To Sew or Not to Sew

While I was in New Mexico not only did I get new curtains, I also learned how to sew. My good friend Kelly and her mom Linda took a day out of their busy schedules to teach me the ropes of using a sewing machine. With so many babies on the way (11 and counting) in my wider circle of friends I wanted to be able to make these special mothers something personal, cute and straight from the heart. And although I did teach myself to knit while I was sick in bed for four days, I thought perhaps sewing would be a more effective (and hopefully faster) way of making baby things. Check out the blanket and burp clothes they helped me create. Thank you ladies!

Hopefully I can figure out how to make the ancient machine I have in the basement work like Linda's much newer and lighter model.

Wish me luck!

Sorry for my hiatus - I was in Santa Fe and Albuquerque visiting some of my very favorite people. It was such a wonderful trip made even better by my return home. I came home to new kitchen curtains installed and ready to enjoy!

This is why I have the most talented and wonderful mother-in-law. She made these beautiful shades for our kitchen in a fabric that I love. I am not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but they are a nice mix of golds, reds and greens and they compliment the new cabinets beautifully! (Or at least we think so). Thank you so much Kay - I couldn't love them more!

So now our kitchen makeover is complete (I will post some before and after photos in the next couple of days). Steve got his walnut (not painted) cabinets, no covering wood in this family - a neurosis I got used to growing up with an avid woodworker. And I got my green corner cabinet and beautiful curtains!

The Search for a Decent Shower Curtain

Has anyone else had this problem?

I have searched high and low for a somewhat presentable shower curtain. I never thought this would be a difficult thing to find, but after endless hours of browsing the web and comments from my husband like "whoa you are putting way too much time and thought into this", I have to agree with him. Where have all the nice shower curtains gone?

This would be a GREAT business idea - create a company devoted to hip/chic/cool shower curtains ( I hope one of you take the initiative so I can hop onto etsy and enjoy your talented sewing skills during my next bathroom remodel project). We need fabulous shower curtains! Ones that are not themed with college logos (sorry Jack, I will not be having a shrine to the Aggies in all its burgundy glory), ones that (although eerily cool) do not depict a scene from Psycho, just perhaps a shower curtain or two with nice colors and original prints. There are a million fabrics out there that are beautiful and would look lovely as the focal point of my new spa/Steve's toity. I may have to find one of these fabrics and beg Steve's mom to help me sew it (I already owe her big time for some beautiful curtains and kitchen shades which you will see in a future post).

In the mean time here are a few I have found that don't make me totally repulsed.

A shower curtain from Kohls:
Anthropologie had several interesting choices. Steve even liked this one:
Here is another from Crate & Barrel - I love the pattern of the leaves, but I am not sure if it is enough color for the black and white tile:P.S. All you wonderful people out there who are much more stylish then I, please feel free to forward any other ideas that you might have.

Bathroom Progress

Ugh! I have been down and out with Bronchitis since Tuesday and am finally feeling a little more chipper today.

While I was sequestered to the cave downstairs some positive changes have happened upstairs - progress on the bathroom! We were hoping it would be done by now, but due to a change in the tile design and a few other things we still probably have a week to go (keep your fingers crossed that this is all it will take). Here are some progress photos in the mean time...

Didn't Kevin do an awesome job on the subway tile so far?!Where the linen closet used to be:Our new/retro looking floor:
Now the question is: what color should we paint the walls?

Babies, Babies, Babies!

A couple years ago it was the summer of weddings. We had something like 10 wonderful weddings to go to in one season! This year it is the year of babies... I have 7 friends so far who are pregnant and all due some time between Spring and Fall. We just had two new arrivals within our extended family and a new little baby born last week just around. Their locations range from England to Portland and everywhere in between. I love that all of these babies means that I can make and buy things for both boys and girls, because surely of the eight babies on the way (one of my beautiful ladies is having twins!!!) we will get a nice mix. With all of these babies on the brain I am sure Steve is getting a little nervous ;-)

Here are some of my favorite handmade baby gifts (from some amazing people who crotchet and knit posted on http://www.ravelry.com/):

The BIG 3-0!!!

Happy Birthday to my main squeeze Steve! He and his twin brother Kevin turn 30 today. We are throwing them a little party where I am sure there will be lots of beer, tons of food and plenty of heckling to get a brother on brother wrestling match going... something it seems men never grow out of?!

There has been some debate around our house about which years are "the best years of your life". My mom says they were her thirties and forties. Some others say it was the best in their twenties. Still others, including me, wish they could return to their childhood from time to time. I choose to embrace being 30 (it was 5 months ago for me) - I am more sure of myself now then ever before, I adore my husband, I have wonderful friends & family, a career and lots to look forward to. Here's to the future!

To Steve: I love you and I hope we never fully grow up!

Puppy Ancestry

A while back one of the local news stations did a story on finding out the breed of your mutt. Steve ran into Pets Mart to get some of that delicious rock hard dog food (which she is now allergic to) and came out with an impulse buy do-it-yourself kit. So we swabbed the inside of Koha's gums and sent off our pup's DNA for analysis. Three weeks and $60 later we found out that our black lab look-a-like is actually this:

20% Afghan Hound
20% Boxer
20% Great Pyrenees
15% Welsh Corgi
15% Rottweiler
10% Adorable (if the techs could see her I imagine that is what they would have put)

Does the dog in the picture above look like any of those things to you?! I think not, especially since we got her from the Golden Retriever Rescue and saw a picture of her mom who looked suspiciously like a golden/yellow lab mix.

So, in conclusion, do not spend the $60, do not pass "Go", return home and enjoy your mutt for all of the wonderful mysterious things he or she is, which most importantly to us is our loving companion and all time best snuggler!