Crystal Madrilejos

Does anyone know what this piece of furniture is called? A china cabinet? A hutch?

Whatever it’s called, it’s awesome and beautiful and it was Andrew’s surprise early-Mother’s Day gift to me!

This past weekend we went on a little thrifting trip and came across this china cabinet (that’s what I’ll call it for now until someone corrects me) at a local thrift store that is usually hit or miss. This particular store can sometimes look like those hoarder houses on A&E, but they usually have really good prices on large items. So much so that I am willing to look past the old lady who chain-smokes and the cat in the corner giving birth (no joke).

We saw this china cabinet and we both really liked it, but it wouldn’t fit in our car. So we had to pass on it. The minute we left I knew we were passing up on something good, but there wasn’t anything we could do! I was feeling some serious non-buyers remorse. Is there such a thing?

Anyway, Monday I come home from work and it’s in our living room. Andrew had gone back with his Dad’s truck and got it for me! What a guy!

We’re still unsure of what our plans are for it, but you can be sure I’ll be posting about it again soon.

-c.

They weren’t kidding with the whole “April Showers” bit, were they? Yesterday was quite horrible. Walking to my car after work, I was almost that person with the inside-out umbrella. I definitely was that person who wore the wrong shoes and had silt and all matter of disgusting things washing over the sides of my ballet flats. So much so that I looked like I had hobo feet by the time I got in my car. Anyway!

Thanks to our good friend Rachel, this boy can now weather all types of… weather! Isn’t this raincoat awesome? It is a hand-me-down from our friend Rachel’s little boy (who is now getting to be a big boy) and was sent to us when Q was a wee one.  I remember thinking “it’ll be years before he fits in this!” What the heck? When did our baby boy become a little boy with little boy things like raincoats and jeans? Sheesh.

-c.

Image by sparth via Flickr

Ok, so this past week was my worst week yet. I’m going to blame it on PMS. Maybe that’s too much information, but I’m not going to be all holier-than-thou and act like I’m immune to its forces. I bitch and moan and stomp around. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.

I only worked out two of the requisite six times last week. According to my calculations, I’m now two weeks behind schedule on this P90X thing but I WILL finish. This week would have been my last week if I hadn’t been such a slacker. So now, three more weeks! I’m going to try my absolute best to just finish strong and not miss any more days. We’ll see how that goes.

My post-P90X plan is to try this running thing again. I’ve mentioned this in earlier posts but I’m just going to expound on this idea for a second. I really like the idea of running. I think in another life, maybe i was a runner. But in this life, I hate running and suck at it. I mean, I can run for a couple minutes and feel fine. But I don’t enjoy doing it for any significant amount of time. I don’t know why I have this feeling that I should enjoy running. I think it’s because I have this romanticized image in my head of me effortlessly running with nothing but a stretch of open road and beautiful landscape ahead of me. But the real image is me huffing and puffing around a track while complaining about how tired I am and how much I just want to stop. It’s not pretty. And yet! I’m still compelled to give it another try.

Any runners out there have any tips for a runner-wannabe?

-c.

(I posted this image of our garden last year, but I love it so I’m posting it again, deal with it!)

So all the signs are pointing to the beginning of our gardening season! Friends and colleagues have been talking about their plans and efforts for this year; and last night while browsing the latest issue of Organic Gardening, I got all giddy with ideas for our garden this year.

It’s still early for us to get anything in the ground. I know some people have already started planting but we live in a valley so we like to wait about a week after the last frost date before we get anything into the ground. Also, it’s been so wet lately that we haven’t been able to till the soil.

Our first year, we started most everything from seed. But for right now, buying starts is just easier. I think as Q gets a little older and can get excited about planting too (and not just eating anything he can grab and shove in his mouth), we will go back to starting seeds.

Overall, last year was pretty successful. And every year we learn new things and how to improve for next year. So, what did we learn?

1.) Deer fencing is awesome and worth investing in. There is nothing worse than waiting patiently for all the bounty of your efforts only to have it completely destroyed by some damn deer!

2.) Unless you absolutely LOVE zucchini and yellow squash, plant only one plant. These things produce like bunny rabbits and next thing you know, you will have more than you can handle. I mean, you gotta really love this stuff. Like, breakfast-lunch-and-dinner love.

• If you DO plant too much of anything, share the wealth and donate!
• When it comes to zucchini and yellow squash, check your plants for fruit often and pick often or else you will end up with only a couple gigantic ones that will scare you and your co-workers.

(Ok, I’ve posted this image before too. I’m lazy)

3.) Make sure trellis’ are securely anchored into the ground. Or you will be cursing the wind as well as the deer.

4.) We are not fans of the mixed salad green packets of seeds. There is always one thing in the mix that goes bitter before everything else and ruins your salad.

5.) Beetles will live just to annoy the hell out of you. To combat this annoyance, go out early in the morning and pick their sleepy asses off your plants and put them in a jar of soapy water. Then their corpses will annoy you with their god awful stink.

Those are just a couple things that I can think of off the top of my head. If I can think of more, I’ll be sure to post. A post on our plans for this year’s garden will be coming soon!

-c.

This hoodie was another great find from the Kids Garage Sale I posted about the other week. Elbow patches? Hell yes.

Q is modeling his new look in front of our Tetris screen door.

-c.

Image by Timothy Sandstrom via Flickr

I’m pretty sure that bloggers are the perfect mix between exhibitionist and voyeur. As much as I love sharing, I also immensely enjoy having a glimpse into other peoples minds, lives, inspirations, etc. It’s just fascinating to me.

So it’s no surprise that I would love this site: Method & Craft

 
About Method & Craft:

We like to think of Method and Craft as the DVD extras of design: the stories behind the work, who made it, how they did it, and the techniques people have developed throughout their professional career. We all use the same tools, but we use them differently. We strive to educate you on more efficient, creative, and engaging ways to create your design. This site will not only be valuable to creative veterans, but also educational to those new to the design field. It’s like looking over the shoulder of your favorite designer.

If you are looking for inspiration or are curious about other designer’s processes, you should definitely check out the site.  Love love love it!

-c.

This is what mornings look like around here with the weather getting warm. Come ON warm weather! Baby boy can’t wait to run around the yard half-naked.
-c.

As promised, I whipped up this tutorial for the ponchos I posted about a couple weeks ago. This is my first tutorial, so bear with me. Writing tutorials is hard work. Especially when I could only work on it for mere minutes at a time. I’m hoping that I don’t confuse anyone with my directions.

Granny Square Poncho Tutorial
Materials: Yarn, Crochet hook, embroidery needle and safety pins
Step 1: Crochet four Granny Squares of equal size. If you aren’t familiar with how a Granny Square is made, read Purl Bee’s tutorial on the Classic Granny Square Pattern.

The size of the poncho is going to depend on the size Granny Square you make. The diagonal measurement of the square equals the length of the poncho from neck opening to the bottom of the poncho point, like so:

Step 2: When you’ve completed your squares (i’m sure they look lovely), arrange the squares according to this diagram and attach edges together using safety pins.

Step 3: Using an embroidery needle and yarn, begin sewing together sides. Remove safety pins as you go.

(Optional) Step 4: To create a smaller neck opening or to build up a little bit of a cowl neckline: Single crochet around the neck opening to the desired height. Done!

If you have any questions, feel free to comment of email me directly. I’m not sure such a simple project warranted such a lengthy explanation, but oh well! You’re welcome! :)

I also spent some minutes putting together a printable version of this tutorial, you know, just in case you’re like me and have binders full of project ideas that I never get around to doing. (Though, I really hope you try this one and tell me how it goes. Oh! And send pictures of your creations too!)

Download the Granny Square Poncho Tutorial here.

Enjoy!
– c.

P.S. Just one last thing before I let you get crafting, this pattern is for personal use only. Please don’t sell this pattern or any project made from this pattern. Feel free to share this and make as many as you please for everyone you know, BUT please please don’t sell them.  Thank you!

Image by Christopher Paul via Designpiration

In the famous words of Tony Horton, I’ve been doggin’ it. Not sure what exactly that means, but basically, I’ve been slacking in my routine. I missed 2 days last week. I never thought I would feel bad about working out ONLY 4 days instead of 6. That’s what exercise does, it turns you into a crazy person! And last night I might have, maybe, possibly, just skipped doing Ab Ripper. Ha!

So, my solution to this problem is that every workout I miss I have to make up. P90X is a 90 day routine, hence the name. It’s been roughly 40 days since I started, but now am about a week behind schedule due to a combination of everyday life and laziness. But in all honesty, my main issue is that most days I can’t get to my workout until around 9PM. By that time all my enthusiasm, patience, and general good naturedness (not a word) has all but dissipated and I begrudgingly work my way through the exercises fueled only by negative thoughts and a desire for the workout to be over! It’s no way to live!

I really need to work towards being more positive. I keep thinking about all the bad vibes I’m putting out into the world with negative thoughts. And I don’t want to contribute to that.

On a positive note! I weighed myself this morning for the first time in awhile and I have officially lost 15lbs since the beginning of the year. Oh yeah!

-c.

UPDATE: So, not only does exercise make you crazy but it apparently also effects your mind’s ability to do simple calculations. I said I had been doing P90X for roughly 40 days… try 60!! Jeez, all that pain and suffering completely disregarded.

The weather this weekend was beautiful. We took a walk in the fields and woods looking for this summer’s camping site and Quil gave spring a warm welcome!

Hooray for Spring!

-c.