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May 01, 2008

Redecorating frenzy part 2

Which suggests that there will be a part 3 ,4, 5, 6, 7 and so on. Wait, no, I only have 6 rooms in this diminutive house of mine. My new mantra being, "keep nothing that is neither useful or beautiful." I don't know who said that but they are words to live by. Or redecorate by. Thus, I have a cellar chock full of stuff people. I think a yardsale is in my future. I wish I had taken some "before" pics, but I think I wanted to beleive the previous living room was all a long bad nightmare. But take my word for it, my previous living room was "U-G-L-Y you ain't got no alibi." Bad paint colors. Bad feng shui. Bad furniture. It was like my evil twin had decorated (and I use the term loosely) it. It all had to go. Ok, here is the new and improved version.

Living_room

Living_room_2

Living_room_3

Living_room_4

Ok, I love my new furniture! It is so soft, plush, and deep, i actually have to kind of jump up to get on it. I need to do a slight bit more accessorizing, I'd like to get a giant round mirror for over the sofa. The painting is one that my MIL who is an artist painted.   The horizontal stripes. Aren't they cool? I love them. I saw this technique on a home dec. show years ago and filed it away in my head. The walls were painted in a flat finish. The horizontal stripes were taped off and painted in the same color but in a semi-gloss. Voila. Subtle but noticable. Plus, I never pass up an opportunity to make more work for myself. It's the masochist in me. The big ugly brown armoire was re-painted in the same technique as the bedroom furniture re-do of 2007.  The curtains are chocolate brown embroidered taffetta. Ooh la la. And LINED! I am such a grown-up now. 

So needless to say not much sewing was accomplished this during the month of April but just a few:

Mod_flowers_2

Zig_zag_2

Trillium

If I don't sell these, that's ok, because they all match my new shoes...

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April 05, 2008

Three...Tres...Trois

  Hello. Hola. Bonjour. Yes it's a triplicate kind of day today. Funny how that happens. First up, 3 new bags:

The_pink_dahlia_1

Stripy_2

Posy_pink_2

Visted my favorite bookstore in Providence, Cellar Stories and picked up these 3 books:

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A David Sedaris (funny) book I haven't gotten around to reading yet, Ogden Nash,(funny and clever) and all six Jane Austins in one. I've been currently obsessed with the Complete Jane Austin on Masterpiece Theater and have asked everyone I know within an arms length if they've been watching. I'm sure they're like, shutup enough already, but still. Anway, I figure since I'm such a fan, I should at least read one of her novels right??? But I can't imagine my literary Mr. Darcy being quite as dreamy...

My etsy friend Suzannah surprised me by sending me these adorably, sparkly clippies! I think these will be for me! Thank you so much Suzannah!

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Have a lovely weekend everyone! And remember tomorrow night, Part 2 of Sense and Sensibility...Goodbye, Adios, Au Revoir.

March 18, 2008

The agony of defeat

Ok, just a little whining, and then it'll be done, I promise. Thanks for indulging me. Ok, by now, I'm sure you'll all have realized I did not win that fabulous machine. Because if I did you'd know about it by now, because I would've had a mini-celebration via an ecstatic blog post, but alas, I concede defeat to a super talented seamstress who created an unbelievable bag that obviously wowed the socks off Amy B.  You can view the winners here: Yes i said winners, because there were also 5 runners up. Which I didn't make either. Ouch. Thank you all for cheering me on, and for the expressions of outrage at my not winning! I  must say, I was somewhat taken aback by the Amy B. bashing, although truthfully while trying to be gracious, I myself may have thought similar things. I am touched! The END.

Whilst licking my wounds, I realized happily, that I have come out of my creative stagnation. It may not have been very apparent, but every single bag that I have made over the past few months was pure effort. The juices were just not flowing people. Now the ideas and inspiration have been coming fast and furious. Ever go through that? I don't know, maybe it's the increased sunlight working it's magic on my addled brain. So while "Amy who?" passed over my lips I created some new lovelies:

Verdant_3

Noir_et_blanc_1

Floribunda_3

Fleur_rouge_3_3

I am quite tempted to keep this last red embroidered one,  but I have to remind myself that I am in this to earn a living, it's not for fun. Oh, but it is so much fun!   

March 05, 2008

Biting my nails...

Well the results of the Amy Butler Sew Inspiring contest will be announced on the 10th...5 more days, I can hardly stand it. I also can hardly stand all the amazingly beautiful bags that have been entered.  Turns out, I am not the only bag diva out there. Who knew? Will I be a sore loser if I don't win that sewing machine? Yes I certainly will. I will not put on a brave and gracious face. I will NOT be happy for the winner! LOL. 

Meanwhile, I am trying to keep myself busy and not think about it. Normally I try to leave the bag gushing to others, but I have to express my utter love and devotion to this BAG!

Tweet

I just enjoy rickrack immensely, and the birdies are getting me in the spring of things. I have to give credit where due, and I was totally inspired by this super talented jewelry/bag designer and fellow etsian RaquelCastilloDesigns. She designed a vintage fabric bag using this very rickrack trim design detail. I really never copy, but I couldn't help myself here.  I just bought these earrings from her-

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That is it for my jewelry purchases. Really. Last thing. No more. How much jewelry does one stay at home Mom need I ask you?

I am on a baking binge. I don't know why, but I just am. I'm going with it.  I've tried to put the Kumquat experiment of 2008 behind me, and have moved on to another form of exotic citrus. Well exotic to us New Englanders who have to wait until this time of year for particular produce to arrive in our stores, and when it does, I find myself feeling particularly anxious to buy it, knowing it won't be around for long.  Pronto,  I bought myself one of those handy, dandy citrus vice squeezers you see those chefs using all over the Food network, because I felt a certain compulsive Key Lime Pie baking jag coming on.

Key_lime_pie

Isn't she a beauty? For a full 3 seconds i didn't want to slice into it. Of course you can use regular limes, but that wouldn't be very authentic would it? Or so special, since you can get regular ole limes anytime of year. And, I am a food snob after all. I'll admit it. If you admit to something not so attractive in your personality, it automatically loses it's negative aspect.  It's true. Here's my recipe for this simple Key Lime Pie. Now purists might argue that it requires a merengue topping (a good use for the egg whites though), or no topping at all to be authentic, but think merenge being very sweet doesn't provide enough balance. I like very lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream. Ok, enough with the disclaimer.

Take

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

5 TBLS butter

2 TBLS melted butter

and press into pie plate and bake at 350 deg. for 15-20 minutes. Let cool before adding filling.

Meanwhile make filling:

whisk together 1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh squeezed Key lime juice (if you use bottled, i won't be your friend)

3 egg yolks

fill cooled crust and bake for 1/2 hr at 350. Cool completely then add whipped cream and eat until sick to your stomach. When your family asks where you got such a delicious recipe, tell them from the purse girl from pinklemonadeboutique, which will immediately get you thinking about purses and how you could really use a nice new snazzy one for the spring, and then go straight to etsy to get one from me.

Or you could go and participate in the Arts in RI contest!

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February 28, 2008

Inspired by Amy B.

Blissful_gypsy_caravan_1

Blissful_gypsy_caravan_2 Blissful_gypsy_caravan_3 Blissful_gypsy_caravan_4

Well here it is. I'm calling it Blissful Gypsy Caravan. My contest entry. Old school Amy B. Hand embroidery. Dupioni silk trim. Due tomorrow. But I won't submit it until the 11th hour. I always enjoy making an entrance! LOL. Crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes. Man would I love to win that sweet $2000.00 sewing machine.   

February 21, 2008

Kumquats are Kool...

Kumquats

But not too tasty. In my opinion. I made this Kumquat tagine

Tagine mainly because I was drawn in by the recipe's exotic ingredients, and I never like to pass up an opportunity to make my husband wince at the cost of specialty produce. He does the food shopping, and I usually get at least 3 calls from the market with him on the other end blathering about some food budget, the virtues of domestic over imported, Hersheys vs. Ghiradellli...yada, yada. He usually, reluctantly consents to my high fallutin food fantasies though. So the tagine. Well, I immediately squealed with delight over these diminutive citrus cuties, having never eaten them before, and really enjoyed using them as decoration on my table. The tagine broth was redolent with cumin, ginger and coriander, the chicken thighs juicy and  succulent. The thin sliced onions, sweet and familiar. The Kumquats, not so much. They have a very strong somewhat strange astringent flavor to them, that was not all all pleasing. Oh well, at least I tried them, and Jeff can breath a sigh of relief knowing I'll never ask him to buy 10 oz of produce for $6.00 again.

I've also been making bags, and I'll take this opportunity to update:

Cinnabar

Sakura    

Bento_box

Chocolate_roses_3

Tree_peony_1

Trimmed_tote_2

Bead_on_a_wire_1

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On an entirely different topic, as these blog subjects have been so far, so I'll just go with it, have you seen this movie yet? Well, what are you waiting for? Hop to it. The Diving bell and the Butterfly receives my  vote for the years best. Although, truth be told, I rarely see movies. After the critics are done skewering them, I am left with little desire to waste my time. This is not your "feel good" movie by any stretch, but it does put things into perspective. As far as life goes. And the particular aspect of not being satisfied with life, and feeling sorry for ourselves. As I am in the habit of doing on occasion. I loved this movie. I love the direction. I loved the perspective. I loved the atmosphere, and I loved this man's spirit. The Butterfly of his soul that was able to take wing despite the most dire of circumstances.

Ok, last up on my list of randomness are some latest etsy purchases that i'll share with you.

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Love this neclace to pieces, from this etsy seller. And these earrings from this seller:

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And these great baubles from this etsy seller. They are the coolest origami paper pendants, I think I paid around $4.00 each for them! Fun.

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And these super cute clippies from my fave. clippie girl:

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Ok, I gotta run, I'm going to be working on a top secret project...till then.

 

February 07, 2008

All I have are my memories...

Well I'm sure by now you've all forgotten that I actually went on a trip to California...no? Well prepare to be astounded by pictures of me gorging myself on exotic foods, waves crashing onto beaches,  and a bride walking down the aisle. Of course noone has ever seen vacation pictures like that before have they??? LOL. Well I figure I've had to look at my share of other peoples vacations pics, so now it's my turn. We did have a fantastic if short trip, it was heavy on the eating, as you will see. Although it started out as bad as you can get, short of the plane actually crashing. What should have been a very quick 30 min. flight from Providence to JFK, ended up being 2.5hrs due to a very bad storm. Which in turn caused a domino effect the likes of which causes me to become teary eyed in the recollection of it. Yes we missed our connection to San Francisco, so instead of leaving at 8:30 to SF, we couldn't get a flight till 4:30, which ended up leaving at 7:30 because of the co-pilot being MIA. (That was after we had the brilliant idea to wander around Times Square for the day, and got caught in a torrential downpour, which caused my knit pants to swell and stretch and become as soggy and filthy as you can imagine walking around the subway.) Then of course we finally got there around 3AM, and our luggage was missing. And of course we had no toiletries (I just can't be bothered putting various personal grooming products into small little bottles) or changes of clothing. I don't usually like to cry in public, but it was just too much. After that ordeal I really worked up an appetite. So the next day, we ate breakfast.

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If you are ever in SF I highly recommend Dottie's True Blue Cafe, the owner really elevates breakfast fare to an art form. I will miss Dotties. Oh, another picture of me stuffing my face on Dim Sum in Chinatown (I ate so much I busted out of my dress here, yikes):

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The entrance to Chinatown:

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Jeff has been facinated with Chinese Medicine so of course we went to an herbalist while we were there. He bought some herbs, which the herbalist instructed to make a "tea" with, but let me tell you this tea must be good for you because it was vile tasting. It ended up being more like a gravy, a bitter, mushroom/wood tasting viscous yuck. Check out the scale.

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And here are the requisite vacation shots of the Golden Gate Bridge and the coast. It really was so beautiful though. The coastline of the Atlantic is beautiful too, especially in Newport and the Cape, but the west coast has such a different feel and look to it. It's huge in everyway.

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Here I am outside of Doe, a fabulous little boutique on Haight St.

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And of course the reason we went, here is the lovely Bride Danielle.

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We didn't get to everything I wanted to, because 4 days is just not enough time, plus we wasted a whole day waiting around in New York. Never got to Chez Panisse (sniff). But i did get to Kinokinuya Bookstore in Japantown. I thought my head would explode. Golden Gate State park was huge and green and wonderful, even though it was a bit battered from that terrible storm. Already thinking about my next trip out there, because I need to go back and retrieve my heart right?   

January 28, 2008

She makes cute stuff.

First of all, I've been dying to share my trip with you all, but I'm waiting to get the darn pics out of my brother in law's camera so that'll have to wait. Hopefully this week. In the meantime, how cute are these things?

Grow -- Sterling Silver Seedling Pendant with 4mm Genuine Garnet Accents

Super Cute -- Cactus Pincushion -- Three Arms

they are the creation of Marlo, of Imakecutestuff. She's a member of the EtsyRain street team in Seattle. Etsy teamed Arts in RI (my group) up with EtsyRain to support and get to know each other a little better. Etsy "street teams" are groups of etsy sellers who join as a group to help the success of each member. I love Marlo's work because the items are so unconventional and original. Who wouldn't want a little cactus pincushion, turn the tables on that little cactus, right? She makes whimsical bags, jewelry, and pincusions. CUTE!

January 10, 2008

Hello 2008

Is it really January 10th already? ACK! I've really neglected my poor little blog, although I'm sure I've heard a collective sigh of relief at my not moaning and groaning about the weather! This will be a weather free post today. I promise. I am currently getting ready for my trip to San Francisco. Yes, tomorrow in the wee hours of the A.M. we fly out from Little Rhody and breeze into the west coast. Can't wait. Although truthfully I almost cancelled the trip countless times. Because despite my initial excitement, I am a homebody at heart, and we've never left Miss Olivia before. Well, she is 6, and in the excellent care of my MIL, aka Nanny. Besides, I've posted notes all over the house in my efforts to micro-manage in my absence, so she'll know enough to feed and clothe the poor child. She's surely going to hate me for that. Although, I'm sure she'll realize I've done it more for myself, to allay my anxiety more so than to suggest her ineptitude at child care. So, we will be there from Friday to Tuesday, not long, and Saturday is a friends wedding in Sacramento, which is the reason for going. We've planned a few things:

Must go visit this shop

and  Kinokuniya Bookstore

and eat Here

And of course go to Chinatown and Napa. I'm not sure if it's possible to fit this all in, but we will certainly try.

Also, just a quick update on the latest Shop offerings:

Aviary_tote

this is the same tote, but reverse:

Aviary_tote_2

Flying_in_circles_tote_2_2

Got this awesome fabric at IKEA:

Persephone_tote_2

Squares_squared_2

Itsy_bitsy_spider

I've been on a linen tote bender lately. Alas, I've neglected to make myself a fabulous bag for my trip, can you beleive it??? Maybe, I can squeeze one more project in today...I leave you with a shot of Olivia doing her usual, daily, off the wall routine. (She was home on vacation and harrassing the Cat to no end, so Violet kept running from her as soon as she saw Liv coming, so Liv thought she would outsmart the Cat and stroll around the house incognito, so as to sneak up on her, of course I thought the plan was hairbrained, but what did i know, apparently her plan worked)

Incognito   

December 19, 2007

Homebound, or What we did on our snow vacation.

It amazes me how many of you responded to my last post by saying how lucky we are and how jealous you are that we have snow! Ok, yes, I blame myself, I guess I've mislead you all into thinking how lovely and magical it all is, and it is, for about 10 minutes. I guess if you don't ever get to experience it, it is quite the novelty that evokes a certain amount of longing and romanticism.  I was taken in myself, as always happens during the first snowfall of the season. But let me tell you, you must immediately dismiss that Currier and Ives scene in your head. I guess for the first couple of hours, it's quite beautiful and otherworldly, as it's puffy eiderdown clusters, like tiny fluffy bunnies drift and float in the fridgid air, but it soon reveals itself as the icy, dirty monster that it really is once on the ground for days and weeks, made compact and unyeilding, it's molecules sticking together like eggs on a badly greased frying pan. Am I being overdramatic? Maybe. But enough with the bad metaphors.   Needless to say, we are left with pitted, rutted streets like a third world country, due to not being sufficiently plowed, and being driven over a gazillion times, the 'Person Responsible for Snow Removal In Our Fine Town' being fired, my only solace. He should be flogged and made to eat Chinese food leftovers, in my opinion. Leaving the house for a drive around the block without an empty bladder is not for the fainthearted. Don't even get me started on the state of our driveway. I love my dear husband, and he is ideal in almost every way, but the man hates to shovel. Thus we are left with a path around our car large enough for only a very skinny person on a skateboard to maneuver around. I am quite smallish myself, and have a problem getting past the door, to open it, and get in, my new Kenneth Cole down jacket getting smeared with road salt and general ick, having to awkwardly step half-way up an icy bank of snow at a 60 deg. angle, and then, very ungracefully, doing a sort of half-double axel move into the now cold interior of a previously warmed up car. Don't even get me started on the entrance of the driveway after the plows (from the first storm, as we got slammed back to back) went by, lets just say once you get a "running start" it's a breeze flying over the huge speedbump of snow. I am not being the least dramatic with that dramatization though. (an unrelated, but somewhat contextual story of my husbands leave raking technique will be described in a future post. Let's just say it involves putting all the backyard leaves on the front lawn and allowing them to "blow away". Hopefully none of my neighbors read this blog because then they'll realize why leaves magically appeared on their newly raked lawns one morning. Sorry Melissa. But truly, I guess unless I'm willing to step foot outdoors and pitch in, who am I to complain right?)

Ok that previous ranting was just a set up for the following pictures and text, which actually makes it look like we were having quite the good time keeping ourselves occupied. I assure you, we did not have a bit of fun. Especially after the 4th day.   

Firstly, I kept Olivia occupied for a record 3 hours with a lovely little project from the beloved Doodle Stitches:

Liv_embroidery   

Liv_embroidery_2

I couldn't keep track of the tears, needle pokes and whines of frustration after the umpteenth time the floss got tangled, but we soldiered on, and she finished it. I bound it with bias binding (oh, no amount of bias will suffiently wrap un-distorted-ly around a true circle, do not attempt)

Finished_embroidery

I helped her out with the birdie and red flower blossoms, but truly she did the rest of it, (including picking out all the colors, which at first I viewed as suspect, but in the end grew to love the random and somewhat primary colors) and at the risk of sounding like a proud Mom, i think she did a great job, for a 6 year old lacking any sort of pain threshold but possessing a high frustration level.  Thus-ly, what should have taken merely an hour to make took me nearly 4 hours to complete this very simple but fetching cocktail purse in the process:

Cherry_blossom_petite_purse_2

Later that day, I completed this simple linen tote:

Yin_yang_circles_tote_2

I've lost track of time and space, but at some point, this bag was also made:

Cherry_blossom_tote

You can find these listed in the SHOP. While my endeavors were restriced to the indoors, because I despise the cold, Jeff got a little antsy and got it in his head to make an igloo. (I'm still holding my tongue, trying not to suggest a better use for that energy and digging, the first word being "shoveling" and the last being "driveway", but we have our priorities. Like Laundry vs. sewing or Cleaning the House vs. sewing or Paying the Bills vs. sewing, you get the idea.) For all you bona-fide Inuit's out there, look away.

Making_igloo

Liv thought it was the coolest thing, and she wanted to move in immediately. Which proved problematic due to the fact only half her body could fit. Otherwise, I was on board.

In_igloo   

Ok, maybe we had a teeny bit of fun...