glassybaby...again...

I know.  I keep rambling on and on about these silly little glassybaby...but I have to tell you that I love them!  They are versatile (candle holder, organizational facilitator, flower vase, etc.) and beautiful (just look at them glow!) and bring color and light to a dark and dreary Seattle winter.

I first got some for our wedding ceremony to use as the unity candle.

Then I "needed" some to decorate my new colorful kitchen.  We registered for Fiesta Ware and we registered for six different colors!  When we were first married, we had a ledge in the kitchen that needed something.  So, I purchased some pottery on our honeymoon and I added some glassybaby to pull all that color together!  Then I decided I wanted to have some for seasonal uses.  I swap out certain colors at various times throughout the year to make the festivities bright and beautiful.

Yesterday, I went to the glassybaby Seconds Sale.  I wasn't quite sure what this meant (i.e. discontinued colors, flawed, etc.) but I knew I wanted to take advantage of the sale!  It is true; I might be one of those people who shops sales and buys things I probably wouldn't have if they hadn't been on sale.  However, the story behind glassybaby has captured my heart from the get-go.

I have several beautiful people in my life that have survived, and have passed because of, cancer just like the founder of glassybaby, Lee Rhodes.  She started making these colorful gems when she was first diagnosed with cancer as a distraction and she has thrice survived the noxious disease.  I have heard of research stating that when people are of good cheer, have friends and family around, and have distractions, they are more likely to survive.  I believe in that and Lee, as well as some dear loved ones, are living proof.  She donates 10% of all her earnings to various charities throughout the country but specifically she was donating yesterday's percentage to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research in Seattle.

Anyway, yesterday, I woke up bright and early to get in line for the Seconds Sale.  I waited for about 2.5 hours in line and then finally got in. 
 
It was a mad house, but everyone was so happy and helpful!  I purchased five new glassbaby.  Some of them are gifts for those important people above.  I'm keeping one for myself! :)

If you are able, please support this grassroots company.  http://www.glassybaby.com/.  You will not regret it!

Southwest Airlines Woes...

I have to fly to Spokane next week.  Matt doesn't want me to drive over the passes with the weather the way it's been.  I just logged on to buy a ticket for Spokane and I found out that SWA doesn't fly from Seattle to Spokane anymore! WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

Not only do I have to fly in a miniature airplane now (because the flight lasts about 45 minutes), but my bags don't get to fly for free. 

I'm throwing the penalty flag!

I am mourning today.

Live, Love, Grow!

Another "weekend" craft...actually done during my snowed-in time as well.  I cannot tell you why I made these, but there may be a surprise redecorating project in the works?!?!?!

I took supplies I already had laying around to create this masterpiece:

• frames (1 large and 2 small)
• fabric
• paper scraps
• glue
• paints
• Mod Podge (I am loving this stuff lately!)

Here's what I did:
1. Empty wooden frame...this one is from Ikea and is meant to be decorated similarly to this project.

2. I covered the frame with beige fabric and adhered it to the back with hot glue.  Staples could work too! Then I gave the fabric a few pops of color with acrylic paints.

3. Then I glued down the pieces one by one spacing them just so and making sure not to repeat the same pattern too close together!

 4. While waiting for that to dry, I prepped the other pieces.  Frames also from Ikea!  I bought these little wire things at a local home decor store and haven't found a place for them.  I thought these would go well with this project.

 5. These are just pieces of paper cut to fit into the frames and then I mimiced the same design on them as the big frame above.

 6. I painted the wire a beige color rather than the black that it was.  Then I stamped the words on the paper-pieced art.

 7. After the pieces dried into place, I Mod Podges the whole thing.

 8. This is the finished project.  I think it turned out pretty good!

 Love it!

Snow and Sew!

There is a commonly known principle among the Amish that they are not to make perfect quilts. Since they do them so well and often, they could easily make them perfectly.  So, I like to say that I'm just practicing my Amish... :)
It's snowing and I can't/ don't really want to go anywhere...so it's a good day to SEW!  I've been really into decorating for the holidays lately.  Partly because I was blessed with the most amazing gifts for Christmas that are extremely versatile and lovely and can be transformed for every possible event/ holiday!  (Thank you, PartyLite!)  But, I can't do anything too girly, so sewing wall hangings and table runners is my thing right now...I don't have a clue what I'm doing and I don't like to follow patterns...I just wing it.  If you are a quilter, you would know that my assembly is terrible, but if you don't know any different, I look extremely talented! 


So, I am working on Valentine's Day Decor...Here's what I've done so far...

1. Cut up fabric. The main blocks are 8x8 inches and the little squares 2.5x2.5 inches. 

2. This is what it looks like laid out...

3. The center pieces sewn togerther.  

 4. Assembled with borders...

 5. The hearts added to the blocks...

 

6. The complete front... 

It isn't done as the sewing machine just tweaked out and I don't know how to fix it...but here are some pics.

Soon I will do a similar one for St. Paddy's Day and then I have a brainstorm going on for Spring/ Easter...but it seems pretty complicated, so it will take some time.

Enjoy!

Candles and Kindles...

Just so you know...you have to have light for a Kindle to work. 

This is my glassybaby garden.  I'm obsessed.  It worked well, lighting up our dining room table when the power went out last night, but it didn't quite work for reading.  the light dissipated too much in that big space.

Thus, I moved some to my night stand and this was enough light to be able to read with!  Yeah!

Heavy SNOW!!!

So...I realize that for many of my friends snow doesn't create a second thought.  I remember days growing up in Spokane where we had feet of snow and we somehow still had school.  We had bone-chilling temperatures, feet-high drifts, and we still spent hours sledding down the hill at Brown's Park (next to my mom's house). 

Seattle is a different world when it comes to snow, however.  You would have to experience it to understand.  I have a developed a severe hatred for something I used to love and appreciate!  Don't get me wrong...it is still beautiful, but I hate it!

For the past 5 days, it has snowed almost non-stop.  The snow is wet and heavy as the warm air from the Pacific mixes with cold Canadian Rocky air coming down from the Frasier River (at least that's what the weather people say).  It is treacherous as the majority of Seattle, as well as the surrounding communities, is built on hills.   

 

And, because getting a lot of snow in the Seattle area is so rare, nobody knows how to drive in it!  I feel like I know how to drive in it, but as soon as I get on the road, other drivers follow too close, or drive too fast and it FREAKS ME OUT. Thus, I have been a prisoner in my own home as it snows and snows and snows.

It has been pretty, but yesterday, the snow turned to freezing rain and now everything is coated in a smooth sheet of ice. The trees along our street, and everywhere else I am sure, have more weight than they are keen to bear.  I heard two thunderous cracks from our backyard (or a neighboring yard, I cannot yet tell).  The people across the street have a tree on their house! Although, it appears to not be causing too much of a disturbance, it has definitely damaged their gutter and roof.  Matt's little car has become enveloped by our lilac tree that usually stands tall in the front yard.

And, our power just went out. Awesome! I was in the midst of writing this blog and bleep...it went out.  So, I just changed all of the above to past tense and am continuing now. 

I took a walk this morning to see what the world looked like...layers of white frosting everywhere!

Home!

Some people have requested more pictures of our little house, so here are a few from around the house at Christmas time...

Living Room with the tree. I made the wall hanging next to the tree!

The other side of the living room goes down the hallway and into the kitchen. 

Dining room area.

Old dresser and bookshelf that I refinished and made into a hutch! 

My tiny kitchen!

Kitchen Buffet I repainted and my mom made the drapes to match the window drapes I made!

Still working on the bathroom (paining and décor coming together) and our bedroom... :) More to come...

Reeses Cake!

When I asked Matt what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, his response was "the same as last year!"  Quite possibly his favorite things on this planet (aside from me, of course) are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.    Last year he got a triple layered chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting filling sprinkled with peanut butter chips, chocolate frosting on the outside and peanut butter cups.  This year, I made some alterations--same basic concept, skipped a few steps in the baking process and saved $ on supplies!

I started with a boxed cake mix--Triple Chocolate.  I ALWAYS add a box of pudding mix to my cakes...makes them moist and yummy.  There is nothing I hate more than dry cake.  I baked them up in 8" round pans.

I whipped up some peanut butter frosting.  To do this, you make a basic butter frosting recipe (from Betty Crocker Cookbook) and add peanut butter!

I put a layer of frosting on the first cake. Then I sprinkled a generous layer of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (cheaper than peanut butter chips and much more tasty).  In order to sprinkle, I ground them up in my food chopper!  Gotta love Kitchen Aid!

Then I placed the next layer on top of that and lathered frosting all over!  Does anyone have a tip on how to do that without making a huge mess and bringing up pieces of cake? 

After that, I poured some chocolate glaze around the edge...just because and then sprinkled the top with a bit of Reese's.

It looks delicious!  I am not sure if I will partake since I am trying to be gluten free.  It might be worth the cheat!  We will see.

I'm sure Matt will love it!  He licked the spoon from the frosting and he LOVED it!

Birthday Blessings...

Matt and I celebrate our birthdays a week apart in the cold month of January.  We all get some laughs out of this as both sides of our families already had A LOT of January birthdays and when we got married we added one more to each side!  (Maybe one day we will have some kid-os in January too!) 

Anyway, I am coming to grips with the fact that birthdays are just another day ticking past us in a busy world.  Sometimes, I wish birthdays as an adult were more special--like when we were kids with a party and special treatment and the whole shebang!  Besides a few phone calls and many facebook messages, it really was just like any other day. (Thank you for those messages and phone calls, by the way!)  I mean, if you have a job you still have to go to work, endure a commute, sit through meetings, etc...
it just isn't that exciting.

Still, I have a wonderful husband who kept saying..."I have something planned. Don't worry! It will be special."  So when I got home from externship on Tuesday, he had dinner mostly cooked and an ice cream cake waiting for me!  I consumed almost the whole thing in response to my uneventful day and in rebellion of my "gluten free diet".  It was lovely, aside from the fact that the # on top is not correct.  Matt said he knew it was wrong but he didn't want the cake to melt so he didn't go back to the store to fix it.  Oh well...I'll have them for his birthday next year!

Then, yesterday (Friday) he sent me some text messages indicating the time and place I was expected to arrive somewhere and that I would get further instructions upon my arrival.  All he told me was that it was something I wanted and NEEDED.  I had all kinds of ideas running through my head.  We have talked about going to a musical and West Side Story is in town?  He'd dropped hints about ball room dancing?!? But, then I found out I was going alone! What in the world?

I drove to his work and the gatekeeper handed me a note and Matt's GPS.  It said to go to the most recently found address in the GPS.  I drove down Elliot toward the Space Needle and turned up Mercer Street.  I crossed Highway 99 (phew!). I turned a couple times in there and found a spa when Betty Lou said "arriving at destination on right"--Banya 5, to be exact.  (Betty Lou is the GPS's name.) 

{EXCERPT FROM THEIR WEBSITE: Banya 5 is an urban spa and health facility offering a unique blend of old world wellness rituals in a friendly, contemporary environment. A series of relaxing dry and wet heat experiences coupled with exhilarating pool plunges produce a vivid circulatory experience with numerous mental and physical benefits. The experience is both personal and communal. It can be serene and detoxifying or invigorating, intense and rejuvenating. As a modern interpretation of old ideas, we are re-defining public bathing.} 

I was scheduled for an hour-long massage, but could enjoy the "heat experiences" and "pool plunges" if I wanted...I was not completely prepared for such activities (no wet suit on hand! and Betty Lou doesn't tell you what to wear!), so I slipped on the robe they gave me and read People Magazine while waiting for my masseur!  It's been tooooooo long since I have had a massage and it was divine!  Thank you, Matt!

His birthday is coming this week!  I have a few gifts for him!  Stay tooned!

Weekend Project #1: Canvas Pictures

So many projects, so little time...  I have been wanting to mount some portraits from our wedding picture session #2 (taken this past summer) to some canvases to hang on our bedroom wall.  There are many methods that I read about online and some I have seen in person but wasn't quite talented enough to pull them off so, I am going with the steps below:

Supplies:

Stretched Canvas Frames

Pictures to be photocopied

Printable/ Iron On Transfers (Iron and Parchment Paper)

Acrylic Paints in assorted colors

Other little things to decorate with, such as scrapbooking materials, lace, stamps, etc.

Mod Podge

   

1. I printed my 16X20 pictures onto four pieces of transfer paper.

2. Piecing the transfer paper together so that they match up, I begin to iron them onto the top of the canvases.  In some places it doesn't quite look like they stuck, but for what I'm doing this works ok.  And, I like my projects to have character.

3. I painted streaks of paint around the edges to give it depth and to cover up mistakes! (One of my pictures didn't piece together as nicely as I would have hoped, but I painted around the white edge that was left on the canvas and you would never have known the difference).

4. I laid out some other decorative baubles here and there to give it a little more character (although they probably would have been just lovely at step 3.

5. Then I Mod Podged over the additional pieces to make sure that they stuck.  After that layer dried, I added another complete layer over the entire canvas.  This step really helped bring out the texture from the canvas itself.

 

6. They turned out great and I spent WAY less than having a professional print a picture to canvas.  Costco charges $45.00 for a 16X20 canvas print.  I did two and paid about $25.00 for the supplies.
 

I think I might add a bunch more little sayings around the perimeter if I ever have time!

Enjoy!