Sunday, April 8, 2012

easter weekend on the farm


Happy Easter, everyone!

We're spending some much needed time around the house, being lazy. Yesterday was a long day full of hard work getting our small garage sealed up tight so we could store our mower and other gardening tools in there. My handy husband, shown here in our barn, crafted some new doors out of some scrap wood we had and his parents helped us hang an old metal door we had laying around and put a new lockset on it.

Wishing everyone a great holiday weekend!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

sunday shop update - milk glass is BACK!

after focusing on printables for a while, i decided it was time to list some milk glass in the shop again.

every time i look at these postings, i'm reminded of all the time i spent collecting and finding these pretties for my wedding. some of them are INCREDIBLY hard to give up, but i have saved my family heirlooms and my very favorite of the bunch. because, really? who needs 200+ pieces of milk glass in their collection?

that's not a collection, that's an audition for hoarders.

here's a few of the lovelies that i listed this evening...

listing

listing

listing

listing

listing

Saturday, March 10, 2012

inspiration workshop with gussy sews: SPRING!

YAY! it's time for another edition of inspiration workshop with gussy sews!


This week’s Inspiration Workshop! prompt is SPRING!


spring can SERIOUSLY not come fast enough for me this year! i'm so excited to get my veggie garden going now that we live out in the country. i love tinkering around in the dirt. something so very COUNTRY about it i guess. :)


ok, i'll stop babbling and get to the pretty pictures....

Source: google.com via Catie on Pinterest

how great is this vertical garden with herbs and lettuce? i'd love to put my herbs in something like this so they are just right outside my door!

Source: bhg.com via Catie on Pinterest

pretty raised beds and i love those tomato towers.


one of martha stewart's many gardens from above. now that is what i can organized!


here's another one of martha's gardens. WOW!



this just looks like heaven...

Source: networx.com via Catie on Pinterest

and in case you are into composting (we're working on it) here's a link i found for 80+ things you can compost. i'll be honest, there's a lot of stuff on there i'm not sure i would compost, but my favorite that i'm now going to start putting in our pile is dryer lint! and dust bunnies! it's kind of fun to go through the list and discover a bunch of stuff i didn't even know you could put in there.

how about you? are YOU excited for spring?

i'm linking up with:

Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

radio silence

i'd just like to apologize for the silence you've seen on my blog lately....i'm going to blame it on three things.

first, my car wreck has been a big pain in the butt. researching and finding a place to get it fixed, getting a second opinion on the estimate and now i'm finally scheduling a time to take it in. WHEW! at this wasn't even my fault!


 second, this lovely series had me enamored for about a week. seriously, i hardly ever put my ipad down, i was reading it CONSTANTLY!

i already loved the movies, but reading the books is a whole new ball game. loved it and can't believe i held out that long! i'll be honest, it was a valentine's day sale that did me in, the first one was on sale and after that, i had to have the rest of them.


and THEN! OH! OH! AND THEN! i bought this series! holy. moly. i. loved. every. second.

EVERY SECOND!

if you haven't read these, go and buy them now. suzanne collins does not disappoint!

now i can't WAIT for the movie to come out!

so, now that i'm coming out of my book coma, i hope to post some updates soon.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

inspiration workshop with gussy sews: ORGANIZATION!

This week's prompt is {ORGANIZATION}:
The new year is a great time to declutter and ORGANIZE to tackle the year ahead. Which is why we thought ORGANIZATION would make a great prompt for February. Maybe you already have a share worthy system in place? Maybe you've seen out in the inter-webs the perfect way to ORGANIZE your office or your kids playroom? Or maybe it's a cool device or shelf system to ORGANIZE things just so. Staying ORGANIZED is personal, so share what inspires you to organize your life. Feel free to use your own images, or images you find, just be sure to give appropriate photo credit if you use someone else's photo.


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OH, how wonderful this inspiration workshop will be for me! i'm SLIGHTLY obsessive compulsive. ;)

i used to be way worse, trust me. i've mellowed out a bit now that i'm married to my very much NOT ocd husband. but i still love to organize pretty much everything in sight....in fact, i even have an entire pinterest board dedicated to "ocd goodness" which pretty much consists of anything and everything organized. sigh...it's beautiful!


here are a few organization tips that i'm hoping to use when we've got everything moved into our new house....


these DIY balsa wood drawer dividers are awesome for so many reasons. 
1. they remind me of studio in design school. 
2. they are pretty dang cheap. and 
3. they are such an EASY way to organize anything EXACTLY the way you want it to be!


i am in love with this craft organizer. jars make me smile and the twine upside down twine holders are genius. this would be a simple upgrade to any crafting space, large or small.


jen over at tater tots and jello wrote some great organization ideas, tips and DIY projects for the bathroom over at the new home ec. she has such fabulous ideas that make organization look so PRETTY! ;)

while you are over there, make sure to check out her 15 kitchen tips as well. you won't regret it!


speaking of kitchens, i've been drooling over this organized kitchen for ages. i'm pretty sure i've shown you this one before, but it's TOTALLY WORTH REPEATING! it's that stinkin' awesome!


another swoon worthy organization tip are these definition labels. what's not to love about them?

fonts: good. words: good. organization: GOOD.
all together: GOOOOOOOD!

does that remind anyone of this?


ross: "it tastes like feet!"
Joey: "i like it!"
ross:"are you kidding?"
joey: "what's not to like? custard, good. jam, good. meat, goooooooood!"


oh, joey, you get me every time.


join us for inspiration workshop!

Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

a case of the mondays


(just a word of warning, this post got very wordy very quickly.)

yesterday was a such a weird day. it was truly a case of the mondays. and i'm not really one to complain a whole lot.

okay, that's a lie. i complain. i just usually complain to my husband because he can't escape me being annoying it doesn't bother him.

annnnnyway.

have you ever had one of those days that is so bad that it's actually comical? like it belongs on a sitcom or something? my day started out bad and pretty much just got hilariously worse from there.

we slept in a little, even joked a couple of times about "calling in sick" because we didn't want to go to work. (hey, it was monday.) but we finally got up and around and i left a little later than usual. i was driving our ford escape because our road is messed up from rain and our road grader doesn't know how to fix it is closed. we live a quarter of a mile off of a paved road, and since it's very muddy from recent rains i had to drive something that was 4 wheel drive.

i made it halfway to work before i posted this on my facebook feed:



that would be my extremely muddy escape in the foreground and the girl who hit me's car in the background. and a cop car.

oh joy.

after that mess was cleaned up and i was able to go to work, i had a fairly normal day at work. lots of talking to the insurance and explaining what happened but other than that, actually working. normal stuff.

i started to get sore, so i got a doctor appointment for the afternoon and left early to go get checked out. i left with some supplements and instructions to help me ease some of the soreness (i have whiplash, but just soreness other than that.)

i called kyle and headed home. about halfway there, i get a call from an insurance adjuster who wants to look at the car. i give him directions to our house and call kyle to warn him that the guy was coming that night to look at it.

oops. remember i said i needed 4 wheel drive? yeah. me neither. kyle reminded me and i called the guy back to see if he had it. nope. SO, we go into town to meet him. he looks at the car, cuts us the check and we're on the way back home. now THAT i cannot complain about. other than driving to town (2 miles) that's pretty awesome same day service.

so we get home, i made dinner while kyle works on the escape a bit. he basically took the bumper off and beat it into submission so i could at least get the hatch open if i wanted to.

kyle had mentioned making sure that we didn't have anymore birds in the attic. (what? i didn't tell you that story? uh, yeah, we found a couple of dead birds in the attic. well, the cat did anyway.) so i had ran up a couple of days before and low and behold there is a dead bird up there. i left it for him to clean up.

i am SO the wife of the year here.

so last night he asks me if i had picked up and i tell him that i hadn't. he goes up to check it out and i hear some noises from the first floor (the attic is technically our third floor) and i run up the stairs to see what the matter was and he says, "there's a bird up here!"

well, duh, i TOLD you there was one up there. "yeah, i know."

"no, a live one!"

oh, crap, i'm outta here!

he hands me the poor dead bird and i start to take it downstairs all the while complaining about the fact that i'm holding a gross dead bird. i grab him an old towel to catch the live bird with and he heads back upstairs to catch it while i clean up the kitchen from dinner.

and i honestly wish i had video of what transpired next...

kyle was still upstairs looking for the bird and i heard a noise in the living room. i called out for him thinking he was trying to put some shoes on to go outside or something. he didn't answer so i started walking across the dining room and into the hallway that leads to the living room and i saw our cat's tail. i keep walking and asking the cat what the heck he thought he was doing and i see the bird about a foot away from him laying on the living room floor.  

the bird had somehow made it all the way to the first floor and mow (our cat) was playing with it! then when i asked mow what he was doing and distracted him, the bird which had apparently been playing dead, looked at me then looked at mow and then flew off! it landed on the curtains in our office (which is connected to our living room) and mow was trying to scale them to get to it. when i walked in the office to get mow (all the while, i'm screaming at kyle that the stupid bird is DOWNSTAIRS) the bird took off and went between the couch and the wall in the living room. i ran upstairs to tell kyle that it was down there and he totally thought it was in the attic the whole time the cat was playing with it! 

it was hilarious!

the bird was stunned, but not dead. kyle took him outside and he flew off. i have a feeling that he won't be coming into our attic again! :)

if you made it to the end of this story, you are officially one of my new best friends. thanks for listening to my ramblings!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

currently coveting

since i have yet to hang my full length mirror in the new house, barring me from posting any outfit pictures for WIWW. (not that i've worn anything inspiring in the past couple of weeks...) i thought i'd try a new one tonight.

it's going to be random.

but let's be honest, i'm sort of a random person.

moving on....


Source: etsy.com via Catie on Pinterest

how sweet is this kansas cutting board? i'd have to move my heart a little to the west and the south so it was centered on manhattan. or maybe wichita. :)


you want to talk about coveting? THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF COVETING FOR ME! i've been seriously frustrated with my nike+ lately. the stupid thing is telling me i've run a whole fracking mile less than i really have. i've googled it, supposedly it's because i don't wear the nike shoes. well, nike, make a stupid shoe that i can fit into and i'd wear them!

anyway....the fuel band looks pretty damn sweet. i really want one. i really don't want to pay $200 for one. visit here for more information on this one.


i'm on the lookout for an old dress form. luckily for me, my mom is coming down in a couple of weeks and we're heading out to a highly recommended antique mall out in the sticks, so i'm hoping to find one out there. fingers crossed!


if you don't know what this means, go here and listen. and then go here and fall in love with zac brown.

and then go here and buy one.

for me.

thanks!


Source: zazzle.com via Catie on Pinterest

and while you're feeling generous, i'll take one of these, too.

sorry, you gotta be a architecture nerd to get that one.

hey, it's officially past hump day now!

hooray for it almost being the weekend!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

monday update

happy monday, everyone!

how was your weekend? do anything fun?

kyle and i drove out west with my in-law's to his grandfather's 80th birthday party this weekend. it was a short trip, less than 24 hours, but it was still a good time. i think any time spent with family is a good time!! *wink*

since we left a little early on friday afternoon, i took a day off work and enjoyed some solitude in the house while kyle went into work. i spent the morning doing laundry, catching up on some house cleaning (i'm the worst at this) and finally getting around to printing and photographing a few of my printables for my shop.

and of course i made a target run! it's just not a good week without a target run. ;)

anywhooskies...

i LOVE how they turned out! i didn't get to use my "good" camera for these...since...um....my battery is dead and i couldn't find the charger. no worries, i found it after to took some with my little point and shoot camera. not too bad for a little point and shoot if i do say so myself!

printable calendar - only $3!!

this one is my favorite!! i left it in the frame and hung it up in my studio as a little reminder to love myself when i need it. ;)


i love how you can see my guest bed in the frame. that's the bed i mentioned in my IW post last week!


i hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

happy monday!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

7 pretty things on a sunday

today i'm linking up with 7 lovely ladies for 7 pretty things on a sunday...



[1] i'm adoring these sparkly bow flats from elle japan.
[2] this outfit from fine and feathered is adorable. i need those boots!
[3] WHAT!?!? a mattifying top coat? awesome!
[4] one of my favorite sayings. ever.
[5] how gorgeous is this art from jill ricci?
[6] house of smiths shows us that even a pantry can be pretty!
[7] i can't get over how cute this kitchen is with the DP bottles all along the top of the cabinets. retro goodness everywhere!

are you linking up?



Thursday, January 19, 2012

inspiration workshop with Gussy Sews

inspiration workshop is BACK!

hip hip, hooray!!

This week's prompt is {BEDROOMS}:
It's the New Year! And what a great time to be inspired by your living space. Whether you live alone or have a family, BEDROOMS are the space people spend most of their time and often decorate to make their own. Whether your space is comfortable, modern or kitchy, it needs to be inspired to be you. Feel free to share your BEDROOM space, or BEDROOM spaces that inspire you. Maybe it's a really amazing bed frame, night table, or the coziest bed linens you've ever seen. Or a baby's nursery, a child's bedroom or guest room. Share what inspires you for a BEDROOM space. Remember, if you use someone else's photo be sure to give proper photo credit :}

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we have three bedrooms in our new house (i promise, i'll get around to doing a photo tour tab soon...fingers crossed!) and i have never had such a hard time finding STUFF to put in a room! they look so naked right now, every room needs to be "dressed" i suppose and i needed a kick in the butt to find some inspiration. so, here goes nothing!

Source: google.com via Catie on Pinterest

my craft room is in the same room as one of our guest beds. i am extremely lucky to have had the pleasure of growing up in an old iron bed very similar to this one. the problem is, 3-year-old catie decided to "decorate" her bed with some crayons. there are also quite a few chips in the paint and the knobs were all sprayed a really bright brass, so i'm hoping this summer sometime to clean it as well as i can and spray paint the entire thing. i'm thinking possibly a fun color? we'll see how that project progresses!

i love everything about the photo, the casual quilt draped and the gorgeous bed. love it all.


our master bed is in this really odd little bump out in the room. our bed JUUUUUUST fits inside it. which means we have no room for bed side tables. for a reader like myself, this is unacceptable. i've been looking for ideas all over pinterest on how to solve this problem. so far, my favorite shelves are these.


are you pro headboard or against them at all costs? i think my husband would rather slit his wrists than have a headboard on the bed, he's THAT against them. i'm hoping something like this upholstered headboard from sawdust and embryos will win him over.


in addition to our two guest bedrooms (slash craft room) we have a semi-finished attic. semi finished meaning there are stairs up to it and someone went a little cray cray with the sponge painting and the wall paper. and there are random holes in the drywall. that birds somehow get through.

but that's neither here nor there.

i'd love to be able to do something similar to this in the "wings" of the attic, what kid wouldn't want a fun attic to have sleepovers in?

the bonus is i might stay sane during a future sleepover. (HAH!)

Source: etsy.com via Catie on Pinterest

i have an unadulterated love for all things scrabble. (anyone want to play words with friends!?!?!) and these pillows are going to have to go somewhere in my house.

like, yesterday.


and while we're on the subject of pillows, i had to share these pillows. they made me giggle for about ten minutes straight.
my husband, a non-shaver in the winter months, did not find them that funny.

men.


i'm linking up with:
Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

weekend update - the shop!

just a few updates i wanted to share here on le olde blog...

i've officially gotten up off my rump (or on it, seeing as how it required a lot of computer time...) and updated my etsy shop!  i cleaned out the christmas printables and updated with a few new ones...

a couple of printable mini desktop calendars...



a few that just make me happy to think about...



and added my very first wedding invitation suite!  i'm still working on a few other wedding invites to get listed, but i'm very excited to be offering these printable and customizable wedding invite suites for brides-to-be that want something a little different, but just aren't quite sure how to achieve it.

this wedding suite is aptly named after a very brave girl named sarah, who hired me simply by word of mouth.  many thanks to my friend megan mcgraw (check out her design blog...like candy for the eyes!) who was sarah's matron of honor and gave sarah my information, which made these true labor of love invites come to life!


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in addition to updating the shop, we worked hard yesterday getting our rental house closer and closer to ready to list!  it's been exciting to see the progress and i'm happy to be actually putting some paint on the walls in the next couple of weeks!  we also moved a few things from the wichita house out to our new house and now we're enjoying a lazy sunday watching football and napping (that would be kyle...) and i'm working on a few new printables for the shop, catching up on my ever expanding google reader list, reading a favorite book (harry potter and the deathly hallows) and checking my favorite celebrity tweets.  ;)

happy weekend, everyone!

Friday, January 6, 2012

five friday faves

it's a new year, which for me....seems to always mean a time of renewal.  i feel like it's always a fresh start.  of course, i'm always a year older seeing as how my birthday is dec. 31st, so maybe that has a bit to do with it.

whatever it is, i'm always happy to start a new year!  i've never been much of a resolution maker (resolutioner?  person who makes resolutions?  whatever.  you know what i mean.)  i feel like people that make resolutions tend to break them in the first week, so i don't want to be that kind of person.  those people are quitters.

and a quitter, i am not.

this year, i'm jumping on the "word" bandwagon.  instead of a resolution, you come up with a word that describes what you want to accomplish in 2012.

drum roll, please................

my 2012 word is: 
INVIGORATE

in·vig·o·rate verb \in-ˈvi-gə-ˌrāt\

transitive verb
: to give life and energy to : animate; also : stimulate
i LOVE that invigorate can mean so many things with just one word!  i can invigorate my relationships - be a better and more exciting person.  i can invigorate my workout - finally run that 10K i've been talking about for....oh....ten years?  i can invigorate MYSELF - simply put more LIFE into my LIFE.

that's my favorite one, i'm going to invigorate myself. it's not the end of the world if i miss that tv show because i want to finish up that last chapter of the book i'm reading.  it's definitely not the end of the world if i'm five minutes late to work because i felt like going another five minutes during a run.  that's what the lunch hour is for.  to make up that five minutes.  it's time to start living for me, my family and my friends.  
because that's what truly matters in life!

my five friday faves are just a few examples of how you can invigorate your life, and how i plan to invigorate mine this year!



Source: tumblr.com via Catie on Pinterest

















what are you planning on doing in 2012?  i'd love to know!

and, yes, i did just quote harry potter.

twice.

whudda ya gonna do about it?