Friday, August 26, 2011

Gettin' Crafty With It


And by "it," I mean the time not spent looking for a job or contemplating the meaning of my existence... I have a lot of "it," so I decided to attempt one of the many crafty projects I have pinned. Last week I decided to attempt this project, so I hauled my cookies to Home Depot for the necessary supplies. I grabbed a bunch of free paint chip cards and then bought a bunch of thirteen cent tiles, a four dollar can of clear spray acrylic spray, and a pack of felt pads that cost a small amount that I no longer recall.

{the supplies}

I love me some paint chips...the subtle shade gradations, the whimsical names. Plus they're just so pretty.

First, I traced the tiles on the back of the paint chip.
{I don't recommend doing the tracing while also trying to take a picture.}
Next, I used the Mod Podge (decoupage glue) to stick the paint chip square to the top of the tile. I put a thin layer of glue on the back of the paint chip and then a couple of layers on top, and I let it dry overnight.  I learned my lesson and did not attempt to photograph the gluey step. The next day I coated the tiles with clear spray acrylic.  After they dried overnight, I sprayed them again.


The last thing to do was slap the felt pads on the bottom. Easy peasy.

The finished product...




Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Birthdays and the Beach - Scenes from the Weekend

This weekend Tom and I headed back to San Diego to celebrate my mom's birthday. I don't know what it is with my parents and agreeing to work on their birthdays when it's not strictly necessary, but my mom somehow ended up spending most of her birthday tending to the needs of others. I guess that's about par for the course for her though... In any event, we got a glass of champagne in her hand as soon as she walked in the door.
{A few glasses of wine and she managed to put the particularly ornery, "bowel fixated" patient out of her mind.}
In addition to the celebrating, there was lots of relaxing to be done.
After we had sufficiently relaxed, we took on the task of taking Lucy to the beach. Apparently this task requires silly hats and backpack chairs.

Once at the beach, we got our fetch on.
 As long as she didn't get distracted by another dog/a pile of seaweed/her own shadow, Lucy was pretty committed to returning the ball.
 And we were quite willing to throw it again because...well, she looks hilarious coming and going.


Other canines reveling in the glory that is Dog Beach in late August:
{Ok, maybe they weren't all reveling...he looks kind of scared.}

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Melrose Trading Post

Remember my mission to de-Ikea my apartment? Well, turns out, non-Ikea furniture is expensive. Since I'm not technically employed at the moment, it didn't seem like a good time to be making a major investment in furniture. Enter my new plan - thrift stores and flea markets! Delirious with visions of uncovering hidden gems amidst the junk, I dragged Tom to the Melrose Trading Post.

I had anticipated that more digging would be required, but we found these almost immediately. I almost passed on these guys because I felt like they came too easy, but I have been using empty milk crates as a nightstand for the past month, so we went for it. They are not quite as bright as they look here, but I love the aqua color. Tom negotiated and, $120 later, we have matching bedside tables made of actual, honest-to-goodness wood. They're real grown-up like.


Here are some of the other treasures I found but, sadly, did not purchase...
{lanterns}
{I want the old camera, not the creepy doll.}
{I have no place for this, but I find him strangely appealing.}
{I need to find a reason to buy vintage suitcases.}
{Tom wouldn't let me start a book collection for our currently nonexistent children, but someday...}
{I have no need for this, but isn't it pretty?}
{As soon as I have regular income again, I'm starting a vintage globe collection.}
{I have no idea what one does with other people's old photos, but I loved looking through them.}
{Again, I don't know what I'd do with it, but there's something so cool about it.}
I will be returning to the Melrose Trading Post just as soon as there is a thaw in the spending freeze we have goin' on over here...

Sunday, August 14, 2011

In the Meantime

I have been MIA on this here bloggy blog, and I'm not quite sure what has happened to the first half of August, but to recap, in the past month...

 -I went back to San Diego to see Tom and Devin open for Chris Isaak. Happily this coincided with Buckley's birthday...
{Happy birthday, Mr. Buckley!}
{Tom getting ready backstage}
{Tom and Devin, onstage at Humphrey's}
- Tom and I celebrated our third (!) wedding anniversary with dinner at a great Mediterranean restaurant about a block from our apartment. Do we still qualify as newlyweds? I'm gonna go ahead and say we do.
- Tom went to Nashville for work, and I headed back to San Diego for family fun and wedding dress shopping with Mo.
{No dress shots that Buckley might see, but, trust. She chose a winner.}
-Tom's parents came to town and we did lots of stuff...
         
             We spent an afternoon in Malibu.
{Matador Beach}
{Some sort of photo shoot...?}
{Tom and his dad}
       We also celebrated his Michael and Judie's engagement at the 94th Aero Squadron restaurant.


While Tom's parents were here, we also made a day trip to San Diego so that Tom could play with Melly Frances and the Distilled Spirits at the Casbah. The fantastic show was well worth the late night return trip to LA.


-Tom and I went to see Phish at the Hollywood Bowl. The highlight for me was hearing them cover Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover. Listening to Phish was a nice trip down memory lane and a reminder of how much things have changed since I last saw them in Worcester during my senior year of college....
{Now - wine and sushi, Then - Busch Light and bong hits}

- I headed back to San Diego yet again (this would be the fourth time in a month if you're keeping track) because I am not willing to break up with the hair stylist I have been seeing for the past seven years...I'm codependent like that. I also volunteered to keep Lucy company for the day since my parents were headed to Boston for a wedding.
{It was a grey day, so we practically had the place to ourselves.}
 While I was home, I also got to witness my dad giving Midgey a lesson in lawn mowing...

- I have also been spending a ridiculous amount of time looking for a job, but that is neither fun, nor photograph worthy.

- When I not looking for an actual paying job, I have been auditioning for the unpaid role of housewife.
{blueberry galette}
{mint, basil, chives, rosemary, thyme, and cilantro from my herb garden}
{radishes from the farmer's market}
{Yumbo!}
{the makings for the perfect summer bruschetta}
In an effort to increase my odds of getting a full time position as domestic engineer, I pulled out the big guns and bought a sewing machine. I then made myself a little pin cushion/sewing kit out of a mason jar. Thanks to Martha's instructions, it was super easy, particularly since it involved no actual sewing. The sewing part is proving slightly more difficult, so far I have made two wonky dinner napkins...

And that brings us to now, mostly...