It GLOWS!

Meet my hallway

(Hi Hallway!)

See that Glow?

Did I leave the light on?

Is it the Good Fairy? 

Dear Hallway, why are you glowing?

(Let's go check it out!)

Ah... Its you!
I hardly recognize you since before your makeover!!

No more paper on the walls, or ceilings!

Amazing what a coat of paint can do!

*Swoon*

Now accepting applications

(C'mon.. you know you want to live here .. I'm a great room mate!)

Baseboards coming soon!

Super Brody!

Tomorrow my friend('s son) Brody turns two. 

Last weekend he had his birthday party with friends
(and suspected future girlfriends galore!)  

For being a shy little toddler, he sure ate up the attention

I figured he deserved something SUPER!!

Especially since he's going to be a big brother this summer...
and that requires a lot of superpowers

...
that only come with a super-hero cape and mask!

(idea adapted from ambrosia girl)

New Love

I may have a new love...

Not sure...

Its too soon to tell...

We were introduced earlier this week

(at Home Depot of all places)

But already I’m smitten

My love is sweet and smells like oranges in the springtime...

and cares about the environment...

 mighty strong and looooves to strip (Yowzers!)

(photo courtesy of Home Depot)

Last night my love removed the varnish from the wallpaper on my ceiling…

An act of pure unselfish generosity…

“I’m just doing my job!” 
CitriStrip said to me as I bowed down on my knees to say Thanks…

But the romance may be short lived…

We may break up...

 if I still can’t get that dang wallpaper off the ceiling!

Productive Day

I started my morning hitting the pavement for a five mile run along the Los Gatos Creek Trail.  Fortunately it was during a break in the wind and before the rain AND I was able to enjoy a bit of blue sky. 

Once home I spent a few hours tackling the wallpaper (yes... such is my life!)  With the help of a friend yesterday and my efforts today, It looks like I only have a third of the ceiling left. Hip Hip Hooray!!

Are you tired of seeing this yet?  Cuz I am!

When I had enough of the ceiling, I plopped down to watch Gone With the Wind (the perfect rainy Sunday movie), but I couldn't justify watching Scarlett in all of her tragedies, so I kept it on and made an apple pie.  I kind of made up my own recipe which explains why the crust looks weird, but to toot my own horn, it was DELICIOUS! (no one ever said I was Martha Stewart)

(toot toot!)

...And THEN...

between the buckets of rain...

I planted my pansies... along the walkway to my front door.  

Stop by and check them out

(though once you arrive, I'll put you to work.  I have ceilings to undress!)

And last but not least I made a new top... 

(I didn't have my V8 today)

Which is an attempted copy of this

(photo courtesy of www.anthropologie.com)

I'm always a fan of orange, but I'm pretty pleased with the green.  It is another buy from Bobbin's Nest.  It caught my eye last summer and I purchased some yardage with the intent to make a summer top

It was a relatively quick make... Easy to cut out, easy to assemble - even without a pattern or knowing if I had enough yardage (I didn't).

I just love productive days! 

Happy Sunday!

Flowers on my doorstep!

I came home from work earlier this week to discover I received flowers.

(A girl could never receive too many flowers!)

They were from an old beau (turned good friend - the best!)

Who happens to own a nursery

and be in the landscape business

And who stopped by on Easter and probably noticed how little I've done with my yard.

Maybe he was trying to tell me something...

The Pope

I'm not Catholic.  But do believe in God and I do read the Bible and I do go to church.  I even went to mass once at the Vatican (a nun sat on me - another story for another time). 

AND I'm sure you're aware, I'm trying to get some ancient wallpaper off of the ceiling. Remember this room?

I tore off the fancy striped paper only to reveal this...

And I took off the wood panels only to reveal THIS...

and this!

See the discoloration about halfway through.. its mud, gunk, clay, compound.  Lord only knows! But it was hard and it was laid on thick!

So I purchased a steamer.  And the steamer powered through the gunk, mess, cement - whatever it was.   God bless the steamer!  (Perhaps the Pope will bless it too..)

Then I started on the ceiling.  After an hour of balancing on a stool, with hot liquid dripping on me and soggy paper falling in my hair and on my face... I recalled my dad saying something about how the wallpaper was varnished on. I think I blocked that statement out because I didn't want to think about it. I figured the steamer would save the day. After all it attacked the weird gunky stuff on the wall, right?  

This is how far I got until I ran out of steam (literally).

 

See that little jagged corner?  Even after scoring it and then steaming it... it was HARD, tough.  It wasn't budging..

At this point getting the Pope to sleep with me will be easier than getting that darn wallpaper off the ceiling!

Disclaimer: I mean no disrespect to the Pope or those who are Catholic

Jeannie's Birthday skirt

My brother's girlfriend's birthday was on Easter.  I racked my brain for a few days trying to figure out what to get her...

When I first met her several years ago she wore a lot of oranges and coral colors... I had a large print fabric in my 'stash' that I picked up at the Bobbin's Nest (on Homestead near Franklin Mall in Santa Clara - check out the store or her blog!).  It was orange-y and coral with a bold print and I just loved it.  I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I bought it because I liked it.  A lot.   

So I decided to use the fabric to make her a Spring skirt to go with her Spring birthday.  I am especially happy I was able to make it into a gift - so she could enjoy it...But I do wish I had more so I could make ME a gift... so I could continue to enjoy it. :)  

The bottom contrast I also purchased at the Bobbin's Nest and it was for a baby quilt that I don't think I did much with.  The contrast for the waist I picked up as an afterthought.  I thought the squiggly lines were a good balance and perfect color match to the straight lines at the bottom.  

I hope she likes it!

Going to school with two different shoes on!

Last week I received a gift from my grandma who lives in Arizona - A cute little pillow... (Thanks Patsy! - I love it!)

Girls are taught at a very early age that shoes are important. Very important.  

From the little old woman who lived in a shoe to discovering how Cinderella’s ‘happily ever after’ was all because of the perfect shoe... We can't escape it!

My relationship with shoes started at a very young age. Seven to be exact. My parents had strict rules of what I could wear to church and what I could wear to school. The two weren’t allowed to mix. I had two pairs of shoes. One pair of beat up tennis shoes that I was to wear to school and to play in; and one pair of white matte leather mary janes. I wore them to my aunts wedding the summer before. They were reserved for very special occasions and church.

One morning close to Christmas; as I had on a raspberry courderoy jumpdress and purple plaid long sleeve blouse underneath. My woolen tights would keep my legs warm in the brisk Calilfornia winter morning. We were all set to leave the house for work and school when I couldn’t find one of my tennis shoes.

(This is still one of my parents' favorite stories to tell and I’m sure if you ask them; they will paint me in a less attractive light.)

 Basically with the clock ticking and the whole house turned upside down looking for this one damn shoe; I offered the helpful suggestion of wearing my Sunday school shoes to school that day.

Perfectly logical

(and helpful, I thought).

 My parents weren’t having any of it and their.solution was to allow me to wear my Sunday school shoes to school that day…. Or rather ONE Sunday school shoe; on the other foot; my lone tennis shoe. I was less than thrilled with this concept and according to my parents; my dad threw me in the backseat; threw my shoes in after me and drove my brother and I to school as I yelled and screamed the whole way.

As a seven year old; taking a field trip to the nearby community center to practice our annual Christmas concert; I was MORTIFIED.  Such an unfair punishment for losing a shoe and trying to be helpful! It was one thing if we stayed at school that day… I could quietly tuck my feet under my desk and not go out for recess and no one would notice.. RIGHT? But not while walking down the street… where cars would pass and honk and point and laugh and notice that poor little girl with no fashion sense.

Meanest parents in the world!

I still haven't forgiven them.

I suppose that explains my appreciation for shoes, nice shoes, fancy shoes… pretty shoes… 23 years later, I wear them whenever the heck I want... and I have LOTS of them!  Here's a sampling of my collection.

I love these because I love pink and feel like Barbie wearing them.  Did I mention I also have knee high stiletto boots in this same color too? 

  

Classy.  Perfect for work.  I love the two tones.  I love the bow!

Saucy!  Super high heel... Love these.  Makes me want to go 'GRRRR!'  I nearly had to do a sobriety test in these once while sober.... I was terrified the policeman would mis-take my lack of balance for inebriation!

 

This picture doesn't do these justice.  They're my Ruby Slippers... I get compliments EVERY.TIME I wear them... more often than not, its someone yelling across an empty parking lot telling me they like my shoes!