April 12, 2011- The Discovery

I woke up feeling kinda rotten today. Nose dripping, stomach upset and absolutely exhausted. But I went on into work anyway, mostly because I hadn't woken up early enough to call out!  Ninety minutes into my shift, the nausea started to get really bad. IE: swallowing it down, bad. I was working alone in a section of the store and had two customers involved in major planning sessions so I couldn't just walk off until someone came to relieve me. When another coworker did appear, I wasted no time excusing myself and bolting for the bathroom.

I didn't make it. I projectile vomited on the stairs. Thankfully the back, employee only stairs.  Worst of all, I couldn't even stop to clean it up because the next wave was coming. At least I'd skipped breakfast that morning. :-/  Once I hit the bathroom, I kept heaving until I was emptier than I ever thought I could be and my stomach had settled enough I didn't think I'd embarrass myself again. A quick wash up and mouthwash and I headed back to the sales floor to wait for the afternoon shift to arrive so I could go home early.

Fifteen minutes later, my coworker said, "You look really white again Liz. You better go. We'll manage."  As I bolted off the floor to face another heaving session in the employee bathroom, I did call the floor manager of the day and announce I was going home.  I made it home only to vomit before I could even get into my jammies. After another three hours of this, I sat there thinking, "I have never had a stomach bug this bad before; what gives?"  And the penny dropped...we'd been trying to get pregnant for years. Actually, we had started saving for fertility treatments several months before. So I pulled out a pregnancy test, held my breath and sat there STUNNED when that little pink line showed up. The test line showed up faster than the control did! I was pregnant!!! I was so excited, I puked. Then I sent a photo of the test to my worried hubby at work: "I think I found the source of the vomiting. That's a positive pregnancy test."

2011---the year I lost.

I've been gone a looong time now! I have a ton of new posts coming your way, the first of which will explain where I've been for the last eighteen months.  2011 was full of changes in our house, both good and bad all at once.  Thankfully, the good stuck around and the bad left with 2011. :)

Empty out that junk drawer!

And use those miscellaneous keys we all have lying around to create this cute shadowbox from Brittany over at Lovestiched. Isn't this a cute way to keep track of all those moves and houses? Hmm, I'm thinking a  twist up of using a map for a mat and pinning the keys to the location of the house would be such  a cute collectible! A perfect trifecta of cute, personalized and cheap decor!

I see London, I see France

This Pumpkin-butt needs some underpants!

This seriously made me laugh for about an hour. Thanks to Fringe Girl for the giggles!

I may wear these all October!

Brown Paper Packages is one of my new favorite blogs! So many cute projects, I can get lost for hours trolling for ideas. And then there's the name...sing with me now badly and at the top of my lungs : "brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things!"

But THESE made me drool. I'm a sucker for candy necklaces. And  I love those pumpkin mallows that come out every Halloween. The combination? Scuze me while I wipe my chin! Wouldn't they be uber-cute with candy corns in between instead of ribbon? My only problem now is figuring out how not to eat them as soon as I put them on!

Gorgeous!

Doesn't this make you want to go jump into a pile of fall leaves?

Go check out Donna Lynn's other beauties at Blushing Rose Antiques.

I spy my new kitchen light!

Adventures in Crafting just saved my sanity by posting a reminder of how awesome wine bottle lights can be.

Can't you just picture these over my kitchen sink?

While I LOVED (and totally used) her tutorial for the wiring process, stay tuned for a tutorial on how I cut the bottles...it doesn't involve power tools!

Oh yum.

You know how amazing homemade bread is, right? If not, you're missing out.
And you know how good homemade pizza is if you've tried the easy dough from my last post, right?

Over at The Ivory Hut they have invented a marvelously wonderful hybrid called Crazy Pizza Bread. You must go and make it. Now. Do not pass GO. But if you find $200 lying around, I could use some!

PS- if on the off chance you have any leftovers, it really does freeze beautifully!

Holy Custom Cookery!

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When I saw Tanya's spice drawer makeover at Sew Many Dreams I immediately thought of these stamped lid spice jars  featured over at Apartment Therapy years ago. Wouldn't those two make the coolest combination ever?  And hardware stamps aren't that expensive-but WOW what a custom look they'd give this already awesome spice drawer!! I love it when a little money and a little time equals major payout, don't you?

That dreaded 7am Saturday meeting just got easier

Thanks to the cool folks over at Picky Palate!  They posted these ah-maze-ing looking faux-bacon-egg-and-cheese McMuffins that I can't wait to try. My crustless mini-quiches have been quite popular the last few meetings, but these just might win over the last hold outs. I simultaneously can't wait to try them but can't believe I really have to get up for this meeting again.  Check the recipe out over at Picky Palate. I'd love to hear of them being baked up for good use at normal brunch times! It might make me feel better as I drag myself from bed in the dark next week!

I'll make a few extra and see how the hold in the fridge and freezer. If they hold up to storage, wouldn't they be genius on those crazed mornings? Just grab, nuke and go!

Cool hidden storage DIY

Can you find the storage here?

Hint: some of these books are not like the others. Which of these books just doesn't belong?

Now that I've dated myself completely with the old school Seasame Street reference, check out these cool repurposed boxes turned storage books! You can find the whole how to at Design Sponge.

Don't you just want a shelf full of these? I know I do...now to find enough boxes to remake!

Great small space option for kids with lots of energy!

How great would these be for kids in small spaces or cooped up during bad weather? I found them over on Etsy at Cool Spaces for Kids.  They'd be easy to make freezer paper style with an old sheet and some fabric spray paint, don't you think? And easy-peasy storage...Just fold it up! Get crazy and make a pocket to store the bean bag! Or, turn it over and make a toss game on the reverse! Two games in one easy storage item.  Have lots of wall space to fill? Add two curtain rings and it's wall art, too!  Cute!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Forty-two years ago, after dating for six months, my parents married in a San Francisco courtroom on Friday, September the 13th. Yes, really. I'm not making this up!  You can imagine we didn't put much faith in old superstitions at our house growing up.  Mom has always said she had to say yes if she ever wanted to see her belongings again...they were already on a truck being moved to Alabama where my Dad had been transferred. He proposed so Bechtel would move her stuff, too! Thanks for showing me that marriage means getting up every morning and deciding to make it work. You've always shown me that marriage is like anything else in life...hard work, well rewarded.

Happy Anniversary! I love you both.

Champagne Cage Chairs

Over at Design Sponge, I stumbled across this cool post on how to turn the wire cage that holds the corks in champagne bottles into a cute little chair with just a snip and a few twists. How incredibly cute would these be with a seating direction card slipped into them for a wedding or another big affair?  I almost wish I'd seen these before my wedding, though my straw labels were awfully cute too! I think these would be easier for guests to see, though. And since they're chairs, self-explanatory. :)

See? Just slide the card behind the little loop and off they go! Bonus, they're free! Double bonus, they're an excuse to drink champagne! (As if I ever need one!)  Check out the instructions here at Design Sponge.

Now if only I had enough space to grow pumpkins next year...

Yep, you're seeing that right. That pumkpin grew the word "Welcome" on it's skin!  You know how sometimes when you buy pumpkins, they have those thick brown scaly calloused areas?  Over at Not Just a Housewife, the cleverest lady on earth realized that we can manipulate those scars to form whatever pumpkin art we want! By scratching the desired design onto the pumpkin's skin just as it turns orange, it scars over and makes cool words! It can make pictures, too, of course. Whatever you want to scratch in! Thanks to her I just might finally win the yearly 'coolest pumpkin contest' with my sister-in-law next year! 

How neat would it be if every family on your block had one with "the Whoever's" on their porch for the autumn season?  Now if only I had enough space for a garden to grow them all!  Oh, well. I have a year. I'm sure I can con beg someone to loan me some a ton of garden space. I don't think I could stop with just one of these!

Homemade fruit rollups

Okay, I grew up begging for fruit roll-ups and very rarely getting them because they were so full of sugar. As an adult, I indulged until I discovered they're mostly full of corn syrup...something I can't tolerate. Literally, it makes me ill!  So I've been exploring the idea of making my own from excess fruit laying around. Having found these homemade polka-dot ones over at Fix Me A Snack means I might just be borrowing a dehydrator in the near future!  I wonder how low my oven temp goes....?

In the meantime, enjoy the eye candy!

Thank heavens it's September!

Unlike most of the world, September is a breath of calm in my world. After two months of crazy sales at my job, things return to their normal level of insanity every September! Which means I can go back to my kitchen, my sewing machine and all those other great blog ideas I've missed in the last two months. Sigh It's good to be back!

EEEP, a FOURTH chance!

Amy over at The Idea Room is giving away a Silhoutte cutter! And I want one sooooooooooo badly I can taste it! Those big glass jars of flour and sugar don't stand a chance if I win this one...

Anyway, I'm gonna go enter whilst I wipe the drool off my chin. Fingers, toes, arms, legs and any other part I can manage crossed that I might be the lucky winner this time!!!

LOVE THIS DRESS...

WOW!

I wish I had found this inspiration about 3 years ago before I got married. I inherited lots of handmade lace doilies from my Grandma Hoochie (no, she wasn't a stripper. Somehow, that's the way her name Ruth was pronounced in Brazil in the 70's. Or so I'm told!). Wouldn't that have been wonderful to walk down the aisle in my Grandma's handmade lace? Especially since she's not here with us anymore. But absolutely gorgeous...and handmade by the bride in less than 3 weeks! Complete wonderwoman! Wish I could direct you to the site, but it was a daily feature on a bridal site...if anyone knows where to link to this amazing dress, do tell!

No I haven't vanished...

I spent all last week frantically working toward my husband's birthday present...finishing the remodel we started last OCTOBER!  I am proud to announce that with the exception of 1 wall in a non-necessary room, it's finally done! Of course, then we had to throw him a birthday party to show off the new kitchen, so that ate up my weekend... And then I pinched a nerve in my back, missed a day of work and had a lovely cortisone injection. So I've been a little busy lately!

Stay tuned for a step by step update on how we built new walls, knocked holes in other and installed a new kitchen...mostly by ourselves! Heck, mostly by MYself! :)