friday links.

i'm glad this week has gone by so quickly, but now i have tons of stuff to do this weekend! gone, it seems, are the days of lazing around the house every saturday and sunday, waiting for the new work week to begin. i am going to be finishing off the projects that didn't get completed during our long memorial day weekend. what are your plans?

here's some links from this week:

i really love these flores lawn chairs from anthropologie, but not the price. found on apartment therapy.

centsational girl gives tips on how to pick a chandelier for any space.

peony hair clip tutorial from ruffles and stuff. i know a few little girls i could make these for...

a bicycle bucket tutorial from noodlehead. i need one of these for my bike...

diy pallet dining table on readymade, found via apartment therapy. this would be super-cheap for an outdoor table...

gumpaste bow tutorial on makeitandloveit. for all the cake decorators out there...

whatever you do, have a good weekend!

how was your weekend?

other than not feeling very good on monday, we had a great weekend.

saturday was spent working in the yard in the morning. a trip to the home depot that afternoon (i got a new rose bush!! i love garden roses. above is a photo of one of the blooms. i still need to plant it...) and then we had steaks with d's parents and his memaw.

sunday we went to the sneed family reunion. since i took my camera with me, i was deemed reunion photographer by memaw... which would have been fine had i checked my settings before clicking away. i managed to salvage most of the photos i took, although they are blurry around the edges. (depth of field was not set correctly for a group setting). that will teach me to look at everything before i start taking pictures.

monday we tried to get out and do some more garden/yard shopping done. i knew the home improvement stores would be busy, but GEEZ. parking lots were filled to the brim, and i would rather spend the extra $10 and shop when there aren't any sales going on.

what do we still need to do in the yard?

buy more boxwood. i bought and planted 4 this weekend to replace dead ones. i miscounted, though and will need several more. there are 2 that i am trying my best to save... i thought these were supposed to be hardy?

buy dirt/compost for the raised bed. we were going to do that monday... but didn't feel like hauling soil around a packed store.

plant my veggies in the raised bed. i am determined to have some home grown veggies this summer!

i also bought some sweet asylum and zinnia seeds that i am eager to sow. there were so many seed packets i wanted to buy, but left with these two, as well as radishes and carrots to try our hand at.

i also have some bags of mulch that need to be spread on all the beds. i'm tired of pulling weeds... i know this won't completely fix the problem, but it sure will help!

there are lots of other things that need to be done in the yard, but these are the ones i'm most concerned with. it's all starting to look so much better!

happy friday!!!

ahhh, i am super glad it's friday. and we have a long weekend! ours will be spent in the yard (again!) but things are beginning to shape up. we need to plant some more boxwoods to replace a few of the dead ones... pretty much put mulch down EVERYWHERE dirt is exposed... and maybe i can sneak a few new plants into our shopping cart as well.

here are some links from this week:

dreaming of this (pictured above) duvet cover from urban outfitters. isn't it lovely? i am seriously considering trying a diy on it. i think i could pull it off with 4 or 5 matching flat sheets... so similar to the anthropologie shower curtain i was crushing on last fall.

thinking of making these diaper pouches for a few of my pregnant buddies... so cute and they look fairly easy to make. from noodlehead.

this asparagus and spinach quiche looks heavenly... maybe i can make it for brunch soon? from closet cooking.

genius diy twine (or ribbon, i would think) holder. from justsomethingimade.

this homemade pesto sounds really good. i have been wanting to try my hand at making pesto since we seem to eat a lot of pasta (hey, it's easy to make!) and this sounds delish. from giverslog.

hope you all have a lovely (long) memorial weekend. i know i will enjoy the extra day off!!

yay for friday!

i am ready for the weekend again! today our bathroom sink is supposed to arrive (that's right, we finally decided on a tile countertop) and we're getting some more estimates on windows and even siding. instead of replacing all the windows, now we just want to replace the big one upstairs. we've already scraped, sanded, caulked, primed and painted the other 3 windows in the front, and they are looking mighty fine if i do say so myself! i need to finish planting my mass of daffodil bulbs (what was i thinking ordering 100 bulbs? i did get a great deal...) and i'd like to get a compost pile started since there are a ton of leaves gracing our yard right now.

no other huge plans... although i would like to get out and take some pictures before all the amazing color falls off the trees...

weekend update.

do you remember our 'front porch'? well, it is no more. we spent some time saturday tearing it apart and i can't believe what a difference it makes to the house.

ahhh, one more eyesore gone. now the hard part is building a new one...

we also did some work in the attic, repaired some of the mortar around the base of the house and got estimates on replacing the four windows in the front. it was a productive weekend...

tray before & after.

i have really come to appreciate a nice tray. you can put it on a table and pile a bunch of junk on it, and it still looks organized. it also makes it easier to clean the surface below, because you just have to move the tray and not all the stuff that's on top! i bought this old brass tray at the thriftstore for only $1 last friday. i loved the aged patina, but knew i wanted to use it in the downstairs bathroom after we get finished with it. so... i bit the bullet and painted it.

i washed it with soap and water first, then primered it and gave it a few thin coats of glossy black paint. my first thought was to find a mirror to fit inside, but couldn't find anything on the cheap that was 11.5" in diameter. so... i decided i would just make a bottom for it! i made a template from a dinner plate, which just happened to be the perfect size, and used spray adhesive to attach paper to each side. that's right, i made an insert that's double-sided. right now it's just the paper, but i plan on getting it laminated so that if any water gets spilled on it, it won't get ruined. i'd also like to find some glass to go on top to make it look a little more upscale, but that may have to be custom cut. and the best part? i can always make a new bottom insert for it if i get tired of these two options... you could also use contact paper in a pretty pattern, but i had some specific papers i wanted to use for this project.

i think it turned out pretty sweet for only costing me $1 and some spray paint and paper that i already had on hand. i'm also going to finish out the underside of the tray with some felt circles to keep from damaging any surface i might put this on.

weekend project.

i actually got a few things done this weekend, and one of them was this little project (above). i found the oval frame at a thrift store a few years ago and just knew it would be good for something. i've seen so many silhouette projects lately... but i think making these of your pets is just way too cute. i finally snapped a few photos of scottie that would work, and traced them in illustrator, sized it to fit in my frame and printed it out. i knew i wanted to put it in the downstairs bath (whenever it gets finished, that is) so i wanted to keep it really simple. some black spray paint, some pretty paper and black cardstock... a few minutes to cut it all out... and now we have a wonderful keepsake of our little dog.

did you all have a nice weekend?

how was your weekend?

i had a fabulous weekend. friday after work, i treated myself to a little thrifting... and found a few things. my favorite is this vintage purse i can't wait to use for a special occasion. i used to find great vintage purses all the time, but they seem to be in short supply now...

on saturday i made this little clock as a present for a friend. my FIL made the wooden backs for me... and i pulled out the spray paint and some cute paper.

inspired by these awesome clocks by andfurthermore

sunday morning i made my favorite biscuits and pulled out the last of some tasty preserves... and watched 30rock from our instant queue.

how was your weekend?

catching up.

i've been a bad blogger, and i'm sorry. life has just.... taken over, you know? to catch up on things:

i'm still making my books, i'm just not very good at posting pics of them when they have been finished. i have enjoyed making them this past few years, but i'm feeling that maybe that's coming to a close. i have so many other things that i would like to focus on, and i feel that just making them for close friends and family for special occasions would help me allocate my time a little better and explore my many other interests.

our yard is slowly coming along. i have devised a scheme to get rid of a few stumps in the front yard in preparation of planting many, many japanese boxwood. lets hope it works, it's kind of redneck... i have ordered 100 daffodils and eagerly await their arrival. they will go in the front yard. i am also having a hard time selecting a climbing rose for our front entry (sigh). grass is still growing in the backyard, but i have given up on my zucchini and squash. better luck next year!

the bathroom project is also making steady progress. i have a few spots that need touching up, but the interior part of the bath is very, very purple. and i love it. and i can't wait to hang stuff up in there. now we shall proceed with phase II... redoing the countertop, painting the cabinets, replacing hardware, hanging wallpaper... all that fun stuff. i hope to be done before halloween? please beware that if you come stay with us, you may be commissioned to sand or paint something...

doug is still currently looking for some work pertaining to industrial engineering. if you hear of anything, please let me know :)

also, i am eagerly awaiting some time out of town. i didn't really expect to get to go anywhere this year, but we are entertaining the idea of renting a little cabin in ruidoso and spending some time outside of texas. i have fond memories of my trip there last october, and we both agree that it is well worth the money to just relax for a few days.

i guess that's all. i still having other projects in the works... i hope you all had a nice labor day weekend!

more macro.

a few more macro shots of flowers from my time spent in amarillo last weekend. being able to see all the teeny tiny details just makes me happy...

more books.

ahhh, it's monday again. and there's that familiar feeling that i didn't get enough done this weekend! on top of that, i've been really bad about posting finished books. here are a few that were completed early last week for my photobooth friend. and i know there are still a few other books that were done, but i'll have to dig around to find the photos for those...

and i know i say this about a lot of my books, but i really love that pink and orange one! i've had that paper for awhile now, and no one has ever selected it.... i hope they enjoyed it!

what did you do this weekend?

i painted in our bathroom (everything is turning purple in there, so exciting!)

went out for a nice dinner with my husband

traveled to amarillo to drop off a car and to spend time with the family

worked on a few books

working on ideas for the cake i have to make next weekend...

in the backyard.

these were actually taken right before i started messing with my macro lens, but not much has changed... thought i would share a few things from our backyard, which is currently in a state of chaos. a friend helped me with a front and backyard plan, and now i just have to follow-through with it. i think the hardest part is getting it ready to actually plant things...

a few weekends ago, i purchased 11 japanese boxwood bushes, and yet i still need 9 more. before we can even plant these, we still have to cleanup the side of our house, where we removed two large cedar bushes, a chain-link fence, and a million trumpet vines. there is some english ivy that is trying to take over, and it also needs to go away before we can till and then plant. so until then, i will be keeping these watered...

this is the edge of a wooden "bench" we rescued from the alley. at least, it wasn't a bench until i put a few cinder blocks under it. i have intentions of painting it the most ridiculous shade of yellow (well, canary) but can't seem to get over how pretty the chipping white wood really is. i know, however, that it will just keep getting more dilapidated until it falls apart unless i do something to protect it...

these are some pretty bachelor's buttons i got at a nursery earlier this summer. i love the bright purple... and i'm keeping the seeds so that i can spread them around next year and have more to enjoy.

this is a hunk of one of those cedar bushes we cut down. i love the roughness the blade of the saw made, and the different colors of the rings. i wonder what happened to cause those rings in the middle to be so dark?

i hope you all had a wonderful weekend. i got a few books done, went to a beautiful wedding, painted in the downstairs bath, and worked a little in the yard. still never seems like enough time though... i keep thinking i need to take a little 'staycation' so that i can get more done!

oh... and happy birthday dad! i'm sorry we can't be there to celebrate, but soon!

happy birthday!

a few images from this weekend... a surprise birthday party for my mom! i hope she enjoyed it, i know we sure did enjoy planning it (and just being sneaky in general). we love you mom!

and extra thanks to lachelle for the cake and flowers and dallas and aubrey for hosting!

hello, friday.

this week has been super crazy and i'm ready for a little time me time. me time that includes pulling weeds in the yard, planting some more grass seed, sanding on a little nightstand and prepping the bathroom for its makeover. did i mention working on some books as well? sigh.

maybe at least there will be margaritas involved at some point this weekend... 

have a good one :)

print above (which i long to have in my office, hint hint) is by azuregrackle on etsy.

weekends are too short.

i hope everyone had a nice long weekend! doug and i had friday off and got to do a few things together. i spent friday morning chopping on the last bush in the front yard (more on that later...) and then we had lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants, saigon cafe. after lunch, we went to sherwin-williams where we had borrowed some wallpaper books earlier in the week and ordered the wallpaper for our downstairs bath. (that's it above!) there were two that we really loved, but this one just felt a little more modern to me and i think it goes the best with our purple paint. we then headed off to home depot since they were having a sale on paint and bought white enamel for the trim/cabinets in the bathroom (those have to be painted because the current color totally clashes with that wallpaper...) and some ceiling paint. i am now searching for some knobs for the cabinets... really loving this one from dlawlesshardware...

at first, i wanted to do just some simple black pulls, but i think these would look really nice against the white and blend in well with the rest of the decor. we spent the rest of the day at home, watching movies and doing a few things around the house. and since i didn't get any book stuff done this weekend, i am playing catch-up this week! woo-hoo...

at the fair

since i haven't been to a fair in a very long time, i jumped at the chance to go with some family this last saturday morning. it was the last day, so of course it was packed.

this is my cousin's son, jakob. he'll be 2 this halloween :) i don't think he enjoyed that corn dog very much...

we went to see some of the animals, which i think were about ready for the fair to be over with.

this is an unedited photo i took of the carousel. i don't know if i accidentally pushed some weird setting on my camera, or if it's just blown out because of the sun... either way, i thought it looked interesting. i played with the levels in photoshop (below). 

i love carousels. especially the really old ones. i've been particularly fond of them ever since reading something wicked this way comes by ray bradbury when i was much younger. 

i promise i did get some stuff done this weekend, but won't be posting pics until later. right now i'm ready for a nap, but still have things that need to be accomplished before I can call it a day. 

where do my weekends go?

so...when i ask my friends what they did during the weekend, most of them reply "oh nothing, we just watched movies" or "worked in the yard" (not so jealous of that one, though). 

so what did i do this weekend, might you ask? i made lots of earrings. leather earrings. cut with my trusty exacto knife. i had a large order (8 is considered large to me!) come in late last week and since doug had to work at the hospital this weekend, i spent most of my time cutting and staining leather. they're still not quite finished (need more silver findings) but i'll have them done early this week. thanks again tatiana for your order!

not all of them, obviously, but they're still a work in progress.

and what was i doing when i wasn't playing with my leather (that doesn't sound very good, huh?)? i also decided to finish painting our new shelves in our utility room and sort through a bunch of junk that's been in there since we moved in. and guess what i found? an art project from way back in the day (we're talking early teenage years), a little dusty but still intact. a kitty sculpture made from found objects, i can't believe i still have it! haven't really decided what to do with it...i don't want to throw it away but it's not really something that i want displayed with my other artwork, you know? anyway, if you know somebody that needs a wacky cat sculpture, let me know :) 

maybe i could put it in my backyard to deter stray cats?