Friday I'm in Love

We got a new camera this week.  For someone that averages several hundred pictures each week, this is pretty exciting.  It's like I just picked up a new coworker. 

Over the past two days, we've taken pictures of every single item in our house and yard. 

This weekend, we are packing a lunch and our new blanket and heading out to photograph the rest of the city.  And probably the surrounding countryside as well. 

In between bursts of photography, I have been sewing.  For example, I finished this valance for Natalie yesterday, and then immediately hung it up so that I could photograph it. 

Today I'm making gumbo and chicken salad and other goodies for the long weekend ahead (three cheers for Christopher Columbus!).  I plan to photograph them all, using the camera's "food" setting. 

Can you believe there's a food setting?!?!

But that's not all. 

We can take pictures at night.

Without a flash. 

I think I'm in love. 

Wishing you a weekend full of beautiful photo opportunities!  I'll meet you back here on Tuesday, possibly with a thousand pictures.  

the professor

For some time now, I've been dreaming about the perfect picnic blanket. 

Whenever we want a blanket to sit on outside, it seems that nothing we have is quite right.  An old sheet?  Too thin.  A quilt?  Don't want to get it dirty.  Fleece blankets?  Everything clings to them. 

What we needed, of course, was a picnic blanket. 

I looked online.  The closest thing I could find to what I had in my head was Vera Bradley's Stadium Blanket.  But aside from having a fleece back, it was also a bit too girly.  And you know I love girly, but come on- I'm planning to throw this thing down in the woods. 

So, as is often the case, I decided to make it myself.  I chose some red and blue striped flannel for the front, thinking that it would be soft and washable and cheerful, all at the same time.  And, after much deliberation, I chose a khaki corduroy for the backing.  I wanted something sturdy, but soft, thick enough, but not too bulky.

The blanket is finished now and the overall effect is exactly what I hoped for.  If this blanket were a person, it would be an older college professor who wears plaid shirts and corduroy blazers with elbow patches.  And probably he smokes a pipe. 

We've already added "picnic" to the agenda for the weekend.  I'm super excited and I hope that it's cool enough to take a hot drink in our thermos.

Today I am working on a few projects for friends and family and listening to Steve whistle as he works from home in the dining room.  Definitely my favorite workday soundtrack. 

don't eat those- they look bad

The impromptu yard sale?  I would consider it a huge success.  The weather was great, we made some money, and we got rid of most of the stuff we set out.  And the rest went to Goodwill later in the day, so now our house is a bit lighter. 

The free coffee and baked goods?  Not as popular as we thought they might be, but still worth having.  We weren't selling any toys, so the brownies were the biggest hit with the ten and under crowd.  Except for one little girl, who I overheard telling her sister, "Don't eat those- they look bad."

It took me several minutes to stop giggling. 

We closed up shop around 11:00 and headed out, like responsible yard sale throwers, to take down our signs.  Three of the six had disappeared.  I am so curious as to where they went, but think that we'll probably never know.  Oh, the unsolved mysteries of life. 

Over the sunny weekend, I was finally able to get some pictures of this wreath I made last week.  I saw the idea here and modified it so that I didn't have to purchase any supplies.  I just used some leftover felt and fleece, an old grapevine wreath that used to be decorated but had since been striped of its decoration, and some fabric scraps.  Oh, and the trusty glue gun. 

The whole project probably took two hours and the little flowers are so much fun to make!  If I had more felt, I would cover the entire wreath with flowers.  Maybe next year I'll add some more! 

 The past three days of beautiful weather have caused me to declare that I may just love October as much as I love September.  We have lots of things to be excited about this month and one of those things is SOUP!  I made my first batch this weekend (which was kind of a disaster because I cut some poblano peppers and they burned my hands so badly that I had to sleep clutching an ice pack, but that just goes to show you the lengths I will go to for soup) and it was delicious and I'm having leftovers for lunch today and dreaming of a new kind of soup every. single. week. 

This seems like the perfect day to start laying out the squares for our new quilt, so I'm off to crawl around on the floor for a bit. 

the week we decided to have a yard sale

If you don't already know this about us, we're planners.  Think-it-through, weigh-your-options, make-a-list planners.

So when we decided, approximately three days ago, to have a yard sale this Saturday, no one was more surprised than we were. 

Except maybe for my bff, who found out via Facebook. 

Yesterday I made some signs and we drove around in the dark last night to hang them up.  Then we got all the "get rid of" bags out of the attic and set them in the garage.  That was the extent of our yard sale prep. 

Today's yard sale prep has included glancing in the garage about three times at the bags of stuff and baking two dozen muffins and a pan of brownies. 

You know I don't like to invite people over without serving food. 

Truthfully, the idea came from the fact that Steve reminded me it would be cold Saturday morning.  So I decided that we should serve coffee from our new thermos to the shoppers.  And then I thought that I could make some muffins and things and have a little bake sale table too. 

Today is gorgeous and I wish that I could settle down outside and stare at the mums for the rest of the afternoon.  But I think I need to do something about those bags in the garage. 

Hope your weekend is the perfect start to October!  If you're nearby, you should stop by tomorrow for some coffee and muffins! 

poetry night

I've been cutting fabric for most of the day and, as a result, almost everything in the house is covered in fabric scraps.  Or tape measures, apparently. 

One of the things I found most surprising once I started learning to sew was that sewing is about 30% measuring and cutting, 50 % ironing, and 20% actual sewing. 

In other news, two weeks ago, Steve introduced Poetry Night.  I think it's destined to be a family tradition.  We take turns choosing a theme and style of poetry, and then on Saturday night, everyone reads their poems aloud.  I say "everyone" because everyone who is in the house on Saturday night has to participate.  Thankfully, my mom was eager to be included and she actually finished her poem before we had started working on ours. 

This week's theme was "travel" and the required form was haiku.  I think mom took her poem home with her (feel free to leave it in the comments, Mom), but here are Steve's and my poems, respectively:

Horizons unwind

Wind, Clouds, Sky, Sunrise, Let’s go

Wheels, air, earth, sunset

_______________________________

Suitcase in my hand

The open road stretches out

Home seems far behind

I find it so interesting that short poems, written in the same style, with the same theme, can be so different.  As I was writing mine, I had this idea in my head that Steve and Mom were probably writing almost the same thing as me. 

Steve hasn't chosen next week's theme yet, but I'll keep you posted!

Today was a super exciting mail day- TWO fall magazines!  I'm hoping to sneak in some time to look at them once I finish all my work today.  Both covers have me wishing (again) for pumpkins!

fall mantle

Happy Monday, everyone!  I hope that your weekend was as great as ours was! 

We had so much fun while my mom was here.  It was rainy and gray, so we didn't take many pictures, but we shopped and ate and talked and had a big time. 

The cloudy skies have put me in the mood to settle in for the season and enjoy the comforts of home.  Last week, we dragged the boxes of fall decorations out of the attic.  I haven't quite finished, but I did get the mantle and a few other key places done and now I can't wait for pumpkins on the porch! 

Want to know what's up there and where it came from?  I'll do the usual mantle rundown, but I must tell you that all of these items are at least a couple years old, so my memory may be fading. 

From left to right:

Dried seed-pod pumpkin (TJ Maxx)
Various orange and maroon candles (Pier One, Target)
Tiles to set under candles (Lowe's)
Metal grate (The White Elephant)
Bittersweet vine (Michael's)
Artificial leaves (Michael's)
Glass canister (The Beehive) filled with fake pumpkins and gourds (TJ Maxx)
Ceramic pumpkin with lid (Target)

To spruce up the candles, I tied a fake leaf to each one with some garden twine.  This is an inside trick that I'm sharing with you: everything looks cute when you tie something else to it.  Just try it. 

Over the next few weeks, I will be simultaneously prepping for a craft fair and piecing together our winter quilt, so there are lots of pictures to come of half-completed projects, fabric laid out all over the living room, and me covered in little bits of thread. 

Friday goes by in a blur

It's been dark outside for six days straight, but I am forging ahead and posting awful, grainy, blurry pictures.  Because I think that blogs without pictures are boring. 

Lanyards, anyone? 

A teacher friend suggested that I make some lanyards for people who have to wear a name badge at work and I've been busily researching swivel clips and split rings.  And what I found out is that hardware is a lot harder to shop for than fabric.  And less pretty.  But functional, definitely functional. 

I finished a sample today and have been wearing it around the house, wishing for a badge of some sort. 

This was my attempt at a close-up to show you that the end has both a clip AND a key ring.  Fancy, I know.  

So how about I keep making cute lanyards and then wait for some sun and then take lots of great pictures and show those too?  Okay?  Okay. 

I'm cutting myself off on lanyard-making for today though because I have a million other way more practical things I should be doing.  I'm aiming to finish my work day by 3pm because that's when my mom arrives!  We have so many fun ideas about things to do this weekend while she's here!  It always feels a bit like a holiday when mom comes and I love getting ready for visitors. 

Hope your weekend is lovely!  See you back here on Monday!

*wondering where the fall decoration pictures are?  The decorations are up, but there will be no decent picture taking in this dark dungeon.  Hopefully next week....