WIP Wednesday - Quilts and Nursery

I started #babyburfs quilt last week sometime.  The top is all pieced now. It is not even close to my originally intended which was using a solid and making all the farfalles in the prints, but it's growing on me and I also found I did not have enough of the solid anyhow. I am working on finishing the back now.   Maybe I will finish this prior to #babyburf arriving.  (ps again sorry I didn't bother with ironing this.)

Last week I mentioned that floors and paint were done in the nursery.  Well I got the crib assembled (note was slightly less "ebony" than I wanted and was scratched several places when I took it from the box but I was not letting that slow progress).  I have also been bringing furniture back into his room as well. We decided he should have the blue velvet chair that once graced my living room although it will probably go in another spot even though we bought a rocker.  And I have been cleaning out some of the green baskets from the craft room to reuse on the shelf that will eventually move in here.

It's slowly coming together in here.  I found a few prints that I bought at an art fair like 5 years ago that match his room perfectly so I am going to hang them some place.  Won't that quilt be perfect for his room whenever I finish it?  

I also started my MQG Michael Miller challenge quilt but it's not really time to be sharing that just yet. So that's it for now.

Dear Blog - Happy 8 Years!

Dear Blog -  

I started this blogging adventure 8 years ago.  Well really 8 years + 6 days.  Since then you have been a constant journal and documentation place for me.  You literally were a"complaint" space for me to vent my tiny ridiculous complaints in the early days, but I discovered my voice and become more comfortable with sharing bits of my life.  You grew and I grew.

Since we met I have really learned more about living and cultivating the life I want to lead.  And while I am entirely sure that you my tiny little blog space are entirely responsible for every change in my life or that I figured it all out yet - but I think you helped me along the way.  I went on adventures I might not have gone on, I set goals, I broke goals, I made lists, I found things I loved, I found things I didn't love, I recorded moments, and all along I found my place, my strides, and I still enjoy typing up things to post on you.  Thanks.    

Anyhow happy belated anniversary blog here's to seeing where we are 8+ years from now.

- Katie   

White Trash Activity - WWE Live

This weekend we went on a mini road trip to fulfill our white trash activity of the year (sorry I am not trying to offend anyone with this statement it's just what we call these yearly events).  This year we selected professional wrestling as the event.  And it was quite the show.  We let Dustin buy the tickets and thus we got floor seats and it was also Kathleen's 25 birthday event so win win (#19 on the list).

We kicked off the event with a little BBQ at a place called Scotty Bubs BubbAQue or something like that.  The locals were very welcoming to us there and we had "fried corn" for the first time.  It wasn't my most favorite but the BBQ was good and they had Jeff Foxworthy on the wall.

Dustin's buddy Logan even got to meet us there.  

Then we headed to the Freedom Hall for the big event - WWE Live!  (ps we showed up knowing 2 wrestler names and none of us had seen wrestling easily since 10+ years ago).  Oh and I should also mention Kathleen and I had customized our very own wrestling shirts with supplies from my studio and goodwill $2 shirts they were very fashionable especially derby week in Louisville.  Nothing says awesome like some fringe.

The wrestling was hilarious!  From annoucing of wrestlers to seeing just how staged it is.  Oh and don't get me started on the cute little kids with their plastic gold belts and sweat bands screaming while standing on their chairs for their favorite picks.  My other personal favorite part was the "main event" tag team where the most popular wrestler let his tag team members get "all beat up" then he tagged in and two seconds later he had whooped up on all three of the other teams guys.

Anyhow I can now cross this off my list of things I never really wanted todo but did. ;)  and this might have even been my favorite activity outside the Demolition Derby it's way more fun than SuperCross and Monster Trucks and even the Rodeo.

#babyburf Nursery Paint and Floors Done

Feeling very acomplished to have finished painting and the floors in the babies room.  Dustin is much more on board with the hardwoods now that they are done (he actually asked if we could rip out the carpet in Troys room next).  

I originally was going to go with black and white only on the walls but then Dustin wanted Blue and we got to the store and green was added too.  

We had seen on Pinterest this technique for potato stamping and thought it looked cool.  Turns out it's waaaaay harder than it looks.   We ended up tossing the potatoes after like 8 imprints and just freehanding our circles.  It was a major Pinterest Fail, but we saved it.  However we stopped with one wall only.  

There is one blue, one green, and one white wall, and then the circle accent wall.  I love that it's not perfect.  

The floors are the original oak hardwoods.  I scraped off the old paint drips with an extacto knife. Then I cleaned them three times with ammonia. There wasn't any sealant on the floor so I didn't sand them.  Dustin then applied several coats of a high quality polyurethane letting it dry in between.  I think they look great for floors over 60 years old that have been hiding under carpet for the last 30+ years.  I found remenants of both a weird green carpet and a sexy red shag both such lovely options when I ripped out the carpet.  The room also has been a pastely Seafoam, a peach and yellow, plus our former colors tan and chive through the years. It's fun seeing the history of this house.  

Anyhow I am now excited to get his crib set up and move in his other furniture so the room is ready when he comes.  Oh and if you didn't notice I also need to replace the outlet covers and register - I'll get there.  

Bread #5 - Pretzel Bread

I am behind the game on breads, and Kathleen had been dying for me to make pretzel bread.  So since it was her birthday I made it.  The dough seemed to be waaaay to dry using the recipe I added about a 1/4 of a cup of extra milk to make it more dough like.  

And then when I boiled it - the boiling water was bubbling over.  

The bread seemed waaaay brown too.  

But you know what this was the best bread yet it was delicious!  

The recipe is so simple it's very forgiving, perfect for Easter.  

Everyone here tried different toppings with it and enjoyed it so much we have just a slice or two left.  I am pretty sure I will make this again maybe in bun form.

PS acceptable toppings include butter, ranch dressing, cream cheese, cream cheese and strawberries, and cheese.  Other toppings we wished for beer cheese, nacho cheese, honey butter, and garlic butter.

Here's the link to the recipe note I added the extra milk and used sea salt rather than regular salt.  

http://m.reviewjournal.com/life/food-and-cooking/pretzel-bread-twist-old-standard 

14 on14 April

This month taking these was a challenge.    Dustin was gone, I spent most of the day in meetings but I got them in.  In retrospect I think I should have done 6-8 picture a day not 14.  But here they are.  

1 - my ridiculous hair and sunburn to start the day.

2 - breakfast water + bagel

3 - mailing taxes ick 

4 - post office

5 - my tulips about ready. Luckily they hadn't bloomed because it snowed Monday night.

6/7 the squirrel that ran up my leg then mocked me.

8 - glasses at dinner

9 - Julie and Maya 

10 - paper scraps from a project 

11/12 - Kathleen ice cream and envelopes

13 - gathering hangers for laundry

14 - glasses off good night

Book 33 - 7 An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess

What's that?  Yes I am on a reading roll.  Probably because I have a lot of spare time to myself thru the week with Dustin gone or working late.  But regardless I just finished 7 - An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmarker.  I thought this was a book about purging when I started it.  It's actually not.   

It's actually more a book about fasting from several things that are excess and using that time to draw closer to god.  It was a quick read.  I am not sure I am ready for the 7 month long fasting challenges anytime soon but many of the ideas within the book can be done in smaller chunks so perhaps I will start small.  And it's also still a good reminder on things I need to work on.

I started book 34 the other day "Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg however I am not enjoying it like I thought I would,  but we'll see how that goes. 

WIP Wednesday - #babyburfs room

This week I have made no progress on quilts.  I already posted #babyburf book I started so the only other work in progress is his room.  Which is very much in progress.  

This is because I ripped out the carpets Friday night.  What a difference this makes.  

The carpets have been here longer than me so 10+ years and while I have cleaned them once they were still gross.  This was a big debate for Dust and I as he still feels strongly we should have carpet for the baby - I could not disagree more.  

I won by just ripping them out while he was man timing.  And luckily they are in good shape.   Extra good.   I was very pleased.   Kathleen helped me remove the tack strips and staples and soon they will get a good thorough cleaning, followed by a new coat of seal.  But for now I feel extra lucky they are not rotted or damaged.  I consider that a major win.  

#Babyburf's baby book

I debated making a baby book for #babyburf because we already have project life.  But I figure if we have more than one kid I'll want to give them each their own book.  With that said I knew I didn't want a traditional one where you fill in the blank.  I also didn't want a traditional pastel baby scrapbook like I have seen with a bunch of firsts and goofy stickers.  So instead I bought a Sn@p album and dug out paper and embellishments in blues, greens, black and white that I already had.  This is much more me and it goes together super simply.

I made sort of a fake "Polaroid" for the front cover and I plan to add a photo of him when he's born matted on the star paper.    I also want to include the date somehow maybe with a date stamp.  It was a pretty simple design but I didn't want to much busy-ness.

The pages inside will be a combo of pockets, sleeves and 6x8s.  These first two are 6x8s slid into a protector that came with the album.  

This one is our social media baby announcement (it's brighter in real life).  I also have some personal journaling I have been writing that goes with this but I haven't determined how I want to do that.  Perhaps with an sealed envelope for him to open when he's old enough.

This is his first baby photo aka ultrasound.  I have had that bingo card for like 6 years and when I saw it had a 6 and 16 I knew I should finally use it since that's his due date.

That's it so far aside from that personal journaling.  I figure at some point we'll put in a baby bump photo or two but then I am waiting to fill pages until he's born.  I also might include the pregnancy test photo but it's really kind of a horrible photo so maybe not. 

WIP Wednesday - Arrow Quilt/Nursery/Sushi Quilt

So I finished the quilt top for the arrow quilt.  However I have no place to pin it up right now due to the nursery projects in progress.   So I laid it on our bed which makes it hard to photograph.  But here it is.   I have been envisioning the backing in some kind of tangerine orange but alas that is not available in my stash.  So I haven't started it yet.  I might have a yellow vintage sheet that will work but the new gym equipment is blocking that part of my stash.  So it waits.  

The nursery projects - I have been reducing my craft supplies in the nursery so they can move into my closet.  My purging has reduced the active stash from 3 bags to 1 of stash.  And it's organized by project.  Winning. And tomorrow after work - I hope to start ripping out the carpet in the baby's room pending Troy or Dustin getting home early enough to help me swap beds and move the bins around in the babies room tonight.  

Sushi Quilt - I actually started the back of this based on dimensions I estimated (no place to pin fabric up see arrow quilt update).  I am hoping to get this one ready for quilting by the May IMQG event.

(ps I wrote this yesterday but never hit post).

#myweekinscraps

Because I needed a new project like I needed a whole I my head I started one back in Feburary. I have been following this artist adamjk from adamjk.com on Instagram for a while now and I always love his paper bits from each week.  

And since I already was saving many paper bits for project life I figured this was up my alley.  And now I when I forget to put in my paper bits I can have them in photo form instead which takes up much less space.  

Basically here's how this documentation project works:

1: I save my paper bits each week (I actually usually save them in my phone case and bigger bits in my purse).

2: On Monday (or really whatever day I remember I snap a picture of them).

3: I then Instagram said photo with hashtag #myweekinscraps

That's it.  I actually love seeing my scraps.  I save them all for Project Life however I find sometimes I still forget them and when I do into the trash they go. These are neat little additions to my efforts to record daily life.  If I was still doing a year in a jar I would add these there but that was last year.