craft space expanded

our living room is long and rectangular so we were able to nicely split it into a dining, living, and crafting area.  my craft desk from my last apartment fit perfectly into the space next to the fireplace. the nook has amazing natural light during the day, and is a great place for me to tinker away on the weekend. 

over the months it slowly became a surface for storing piles of of paper and miscellaneous junk (amazing how this always happens over time), and i found it difficult to work on projects and wound up working on the couch and dining table instead.   

bffbf pointed out that there was sufficient space to expand my space into an L shape, and at the next opportunity, we were off to ikea to get another cabinet, table top and legs.

the configuration is practically identical to the one i had in boston, and while i still struggle with keeping the surfaces clear (really, you should see my desk at work) the extra surface is definitely welcomed for my various projects, especially the ones where i use the silhouette, paper cutter, and sewing machine practically simultaneously.

based on bffbf's enthusiasm for the newly expanded desk, i suspect he may slowly try to take it over...

2014.

twenty-two hours into 2014 and we were met with a downpour of bad luck.  flight cancellations, delays, lost baggage, car problems, and bad colds have left me so grumpy most days that it's hard to remember what a pleasant holiday season i had.   

it was nearly two weeks of great times with delicious food, family + friends in texas and in new york.  

and... look what i got for christmas. 

hooray!

oh christmas tree

over a week after thanksgiving, and i still haven't fully recovered from all the fooding.  oddly, i was more conservative in my pigging out than usual, but i still feel as if i've accumulated an extra layer of fat that i'm not entirely sure i'll be able to shed!

we hosted thanksgiving this year, and it began days earlier with a beautiful brine and ended with a heavy chocolate peanut butter tart.  

because we were a bit too eager to get the christmas season started, we jumped the gun this year and wound up decorating for christmas the weekend before thanksgiving... even though i've previously sworn i'd never do that.  judge me if you will.

we found this fun little pop up tree from target that took less than five minutes to assemble.

whimsical and fun, it fits nicely in our living room next to the fireplace that we've chosen to block with a tv.  i dislike fireplaces. like a lot. judge me if you will (again).

with the addition of a poinsettia and white lights bordering the room,  it may be slightly untraditional but still quite festive!

how are you planning on decorating for christmas this year?

christmas tree lighting at the old globe

this past weekend we embraced the holiday season by attending the christmas tree lighting at balboa park. i discovered this yearly event by accident while purchasing tickets for the grinch later this season. since tickets were free, there seemed little reason not to go.

i had heard that balboa park is quite beautiful at night, and it really is.  i have previously only visited during the day, and at most twice.

the line to pick up our tickets was amazingly long, but we still got in a good twenty minutes before the program began.  we wandered around before the program began taking a few pictures, and taking advantage of the free popcorn.

the event itself was pretty short, a little cheesy, but still festive and fun. the performance included christmas songs by members of the grinch cast, and fake snow accompanying the tree lighting.  it was definitely catered more to children, and it is likely that we were the only adults there that didn't have any in tow.  



it was a refreshing way to kick off the holidays, and made me all the more excited for the rest of the season!   what kind of holiday festivities are you participating in this year?

a friendly encounter

hello, friend.

so nice of you to drop by and visit.

happiness in a jar for 12.99

i had a craving for something sweet, and as usual i wasn't about to ignore it.   
i found myself in whole foods where i stood for at least twenty minutes trying to pick the perfect dessert.  i went with a tiny, overpriced coconut cake.    

but before i managed to leave whole foods, i was distracted by a small, beautiful bouquet in a mason jar in the floral section.  there was no price tag.  i was very curious what it went for.  the florist was not in sight, and i waited patiently for several minutes for someone to come help me. i was greeted by a scruffy farmer looking guy wearing flannel and a cap...   like really scruffy. 

"hi, did you need help?"

"yes, i was wondering if this mason jar bouquet was for sale, and for how much?"

scruffy farmer man examined the jar. 

"it's not priced, and i don't know when this was made. but the water looks fresh, so maybe today?  the florist is gone for the day, so i can't ask.   if you want to buy it, i could price it for 12.99 for you. i don't think i can go any lower than that."

"i'd be willing to take it for 12.99."

scruffy farmer man fiddled around through a bunch of papers to get the price code. handed me a card with the information on it. 

"uh, do you want a ribbon with it?"

"sure, why not?"

scruffy farmer man fumbled with some box under the counter. i heard crashing noises followed by a lot of swearing about bad quality construction.  he emerged with a box of ribbon for me to select, and spent many minutes awkwardly trying to replicate a bow that the florist has out as a sample.   

"this is the best i can do. i'm sorry it looks like a ...bow tie."

"oh it's fine, really, i think it looks great. thank you."

for some reason i found this entire encounter amusing. it probably had something to do with watching the scruffy farmer man try to tie a delicate bow with his big hands.  you're probably scratching your head right now and wondering what the point of this story was.

none, really, aside from sharing the beauty of my mason jar flowers.   ranunculus is one of my favorite flowers ever.  

aren't they beautiful?  i just couldn't pass them up for $13, although i probably shouldn't have spent the money.   there was a time when i thought fresh flowers were a waste.  but ever since i lived in finland, with the long winters where most things are sleeping or dead, i have loved having fresh flowers around.

how often do you have fresh flowers at home? 

craft therapy

i've been flitting across the globe like a directionally challenged wild goose in the past two years, and this year has been exceptionally intense.  i am hoping this next stop will be a place i can call home for a little while, even though i still have a long way to go in piecing my life back together.   

between reorganizing my boxed up life for the next big move, i couldn't help but unpack some of my supplies and sneak in some craft therapy (aka, procrastination).  it may be a while yet, but i have hopes that i will have many uses for the new clearlytangled stickers, tags, and fabric labels that i spent an afternoon creating. 

i printed my stickers on full sheet labels, and will punch them out using my 2-inch fiskars circle punch (one of my favorite craft investments of all times).   i plan on doing the same for my cardstock labels, with an additional 1/8" hole punched in the top.

i designed a few different size variations of my color-fast fabric labels, mostly hang tags, which i find the most convenient and time-efficient for projects, since i can sew them right into the seam.  however, i still made a small stack of labels that have to be completely stitched in separately.  you know, just in case. 

i printed these on color-fast printable fabric.  they come in 8.5"x11" sheets that you can stick straight into your inkjet printer.  to make them color-fast, the sheets have to be rinsed and heat set. i have generally had solid results with these, and while they aren't designed to be used for frequently washed items (supposedly detergent will cause them to fade very quickly, perhaps even immediately), i actually haven't had much problem with over-fading yet.  i did, however, have some new issues with bleeding ink and the fabric wrinkling up through my mom's printer feed, so i think it greatly depends on the printer you're using.   

now they are neatly packed and stored away, patiently waiting to discover their purpose. 

a long absence

my last post is dated february 14th, 2012, and it is now nearly november.  in the grand scheme of time nine months may seem insignificant, but for me they have been filled with change.

the last time i posted, i was married.
now i am not.
the last time i posted, i was in my twenties.
now i am not.
the last time i posted, i was living in boston.
now i am not.  

hello, 2011

we were one of the last people to welcome 2011, on the beach in the middle of the pacific in french polynesia.  it was the perfect way to end 2010 and begin 2011. i hope your year started off with a bang (a good one)!

a favor, dear reader

i need to ask you for a teensy weensy favor. it's going to sound a little strange, so i'll give you some history first, and perhaps then you'll understand why. or maybe you'll just think that i'm off my rocker. or both.

most people would agree that i seem to be some sort of magnet for misfortune. sometimes they are just small, irritating things. sometimes they are kind of big. you know, like a hurricane hitting our low-risk area home while we're on vacation. or being bitten by a zebra. i could go on for a while.

but i'm really here to talk about the afore mentioned, little, irritating things in life that get me down. the small misfortunes that seem to happen far too often to be a coincidence, and seem more like a curse.

a haiku

a package is lost
somewhere in kirkkonummi
a cold baby cries
.....

remember the baby blanket i made for my friend? she never received it :(