flipping out

you know your life is getting seriously out of whack when you find yourself RELATING to jeff lewis. last night i watched flipping out, and i thought to myself "i have clients just exactly like that!! go jeff!"

yep. me and the neurotic self-obsessed mean guy. two peas in a pod.
(on the upside, he IS pretty funny sometimes).

tgft

thank goodness for target.

i need a pair of shoes that does not involve showing toes.

plus, i need to be able to wear them for 6 hours today.

cha ching! i think these are pretty cute, and should do the trick. i'll let ya know....after the 6 hours are up :)

weekend away

sigh. to think we almost didn't go on a wonderful "adventure" because of work. i have to remember that i will forget the working long before the adventures! saturday, we picked our shots (lots to choose from) and decided to spend the day in the crossroads arts district in downtown kansas city. it seemed to just fit our style best. a short jog from the hotel in kristie's bug, and there we were. this was the webster house, an 1885 schoolhouse that had been renovated into a cute antique shop.


the sights were just what my eyes needed. since downtown kc is an old warehouse district combined with modern architecture, it made my eyes happy :)


a shot of my travel companions. someday, i'll take real pics of PEOPLE. denis, janet, and lou...looking at the goodies.


possibly my favorite street of the day. this artist's studio was closed, but i really didn't care because i loved the patio.

lunch at lidia's - apparently she is famous and has a pbs tv show. dunno, but the place was gorgeous, and the food was fun, too!


even the street posts are artsy!


hammerpress studio. this place was a destination. turns out i had their shop "bookmarked" in my design files, didn't even know that when we went there. lots of lovely letterpress, with overprints and cool vintage photos and type, and one piece of art that called my name. will show it to you later in the week.


friendly neighborhood dog, except for the 'beware of dog' sign :)



oh my heavens. that is my quote of the weekend. especially when we went to this all-natural snow cone shop in a vintage shasta trailer! let me tell ya, this concept fueled some fantasy new business ideas for lou and i for quite a few hours!


sunday, we were off early to st. joseph, to meet up with kristie's very cute grandpa and step-grandma. so much fun to meet family of friends!


then, off again to try to meet up with the rest of the paulsen bus, where kristie's co-workers were headed to the omaha zoo. although by then, i was pretty tired from the weekend, we did manage to sqeeze in a couple of exhibits. i fell in love with this teeny fluffy african bird.


great time! we are already planning a longer trip back in the future. what a great country God has given us!! makes me excited to go 'sploring even more whenever i get the chance.

more ff

okay, i cannot seem to concentrate today. the phone has only rung once, which is great. i should be working like a bee, but instead, i'm slooooooooowing way down.

apparently i work only under EXTREME pressure ;)

ha.


look at these photos. from some of my blog faves.
they'll make you want to take a break, too.

from decor8


from yarnstorm

friday flora

have a great weekend everyone!

on/off/on/off/on

road trip to kc tomorrow. this is a work trip for lou, whose company is generous enough to spring for free trips every so often.

neither she nor i anticipated the onslaught of fall projects though, so instead of leaving on the bus in the a.m., we'll be departing after work on our own wheels. i think the freedom will be nice. plus, i can pee whilst stationary, instead of whilst moving. that's always a good thing.

:) looking forward to seeing the sights! anybody have a 'must have' thing to do?

snug like a bug

here's a picture from 'mother earth news' - now you can sew your own!

found this "snug sack" for $3 at the goodwill today. you had to know i would buy it :)

i googled it when i got home, and found a mother earth news article from 1980, talking about how they were all the rage....

what makes me laugh is the pattern is called "kismet."

fer sure.


:)

old camel knees

i got a chance to visit a different church this past weekend. church at the gate in sioux falls is a church i often "work" for, but don't often get to visit. many (most) of my worship group goes here. when i was working on the artwork for the next teaching series, i kind of had a hankering to go see what james was all about.

i admit, i have not spent a ton of time in the book of james. that might change, i think it sounds like james was my kind of guy. his book is basically a book of advice, based on a life lived as the brother of Jesus. james came to faith after he was visited by the Lord following the resurrection. can you imagine how crazy THAT must have been?!

my fave part of this story (so far) is that he had the knickname "old camel knees" from callouses on his knees from prayer.

i think there is a lot to get from just that. but you might want to read the book, also.

if i weren't such a tightwad

i would buy EVERY SINGLE OUTFIT in the garnet hill fall catalogue.

or at least these three outfits...

burn baby burn

oh. chill in the air.

that can only mean it's time for my annual pilgrimage to pier one. i like to buy candles at pier one, although i noticed that target has yankee candles in the glass jars.

if you have a cat, it's kind of nice to have the glass jars.

anyway, it's time.
plus. i might need to start wearing socks soon. rats.

Post # 1,000

wow. that's pretty crazy, huh? i think that means i've officially posted online longer than i ever posted in my diary growing up. i'm sure that the ability to put pictures in here is the difference :)

anywhooo.


great weekend. i did get a little anxious when the harley neigbors cut off half their yard with a new fence. i knew that could not mean good things for me. what it means is that they decided to put all of their extra trailers, cars and junk on MY side of the fence. on the grass. yeah, lovely. i also overheard the guy telling another neighbor that it would "have to do" until he built a 3 car garage - all facing my office and bedroom.

that's when i went online and found this.


i've actually seen it before, it's in dell rapids - probably 25 minutes away from sioux falls. through the summer, it's been reduced in price (i think by about $25k). probably because not that many people want to drive from there to here, but also, i think, because it's quite small. which for me, is not really a concern. i don't see myself movin' on up, especially when small is cool. plus, i don't like to dust that much :)

what do ya'll think? i would actually roll what's left of my mortgage into this loan, and offer up mabel for rent. thereby still getting income. if the math is correct, i could probably ask for my mortgage payment in rent. of course, there would be utilities/garbage/water etc. but all of that would be tax-deductible if i became a landlord.

it's probably just because moving is in the air. but i have to tell you, my gut says it may be time to get out of dodge. will be praying over this one. oh, and i think i'll mosey over there sometime this week, and scope out the neighbors ;)

update on house: does not appear as in picture - which was obviously taken in 1997, shortly before the owners began neglecting home maintenance whatsoever! doh. it's kind of like match.com. WHY do people post stuff that doesn't look remotely like them? do they think that's a pleasant hit of reality for their potential match? sheesh :)

brilliant

peeple.

just when you think you've seen everything good there is to do in your house, you see this.

oh my, oh me.

my life in the bubble

work.
eat.
watch tv.
sleep.


what's missing from this picture, i ask you?

snowbirds

well, the migration has begun. like i do EVERY year, i bring plants in the house because i cannot bear to see them die.

and EVERY year, i proceed to kill them. by january, for sure, many times even sooner.

why can't i just let God handle this kind of stuff in His own way?! a season for everything, ya know?

:)

pretty things

Just in: new waterfall dresser with OUTSTANDING amber knobs, and new kitchen farm table with kitschy green trim.

also: garage full of rejected furniture items :)

6-week love affair

well, it's almost come to an end. the summer love affair with the ever temptable tomato.

clearly, it begins the same every year. the seed catalogue shopping, the seed planting, the greenhouse shopping, the planting, nurturing, waiting and salivating.

and by about august 1st every year, the waiting pays off. there is NOTHING like the taste of summer's first tomato.

including the taste of september's last tomato. which i am READY to see. after 6 weeks of eating them nearly every day, sometimes multiplied by 2, i am sick of 'em. totally.

the last of them went out with a bang tonite, and turned into some rocking salsa, courtesy my friend kristi. who also rocked the garden this year, i hear. thanks dear! i modified her recipe slightly, for what i had on hand. i also left the seeds in the jalapenos (not sure if i was supposed to or not) so they have a nice kick to them. not too hot, though, and very delish flavor.

see ya next year, maters!


Kristi's Corn and Bean Salsa

10 cups tomatoes peeled, chopped and drained
2 1/2 cups onions, chopped (I use sweet onions)
1 1/2 cups green peppers, chopped
1 1/2 cups jalapeno peppers, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 cup canning salt
1/3 cup vinegar
1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (15 ounce) can black beans , drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn

Directions:
1 . Mix all together and bring to a slow boil for 10 minutes.
2 . Seal in sterilized jars and cook in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

weekend in nature

sigh. after a hugely busy few weeks, i was all ready for a nice slow weekend... had a lot of canning to do, and cleaning of the house that is turning into an antique shop :)

when kristie lou called and suggested a "fall market day" venture that was supposedly happening over in luverne, i was all "yes, i need to get out of the house."

turned into a just-exactly-what-i-needed day.

we never really did see the fall market, but had a nice little road trip venture. we ended up in ortonville, mn, which according to google maps is 162 miles north of here, but via minnesota on the route we took it was probably closer to 200 miles. that's big stone lake up above. i had never been there, and kind of always heard about it. it's so pretty, almost like the duluth area, but quieter and a little more rural.

on the way up there, we visited pipestone, lake benton, canby and assorted other teenier towns along the way. we hopped over to milbank, and headed down I-29 to go home at the end of the day. we thrifted, ate at fun places, found houses to buy, enjoyed the pretty scenery, and chatted non-stop.

next time, we'll bring a cooler with drinks, good walking shoes, and our kayaks ;)

or maybe, we'll just head out and do exactly what we did this time. because it was super relaxing, and still made us feel slightly adventurous!

it went something like this.

him: hey, over here!!! lady, look at me. i'm a tall brown dusty piece of work!

me: oh, hello. you are kinda cute, but i have had a bunch of your kind before.

him: oh, no. i'm totally different! LOOK AT ME. i'm a tall skinny chocolate brown drink of water. i'm made in idaho. you have never seen the likes of me!

me: where would i put you? i don't want to be the weird old lady with the ceramic deer!

him: i fit almost anywhere. plus, i'd totally match your living room! c'mon lady. quit holding out on me, you know you want me.

me: sigh. if you PROMISE you'll be the last one. you have to promise that.

him: i'm not making any promises, lady. clearly, you have a little problem saying no to my kind.

a case for thrifting

the need: a watering can for inside the house, to accomodate the 27 succulents i crazily bought a couple of months ago, which must be kept indoors for winter.

should be sort of cute, and have a smallish tip for the teeny tiny plants/pots.

the 1st purchase: a green metal can from home depot (last weekend) that holds like - A GLASS - of water, but is cute and has a small tip. $9.99

the next purchase: a thrifted salmon plastic can with embossed butterflies that is big enough to hold more than a half gallon, still with a small tip. $.50

yep. shoulda trusted that one would show up.
anybody want a good used (once) green watering can?

frame me

working for the weekend, when i am going to try this!! (not by the toilet, though :))

NEWLY UPDATED!!!

apparently, this has a name -
SALON STYLE display.
well, there you go then...!

pinch hitter

it's not often that graphic artists get to save the day. most often, we kind of complicate the day :)

however, i felt really good today when i stopped by my favorite printer's "house" right around 5pm. i dropped off my job, and was chatting with all my peeps who work there... when out of the back, a concerned pressman with a job that had not been set up correctly came in. the drama was that the job was on press, with another waiting, and the entire staff of two production artists had gone home, and were not answering their cells.

i was heading out the door with a prayer for them, when i got a yell and a question if i'd be willing to "sit in" and fix the file :) wow! kind of like having co-workers! who need you! i am proud to say that i was "talked thru" the entire process by one of the production women (who answered her frantic phone message) and even uploaded a file successfully to their press dept!

this from the person who cannot figure out how to run the remote on her television. ever.

:) he he. it feels good to save the day. perhaps in my next career, i shall be a firefighter.

7 things i love.

from karen's blog, except with pictures. the very first things that came to mind. really, i'm not sure i should admit that.

1. pets
if i am ever president, i'm going to make it mandatory to have one. except if you are allergic...:) your choice of what kind,
but preferably with fur.

2. sunshine
especially in january. but pretty much anytime.

3. dessert
tonite i made a combination of butter and brown sugar,
and looked for something to put it on.
not technically dessert, but sort of.

4. sleep
my only concern is that we won't get to sleep in Heaven.

5. talking
any more than 2 people, and i kind of hate it.
but i really could chat all day, one-on-one.

6. pretties
once again, a broad category.
i seem to have no problem finding things that fit, though.

7. quiet
except for birds and music and the sound of waves.
and possibly rain. or thunder.

bye bye summer

would you believe me if i told you there'll never be another quite like you?! thanks for EVERY little second.

saturdays are for

tasting...


arranging...


arranging some more ...


and rearranging.

sigh. life is good.