mmm...donuts

All I can think about this morning is donuts. doughnuts. doh-nutz. I cannot get them out of my head! Cinnamon sugar coated. Perfectly glazed. Bavarian cream filled. Chocolate dipped. Twisted. Powdered sugar sprinkled. DONUTS!Why do donuts sound so delicious? Could it be because Krispy Kreme has finally opened its doors again to the maddening crowd of Arizona? (You bet.) Maybe it's because Marta posted this delightful picture of donuts from Daylight Donuts and I want to pluck one of those babies right out of that virtual box? (Right, again!) But I'm putting my money on the fact that it's because I'm suffering through major sugar withdrawals from my "no-sugar ventures". Don't get me wrong, I did have a Oreo milkshake on Saturday night and enjoyed it throughly. I also had a smallish slice of Grasshopper ice cream cake last night after Sunday dinner. It was also very delicious. However, during the week, I've been pretty good. No "weekday dessert" for me and I've been diligent about working out and cutting out fat. The results are finally starting to show. Yee ha! I can't wait to show up at the beach with my rockin' new Shade suit, killer sunglasses (can't afford 'em, but love 'em), a very cute beach bag and a tan/toned bod. I will conquer!

But seriously, don't donut(s) sound soooooooooooo good?

home sweet home

OK, I know I've been MIA this last week but working overtime and moving is not a very productive combo for blogging. Many of you have asked where we moved - well, brace yourselves . . . 5 miles away into my parent's house. It's going to be a huge adjustment for all of us but it will be a great blessing in the long run. David graduates in less than a year now and we plan on buying a home (somewhere outside of AZ - READ: San Diego) once he's done. As much as we would love to buy a house right now in this craptastic market that we live in, it would not put us in a good situation to sell once he graduated since we're both determined to live outside of this very hot state. (FYI: It's nearly impossible to sell a house in AZ right now). Moving in with my parents was not ideal, but it will be so helpful to save money and also really fun for us since we love my parents.

In any case, our garage sale was a success except for a stupid lady that said she wanted to buy the sofa and then after we held it for her all day, she decided that she didn't want it anymore. In the mean time, 7 people offered to buy it. We're very mad. So, if anyone's looking for a very comfortable, 1 1/2 year old, slipcovered, inexpensive sofa let me know. We're selling it for $250 and it has to go this week.

I have so much to blog about! I didn't even get to brag about the gifts David got me for Mother's Day, the new "interior design" project I got to do for work or all the moving fiascos. I need to document all this stuff. For now, I'm mostly reminiscing about the home that we've loved for the last year and a half.
When David and I were engaged, we looked around the Phoenix Valley for a place to move into when we got married. Several apartment complexes later, we were both discouraged by the ridiculous price for such crummy places. No yard, noisy neighbors, small spaces, very little parking and absolutely no painting are just a few reasons to not live in an apartment if you have a chance. After a small miracle, David's uncle graciously gave us a killer deal on his 2 bedroom, 2 bath home in the right location as a favor to us. We were thrilled. David spent the week before our wedding painting the whole house the perfect colors that I had picked out. We lovingly changed toilet seats, planted flowers, pulled weeds, trimmed bushes and all kinds of other little projects. It's sad to move from the place where we began our marriage but we look forward to creating more memories with children in the next place.

TOP TEN THINGS I'LL MISS ABOUT THE HOUSE
10. The wood shutters that David and his dad put on every window in the house.
9. My white, painted headboard in the bedroom. 8. The orange trees next door at the church that smelled divinely of blossoms and the smell of irrigation from the ditch.
7. Living walking distance to Superstition Ranch Market.
6. How quiet it was (Senior Community surrounded us).
5. The vines that grew around our bedroom window and surrounded the entire front of the house. 4. The water pressure of the master bathroom shower (just right).
3. Our duck (she has 7 eggs now!)
2. The faded olive green exterior paint contrasted by the front door that I painted dark blue. 1. Having a place to come home to that was our own. A place to relax and talk and love with no distractions. Goodbye Little House. We love you!

caprese my heart

One of my most favorite things in the whole wide world is this dish. You can switch up the variations in several ways but I thought I'd just share one of the ways that I make this. A perfect summer dish for Sunday afternoon.

1 large cucumber, halved and sliced
2 handfuls cherry tomatoes, halved
8{ish} ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
20{ish} basil leaves, stripped or torn
3 turns of extra-virgin olive oil
3 turns of good Balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

As you can see, I'm not a "measurer". I just kind of put in what looks good but trust me - this dish is delightful and so refreshing!!! Yum!

P.S. I also love a few slices of red onion but David isn't keen on the whole "raw onions" thing so I have to compromise somewhere. Try it sometime.

I really love living in my house. Here are a few reasons why:

1. My pyracantha bush is lovely. One huge advantage of living in a 30-something year old house is having mature plants. This bush acts as a buffer from the street and makes a nice little enclave around our house. In the spring, it fills with these blossoms and then in the fall, it produces darling little red berries for me to make Christmas centerpieces.
2. My rose bush . . . I've never loved roses terribly but it's one of the few flowers that grow in an excess here in Arizona. My bush has sadly been neglected by myself but they survived anyway. (Don't mind the disgusting weeds behind or the run-down fence) I also planted some zinnias so I'm hoping they'll bloom soon!
3. The vines that grow around our front window. I just love how they've kind of overgrown around our window sill. It feel so nice on our patio.
4. My pot of herbs. It is so nice having chives, thyme, mint, parsley and cilantro right at my finger tips. My mint is freaking out and growing like a weed but I don't mind.
5. I love opening the doors and shutters this time of year and letting the natural light fill our rooms. The weather is perfect and the breeze feels so refreshing. Plus, it's always a pleasure to have fresh-cut flowers to display somewhere in your home.

{etsy finds}

As many of you know, Etsy has some awesome things for sale. Here are some of my recent favorites:

1) Wiltshire Hare (by Suss): This wonderful stuffed bunny is made from a vintage sweater. I wish, wish, wish I had a little boy to buy this for. I can see him now, my sweet little Christopher Robin, dressed in a nightshirt on his way upstairs for his bedtime bath. His mousey brown hair drooping over his sleepy blue eyes as he drags the Wiltshire Hare behind him clutched in his chubby fingers. And just before he goes to sleep, he kisses that perfect pink, wool nose and rubs the long ears against his face to soothe him to sleep. OK, now I'm just mixing up children's books.

2) Luggage Disguise (by Bumbles and Lu): I recently scored a great deal on some Victorinox luggage . . . and I mean a GREAT deal. It would break my little frugal heart is someone snatched it up at the airport luggage carousel. If I were to have one of these disguise luggage tags, I have a sneaking suspicion that if a prospective thief were to think about stealing my new luggage, they might see the moustache and chuckle to themselves and say, "Anyone with that kind of humor deserves to keep such a splendid piece of luggage." and I would be home free! What do you think? What's your favorite color of tag? I can't decide.

3) Blue Sky and Cherry Pie Reversible Scarf (by BCharmer): BCharmer is one of my favorite Etsy designers. Her profile alone is worth a second glance. "I consider myself a farmer in the city, growing my own fruits and vegetables and have, in the past, kept bees for pollination and honey (and also for their good company). Knitting was my first three dimensional art form, which led to an interest in spinning my own yarn." I long to be her friend. Don't you? I also long for this cheerful reversible scarf. If only the high today weren't 82 degrees . . . I'd have to wait 7 months just to wear this.

4) Starfish Ring (by Sarah Hood Jewelry): Besides my wedding ring, earrings and the occasional necklace, I've never been a big jewelry fan . . . and then I met this Starfish Ring from Sarah Hood Jewelry. Isn't it lovely? I would wear it to the beach, for sure. Or, at least, to dinner at George's At The Cove in La Jolla.

You can also check out my Etsy shop here.

Me like-y redecorating. What is better than taking a fugly piece of furniture and making it lovely? Oh dear, I really love doing that!

Example A: Take this stained (with who knows what? - mind you) chair from Salvation Army. I do believe the cost was $10. It was a might stinky and very, very dusty. However, it had a great shape and once I took a wet rag and a bottle of Febreeze to it - it was good enough to be covered in this red and olive fabric and brown rope trim. Result: comfortable and functional.






Example B: These chairs are of excellent quality. David's grammy passed away in September and we were given her dining table and chairs. The table and chairs are very sturdy and in excellent shape. I don't just LOoooVE the stain of the wood - but you know what they say, "beggars can't be choosers". So, I recovered the seats. I'm not as crazy about this fabric as I was when I recovered them but Amy Butler is pretty great. I'm thinking that in our next house, I will cover these in a stripe or just a plain color. Maybe like this or this or this. Dear Restoration Hardware . . . will you marry me?







Example C: I love getting things for free. Moving into our old school house was good to us. The previous tenants left this trashy bookcase and so after much deliberation, I decided to paint it "English Bulldog Black" and cover the back with some awesome green brocade scrapbook paper. Voila! Mod Podge is the bomb.








Example D: I do enjoy a good filing cabinet now and then. Putting my receipts and tax information in one secure place is so gratifying! This piece of junk was rusting, coated in dust and a very boring color of cream slightly dotted in old, crusty pink bubblegum. So, last Saturday, I sanded this sucker and spray painted it "Arctic Blue" (couldn't the "spray-paint-color-naming-people" come up with a better one than that?) and now it sits in my new guest room/office.

Remember when I decided to re-decorate? Here's my new coffee table and pillows. I moved the piano and the couch. I like the sofa in front of the window so much more.











Then, I FINALLY finished the guest room/office/sewing room/craft area. We inherited a queen sized bed so here she is! I copied Design Mom's idea and put up my ribbons on the wall. Isn't it fun?

{a very long engagement . . . but not really}

DOES SHE LOOK THRILLED OR WHAT? I'm so happy that my dear friend, M (see previous post) got engaged last night! At 9:30 p.m., I got the following text message: "March 5th 9:30 p.m. Steve + Michelle = Engaged!" The text message resulted in an obnoxious phone call from me to her while I incessantly screamed into the mouthpiece, "YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA". It was MOST annoying for all involved but absolutely necessary. I am delighted, to say the least.

I got some of the juicy details about how he proposed (very romantic and clever and soooooo them) while I had a BIG grin on my face. I'm pretty sure she'll be sharing most of the story on her blog tomorrow. Make sure you wish her congratulations here! Tell her I sent you.

{etsy updates}

Hey pals - I could not be more proud of some of my new Etsy items! Check out this delicious fork silhouette for your kitchen:

If you're looking for a funkalicious piece - look no further. My "Hop Skip Jump" creation is pretty dang cute:

Look at this hipster bird. Seriously, her vintage glasses make me crack up every time I look at this pretty girl. Don't you just love it? Purchase these here!

{recap and a bookcase}

I know it's been a while . . . and it's probably going to have to stay like this for a bit. I need to focus on life without computer for a time. I've forgotten how much I miss my "spare time". I've accomplished so much! I've read 1 1/2 books, cut and painted my guest bedroom, reorganized my craft area, cleaned my laundry room, purchased new bed linens (twice), slept and cuddled and repainted a bookcase. Speaking of the repainted bookcase, here's my journey to a much cuter version of the above. When David and I moved into our home, the previous tenants had left behind a battered, cheap bookcase. I mean, the one from Wal-Mart. I mean, the $15 one. With veneer. Peeling off. Anyway, I hated it. I mean, REALLY hated it. So, after over a year of hating, I decided to not be a hater anymore and bought some primer, "French Bulldog" paint, scrapbook paper, modpodge glue and went to work. I put on two coats of primer and then anxiously awaited the time that I could put on the dark blackish blue paint that I love so much. While I waited for the bookcase to dry, I set to work on the back. I layered the adhesive onto the back of the 12 x 12 scrapbook paper and glued the corners to keep it down. Someone suggested that I spray a clear coat on top but I couldn't wait that long. I did 3 coats on the bookcase and nailed that bad boy behind it and voila! I'm so happy with it. What do you think? I'll show you where it goes the next time I blog. I'm trying to get the guest room ready for M's arrival in two weeks. I can't wait!

{how about orange}

I found this blog today: How About Orange. I kind of love it. Correction: I REALLY love it.

Great DIY projects. In fact, I'm going to use this one this week for my craft room/guest room/office.

Picture from How About Orange. Thank you Jessica Jones.

{organizing hearts}

I heart organizing. I especially heart organizing at work because I can order all the supplies that I want free of charge (for work use, of course). It is glorious. One system that I think is the bomb is Smead Viewables. I love it because you can color coordinate (an organizing favorite) and it formats your labels for you using software rather than trying to find the right label template. I also love this system because it is top-viewing so that you don't have to sift through each folder to see what you are looking for. Plus, it is fairly cheap.
I also love all things at The Container Store. How I wish there was one in Arizona! Their elfa system rules.

If we ever live in a small apartment (which is likely if we move to California) then I will definitely invest in this IKEA wardrobe or something similar. For $299 it would be just dandy (and it matches our dressers); however, a nicer more expensive version would be exceptional too. I hear you Restoration Hardware!

And most recently, I was inspired by Design Mom's office renovation. I mean, I wasn't surprised that she could pull off such a cool project but it was so "do-able" for me. My office is also my craft/guest room. I especially love the look of distressed metal mixed with pretty things. She used Martha's How-To for these stripped tin boxes.

Other favorites (from Martha) include these spice jar labels, luggage tags and handy kitchen charts.

Does anyone want to share their organizing hearts?

{adachef's restaurant review}

Look. I love me a good hamburger, especially when it is homemade. Maybe that's because I find gross enjoyment in squishing raw meat between my fingers (especially in the summer when my hands are hot and sweaty).

Post-script: Save your "ewwww" comments for a rainy day. You can't sway me or my love for raw meat touching.

Anywho, David and I went to the cabin for a weekend getaway (more on that tomorrow after I download our crash-and-burn sledding videos off my camera). On our way home, we stopped at The Red Onion in Heber, AZ for dinner. I've been wanting to go to The Red Onion for months and he said, "Yes". And I was pleased. And I was very, very pleased. How often do you order a hamburger at a restaurant and they bring it out to you in such a way that you feel like you're at a summer BBQ at a friend's house sipping Izze's from the bottle and watching the kids do cannonballs and flips off the diving board? That's what I thought. Never.

Delicious, perfectly portioned, hand-formed hamburgers (a leetle disappointingly "unpink") with a generous slice of green leaf lettuce, 2 plump tomato slices, pickles, and of course - 4 slices of red onion. Ba doi. Top that toasted bun with some condiments and you have yourself a summer day, my friends. We will be going back for that bad boy (for $4.75 you better believe it).

{pumpkin cake}

I'm in a blogging mood today. We're off to the cabin this afternoon so maybe that's why I'm so bloggy. I think I just created a new word. Spread it around.

In any case, I forgot to post pictures of the cake I made for Stephen and Leone's open house. It was a Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting, Toasted Walnuts, Mandarin Oranges and Pomegrante Seeds. It was delicious and very pretty. What do you think?

{shabby apple}

This dress from Shabby Apple is perfection. I really want it.

{rules to live by:decorating}

Two things I've learned from redecorating my living room: One lesson is from Domino Mag and one is from my charming sister-in-law, NieNie.

The first is that the placement of a sofa can do a great deal of good in a room. I moved my white sofa from against the wall to a great open area in front of our exceptionally large window. The natural light bounces off the white fabric and makes the room seem so fresh. I also noticed that all the pictures that I like of family rooms all have a coffee table of some sort. I especially like the bold fabric on this one.

NieNie and I shopped together for a few fabric selections when we were both set on recovering some upholstered chairs for our homes. I felt so lucky to have her there for her opinion and as we walked through the aisles of fabric, she looked through anything and everything and picked very different things. When she had selected a few seemingly "uncoordinating" fabrics, she asked what I thought of them to which I replied, "Well, they are very cute but they don't really match." And then NieNie's secret to her lovely decorating style came out. She said, "Oh, I don't really pick things that go together. I just pick things that I love." That's when I realized why NieNie's home is so wonderful. When you walk in, you feel something that you love but you can't put your finger on it. It's stylish, whimsical, charming and very pretty but it's also very lived in and very loved. Every piece of furniture, every piece of fabric is loved. She loves her home like she loves her family and you feel it when you enter her Dutch door and see the silhouettes hanging on the wall, the delicious green kitchen, the red armoire that my brother made, the leather couch that the children jump off of onto piles of blankets, the fireplace hearth where they sit together as a cozy family, the larged framed Family Proclamation on the wall showing their family beliefs, the uncovered windows leading to the backyard with orange trees dressed in lanterns and the soon-to-be Mulberry Bungalow. It's a very comforting sight for anyone. No matter who you are, you feel at home. I don't know about you, but that's how I want my home to feel. So, I bought a coffee table and purchased a few things that don't necessarily "go together" but I love them. I'll post some pictures after I complete a few finishing touches. Does anyone out there have a few decorating tips that they live by?

{custom etsy}

I made a couple of custom Etsy orders and here's how they turned out. She requested one for "Olivia" with ladybugs and













one for "Isabella" with a shabby chic feel to it. Hope she likes them!

{rainy days are love}

It's a cold and rainy day today and I am wishing I could be wrapped up in a goose feather duvet in bed with this guy.

We woke up to the annoying sound of the "whirlybird" on top of our house because the wind was blowing so strong. I dressed warmly, ate my shredded wheat for breakfast and have been hugging my space warmer all day.

Hopefully, we'll get up to the mountains this weekend like we planned. Some snow might do us good . . .

{etsy updates}

New little ada treats are up on Etsy! Here are two of my featured items. Check them out here! They're going fast.

{2007 Run Down}

In January, I bought a car.

In February, I got a new job.
In March, not much happened.

In April, I bought a bike.
In May, we turned on the air conditioning.

In June, I got used and abused by my co-workers.
In July, we went to San Diego for a week and I almost lost my wedding ring.

In August, I celebrated my birthday and painted this stellar headboard on my wall.

In September, we inherited Grammy's dining table.

In October, I became addicted to Pushing Daisies.

In November, I threatened to stop blogging and we celebrated our first Anniversary in Hawaii.

In December, we attended my brother's wedding in Seattle {hooray}, David's family had their first Christmas in California and I got an itch to redecorate. More on that soon {good changes all around}.

All in all, it's been a good year! We are healthy, happy and very blessed. I love my husband soooooooo much! Here's to 2008 and hoping that it brings lots of joy, peace and an excellent Presidential Election.