Catching Up...

This one's for my friend, Danielle, who said, "If I click on your blog one more time and see 'Happy Lemonade Day'..." :)

HELLO!!!!!!! HOW ARE YOU!!!! I'VE MISSED YOU ALL SO!!! As you all may have been able to tell, I am easily distracted and overwhelmed. This fall has been CRAZY. Lots of newness-- a new boss at work (with him, lots of new work), kindergarten, a 2.5 year old who FINALLY (after almost a year of speech therapy) has started talking a mile a minute (whoa and yay at the same time), and designing a NEW HOUSE.

So in the words of Glee, here's what you missed...

The first day of school:


Halloween (my girlfriend, Karen, made the pirate and Bo Peep costumes!):


My creepy Facebook profile pic (I love Picnik!):


A birthday (5!):


And yes, we are slightly nutty in that in this completely horrible awful economy, we are building a new house. It's actually right around the corner from our house now which is great because we are walking distance from downtown, we love most of our neighbors, and we love Q's school.

I never thought I would want to do this because "new house" in my mind means cookie cutter, no character, thin walls, brass fixtures, bleh houses. Then a house was built a street up from us. It's beautiful. Then I found out the builder was building on 8 vacant lots near our house. THEN I found out that the architect he works with regularly lives in my most favorite house of all of Royal Oak. It was kismet.

More later, but here are the exterior shots we gave our architect for inspiration. Straight outta the 1923 Sears & Roebuck kit home catalog. He loved it. A connection was made. :)



And I'm a DEXTER FANATIC!!!! I am seriously loving this season and Julia Stiles, and if I wasn't already done having kids, I'd name my next-born daughter Lumen. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful fall!!! Are you gearing up for Xmas? Let me know! Say hello! I'm sorry I'm such a stinky friend. I think of you all often. xoxoxoxo

Settling Into Summer

Hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day. I foisted power tools onto my poor husband. He doesn't have many, so I think it was ok. I think he enjoyed the rest of his day. I didn't nag him too much plus he got some pretty cool handmade gifts from the girls and some relaxation time too which is worth its weight in gold around this house.

Yesterday, we went down to the Detroit Riverfront for their River Days Festival. You may remember my post from last year. It's beautiful down there. We rode rides, played in the fountains & ate hot dogs and sno-cones. It was a perfect day. Here are some pics:









Tomorrow marks the beginning of week 3 for Q and V at a brand new daycare. Both had been to their previous in-home daycare since they were 3 months old. They are now at a center mainly because of a ton of little reasons, nothing major. At the last daycare, Q was the oldest kid by like 1.5 years, every Monday was a struggle, and towards the end, she was starting to act like a miserable teenager. Now she is in her element. I'm so happy for her.

V on the other hand-- the first two weeks were pretty rough. However, the turning point may have been Thursday when I received this note in her box (written by one of the daycare ladies, of course): "I made a new friend today. Michael held my hand at nap time until I fell asleep". Picture a little guy with light cocoa skin, huge brown eyes, and chestnut brown curls with a green plaid overall romper on with his cot pushed up to V's and holding her hand. That's Michael. I think he's a little younger than V. I don't know if he made the difference, but all I know is that on Friday, she wasn't so sad anymore.

♥

Have a good week, all!!! xo

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all those fathers out there especially my own:

And this guy too...
You two are two of the best dads I know, and I'm so lucky to have you both. :) xo
P.S. The graphic above is a vintage card available from Kitsch Cupcake Gal's Etsy shop.

Happy Mom-oo's Day!

And Happy Mom-oo's Day to my own mum, Janet. From her pain-in-the-rear daughter. I'll be celebrating by doing something she loves, gardening! Planning on getting my annuals today and hopefully getting them in the ground today. Love you, Mom. :)

Coulda Been a Contendah...

Ok, so here's the commercial my husband could have been in...it was between this dude, one other dude, and my hubby. My hubby lost out because they said he looked too young. So it was like his 15 minutes before his 15 minutes of fame (which never came...oh so sad).



So that's his buddy, Scott. His desk is right next to Ryan's, so maybe Ryan is now famous by osmosis. Hey! We just saw it on Comedy Central!

Almost 2010!

How was everyone's Christmas? Ours was lovely. We spent Christmas Eve at my parents then went to the in-laws. And the girls found this pic when they got home from our trip on the 27th:


That rascally Santa! Q got her unicorn Pillow Pet from Santa. Huzzah! I also got some surprises. One big one was from my bro, SIL and niece:
Yup, that's an autographed pic of all the Glee kids. I'm filled with Gleekiness! I found that I received many gifts suitable for a 13 year old girl this Xmas, but I loved them all. My mother even bought me the Robsessed DVD (I didn't ask for it, I swear). She actually told the Target salesman that it was for her granddaughter. She is ashamed of her woman-child daughter. Ha!

Here are some super sweet gifties from Kat that I received yesterday in the mail.



I actually commissioned a super awesome print for our basement. Once it's up, I will post pics. Thanks, Kat!!! You're sweeeeet.

I have been spending my time yesterday and today recording a Dexter Season 4 DVD for two of my girlfriends to borrow. I made this lovely DVD label on Photoshop! I'm becoming comfortable on Photoshop. It's actually quite fun! Feel free to download and use as a label if you are a fellow Dexterite.

Last night, we saw An Education. It was very lovely. It takes place in 1961 England. The main character, Jenny, is played by Carey Mulligan (who's dating Shia Le Boeuf). The film follows her internal struggle between going to Oxford or marrying an older man played by the creepyriffic Peter Saarsgard.


Next, I want to see A Single Man! It looks wonderful and I didn't know it was directed by Tom Ford. Makes perfect sense because the trailer alone was beautifully styled and looked like a piece of art. I was also happy to see Nicholas Hoult in it who was the kid in one of my fave movies, About a Boy written by Nick Hornby who also wrote An Education!. My useless film trivia comes full circle!

Tonight, we're going to my cousin's house for an early kid-friendly dinner. Then the movie marathon will commence tonight after the girl's bedtime and will last through tomorrow as well. Ryan stopped at Whole Foods, Papa Joe's AND our local Holiday Market today. We have enough food and alcohol to feed an army. We won't be leaving our house or getting out of our PJ's all day tomorrow. Ahhhhhhhh...Happy New Year's!!!

3 Little Girls

3 Little Girls
Originally uploaded by Girl Land

I made these for my mom for Xmas. Bought her a generic necklace (which she got early), a very boring but completely utilitarian Snug cami (invented by a Detroiter!) and then these lovely little girls: V, Q and Cousin Sophie.

She puts little knickknacks up on her windowsill above her kitchen sink, so these will fit in nicely. I am also thinking about making her a shadowbox home too. Maybe for Mother's Day...to be continued.

Crafternoon was yesterday, and it was fun. Not a ton of people, but still a good time and I did sell a little bit. Will be posting much of the stuff in the shop even though some of it's Christmas, and it's a little late for Xmas stuff!

Today was a pajama day. Didn't get out of my pajamas. No shower either (ew, right?). But it was lovely! Painted these girlies, mixed some batches of reindeer food (oatmeal + glitter) and made some reindeer candy canes out of poms, google eyes and pipe cleaners for Q's daycare buds.

Feeling ambitious? You may be after you see this way cute project. My lovely Aunt Judy sent me a link to this felt mushroom tutorial courtesy of Pink Chalk Fabrics. I loves my toadstools!

xo!

Party Time...is Over

So the birthday festivities have now ended. Here are some highlights...



And the one that made it all worthwhile...

Still Here...

...and still summering! I apologize for the brief hiatus. Cross my heart I am trying to get back into the swing of posting on a regular basis. These pics were taken along the Detroit Riverfront at the Ren Cen Plaza last weekend. We had so much fun! That place is wonderful.

Oh, and pssssttttt...DUCF 2009 applications are now up! Trying to get my brain together to narrow down what I want to make so I can get my app in.

What is new with you all? In a nutshell, I have been signing Q up for ballet, planning a party at our house, planning some handmade gifts, eating lots of ice cream (bad, bad!), still Jazzercising, Wii'ing, estate saling, zoo'ing, having some fun with those two little girls of ours, and last but not least, figuring out how I'm going to handle my boss leaving for another City (he's been at our City for 28 years and my boss for 12 years!). Phew!

Can you believe summer's almost over?? I have to admit something-- we were watching The Office last week. It was an old ep where Michael goes to NYC, and he decides to go get a "New York slice" from his fave pizza place (Sbarro, ha!!!). He was all bundled up, and you could see his breath and MAN did that make me crave some cold weather. Am I sick or what???

Another reason I'm looking forward to cold weather-- it's been over TWO YEARS since I first mentioned my Lovely Bones fixation, and it appears that it's official release date will FINALLY be December. The trailer is amazing. I can't embed, but you can watch it on the official site. My brother is skeptical of the CGI heaven scenes (as am I), but even moreso is Mark Wahlberg's portrayal of Mr. Salmon. Maybe I will eat my words. I was just so excited about Ryan Gosling that it's hard for me to picture anyone else in the role. Have you read the book? Have you seen the trailer? I predict Stanley Tucci will be the best part of the film. He looks super creepilicious!

xo and more soon!

Don't Forget Dad!

Don't forget! Father's Day is Sunday, June 21. I just shopped a bit today, and I thought I'd share some of Girl Land's Etsy picks for some great gifties for your fave hubby, pops, or grandpa.

Top to Bottom, L-R:

1. Lotion bar by Portland General Store
2. Sunflower and Pistachio Toffee w/ Milk Chocolate by Vintage Confections
3. Custom Golf Bar Marker by Autumn Leaves Jewelry
4. World’s Greatest Husband vintage mug by EclecticaMiami
5. Robot Tee by Happy Family
6. Vintage Wooden Box for Polishing Shoes by Val Bolen
7. Half Pint of Prose for Fathers by Inspired Letters
8. Instant Vintage Office Set by River Bazaar
9. Gourmet BBQ Spice Rub Kit by Purpose Design

My dad will be receiving the golf markers from the girls that says, "We Love Grandpa Jim". Ryan will be receiving the robot tee, a nice trophy from the girls, and a card featuring a Father's Day interview I found by Let's Explore via The Crafty Crow. It was actually for Mother's Day, but I modified the questions. Best Q answer so far:

"My Dad always tells me, 'Let's listen to the Talkin' Heads'."

Speaking of Q, here are some other recent Q-isms that have made me laugh:

During a thunderstorm at 2:00 am-- "Mom, can you please turn down the thunder???"

After her dad startled her-- "Daddy, you just scared the poop babies outta me!"

With her arms out, shaking her head, naked from the waist down, "I have NO IDEA where my underpants are."

That is all. Off to watch SYTYCD that is being Tivo'ed as we speak!

Love to Mother

Every year, I forget to add these to my Etsy shop. I have a bunch of them in different colors, and they are in mint condition. I love 'em.



So Happy Mother's Day to you all you Mudders out there! Hope you did something fun. I have been sans hubby basically since last Wednesday. He came home Friday night late and had to leave again for work early this AM 'til Tuesday (ohhhh, shush, even downtown voices carry... Sorry, 80s flashback). But my parents came into town, and we went to brunch at The Emory. GOOOOOOOD food!!! We had no rezzies because they don't take them, but we had no prob. I had the tomato & artichoke omelet. TDF!!!

T'was a very handmade Mother's Day for my mom. She's in a bookclub, so that became the unofficial theme. First, this book bag with a quote I found that I love. It reminded me of my mom because I feel like she gets so much out of nature.



With these book pockets for when she loans her bookies out:

And the girls made this bookmark:


Also not photographed were THE BEST lemon cream-filled milk chocolates (her fave!) from Sweet Essentials in Berkley. And some wine tags, of course, because what's a book club without wine, right?

The girls and Ryan got me these loverly flowers-- lavender mums, alstromeria, and hyacinth. I added some lilacs from my garden after I took the pic, and the house smelled divine!


Now I'm off to make an appliqued shirt for Q. She said she wanted a mushroom. What a novel concept. :)

Hope the rest of your weekend was wonderful! xo

Pinwheels & Party Hats!

Actually, no party hats. I just thought that sounded cute. Here are some images from today's birthday soiree for Viv:

Streamers and last minute sign made by yours truly

Delish cake from Louie's Bakery in Marshall (yes, even with the neon icing) and cake topper made by me and inspired by Sarah's post. Definitely came out more foldy, less ruffly.

Viburnum and Forget Me Nots from the yard

Hand pinwheel by Shana at Crossroads Cottage! I stuck them into a few hunks of oasis I had laying around and covered the bases with paper shreds to make them look like bouquets. Would have used styrofoam if I'd had any handy.

Of course you need favors...

These are glassine bags sealed with Shana's pinwheel clips and stuffed with these super easy Turtles! I added a magnet on the back of each clip so they could go on the fridge and hold stuff.

Rachel from Golden Shop made Viv's custom bib! So perfect!

Here's Miss V modeling. If we didn't already know she was my kid, her love of frosting certainly proves it!

All in all, a fun time was had by all!!! :) Hope you are all enjoying your weekends as well!