Mustard

I've got mustard on the brain. When Curt and I eventually move into our own place, I want a nice mustard room. Guest bedroom perhaps?

I'll make some pillows from mustard fabric.

I would love to paint an old dresser or side table mustard.

I love the look of this mustard couch. And check out that rug! 

I like the trendy combination of mustard and grey, but I really love this unexpected combo of mustard and teal.

Are you as in love with mustard as I am? If not, maybe these shoes can convince you:

I think I might have to start feeding my piggy bank and save up for a pair of these beauties. Won't they be perfect for fall?! And also to wear in my mustard room :) 

Democracy

I am in need of new glasses. I usually wear contacts, but every now and then I'm stuck wearing my glasses, which happen to be about ten years old. Not only are they grossly worn out, the prescription is way off. So I turned to Warby Parker for a new pair of geek chic glasses.

And now I'm turning to you to pick your favorite. Check out the photos and please, cast your vote! And feel free to leave more opinions in the comments. 

So tell me, what's your favorite? 

Catching Up

Things have been a little bit crazy around here and my blog has been neglected. Curt and I are trying to buy a house and just when everything started to go our way we ran into a big issue. I won't bore you with the details but I will ask that you send good thoughts our way as we try to *hopefully* finalize things on our new house. We are thinking nothing but good thoughts and hoping for the best right now!

Adding to that stress is that fact that Curt has been away playing music at camps for a few weeks. Last week he didn't have cell service and it was such a pain to communicate!

The benefit of his absence is the fact that I have all the time in the world to sew, sew, sew, and I got a lot accomplished.

I made two new tops, finished off another that needed sashing, and then quilted them along with three other tops that have been waiting for a little love.

Two of the quilts were finished completely and the other four are waiting for binding. It felt really good to turn those tops into almost-quilts and I plan on tackling the binding tomorrow. Four of them will be going into my up-coming online shop.

I also occupied my time with some good old fashioned friendship bracelets. What, you haven't heard? They're back!

There's just something so calming about tying knots in group of threads that are pinned to the knee of your jeans. I still have my embroidery floss collection from my friendship bracelets days on the playground. Hours of fun to come!

Curtis came home Saturday but he brought a nasty cold with him. Fever, chills, sore throat, snot, coughing. It's bad. It's keeping me up at night. But it's good to have him back home.

While we are under a heat advisory, he's sitting on the couch under a winter blanket, wearing a sweater and drinking hot tea. Last night he requested chili for dinner. I can't say no because he's such a pathetic sick person, but I mean, come on, chili when it's 100* outside?!

I told you things are crazy around here. Back to sewing and packing. And maybe a little more friendship bracelet-ing.

ps: we saw Harry Potter and wow, wasn't it great?! I need to go back and read the books again because gosh, they are so good! And yeah, Neville Longbottom. Hello. Where did you come from?

Happy Independence Day!

Curt & I celebrated July 4th by staying in bed late, eating hot dogs, and drinking Country Time lemonade. Perfect!

We also went down to Franklin to visit the little street fair they had set up (not the greatest, in my opinion).

What was the greatest was this old timey band wandering the streets.

(video taken with my iPhone using the 8mm app - 20's filter)

We hit up the local fro-yo place. Curt had Original Tart and I had a little combo of Pistachio and Mint. They were mmmmm.

We left just before the parade, and just before a small storm rolled through.

I spent the rest of the night at work but Curt ventured downtown to see the fireworks and he said they were spectacular. I could hear the rumbles, and they sounded pretty good from where I was listening.

Hope you had a great day celebrating! 

Sandwich Time

The highlight of my lunch hour? Sandwich time. And because sharing makes us happy, I'm going to share my secrets to the perfect sandwich.

1. Start with a good bread. It doesn't happen to be anything fancy, but a little more than off-brand Wonder Bread please. My pick today? Some pre-sliced asiago from the clearance cart of my grocery store (this is usually a gold mine for fresh baked goods!)

Toast that bread just enough to get it crisp. Not too much, not too little. This is key.

2. Slice yourself some cheese and melt it on top of one slice of bread. I nuke it for 20 seconds in the microwave. Don't be cheap with your slices - get nice thick ones. This is no time for thin cheese. After the melting, pick up that slice of bread and get some air circulating under it - we don't want our toasted bread going soggy on us now, do we?

3. Add some meat. My preference is a smoked turkey from the deli, but I'll take what I can get (on sale). Bacon would be a welcome addition to this step.

4. Cut three thin slices of cucumber (or enough to cover your sandwich). This will give you a nice fresh crunch in every bite. Tomatoes are an added bonus.

5. The Pièce de résistance: avocado* Don't be stingy.

6. Smash those halves together and enjoy your sandwich time.

*I love avocado, but I hate how fast it can go bad. To enjoy avocado on my sandwiches all week long, here's what I do: Start by cutting off a couple inches from the top for your sandwich. Immediately wrap it tightly in some tin foil and stick it in the fridge. The next day, cut of another ring of avocado, minding the pit in the middle. Wrap it and stick it back in the fridge. You can make an avocado last for days by just cutting off as much as you need and storing it well. Yum! 

Happy Saturday

Hope you are all having a good start to your weekend! Curt's family came down to visit us this past week so we have been doing all kinds of fun stuff with them. Tonight my family shows up and we will do all kinds of different fun stuff with them next week :) 

On top of that I've been up to my ears in cakes at work and working very hard. I'll be very happy when I get tomorrow off to rest and relax with my family! 

I tried to post this video earlier this week but YouTube was being weird, so you get this fine Saturday morning treat. Another gem from our Aussie friends, The Paper Kites, this video is too sweet to miss.

A big storm is arriving so I am going to hunker down with a cup of tea and my sweetie. Then over to a send-off breakfast with Curt's family. Hope your Saturday is just as cozy! 

ps - Curt & I made an offer on a house early this morning so any positive thoughts and prayers sent our way would be much appreciated :) 

Bits

I had this jar full of Loulouthi bits that I've been slowly sewing into little chunks.

And the little chunks into bigger blocks. 

No planning, no patterns, just taking the bits as they are and sewing them together. It's freeing and fun and I am looking forward to a stack of scrappy squares to make a quilt or something.