sara with camera

Street Score

Our neighbor cleaned out her garage day before yesterday and threw out two of these:

Nice chairs, but a little rusty and in need of cushions.  So yesterday at 6:30 am I went to Lowe's for spray paint.  I didn't have a vision for the chair- so I stood in front of the rows and rows of spray paint and grabbed two cans of the prettiest color. I sanded and painted the chairs one at a time, all the while pretending that the blue I chose would somehow work out when I threw a cushion on it. 

So Miami.  Still in denial, I went back to Lowe's to get another can of spray paint and to check out the cushion selection.  I bought a pair of red ones, but even on the way home I was pretty sure they weren't going to work (too brick, not enough cherry).  I finished the paint job and then drug Matti to JoAnn's where I bought some blue-grey canvas to make my own cushions.  Made one.  Tried it out on the crazy blue chair and decided to face reality (which, of course, meant another trip to Lowe's for MORE spray paint). 

Navy blue just works so much better.  I still have to finish up the second cushion and that pillow is really an indoor one.  I've ordered two (slightly shorter ones) from Pottery Barn (on sale, Chris):

The blue one up top. 

The tally:

2 chairs- free; 3 cans of spray paint + drop cloth- $14, 3 more cans of spray paint + new drop cloth- $14 again; fabric for cushions + zipper- $30; cushion inserts- free (rescued from basement); 2 outdoor pillows- $60 (I did search JoAnn's to find fabric suitable for pillows and came up empty handed).  Except for the paint glitch, this really makes me want to become a serious scavenger.

Have a great weekend.  Love, Sara

p.s. after sewing for almost 5 days straight on the hand pieced quilt, I had to give up for a bit.  I'll get back on it this weekend? 

 

Pillow Talk

 
This holiday weekend was anything but a holiday.  Auden brought home some stomach flu that was so evil it took even me (the non-puker of the family) down.  We all had it- which is usually how it goes with these stomach things for us.  We share drinks and smooch each other up and snuggle every morning so there is just no way around it.  This time, the boys had it lite, Chris suffered for a few days but never succumbed to the nausea, and I went down hard--what began on Sunday is still haunting me.
I ordered my first post-virus cheeseburger today (after successfully managing Coke yesterday) and it is Not sitting well.   Enough about that! So, how 'bout those pillows?  The polka-dotted ones are from some Japanese fabric I picked up at Sarah's fabric in Lawrence.  I like them, but I'm not so sure that they work in the house.  If polka-dots do have their place, I think that two could be one too much.  I'm thinkin' on it. 

Now, for that gray pillow.  I knit it (If you wanna see all those fancy cables, click on the photo for the giant version).  The camera flash makes the white pillow insert beneath show, but in Real life (it lives on the window seat-- I was too lazy to move the laundry baskets and so just photographed it on the couch, which was a mistake because the gray blends with the gray-green couch and does away with any flattering contrast), the white under-pillow-belly doesn't show.
 

I originally bought the yarn to make a sweater vest for myself, but it wasn't perfect, and I've since sworn off sweaters (Chris or I Always shrink my sweaters and with a long torso and long arms, regular sweaters don't always fit to begin with- nevermind those shrunken ones).  So, I ripped the almost-made sweater vest back and made a pillow that we (hopefully) will not shrink.  It's Rowan Soft Tweed in Twig (mostly wool and a little silk with nice little specks of color).  Oh, and knitting a pillow cover in fat yarn is the way to go!

Well, off to read for immigration class (wish me better luck with cheeseburgers next time)!  Love, Sara

Last Room

I saved the best for last! (what's a house without an antique antelope head?)

  
 
I knit that pillow this summer- it's pretty boring: brown in stockinette.  It is a tweed though and so on closer inspection, it's a little less dull.  I like it though!   

 

  
I don't know if it's stil a faux pas to mix brown and black (I remember saying something to Chris about wearing a black belt with his brown shoes when we were dating...and he married me anyway :)), but I think it works.  Got the mirror from an antique store in town for $30 (the antelope head for 4-ish times that at a different antique store in Paxico) and the fan at a garage sale for$10 a year and a half ago (it's been in the garage).  The chair is piece #two of the eastlake couch-chair set that was covered in gold crushed velvet (got a pretty good deal on them since they were such ugly ducklings).  I gave the chest a new paint job (again). Oh, and this was the only room in the house that we painted.  The color on top before was too institutional tan.  The photos are, of course, Dad's. 

Yesterday I sewed a pillow (no insert for it yet), finished up another knit one, and may sew up another tonight (or may not).  Anyway, it's safe to bet that the next post will be a fluff piece.  Hehe.  Chris says I have a pillow obsession.  I disagree- I think we've just acquired more seating!  Love, Sara

Our First House!

 
I'll start with the smallest room in the house- our bathroom...so tiny.  Thank Jesus the boys have a bathroom upstairs (no shower, just a tub) because I could not imagine having to give them a bath downstairs in ours (it really gives new meaning to water closet).  Next, our formal living room...

 
This Eastlake loveseat was not so attractive when I brought it home (its sister chair is in our bedroom).  It was upholstered in crushed gold velvet.  I replaced that with linen and carpet tacks (I'm not so great at this re-upholstering thing though- I could use a class or something).

 
 
The mirror needs to be hung instead of proped and my candles are nubs and the Christmas cards are a little busy, but they'll (sadly?) be gone in a couple of weeks anyway (still haven't gotten the last batch of mine out for those of you who think you've been snubbed :)).  Oh, and those shelves need a little filling out with some vintage-ware of some sort.

 
Made three of the four pillows- the R one has already been debuted on the blog, but the red and brown striped one is relatively new- I used birthday yarn from Christine and the brown came from a sweater I knit for Matti two years ago.  He never wore it because I couldn't get it over his head.  Haven't made either boy a sweater since- one day soon though (for Auden so that we can pass it down- with the Scottish yarn from Tom and his mom).  I really hope that Nellie did not just do her business upstairs...  

...next up- the entry way  

  The door was white on this side when we moved in and red on the other.  An ugly faded red (though freshly painted).  The house was lacking blue and so both sides are now sporting one of my favorite colors.  To the left is a photo of PaPa Ewell when he was in the Navy- complimenting the photo of Bigmama and Uncle G. in uniform.  The dining room...

 
Also an attempt to inject a little blue into the house.  This drop leaf was in Great Grandpa and Grandma White's cabin which was sold not too long ago.  The table was white before, but the paint was chipping off.  A nice look, but not functional (the boys are messy eaters and clean-up was impossible).  Chris let me get a belt sander to do the job (it's not the first or the last refinishing job I'll undertake) which made the process a whole lot easier once I figured out how to use it.  The fifties table is in the basement right now- it's definitely not retired, just on sabatical.

  
This is the other side of the dining room.  The stairs lead to the boy's atic bedroom & bath, the open doorway is the kitchen (I love that I can cook and still be a part of whatever is going on in the real living room)...and those shutters lead to the real living room...there's also a telephone nook in the dining room...

 
That room off to the right is a study (in progress- not fit for pictures).     

 
The living room from the couch...and now from the window seat...

 
not the best angle for the photo, but I had to hide my knitting mess that's under the butcher block- I'm working on it.  This living room and the boys' room have carpet...two rugs are in exile because of it, but there's always next time. 

 
looks like I need to clean the tv.  And the boys' bathroom...

  
  
I was lazy and didn't make their beds!  So I'll post photos of our room tomorrow- got to get to the store to pick up some tomatillos and cornbread- and then the boys!  Love, Sara  
 

First Day

I love storms.  Last night before we went to bed, I noticed that there were lightening flashes and hoped that it would start raining and thundering before I fell asleep.  I didn't get my wish, but it did start storming sometime in the middle of the night and continued raining (off and on) until I just a bit ago.  Not the best weather for the first day of school photos. 

Neighbors Talon, Aiden, Carleigh, and Matthew were also waitin' for the bus--we're not cool enough to have umbrellas.   Auden wanted me to ride the bus with him, and I would have but the driver wasn't supportive of the idea and I wasn't going to push it because I really didn't want to ride the bus either.  Since it's only a half-mile drive (they're the last ones to be picked up), it wasn't that big of a deal.  Believe it or not, the short, bald guy in uniform in the back is not Chris but our neighbor--Jan is right, they DO all kinda look the same (she had trouble picking Chris out in a crowd at the race).

 

As we still had school supplies in the trunk and since I knew other parents would be hanging with their kids in the classroom for the first few minutes, I met him at the school where the kindergartners were lined up in the gym with parents flanking them and cameras flashing.

Their first assignment of the school year was to draw a picture of their families (I think that's what we'll do the first day back at law school too) so Auden, after drawing the four of us, drew Mr. Feathery (poor kid, he still doesn't  have a replacement pet and is reduced to sketching deceased rodents).  We did go to the pet store Friday and Auden wanted a Beta (reasonable) and was fascinated by the corn snake (which he drew on the Back of his paper- he knew better than to ask for one of those). 

When I left, Ms. Gray had them sitting in a circle on letter mats talking about rules.  It's only a half day so I'll actually be picking him up in an hour.  Army had a half day too- the other half though.  So the soldier parents could participate, the CG postponed the work day for two hours.  Well, have a great week- I'm gonna go change shirts as I've spilled soy sauce down the front of the one I'm currently wearing (some things never change).  Love, Sara

The R Pillow!

 

Matti is its biggest fan...sewing it kinda put me in pillow making mode and since we're in short supply, it's a good thing.  I have one pillow on the needles and one in my head.  The former is a brown tweed (Peace Fleece); a pretty scratchy (but beautiful) wool so it probably won't become anyone's favorite.  The other will be constructed from stashed Amy Butler decorator fabric. 

 

I did finish the toddler quilts last night- they're in the wash and soon to be photographed and mailed!  It's a big relief to have those off the to-do list...no more babies, Ok?  (at least for a couple of months)...and speaking of babies, to finish the post off, how 'bout a photo of our baby mud swallows? 

 

That was last week...they grow So fast: today when I checked them out, they were huge (in fact, if I were their parents, I'd kick their ready-to-fly butts out of the nest).  Maybe I'm in a rush because of the growing poop pile beneath...honestly, though they're entertaining (the parents like to dive bomb us) and I'll miss them.  Hope you have a great week (and Happy Father's Day you dads), Sara

The Rest...

I promised I'd post the remaining photos today and they're coming up, but first the latest breaking (and certainly Shocking) news: Matti and I have fever.  Yep it's that time again- it's been over a month since our bodies were last germ occupied.  The best part is that we're expecting Chris this weekend.  There is no way that we're missing the RE-deployment (that's what they call it) ceremony though.  I don't care if this is the bubonic plague and our presence at the ceremony will result in a pandemic- we're going to be there: germs flying and everything.  I guess I should get on with the photo posting so that I can get some proper rest and allow my immune system to give the whole germ warfare thing a go, so without further delay.... the aesthetic room (just waxing for now- locals start growing out that hair):

If you like the photography (I sure do), it's Alicia Bock and you should visit her blog (http://bloom-grow-love.blogspot.com/) or her store webite: http://www.aliciabock.com/  I'm in love with one of her latest pieces: June clouds in an October sky.  Not only is she a pretty great photographer, but she's sweet too!

So this room may be converted to the smallest guest room ever if I get bored with the waxing thing...They call it a room, but it's pretty much a glorified closet.  I think mom and dad's walk-in probably has the same square footage, just a different shape.

Isn't that light fixture beautiful?  There is only one light fixture in this house that's not gorgeous and it's in the playroom and subtle enough that it doesn't drive me crazy. 

...and then the boys' room which has made progress since these photos- namely the painting is now finished and curtain rods hung, the only things missing are curtains and one wall needs SOMEthing (it pretty much looks just like it did in the old house, only the walls are grey):

See that tape around the windows?  That's finally gone.  I think a light blue or a green curtain would look best, but I'm having trouble deciding.  I'm not sure how useful light blue curtains would be- I mean the boys'll have opinions of their own someday soon and I'm afraid that green might be too much- there's the green beanbag in the corner and the green edge around the rug.  Any advice?  Okay, off to bed (and a little reading: the Yarn Harlot book, of course)...Love, Sara

Home

Yesterday we held an open house in an attempt to meet our new neighbors.  I had fun and hope they did too, unfortunately, our only guests were the neighbors we'd already met.   Because we were having guests, I thought flowers were in order and tried to copy Eddie Ross' arrangements that can be seen here.  Mine weren't so cute.  If my LSAT score isn't high enough to pursue a career in law, floral design is not Plan B.  So I think I'll take this opportunity to Finally post photos of the house.  I actually began a post quite awhile back, but lost the uploaded photos twice and gave up.  More dining room photos (or as Matti call it, "the Diving room.")

I got these plates at a Junction City antique shop, Garden Gate Antiques, and they were more than reasonably priced, $5 each.  The red wooden chairs I picked up at an antique store in Alma for $50, painted them red, and recovered them.  Now for the playroom... 

The Living Room: The chair I hate but can't live without.  Chris wanted a recliner and this is what he chose.  It was the least worst one we saw when we were out shopping that day in Fargo.  Ever since Matti arrived though, it's been my chair.  The big arms were perfect for nursing a baby and Now, it serves as my knitting chair.  There Are rare occasions when comfort trumps aesthetics.     

Then there's the Kitchen:

And moving upstairs to the bathroom:

And where I sleep (and Chris too one day sooner than later): I'll post the remaining rooms (2) tomorrow- Happy hump day, Sara

PS: I forgot to mention that my absolute favorite feature of our bedroom is that I can reach the light switch from the bed- it doesn't get better than that!

Oh, and there are things that still need attention like the wall space over the rocker- I could go on, but how boring is someone else's to-do list?  Okay- see you tomorrow. -S