Virginia and Charlie

Beefy Hands

2012-03-12T05:00:00.000-04:00

My nephew has the cutest little hands I have ever seen. They are so chubby and beautiful.

He's an iPhone expert. Whenever he sees me he says "Phone. Phone." Then he takes the iPhone, unlocks it, and scrolls to the Cam page - where I keep all his favorite apps.

When my school had a book fair, I saw this little book and knew it was perfect for my little man. This guy is a big fan of tools.

My timing was a little off on this photo, obviously.

There we go. That's a little better.

Before and After: The Pooch

2012-03-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

You may recognize this photo from several weeks ago. I took this photo of my pooch at a local park on a very windy day. It was so windy that our walk only lasted seven minutes. There's something about this photo that I really love. That "something" is mostly Charlie, but I do love how her ears are pulled back. Ok, that "something" is all Charlie. As much as I love this photo, I do not like the color. It's not interesting enough to me and it lacks contrast.

The edge burn helps to enhance the bokeh in the background and her dark ears (and we all know I love my baby's ears). I warmed it up and upped the contrast as well as changing the toning. All in all, I'm happy with this photo.

I took it one step further for my most recent project. I made a photo book for myself with all of my most recent photos. This photo was in color at first, but it wasn't working in the layout, so I changed it to black and white. I've been doing most of my editing (maybe I should say "all of my editing") in RadLab lately and I have really been enjoying it. It was definitely worth the money.

The photo book was made using MyPublisher.com. It's by no means cheap, but in the end it will be worth the money. Plus, I got it for a fraction of the price thanks to a great deal from Living Social. I have no idea when it will get here, but I cannot wait to see it!

Insert line from Alma Mater here

2012-03-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

Staying true to my WCU roots, I updated the old bumper sticker. This sticker has been on my car for 6+ years and it was starting to show its age. Apparently, I went to Wist Cnester University. By the way, all these photos were taken with my phone. I was going to take Jane with me, but I had a hard enough time fighting the wind that I didn't want to worry about a camera.

Wednesday night was gorgeous and the perfect night for being outside. I got my razor out and worked my way backward, scraping each letter as I went long. I started at the "y" and by the time I got to the "v" my blade broke. I jimmied it back in, but eventually had to ditch the handle all together. My hand is in this shot because I had to keep everything from blowing away for the 49th time.

With a little elbow grease and some windex, I had a clean window. It was time to apply the next bumper sticker!

This new guy is much larger than the old one, but I don't mind.

I wasn't the only one enjoying this wonderful breeze. Charlie spent her evening sun bathing and smelling the breeze. I'm not actually kidding on that one. She literally sniffs at the wind over and over and over. If the scent is particularly exciting, she might even bark.

Does anybody else see how crooked that is or is it just me? I'll just have to be more careful the next time I put one on...in 6 years.

Day 13 - Tacos

2012-03-07T05:00:00.000-05:00

For someone who has been trying to take on complicated dishes and new cooking techniques, tacos were a very welcomed break. It was so simple that it didn't even require a recipe; unless you count the instructions on the back of the Old El Paso packet, which I do not.

Maybe it's the fact that February has fewer days than other months, but I've just been a little off lately. I forgot to pick a recipe Sunday night. I always do my shopping on Monday, so during my break at work I searched for something to make. I set my sights on curry, but as I was driving to the grocery store all I could think about was all the ingredients I was going to buy and the time it takes to prepare. No thanks.

I called my mom to make sure I knew how to make the taco meat and then I headed off to collect my ingredients. I'm a simple girl; give me tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream and I'm good. As I headed to the butcher counter, I was full of confidence when I said "1 lb 85% lean ground beef, please." The girl behind the counter said "Can you point to that? I'm not usually back here." In my head, I replied "Same here."

On my way out, I stopped to get Courageous from Redbox. I hear it's very good, but I don't know why I ever get movies from Redbox. I didn't watch it Monday and I don't know when I'll get to it. That $1 a night really adds up. Ok, back to dinner...

The only cooking I actually had to do was browning the meat and adding the seasonings. I know I could have gotten more adventurous with this and actually found a recipe, but PSSAs are next week and school has been crazy. Plus, we have dress down days all week and the kids are extra energetic which has me drained by the time I get home. Our students have a strict dress code they have to follow. To get them pumped for testing, they are allowed to dress down all week. Monday was hat day, Tuesday was college sweatshirt day, and today is mismatch day. Anyway, all that explains why I stuck to something simple this week.

This meal was simple, but if you count the time it took me to unload/load the dishwasher before dinner - it still took me 30 minutes. Thirty minutes is a long time when you're starving.

In hindsight, I probably should have cut my tomatoes a little smaller, but everything else was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Taco night is the best.

Totals:
1 shopping trip
1 phone call
0 iPhone searches
30 minutes
4 dinners
0 lunches (too hard to pack)

A Saw Mill and an Iron Plantation

2012-03-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

I hopped out of bed Saturday afternoon (no, I was not sleeping, I was watching Grimm on my iPad) because I just had to do something. I had wanted to take pictures in the morning, but it was gray and muggy and gross. In the late afternoon, the sun was out. Carrying my camera bag, I headed into the kitchen to gather my junk so I could leave and go exploring. My dad offered to be my ride and we went in search of some good photos.

One of the places we headed to was, well, how should I say this? I try not to give away too much info on who I am and where I live on this blog, so technically I can't tell you where we went, but I'll tell you this - there's a lot of old machinery and a working saw mill.

I love seeing the detail and time in these old machines. It makes me think about how many people have used this machine.

This picture is the front of an old barn. That black line goes straightish across the entire front, but not the sides. I have no clue how it got there, I just know I like it.

The roof on this building certainly does not look like a roof; it looks like the forest floor. I wonder how old it is. Whenever I go on these photo taking journeys, I always feel a little like a goof. For example, to take this picture I had to stand on the bed of a random truck. Good thing there wasn't anyone to tell me no.

This trailer was full of branches and sticks that had been haphazardly thrown inside. It seems that someone makes baseball bats, or was at least experimenting.

This was our ride around town. It's a beautiful BMW and it is such a smooth ride; a far cry from the Harley. If I drank milk and ice cream before riding the Harley, I could make a milkshake. I don't have a helmet of my own, so I had to borrow my brother's old one. His head was definitely skinnier than mine. The helmet worked fine, but it was a little snug. Let's put it this way, I had fish face the whole time.

Off to another location! This historical site showcases an early American "iron plantation." The machinery is incredible.

This picture is for Esther because I thought she would like to see a horse-drawn cart with some orange on it. It makes me wonder if this is period-appropriate paint. Were they big fans of orange back in 1771?

My dad and I were surprised to find that this is a full blown historical site. We were even more surprised to find a visitor's center and 3 park rangers on duty. We have lived near this our whole lives, but I have never been and my dad hadn't been there since he was young. It was very interesting, but since it was almost closing time, we weren't able to stay long.

Do all historical sites have chickens clawing through horse poo for dinner? Hmm, do I need to censor this photo? Nah, it looks just like dirt. Yeah, just dirt. Nothing to see here, folks.

At first, I thought these two guys were roosters because of their unusual color. After some careful Google searching, I have discovered they are Plymouth Rock chickens; whether they are guys or gals, I'll never know. Feel free to enlighten me with your chicken knowledge.

I get the impression that they are a little snobby.

This guy was my favorite. He is huge and his legs are like tree trunks. You can't see it in this photo, but when I took this he was getting his butt scratched by another visitor. I was hoping to get some better shots, but this guy was in butt-scratching heaven and wasn't going anywhere.

Look at those seriously big feet. I know it's hard to tell in this picture because there is nothing to compare them to, but take my word for it, those are big honkin feet.

Since I only took a picture of 1/2 of this guys feet, this is probably a photography no-no. They always say you don't want to cut people in weird places. Cutting off half of his appendages may put this photo into that category, but it also make my imagination start spinning. When I see this photo, I like imagine that these feet belong to a very intriguing human and it makes me laugh. It's sort of like how I imagine things living in Charlie's beard.

An imagination is a terrible thing to waste.

Photosynth Tour

2012-03-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

I have an app on my phone called Photosynth. It's a way to take a 3D image of a room. This next sentence isn't going to make sense, but I'm going to say it anyway. This app is difficult to use, but it is very simple. Ok, allow me to explain. When you are ready to take a 3D image, you click the camera button and then just rotate. The app knows when to snap the next picture. But, it is hard to get everything right.

Here's the view of my living room. As you can see, there are a few mistakes and places where the app had a hard time stitching the pictures together. But other than the few mistakes, it works pretty well. What you can't see in this picture is all the stuff I hid behind the chair. Cleaning is not my favorite chore and I wanted to get this done before I lost the light; hence, piles of junk hidden behind chairs and in other rooms.

It did a little better with my bedroom. This time I tried sitting on my swivel chair to take the pictures. That worked much better.

This gives you a pretty good idea of what my room looks like when it's clean, which is almost never. There are always dog toys or clothes on the floor, and shoes everywhere. Maybe one of these days I'll succeed in training Charlie to clean up after herself...or not.

Mission Accomplished

2012-03-02T05:00:00.001-05:00

When I first bought Charlie the giraffe, she loved to hate it. She would try to drag it around so she could play with it. My little terrier loves to destroy stuffed animals.

I never encouraged her to mess with it and she's finally figured it out. My baby loves her giraffe and this twelve dollar pillow pet was definitely worth the money.

She's been giving this little giraffe some serious lovin. They cuddle all the time (actually, I'm starting to get jealous).

But every once in awhile, she chews on it's face. Ya know, just so the giraffe knows who's the boss.

After waiting patiently for me to take my photos, she stretched her legs in preparation for the next step-

A good ol' fashion belly rub. It's her favorite part of the day and the only reason she puts up with me bugging her during her nap. She would love it if she could lay around all day and have her belly rubbed. Maybe I'll just quit my job and do that instead.

Ok, maybe not, but those little eyes make it very hard to leave her to go to work each day.

Getting Things Done

2012-03-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I was a very busy lady. I had tons of errands to run, but of course we had to have some chicken time first. I got up early Saturday morning (hey, 9 am is early on a Saturday morning) and got right to work. I ran errands, took the dog for a walk...

and even changed my own wiper blades. These wiper blades are exactly as awesome as the commercials always say. They are very nice. I learned something new when buying wipers - the passenger side blade is shorter than the driver side blade. Interesting!

When I went photo-taking with Mel, we stopped at the school store to make some much needed purchases. My WCU gear was practically nonexistent. Of course, I left it all at home. Since I have the best mom in the world, I received a package not too long after leaving home. I'm wearing the gray one to work today.

Number one on my weekend to-do list was "brush Charlie's teeth." Strangely enough, it was the last thing I did. I was not looking forward to it. Would she fight me tooth and nail? Would she try to run? I knew she wouldn't bite my finger because she knows better than that, but I didn't want this to be a battle.

Charlie sat there like a good little girl and licked off every speck of that toothpaste. That was actually the most difficult part - stopping her from licking the toothpaste.

She wouldn't open her mouth long enough for me to get inside to clean her teeth - so only the outside go any attention. But her breath is 100 times better than it was, so I guess it worked. We'll have to do this ~~daily~~ ~~weekly~~ often to keep her breath smelling fresh and clean.

She was such a good girl that she earned herself a bone.

And two seconds later she was gone, never to be seen again.

March Desktop Wallpaper

2012-02-29T10:22:00.001-05:00

Last month, I posted about my Smashing Magazine desktop wallpaper entry. They didn't pick it, but I still really enjoyed making it. I decided to start a new tradition by creating a new wallpaper for each month.

If you'd like to use one these images:
-click on the image to enlarge it
-right click
-save image as
-save
-good to go

This month there are several choices:

smashing magazine entry

Guess what...THEY PICKED THIS ONE. You can see it here on their website. I checked their website when I was on my break at work. I literally was jumping up and down (no joke). Then I called each family member so I could freak out on the phone with them. Char was the gym and Mom didn't pick up. Luckily Esther was on skype and my dad picked up. I need to celebrate with someone. I'm so excited that my hands are literally shaking. Breath, breath, breath. Oh. my. goodness.

smashing magazine entry

Here's one for the fam:

We just can't get enough of this little guy and staring at his adorable face all month sounds absolutely perfect.

For me and all the dog lovers out there:

Happy March!

Great things are happening this month and one of them is Cam's second birthday. Can't wait!

Day 12 - Lasagna Style Baked Ziti

2012-02-29T05:00:00.001-05:00

This feeling of fullness that I am experiencing right now is amazing. This dish was delicious and fast. Tonight (Monday night) I made Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti from Real Simple. So good and so filling. The only negative thing I have to say is that I used a ton of dishes. Thankfully I have a dishwasher, but seriously, it was a lot of dishes.

Today was my first time going to the butcher counter at Giant. I was super nervous, so I first tried getting the ground beef from the regular old meat section. I only needed half a pound, but the smallest amount I could find was over a pound. I did not know what I would do with the extra meat, so I sucked it up and headed to the butcher.

It was all fine and dandy until the guy asked me "What kind?" My response - "There are different kinds?" Dang it, up until then I was actually looking competent. After looking at percentages and prices, I went with the middle option and chose 85% lean ground beef. Whatever that means. All I know is that I had the exact amount I needed. As I've said before - exact measurements make my brain happy.

My nephew, Cameron, was at my mom's house so I called to say hello. Sadly, he didn't want to talk to me. He was too busy playing with the ipad/legos/thomas. Since I was already on the phone, I asked where to find the ricotta, so I guess this will have to count as one phone call. I also asked if my 3 week old mozzarella cheese would still be usable. Turns out that no mold equals good cheese. Sweet.

Tonight I was a super, excellent multitasker. While my pasta was cooking, I browned the meat, shredded the cheese, and started my first load in the dishwasher. I was focused and deliberate. I looked at the recipe and actually knew how long things would take, so the planning was very smooth. I didn't even set a timer for the pasta, I just continued to check and taste. Plain noodles still gross me out, but this time I actually ate the piece I bit off instead of throwing it away.

Charlotte tells me that if I stop seeing the food as gross, then cooking will become more enjoyable. She's right. But eggs still gross me out, plain noodles make my mouth feel weird, and don't even expect me to like touching raw chicken. I'm taking her advice to heart, though, and I'm proud to say that I'm making progress. I've separated egg whites without cringing, eaten a plain noodle, and touched raw chicken when cutting it.

This dish was so yummy. The fact that it is smothered in cheese definitely doesn't hurt. It was pretty filling with the meat and the pasta, but so good. The recipe says it serves four. I know that I'm not feeding a bunch of grown men, but you can definitely get more than four servings out of this. That is a 9x13 inch pan and there is a lot of food in there.

I had my dinner and still had enough left over for five lunches. Which is awesome because that will last me the rest of this week and next Monday.

Totals:
1 shopping trip
1 phone call
0 iPhone searches
40 minutes
1 dinner
5 lunches

This completes month 3 of The Awkward Chef challenges. I'm half temped to change it to The Less-Awkward Chef Challenge. I'm much more comfortable in the kitchen and I really enjoy my time making dinner. Just last week I made dinner 3 nights instead of just one, because (believe it or not) I wanted to. Crazy!

Here's a recap:
Day 1 - Fettucine Alfredo
Day 2 - Curry
Day 3 - Chicken Salad
Day 4 - Spring Risotto
Day 5 - Chicken in Creamy Pan Sauce
Day 6 - Lighter General Tso's Chicken
Day 7 - Ham and Cheese Turnovers
Day 8 - Turkey Caprese Sandwich
Day 9 - Chicken and Pasta Soup
Day 10 - Mac and Cheese
Day 11 - Minute Steak
Day 12 - Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti

Photo Swap

2012-02-28T05:00:00.000-05:00

Before

These photos have been on the wall since I moved in 2 years ago. It was time for an update.

When I took the frames down to switch out the pictures, it made me realize how nice it is to have them up on the wall.

After

The change has been nice. The old photos had become so normal that I never really looked at them anymore. Plus, you can never have too many pictures of Cameron around. Since I now have this big picture of Charlie, I replaced the large one of her in the dining room.

Instead of the picture of Charlie, now there's picture from my college graduation with my family. This photo was actually in the living room and I switched it to the dining room.

Here are the pictures that now fill my living room wall:

Seriously, I can never get enough of this kid. Those eyes, they kill me.

A Very Windy Walk

2012-02-27T05:00:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, after getting all of my errands done, I attempted to take Charlie for a walk at the local park. There was a wind advisory in effect, but how bad could it be?

ps. I'm very ready for spring. Winter pictures are pretty boring without snow and I'm sick of these brown, leafless photos. Anyway...

Yeah, it was bad. The temp was only in the 40s so I figured my sweatshirt/windbreaker combo would keep me warm.

I should have guessed how bad it was when I pulled up and there was only one car there.

I didn't want to turn around and leave because we had only just gotten there. I couldn't take the wind and Charlie wasn't a big fan either. We were back in the car after her 3 pees and one poop (translation - seven minutes).

Well, she was back in the car. I wanted to get a couple pics of the geese, so I left her in the warm, wind-free car while I took a few more photos. My little hunter loves chasing tiny animals, so I knew she wouldn't be good company right then.

As soon as they saw me coming, they headed straight for the water. I love my 50mm lens, but there's no zoom; so getting some good photos of the geese proved to be pretty impossible.

Even though our walk was very short, it still tired out my little pup. She got herself all excited and by the time we were in the car she was ready for her nap. Guess we'll just have to try again another day.

The Dub-C

2012-02-24T05:05:00.000-05:00

Hello West Chester. Hello gorgeous architecture. Hello incredible stonework and history.

I graduated from West Chester University in December of 2008. I spent 4 1/2 wonderful years at that school. I didn't know how much I missed it until my friend and I went back last weekend. We needed some quality time with each other and our cameras, so we headed there for a photo shoot. Not surprisingly, West Chester was dressed to the nines.

I spend many long evenings in the basement of this lovely library. Ok, that's a lie. I spent several hours a semester in the basement of this lovely library. Finals were the only time I was actually there, but I did enjoy my time. Ok, that's a lie, too. Moving on...

This is Melissa, Mel, Melonious. I met Mel freshman year and we have been friends ever since. We lived together all through college. Technically, we lived in separate dorm rooms freshman and sophomore year, but we were only yards apart.

Mel: "Hmm, I should hang from this."

Yes, she is like this all the time. Yes, I love it. Yes, we had a very good time together. Yes, I did it, too. No, I will not show you that photo. Again, moving on...

Oh Main. I took Psych 101 here (on the days I showed up) and I attended Cru meetings here every Thursday night. By the way, I'm not trying to tell you I skipped a lot of classes or that I barely made it through college. I'm saying that I knew when I needed to attend and when I didn't. Let's just leave it at that because this girl graduated with honors.

Can I take this door home with me? Can it live in my apartment? I'd be find with that. Really, I would. No lie, it was really hard to keep a straight face for that picture.

As we worked our way around the Quad, we ended up at the Castle. It's the building they used in our logo. It honestly looks like a castle and it's awesome.

Right at the entrance to the Castle there are whispering arches. I was on the one side whispering into the arch and Mel could hear it on the other side of the entrance. It's pretty darn fun.

We spent some more time at the Castle before moving on. For some reason, most of my pictures were of Mel. Love that girl.

What can I say? It's fun to take pictures of her taking pictures.

WC has a beautiful campus and the academic Quad is wonderfully cared for. The students really respect the campus as well - so I definitely did not have to crop the red solo cup out of this picture.

The details are incredible and the typefaces are beautiful. Mel and I kept saying that we had never noticed all of the little details. It was nice to go back with a camera and really see the details of each building.

Parking is at a premium on campus. That is why I waited outside of this building for 5 hours to get a parking pass my sophomore year. Seriously. Five hours. Starting at 3 am. Or was it 4? Either way, much too early.

They put this guy in during my junior or senior year. He's pretty awesome.

After spending time in the academic Quad, we walked around the rest of the campus while we waited for the school store to open. We both needed to update our WCU gear. I walked away with a new bumper sticker (finally!), three shirts, and a hat. My wallet may not have been very happy, but I sure was.

Lastly, we stopped at our favorite pizza place, Amore's, for some much needed sustenance. Their breadsticks are amazing. I cannot wait to head back to the dub-c when the leaves are on the trees and get some more pictures. Thanks for the great day, Mel!

My Favorite Model

2012-02-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite nephew Cameron. If you've read this blog even one time, you know him. I'm little obsessed, but that's ok because I'm his aunt. Anyway, this little guy wanted to try out my new chair, so of course I got the camera. He's starting to like our little photo shoots. He gets really goofy and makes all sorts of funny faces.

I know this one is a little blurry, but Esther, you will appreciate this. He leaned forward on the chair so he could point at your car and say "Esther's car!" Oh and the last few times I've skyped with Cammy and Char, he points at your pictures and says "Esther? Esther?".

Everything is exciting with Cameron. I don't even know what he is doing here, but I love it.

I know exactly what he is doing in this picture. He was looking at Charlie and screaming with joy. He gets so excited to see that little dog. He loves to get kisses from Charlie, but he freaks out and runs away right before she actually kisses him.

Though Charlie is never excited to see Cameron. After spending a few days with that boy, she sleeps for hours and hours when we get back to my apartment.

I wish I could see these little feet on my chairs every day. Every single day.

Beige Microfiber?

2012-02-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

Um, no thanks. Not my style. At all.

My dining room chairs came with beige microfiber on the cushions and me no likey. I love microfiber, but not beige. Right after buying the dining room furniture, my mom and I headed to an upholstery store to pick up some fabric for my chairs. This fabric is sturdy and expensive. At $22 a yard (on sale), I was very careful to get just the right amount.

We centered the chair around the main design and then tried to line everything up so that it was centered.

After lining up the center, I worked on stapling the corners so that there wouldn't be any wrinkles or folds. It was a slow process in the beginning, but by the time I got to the last cushion I was a wiz at corner stapling. After stapling everything down, I hammered in the staples just for good measure. Then I cut the excess fabric off.

It's a super simple process. All you need is a staple gun, fabric, and scissors. We didn't even bother to take off the original stuff first, we covered right over it.

And by "we" I, of course, mean my mom and me. Charlie laid on the bed the whole time.

Once all the cushions were covered, my dad helped me put the chairs together and then my mom helped me get everything to my apartment.

And just in case you were wondering: Yes, I do have the best parents ever. Just saying.

The new fabric looks much nicer on the chairs than the original. Plus, it's definitely more my style.

Day 11 - Bruschetta Minute Steaks

2012-02-22T05:00:00.000-05:00

For this week's meal I decided to do something special. I chose a meal that involved steak. I haven't made anything with steak before, so this was definitely a first. I made Bruschetta Minute Steaks from kraftfoods.com.

This week's shopping trip was quick. I was in and out in under 20 minutes. Five of those minutes were spent staring at steaks. Why does the recipe tell me I need "thin boneless beef minute steaks" if minute steaks do not exist? I ended up picking thin rounds because, well, they fit at least part of the description. Also, I'm not really going to count the phone call I made to my sister since she didn't know either.

This recipe was easy to understand and moved very quickly. The part that took me the longest was chopping up the tomato. I don't know why, but that just seemed to take forever.

Once everything was simmering in the pan, I cleaned up the kitchen and set the table. YES! I got to eat at a real table tonight instead of a tv tray. Amazing.

Charlie was less than thrilled. With the new table, she is farther from the food than ever before. She is not a fan of counter height tables. Not a fan at all.

Honestly, this meal has left me feeling heavy and full. I ate almost 2 hours ago and I still feel full - and not in the satisfying, best-thing-I-ever-ate way. I just feel kinda...bleck.

The main problem with this meal is that it turned out to be super soggy. I love stuffing, but I love it dry and fluffy not weighted down by excess liquid. I followed the recipe, but there was too much dressing on the tomatoes and the steak was in too much oil. Also, if I make this again, I will not add the stuffing to the pan. I would leave it separate until I am ready to eat instead of combining everything.

At least those are all problems that can be fixed for next time.

Totals:

1 shopping trip

0ish phone calls

0 iPhone searches

20 minutes

1 dinner

Dining Room: Before and After

2012-02-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

My dining room is complete. The new table is in and the last little projects are done. It feels really good to have a dining room table again and eat like a normal human being.

My new dining room table is perfect. The dark wood looks really nice with my side table and the color on the walls. I found that teal clock at target. It is the perfect pop of color. It's hard to tell in these pictures, but the table and chairs are not black. They are a very dark brown - you can see the color in the next picture.

This tool is pretty much amazing. When I was putting my table together I had to tighten the bolts to get the legs on. I have no idea what this thing is called, but it is such a time saver. Instead of having to take the wrench off and line it up again for each turn, you just crank this sucker back and forth - it does all the hard work.

As I told my mom, this tool saved me a lot of frustration and time - and kept a lot of bad words from coming out of my mouth.

I also added some new art to the wall. This is a napkin that I bought at West Elm back in December and framed. I had originally planned on hanging four, but it just didn't work out. I wanted four square frames, but the only square frames I could find are 20x20 inches - much too big to fit four.

When I first bought this table, I was a little hesitant about the height. It turns out that a counter height table is pretty darn awesome.

It's definitely less crowded in there now and a lot easier to move around.

Before After

Not too shabby right? I'm loving this new look and I cannot wait to make my next dinner and eat it on this awesome table.

A Day Off

2012-02-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

Today is President's day and I don't have to work. So, instead of spending nine hours at school, I'm spending time relaxing. I'm also busy working on some upcoming posts. Enjoy your day! I'll see you tomorrow!

j'adore

2012-02-17T05:00:00.000-05:00

When I listen to a song that I love, there's always that one part that is my favorite. It could be a few notes or a few lines, but I always have a favorite part within each song. It's the same for my apartment. I love the overall look of each room, but there are always a few details that make me especially happy. They may seem small and insignificant, but I love them.

This elephant. This book.

I bought this elephant at TJ Maxx about a year ago. It moved around my apartment for several months until it finally found a home on the end table. I love how playful this little guy looks. He sits atop this amazing edition of Pride and Prejudice (my favorite book). I love the combination of the pure white with the colors and design of the book. This makes me happy.

This pitcher.

This pitcher was a gift from my sister, Esther. She bought it while on vacation in Spain. I haven't used it as a pitcher yet because I just don't do dinner parties. Someday this little baby will be used, but until then it will just have to keep looking awesome in my hutch.

This owl.

This owl is actually one part of a matched set. They are technically book ends, but they currently reside in different rooms and do no hold up any books. I love that it looks like an ice sculpture and that it's made out of clear glass. Not only is it gorgeous, but it could also be used to knock somebody out. That is one dense owl.

This g.

This little g is also a gift from Esther and is also from her trip abroad last summer. It's such a simple little thing and I absolutely adore it.

This book.

This is my very first copy of Pride and Prejudice. I currently own 3 copies, but this is the only one I read. As you can see, it is well loved. It's got sand in the pages, dog-eared corners, and many underlined passages. It's falling apart and the cover is one good read away from crumbling. I absolutely love it.

These are the little things that I absolutely love to see each day. I always want the room in general to feel complete and the little details are very important.

Big Time Fail

2012-02-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

Alright, let's talk about my first attempt at a silhouette of my nephew. I posted my finished silhouette on Tuesday and this is the project that led me to that.

click for link

Geometric shapes have been all over Pinterest and the design world lately. At first, I wasn't a huge fan, but I have definitely come to love geometric shapes. But I have always and will always hate Geometry. When I was choosing colors, I pulled up this photo because I loved the combination of colors. I tried to pick colors to match this photo.

No bad right? Yeah, the baby pink you see on top looks nothing like what came out of the bottle and that is pretty much true of every color. When I look at this color combo, I still really like it, but it turned out to be pretty bad.

I cut my bristol paper, traced Cam's head and then started creating my triangles. So far it looks just fine.

And then I started painting...

and I kept painting...

And then all of a sudden, I hated it. Really hated it. Wow, when did the 80's creep into my project? When did my triangles start to look like shattered glass in a completely horrible way? This is why the pink did not make it into my final project (that may also be because I don't like pink. Like, at all.).

Ya know, if I had really wanted to, I think I maybe could have saved this. Maybe the triangles needed to be bigger. Maybe it could have worked with a different color combo. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Either way, I'm much happier with my second attempt.

Day 10 - Mac and Cheese

2012-02-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

Back to the basics. After last week's shambles of a dinner, I needed to make something that I knew I would love. I found a recipe for Creamy Stove-Top Mac and Cheese from FoodNetwork.com. I love me some baked mac, but I do not have the patience to wait for anything to bake in the oven for an hour when I'm starving after work! Stove-top mac was definitely the best choice.

ps. This is day 10! This feels like such an accomplishment. It's like when you are little and you turn ten and everyone says "Wow! Two whole hands!" Seriously. It feels that good! Two whole hands, baby!

YES! Success! I made it out without even a phone call. Oh yes, I'm that good.

Ok, I have a confession to make. I could not find white pepper anywhere. I was thisclose to calling home to see if it mattered what color my pepper was, when I ran into someone I knew. My friend told me that she had searched and searched for it so she finally looked it up. Apparently white pepper is barely different than black. I was saved, so I moved on!

I always say that I love simple and easy, and it's always true. But one thing I especially loved about this recipe was that it pretty much cooked itself. Boil pasta, melt cheese, mix. The end.

Also, from my previous experience, I knew exactly what it meant to cook the pasta al dente. I even remember the trick to bite into the noodle and look for the white line. This was the first time that I looked at a recipe and knew exactly what to do. Don't get me wrong, I still looked at it a million times, but I at least knew what to do.

I have another confession. When all that was left in the recipe was to combine the noodles and cheese I threw out the recipe...and then I picked it out of the trash. I had to check, just one more time, to make sure I got it right. I think I'll add "don't freak out over recipes" to my list of New Year's resolutions.

It was very good and very filling. Better yet, it was great to look forward to a meal I knew I would love and not stress about hating the first bite. Yummy!

Totals:
1 shopping trip
0 phone calls!!
0 iPhone searches
30 minutes
1 dinner
5 lunches

Silhouette

2012-02-14T05:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I took this photo of the Camster. I don't normally have profile shots of this kiddo, so once I saw this I started scheming.

And just so that we are all on the same page, this was stuck in my head the entire time I did this project; it's only fair that it's stuck in your head while you read this post.

I used my pen tool in Photoshop to turn this photo into a silhouette. See all that hair? I did that. The pen tool is like a connect-the-dots, expect you make your own dots. So, I created all those little spikes by making tons of little dots. The result was worth the effort.

When I cut his head out using my Silhouette machine, I was worried all the little hairs would have been a waste of time. But, since my machine rocks, all the little hairs made it out just fine. Seriously, I love my machine.

I knew I didn't want a plain background for behind Cam's head, so I started messing around with shapes and patterns. (I'll post my first attempt on Thursday. It makes me shudder, it was that bad.) I saw this photo on Freckled Nest and fell in love with the design on the wall. I created a template and traced out a star to figure out my colors. I saw there was a color pattern within the star, so I labeled mine to match theirs.

Honestly, this part was really frustrating, I couldn't see the whole picture or how the pattern repeated across the wall. At one point I looked at this photo and grunted "Get your body out of the way!" Then when I realized I was talking to paper, I got over it.

When I first looked at the design on the wall I saw a star. So when I tried to repeat the pattern it was not working at all. After finally figuring out the repeating pattern, I created a template. It is by no means perfect, but it worked well enough.

I traced the pattern onto my bristol paper and then put Camo's head on to make sure I liked what I saw. Loved it! Moving on....

I drew a couple practice stars to figure out my color combo. Plus, I had to figure out how to get that gold to thicken up and not look like crap. I ended up mixing it with some white. Then when that first coat dried, I went back over it with unmixed gold. I chose the color combo on the right. The contrast in the one on the left was a little too much for me.

It took me a couple hours to get this finished, but it was worth it. All I needed was my Ingrid Michaelson Pandora station and I was good to go. Can you find my mistakes? I can - there are four. Keeping this pattern correct was really difficult. I kept getting lost because I was spinning it all around while painting.

Three dang diamonds that I got mixed up and a blue spot where there should be no blue spot. Fortunately, that blue spot is covered by Cam's head and the mixed up triangles are impossible to see. Unless, of course, you're awesome. In that case, congrats!

Here's a picture to show you the metalic gold on the canvas. It needed a little bling. I don't normally like gold, but gold is the new silver so I tried to stay trendy. Someone please tell me I'm wrong about that. I hate gold.

All that's left is finding a frame and it will be complete! I'm really pleased with how this turned out and I think I'll be making one for myself. Since my other sister requested one as well, I guess I better get started!

I've Made a Huge Mistake

2012-02-13T05:00:00.000-05:00

This is my latest project for my little nephew. Before I explain how I made this, watch this video (or at least some of it).

Arrested Development is one of my favorite shows. Even better, its one of those rare shows that all the siblings agree on watching. I laugh every time I watch it. It never gets old. Anyway, I could praise this show all day. Now that you understand what's on the shirt we'll move on.

Someone recently asked me how I make my t-shirts. Here's how:

I start by creating my design. I did mine in Photoshop, but where you create the design isn't important. The font I used it called Night At The Opera. I didn't want the middle details, so I filled it in. Then I put it on a shirt to see the sizing. I like to be able to visualize the sizing before I start cutting.

Next I put the design into my Silhouette software by creating a jpeg and then using the tracing tool. I hate having to place all the little pieces on the shirt myself (like the middle of the A for example) so I used my knife tool to slice the letters so the middle would stay attached. If you want a closer look at my cut lines you can click on the pictures and they will get bigger.

I grabbed my t-shirt and measured how big I would want the design. That is one thing I LOVE about my Silhouette - there is no guessing. If you want it to be 9.25 inches wide, you can have it 9.25 inches wide. Exact measurements make my brain happy.

Freezer paper is the simplest/cheapest material I have used for making shirts. Here's what you need to know about freezer paper:
-it's sturdy, but be gentle when pulling it off the mat
-shiny side goes down so make sure you design is oriented correctly
-it irons onto clothing in seconds
-it peels right off after you're done

Next, I cut a piece of freezer paper and placed it on the mat. Then Violet did all the hard work. If you don't have a silhouette, you can trace your design onto the freezer paper (it's transparent enough) and then cut by hand.

For some reason, I always place my freezer paper upside down on my mat (shiny side up). I have no logic for this, it's just how I do it. So I always make sure to cut my design backwards - which I totally forgot to do the first time. Oops.

Make sure to put a piece of freezer paper inside the shirt to block any paint from seeping through onto the back. After ironing my design onto the shirt, I start painting....

...and Charlie zones out. She hates that my projects get my attention. She would love it if I could just sit and rub her belly all day. Sorry pooch, not gonna happen.

There are many fabric paints that you can buy, but I always use what I have on hand - acrylic. It shows cracks when the fabric is pulled, but other than that it holds up really well. Once I'm finished painting the whole thing, I peel the freezer paper off right away so I can fill in my little blank spaces by hand.

It's a good thing I put that freezer paper between my shirt.

Done! This whole process probably took 30 minutes from design to done.

I can't wait to see this on Cameron. That kid makes everything look good.

Preparation...H

2012-02-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

Cmon all you Austin Power's fans, you know that line. Anyway...

This is Charlie modeling the fabric I got to recover my dining room chairs. I know they are going to be brand new, but that doesn't change the fact that I hate the fabric on the chairs. We figured that the best time to recover them would be when we are putting them together, so we made sure to get some fabric. Charlie loves it and so do I!

My new dining room table will be arriving today, courtesy of my mom and dad. I figured I should prepare the room.

I borrowed my mom's carpet cleaner to get rid of those troublesome little stains. You may not be able to see it, but I see it every time I walk in the room. Hmm...what little pooch could have left that little spot there? Surely not my baby, she never does that.

Ten minutes was all it took to turn my gross/disgusting/germ infested dining room carpet into this lovely and fresh carpet. It looks good, right? Even better, it feels good.

Ummm...GROSS!!

When I was cleaning out the grossness, Charlie came wandering by to see what the fuss was. She's not a big fan of the bathroom because the bathroom has the tub - which is for giving little dogs baths. She doesn't like baths.

She started getting bold and took a few steps in...so I of course had to mess with her. All you have to do is turn the water on in the tub....

That's all she needs to hear and she's out. Sayonara. Adios. Goodbye.

This is a video I took of Charlie a few months ago. This shows her reaction to the possibility of taking a bath.

When it's actually time for her to take a bath, I keep her on the leash until I close the bathroom door. Then I release her and the whining begins.

I can't wait for my dining room table to get here! Oh, and it will be nice to have my parents here as well.

He Knows His Way Around

2012-02-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

My nephew, Cameron, knows his way around a bike. He is obsessed with anything that has an engine and my dad's new bike is no exception.

He loves sitting on the new BMW with his daddy. He's a little short for it now, but he'll grow into it eventually.

He likes to explore each different part of the bike. I think that the new bike looks like Bumble Bee from the Transformers. I'm teaching Cam to call it that, but right now it just sounds like bumble bumble when he says it.

I love this one. I love how little his hands look on this bike. I know I'm a little (ok, a lot) biased, but that is one cute hand.

Sometimes he just zones out. I have a feeling he is day dreaming about driving this bike down curvy roads and putting the peddle to the metal.

Some day that will happen, Cam. Until then, you'll always have your dad to help you out.

Have I mentioned lately that I love being an aunt? Seriously, I love it. It's the best thing ever and I'm totally obsessed with it.