I loved this recent work.
She does alot of great artwork with women as subjects. I love her stuff! If you're interested in her stuff, she has an etsy shop or you can check here.
Though she studied film at California Institute of the Arts, she is becoming an illustrator and family cheerleader of sorts. She made this book for Emily about Emily. I'm interested to see what Erin has up her sleeve and what we'll see from her in the near future.
And last but not least is Whitney. She turns old things into beautiful new creations. She has an eye for what's "in" and yet stays true to the vintage theme.
My living room has bothered me since we moved in. It's really dark because it has only one window in it. And, I am like a plant drawn to natural light. So, we decided to do something about it yesterday. Here's a before shot (before Travis totally took the original door out).
During
With some creative distraction from a cardboard tent made out of the door packaging.
And voila! Sunlight in my living room. I think it makes such a huge difference. I think come wintertime I'll be especially glad we did this, as I'm sitting around nursing and tending a wee one. I really like the way it turned out, probably more than I expected. It feels like a totally different room.
We started the day with a bikeride. I wasn't sure the ol' gal could pull these two, but it was fine.
Then, Finn practiced his Fred Flinstone bike-riding skills in the driveway.
And, Lucy insisted on wearing her pretty yellow sunhat like her brother Finn.
Then, we went to the parade up the street where the parade exhibitors threw out lots of candy. Finn caught on real quick how to get the goods. You can see him here working his charm and getting them to throw him candy.
This last shot is for my Dad and brother Andrew. These girls were fun to watch on their unicycles. I'm sure they'd let you come out for next year's parade, Andrew, and be a part of their act!
I made a fort out of some old bedspreads that I got at a yard sale last Summer.
Lucy quickly found out it was more fun to ruin it than play inside it.
Flashlights always make things more fun!
I love it when Travis gets a cleaning notion in his head. He always does a thorough job. This weekend it was cleaning the pots.
Some Bar Keepers Friend and Heavy Duty Degreaser (plus some scrubbing pads) were what did the trick. Then, a cycle in the dishwasher and voila! Presto chango! New pans (or new-er).
And, going along with the nesting theme, I have this little "Brittany bump" that keeps getting bigger. Time Magazine did a cover story called, "Inside the Womb," in 2002 and I loved this quote:
Item of business No. 1: Beef Taco (courtesy Stacey)Mix all together. Boil. Simmer 20 minutes. Serve with cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.
Item of Business No. 2: The sunroom has lighting!
I got these sconces at Home Depot. They were supposed to be "hard-wire only" but thanks to Travis and his handy-ness, he put cords with switches on them. Let there be light!
Just thinking about yesterday's wild goose chase around Cleveland makes me sick to my stomach. We spent 3 1/2 hours running around from one place to another, getting an emissions test, getting a physical inspection, getting license paperwork, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. We were trying to register the van and change the plates from Illinois to Ohio. Turns out, after all that work, we still have to wait a whole month before we can get it registered. Fooey on youey, I say to Ohio! 
Onto a more pleasant note, I'm looking for lighting for....
...this sun room. I'm thinking sconces. I hope it wouldn't look funny to have sconces on the panels between the windows. That's where the only plug-ins are the the whole room.
We went to dinner Saturday to celebrate my birthday. This was my hair after I took it out of the barrettes. Travis said I looked like Annie with a mullet. I had to go back to the powder room and concoct another hair-do. I've never been very good at doing hair.
This was the cake I made for a family dinner of a senior missionary couple who had a fatal car accident a week ago. The wife died and the husband is in critical condition. What do you make for the bereaved family? Italian Cream Cake was what I came up with.
This is Finn after church-play in the backyard. He wasn't very happy about the whole picture taking thing.
Weekend yard sale find: a 1972 Fisher Price playhouse with little people and stroller included. Finn loves it. I got it for $8 and I looked online and they're selling for between $40 and $60. Good deal.
And, last, but not least, this is the pretty white cake Travis made me for my birthday. The frosting is a cream cheese/powdered sugar/whipped cream mixture and he put strawberries in the middle too. It was dreamy. Made for the perfect birthday!
I've already had a good birthday so far because:
{Here's Finn reading one selection.}
05. And, I got the sunroom-window-scraping project DONE yesterday! This alone calls for celebration! I can actually see out of my windows now without years of smudge marks, dog splatters and runny paint blocking the view.
And, here's a picture for my mom. I just wanted to show how her pruning job from last Fall is looking in the Spring. Not bad, eh? I love my yard right now. Thanks, Mom!
I'm turning 28 today. I'm pushing 30 and I guess that's not so bad. It doesn't seem possible. In my mind I'm still that little pig-tailed toehead running around on the playground at Livingston Elementary....
...or that girl who sat in her basement room at her desk drawing house plans, even making out lists of what every room in her English manor-type house would contain...
...or that nervous, insecure college grad about to perform a Patty Griffin song on guitar onstage at Club Passim...
...or, I'm just a housewife who lives day-by-day and enjoys family life and most things domestic(most of the time).
We're out the door around 9 o'clock usually and the two Bobsy Twins are happy to be out.
The turnaround point is Shaker Lakes. Today we threw leftover hot dog buns to the geese and ducks on the bridge.
Sometimes we take this running path along the lake.
We always go by this house (mansion) which is in the Fairmount Historic District.
And homes like these are on several of the streets we run on.
If you're interested in her wares, go 
