El Zorro

It really caught me by surprise.  I was catching up on reading some favorite blogs, and found this Animal Love: Fox post on Design Sponge.   The next thing I knew, I was entranced.  The first item that did it for me was the scarf.  Never mind that it was $85 (yes, was!  I just saw it finally went on sale- but is not available anymore.  Boo!).  Never mind that some of the other items were less than appealing.  My obsession with foxes began.

This is definitely something I wanted to keep quiet at first, for fear I might start receiving any and all fox items.  I honestly don't know how long this little obsession will last, but for now I am content with the two items I do have:

I absolutely could not resist buying this calendar set as a present to myself (Christmas money!).  I love the appropriate monthly illustrations and text.  The 4x6 card is on a magnet board right above the right compy so I can see it anytime from my seat.

 I found this little treat at Gingiber's Shop on Etsy.

Amanda gave me this towel for Christmas - and I literally shrieked when I opened it.  The copper color, the simple yet whimsical shape, the fact that I can hang it in my kitchen and see it all the time; I appreciate everything about it!  

Amanda purchased it at faces are funny on etsy.com.

Not going away anytime soon (Part I)

Yes, I am still obsessed with washi and decorative tapes.  Here are a few of my favorites for Christmas, since most of them I just acquired lately.  Shoutout to my Twin for giving me the black and white polka dot tape from Target!

 Adding a bit of dazzle to cookie exchange baggies; font: Bebas Neue

This is also a good time to rave about two other current obsessions: porridge papers and OliveBox.  I have mentioned the former before here, but OliveBox is a bit newer.  OliveBox is a monthly subscription for paper lovers...I could describe it, but it would be best to visit the website and read about it for yourself.  And I'll be posting about it in the future, I'm sure.

Just a little spoiled

My family used to go to (come back to?) Nebraska every summer.  We always celebrated Jayme's August birthday before leaving.  Lucky Gerard and me- as the siblings we always got presents too!  Maybe it was because I tried stealing Jayme's, maybe not.  Regardless, I got used to it at a young age.  

In fact, on the Fourth I watched "The Music Man," my favorite musical (some of the songs were on our "Fourth of July" station at work this week).  This was a "birthday" gift from Bruce when I was younger.

So I thought it was fitting that I got to open a present on Ben's last birthday from my in-laws:

Now that the little table in the dining room has been revamped and moved to the living room, I have a space for Grandma's sewing cabinet (which I believe formerly belonged to my namesake, my dad's great-aunt Laura).  I wanted the piece to be on the first floor so guests could see it.

I really wasn't sure what to call it- so I Googled "sewing chest" and a picture of the exact piece showed up!  The picture was found on this sewing blog post, which informed me I own a Martha Washington Sewing Cabinet.

It is a perfect fit for the room because it provides storage and mixes in another family element.

Sometimes I showcase "items around the house" of little treasures.  Most of them were gifts and/or part of one of many collections.

These can also be categorized into "a few of my favorite things" because they have special meaning or just make me plain giddy.

I found these antique glass electric conductors at a little place in Lincoln called "Twice as Nice Consignment Shop."  I actually didn't buy them the first time I was there- I went back a week later and luckily they were still there.  Amanda has a few that she uses as decoration in her apartment and I really liked the look.  The colors, shape and texture are just lovely with the glass flower arranger, which I like to use year-round.

What a coincidence that Andrew shared photos of his dresser refurb the same week I was attempting my first furniture painting project.  Darn!  After I am always reminding others to take progressive pictures, I didn't.  I do, however, at least have Before and After:

Ben's aunt Judy supplied me with this table from one of her storage units.  Two years ago, when we moved in, my MIL helped me clean it up by scraping off the bubbling top and using our pal Old English.  It has been in my dining room ever since, housing multiple collections.

I needed a change, and initially was going to go with an Heirloom White- distressed, of course, courtesy of this inspiration by Shanty 2 Chic.  This blog gave suggestions for distressing.  Originally I was thinking the table would be against a painted wall again, but then decided it would be next to white, so I nixed the Heirloom White and went with a red to accent other parts of the new room.

This project ended up costing a little more than I initially planned (though not a ton, by any means).  

Items I ended up buying:

• sandpaper
• 1 can of red spray paint
• 1 can of primer spray paint (Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon!)

Items I already had:

• 1/2 can of red spray paint
• bottle of harvest gold acrylic paint
• polyurethane satin finish spray

I didn't have Vaseline, as the tutorial suggested, so after reading other "distressing" tutorials, I ended up using a candlestick.  The wax serves the same purpose, and I didn't have an extra cost.

What I'll do differently next time: paint the underlying color (in my case, the gold) everywhere.  After spraying the red on, I didn't remember the oh-so-clever places I had painted the gold, and it was a little uneven.   I'll also try to remember to take progressive pictures.

Rambling

Image from harpercollinschildrens.com

I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Maybe I am just turning into an old married woman, but Valentine's Day the last few years has been perfect each year with quiet, low-key evenings. Last year was Ben's first year as a dental student, and he had to study that evening for a test the next day. Right now as I type this he is studying for a quiz; we had dinner out and watched an episode of Mad Men earlier. My gift to Ben was The Hunger Games Trilogy. (I direct you to good ol' Wikipedia for a quick review.) I was grateful for his genuine surprise and appreciation.

At dinner we talked about our love for reading when we were younger. Elementary school- I remember having to wait a whole week between school library visits, when we were limited to one book at a time. That was absolute torture. On the other hand, summer meant constant trips to the public libraries, and I loaded up on The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins and any other kind of girly fiction I could get my hands on. Across the country- Ben read Goosebumps and Stephen King.

Image from littlhouse.wikia.com

I listed off my book series/collections to Ben and of course included the Little House series. These books had a place on the bookshelves in my headboard. I could reach for them easily at bedtime aka "wanting to stay up late and read time."

I remember the excitement each holiday as I unwrapped a new book from Grandma and Grandpa Skelton (my aunt Ree usually supplied me with BSC and American Girls) as the collection became more complete. Gifts were not limited to Christmas and birthdays. We would get gifts from Grandma and Grandpa for other holidays, including Valentine's Day. (Just a few years ago, Grandma gave me Valentine's socks.)

I'm rambling a bit, I know. I am happy for how a simple yet thoughtful gift (ie a book) can make such an impact. I am grateful for fond remembrances.

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time. - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Festive trimmings- for me and the tree

I've said for the last few days, "I think I'll take down the Christmas tree tomorrow." It still hasn't happened, and I've figured out why- I need to assemble my outfit! So, because I didn't trim my tree in the correct attire, I will wear something festive when taking it down.

Classic Little Black Silk Taffeta Cocktail Dress
Pointed Toe Tapestry Heels
Knitted Clutch Purse
Beaded Cluster Bracelet
Vintage Christmas Poinsettia Brooch
Vintage Yellow Gold Ring

and- because you can't find everything on etsy, Cinnasnap nailpolish from Target

p.s. this took much longer than it should have

It's tradition

My mother-in-law gives each kid an ornament every year. Ben has a multitude of Santas in his ornament collection, and lately has been accruing more dental-themed pieces. This year he got two Santa Dentists! The top two ornaments- the first Santa and my Teacup ("spot on", considering my love for tea)- were from the in-laws.



The lower two, including the camera (can you "picture" a more perfect ornament for me?), were from my aunt.

**I hope you noticed the carefully planted puns.

My parents sent me a few sentimental ornaments from home for me to have: ornaments from my Grandma and Grandpa Skelton.


Grandpa worked at Campbell Soup. Aside from this Campbell Soup ornament- every year Grandma and Grandpa would send our family a Campbell Soup ball. We have some awesome video footage from a Christmas when my younger brother was hanging up one of the glass balls. He was chattering away, and telling my dad, "we have to be very careful with this one--" right as he dropped it. Luckily the mustard-yellow shag carpeting was enough cushion so the ornament didn't break.

I love having a variety of ornaments- ones that reflect our personalities, our interests/passions; that remind us of our past and family; and let us share in our today together.

What I became accustomed to

So Ben has been on break from classes for the last three weeks. The timing is great for me because of course the last few weeks have been filled with holidays- Christmas, New Year's, my birthday - and lots of other deadlines at work, in my freelance work, and with other birthdays and celebrations. During the last few weeks I've been really spoiled, as I have been coming home to meals just about every night, and Ben has been packing me lunches too.


Here is one of the amazing meals he fixed me. I don't have a description of the food- he would be way more detailed in the ingredients than I could write right now- but I think the picture says enough.

Ready for real life again

Good-bye 2.5 days of my life. I had my wisdom teeth removed on Wednesday morning, and so my waking hours have been very limited. It's the oddest feeling lying in bed- not having to worry about work, not working on the house, not having the energy to even sit at the computer (until now).



The above is a fairly accurate representation of my last three days. I say "representation" because of course I didn't spring for the name brand chocolate fudge pudding.

My aunt graciously drove into town to take me to my appointment and make stops after the surgery for something cold to eat/drink, my prescription, and frozen peas for my puffy chipmunk cheeks. We caught the holiday movie on the Hallmark channel (I may or may not have stayed awake during the whole thing).

Ben had yesterday afternoon and this afternoon off, so he constantly switched out my frozen peas, made sure I stayed on top of the pain, and reminded me to drink more water. Oh and he even watched part of an old movie with me (he didn't even try to change the channel while I dozed off!).

Finally!

I am so excited that I can finally post some photos that have been restless just sitting on my computer. Now that the wedding is over, I can show some behind-the-scenes pictures of preparation.

After much searching online and in stores for bridesmaid dresses, the Bride was inspired by multiple etsy sites--and suggested we all have our dresses made to fit us. She found a print she loved, and we were allowed to pick out our own patterns.

Irma made my dress pretty much in one day. She and I met up and cut out the pieces. My MIL came over after work and the two of them sewed and sewed! I helped by ironing and cutting out the fabric for the pockets- yes, I had pockets!


I know my own grandma would have loved to be here to help. She was ecstatic to hear Amanda and Chris were engaged, and each time we visited she wanted to know more details about the dresses, decor, everything. While I am sad she couldn't be here, I can also be grateful and thankful for the family that did help so much! I would have had to find a seamstress to make my dress, and would have missed out on the fun and learning experience with family.

Moo-ve over, teacups!

So my salt and pepper shaker collection is rapidly growing.


My mother-in-law, cousin and Grandma Irma stopped by Aunt Judy's place before coming to the jewelry party yesterday.

(Judy owns storage units and has given us many items since we've moved to Lincoln- I've showcased some items here before.)

This time, Jan brought me three sets of salt and pepper shakers. Here is the first set.

Welcome to Lincoln

The garage sale customer came back on Monday to deposit her earnings. During our conversation the week before, she learned I came to Lincoln because my husband started Dental College. It's a small world, of course, and it turns out she works on campus. We chatted, and she told me a little bit about her work. So Monday she came in with a gift bag- she called it a "Welcome to Lincoln" present:


How sweet! I absolutely love the pieces visually for my collection- but mostly it is nice to make a connection with a customer and start to build more relationships here. And every one of my sets in my tea collection has a story, including this one.

Hello there

Hi there- are you still there? It's been almost two weeks since I've posted, which is a shame because I had been so consistent of late. That's okay, though, because I have been pretty busy. So many goals and deadlines, plus holidays and family celebrations have made the month of June absolutely fly by!

One goal I am working on is in regards to our meals. With my work schedule in Lincoln, I never make it home before six. And then of course do I feel like making a meal? Well my goal is to plan ahead better so that we can have well-balanced meals.

It worked for a couple of days in a row, and here is the first meal:


The next day I made crab alfredo, which I had been craving for a very long time.

The third day that week, I was having the girls over for a wedding work night, to assemble invitations. Luckily, Ben had some time that afternoon and prepared chicken enchiladas for us lucky ladies. I came home to final directions. Check out the layout:


Note the pre-drained olives? What a stud!



So here is the finished masterpiece:


Last week was busy as well, and I wasn't home much for supper. Maybe this week will be better again. Wish me luck!

These singing bird salt and pepper shakers are from my in-laws for Easter. They found them in an antique store. I love the colors! What a perfect addition to my salt and pepper shaker collection.

What husbands are for

Typically Ben is studying or fixing me fabulous food so I don't have to cook. That means that I get to work on fun stuff around the house, or for the benefit of the both of us, like our taxes. One night, he took a break from studying to assemble my new drawing/craft table:

purchased at Michael's- on sale for about half-off

And he toiled for hours while I worked on taxes. I told him it was a fair trade-off, though secretly I was especially grateful I didn't have to put the desk together.

Only a few changes would make this picture better:
1) if I had vacuumed first
2) the ink pad weren't on the floor
3) I was sitting at the desk, working

Coffee with R

The other day I was able to meet up with Rachel (R) for coffee. Okay, we met up for cake, but there was coffee too!


The storefront was adorable- and I wish I had pictures to display.

Check out the website to get a sense of the store's style. The overall branding and set-up is developed very well and just screams "inspiration"- in lady-like way, of course. Just another endeavor to add to our list (which already includes Bed and Breakfast, event planning and design, among others).

The following is a screen shot of the website. It's not the main page, but I liked this link because it describes the overall experience of visiting the store. Rachel and I visited the one on Pacific street in Omaha, and the ladies helping us out were very knowledgeable and friendly.

Part of a Walk Through Fremont show with Rachel, Fall 2007-
read the Tribune article!

In college I met so many other people that inspired and/or encouraged me as well, whether through writing, music or photography. I scrapbooked with friends, helped with design for recitals, worked on the school newspaper. My roommates and friends still encourage me. And marrying into Ben's side of the family exposed me to very creative and ambitious people as well.

So it's interesting how one thing- like Cousin Jane giving my aunt a handmade wedding dress- can bring back so many memories and make this girl so nostalgic. Thank you to my 2.5 readers (I'm pretty sure my readership has gone up) and to those who have inspired or encouraged me over the years. Until I sat down and really wrote about it (and yes, I could write more!), I hadn't really realized the extent of my support network up to this point.

My mother-in-law helping with our new place;
she also covered our dining chairs and sewed a matching table runner