You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February, 2007.
If only I could create my dream spring/summer wardrobe, it would look something like this.
Cardigan - in white, of course!
Pants that actually fit! One in stone, and one in denim.
The perfect denim skirt
3/4 sleeve collared tees in baby pink, brilliant green, and dream blue.
Button down shirts in a brilliant green, firebrick, black, and white.
Diaper Bag and handbag.
Comfy House and Pool Sandals
Swimsuit in crimson.
Seven Vintage Style Daydresses in charming floral prints or bright jewel tones.
Cotton Print Dresses in several colors for weddings, showers, and other summery affairs.
1. Do you ever use all caps when typing online messages?
No. I hate all caps - it makes me feel like the writer is screaming at me. Either that or too lazy to use proper pronunciation so they choose all caps as an easy out.
2. Does it bother you when other people use all caps in their messages?
Oh. SEE ANSWER ABOVE! (I just had to know how it felt. Just this once.)
3. Do you use abbreviations (i.e. lol, brb, etc.) when typing email messages or text messages?
I use etc a lot. I have on occasion used i.e. I hate the lol, roflmbo (or any variation on that one) and most other “cutesy” abbreviations. I feel like the English language is being dumbed down to nothing and it reminds me of 1984.
4. Do you ever receive faxes or other correspondence from a professional office that are typed in all caps? If so, what do you think of that?
No, I don’t because I am a stay at home mom. I do, however, see all cap foam letters or refrigerator magnets, and I don’t like that. I am going to great lengths to find a set of children’s refrigerator magnets in lower case letters.
5. Do you rely on the computer program to catch your typing errors, or do you proofread your material before sending it out?
Mostly I rely on the computer to catch my spelling errors, though I also proofread to see if what I have just written makes any sense at all.
My brother is home from Korea, and is visiting us on his way to his new posting in DC. This picture is an unusual photo both because he’s home, and because they all cooperated and stood for the portrait!
On eBay this week - this lovely vintage writing desk…
Monday - Dinner at Mom and Dad’s
Tuesday - Chicken Fried Steak (Leftover from last weeks menu).
Wednesday - Blackened Tilapia
Thursday - Chinese food from Aldis
Friday - Philly Steak and Cheese Sandwiches
Saturday - Dinner with friends
Appetizer
Where on your body do you have a scar, and what caused it?
Well - since I was such a graceful child, I escaped childhood with very few scars. Yeah right. Let’s see, about three hundred on my arms from various burns, and a memorable one above my left eye which occurred in a shooting accident. I was the one holding the gun, and yes, it was pointed the right direction. I simply held it too loosely and it kicked me right-smack-dab above the left eye, knocking me flat on my back and causing an impressive amount of blood to appear. Then there’s that scar on my calf which I got when I fell through a heat vent - yet another testament to my natural grace.
Soup
What is something that has happened to you that you would consider a miracle?
I birthed two babies. In my opinion, that whole entire pregnancy process is a miracle. It’s a miracle I met the most wonderful man in the world and got him to marry me before anyone else got a hold of him. It’s a miracle when my seventeen month old daughter makes it through the day without choking. The exquisite moon last night was a miracle. Really, I think we look to hard for miracles which causes us to miss the ones God is doing every minute of every day.
Salad
Name a television personality who really gets on your nerves.
Oprah. Well, about every single person I’ve ever seen on TV annoys me in some way. I’m very critical of people, can you tell?
Main Course
What was a funny word you said as a child (such as “pasketti” for “spaghetti”)?
All my brothers called spaghetti pasketti! I, on the other hand, had perfect pronunciation and dictation. I actually can’t remember any words like that, but I have very few early memories. I do remember that I would have killed to have an English accent, though.
Dessert
Fill in the blank: I have always thought ______ was ______.
WoW! That could be anything.
Coffee was good.
Shakespeare was interesting.
I don’t know, but one of my brother’s insisted that a cloud was “smoke from hell”. Does that count?
Are we allowed two?
This made me laugh this morning!
If you could rewrite one pivotal moment in history, good or
bad, to make a change, which moment would that be AND what are some of
the consequences that you believe might come from that change?
This is a terrible thing to get me started on! I think that *if* it were possible, I would love to change the outcome of the Civil War. BUT - you have to give me a chance to explain!
* I believe that slavery was already a dying institution - it had been abolished in England in a much more peaceable way, and it could have been here, too - which I believe would have saved us from much of the modern racism.
* As Charles Dickens put it in 1862 “The Northern onslaught upon slavery is no more than a specious humbug designed to conceal its desire for economic control of the Southern states.”
* Lincoln said: “I agree with Judge Douglas that he [a black] is not my equal in many respects, certainly not in color — perhaps not in intellectual and moral endowments; but in the right to eat the bread without leave of anybody else which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every other man.” - Oct. 13, 1858, during his famed debates with Judge Stephen A. Douglas
OK, Just a few thoughts on a topic I am passionate about. Do you regret asking?
What’s the most unusual hobby you have? How did you get started with it?
Maybe it would be my love of vintage buttons? Or all things vintage? I don’t know how it started, I guess I was born that way.
Name one thing for each of the following: Favorite smell, texture, view, sound, taste.
Smell: My babies. Their hair, their yummy breath, their sweet skin.
Texture: The different consistencies of my babies thighs. They start out sort of rubbery and progress to a softer squishier texture.
Sound: The sound of my little girls laughing with their Papa. And the sound of Dan singing them to sleep. Or his voice quoting poetry and passages from the Bible softly in their ears as they drift off to slumber land.
Taste: My husband!
Monday - Gourmet Chicken Pizza
Tuesday - Green Spaghetti
Wednesday - Spinach Garlic Pizza
Thursday - Dinner at Mom and Dad’s
Friday - Bacon Jack Chicken Sandwich
Appetizer
What sound, other than the normal ringing, would you like your telephone to make?
Well, my cell phone plays Mission Impossible, and I like that a lot. But maybe I would choose something more soothing for a home phone. Maybe a Lewis Armstrong song?
Soup
Describe your usual disposition in meteorological terms (partly cloudy, sunny, stormy, etc.).
At the moment I feel like a stalled out high pressure system.
Salad
What specific subject do you feel you know better than any other subjects?
I think I know sewing better than any other subject. Not that I even know it as well as most other people, but it is my most favorite subject in the world…
Main Course
Imagine you were given the ability to remember everything you read for one entire day. Which books/magazines/newspapers would you choose to read?
A book on smocking. And maybe a Geography textbook. Books about teaching toddlers and children. Cheryl Mendelson’s “Home Comforts”.
Dessert
If a popular candy maker contacted you to create their next confection, what would it be like and what would you name it?
Maybe I could convince them to swing over into the world of jerky? Candy doesn’t really hold that much excitement for me.
As I mentioned earlier, We’re not doing so well this morning. One of those nasty cold/flu things has us by the short hairs. I was worried that this would happen.
Grandma brought us a Valentine/Get Well gift in the form of zinc lozenges, apple juice, kiwi strawberry juice, tangerines, bananas and apples, so we’re pretty well stocked up on fruit. I plan on making the day as cozy as possible. I’ve been carrying around eucalyptus scented handkerchiefs (a burp cloth for Sophie) all morning, and I plan to implement as many of the following treats as possible…
From Alison at Brocante Home:
1. Bed socks.
You must have bed socks. Ok so they are not remotely sexy but they can look effortlessly vintage chic with a too big for you white Victorian nightie and a snuggly cardigan. Hunt some out, stitch yourself a little sock bag and hang it from your bed-post.
2. The Blanket Cardigan.
Fold the top quarter of a blanket over and stitch 35cms in from each side to make some makeshift armholes. Adorn as desired et voila! A pretty blanket that will stay sitting round your shoulders and guaranteeing warmth through another episode of Ugly Betty. So you look like a Granny. What the hell, you are warm.
3. Herbal Cold Tea.
At the slightest sniffle of a cold, make yourself some herbal cold tea, then take to your bed and refuse to budge.
4. Candles.
Now I have no idea whether I am right or wrong here, but I will argue till I’m blue in the face that lighting lots and lots of candles warms you up. My Dad says I am talking nonsense, but whether the effects are purely psychological or not, I find that lighting, cinnamon, clove or other wintery spiced candles makes me feel cosier. As does a red blanket or two. And the scrumptiously cosy red floral bedding I am currently retiring to…
5. Mustard Foot Bath.
Warm feet, warm heart. Or something like that. Mustard oils are absorbed through the skin and elimanated via your lungs, promoting a beneficial anti-bacterial action and causing skin irritation mild enough to make you feel warm. Warm towels and socks on the radiator as your feet soak then snuggle up your tootsies and I guarantee you’ll feel better…
6. Bake Bread.
Nothing makes me feel more homely than the smell of bread baking. Make soda bread and serve it with crispy bacon and mushrooms swimming in garlicy oil. Set the breadmaker to wake you with the delicious aroma of hot flaky bread ready to be served with big bowls full of hot chocolate. Or eat makeshift suppers of warm ciabatta sprinkled with olive oil and sea salt, melted brie and red wine to warm you up from the inside out.
7. Hibernate For The Weekend.
While my Mum has something of a dicky fit if I stay in the house for longer than twenty four hours at a time, I am a great believer in the healing powers of hibernation. Don’t feel like going out much? Don’t. Fill the pantry with staples. Arrange to have a box of organic veg delivered. Keep a vat of scrummy soup on the go. Go the library and take out a huge pile of books. Don’t bother going out for the daily paper. Don’t spend hours on the phone. Stay in till you feel better and enjoy the peace of your own or your families company.
8. Curtains.
Close every curtain in the house as soon as the afternoon sun dies. Both in an effort to conserve heat and to trick your mind into thinking that the house is warmer than it is. It may not be terribly green but keeping a lamp on in every room and every passage way- in fact setting timers so they switch themselves on as dimly as possible as soon as dusk settles, will reinforce the feeling of welcome and warmth in your home and you will not experience the disconcerting jar of switching overheard lights on as you go about the house in the early evening…
9. Draft Excluders.
Can’t be bothered stitching vintage fabric wrapped draft excluders? Fold a blanket in half and roll it into a sausage, then tie both ends christmas cracker style with a length of thick velvet ribbon and press your home-made door snugglers up against the drafts creeping through every entrance way in the house.
10. Thermal Vests.
Now the problem with thermal underwear is this: once you move into it for the Winter you have to expect to freeze should you decide to venture out without it till around about July. But oh my it is just so yummy. Buy a selection with lacy edges pretty enough to peep out of layers of fine knit woollies and make handwashing them in lavender and letting them dry on padded hangers a quick, but really rather scrumptious evening ritual.
11. Nursery Suppers.
Give up dinner for a few nights and instead offer the kids a very old fashioned high tea when they come home dithering from school and a light nursery supper (boiled egg and soldiers?) an hour before they go to bed..
12. Handcream.
Stand a tub of handcream in a bowl of boiling water while you wash the dishes then treat yourself to a warming hand massage when you remove your Marigolds…
13. Water Bowls.
Fill pretty little bowls full of water and a few drops of aromatherapy oil and leave them in the vicinity of every radiator in the house ready to counteract the dreadfully skin wrinkling effects of central heating.
14. Early To Bed.
Set the scene right and your bedroom is the snuggliest place to be when it is very, very chilly. Line the sheet you lie on with a wool blanket so the bed feels warm on your skin, switch the radio to Classic Fm, spritz your pillow with eucalyptus, pile an extra quilt or two on top of the bed (I do adore burying myself in a muddle of cosy blankets) take a cup of chamomile to bed and snuggle up with an old fashioned love story or a thoroughly modern man.
Honestly - it wasn’t all that romantic. In fact, if you’ve ever wondered when the honeymoon phase is over, the answer is “After the birth of your second child”. It starts to taper off after the first baby, but by the second child, you’re just too tired for the honeymoon phase to go on any longer. That, and you don’t even have time to think, let alone get very romantic.
Not only did the two babies put a slight damper on our favorite holiday, but we are entertaining that winter demon, the flu. Even the tiniest baby has it, poor thing. Anyway, I got two hours of sleep last night because both daughters needed much help and cuddling. Poor little Sophie’s nose is so stopped up that she struggles with each and every breath.
Much resting is on order for us today!
It’s a bad idea. There’s great danger in doing it. America is against it, & Congress should be. The whole world is against it. Our allies are against it. Our enemies are against it. Don’t we ever learn? Have we already forgotten Iraq? If it’s carried out, the Middle East, & possibly the world, will explode. And you have no moral authority to do it.
Breakfast:
Caramel Cinnamon Muffins with Strawberries and Ham
Lunch:
Heart shaped cheese and sausages on crackers
Dinner:
Lobster dinner
Monday - Dinner at Mom and Dad’s
Tusday - Frozen chicken dish
Wednesday - see Valentines Day menu…
Thursday - Rainy Day Chili
Friday - Chicken Fried Steak
Saturday - We STILL haven’t gotten to that steak dinner…
Appetizer - Have you been sick yet this winter? If so, what did you come down with?
I haven’t actually been sick, though I have had a baby, does that count? But since we’re on the topic of sickness, I think this is a good time to mention that is is not considered good manners to visit a newborn baby and her family when one has had a high fever for the past few days. It id not encouraging to hear (as the mother of the newborn baby) that your guest leaves your house and heads straight over to the emergency room. Just a little gripe I had…
Soup - What colors dominate your closet?
These days mostly black. Because I’m trying to look slim. And it’s not working, either. I think that I love pastels, and retro colors (chocolate and pink, for example) but I have this dreaded magnetic attraction to tan (which does nothing for me, with the possible exception of making me look dead) and deep red (which I actually like, but think I don’t like to wear). And I love denim. My dream is to find the perfect denim skirt someday…
Salad - How would you describe your personal “comfort zone”?
Well, overly happy people make me slightly nervous (I know, this is a terrible thing to say). I can only chalk it up to the fact that we live in Missouri, where life is supposed to be hard! I like to be with my husband and daughters, and doing anything relaxing. By the way, it is next to impossible to relax with one, and seventeen month old babies.
Main Course - On which reality show would you really like to be a contestant?
I hate reality TV. Except for Trading Spaces, but they would never be allowed into my home!
Dessert - Which holiday would you consider to be your favorite?
All of them?
More shameless advertising. But isn’t it neat? Click here to see our eBay auction…
Thirteen things I’m sewing…
1. A dress for my sister…
2. Complete with bolero…
3. And handbag. All in a lovely combination of wine colored gingham and rose floral.
4. A dress for my mom. From the same rose print as my sister’s dress.
5. Pink poodle skirts for my girls, complete with tiny poodles, the black belt, and poofy slips.
6. White sailor dresses for my little girls.
7. A total of eight little vintage style smocks for my girls. Four each with corresponding bloomers in the most charming floral and gingham prints.
8. A skirt very similar to this one, in the same prints as my girls smocks.
9. Two shirts for my mom, a sleevless one and one with bell sleeves, in combinations of the prints which I am using for my skirts and the girls smocks.
10. Two shirts for my sister (the same fabric plan as above).
11. A pair of gauchos for my sister which will match and can be worn with either of her two tops.
12. A black silky kimono for myself to wear to my grandparents 50th anniversary dinner. (The same event that Mom and Hannah will be wearing their new dresses, and which my girls will wear their poodle skirts [the party is a fifties theme]).
13. A small assortment of hats, bonnets and aprons to complete the girls summer wardrobes.
I promise pictures as the various projects are finished.
“What a traditional woman did that made her home warm and alive was not dusting and laundry…. Her real secret was that she identified herself with her home, [and]…it is illuminating to think about what happened when things went right. Then her affection was in the soft sofa cushions, clean linens, and good meals; her memory in well-stocked storeroom cabinets and the pantry; her intelligence in the order and healthfulness of her home; her good humor in its light and air. She lived her life not only through her own body, but through the house as an extension of her body; part of her relation to those she loved was embodied in the physical medium of the home she made. My own experience convinces me that there is still no other way to make a good home than to have attitudes toward home and domesticity modeled on those of that traditional woman…. Advertisements and television programs offer degraded images of household work and workers. Discussions of the subject in magazines and newspapers follow a standard formula…. It is scarcely surprising, then, that so many people imagine housekeeping to be boring, frustrating, repetitive, unintelligent drudgery. I cannot agree. (In fact, having kept house, practiced law, taught, and done many other sorts of work, low- and high-paid, I can assure you that it is actually lawyers who are most familiar with the experience of unintelligent drudgery.)”
~ Cheryl Mendelson, Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House,
It’s laundry again. I have no idea how we create so much laundry! The folding (and putting away) of laundry is one of the most dreaded chores of the week. So, I’m gonna tackle it.
I also am planning to tackle the mopping and waxing of the kitchen floor…
But it’s my blog and I can advertise if I want to.
We found the neatest game the other day and were thrilled to be able to sell it on eBay. I do love vintage games - they’re so neat to look at. If only my babies weren’t babies, I’d be tempted to keep loads of vintage board games stacked around my house just because they’re so neat!
Click here to view the auction with lots more pictures…
1. What is your favorite main course to prepare?
Steak. Without a doubt.
2. What is your favorite side dish to prepare?
Artichokes.
3. Do you like to bake? If so, what is your favorite?
I like tro bakle artisan breads. I’m a perfectionist of sorts when it comes to breads, though, so I am often unhappy with the results.
4. What one dish would you like to learn to cook?
Crème brûlée
5. What is your worst cooking disaster?
The time I caught my grandmothers kitchen on fire. Or maybe the time I caught my own kitchen on fire. Or maybe the time I accidently flooded my kitchen. It would be hard to narrow it down, really.
Saturday
Brunch: Cheesy Potato and Green Chili Breakfast Casserole
Dinner: Casey’s Pizza
Sunday
Brunch: Dad’s Egg Burritos
Dinner: Fish Sticks
Monday
Breakfast: Egg McMuffins
Lunch: Tuna Salad
Dinner: Dinner at Mom and Dad’s
Tusday
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Spaghetti
Dinner: Philly Steak and Cheese Sandwiches
Wednesday
Breakfast: Leftover Breakfast Burritoes
Lunch: Macaroni
Dinner: Chicken Parmesan (We never got around to this last week…)
Thursday
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: PB’nJ
Dinner: Dinner @ the Melby’s
Friday
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Toast
Lunch: Chicken Parmesan Subs
Dinner: Elegant Steak Dinner with Potato Gratin (We didn’t get to this last week, either!)
Appetizer
What was one of the fashion fads when you were a teenager?
Those bell-bottom/hip hugging jeans. Don’t get me wrong, I like boot cut legs and a low cut waist on jeans, but the ones that I hate are the jeans so low that it reveals way more about the underwear preferences of the person wearing the jeans, than you ever wanted to know!
Soup
Name one thing you think people assume about you when they first meet you.
I have no idea! Probably that I’m stuck up because I love to be with my husband and girls better than just about anybody else, and I tend to interact mostly wwith them when we’re out and about.
Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how hard do you work?
Probably a 6. I stay pretty busy, but that’s because I have to. The house won’t clean itself for some odd reason.
Main Course
If you were given a free 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl to sell anything you currently own, what would you advertise?
My eBay auctions. Or maybe I’d cut to the chase and advertise a massive yard sale. Oh how I want to get rid of all my junk!
Dessert
Fill in the blank:
I love to (blank) take the train back to my husband’s home-town (a 19 hour trip)
when it is (blank) summer.
| Thirteen things I love about my babies
*The way they smell. They have very distinctly different and yet totally yummy scents. *Sophie’s beefy shoulders. *Kinsley’s long light eyelashes. *Sophie’s wrinkly arms. *Kinsley’s sweet belly button. *Sophie’s sticking up hair. *Kinsley’s silky natural bob. *Sophie’s opposable toe. *Kinsley’s little block feet. *The way Sophie feels when she’s nursing. *The way Kinsley gets ten pounds heavier and ten degrees warmer when she falls asleep. *The way the whites of their eyes are tinted blue. *The way they love each other and put up with each other. Kinsley seems to know that Sophie’s to small to be blamed for her crying and grabbing onto hair and such things, and Sophie puts up with Kinsley’s everwhelming physical loving much better than I would have thought… |
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