birthday

my birthday is coming up. it seems quite far away before thanksgiving, but it comes up quickly afterwords. ask me at any point in the year what i want and i can tell you, that is until about October. then i draw a blank. probably its because i don't really need anything. or the things we need are new windows for the house and car repairs.
but what i want usually rides along the line of pretty, sparkling and expensive.
my conscience tells me to ask for things that we need, that are also low in price. but i try to slip something in there that i want, thats also low in price.
price is a problem. the economy is down. we aren't rolling in it, and most people i know aren't either.
will i be happy if i get flowers and a fun trinket?

yes.

Here is my very expensive want list:

Fossil bag
i like to add one bag to my collection each year. some times i'm good and change bags with the season, but quite often i carry a bag for the entire year. This is the bag that currently makes my heart go pitter patter.

Dior nail polish from Sephora.
I tried on this color in the store. It. Is. Amazing. it's also $21, which is crazy. but beautiful.Ugg Slipper
i have been wanting a pair of warm slip on, outdoor soled shoes for a few years now. i love the royal purple/blue of this ugg moccasin. also, since my thyroid med.s have kicked in, i no longer find our 65 deg house to feel like 85 deg. and have been wearing socks and shoes out of my own free will.
Patagonia Down Sweater
i bought the long down coat a few years ago and just love it. i still heart my vintage wool coats, but as an everyday jacket the light weight and warm down is great. Now i have my sights set on the down sweater zip with hood.
Punched Tin Xmas Ornaments.
i love these- not just the ones pictured, but most in general.

Apple ipad
i don't like Mac. but i do like how the iphone and ipad work. so much fun, this is a great media viewing tool. I think it would be great for recipes- so were not printing them out every week, and it does everything i expect a lap top to do. Fox Mug
Darling 4oz, hand made mug, is perfect for tea. support an etsy seller [i also like the bear and squirrel].


Poppy ring
Someone posted a posey ring on a blog i read, about a year ago, ever since i have been on the search to find one that was not $2k and involving actual diamonds. I adore this hand sculpted silver poppy ring, found on etsy.


Branch Bangle
Love the branch design here. need to get back into wearing bracelets. also, i need a nice sized jewelery box. Doesn't etsy have the best finds?

When in doubt, anything sugar skull related is always awesome.

cover those windows!

if you're like me and living in an old house with old windows, you know that winter can mean COLD and that your heater goes into overdrive trying to keep the house at 68 at best.

one option is to buy the window shrink wrap kit. these come with double stick tape and shrink wrap. This works Great! ... except that you cant open your windows on a warm day to air out the house. also its not reusable.

option two, i read about this morning, and would be willing to give it a try.
Basically you spritz your windows with water and then stick up large bubble, bubble wrap. apparently the wrap sticks to the water. sounds like it works similar to the shrink wrap method. but it can be eaisly taken down and put back up, should you want to open your windows, and the wrap can be used for something else later.

Below images and info courtesy www.dailydanny.com

"Spray the entire window surface with water."
"Stick a sheet of bubble wrap on top."

"The entire window covered. "

"My understanding is that this boosts the window’s efficiency by double because the air pockets in the bubble wrap insulate the windows and also allow the sun’s rays to still come through the window during the day to heat up the house."

so cute

My god.. Cuteness that i could no longer keep to myself.


See the full range of photos and recipe at here.

what i learned in my garden today

what i learned in my garden today:

carrots have viscous sticker seeds.

its been so warm in Denver this year that my hollyhocks are putting out new leaves, as well as my rhubarb and the quince are blooming.

crazy.

glad i got some stuff done in the garden today. supposed to get below 40 this week. you know, like its supposed to.

whats flowering?

yesterday, on the 3rd of November, i sat on my back porch in a t-shirt and jeans. the sun was warm and everything was dry. We have only recently had our first frost- and no snow. they trees are still changing color and have many of their leaves. I am thrilled that fall is lasting forever this year. it is, hands down, my favorite season.

i took these photos about 2 weeks ago. this was everything that was still blooming in my garden. a lot of it still is, even after the frost. just bizarre for Denver.

Garden grows

first set was taken June 1, 2010 shortly after we completed a large and almost finishing planting of the front yard.

The second set is from October 1st, 2010. things look good! i cant wait to see what happens next yr. [ i thought i had a photo showing the whole front, but apparently i don't.]

Work

For the last few months i have been applying like mad to, well, everywhere. The market is tough, and its really tough with only a few years of experience.
I was recently asked to submit some hand and computer drawn textile illustrations. I haven't done a fabric print by hand since college, mostly its unusable. sometimes i sketch something, scan it and create the actual print in illustrator, but rarely.
Below is what i came up with to send them. I'm rather happy with how they turned out, I always feel my croquis are a bit cartoon-y.
p.s. click the images for a larger view.

makeup

I don't talk about makeup much. mainly i like clothing, and makeup irritates my skin- even the hypoallergenic stuff. so i just don't wear a lot.

Recently i discovered that a certain fashion/gossip web site that i frequent does reader submitted makeup/skin/hair advice.

It's worth a read through.

Beauty 101

i know what i want for my birthday

I want this.
Could I make it? Maybe. or something similar, that gave the same impression, but was less complicated. frankly i think you need an industrial machine to do some of those seams.
Absolutely stunning.

garden finds

Rummaging around in my garden the other day I found a few ripe tomatillos. This is the 3rd year we've had them, and the first year of any actually ripening. They came back from last year- most likely because I am a lazy gardener and left everything in the garden over winter. Clearly the seeds were incubated enough from the plant material to come back. I also found a tomato. Who knew?
We also had lettuce come back, and of course pumpkins of some sort.
Everything seems slow to mature this year, i hope we have some full size pumpkins by Halloween- assuming it doesn't freeze too hard. [Last year i planted giant pumpkins, only to end up with yellow squash.]
I had not really realized that leaving the plant debris would be enough for seeds to sprout in the spring. Denver- while it is fairly dry in the winter, does get quite cold at times. Last year our first big freeze was the second weekend of October, where it hit 17 F.
I recently visited a picking/ homesteading garden with my mother [you can read about it on her blog], in Boulder, where I learned that the owner overwinters her Zinnias by covering them with leaves every fall.

I'm hoping for some of these big flat red lovelies

Autumn!

It's finally here!!
Summer is nice and all, but i dislike the never ending heat.

Autumn means warm days with cool nights. shirts to sweaters, sun to snow and beautiful beautiful leaves.
For me there is this kind of energy around autumn, its like, anything can happen and all sorts of wonderful things do happen. This is the best part of the year- what i look forward to most.

mittens, apple cider, halloween, pretty trees, pumpkins, tea, cool air, bonfires, comfort food, sweaters, etc.

what do you love about fall?

cabin

We had a lovely trip.
the aspens are starting to change in the high country, the nights are cool and the days are sunny and breezy.

I believe we have started a new tradition. Campfire Curry. No one is skilled enough to actually cook it over the fire, but it was a perfect, round the fire dinner.

Apparently it is also hunting season, as shots were heard while hiking.

i don't have any really great stories, but we had a good time, the weather was beautiful and that is all i can ask for.

Cabin Weekend!

Cabin Weekend!
it's been 2 years, i cant wait!

from the last time we were there:

peach ice cream

I got some peaches from my neighbor recently. A big ol box. First i made a couple pies and then i but some in a jar with some rum and then i thought i would can some and make ice cream.

Being lazy, as i am, the peaches sat for a couple days and by the time i went to do some canning they were rotten. Well, not all of them, about enough for a pie or two batches of ice cream.



I stumbled upon this recipe the other day and decided to give it a try.

from what i can tell from licking the spoon, it turned out pretty good. Even though i forgot the vanilla.

the result

For those of you waiting with baited breath, I chose the fancier and cheaper Morgen Monroe.

maybe I'll paint the case.

sold a roll top desk and a pair of roller skates to buy a banjo.

For several moths i have been taking banjo lessons. Actually for the last couple i haven't, but have been practicing at home.
I have been renting an instrument, the deal was, the rental fees from the first 6 months become a store credit towards purchase of an instrument, after that they just go into the void of rental fees.
I've reached my 6 month mark, and I'm still interested in learning. really learning, how to play.
Its an instrument that i like, and my chance to have a musical ability beyond the simplest one note song i learned on the recorder in 3rd grade.It has become clear that it would be in my best interest to invest in a really good beginner/ intermediate banjo, rather than a cheap one.also i have been renting a nice one. so you know. hard to go back now.
So. i sold my roll top desk, and my roller skates to buy a banjo.
Option 1.
I've been renting the Deering Goodtime II. it's easy to tune and the sound is good. but its plain. and who ever designed the head was an idiot.



But I've been researching painting it. I've heard that painting can change the sound, but by how much i don't know. A number of months ago i fell in love with the Sara Ryan painted Creston guitars.What if i added similar style designs on the back and head? [i do know of people who have taken the whole thing apart to refinish it, but i don't want to do that.]



Option 2.
The Morgan Monroe MNB-1W
I've looked at numerous pics of this banjo and it is very red and apparently there is quite a bit of gold- rather than nickle color on it.
i like the mother of pearl inlay. overall it is much prettier.

the catchiest video on the internets this week

the catchiest video on the internets this week

OO, OO, OOOOOOOO