thinking out loud... for all to see...

Bye bye January! :)

and on to the month of all things LoVeLy. (that seems to be my new "go to" word for things I like lately!)

Slowly but surely...

I spent my afternoon yesterday moving some of the heaviest pieces of furniture that we have in this house. I'm feeling it today. Amazingly, my Gram cabinet (as I have decided to refer to it) sits perfectly under my sticker frames in the studio. :) (excuse the piles and such... I am NOT done yet, obviously!) I can't wait to paint it. It just needs to get warm in Nebraska. And while it feels like it will never be warm again, I know that it won't be too much longer. Well, I'm hoping it won't be too much longer! In the mean time, I have moved my cream colored buffet out of the studio and into the nook in the kitchen. It's PERFECT in there. I love how that's opened up that space. (pictures soon!) 

I brought the fun green chair that was in the nook of the kitchen and put it in my studio and "made it fit" in the corner by my favorite art wall. By "made it fit" I guess I forced it a bit. It's probably a bit too large for that space BUT I think it'll work and I know I'll enjoy having a spot to sit and think up new projects and it'll be a great spot for Scott to sit in and hang out with me when I'm sewing.

I also brought Becky's pillow home and took it to the studio where I could enjoy it with my other "favorite art things". I love it. It's just the right touch in my chair. *sigh* Now I need to get the office bills paid so I can get back to folding fabric and getting things "just so". I love the "just so" part...  because it leads to the "just sew" part. :) Happy Saturday to you!

Now... or later?

I'm somewhat of a procrastinator. Although I like to think it's because I'm "thorough" and not just lazy. In reality, it's probably a bit of both. A while back, my mom decided that I could have this little cabinet that I've been wanting. It belonged to Gram and mom didn't really have an ideal spot for it in her house as they started reworking the living room. I've always liked this little piece. It used to hold some of Gram's favorite glass pieces and cups and saucers. It's not very deep. The shelves are less than 10" deep so it's not big enough to hold a lot of "dish" type things but for fabric? well, it's absolutely PeRfEcT for fabric. I'm rearranging a few things around the house today and looking for the best spot. I'm tempted to put it in my studio (aka the front room) but that means relocating a LOT of things that are hung on the walls. And while it's the most logical place, I have to say that I wouldn't be offended by it being in another more visible place in the house. I'm thinking about the little alcove that's in my kitchen. It's such an odd little nook and I've really struggled with what to put in there. Right now, there's a bookcase and chair but really the chair is just a catch all for whatever someone wants to throw on it and the bookshelf has at least a dozen places it could go since it's rather short in stature and would work in several spots in the front room or the office. Is it weird that I'd be totally happy to have my fabrics staring back at me while I cook dinner and such? It might be for some people but it seems logical to me to be surrounded by the things I love all over my house. Even the kitchen dining area bookshelves house my ampersand collection and my button jar and other "non-kitchen-y" things. So, decision one- WHERE. And that brings us to decision two- WHAT COLOR? That's a hard one. It can't stay like it is. (I am an total non-lover of all things oak- except in old houses. I love oak in old houses. Because there it's usually the oak that has some real character to it.) So we have to paint. But what color? Cream is the first thing that comes to mind. But the trim in the whole house is cream and I'm not sure I want it to get lost in the cream-ness of the house. It's a cute piece and it would be AdOrAbLe painted in a fun color. But then you have to think of all the colorful fabrics that I want to put in it. Ugh. Decisions. I think that maybe the best idea for now (since it's super freezing cold outside anyway) is to get it settled into a spot and live with it there before I decide on a color. That way if I decide I hate it where I place it I won't be limited in where I can put it because of the color I chose for it. So there we have it. I'll decide on a spot now and paint later. So I guess it's not "now OR later" but "now AND later"... :) Happy Friday all! :)

Moving around...

and out and up and down. Trying to get the studio settled and workable. The new desk arrived and it's PERFECT for the space. I'll show you a picture, hopefully tomorrow. I spent most of the day around the house cleaning and sorting and listing on Ebay. I forgot how much I love to sell on Ebay. I'm hoping by the end of the week I'll have sold enough to justify the new chandelier I'd love to buy for the studio. I think it's just right for the space and it can be changed up whenever the mood hits. Perfect for a girl like me who's kind of a change it up kind of person. Change is good. Right? Right. In more ways than one, friends. In more ways than one...

Today, I did pretty good on my commitment to stay home and work here. I did leave for just a bit at lunch time but only to take Chase to get glasses and that couldn't really wait because he had today off and he needed to get that taken care of. Seems the boy has decided to go and get his insurance license so his dad is going to start training him tomorrow. It should be fun to watch all the boys work together. My dream is that one day they'll be the top three for National States. Hey, a girl can dream... can't she? You bet she can! :)

p.s. want to check out my Ebay listings? You can... HERE! I always try to price things very competitively so a lot of times they sell on "buy it now". I had two items sell tonight before I was done listing. LOVE it when THAT happens!

3 of 52...

Totally swiped this picture from one of the girls at the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild Yesterday. :) Thanks, Tia! I've found in life that if you really want to get good at something you should find people who are good at it already or are working at getting good at it and get to know them. Watch what they do. Listen to what they know. Follow along. Add your two cents when you can. Participate. So much in life to be learned and to figure out and when you jump in and play along it's amazing what you can figure out. Yesterday was the first meeting of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild and Tami and I woke up at 0 dark thirty in the morning and schlepped our way down to KC to see what it was all about. Lots of talent in that room. And tons of enthusiasm. I don't know if we'll get to go every month. Almost 7 hours of driving is a lot to commit to on a monthly basis but I'm hoping that we'll get to pop in every "sew" often and get to know these women better. They're SO enthusiastic about what they're creating and their process. It was inspiring to say the least. I wish I knew enough people interested in the "modern" end of quilting to start a chapter in Omaha. I'm not sure I feel qualified to head something like that up... hmmmmmmmm... maybe one day. I drove home last night even more excited to "figure out" this whole process and get really "good" at this. It was a totally fun day with the sis. I'm glad we went.

p.s. I don't think I ever "promised" to take every 52 of me and you picture. Did I? Well, if I did I am changing my "rules" and just promising to end up in a picture every week for 52 weeks with another person. It's my game. I guess I can change the rules... huh? :)

Seriously. It just makes me happy...

I like to make stuff... especially for my favorite peeps. ;)

sick & tired...

of being sick & tired. I think I've got some serious sinus stuff going on but I'm not an antibiotic fan so I will self medicate and hope that it goes away soon. Been laying low and trying to rest. Didn't even make it down to Midtown this weekend so I still have no photos of my pillow that Becky made so I stole a picture from her blog. (thanks Becky!)

I adore it and I cannot wait to show it to you in it's home. I'm hoping to make a quick run down there tomorrow afternoon. Let's hope so.

This week, I'm working on a schedule. Sounds weird to say that since mostly I'm a stay at home mom who manages her husband's office from my home office. But I have things I really want to learn and do and get good at this year and I think that requires an actual plan and setting aside blocks of time to do what needs to be done. I'm hoping to establish "studio hours" for my quilting and sewing that I'd like to develop more into a business. The long arm quilting machine is set up and running and I'm looking forward to spending my Tuesdays and Thursdays down there learning all about it and getting myself really up and going. I love learning new things and developing new skills. The process of figuring things out has always been intriguing to me and the learning curve for this machine is certainly large enough that I think I'll be "intrigued" for quite a while. It's all good though. I have lots of projects ready for me when I'm ready to tackle them and I'm hoping that I'll be ready sooner rather than later. This week is the last week of things scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday and then I'll really get to work. I'm so excited about developing a routine that works. I've always been the one who tells everyone that you have time for the things you deem important enough to give your time to and I am reminding myself of that as I schedule things and get a little more devoted to the idea of scheduling the things I have decided are truly important. Check back on me and hold me accountable, please!

2 of 52...

This one? Well, another technically not so great photo but I LOVE it. It's me and my bagels- some of the most amazing women I know. Took this one Monday night at our Bagel Holiday Soiree and it's just so imperfectly perfect to me. Blurry? yes. But still perfect. I'm glad I'm doing this. It's going to be SO fun to look back on 52 photos of the people I love the most. Yep. This was a good idea.

Two for today! :)

Are you enjoying the Bagel Gift-a-palooza? :) I certainly am!

Next up, the ever crafty and super talented Gluestick a.k.a. Lisa. :) Lisa made these super cute clutches with equally adorable notebooks. I have big plans for both. It was fun to see her fabric choices for each of us. I think that's what I loved best this year about all the gifts- they were the "same" and yet "different" for each of us. Mine just happened to have my very favorite fabric of all time on it which I'm pretty sure I'd never mentioned to Lisa so it was a happy thing that she thought it "looked like me". I'm a sucker for a place to tuck things and make a list so they'll both be well loved and used around here. Check out Lisa's blog and she'll tell you about her inspiration for her gifts. :)

And then there's my super baking girl, Becca. Becca is the woman in the kitchen that I could only hope to be one day. This year she made the most delicious treats for each of us and then baked Peach pie and brought Strawberry Jam to our bagel party on Monday. I totally stole this picture from Lisa's blog because, well, because I broke into mine on Tuesday morning for breakfast without stopping to take a picture first. Much like my delicious goodies that she brought before Christmas which I snacked on all day whilst I was running around like a mad woman trying to finish up the not so simple Christmas... *sigh* Sorry 'bout that one. I will lovingly think of Becca while I attempt to figure out a way to whittle off the pounds I've added to my hips over the holidays. Totally.worth.it. 

Tomorrow, I'll show you Becky's loveliness. I left it at the apartment on Monday because it looked SO incredibly at home on the yellow and cream houndstooth chairs that I couldn't bear to make it get into the cold car with me. Hopefully, I'll get down there and have a picture to share with you though. It's SUPER cute. You're going to LOVE it! :)

Now back to corporate tax season and all the lovliness that entails. Ugh. Better get cracking though. Grey's is on tonight and I need to be distraction free for my night of TV. :)

You want more?!?!?

This was Miley's gift for us this year. I ADORE it. It's a wreath made from book pages and misted on the edges in a color that was perfect for each of us. Now normally, she'd have totally made mine in green since I am in LOVE with green but since I was privy to what the best friend was working on and I knew I wanted to hang mine in a perfect spot in my Bedroom, I requested the perfect shade of blue. And it is perfect. In every way. I adore it. I can't imagine how many burned digits she must have endured to make SEVEN of these. Crazy what friendship and the "ooooooohhhhhhh and ahhhhhhhhh factor" will encourage you to do. Isn't it? :)

p.s. Just cuz I love you... and I know you'll want to know... here's a tutorial on the wreaths. :)
Wreath Tutorial