One year ago....

I went on a date with this beautiful man... and the rest is history.



He makes me laugh every day and reminds me that I'm beautiful in my ugliest moments.

what vegetable do you hate?

Last night I made this amazing dish:

"Eggplant and arugula salad"

I've made it a few times before and it is always just as good as I remember. Eggplant scares a lot of people. My boyfriend wont touch it. He doesn't like popcorn, brussels, or celery either though so he's the weird man out. I didn't take many pictures but just trust me. It's a super fast, fairly healthy meal. No carb, for all my freaky friends out there.

Eggplant, pre-oven.

Eggplant and arugula as my leftovers today:



Kevin came over with some fresh baked bread last night and it went perfectly with the eggplant.



Look how pretty it is! I wish I could make bread like that. Kevin used to work at a bakery "back home" so he has some awesome skills. He always says "back home" but he has lived so many places i'm never sure where exactly he means. He's a good friend and i'm glad he's here.

Stay happy everyone!

book, thrift, learn new things

I picked Oscar Wilde's classic book The Picture of Dorian Gray for our book club. I knew I had seen a copy on my moms bookshelves and it turned out to be a really cool copy!! It is larger than most hardback books and it has really beautiful, kind of eerie, illustrations in it. Very excited to finish this one!


While I was at my moms I decided I want to learn how to embroider. She inherited these amazing iron on appliques from her mom and as soon as I saw them I knew I needed to learn this new skill. I think most of the appliques are intended to be used on pillow cases or nice towels but since its my first go at embroidery I thought I'd do something I could frame, if it turned out. I've been watching my mom embroider, and cross stitch and needle point since I can remember. I loved hearing the sound of the needle pop through the fabric and the slide of the floss as it came through. I have always been amazed at the things she makes. More often than not she is making a stitchery for someone else. All of our neighbors and friends homes have something done by my mom hanging on the wall. She uses her talents to make wonderful gifts for people, how cool is that?

There were so many colors of floss (this is just a few boxes) it was hard to choose what to do.
The iron on came out bright pink and the floss covers most of it up so that's good.
I'm a little tea pot do de do.

While thrifting recently Sarah found this amazing shirt and excitedly brought it over to me, insisting that I buy it. I love it.

life in a jar

My soul mate makes these amazing terrariums. You can buy them. They make wonderful presents for any occasion. They brighten up your desk and make a good centerpiece for a kitchen table.




I know you want one.
So, email sarahmcanderson@gmail.com and tell her what you fancy as far as jar shape and size or any specific colors you want to see.

support friends

A friend of mine makes these beautiful clay cups and bowls. I wish I could afford them.
Check it out. Buy one if you can.

CLICK ON ME TO LOOK AT PRETTY CLAY THINGS

I especially like this cup and would drink tea from it daily.



Remember friends, artists need to eat too.

Sarah = bad ass = curtains = paint

First, I'm so lucky. So very blessed to have a friend like Sarah. Last week I had the wild idea on Wednesday morning to completely repaint my main floor bathroom before a party I was throwing on Saturday for two friends birthdays. At first I was half kidding because I didn't think anyone would actually help me and I wasn't sure if there would be time to finish it before Saturday. On Wednesday night I came home to Curtis and Kevin scraping the ugly brown wall paper off the walls. Then Chantelle showed up, and shortly after, Sarah and Lisa came. I have amazing friends! We got all the shitty brown wallpaper off and then called it a night. I had to work the next day but was able to leave early and continue working on the project. We had to pretty much slather the walls in joint compound because there were so many holes and dings and scrapes. That took a long time to do, and even longer to try. The next day I had to work again and couldn't leave early but Sarah and Kevin came over and got to work without me. How amazing is that? They sanded the walls and started painting. By the time I got home Friday night it was almost complete. We chose a really light beautiful lilac color.

The whole room is so much happier and brighter. I don't even know how to thank my friends for doing this for me. I owe them big time. Sarah brought over a beautiful floral shower curtain that her mom let me borrow and it really brightens the place up. It's hard to tell in this crappy photo but if you saw my bathroom before then you will understand.



While we were painting and waiting for things to dry Sarah had a really good idea (she is full of good ideas) to sew curtains for a sort of junky looking area by my back door. There are shelves (falling apart!) that we store crockpots and blenders and paper plates and toasters and all sorts of other kitcheny junk on. I had this fun yellow gingham fabric I got from a coworker whose grandma died recently.

Now you see it,

Now you don't,
Sarah just busted these out in about 2 hours.

Kitties can't help themselves...

I bought some amazing turquoise paint for my kitchen so stay tuned for that jazz.

cats, glow, attitude

Last month my dearest Sarah came over to help me re arrange my room because I was feeling cluttered and icky. Anytime I have an idea or project for home improvement Sarah is right by my side ready to get dirty. She is the best, really. She had this magical coral pinky fabric and we used it to make curtains for two of my bedroom windows.


When the sun sets my room glows and it's pure magic I tell you. My mom got me that desk you see as a sewing table. I've been using it to watercolor and draw on with Sarah. We draw elephants and trees and pigs and cats and whatever we fancy. It's been so much fun to test my artistic capability and tap into my creative side.



I've been trying to drink more tea than coffee lately. Coffee is good if I need to jolt awake but I never really feel great after I drink it. My tummy always churns and the crash is harsh and just makes me want to drink more and more coffee. The tea buzz feels more clear minded and alert and it calms me at the same time. My boss (not my direct boss but his boss who I love and adore) loves tea too and we always swap and share. He let me use his tea ball and brought me some of his favorite loose teas. Overall I thought the tea ball was messy but it was definitely stronger and more aromatic than pre-bagged tea.



I am still taking care of sweet kitty Monster. I really love him and will have a very hard time giving him back to Megan when that day approaches. I just switched the cats to a new food because they were puking a lot and I have only seen one puke since! Monster is a bit of a glutton and as soon as I refill the water and food he devours as much as he possibly can and then pukes it all up. Slooow down pal... slow down.
These guys are still gorgeous.


I'm a very happy girl and my motto of the year is this: