Family

My intentions are good.  I keep meaning to take out the camera to
photograph my sewing machines or my Foredom drill, but it’s been a
crazy week.  I’m busy wrapping up some huge projects that were put on
the back-burner months ago when the paper collection cut in line.  You
know that stage of moving where all of the furniture, boxes & other
obvious items have been put on the moving truck, but the floor’s still
swimming with random debris: the broom, several floor lamps, thread
racks, spinning wheel, cleaning supplies, whatever?  I’m at that stage
on a few business projects.  Not the fun part — but it does mean we’re
almost done.

My brother’s wife is on bed rest trying to make it one more week
before delivering their fourth child.  We’ve had their youngest over a
couple of days this week & that’s been big fun for Charlotte.  Then
my dad went into the hospital today with a heart issue.  Word is that
it’s not too serious, but the doctor wants to keep an eye on him
tonight.  So there we are. Just enough added jazz to make
picture-taking less important for today.  But a quick blog post is
still a nice change of pace for a few minutes 🙂   

Keepin’ it pretty, here’s a photo of Miss Charlotte showing off her
favorite accessory (a snapped up point-n-shoot from our day at the
Renaissance Festival).

And for good laughs, check out this April Fools Day banner!!

Such a great week!  We had Laura with us for four days, kids
included (Luke & Lily below).  We hit the best antique stores & boutiques, my favorite new grocery
store (a few times) for gelato & aisle-coursing entertainment, and
we ate out more than we ate in. Whoa.

I scored 6+ yards of vintage flaming-orange fabric, now destined for
a bedskirt in my yet-to-be-decorated bedroom.  Got an old donut-maker
tool too – in a cool paperboard box (that Charlotte later tore to
shreds). Then more vintage buttons, a hand-knit yellow baby sweater, a
bizarre basket purse, and a cool leafed table with a green &
orange metal top.  I promise to show all at some point.  The donut-maker
definitely fits into this month’s theme (a theme which will have to
extend well into April as I didn’t expect my Chicago trip, Elijah’s
Spring Break, and an Easter week with Laura to be such wonderful
distractions).

On
Tuesday, Isaac took Charlotte & Lily out for an all-day girl-extravaganza.  Lily practically bubbled out of her skin to tell us all
about it that night.  Here’s Isaac’s
outline of their day.  Perhaps he’s planning a thesis.

1. Glitter Box — ultimate girl store
    a. Girls get princess up–dos and chat up the proprietresses
    b. Girls shop
        i. Lily – glitter journal, magic glitter face stamp, girlie bag
       ii. Charlotte – set of seven heart-shaped, flavored lip-gloss
rings (cherry, orange, vanilla, etc.), magic glitter face stamp, girlie
bag

2. Puppies ‘N Love–puppy super store
    a. Watch puppies
    b. Pet and play with miniature schnauzer

3. Lunch at Johnny Rockets — hamburger joint
    a. Nickel juke box
        i. Del Shannon, Runaway
        ii. Lollipop
    b. Waitress makes ketchup (catsup) drawings
        i. Lily and Charlotte get ketchup puppies
        ii. Isaac gets ketchup winkin’ dude
    c. Burgers Fries & Chicken Tenders
        i. Cherry 7-up

4. Disney Store
    a. ‘Nuf said

5. Play in Park
    a. Make a new friend

6. Apple Store
    a. Sponge Bob game
    b. Okay, this one is really for Isaac

7. Pick Up Elijah from School

8. Cold Stone Creamery — ice cream mixed on a chilled marble slab
    a. Lily – finally settles on mint ice cream, cotton candy ice cream & rainbow sprinkles
        i. First idea – mint ice cream, chocolate ice cream & gummy bears
        ii. Second idea – cotton candy ice cream, pineapple sorbet & gummy bears
    b. Charlotte – strawberry milkshake
    c. Elijah – mint ice cream, chocolate cake batter ice cream, chocolate chips
    d. Isaac – chocolate cake batter ice cream, banana ice cream, graham cracker crumbs, YUM!

9. Movie Rental Place
    a. Aladdin
    b. Fox and Hound II
    c. Miss Spider’s Tea Party

10. Back Home
    a. Princess photos by the front door
    b. Dump tablespoon of purple glitter on tile floor for special, girlie, princess grout-treatment 

11. Heather & Laura Return
    a. Lily bounces down the stairs to report 
    b. Charlotte twirls

12. Bedtime Bath
    a. Remove dozens of bobby pins 
    b. Rinse off glitter 
    c. Scrub out hairspray 
    d. Play some more

In simple mathematical terms …

Princess Day for the Girls + Shopping Day for the Moms = 10,000 Points for Isaac & a Good Night’s Sleep for Everyone.

Like
footballs.  Our first harvest of lemons.  They are huge.  Even my
parents, who live on a citrus grove, can’t believe how big our lemons
are.  You can’t tell from the photos, but they’re probably 50% bigger
than average & perfect.

Anyone remember the song, "Lemon tree, very pretty…?" My mother used to sing it to me when I was a small child.

Being new to lemon trees, I couldn’t believe the thorns!  Some as
long as 2-3".  I was extra careful with Charlotte underfoot, but not so
careful with myself.  I wouldn’t bother with gardening gloves (though I
have really cute blue leather gloves with red trim).  I got poked here
and there.  Not so much like a needle poke though — those thorns are
lemony.  So a lemon-thorn poke is like a needle poke with lemon juice
on top.

The worst is getting spiked in the forehead.

I
love it though.  I love to garden.  I even like the thorns.  It’s just
nice to be outside with the kids and the chirping birds.  And what’s
more sweet than sharing a pitcher of freshly-squeezed lemonade with
your kids — lemons they helped harvest?  Not much. 

It was a good day.

Now to get the rest of the garden in order.  One day.

"Oh my. Oh. Look at her. Whoa, she is awesome! Even better, kinda scary."

I almost interrupted the Queen’s presentation on historical costume to ask if she’d be my new best friend.  Got scared though.

Which
reminds me of college…  I redintegrate again (love that word!)  One
of my two closest friends in college used to charge around campus with
a bulldog snarl on her face.  With hot-pink, spiky hair, heavy eyeliner,
and lots of silver chains, she had droves of cutie-pies convinced she
was bad news.  Funny thing was, she was the sweetest girl, never mean to anyone & not into anything shady.  She just got a kick out of stirring up a little harmless mystery. 

And there I was trotting along beside her, bright & sunny,
newly-married & all-too squeaky clean.  I swear if anyone had the
nerve to look her direction long enough, they would have surely noticed
me beside her and her whole mystique would have dissipated in an
instant.  My friend designed the most interesting clothes – not shy of
pink feather boas or studded black vinyl.  In fact, she was all sparkes
& chains really.  Extremely talented though.  Last I heard from
her, she was forging swords for the movie industry or something.
Coolest girl.

Which has me thinking…  Shouldn’t there be a site where we ladies
can officially call-out our maiden names and make ourselves findable? 
I’m tired of searching for old friends to no avail.  It’s those dern
maiden names.  Or we can all post our maiden names on our blogs.  Or in
the comments of this post if you like.  My maiden name is
Heather Hutchings. 

There friends, now find me!

So, back on track… Um yes, we took the kids to the Renaissance
Festival.  Sting was there again, doing his thing.  And there was my
favorite new character with that Queen of Hearts flair.  I just love her!  And she had the coolest green floral trunk!  We could be good friends.

Granny got Elijah some tricky sticks. (I think they’re called
Crystal Stix.)  And Charlotte was bestowed a lavender butterfly wand.
Costumes, jousting, greasy turkey legs, petting zoo – the kids couldn’t
have had more fun.   

As for me, as long as I get a good look at a Peregrine Falcon, a
couple of freaky vultures & an owl, I’m good.  The Birds of Prey
demonstration is really the highlight for me.  That, and a day in the
sun with my family.

Hey
& thanks for the huzzahs over my new paper collection.  I’ve always
loved to make paper dolls & cards & whatnot.  I predict some
seriously good fun.

And a fashion-history factoid from my History of Costume class in
college… Did you know that women used to pluck out rows & rows of
hair, more than an inch sometimes, in order to make their foreheads
fashionably tall?  Or that Queen Elizabeth used to paint blue lines on
her skin – you know, for younger- looking skin.  (I’d like to see
Beyonce or Heather Locklear do that commercial.)  Interesting article on historical beauty practices here.  Lots of poisons though : (

Lists!  Why haven’t I done this before?
There’s no sense trying to connect any of these thoughts together.  A
list will suit the occasion perfectly.

1.  Laura Lure –  Laura has big news!  Read about it here.

2.  Rachel, Rachel, What Rhymes with Rachel? – 
Isaac’s sister has a new blog and an online store. called harper.  Remember Harper?  Rachel has
perfected edgy simplicity.  You’ll love her aesthetic.   

3.  Tara Haira –  Meet Tara.  Well, her hair at least.  Tara’s now working with us a couple of days a week to help
keep our many plates spinning smoothly.  This is the awesome Trash Ties
‘do she wore to work last week.

4.  It’s Back! –  Freshcut wasn’t on the Free Spirit website for a while.  It turns
out their web designer made a mistake, so yes! the collection is still
available.  Free Spirit’s new mantra is to keep every collection
available as long as it’s selling well.  Good plan : )

5.  Not So Sweet –
I made it four days without sugar last week.  I’m trying for five this
week.  This mini mug of cocoa love (see #9 below) is for Charlotte and
there’s one more for Elijah when he gets home.

6.  Drip, Drip –  It’s raining outside.  I love rainy days!

7.  Trip, Trip –
Isaac’s brother moved to Germany this year to teach at a university.
He’s there with his wife and new baby boy.  I’m thinking I might have
to get my passport in order and fly out for a visit.  Sometime.  Just thinking.

8. Flip, Flip –  We want to get a backyard trampoline for our kids soon.  One with a net.  Any suggestions before we jump to it?

9.  Sip, Sip –
Cost Plus World Market is selling pink hot cocoa for Valentine’s Day in
pink-striped packages.  Might make for some fun grown-up valentines??
These little strawberry/chocolate bits are from there too.  The mini
mug set is from Target. 

10.  Hmmm –  Check this out.  What store would you live in?

Gaw, isn’t this gorgeous!?!  I’m ready to pack my bags & a tarp
to go live in a lean-to right there by that fence in Who-Knows-Where,
South Carolina.  Purple azaleas, mossy-green grass, gravel road,
weathered wooden fence, misty forest…heaven.

I have this photo open on my desktop while I work and when I drift
off, I drift off down that path.  Kinda nice, really.  You should try
it. 

If you live somewhere as beautiful, pray, do tell where. Sigh.

I know, I know, I’ve been absent from these parts for most of the last month.  Beyond taking a much
needed holiday break, I’ve been wrapping up some big projects and
structuring my world to take on the new year.  If I get some of these
things done quickly this week, I just might get to tap into the
new-year enthusiasm in the air before it dissipates.  That’s the plan.
That’s the hope.  I love a new year!  And I’m happy to bury 2007.

Things will pick up here as well.  I have some great new crafts and
free patterns in the works for January.  And some fun finds to share.
Looking forward to it.  Thanks for hanging around : )

Happy New Year!

I just added an automatic response to my inbox to alert folks that
I’d be out of the studio through Christmas and it appears to have gone
berserk!  From what I can tell, it sent an "I’ll be out of the
studio…" message in response to every email I’ve received since
somewhere around Oct 17th.  Sheesh!  So, I apologize if any
of you are greeted with a dozen auto responses from my inbox today.
I told it to only reply to emails that were less than one day old.  I
don’t know what went wrong.  So sorry.

I do expect to pop back in here before Christmas is through though.
Happy Christmas Eve Eve — Sing lots of holiday songs today and make a big, floury mess or two in the kitchen with your loved ones.  I plan to.