time for a drink

i've had a pretty bad day. the work part was the usual annoyance, but the bad part started when my work day ended and my car wouldn't start. it finally did, but now i have to take it to the shop since this has been happening for about a week, which i'm sure will be $$$$. then i realized that my lovely checking account has been taking out $25 each month for a fee. apparently this started after the first year was over, but i don't recall ever being informed about it and never use this check account, so i never really bothered to look at the statements. bad idea! they've taken about $200 bucks of brandeye $, just what i need, awesome. then i realized i forgot to file local business taxes, what a real idiot. so this has just been quite a day and i am in need of a drink :-) i'm going to use this cute set to make myself one as soon as i finish this post. hopefully i don't break it, because it's in the SHOP!

score!

there were a bunch of yard sales by my house saturday and one lady had a killer costume jewelry collection. 1 buck each! i got 6 of them.

the chunky gold one is actually givenchy, super score.

oh and i also got the green bowl and a couple other things at a thrift store. they'll be in the shop shortly :-)
(the necklaces are for me :-)

happy earth day

our tulips from holland bloomed! this is the third set we've brought back and the only ones that the squirrels haven't eaten (so far.) the tip of sprinkling blood meal around it worked!

exciting news and the retro bird quilt

so the box is packed and ready to go to.... chicago! the owners of the soon-to-be-opening store, necessary exTRAVagance, in the andersonville section of chicago, illinois contacted me a couple months ago to see if i was interested in selling some of my items in their shop. of course i am! my first shipment is on the way...

i made a few items for a retro bird collection. first, is a quilt. it's made up of vintage upcycled sheets and new fabrics. i love this fabric, because it contains all of the common birds in my area: cardinals, black capped chickadee, gold finches.



i also made a couple dish towels from the same fabrics, on a 100% linen base.

if you're in the chicago area, stop by! the grand opening is may 16 and they can be found at
5416 North Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois 60640

you can also fan them on facebook or follow them on twitter @xtrvagnce!

and the winner is...

i tried to get moz to pick, but he wasn't interested.

i forgot to say when the contest ended, so here's the warning, it ends now. melissa is the winner of the vintage crewel kit! you can bring it to the next craft night melissa :-)

a walk

this is the usual daily walk with moz. around the school to let him off the leash for a bit. a smartass and defacer-of-school-property captured my thoughts exacty, haha. i clean up after him of course, but we let him off the leash.

he loves to eat grass.

vintage crewel kits in the shop (and one for you!)

i just added three vintage crewel kits to the shop!

conch shell
flowers
and my favorite, pheasants. which i actually have two of, so i thought i'd give one away. leave a comment and tell me what your favorite item is in my shop and you might be the lucky winner.

i freaking love spring

last year i posted a picture of this flower and a lovely reader, Taylor from the mac and cheese blog, informed me that it is in fact fritillaria meleagris, or commonly known as a Guinea-hen Flower. i am forever greatful, because this is the most gorgeous flower in the universe and i didn't know what it was. the pattern on the petals is magical and i can't wait for it to bloom every spring. i just wish it lasted longer.


and now that it's spring and nice out we can keep our front door open, so the daily rainbow is also back.

fun times

thursday we went to see nada surf, who we love and they were great.

friday we went to first friday. the (first) friday of every month all of the art galleries in philadelphia stay open late. the weather was perfect so we took the train and walked around the city for a bit. i acted like a tourist and took some pics.


the chemical heritage foundation museum was even open late, so we stopped in for a few minutes. we weren't exactly in a science-museum mood, but we took a peak to see what it was like. we will definitely have to go back when we have more time. they had a display on plastic's history and bakelite!!

we also found an artist that we really love, gregory prestegord at the F.A.N. gallery. i am in love with this painting and want to buy it. either this one or one he had of a view looking over the city. i love landscapes, especially of philadelphia. if i was a real artist this is exactly what i would paint. his paintings really capture the grit of the city that is part of it's charm.

we also went to one gallery that had a huge collection of george nakashima furniture. his work is out of this world amazing. i loved this hanging cabinet, it was really long and awesome, but let's just say that is cost more than our house! actually let's not just say that, because it blows my mind. it was $250,000... his workshop is still open in new hope, which is not too far from us in beautiful bucks county. i really need to get out there and take a tour.

if you haven't been here (or even if you have) you should take a trip to philly. it's such a great city and a fun place to spend a few days.

guest bedroom redo

i've temporarily given up on the basement, since the wallpaper i decided on (the green trees one) was sold when i went to buy it. damn it! so i'm trying to re-do the guest bedroom. it's a work in progress. i started making a patchwork duvet cover for the existing comforter, which is warm, but ugly as hell. note to self (and to anyone listening): do NOT buy any type of fabric that has a shimmer or sheen to it, unless it's super high quality. it's going to look like crap and i'm trying to de-shimmer this room. the curtains and bed skirt are left and might have to stay since i don't want to spend a lot.

i'm almost finished with the duvet cover, but my buttonhole stitch isn't working on my sewing machine! it'll make one perfectly, then screw up all the rest. damn it x2!

and i bought this vintage chair at a thrift store for $20. i call it the grandpa chair, because my grandpa had one just like it.


and the rest of the furniture is staying, not only because it's gorgeous, but because it was my grandma's. i briefly thought about painting it, but it's just in too good of shape and the cherry is really pretty. i might change the drawer pulls though.

i just need to get rid of 90% of this crap to make it look nice.

new baby quilt in the shop

this time i made one for a boy. i love the animal print!

the front:

and back.

check it out in the shop here

bunnies!

i have to update you on some things, but first and foremost, i just found teeny, tiny, just-born bunnies in our back yard! i was just taking a stroll around the yard, looking to see what's sprouting and coming back to life, when moz started chasing a bunny. i made him stop (luckily he listened to me) and then went on a hunt to see if there were bunnies near by that the rabbit may have been directing our attention away from. and sure enough there was, right where moz first spotted her. they are so small, and the pictures don't do them justice, because they are buried in their mom's fur. but i swear there are under that hairball, and they are (almost) cute, i'll give them a week and they'll be way cuter. right now they don't even really have fur, which is key to being cute in my book.