on-hand modern

playing with food

 

 

 

 

 

 

thin mints or caramel delites?

leave a comment with the right answer and i'll send you a box.

scratch that. leave a comment with *your* answer (right or wrong--i don't judge) and one lucky person will win a box of his/her choice.

comments close saturday night (1/30/10) at 11:59 PM. US-residents only, please. (apologies to my international readers.) the winner will be announced monday.

good luck!

also, local folks. olivia's troop ended up with a surplus of 30+ boxes that they still need to sell. these are likely to go fast so if you need a cookie fix, let me know.

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WDITOT

it's been a while since i've done one of these...

• problem: no sidewalk | solution: backyard figure 8
• pretty + simple place setting
• so many possibilities with this (free) smocket pattern
• a collection of baby shoe tutorials
• inspiration for my window-less bathroom(s)
• liv would love this sketchbook wallet (free pattern)
• drapery style guide
• new-to-me blogs: true up (fabric) + tartelette (really pretty food) 

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ssh, don't tell my mom

i added another resolution to my list:

make bed before 10:00 AM.

it's amazing what such a small thing does for my mood. 

speaking of resolutions, i still haven't chosen a classic to read for the month of january. anyone have any suggestions? i made K watch Jane Eyre with me the other night (Masterpiece Theater version--pretty good) but that probably doesn't count.

(he's doing much better, by the way. staph infections are no joke, but i think we finally found a med that's working. many thanks for your love and concern this past week.)

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Quote of the week

printable version

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the next big thing?

well, i don't know about that.

to merit such distinction is an honor to be sure.

but it just so happens that the next big thing around here is this teeny-tiny 1950s "master" bathroom (awesome, right?) which i am determined to transform with nothing more than fabric, paint, and maybe--if i'm *really* lucky--a new toilet. (10 years, 3 kids, and a mortgage later...nothing says "happy valentine's day" like a functional commode, i always say.)

oh! and storage. must have (cheap) storage.

there. you've seen it. now i'm committed.

fabulous fabric

affordable alternative

wish me luck!

also, thanks to the distinguished panel at alt. really. it's lovely to be recognized.

[sidenote: the engineer is still having some semi-serious health issues. healing vibes appreciated. thank you.]

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staycation

it's a word. look it up.

for the adults-only part (well, adults + nursing baby) we drove downtown and sat on fancy barstools and drank fancy hot chocolates with fancy marshmallows in them. (my favorite = venezuelan spice. really. so good.) then we picked out fancy chocolates (see photo) and each took a turn in the fancy bathroom.

nerd 1: "did, you see the faucet?"

nerd 2: "i know! it lights up!"

then we went to our favorite hole-in-the-wall vietnamese restaurant, which is decidedly un-fancy but also very good.

for the + kids part, we went swimming at the community center's indoor pool (3-month pass for the winter = best.idea.ever) and ate dinner at the over-priced tourist trap cafe where your food is delivered to your table by model train. 

it was all very relaxing and fun and (aside from the shot above) i didn't even take any pictures.

unrelated to all this merry-making but also of note:

k got cankle-itis of the right foot. he went to the doctor this morning for the second time in a decade.

also, my washing machine broke.

how was your weekend?

p.s. making me laugh today: the man cold

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Today...

we finished the last chapter of Charlotte's Web. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her lift her glasses to brush at glistening eyes and couldn't help but get pretty choked up myself.

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This is the (doll) house that mom built

Well, "built" is probably too strong a word, but anyway...

I altered an old board book by carefully removing the spine with an Xacto knife. The I glued the pages together, securing them with binder clips, and allowed them to dry overnight. Finally, I covered the pages with decorative paper and voila--home sweet home for the Polly Pockets. If I were really ambitious, I could cut out doorways and windows (like this) but the kids seem to like it well enough as-is so...

For Polly on-the-go, check out this cute idea.

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A gift for my sister's family

[Inspired by these hilariously off-beat photos.]

Print and trace mustaches onto felt. Package with my free .pdf card.

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Artsy-ish snow day

Sub-zero temperatures.

New art supplies.

Lesson 1 of this learning-to-draw book (supposed to be a cult-classic).

A question...

Would you rather be okay at a lot of things or exceptional at one thing?

Oh, we saw Fantastic Mr. Fox.

It was as good as I'd hoped. (Not much like the book but strange + awesome in its own way.)

For the kids: make a Mr. Fox mask here.

Bandit mask here.

Did you love Mrs. Fox's fabulous yellow artist's frock?

Stay warm this weekend!

c

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