My pile of addressed Christmas cards, waiting to be stuffed with our letter and stamped. Holiday stamps and new return address still on their way in the mail.

Monthly Goals
I say this every month, but I can't believe it's already December. The month of Christmas. The month before I meet my baby. Crazy!
1. Finish crib circle quilt.
2. Christmas presents - not making a ton this year but have a few plans.
3. Finish nursery - I'm full term Christmas week!

November Goals:
1. Rainbow Sherbet Quilt
2. Finish circle crib quilt. Um, nope.
3. Bind Red Barn quilt when it comes back from the quilters. Not back yet...
4. Do prep work for my Christmas gift project.

Labels: etsy, homework, monthly goals

My mom finished painting the changing table and bookshelf for the nursery, so we actually have some furniture in the baby's room. I showed you the orange walls and you know about the bright fabric. I can't wait to see the whole room come together. We're getting there!

Labels: homework

Sunday the in-laws and my mom decended to help paint the nursery. I've struggled to get a good picture - the color is so beautiful, even better than I had hoped.

A reminder of the before (from all of four posts ago):



And after:



I got to spend the day working on my mother-in-law's birthday cake and cleaning up the house. Yes, she helped paint on her birthday. We are so lucky to have family nearby so willing to help with these projects!!

Labels: homework

When I'm not spending time in my sewing room, I have been working in the room in our house affectionately named the junk room. Since in about four months we'll be calling this room the nursery, it needed a little help! I'll spare you the true before pictures, but here's how it looks after quite a bit of progress:



Just picture it with overflowing bookshelves, a bench press bench, and a lot more boxes. We just made plans to paint it next weekend so I still have a little more work to do!

Labels: homework

After a couple years off from growing veggies we loaded up our raised beds again this year. Zuchinni, cucumbers, pear tomatoes, grape tomatoes, basil, cilantro, and jalapenos. Everything is growing so well! I can't wait for those little tomatoes to be mature enough to pop into a salad. I'd better add fresh mozarella to the grocery list!


Administrative Note: Due to a few questions, I have added a "terms of use" clarification to my Pleated Purse Pattern. If there is enough interest, I will clean up this pattern and sell it as a pattern/license that will then be available for home sewists to use for their shops (no mass production, please). My reasoning for this is summed up very well by Rae here. Please comment or email me if you would be interested!

Labels: homework, shop

Alternate title: More Stacks



I'm sure you are all hoping for some finished projects, like the purse pattern I keep promising or an actual quilt... But this pile of filing is taunting me. It must be organized so I can pay my taxes. And there was weeding to be done in the yard (and gorgeous weather for it). And chicken salad to be made. And later - hopefully some sewing!



In other news, just before the quilting disaster I agreed to do a commissioned quilt for a friend to give as a wedding gift. Ha! Funny timing. At least the fabric-choosing is going well!

Labels: fabric, homework

I am usually lucky to get my Christmas decorations up a week or two before the holiday. This year, for the first time in ages, we were home for Thanksgiving. After a day of recovering from our turkey feast, I got up in the attic and started pulling out the decorations.




Okay, not decorations, but so pretty, and only $2!



I also made my little westie pillow from the fat quarter I found at the quilt festival. It is so amazing that I actually followed through with this.



It was simple, just an envelope back, sized to fit on a throw pillow already on our couch so when the holidays are over I can just wash (cat hair!) and fold up the cover to pack it away.

52 Nights Update - Night 39 - Monday night I got almost everything done on my to do list, which is rare. My in-laws came over to dinner, and before/after that I squeezed in the bills (ouch, taxes), some crafting, and laundry. Last night I did a track workout (so fun! yes, I'm crazy) then made dinner and finished up a long-running project, which felt awesome. I'm on a roll!

Labels: 52 nights, homework, sewing

Wouldn't it be nice to have a Martha pantry, all pretty containers and well organized? Well, when we were taking inventory of our supplies before the hurricane I realized how much random stuff we have in our pantry and I decided to try to use some of it up.



First up, this easy stew recipe because I've had a can of pinto beans in there for ages. Next, this Asian chicken soup but made with the bag of rice noodles that are at least a year old.



Noodles don't go bad, right?

Labels: cooking, homework

After nearly five years in this house we finally updated the light fixture in the powder room. That's one down, three to go! Amazing how such a small change made me like this little bathroom so much more.

52 Nights Update - Night 31 - I was on a plane last evening to Blacksburg, Virginia, to recruit at Virigina Tech, so I don't think that counts towards the challenge! I'll make up for it, though - I've got to get my latest project quilted and bound in two nights plus get ready to host a baby shower Saturday morning, so I'll have more no tech nights this week just trying to get it all done!

Labels: 52 nights, homework, simple pleasures

Just a quick floor update - our 2nd of three rooms, the living room, is done! A reminder of our nasty carpet:



And our gorgeous new floors:



Now I just need to finish recovering the couch throw pillows, stain our new coffee table, and figure out what to do with those great windows...

P.S. - See that awesome shag rug??


This is Hitch prepared to attack. So ferocious! Thanks for modeling the rug.

Our neighbors were throwing it out! What a deal.

We're off to San Antonio for the weekend to visit a dear friend and go to another friend's Texas wedding reception. I'll see you when I get back!

Labels: homework

When I was little, one of my favorite places to go was the local stationery shop. I especially loved testing out new pens. To this day I constantly am tempted to pick up new pens, or swing by the supply room at work to see if there's anything different. That's the only reason I can think of to explain this...



Trying to make good on my July OPAM (yes, I know July is over, shush), I got to work cleaning out drawers.



People, this is ridiculous.



I tossed the ones that don't work anymore, got all the others in one spot, and called it a day.



The truth is, I can't make much progress on my own, since most of the junk in this room is Pete's computer stuff. Heaven forbid I suggest tossing any of the ten defunct keyboards in the closet! So much for July's OPAM. What should I do for August?

Labels: homework, OPAM

If I could play a little trumpet fanfare right now I would, that's how excited I am about this.



Many weeks past my OPAM deadline, the master quilt is actually done!!



I am so happy with how it came out - it is by no means perfect, it has so many "learning experiences"... But I love it!!



And it goes so far to helping our bedroom look "finished" instead of just tossed together. Please ignore the concrete floor - we're getting there!

52 Nights Update - Night 22 - I discovered last night that the new quilt fits in my washing machine, thank goodness. Part of my plan had been to wash it fairly often, since it will soon be covered in fur and possibly footprints (downside of having a dog door when it rains), so I was worried I'd have to drag it to the laundrymat every time! In addition to washing the quilt, I went running, did some more laundry, and picked out fabric for a new project. Great night!

Labels: 2008 Quilts, 52 nights, homework, OPAM, quilting, sewing

Sorry for the slew of home improvement posts! Hopefully you're like me and LOVE before-after pictures. With $40 of paint (why is paint so expensive???) and some motivation to finally hang things on the wall, our office nook went from this:



To this:


Ignore the concrete floor - one step at a time!





It's still a little plain and definitely needs some organizing, but I love it!

Labels: homework, OPAM

Where did this weekend go??



We made progress on the floor. (Well, the boys did, I cheered them on.)



I made another batch of the caramel shortbread - I put a batch in the Relay for Life auction at work and the lady called to remind me I owed her!



Is it bad to go to my book club meeting when I haven't finished the book? Turns out in this case it was a good thing, since now I'm motivated to finish - seems like there's a lot of interesting events I haven't gotten to yet!



And among other chores and errands I got the nook ready to go - hopefully paint will go up tomorrow, thanks to no tech night!

Labels: homework, misc

My two-color plan for the nook is half done! I realized in my before picture you can't see the bookcase wall, but it was the same off-white as the rest of the nook.



Now it's khaki! Two coats are up, and I don't think it will need a third. Tomorrow I'll tackle the other color. Off to work on pinning my quilt - I haven't touched it since last weekend!

Labels: homework, OPAM

I mentioned Sunday that my June OPAM is to fix up our office nook.



This is such a great space, it's close enough to our big back windows to get a lot of light, you can still easily talk to folks in other parts of the house, and it has a ton of space for storage.

This OPAM is purely cosmetic - paint, and some things I've been meaning to hang on the walls. Maybe for another month's project I'll tackle cleaning out all these drawers and cabinets, full of whatever we threw in there willy nilly when we moved in four years ago!

Labels: homework, OPAM

The house is still a total disaster because we've moved on to the floors in our main living area, but luckily we have some progress to show for it. Our dining room is done! It only took two months...



It's hard when we only have time to really dedicate on Sundays, and not even every Sunday...



When I look at this room, I dream up plans for the walls, the windows, recovering that couch... Someday, when we finally finish all the other floors! Luckily they should go faster since we learned so much doing the dining room.

Relay for Life Drawing - I can't believe I forgot to pick a winner of the RFL drawing! I am so excited to announce that my cousin Megan won. I can't wait to make a bag for you! And thank you for supporting the American Cancer Society.

52 Nights Update - Night 9 has come and gone! I followed what is becoming my routine - got a little exercise (mowed the lawn), worked on a project, made dinner, did some chores... Of course, I was especially motivated to sew, since my sewing machine is away for a tuneup! The novelty of getting so much done on a work night hasn't worn off! In fact, even on non-Mondays, I'm getting more done, often not getting on the computer or checking Tivo until just before bed, for a much shorter amount of time. After only nine weeks! I'm excited to see how my habits will change after the full 52.

Labels: 52 nights, homework, me

If you were to come over to my house right now, you would be greeted by bare concrete...



We're finally replacing our thin crummy dirty carpet with new floors! You can see the little sample in the picture.

What you can't see in the photo is the growing layer of dust on *everything* - you apparently have to sand the concrete so you can level it? I'm leaving the details to the handyman. All I know is it's messy. But since this picture shows the little bit we've started, by far the smallest room we're doing, I'd better get used to this chaos!

(I've responded so far by shutting myself in my sewing room, so I'll have some good things to show for it soon!)

Labels: homework

We had a little adventure in furniture buying this weekend! We went "just to look" and I ended up falling in love with an oversized set of living room furniture. "Oversized" turned out to be the key word. It did not look like normal furniture once we got it into our living room.



It's hard to capture on film. In the above photo, I'm sitting on the loveseat. Not the couch, the loveseat. Which is just about the size of our old couch. This comes the closest to describing how I felt:



Luckily, we were able to exchange it for something very similar, but a much more normal size. I am pleased to present, our new living room!!



These will also serve as "before" pictures, since I have grand plans to bring A LOT more color into this room. Just wait! I think I'll actually paint on Saturday, which will help a lot with all the tan.



And just to prove this set is a more normal size, here is Peter modelling our new couch.



I'm off to cuddle up with the model!

Labels: homework

One thing our house still really needs is more things on the walls. We have so much bare wall space. In an attempt to help with that, I've started keeping my eye out for large things I like for on the walls. I also picked up a collage frame, and made a collection of pictures from our honeymoon.



I hope to do something like this for every major vacation we take. Unfortunately, we haven't gone anywhere major since our honeymoon almost two years ago! I'm crossing my fingers that our Alaska trip becomes a reality next summer...

Labels: homework

Someday I would like to have a beautiful garden outside my kitchen window. We have the perfect spot for it, and it gets just the right amount of sunlight for just about any kind of plant. I didn't get it started this year, though, so I must satisfy myself with my plant shelf instead.



Now, normally I don't have a green thumb - it's more black. I've killed most plants, even ones that are supposed to be "easy." So I am especially pleased with how well so many of my plants are doing on our patio!



My bell pepper plant even has a pepper:



And look at my beautiful my "ornamental peppers" are!!



As long as I keep watering them every morning, hopefully they'll keep getting bigger!

Labels: homework