L.I.V.E.

I just ran across this little posting at one of my fav blogs- Vintage Indie - and i wanted to share with all of you (2 people who read my blog) what my goal for the summer will be....

L. earn how to let go of what is holding you back.

I. nclude the whole family in caring for your home and responsibilities

V. ow to build a strong family foundation.

E. njoy LIFE


This sounds like a FABULOUS way to spend the summer- no? Especially that last one. I am constantly having to remind myself to be in the moment, to enjoy what is happening in my life right NOW. And to be perfectly honest- I'm tired of having that conversation with myself. I'm ready to actually change. To actually BE happy here and now. 'Cause life is a gift, not a given.

Its UNDENIABLE

I have the Worlds Most Precious Niece.

Just look at this.....

Can you stand it? I can't.

Happy Friday everyone!

I'm hanging pictures on the walls

I guess that means i'm pretty serious. About living in this house. I am actually expending energy to arrange and hang my art on the walls of this house that i live in....dare I call it my home? I dare not. I'll tell ya a little secret though: I'm begining to LOVE THIS HOUSE. I knew i would. Its really so great, and if my effing camera wasn't broken (oh yeah, my effing camera is broken thats why my posts have been so wordy and not at all picture-y) I would be posting pictures of my sweet little bungalow. Theres just so much light! and space! and there are so many rooms! And my husband and I can stomp around on the floors and sing at the tops of our lungs and there are no neighbors to bang on the walls and yell, "shut up!"

Heres some great news: For the past two days we've had electricians, plumbers, and HVAC dudes at our house installing heaters and AC units and roto-rooting....
Heres some not great news: my bathroom and EVERYTHING IN IT is blanketed in a fine white dust becuase when the dude cut through the ceramic tile to make a space for the new vent, he DIDN'T TAKE ANYTHING OUT OF THE BATHROOM. If I had known they were gonna be cutting holes in the floor, I would have cleard out the room myself. But now our toothbrushes are covered in tile dust which, as it were, is terrible for your enamel.

theres your update.

Heres a picture of my favorite sneakers and the fabulous socks i like to wear with them....

Horoscope Shmoroscope

I just read these things for fun- really i do! But for some reason, (cosmic? fated? coincidence?)these things are starting to seem eerily appropriate. read this:

You have fallen down the rabbit hole and nothing is the same as it was. The most stable things you once took for granted are now as pliable as silly putty. Your fantasies may seem so real that you could be a bit lost in the outer world. But not to worry; today marks a turning point in your battle to regain control of your life. Fix the problems within your imagination first. When your thoughts are in order, the rest will follow soon enough

Ummmmm. Someone asked me this morning how i was doing and I ALMOST SAID THAT EXACT PARAGRAPH WORD FOR WORD. Whats going on? I know i sound a little dramatic, but things are pretty darn dramatic in my world right now. We still don't have any heat in our new house (nor do we have air conditioning, but its not hot enough for that yet- in fact- its effing freezing at night.) We also have a plumbing issue: can't flush the toilet when taking a shower or the toilet over flows- or it backs up into the shower that is already filling up due to some monstrous clog lurking in the pipes. AND I have been calling the landlord since April 7th and haven't heard ONE WORD from him. The last time we talked, he had scheduled the HVAC guy to come by on 4.11 to install our new Heating and Air unit...... that was over a week ago.... I don't know whether to unpack or repack. One minute I am cruising craigslist for new furniture postings, and the next i am cruising for house rentals. Bi-polar. This is not fun.

So heres what we do. We enjoy each new day. We try to make the best of our situation. We thank God that we have a roof over our heads, a good job, food on the table and family and friends that love us. We call the landlord daily. And in the background we are keeping an ear out for any new houses...

A Magical Moment

I can't find a video to embed- for some reason the embedding feature has been removed from all the youtube clips for this one video. So please, click on this link. I dare you not to cry.

Dreaming of paint and fabric and more time and more money

Its killing me. I want to spend a solid week in my new house arranging, rearranging, painting, sewing, and decorating. I also want about 500 bucks. I think I could do it with 500 bucks. Last night i finished designing our bedroom in my mind. I am going with a deep turquoise, mustard yellow (Frenchs...not Grey Poupon), pea green, and white color scheme- with dashes of chocolate brown and sandy tan... and maybe a pop of sunny yellow or orangy orange..... I have big plans that involve curtains, a fabulous paint job on my 2 dressers, and maybe some throw pillows.... But of course, this is all in my dreams because i have no money and no time. GAH.


But I'm not complaining- things are gonna get better. They can't get much worse! I know!! Lets take a look at some inspiration pics i've been collecting for my bedroom...

This is the look I'm going for on my big chest of drawers...

I think I'm gonna use the technique shown in the first image- letting the wood show thru to create the image- but I like the yellow of the last image- and i think the image in the middle is the most like the flower design that i want to use (and its a sweet little room- check out those framed silhouettes on the wall- made from wall paper swatches!!)

More later.... i'm gonna be scouring the fabric stores on line and in my hood for the next week or so to find fabulously affordable and fabulously fabulous fabric for my bedroom and living room... we have 26 windows which I love..... but thats quite a few curtains.... So bedroom and living room take priority- then I will move on to the windows in the dining room, guest room, office and maybe the kitchen... my goodness. This is gonna be fun.

cake cake cake cake cake CAKE!

Its called a "chocolate roll" and its a family tradition We cannot and will not have a birthday without a chocolate roll. I've made it a few times, but I can't really remember the recipe- I know you use a bunch of egg whites, whip those up till they make soft peaks, fold in coco and sugar.... and then.... something else..... and then you bake it. It doesn't rise like other cakes but instead makes a nice flat spongy sheet that you then slather with REAL whipping cream-not that cool whip crap. Then you roll it up and continue the whipping cream slathering over top..... SO GOOD.

My fabulous sister, Caroline, made this beautiful creation for my birthday party....

This is actually 2 chocolate rolls snugged up next to each other.

And heres what it looks like inside......

Oh yeah- just before you eat it your piece, you drizzle with a little chocolate sauce and oh my goodness. its a little piece of heaven.

Thank you Caroline!!!!

I still don't want to talk about it.

So, the moving into a new house situation is still a little "up in the air".... and I don't think I'm quite ready to discuss. I'm afraid of jinxing myself. I'm also afraid I might burst into tears or rip my landlord's head clean off his shoulders. Either option would be strangely satisfying.

Anyhoo. lets talk about the fact that TODAY i am THIRTY YEARS OLD!!! Yepp- thats right.

I'm glad to be 30. I'm glad to leave the uncertainty of the 20s behind and look toward a decade of focus, creativity, and abundance..... I think thats my birthday wish- that my family and I would be blessed with fabulous ideas, will-power to put those ideas in motion, and sucess! Doesn't that sound good?

Guess what else sounds good?

Looking at more pictures of BABY FABULOUS!!!! These were take this past weekend at my parent's house. Sally was precious in her fabulous new party dress. Her mama taught her how to say "Happy Birthday" and "Aunt Fabby"..... my heart melted. Enjoy these pics and stay tuned for more. I have some great shots of my most delicious b-day cake...baked just for me by the culinary genious, Caroline Varner!!

But now, I give you Sally Beck....aka Baby Fabulous.....

oh, why don't you just go blog about it!

yeah- I've been gone for awhile- it happens. I miss you blog. But theres nothing i can do about now. I'll be back and I promise to tell you the fantastical story about the time I moved into a house and almost lost my mind.


heres a random funny for you......