Coming Clean

I've made my love for all things Sedaris no secret. After taking a creative non-fiction writing class, my adoration of his writing has only grown. His books are a collection of personal essays drawing from his bizarre childhood (Sedaris is OCD clean, gay, one of six children, Greek, and grew up in Raleigh, NC). During my creative non-fiction class, I wished that I had done a few drugs in college, or hitchhiked across the country, or had a dysfunctional family. I can't help but notice such stark contrasts between myself and my writing idol and wonder if I could ever have such a rich pool of experience and perspective to draw from. Is having an adventure strictly for the purpose of writing material too contrived? Hmmm. That's pretty much the definition of contrived, isn't it?

Speaking of OCD clean... I've mentioned before that I come from a long line of neat-freaks. I, however, did not inherit the genetic disposition for freakazoid cleanliness. Like most people, I enjoy clean houses and dirty ones disgust me, but I do not fancy myself an expert cleaner. Do I lose sleep when the toilet needs scrubbing? Sometimes. There was one instance that traumatized me for life.

My dearly departed grandmother was the queen of clean. A couple of years ago, we hosted an impromptu Thanksgiving lunch at my house, as we wanted to spend time with the grandparents since we'd planned to be out of town that year. Joe and I scrubbed the house till it sparkled but ran out of time before we cleaned our master bath. Honestly, we rarely use the master bath, especially the bathtub and foolishly didn't think anything of it.

When my grandfather locked himself in the guest bath for his half-hour ritual of manic hand-washing and nose-blowing, my grandmother asked if there was another bathroom she could use.

"Grandpa should be out any minute, shouldn't he?" I asked nervously remembering the sad state of my master bathroom. My grandmother just laughed. According to her calculations, he'd be in there for another half-hour. Grandma was bent and using a walker, and she needed assistance getting around. My sister, sensing my panic, offered to help Grandma the twenty or so steps to my bathroom. I darted off and took one look at my bathroom and wanted to lock myself in it. It was a mess.

The unused tub was covered in thick layers of dust, and the neglected toilet was also dusty with the addition of a ring of black mildew growing around the waterline. The horror! Luckily, I found a stash of Clorox spray and quickly disinfected the toilet and scrubbed away the mildew. Next I tried to rinse out the tub, but there was nothing I could use to really clean it. At that moment, I heard my grandmother and sister behind me. The bathroom was still unclean, even by my standards, and my grandmother must have been completely repulsed at its state I braced myself for their collective scream of horror. She did not say anything, of course. I hardly gave her a chance. I was apologizing profusely for not having a pristinely clean restroom for her.

That experience is probably in the top five most embarrassing moments of my life. I've become a little more paranoid about cleaning, especially when expecting company. Since then, I've found a cleaning product that I love. Yep. I love a cleaning product. It actually makes me happy to use it. Perhaps you've tried it? Lysol 4 in 1 cleaner does everything and leaves no residue, a complaint I've had about other antibacterial cleaners. My favorite feature is the lemony fresh smell. It just smells clean and it makes me feel like I've done a good job cleaning when the area not only looks clean, but smells clean, too. Is it a "green" product? Don't know, don't care. I'm not dumping it down the sink, so I'm not too concerned. Besides, any product that makes cleaning pleasurable is okay by me.

Thanks, Santy

My husband is not a theater-goer, but gave me Dallas Summer Musical season tickets this year. I talked him into accompanying me to Stomp, so maybe I'll make a musical man out of him yet. I'm very excited about the line up, especially West Side Story.

I'm gonna need dates, y'all...someone to shame me into not singing and dancing along.

We had a great year, and 2011 looks promising. Both Joe and I will graduate, (perhaps some celebratory travel in order?), and of course, I get to meet mycousinamanda's latest addition, Maia, coming February 8.

Just Call Me Fatty McGee

The bake-o-rama was a great success. The cinnamon roll dough didn't wreak havoc in the fridge overnight, and I ate my weight in sugary, buttery, yummy treats. Don't worry, I've already got my New Year's Resolution in place. It involves gettin' up in the gym and workin' on my fitness. We made cinnamon rolls, spiced pecans, candied pecans,oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, snicker doodles, and gingerbread men. Hopefully we can make this a tradition. It was a lot of fun.

Looking all domestic and stuff (minus hair and makeup).

The PW Cinnamon Rolls pre-icing.

And after...yum....

Making candied pecans.

Ho Cubed & Fear the Yeast ∞

Ok, so I don't know why the photo won't save with the rotation I edited in, but here's my mom's apron. Ho³! I figured my mom would get a kick out of it.

The bake-o-rama moved down to the Hart Ranch. The casa's kitchen, while decently equipped, is small. My mom built her kitchen and had the good sense to add another oven. (Note to self: must have two ovens in next home). The additional oven will be of great use for all of the yummy goodness we have planned.

Tonight I prepared the dough for some PW Cinnamon Rolls. It was my first time to bake with yeast, and I was am terri. fied. My fear was compounded by the "rapid rise" variety I picked up, unaware of any other yeast variety out there. As a result, I expected that my experience with baking with yeast would turn out a bit like an I Love Lucy episode. I should should probably go check on it to make sure it isn't oozing out of the stock pot. According to the directions, if it starts getting out of hand, I'm supposed to "punch it down" into submission. It's in the fridge, but it's risen quite a bit more...and it's not even morning yet. Eek!

It's indescribable, it's indestructible, nothing can stop it! If you never hear from me again, this is the culprit.

Off to watch the lunar eclipse!

Bake-O-Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong

This week, my mother, aunt, (and anyone else who wants to make Christmas treats) will converge at the casa de Arnold for the first annual baking extravaganza. Because I have a compulsion to sew and because I'm probably creeping out all of my friends with the miscellaneous kinder-kitsch I've created lately...I decided to bust out the ol' apron patterns and make some seasonal aprons. Might as well get my money's worth!

First, I made one for my aunt. After my first painstaking apron experience, I was feeling a little rebellious and didn't follow the directions exactly. I must admit this apron has a lot of imperfections. But I figure that it just needs to hold together for a few hours, and I can make her a new one next year.

The black jingle bobs, or whatever they're called, were a last minute addition to hide some of my flubs. I like jingle bobs. They remind me of the car from Cheech n Chong's Up in Smoke. Maybe I'll add some to the Acura. Perhaps one of those little chain link steering wheels, too.
Actually, jingle bobs are little dangly things that hang from fancy spurs and make them jingle with each boot-step. My dad is a collector of old spurs, and I think he told me that. But I could be making that up.

Next, I made my apron, which I should have done first to work out the kinks. I think it turned out pretty cute. Joe made the call to use brown bias tape instead of pink. Good call, Joe!

There are still lots of imperfections... mostly due to my inability to sew in a straight line and lack of desire to follow all the rules all of the time. In other words, don't look for my stuff on Etsy any time soon.

Tomorrow, I'll finish up my mom's apron and post pictures.

Now I'm off to read some Sedaris. I purchased three of his books this weekend and hope I can squeeze in a couple over the break.

Oh, and I know what I'm getting for Christmas...and I might need a date. I'll explain later.

Run Away!

Last weekend was a much needed retreat from the "real world." Friday morning I opened a ridiculously hateful email from a parent criticizing me for "correcting" her student's paper "incorrectly" (five weeks after the fact). It was seriously the most condescending, vitriol thing I've ever read in my entire professional teaching career (and I was once a cheerleading coach!). This self-professed queen of linguistics chastised me in an email containing multiple spelling and punctuation errors. The ultimate irony was that she misspelled her own first name. Needless to say, that dulled the sting a bit. If I were to write an email to my kid's teacher bashing the quality of English teachers at her school, then I would make sure my email was pristine. Just saying...

I know I went on and on about how awesome my outfit would be for the NBC Christmas party in my last post. Cut me some slack... I was excited! Well, I didn't bring a camera to actually get a decent picture of me in the dress. Doh! Luckily, there was a photo booth. My husband might be one of the lost Village People, but that's not a big surprise.


Joe and I brought the doggies and stayed the night at the Omni. Turns out I was mistaken, and the party was actually at the Omni Mandalay in Las Colinas. Oh well, I write creative non-fiction. It was nice, but it definitely was not as modern as the Omni in Ft. Worth. The first 'Frock siting occurred not long after I arrived at the party. He walked across the ballroom with a Shiner while Joe and I schmoozed with the other engineers. First impressions: omg...there he is! He's much shorter than I envisioned. He's probably my height (minus the heels). Joe was bound and determined to tell everyone at the party that I was a freak for Finfrock. I'm sure that sounds a little odd to someone who barely knows me. Let me make myself clear: I adore Finny in a strictly platonic fashion, nothing oogie. This year I was content to admire him from afar, and I kept scanning the ballroom for him the entire night. I'm such a nerd. Imagine my delight when the deejay put on the dance music and Finfrock boogied to Billie Jean, BEP, and Ke$ha. It was the highlight of my evening. Maybe next year I'll let Joe introduce me to him.

I tried to be as discreet and non-stalkerish as possible and snap a pic with my iPhone, but we all know that the iPhone 3Gs cameras suck. Here he is at the edge of the dance floor...I promise it's him. LOL

Anyway, the weekend was a nice break from work and school. Joe and I had a chance to hang out and really talk, something that we do not have a chance to do very often with our hectic schedules. We all need that break from the "real world" some time.

Poppin' Bottles

When Joe took his NBC job in August of 08, I was super excited about the Christmas parties that awaited me. Let's face it, faculty Christmas parties lack a certain je ne sais quoi. Oh wait, I know. Alcohol. That's what they lack. So when Joe was hired at a television studio, my eyes glazed over at the promise of glitzy holiday parties. Ones held in luxurious hotels where the alcohol flowed freely, ones in which I would don fabulous dresses, mingle with television personalities, maybe even see Finfrock breakin' it down on the dance floor. Well, as luck would have it, the economy tanked about a month after he took the job and when Christmas rolled around, a big over-the-top Christmas soiree wasn't in NBC's budget. They held a Christmas employee-lunch at the studio instead, and I sulked alone but dressed up anyways and drank a whole bottle of champagne at my house. I turned on NBC 5 to make it a little more as I had envisioned. 2009 was a repeat. Le sigh.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. Joe called and asked if I wanted to go to the NBC Christmas party while I was in Banana Republic trying on all the shimmery holiday stuff, wishing I had some place fancy to go.

"Will there be booze?" I inquired.

"Yes, and it will be at the Omni Hotel in Ft. Worth."

"Will David Finfrock be there?" I asked, eyeing myself in a silk navy dress.

"I dunno... What's your obsession with him anyways?"

"Hmmm."

"The Telemundo people will be there..."

"Oh good! At least someone will be dancing!"

I took a picture of the dress I had tried on and loved, and went home and sat in front of my computer and waited for 11:00 ET to log on to bananarepublic.com to buy my dress 40% off on Black Friday. I saved $60! Plus I had a gift card from my birthday, so I ended up paying less for the dress than any other piece of my ensemble. Holla!

While I waited, I shopped for accessories, oh and wrote my supermassive paper on supermassive black holes. I needed to rest my brain. Ebay always does the trick. I found this super dangly, sparkly Betsey Johnson necklace. Sigh. Have I ever told you how much I lurve Betsey Johnson? My first daughter will be named Betsey...or next pet, or whatever inanimate object captures my affection next. I've decided it must be so. Anyways, picked the necklace because A: it is a statement piece, and B: I've been waiting to make a statement for two years.

Plus, it's silver and gold and a little edgy. I like being a little edgy. Not too much though. I don't think I could pull off totally edgy.

Then I went to North Park and bought my first pair of Christian Louboutin pumps at Barney's, and at the Christmas party, Meredith Viera complimented me on them, and I said something like, "Thanks Mear."

And then I woke up and remembered I don't own any Christian Louboutins, much less black heels that aren't open-toe, badly scuffed, or worn down to a nub. Naturally, I logged back on Ebay and looked for Christian Louboutins. No such luck finding a bargain. I did, however, discover Khloe Kardashian and I both wear the same size in Louboutins. She was auctioning off a pair for charity, but Khloe is hard on her shoes. They were pretty janky looking. That's something else we have in common, janky shoes. My life is much more meaningful now that I know this. I'm sure you feel the same.

Anyways, once it sank in that I would either need to win the lottery or cash in Joe's life insurance policy to buy a pair of Louboutins, I came to my senses and bought a pair of Nine West patent pumps. They'll do and I won't curl up in a fetal position and cry if I break a heel.

Here's what I'm going to look like. Just chop off about 6 inches of hair, add about 50 pounds and a bitch'n necklace.

Why, hello, Mr. Finfrock. Of course, I would love a glass of champagne.

What the What?!

I'm such a terrible blogger. Even I am disgusted when I look at my blog and there's nothing new there. I just haven't been in the bloggin' kind of mood. I've been petulant lately. I've written lots of referrals and cussed out a couple of kids. Ok, not really on the cussing part, but I wanted to. Today, I spilled glass of iced tea all over my desk and pants in 5th period. Totally looked like I peed my pants. Just putting it out there just in case pictures of me with wet britches show up on the internet. These kids are stealthy with camera phones, so you never know. Is it Thanksgiving break yet?

Seriously, I've taken about 40 pictures with every intention of blogging, but I just never get around to uploading them.

But since I'm here...let's see, what's new?

I have been Christmas shopping/creating. I'll share a few things since I can't give away too many surprises.

Fun and cheap for kids (you): No Sew Fleece Throws
They are soft and cuddly, they come if really fun prints and coordinating solids. Ok. So I am a bit of a control freak and made them myself rather than gifting the kit to my nieces for them to make. That's just the crazy in me. Now I feel guilty. Great, now I have to go back and buy two more to gift as kits. I'm totally going to be the mom who does her kid's projects. Sigh. Anyways, I got two, buy-one-get-one, at Joanne for $20. Totally worth it. You better believe I appliqued those babies, too! I hope they like them!



More crafty gifts: Aprons
I got a wild hair and decided I wanted to make aprons for all the family cooks this year. I went and bought a pattern for various aprons. $15.97?!?!? Patterns are expensive, yo! Between that and the material, I was better off buying a pre-made apron and embroidering it. Unless I make like, 5 million aprons. Then it might be worth it. What was I thinking?

Since I haven't used a pattern since I was a kid, I decided the first one better be for me. Who knows what it could have ended up looking like... I picked out cute leopard print material and made a pretty decent first attempt. Then I walked into the living room (several hours later) to model my new apron for Joe, and he said it looked a bit "Wilma Flintstone." And then I said, "Oh yeah, well you have Fred Flintstone feet!" But, he was right. It is a bit Wilma, don't you think? LOL
I'm thinking the rest will be waist-tie aprons; otherwise, I won't have them done in time for the holidays.

Food gifts:
I like to gift homemade goodies. A couple of years ago, Joe and I canned our own candied jalapenos and gave them as gifts. Aside from being borderline dangerously spicy, they were pretty good. I picked up a copy of Better Homes and Gardens food gift ideas magazine as an impulse buy while waiting to checkout with my groceries. It's filled with great recipes and creative packaging ideas. There were also some nice giftable recipes in the December issue of Food and Wine. I'll let you know what I decide to make.

Speaking of magazines... I subscribe to Scientific American now, ya know, to make me seem intelligent and worldly to all the visitors to the casa. Oh wait. We never have visitors. That's it, I'm canceling it. Ok, so truth be told, taking this Astronomy class has rekindled my love for science and I want to stay current. I also got Joe a subscription to Wired magazine, as featured on The Pioneer Woman. She's the next Oprah, what can I say? Anyways, Wired seems right up Joe's alley.

One more thing. Last night I was cooking dinner in my Wilma Flintstone apron, and there was a knock at the door. It was 6:00ish, so it was dark outside. I looked out the front door and there was a package...addressed to my neighbor. A few seconds later, the UPS man came striding across my lawn, complaining about how he can't read our house numbers in the dark and that "the rookies" were starting next week. Oh great. Just in time for the holidays. Guess I need to put a lighted marquee on my house to recieve my UPS shipments here soon. You should consider it, too.

Me Gusta Mucho

If you haven't checked out Viva Terra, ya need to. It's a little granola and a whole lotta fabulous.

Here's what I'm loving in their latest catalog:

I envision this bed with that Rosa Pottery Barn bed set I've been drooling over for the past year...or even their new Carmen set.

It's kinda pricey...but an heirloom quality piece? Right? I love the grandeur of the scale. Hmm, I think I'd need a bigger house to make room for this bed, which would make it REALLY expensive. Oh well, I lurve it still.

And then there are these wreaths. I love the peace one for the holidays and the other one because succulents are one of the few plants I can keep alive.

And then there are these slippers. Those are fabulously flamboyant felted wool chrysanthemums and they make me happy. I think Oscar would destroy them though. Maybe not.

Is it too early to make my Christmas list?

Alive and Mostly Sane

My life lately has consisted of writing and grading writing, which explains why I haven't been blogging.

The writing lowdown: Two creative non-fiction 8-12 pagers and one excruciating 9 pager for Astronomy.
I learned last night that I made an A on the Astronomy paper! Yes, I am doing the happy dance. It's a good thing you can't see me. I only mention it because I worried about it so much since I was WAY out of my element discussing quantum physics and elementary particles. But now I feel a little smarter and since I got an A. It must mean I'm an expert, right? No? You don't want to hire me as a distinguished lecturer on the scientific version of Genesis? Pfft. I'm sure you'll change your mind once I receive my Nobel Prize for my groundbreaking paper. I'm practically the next Einstein. ;) My next contribution to science will be a 15-20 page paper on supermassive black holes.

Creative writing has been my refuge, my sanity, and therapy this year. I'll also be working on another creative non-fiction story about a time when my inner feelings conflicted with my public face. Um...yeah, no problem writing about that one! Being a teacher gives me pah-lenty of material for that topic.

And then there was my least favorite part of being a student and teacher...

Grading 140-150ish research papers. Saved the late ones for last (HUGE mistake). Wanted to burn the papers and quit my job. I was angry. I was frustrated. I became filled with self-doubt and despair. Note to self: Do not save the late papers for any reason, ever. For a while there, I didn't think I would make it through research season alive. Alas, here I am, in one piece. There were only brief moments when I questioned my sanity. I only drank one bottle of wine. Hey, I didn't leave my house for two whole weeks, and if you saw some of those papers, you'd need a drink, too.

It's done for another year. Hurrah and hizzah!

Now, I'm going to hibernate. I love this cool, rainy weather!

Writing Marathon

Holy cow! This weekend was a paper writing marathon.

I had lots of help.

Moral support.

Somehow I managed to get them done and submitted. I have to admit the Astronomy paper was the most challenging research paper EVER. It was a lesson in humility. Consequently, I had a bit more empathy for my students who were in the same boat. Creative writing is so much easier for me. I average a page in about 30-45 mins for creative stuff. This technical, scientific stuff... 250 words per 2 or 3 hours. Hmmm...so if I start my next paper on Supermassive Black Holes now...I should be able to squeak out 15-20 pages by the end of November when it is due. Oy vey indeed!

Now I get to grade piles and piles of research papers. Boo!

This helps though. :)

Boggled

So I'm writing a paper in Astronomy on "The First Three Minutes" of the Universe. My mind is boggled and it's late.

"Is that even a word?" I wondered.

Hmm...let me verify.

Yup. Check it out:

Urban Dictionary: boggled

"When u have a lot of sh*t going through your head (Levi)."

Yep. Definitely boggled.

On Writing

In my quest to become a better writer, I've found a few helpful guides along the way. There have been great teachers who not only critiqued me, but encouraged and validated me as well. There have been great writers to inspire me and I am ALWAYS looking for ways to improve.

When I am in Barnes & Noble I always swing by the Writing section to see what catches my eye.

Here are a couple of books I've especially appreciated:

This one is actually a required text for my writing course this semester, but I saw it at B&N and thought I'd include it. Ann Lamott puts my mind at ease with her humorous approach to writing and helps me quiet the critics in my head in order to write freely.


One of my favorite tidbits from Bird by Bird is on silencing all the stifling mind chatter by pretending each voice is a mouse. "Pick it up by the tail and drop it in a mason jar. Then isolate another voice....Drop in any high-maintenance parental units, drop in any contractors, lawyers, colleagues, children, and anyone who is whining in your head. The put the lid on, and watch all these mouse people clawing at the glass, jabbering away trying to make you feel like shit because you won't do what they want...A writer friend of mine suggests opening the jar and shooting them all in the head. But I think he's a little angry, and I'm sure nothing like this would ever occur to you."

I laughed out loud when I read that. Any writer can appreciate that visualization. Plus, I like that she throws in a few curse words to keep things lively. I might just try that out.

The next book is about as indispensable as a thesaurus. I snagged this illustrated copy because it's much more chic than some of the other versions I've seen. Great art and writing tips. Yes, that is White, as in E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web and other delightful stories.

Isn't this cute? PW would be thrilled to see a basset hound on the cover.
Even though I consider myself a fairly decent writer, I know there are things I can do better. This book has a ton of reminders.

With all of that being said, I am thinking about posting some of my essays on a separate website. Several years ago I had a dream that I wrote a book called The Adventures of a Lost Soul. This website would likely be a petri-dish for said book. We'll see what, if anything, grows.

Best Invention Evah

OK, maybe not the best ever, but it sure popped into my life at a good time. This summer I purchased a cardigan from Anthropologie. This sweater cost way more than I would care spend on a non-cashmere item, but it was cute and flattering, and I bought it anyway. When this fantastic cardigan began to pill on the sides after only a few uses, I was disgusted, forlorn, and overall, considering swearing off Anthropologie forever.

Then, when I was at Old Navy this weekend, I was standing in line waiting to check out (jeans only $16?! Go!) I noticed this little gem.

It is the Sweater Saver. I already love this company for making double-sided tape to stop gaping on button up blouses, but I was still skeptical, and tossed it in my bag and figured I'd give it a shot.

Last night I tried it out on the pilling cardigan and it worked like magic. It's just a pumice stone, and it works way better than one of those little battery powered handheld pill shavers. I was stunned. It's definitely worth having one around.

They have them at Old Navy and it seems Bath and Body Works carries this as well.

Everyone should own one. (And seriously, go to Old Navy and buy 5 pairs of your favorite jeans in all different washes and lengths...$16 is ludicrous. I bought 2 pairs of the Sweetheart jeans in the skinny and bootcut regular fits and I am thinking of going back for more.)

Lil' Bit County & Rock N Roll

You know how there are some weekends you wish would never end? I just had one of those weekends. Dinner and wine in Dallas on Friday -- fence building Saturday-- and brunch with friends on Sunday. I can't think of a better way to spend the weekend.

Mmmm ginger and fig panna cotta at Urbano Friday night. It was divine. I only thought I the pumpkin ravioli filled me up. Luckily we split this beauty 3 ways, so it was just right.

And then we went to Veritas for a few drinks and enjoyed the beautiful fall evening on the patio. This photo was taken toward the end of the night. I am really digging my hair color right now. It's getting close to the much-coveted-yet-hardly-replicated Jennifer Anniston blonde. I can only hope.

And the fence is up! Thank goodness we only decided to fence in a small area of the yard. Living on black clay and limestone makes for laborious fence post-digging. We still need to figure out how we're going to embellish the gate, but the dogs are so happy to be able to run and play unleashed. It also makes our back patio feel more private and intimate. Wonder what deals I can find patio furniture this time of year.

That tiny little speck in the bottom left corner is Pheebs checking out her new doggie yard.

So I wasn't much help with the manual labor this weekend, but I did cook and serve as water girl (and I will stain the fence in the near future).

Apparently standing around in the sun all day wore me out because Joe and I were both in bed, asleep by 9:30pm on Saturday.

And, as if my weekend couldn't get any better, my dear friend Kim called this morning and invited us to brunch at Restaurant Ava in Rockwall. Joe had stuff he wanted to finish on the fence, so I went alone and met Kim, her college roomie, and our favorite Veritas wine guy, and we sipped mimosas and ate some yummy food.

The chef sent us a complimentary fritata while we waited for our food. I love stuff compliments of the chef. It makes me thankful to have well-connected foodie friends. I had eggs benedict with a poblano hollandaise, and it was slap-yo-mama good. There were many sighs of contentment. This place is big on local farm to table cooking, a trend that is catching on in the area, and one I hope continues. If you are ever in Rockwall, you should check this place out. It is worth the drive.

Life is good.

It's a Problem

Lately I've had to put Tim Gunn--my fabulous sewing machine, on the back burner and it hasn't been easy. I'm up to my eyeballs reading and writing papers for my graduate work (one class in writing Non-Fiction and the other in Modern Astronomy). Throw in teaching research to 10th graders and you will find me clutching my head, rocking to-and-fro and mumbling gibberish before it's all said and done. When I should be reading, or writing, or grading...I have this sick compulsion to stop what I am doing and start a new sewing project.

In fact, I had to drive down to my parents' house to get any school work done. Weekends at the casa are not conducive to study due to football season. Joe watches every dadgummed game that airs like a Vegas bookie. Now I like football, but I only care to watch my teams. Since my Horns are sucking it up this year, I root for the Frogs, too; but beyond that, I don't care.

Anyway, last night I was reading Steven Weinberg's book The First Three Minutes for Astronomy, and I remembered that I purchased several super cute appliques and had not tried them out yet.

Let me show you my stream of consciousness last night: First three minutes.....Hubble constant....light years...elementary particles...hmmm appliques...Kelvins...galaxies...omg the baby seal....must focus...redshifting galaxies...oh! and I have that minky fabric I need to use...hydrogen and helium.

Yes, I was thinking more about Applique Planet more than the origin of our planet. You see? It is a problem.

I really wanted to try out a new applique I bought, and I still had a couple of cloth diapers left for burp cloths. Does it get any cuter than a baby seal? How could I possibly focus on my reading with this little guy begging to be added to a burp cloth?

Oh! I finished the diaper cake. Ta-da! I found that zebra at Pier One and strapped him on there.

Mycousinamanda's baby shower went well. I am so glad I co-hosted with two others. Knowing me, it wouldn't have happened, so it was nice to work as a team to make sure all the bases were covered. Mattito's was the perfect space and so many wonderful people showed up. Let's just say that baby Maia is set when it comes to her wardrobe...though I did notice she only got one pair of shoes. Homegirl is going to need to do some serious shopping if she is going to keep up with her mama.

Still Tweaking It

I've been working on this stinkin' blog layout all. day. I think I'm just going to pay someone to update the facade next time since am grossly inefficient at it, but I kinda like how it turned out.

Urban Bazaar

Joe and I lucked into the Urban Street Bazaar in the Bishop Arts District when we decided on Cafe Brazil for brunch this morning. It is Etsy live. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. You should check. check. check it out.

It runs until 8 pm today and 12-4 tomorrow. 8th and Bishop in Oak Cliff.

They had such cute stuff and I should have taken pictures, but I collected business cards of my favorite vendors instead. But here's the link to all of the Urban Street vendors.




First there's this place: June Rose Designs.
I loved these earrings. Too bad my ears aren't pierced. She did have a matching pendant though. Hmmm.I thought these were cute, too.
Whimsical things make me happy. Weird whimsical things make me happier. Signifying Not made me want to dance a jig right in the middle of 8th Street. The shop had so much more than listed on the website. I especially liked this gentleman centaur print. They had it on baby-adult tees.

Another little tee shop that made Joe want to drag me in the opposite direction as soon as possible was Rainbow Swirlz. I envision mycousinamanda's sweet baby Maia in this little diddy.
And I would be remiss to not mention my favorite B.A.D. shop Shambhala Body Gallery. They have the best smelling candles. I like the obnoxiously strong Tyler candles with the best of them, but Shambhala has nice earthy scents like Mission Fig, Sequoia, and my all time favorite, Tomato Basil. The owner makes the all natural lotions, soaps, and candles and I think that's pretty cool. I spent a nice chunk of change in there today and now my house and hands smell divine.

I want to go back. Who's with me?!