making over me.

so, in the last 2 days i have been working on a little fall makeover. funny how all of a sudden it strikes you that you are SO 2007! ha.


i already posted the pic on facebook, but i think the fun thing about this is the stuff i chose to do. so here goes:

• got a haircut. the lady at the mall ($15 haircut, btw) told me i have very thin hair and lots of cowlicks. i actually never knew i have 'cowlick syndrome' - it explains alot.

she sold me some hair meringue. seriously. i still have cowlicks, but i smell like lemon pie ;)

• bought 3 new shirts. so much for a complete wardrobe change! i find that 3 new shirts gets me more than HALF a new week. plenty to keep me looking fashionable, i think.

unfortunately, all 3 shirts are rocking the horizontal stripe. something tells me this might be a problem....

• new makeup. consisting of 'age defying' concealing magical power foundation. i was about outta that. and an eye pencil that is soft enough to not move my whole face when i'm applying it. and some glitter nail polish. guess which one is my favorite?!

• new specs. for the first time in about 18 months, i can actually SEE. that is kind of a benefit. the secret here is to buy giant grandpa frames (which are 'in' again, thank the Lord) which help to make the bifocals more IN focus.

unfortunately, by the end of yesterday, i had a giant headache from the new frames. oh, and a little 'thingey' that was adorning the side of the frame already fell off. so glad i got the 'designer' model.

however, i actually feel cuter. i think it's just the ACT of pretending to care that helps. surely it makes me more ready to face the world, which i am planning to step out into more often. so much of how we look is our MENTAL state, actually having nothing to do with what it appears to be on the outside.

i am pretty happy with my mental makeover, except i think i need some boots for when the flip flops absolutely must be put away.... but then, look out world, she is OUT!

:) happy day, all.

tomato basil soup

so, 'tis the season. soup season. i wait in anticipation each year for soup season....and now that the house is chilly feelin' - it's the perfect time to start cooking.

on saturday, i made the most deliciously amazing roasted tomato sauce...it was only after i finished up, that i realized it is actually SOUP. it's very close to the yummy tomato basil soup at kaladis bistro here in SF.

my recipe does not include quantities, but i think there is some flex in those. here goes!

 start out by washing and cutting a big bowlful of ripe tomatoes into a 9x13 pan. Add some diced garlic and onion, and a dash of sea salt. Pour a liberal (1/4 cup?) amount of olive oil over all. the best part about this is that the 'skins' can be left on the tomatoes, because in the end, you will not know they are there.

Into the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

 they come out smelling and looking fab. i like to add in a handful of fresh basil at this point, rather than cooking the basil all along, because i don't want it to burn.

 see how the basil gets kind of wilty immediately? this is good.

 then, into the blender all together.

 mmmmmmmmmmm.

at this point, you have a wonderful tomato sauce for recipes, OR a wonderful soup to just enjoy. you CAN add a bit of whipping cream or half and half if you like, but if you love tomatoes, this is probably going to please you 'as is.'


talk about comfort. i could almost eat that picture :)

i also made my first ever 'flourless' chocolate cake. it was pretty good, as well. the recipe can be found here.

yum. weekends taste good.

hip to be square

ah, what a wonderful quiet day. by thursday pm, i have almost put myself into the 'weekend' frame of mind. weekends are what i love most about my life, it seems.

i was glimpsing at the year-long stack of 'stuff' in my garage the other day. a tiny square priority mail box peeked out of the jumble.

i opened it, and suddenly REMEMBERED. this precious box has seriously been LOST for almost THREE years! i lost it! who loses a box like this?!

well. people like me, whose eyes are bigger than their brains. i was SO into sewing, and then, just like that, it was over.

she forgives me, mostly because she loves sniffing stuff that has been out in the garage for 3 years.

anyway, it's back. the desire and the time to make a quilt. the urge to gather my lovelies and turn them into a something. even. better. something for my grandma room that i am dreaming up in the basement. sigh. it's gonna be good.

Accessory o' the Day

a post-office box number (my birfday, of course) made complete with a chain and dingley-dangley from the kristie weiberg collection.

okay. i'm cute now.

crabtastic day

what to do when the weather turns...according to ms. siesta.

it's 3:34 right now. i just looked around, and realized what a perfectly crappy day i've had so far.

i woke up late, skipped my bible reading, pulled a bunch of half dead plants back out on the front step to live for another day before the inevitable happens, pulled on a sweatshirt and sweat socks and sweat everything, because i am unbelievably COLD all of a sudden,

and sat down at this desk to a bunch of incoming messages from people that i sometimes forget are people, instead of stupid incoming messages.

now, right now, i need to reboot. my thinking. my attitude. my day in general.


i don't think it's too late to start over yet, do you?







happy tuesday!

finally a kitchen.

Before....

Shiny, happy after...

Before.

White cabinets make me happy.

Before.

Looking thru from the dining room.

New shelf from Ikea for the chalkboard wall....

I surprised myself a bit by going 'subtle' with the fabric.

But I wanted to match up with the cabinet pulls...

I like the open shelves....

Before.

New drapes make a big difference in the space.

Overall, this kitchen reminds me of another happy kitchen...

Sigh. it feels good to be done. And to be able to know I am making Fern better. Even though as I have been reminded lately - 'she doesn't have feelings' :) But if she did, I bet she would be happy, too!

we came, we saw, we left

that pretty much describes our 24-hour whirlwind to Junk Bonanza. It's really, seriously one of my favorite days of the year. By now, we have it down to a science. It's not so much about the shopping (although it is fun to buy a couple of treasures)...it's about sharing our love of vintage and supporting/encouraging each other with our artistic dreams and goals.

it all begins by being 'early birds'

vintage watch faces on bracelets...

postcard sets

lots of crochet this year

colors

lovely fall decor

tons of kitschy christian art

whimsy, too

beautiful buckets

kristie's cabin

dorky art girls

'hunt and gather' display

more 'hunt and gather'

creepy hands in a basket

funky pumpkins

lovely lady with flowers

the final stash

i am very lucky to have my two best art girls by my side...thanks for the day, cass and lou!

weekends are good.

schwew. here we are again! i am not sure how many stunned and amazed monday posts i've blogged over the years, but they keep coming...where do weekends GO?!

mine was fab. some of it spent down at the arts thing on friday, and even more at an event called 'junkfest at the nest' on saturday. i almost almost feel guilty, since i'm going to junk bonanza this week, but since i scored some good things, not really.

i may have to rethink my decision not to have a full-time career in junk :)

i was lucky enough to come upon a couple of things that pretty much EXACTLY fit into my living room decor.

i suppose that isn't entirely weird. there is a lotta turquoise out in the world these days.

anyway, the fabric came on two nice mid-century chairs that i got for a 'package deal' that was too good to pass up. the fun thing about thrifting is that you replace a $5 chair when you are sick of it...much better than spending $100's and feeling guilty ;)

these two have both been 'refinished' and reupholstered, which was nice, since i am getting lazy in my old age. i always like seeing what stuff looked like in its original state, though, so of course i turned to mr. google when i got home.

turns out the smaller of the two chairs was a pretty good find. a 'gunlocke' chair, most of which go for between $100 and $200 each on ebay. the good news is that it's comfy to sit in, too. except for siesta hates it. i think because the back is 'open' and she cannot cozy into it. sigh. it actually might be nice to have ONE piece of furniture that the cat does not destroy, anyway.


lots of projects going on...i'll be showing you pink furniture, new drapes and the FINALLY completed kitchen in the next couple of weeks. i guess you could say that i am in 'nest' mode for winter around here ;)


happy day!