long weekend

Memorial Day weekend has always been a busy one in my family. I was born the day after, and wouldn't you know it, my other half was born on Memorial Day. Because of this it's always a bit of a two for one holiday,or now, a three for one. This was the first year that we hosted something and it was nice to have everyone there and to get to have it by the lake. We made a vegetarian version of this delicious sandwich. There were lots of leftovers to enjoy as well. Even though it sometimes stresses me out a little, I really thrive on planning these sorts of things. I especially love the details, like hording my used coffee cans to use for a centerpiece.The problem is I suffer from post even let-down. It always happens. After all the hustle and bustle and company, I'm always a little sad it's over.

So, today was rebound day. We took a crazily long walk for frozen custard happy hour. Mondays, 99 cent cones at Rosati's. That alone can cheer a girl up, but then there was this sale. Patterns were only 99 cents, and I thought I might randomly grab a skirt pattern or two. Then I spotted the Built By Wendy patterns. I thought that there was no way they were part of the sale. I really love them, but at $15 a piece and being a completely novice seamstress, I can't begin to justify it. So,I hesitatingly, took four to the front and wouldn't you know it...99 cents! Built By Wendy patterns for the price of a happy hour ice cream cone. Now I just need for my studio to not be 110 degrees right now...

let's swap

Have you signed up for the 5x7 swap yet? It's a good deadline enforced way to create something (and you get to receive something). Plus, this year it will be accompanied by a show. This is what I worked on last time:


You can sign up or get more information here.

a glint of goldfish

Well, they the new notecards are finally here. They're pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself. I'm off to update the shop for now...

finds on the line

It's been a long, hot, busy day, but I wanted to post some photos of my favorite finds from the thrift store this weekend. Here they all are drying on the clothesline. Oh, how I love hanging clothes on the line.Better yet, is how they smell when they come inside.

In the current issue of Martha Stewart Living
, there was a nice little tutorial for making a summer bag out of a lone pillowcase. I didn't have any orphaned ones around the house, so I was on the hunt when I was shopping. There were a few good contenders, but this was perfect:

I'm actually kind of glad that it was a loner at the store, because otherwise I would've have wanted to use them on a bed and not for the project. You can view the tutorial here.

Off for a late evening walk with my boy and my dog...

catch-up

This has been a pretty busy past few days, compounded by the fact that I apparently injured myself in a Pilates class. While I'm sure this is not all that uncommon, I still feel silly. It was serious enough that lifting an english muffin was painful. I think I'm on the mend now,thanks in part I'm sure to the coconut cream pie custard Devin brought me from Rosati's.
Friday I had a chance to see Art Spiegelman give a talk moderated by New York Times art critic, Michael Kimmelman.While, he didn't spend as much time on the Maus as I suspect many audience members would have liked, it was really interesting. He had a lot to say about the evolution of the comic book and the graphic novel and their place in the art world.

Best of all, it was a free event that even included a reception. It was held in Cleveland Public Theatre, which is a really great space. They did an amazing job doing a minimalist sort of renovation in a historic theatre. I'm looking forward to going to more events there.

The theatre is located in the Gordon Square Arts District. I like this neighborhood a lot, and it is really coming into it's own. They have the new Ecovillage, a national pilot project to create an ecologically sound neighborhood whose target area is the quarter mile surrounding the new RTA station.. And, finally, what all thriving neighborhoods need, particularly one with a theatre is a great coffee house.

We went to Gypsy Beans & Bakery, which doesn't just make an amazing Mexico City latte with chili and cinnamon, but is really a great community asset, supporting local businesses. Their website serves as a great link to the neighborhood.
We also had some weekend company and did a little shopping and thrifting, followed by a trip to Johnny Mango's to use Devin's birthday coupon.
Tomorrow, some of those thrift store finds.

busy, busy

Visits to mom, catching up on things around the house, and most importantly, working on new designs for cards have kept me busy around here. I hope to add the finishing touches to the card sets in the next day or two and have them up in the shop very soon. I'm really excited about them. More soon!

Happy Birthday, Ramona!

Happy Mother's Day

what do tea and windsurfers have in common?

We're a bit under the weather around here. Devin started it and I followed about 8 hours later. Just a scratchy case of the sniffles, but a bit miserable nonetheless. When I'm not feeling well the first thing I want is a cup of tea. I'm all for the healing properties of green tea and white tea and well as most herbal teas and all of their incarnations, but when I really need comforting there's only one thing that will do. A good cup of strong English tea. I've written about this English thing before When I really want to be coddled I want it with milk and sugar, just like my grandma made for me when I was kid. Later,if I have a cold, I usually switch to lemon and honey. I've gotten pretty good at making a cup of tea, but it still tends to be inconsistent. My grandmother, on the other hand, gets it just right every time. I guess 80 plus years of practice will do that to you. My mom is pretty good, too. She must have figured it was her duty as a good daughter in law.
Here are my grandma's guidelines for perfect tea: (although she gets it perfect even when it's just a mug and a teabag)
Put the kettle on.
Fill teapot with hot water and set aside.
When water is close to boiling, pour out the water.
Add tea. Loose is best. One teaspoon per cup, plus one for the pot.(I usually follow the same rule with bags if I'm using them)
When water is boiling (It has to be boiling,not just close), bring the pot to the kettle.This is the rule, I always remember. According to my grandma, the kettle cools too much on it's trip the teapot.
Steep to desired strength.
Of course, all the rules don't mean much when the steeping is left to concept as opposed to a set number, and it seems to be where I often go wrong and just miss the mark.Also, most of the tea rules in my family only surround it's brewing and not so much the drinking. My family is strictly working class bakers, so there's none of this pinky raising business.Although, my grandma does bake a mean empire cookieAnybody else have any good grandma tips?

Speaking of my grandma, I was getting summer clothes out of the attic and among them was this treasure:

Both my brother and I had a pretty strong recollection of this skirt and I've been badgering my grandma about it for a couple of years. Last spring, she found it for me. I'm pretty sure she's past her windsurfer print skirt days. Yes ,those are indeed bikini clad windsurfers.

The waist elastic needs to be replaced, but it's really comfy.Thankfully, I'm not past my windsurfer print skirt days just yet.

Not On Our Watch

This weekend we went to a town hall style discussion with the actor Don Cheadle and John Prendergast. Cheadle became interested in the crisis in Darfur following the filming of the movie "Hotel Rwanda". The talk was in support of their recent book, Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond. It was held in one of the historic theaters in Playhouse Square.


There's a lot to say and at the same time I feel quite speechless. When I was finishing my history degree on of my areas of concentration was the Holocaust. I remember at the time we were just past the Balkan genocide. It seemed impossible then, that we continued to allow such a tragedy. And then, here we are again.
Some things that can be done:
Write to your representative. A form can be found here.
Give
Call for Divestment. This is a really interesting topic that I didn't know a lot about until the talk. Learn about it here.
Lobby the Government. You can call 1-800-GENOCIDE to hear an update on your representative's actions and make a request that they help end the crisis. Or you can visit Genocide.net
The Holocaust Museum has teamed up with Google earth to give a satellite view of Darfur as well as photos and testimony. Really amazing project.

free.inspiration.

I have a bit of a hair obsession. I'm not really sure how it all began. I think that it has something to do with the transforming powers of a new haircut or new hair color.To me, getting a new haircut has a thrill of adventure attached to it. The very sentence "I like hair" sounds a bit ridiculous and flippant. But, I don't think it is just a cosmetic obsessions. I think that hair is the same as the clothes we wear or the things we put in our house. You can debate over the actual importance of these things, but they do matter in a aesthetic, inspiring way. So, a few years ago, I was really excited to discover the Hair Stories books put out by Bumble and Bumble.They are put out biannually and they cover various themes combining style and photography along with more technical articles intended for stylists. These books really appreciate the style value of a great haircut and move them beyond the typical hairstyle magazines with bad lighting and photos that are all about the cut and nothing about the inspiration or soul behind the haircut.

In the very first issue,they included an excerpt from Hemingway's The Garden of Eden,used as an example of why a woman cuts her hair short. " No decent girls had ever had their hair cut short like that in this part of the country and even Paris it was rare and strange and could be beautiful or could be very bad. It could mean too much or it could only mean showing the beautiful shape of a head that could never be shown as well."




At first the books were pretty difficult to come by. Of course, you know how motivated I am by scarcity, so it was pretty fun to track them down. They are free and are supposed to be available from Bumble and Bumble salons, but it's a pretty mixed bag whether or not you can find one. Some salons never get them, some reserve them for stylists only.But I have managed to get hold of all of them so far.The newest edition, is all about "The Bob" and also includes a dvd. (The last issue included a dvd as well including a retrospective of their fashion photography). Luckily, Bumble and Bumble is making it much easier to get a copy. Just go here.Request one. You will not be disappointed. As Bumble and Bumble press says, it's free.inspiration.