happy weekend!

this is my favorite picture this week--my friend leah's new kitten as photographed by ali (who took the pictures of my family in mt. gretna).

this weekend i'll be dropping off clothes at the goodwill, basting together a quilt, selling some other clothes at the local consignment shop, making something in the crock pot, working on a little valentine's day project and spending my whole saturday doing whatever i want!

happy weekend!

wish list

the good news: the boots i want are on sale! 50% off!

the bad news: not in my size.

still on my wish list. but maybe for next fall.

wish list

sugar ($130)

alcala II ($130)

i've been spending the last couple of evenings going through past issues of real simple (my favorite magazine after domino) looking for recipes. while browsing, i came across these sandals by born crown shoes which were exactly the type of shoes i was looking for last spring. i like the mid-height study heel and cushioned footbed. (plus, the nude colored peep-toes would be great for making my shorter-than-normal legs look longer.)

i'm putting them on my wish list. they might have just pushed knee-high boots from #1.

unhappy hipsters

Even in your company, I feel so alone.

with a sense of humor along the lines of stuff white people like, this blog, unhappy hipsters, takes pictures from issues of dwell magazine and writes witty captions that so perfectly capture the ennui of ultra-hipster life.

goodbye, willow

goodbye to our sweet willow (1988?-2010)

sick day

i've been home sick with what i think is food poisoning for the last two days. 5--nope, make that 7--of my family members also got sick after our grandfather's 95th birthday brunch at generations, a restaurant in media, pa. we can't be sure that it was food poisoning; when my aunt called the restaurant to let them know, the restaurant said that they hadn't had any other complaints. my grandmother said there is a also a 24-hour flu bug going around. regardless, it's miserable. i had to leave work in a rush on monday afternoon and it was only this afternoon that i began to feel like myself again. ugh. i wouldn't wish this sickness on anyone.

lighthouse

stumbled across these blocks during my lunchtime blog-checking. my mom would love them. at christmastime she has the same blocks spelling "merry christmas" on the mantelpiece at home.

weekend to-do list

1. thrift shopping with becca (who will keep my spending in check) (done with no spending at all)
2. sew a new black and white checked top
3. gym. saturday AND sunday. (sort of done. the gym was closed on saturday because of winter graduation. i only got 15 minutes of a workout.)
4. birthday party for grandpa (happy 95th!)
5. take pictures
6. fit becca in dress mockup. alter pattern. make her a skirt.
7. make curtains for shelves in the sewing room. (done!)
8. make snickerdoodles (grandpa's favorite cookie) for his birthday. (done but have to be re-done. they're more like cakes than cookies.) make a birthday card.
9. go through dresser and closet. donate things i don't wear anymore. (done! and some of it will go to the consignment shop and hopefully make me some extra dollars.)
10. alter gap blouse that never fit quite right.
11. repair flat tire on becca's car.
12. go to q-mart. (done!)
13. clear the clutter. move it to the attic. (it's by the door to the attic. does that count?)

W

we get W magazine at work for the design students and i can't stop looking at this spread from the most recent issue. wonderful.

good news!

my landlord said i can pant the dark wood trim! i'm not sure if i'll actually do it but it's nice to know that it's an option.

wee!

wish list

hand-tufted circles of leaves wool rug ($504.04)



hand-tufted namur wool rug ($491.29)



hand-tufted casablanca gold wool rug ($413.18)

big plans

i'm having the sudden (but not infrequent) urge to rearrange my house. and as i'm currently on a complete spending freeze at the moment, i'm trying to think of easy, cheap (make that FREE) ways to make my beige-carpeted, wood-trimmed and incredibly awkward layout of an apartment seem a little fresher. i'm considering making these top-down, bottom-up roman blinds for the windows in the front room.



the one thing i have going for me is that my landlord is completely okay with me painting. i believe his exact words to me were "treat this as though it's your own house." i wonder if that means i could paint all the dark, mismatched wood in the house? it might be worth asking and would certainly be an improvement.

here's a color palette that might work for me (from wear palettes):




i'll keep working on this. as much as i love them, it might be time to let go of my black and white striped rugs.

shortbread buttons

making these shortbread cookies (from nikole herriott at forty-sixth and grace) just made it to the top of my to-do list this week. they're so cute i could barf.

happy weekend!

i'm enjoying the weekend in new york with dt. today we had bagels and visited the moma. now dt's making a dinner of steak and potatoes while i drink bellini's and explore new blogs like coco + kelly, door sixteen and copenhagen street style.

the graphic is from the website buami which is "a select collective posting unique imagery from various sources with a focus on graphic design, architecture, fashion and art." look it up. you won't be disappointed.

railroad stripes

i know railroad stripes were trendy circa 2007 but i'm loving this combination of stripes and leopard print. (from the sartorialist).


on a personal note, my shoulders are killing me! i was hired to make eight can-can costumes for a retirement party and i'm working all weekend to get them done. i've been sewing white lace ruffles to the inside of can-can skirts for almost 7 hours. i'm glad to have a little extra money (espeically after the holidays) but i'm exhausted!

TAL infographic

while browsing through my google reader tonight i stumbled across this website in which the author is posting graphics about every this american life episode. as an avid fan (tonight i listened to three episodes while sewing) it's interesting to look at the show in a different way.

wish list

this japanese shirtmaking book just moved to the top of my wish list. if only it was written in english (or that my master tailoring instructor, tetsuo tamanaha, lived on the east coast and could translate it for me).

2009 in pictures

january

february

march

april

may

june

july

august

august, again.

september

october

november

december

2010

I'll be spending the first week of the new year working on can-can costumes, taking a mini-vacation to Atlantic City with DT and reading John Irving's new book, Last Night in Twisted River. I'm also trying to updated my portfolio and resume in preparation for a potential free-lance job with the Michener Museum in Doylestown, PA.

I don't make new year's resolutions but I am going to try very hard to cross off some more projects on my big list of things to do. I think I'll tackle the padded headboard first.

Happy New Year!