about 4 times and then she did this:

I love it! It's ridiculously cute!

First Day of Summer School

2009-06-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of my college summer school and the first day of the actual PROGRAM that I'm accepted to. No more pansy prerequisite classes for me anymore. Now I'm the real deal. I was so excited I wore my new blue jeans and curled my hair with a curling iron. I also got my new backpack with my new pencil bag all ready to go ahead of time! It was all so elementary school and fun to be back on that side of the first day of school rather than showing up as the teacher!

I Feel Dizzy... My Head Is Spinning...

2009-05-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

Ever since we got back from the trip to San Francisco I have been mercilessly dizzy! I'll feel ok for a little while and then all of the sudden it hits me and I'm on the floor. I have slept SO much in the last week that the days have run together in my mind. I'm on day 7 of dizzy now, so I'm starting to accept it as nearly normal and adjusting into doing activities while holding onto the wall without even thinking about it. I'm eating Bonine like candy and taking decongestants but so far it isn't really any better. Anyway here is one picture of the walk down to Baker Beach in San Francisco:

...and two pictures of the next trip we're planning on taking. I'm excited!

I LOVE PORTLAND!

Photobooth Success and Simultaneous Failure

2009-05-23T20:50:00.001-07:00

I had a goal that we would hit every photo booth in San Francisco while we were there, the old school kind. Well, we did not hit a single old school style photo booth, but we happened upon a whole STORE full of Japanese new school ones that take your picture in front of a greeen screen and then you can draw on them or add backgrounds. They're totally ridiculous, but very very funny.

http://www.pikapikasf.com/welcome.asp

Ipod cozy

2009-05-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

You can see that I am on a last minute San Francisco crafting mission. I'm trying to get felt cases made for all the electronic gizmos and sunglasses that will be bumping into each other in my travel bag. This one is for the ipod that we plan to use to listen to episodes of the "This American Life" podcast while we're on the plane. We're going to be so romantic using one ipod and a headphone splitter on our honeymoon. Neither one of us has ever wanted to listen to the same thing as another person before. Awwwww. We may also download an entire audio book, but haven't come to a consensus on which one. I'm so excited! Can't you tell?!

I used a button for this case that makes me so happy. It was my grandmother's and when I was about 8 years old I remember digging through her button box and wondering what each button would end up on. I'm so lucky I inherited that box. This particular button always reminded me of a bowl of mac-n-cheese and I couldn't imagine what kind of clothes would look good with a mac-n-cheese button. It makes me happy to be sewing and thinking of my grandmother while I sew on my mother's borrowed sewing machine. Happy Mothers' Day!

Scarf made out of old T-shirts

2009-05-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

This is another Red Velvet Art class project that I'm about 3 months late on. I never intended to be on time though. I used two old t-shirts I had in my closet but couldn't wear anymore. One was too big and one too small so I had some trimming to do! The black shirt had this cool pattern at the bottom that fell in a very unattractive place on the shirt but I think totally makes the scarf. I can't wait to wear it in San Francisco later this week!

Girls' dinner!

2009-05-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

My awesome friend Amy hosted a fabulous girls dinner with yummy food! It was a blast!

Absurd

2009-05-07T20:19:00.001-07:00

I'm in a physics class this semester. I have had a hard time enjoying it because there are a lot of kids in this class who talk while the teacher is talking. As a former teacher, this drives me completely nuts. The worst part is that the teacher does nothing about it, and seems to remain blissfully unaware of the distraction for the other students. This has been a constant all semester but it reached all new heights of ridiculousness this week. A guy in my class brought a guitar with him and actually started playing it during lecture. He played for at least 15 minutes and nobody said a word to him. I don't even know what to say about this, but I know I'm glad it will be over next week!

Cornbread Supper

2009-04-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by this recipe: http://peptogirl.blogspot.com/2006/04/yummy-mexican-cornbread.html

...but I'm lazy and I already had a mix for cornbread in my cabinet that was smoky jalapeno flavor. We bought it at Robertson's, our favorite place to stop along I-35 on the way to visit parents. They have the best beef jerky, and now I can vouch for the cornbread mix as well! I baked the cornbread all by itself in the cast iron skillet in the oven, covered it with ground beef and rotel, topped with cheese, salsa and sour cream. It was SO good. I'm SO full.

It looks pretty fitting to have the cornbread in front of our Texas platter/recipe holder, doesn't it?

Dining Room Makeover - Part 3 - The Whole Room

2009-04-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

So you'll see in the first picture that we didn't in fact HAVE a working dining room. Alec had a home office right there in the middle of our living space and I did not like that. It was kinda ugly, and looked a little dorm-like. I was also tired of sitting on the floor to eat my dinner so I wanted a table. Here is the room before the remodel:

Here is the new improved room for actual dining:

I don't love the curtain, but inspiration hasn't struck me on a better solution for that yet.

Dining Room Makeover Part Two - The Table!

2009-04-21T14:16:00.001-07:00

We forgot to take pictures of the table before we started sanding. It looked pretty cool just sanded down that I was tempted to leave it that way... but I had already painted the chairs and that would have looked so crazy! Here is the table before and after my paint job:

Dining Room Makeover Part One

2009-04-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Part one will show you just the chairs for the dining room table. We scored these beauties at the salvation army for super cheap. That's my favorite price to pay! FYI - I did not take the arms off the chair, we just only got one captains chair.

Cheap chairs + black spray paint + Ikea fabric = new fabulous chairs!

Paintings!

2009-04-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

I had two special gifts to make. One was for my friend who generously gave me an awesome sewing machine! Thanks Deanna! The other was for Alec. I promised him at least a year ago that I would make some wall art just for him because one of his favorite things was a collage I had made a long time ago. I went for basically the same concept on the two paintings I made, but I made Alec's painting have some black texture kind of like wood grain just by streaking the brush. I made the heart 3-d by painting it on with Spackle and then covering it with regular paint. I love how they turned out!

WOODGRAIN ROCKS!

2009-04-05T21:19:00.001-07:00

Another Red Velvet Art class project completed! The content of this plaque is a reference to a private joke between Alec and I, but it basically means "love you" to us... although we realize it means something totally different to most people! eek!

Wedding Scrapbook gift!

2009-04-05T21:02:00.001-07:00

Alec helped me make this as a wedding gift for my oldest friend Jana and her new husband Grant. I hope they liked it! The style of the book was inspired from my Red Velvet Art online class and with help from my friend Deanna!

New/Old Sewing Machine!

2009-03-27T11:39:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! My friend Deanna gave me her grandmother's sewing machine to use. Not only does it work well, it is SO cute! I can't wait to sew, sew, sew! As you can see from the photo, I was too excited just to see if it worked to even move my notebook out from under it. I have now corrected this problem. :)

2009-03-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

I finally made the sunglass cases that were part of my Red Velvet Art online class:

http://redvelvetgirls.typepad.com/

Etched glass wine glasses!

2009-03-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

So my friends are in a band, and I wanted to make them some wine glasses with their band logo on them. I think they turned out well! :)

Here are some of the process:

Chair project

2009-02-21T13:03:00.000-08:00

I wish I had remembered to take a "before" picture of this chair. It was stained brown but most of the finish had come off. The upholstery was so faded I couldn't tell what it had looked like. We picked it up on the side of 183 at a junk resale yard. The guy who ran the place told us it used to be in the capitol building in Austin, and I choose to believe it. I decided it needed a high gloss black coating and some cool fabric from Ikea. I love it!