Monday, October 31, 2011

Scorpio?

So apparently my birthday was early this year. My sweet husband decided to buy me my present early so that I could use it when I make my bridesmaid dress.

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I had mentioned a few weeks ago that I wanted a serger for my Birthday or Christmas present and he went ahead and ordered one with the the notion of giving it to me early.  What he didn’t know as that it was going to be delivered (on Friday after he left for work) in the box above. No shipping box or packaging, just that box with a label slapped on it.

So you’d probably guess my surprise when I found it on my door step when I got home from work Friday evening.  I felt bad, but he didn’t seem to mind and even said he would wrap it if I wanted (I told him to save the paper.

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Sunday I decided to figure out how to use this bad boy and we had decided to make a table runner for thanksgiving as our test project.  After watching the DVD that it came with I learned how to thread the machine and which settings I’d need for a 3-thread rolled hem.  I sat down and gave it a whirl.

And…

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It turned out great! and it was super easy!  It took me 5 minutes to make the table runner(mom could have used one of these for my wedding)

I’m excited to use the machine and even plan on doing some napkins for thanks giving too! However I measured once and cut twice so I think I can only make five with the left over fabic…oh well. Anyway, this is going to make my outfits and all of my sewing have a finished look and hopefully make life a little easier.

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Happy Birthday to me!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Switcheroo

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Yep, the rumors are true. We got a new couch.

And a new chair.

And a new coffee table.

The brown couch, which was originally my aunt and uncles, was replaced by a sea grass couch which was my aunt and uncles. New paint at our house 001

(While we were picking up we checked out their new sofa-I told Adam-look honey our new couch in 10 yearsSmile)

Getting the furniture was an ordeal to say the least. First we don’t own a large vehicle. So we had to find a truck with a hitch to borrow. Luckily we have good friends and someone let us borrow theirs. 

Originally Adam was going to go down on Friday (his day off) and get the furniture alone. But my uncle hurt his shoulder so he couldn’t help lift-so we moved the trip to Sunday so that I could tag along.  I made a reservation for a U-Haul and we woke up early and hit the road.  We arrived at the Naples U-Haul around 10:30 am.

Then we went inside. There were two people working the counter and two groups in front of us….but we quickly realized that the place was utter chaos.  We sat and waited for an hour before we got up to the counter.  Finally she found our reservation and we met her outside to hook up the trailer.

Lights…??….breaks….???  lights…..????

uh oh.

Adam quickly realized that the towing lights had been cut in TWO places!  The U-Haul girl said they could work on it…but we’d have to wait until the line (which was now doubled!) was gone. So Adam scrounged around in their tool box and got to work.  He tried for an hour to slice and connect the lights….finally no luck.

We took a measurement of the truck bed and figured we could at least fit the chair and table in…or maybe the couch. So we turned in the trailer and headed to Home Depot  to pick up some straps.  (just to note, we first went to Wal-Mart next door but they didn’t have straps so we had to go in the opposite direction to Home Depot.)

We arrived hot, tired and hungry at my aunt and uncles house around 2pm. 5.5 hours after we left Tampa.  My aunt had made a lovely Chicken dinner with mashed potatoes Brussel sprouts and apple crisp.  It was all so good, but as much as we wanted to stay and relax we knew we had a long trip ahead.

Adam and I went out and started scoping things out…And somehow my husband fit everything into the truck bed and all the cushions in the cab!  I couldn’t believe it. It was all in the back of the truck.  We didn’t need the trailer after all! We could have saved 2.5 hours!!!

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We hopped in and headed north, making it home by 6. We quickly unloaded and then loaded up our couch to take to Tara’s. Then after we dropped it off at her house we drove further south to drop off the truck at Mary’s.  By 9:30 we were finally back home enjoying a pizza on our new white couch.

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It was  a long long day, but so worth it, because we love the new furniture and have some plans to make it our own.  Stay tuned…

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Hot Husband

Every year Redbook comes out with the Hottest Husband award and every year (well the last two!) I tell Adam “Next year I’m going to enter you!”  And the next year-I miss the deadline… Oh well.  But in the meantime Adam keeps doing things that adds to his hotness.

Case in point: A sponge trough.

???? huh you say… ?????

I’ve always hated sponges on the side of the sink and anything yucky lying around.  I’ve always thought the fake panels in front of a sink were stupid and pointless. That is until I realized some peoples actually work.  And they have a trough to hide things! So a sponge trough was on my wish list-for the past 6-7 years.

Last week while perusing Amazon I came across the hinges (looking for hinges for our table!) and quickly sent Adam a link to the kit.  He got it, bought and yesterday it came in the mail.  Before he even took off his shoes he got right on it and installed that baby!

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HOT I tell you!

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I sure am one lucky girl! Look at all that sponge hiding space! ahhh

Thanks Adam for making my dreams of a sponge free sink come true.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

End of an Era-The Story of Brown Couch

It was the early 80’s in Kansas and a young couple had bought a new couch for their home.  The couch was a modern brown sectional with over sized cushions and a foot rest big enough for four sets of legs. It was beyond comfortable and as soon as you sank down into it’s soft plush fabric you found yourself ready for a nap.


Soon the young family moved from Topeka Kansas to Portage Michigan and the couch came with them.  The new home accepted the couch and it was loved just as much; with the children building forts from it’s cushions and watching Saturday morning cartoons upon it.


Then one day the mother decided to redecorate.

But not to worry, this isn’t the end of the couch’s life. You see, the mother had a sister who lived 2 hours north and she wanted the Brown Couch.  A trade was made for a dozen jars of canned tomatoes and a lot of strawberry jam and it was loaded up and moved north to it’s new home in Pentwater Michigan. 


At it’s new home it was placed in the young family's new sunroom.  This room was a lot different from it’s previous home. Since it was mostly glass it got very chilly in there and the Couch worried that it wouldn’t be loved as much.  But not to worry; this family put their TV in that room with a small space heater and bundled up on the couch under blankets and enjoyed many movies and happy evening together.


The couch continued to be loved and jumped on and used for forts by the new family’s two young boys. Cereal bowls where spilled, juice was splashed, but the Brown Couch could take it.  The Couch was very happy as it moved into it’s teen years. 

Then the oldest daughter graduated from High School and the mother wanted to get new furniture for her party.  The Couch began to get nervous…but the family decided to move the couch and TV to a new location on the second floor. 


Ah!!! No more cold nights! 

The Couch enjoyed it’s new space and found that the parents would fall asleep upon it more often as they watched the evening news.  Ah too be loved.  The Brown Couch was very happy.


Now over the years the Brown Couch had had some incidents. The 1st owner smoked a pipe, so there were burn marks in it’s fabric.  The second family hung Christmas lights a bit to close to the back and melted the fabric to the lining. And the young boys who liked to throw and toss the large cushions caused some tears in the seams…but it was all because the Couch was loved. 


After a few years on the second floor the Couch was moved again.  The daughter had decided she wanted to take the Couch to collage and move it into her new apartment.  The Couch was loaded into a trailer and moved two hours south to Kalamazoo.


That year the Couch saw lots of pizza and beer, naps and notebook paper, coffee and tea, and dancing on it’s cushions. Many people slept on it’s soft fabric and curled up in it’s deep cushions.  The Couch made many new friends that year-friends that would continue to talk about the Brown Couch long after it was gone. 

It’s time in Kalamazoo was short. The daughter was a senior and had graduated and was now moving back home…but there was no longer any room for the Couch in the house. 


At that time the Couch was moved to the damp basement of the grandmother in Muskegon MI.  This was the lowest point of the Couches life. They didn’t even use the Couch in this house.  It just sat on it’s side pieces all apart collecting dust.  The Couch was very sad…but it was old (20 years) and knew that the end was probably near.


Then one hot and humid August day the Couch was finally taken from the basement.  As it was loaded into a horse trailer smelling of hay, it thought…this is it, my time has come, I’m going to the dump.  After a few hours in the trailer the Couch began to wonder how much further it would have to travel. 

After 24 hours driving and a night spent in a parking lot, the trailer was opened and the Couch was hit with a wave of heat and humidity so thick you could cut it with a knife. 


The couch was in Tampa Florida. 

As it was carefully removed from the trailer it was carried up a flight of stairs and into a condo with cool air conditioning and a familiar face.


The Daughter!!
She was here! She wanted the couch back!


As they positioned the it into it’s new home the Couch breathed a sigh of relief as the four members of the family collapsed into it’s cushions.


The Couch enjoyed it’s time in Florida.  For the next 3 years it saw tired students crash upon it at all hours.  Relishing in its soft worn cushions.  Friends would come and watch movies, eat pop corn and enjoy cold beers while they cheered on the Green Team.  And every year on December 10th loud music would play and the daughter would jump on its cushions causing the Couch to shift and slide and then the daughter would fall down laughing and smile. 


During this time the people living in the house changed, but the Couch did not. It would get shifted around and such, but it stayed there in the blue room with the tall ceilings for many years.


Soon the house quieted down and then there was just the daughter and a man and two dogs.  Every once in a while the dogs would try to get on the Couch, but the daughter was good and always shooed them off.  The Couch like the man because he would give it good cleaning with a special machine – something that had never been done before.  The Couch was happy. 

That is until the daughter started complaining.


“Uggg I’m sick of this couch”, she would say.  “I want a new couch. It’s just so sloppy”. 

The Brown Couch cringed at these words…it knew it’s time was short now for sure.  So trying as it  might to continue to provide the comfort it always had it knew the days were numbered. They said they were going to pick up a new couch…from the original owners of the Brown Couch. 


It was late in the evening on a Sunday night when they brought it in-big and white and all one piece.  The Brown Couch had been shoved aside to make room.  Pillows stacked and Ottoman turned on it’s side.  Soon Brown Couch was being carried out to a truck-not even a trailer! It was strapped down tight ready for it’s finally journey.


The truck drove for 40 minutes then stopped in front of a white house.  Quickly it was unloaded and brought inside. 


A New Home! 


The Couch breathed a sigh of relief as all it’s pieces were moved inside; some in one room and some in another. It was that lady’s house, the one who used to sleep and nap on it so long ago. She was the new owner! The Brown Couch knew her well and was relieved it was her. 

When all the pieces were finally in place the daughter flung herself onto the Couch and said “I’m going to miss you so much” But the lady told her that she could come back to visit when ever she wants. That made the Brown Couches cushions swell. With a final stroke down the back of the Couch the daughter and the man said good bye and walked out the door.


The new couple plopped down and their little dog jumped up and the lady sighed and said “ahhh I love the Brown Couch”.  The Brown Couch smiled and squeezed them a little tighter as it settled into it’s new home, new family, and 30th year.

Monday, October 24, 2011

A Productive Lunch

Adam came and had lunch with me today.  He does this whenever he isn’t working during the day-which has been more frequent lately. We try to take whatever time we have together when we can.  It makes for a nice day.

Today at lunch we talked shop. We designed a new piece of furniture…yep at lunch…and we didn’t get into one argument!  You see we have some changes going on a our house-furniture changes that is.  But there will be a post dedicated to the specific piece of furniture in our switcharoo.

In the mean time here is a peek at our new end tables. Yes there will be two. 

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The top will be made of scrap walnut that Adam has at work.

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The sides & drawer will be painted white with a walnut divider.

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The shelves will be glass.

I’m excited and hope that this project won’t take as long as our table has (which he IS working on! We have a thanksgiving deadline!!)  And I’m sure you can guess where these are going…but if you can’t I’m not going to tell you quite yet…just cause I can Smile

Happy Monday! Was your lunch this productive? Have you designed anything lately?

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Bridal Shower Success

Wow! What a weekend. Talk about a lot of work!  I started off on Friday with Krista picking up folding chairs and then we hit up Total Wine and more where we selected 10 different bottles of Champagne. 

Saturday I met Tara for a pedicure (which took forever!) then I headed on my way to south to buy smoked salmon-where I had to wait for some old guy to drop off his mackerel.  Finally I was able to head North to Kristas house where we began our laying out a plan for the party.

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After we had lists in hand we headed to Publix to get all the food.  Then it was all over looking for a few last minuet thing.  At last we were back at Krista’s ready to begin our prep.

Sunday was an early morning-I woke on my own at 6:30, anxious to get going. We still had three quiches to make and a back yard to set up along with a few more errands.  You see the night before I had made chocolate covered strawberries. And for some reason I put them in the freezer.  It wasn’t until we were at a friends house watching the football game that I realized that was a BAD idea. As soon as we got home I took them out and put them into the refrigerator…where they slowly started to thaw…and turn to mush. So you see, I had to make another batch of chocolate covered strawberries on top of everything else!

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We worked all morning… PA150249IMG_7616

And even opened the first bottle of champagne at 10am (official Brunch time). 

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The first guest arrived 10 minutes early and since we were still setting things up she was handed a loaf of bread and instructed to cut.

Once 1 o’clock came are around we were ready to go and the rest of the guests arrived.

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They were told to find their glass and start having fun.

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IMG_7651Doug’s mother and sister with Tara

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We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day.  There was a nice breeze and the sun was out.  We did end up moving the tables into the shade, but only after a few complaints about the sun from some of the ladies.  picky picky.

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By the end of the day I was exhausted. 

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I was told that it was the best bridal shower some had ever been to and that I should give up architecture and do party planning.  But there is no way I could do that all the time.  

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After most of the women had left we quickly cleaned up and packed up all my dishes and I headed home at 6:30 ready to crawl into bed. The party was a success.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Bye Bye Lump!

I finally heard from my Dr. regarding my breast biopsy after waiting two weeks.  The results were…they’re confused.  St. Joe’s (the hospital that performed the biopsy) was recommending another sample or to excise the entire lump.  My dr. seeing the results (that were Benign) wanted me to get a second opinion.

Yesterday I met with a breast specialist (I know dad…you picked the wrong profession!) Dr. Lynn.  She was very nice and explained my results to me very clearly.  Basically the gist of it is: The mammogram and sonogram showed a “banana” and the pathology reports said the lump was an “apple”. Now I’m using fruit because the real terms don’t make any sense, and this is the best way to explain it.  With said after examining the spot the Dr. Lynn recommended that I just take it out.  She said if they did another biopsy they could get another bad sample and we’d be right back where we are now.  By taking it out-it’s gone and they can get as much samples as they want and figure out if everything is ok.

Seeing as I don’t want to have to go through this anymore I’m all for taking it out. (plus I’ve already paid my deductible so it’s FREE!) It will be out patient surgery and should have some bruising for a few weeks. But she assured me I wouldn’t look deformed and only have a small scar.  I also told her that we had been trying to get pregnant so she was very nice in scheduling the surgery around my “schedule” in the off chance it does happen for us.  (If I’m pregnant I can’t have the surgery and then my breasts will get all wacky causing more confusion)

I’m scheduled for 1 o’clock on November 2nd-so if you happen to look up at the clock at that time on that day say a little prayer for me and my left boobie Smile Thanks!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Sweating it out!

Back in May I bought a Groupon for 1 month of unlimited yoga classes at a local studio.  I put off starting it all summer.

Then a few weeks ago the same studio offered the Groupon again and Adam asked if it was indeed the same place. So he got one two and last week we went to our first Warm Yoga class.

Yep, I said Warm. We are too chicken to try the HOT class.  Warm is the studio at 85 degrees.  You would think that living in Florida that would be nothing…but it is. After a good 15 minutes of the Bikram series we are sweating. Adam a whole lot more than me.

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I give him a lot of credit for doing this with me-I never thought I’d find a guy who’d be so gun ho about trying new different things.  But he is! (I do have yet to get him to a ballroom class…)

After our first class we realized that I had free drink coupons at a restaurant down the street so dripping is sweat we found a table on the patio and enjoyed nice cold beers and some very fattening sandwich's. Isn’t that why you work out?? so you can eat and drink what you want?? Winking smile  ha ha. While we enjoyed our dinner we discussed the challenges of the class and laughed at ourselves over certain poses that caused us trouble. 

Adam stated that it was very difficult to do Eagle Pose due to some male parts that seemed to get in the way and I thought it was difficult due to a couple of lady parts that got in the way! (fyi if you can’t figure it out….they both come in pair) I guess ideally for Yoga you should be built like a skipper doll! Oh well.  

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After our second class we felt a lot better and more comfortable with the positions, except Rabbit-we don’t like that one.

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But we’re looking forward to continuing twice a week and hopefully will improve our flexibility, state of mind and overall well being-that is as long as we don’t keep going for beers afterwards!  The best part is that we’re doing it together.  Happy Wife-Happy Life!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The makings of a bridal shower

While Adam was off at Regionals I was busy all weekend preparing for the Bridal Shower I’m throwing next weekend for Tara.  Actually I’ve been working on and planning this shower for the last 4 weeks.  This is the 2nd time this year I am maid of honor…and I think this (fingers crossed!) will be the last time! It’s a lot of friggen work!!
I scored some invited super duper on sale from Michael's last month and they set the color scheme.
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I did some photo hunting and added the bride to the plane invite which had a brown ribbon tied atop it and fit nicely in a green sleeve with the word Pleas Join Us visible through a window. (Jeeze Steph a photo would be nice Winking smile)
After batting around “themes” with the other bridesmaids we decided on a Champagne Shower. Tara loves champagne…and who wouldn’t want to spend a Sunday afternoon in the back yard drinking champagne??
So right away I looked up “foods that go with Champagne” on Google and came up with a great site that listed a bunch of different options.  Krista and I went over the menu and came up with this:
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We'll be cooking away on Saturday to get everything ready.. yes-we’re making it all!! 
With the menu set I began the fun part. The favors and the prizes for the games! When we were in North Carolina we were at a Dollar store and they had martini glasses for $1. Glass martini glasses. Do you know how hard I looked for inexpensive martini glasses for my wedding with no luck??? Anyway I thought Champagne flutes would be a nice favor.  So begun my research.  And it quickly ended at IKEA. $5 for 6 glass flutes!  Score!!  Krista and I knocked around ways to personalize them or mark them, but it was when we went into Pier one that we got the answer. Chalk board paint!
It was perfect. Tara’s wedding is at the shuffle board club and they use chalk boards and she’s been trying to incorporate them into the wedding stuff…so it was perfect.   And the best part I found Brown (with the color scheme of course!) chalk board paint. 
I had every intention of doing a nice pattern for the “board” but quickly realized my best bet would be to use painters tape and make a rectangle…so I did.
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Enter in some colored chalk and we’ve got a fun favor!
We’re going to put some sweet wrapped up in the glasses as well for the ladies to take home.
Now what would a Bridal shower be without silly games?  We’re going to have 4 games! One will be just for Tara-How well do you know Doug?
We’re also going to play how well do you know Tara?Tara Quiz copy
Famous Couples-Name her other half.Famous couples copy
And Which one is Tara? 
This will be a surprise for Tara because her aunt, who can’t make the shower, contacted me wanting to send some baby photos of Tara to incorporate into the shower.  So I thought it would be fun to pass them around, matched with another baby photo, and have the guests guess which is Tara, A or B.
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For the prizes I decided to use my handy skills.  I found a free pattern online for a jewelry roll and thought it would be a perfect prize and a way for me to learn how to sew a zipper Winking smile!
My first attempt wasn’t what I had hoped, but it wasn’t bad…Adam thought it looked fine.  So I made two more, one being for Tara. The best part was I used the upholstery fabric from my work! (free!)
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I also made an apron (with no pattern) using left over material I had around the house.
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The last prize will be 3 more champagne glasses so that one guest will have a set of 4 chalk board glasses to take home.
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Finally the last thing I thought to do was to make an apron for Tara…using the bridesmaid dress material.  I did tell you that she’s have us have our dresses made from silk she ordered from New York, right? I am attempting to make my own bridesmaid dress…
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Anyway she gave me 2 yards too much so I have enough extra to play with.  I think I used under a yard to make her apron.  But it turned out really good considering I didn’t have a pattern for this also.  Tara likes pin tucking and pleating and hand made details…so I did what I could and pleated the top of the apron.
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Then I attached the waist band
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And then the ties…and I was all set!
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It turned out super cute and only took me about an hour to do.  I’m so excited to give it to her-I know she’ll love it!
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I just hope she doesn’t mind it’s Dry Clean only! ha ha ha
So there you have it! This is what has been taking up all my time lately and what I did while Adam was away.  I’m looking forward to next weekend and throwing Tara a wonderful shower.  I’m sure I’ll have lots of pictures to share…so stay tuned.