pixiegenné

happy turkey and/or tofurkey day! (both here)

happy thanksgiving, all!
xoxo

anthropologie owl knock-off and neil patrick harris. what's the connection?

(there is no connection other than both are included in this post)

i got my anthropologie catalog this weekend and was smitten with these owls and thought "i can make those". incidentally, i often have that thought at a craft fair or browsing a catalog or magazine, but i rarely follow through with the actual making. but this time i did.

ok, not quite as cute as the one in catalog. something about the eye placement makes it look a bit like the anthropologie owl's slow cousin. but this is a prototype. i might play with it a little more and give some out as gifts this year.

so something you may not know about me is that i'm kind of a geek for musicals. my nephew just showed me the doctor horrible web series and i love it a little bit. then i was remembering how funny neil patrick harris was a few years back on will and grace and went looking for it on youtube and couldn't find it but then i found this which i thought was pretty fantastic. because, you know, i'm kind of a geek for musicals.

hi guys

i'm the queen of camera shy but i'm sincerely trying to get over it.
(hello)

i made a new little corner in my living room recently w/this bookshelf and mirror. i think the bookshelf has been in every corner of my house at this point.
i like to move things around.
when i was a freshman in college, i had two other roommates in a room clearly only suited for two people and the three of us managed every possible furniture configuration that year, including one that required crawling through bunkbeds to get to our desks. for me, i don't think it's the idea of having something BETTER in place; the important thing is that something is DIFFERENT.

i wanted to give a couple shout-outs today while i'm thinking of it. first, (for locals), my good friend betsy is involved with the Chinese School here in Portland and they are hosting a wonderful book sale tomorrow at the Breakwater School. there will be dumplings, a maine author visit, and a wonderful selection of multicultural books. seriously, all i heard was DUMPLINGS and the rest was charlie-brown-teacher talk (mwa-mwa-mwa-mwa-mwa). i love me some dumplings.

i also wanted to put in a plug for a survey john's company is conducting around the perception of the culture of sustainability. go ahead, it won't take but a minute.

my week hasn't been especially taxing, but i'm happy it's friday. i'm off to a little happy hour tonight and then this weekend i roll up my sleeves and whip this house into shape. i'm hosting thanksgiving and my to-do list (which is still in my head) is quite long.

have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo

ah, november

we had a do-nothing kind of weekend, which was nice, except charlie is the one person in the family who hasn't perfected the art of lounging, so we often have to help him find some fun.

i organized my basement studio this weekend, which has me inspired to start some holiday crafting. and i hit an out-of-town thrift store (away from all those portland hipsters, where you can still find some good stuff). i got some new-to-me enamelware that i'm pretty psyched about (john is reading this and thinking wtf do we need more pots and pans for? i know...but these have lids and our others don't.)

plus the color is real purty.

john showed me this the other day. some motrin execs are smacking their heads with a collective "doh!!" i think.

and this came my way a bit ago. do you think the mighty, mighty bostones count them as an early influence? anyhow, i challenge you to get it out of your head.

(you're welcome)

inspiration

my friend amy over at doobleh-vay, has started an inspiration friday post and asked me to join in. check it out!

and speaking of inspiration, i really enjoyed andrea's recent "100 things i love list". basically i love making lists so here goes...

1 clubhouses
2 knee socks
3 chinese jump-rope
4 diner breakfasts
5 scrabble
6 well-worn easy chairs
7 fresca
8 cardigan sweaters
9 club sandwiches
10 hotel reservations
11 beach blankets
12 the sunday paper
13 sparkly lights
14 elaborate games invented by kids
15 old fishing boats
16 piano bands
17 drinking wine out of jelly jars
18 stripes
19 kitchen radios
20 skiing
21 class pictures
22 embroidered trim
23 libraries
24 salt air
25 built-ins
26 jigs and reels
27 piles of leaves
28 ray bans
29 crossword puzzles
30 abandoned buildings
31 signet rings
32 70s ballads
33 girls' weekends
34 swimming
35 take-out
36 the smell of pipe smoke
37 snow forts
38 mary-janes
39 kettle corn
40 birds of prey
41 streamers
42 city parks
43 homemade layer cake
44 mansard roofs
45 window shopping
46 button jars
47 meringue
48 cozy bars on rainy afternoons
49 polaroids
50 hammocks
51 skee-ball
52 lists
53 tetris
54 thanksgiving left-overs sandwiches
55 corduroy skirts
56 fireplace mantles
57 thrift  stores
58 how i feel after running
59 candy necklaces
60 tea kettles
61 weekend bags
62 drippy sandcastles
63 new office supplies
64 holiday tv specials for kids
65 water slides
66 wall ovens
67 autumn
68 good'n'plenties
69 city side streets
70 boots
71 camping gear
72 stella artois
73 wind chimes
74 old ledgers
75 bouncy castles
76 molasses cookies
77 card games
78 day hikes
79 blue toenail polish
80 salt bagels
81 fresh cut flowers
82 mad libs
83 playing tourist in my own town
84 seaglass
85 islands
86 travel size
87 balconies
88 christmas stockings
89 old quilts
90 fine point felt tip pens
91 fog
92 old family-owned shops
93 fresh baked anything
94 oranges and cloves
95 music mixes made by friends
96 making music mixes for friends
97 hydrangeas
98 old saabs
99 bookshelves
100 oak leaves and acorns

ok - that's a lot of love.
have a great weekend!

fall + rainy wet saturdays + obama = happy me

it is so perfectly wet and dreary and fall-ish today. i kinda love it. it reminds me of this song. rainy day songs are my favorite.

 

and what a great week. still riding a nice post election high. my school's book fair is over and was a success (i think). i had a yummy and celebratory breakfast with stephanie (who is just as awesome in person as i suspected) and jen (who i already knew was awesome). i took the kids on a date last night (madagascar + maria + stephanie's book event + japanese food). today i'm happily puttering and making some junky treats for a grown-up drinky party tonight. tomorrow i'm heading down to mass with jane for a baby shower (i'm going to be a great aunt...crazy).

so that's my happy life to date. i do have a few craft projects in the works but nothing exciting to show off here right now. maybe soon. i hope you've had a great week too. (if you're the obama-supporting reader i'm guessing you are, it's pretty hard to be in a bad mood these days.)

happy weekend!
xoxo

the candy needs to go away

we had a good halloween and are all on sugar overload. i think i might need to take drastic action to make the candy go way. one that doesn't involve me eating it.

thought i'd drop by and say hi - i've got a busy week ahead. the kids' school book fair starts tuesday which is my volunteer project so that will be taking up a chunk of my time.

and i'm super excited that stephanie will be in town this week. she's here with maria to promote their beautiful book. i'll get to stand in line and have mine signed on friday and will get to squeeze in some time with stephanie and jen on wednesday (i'm really hoping we'll be feeling super celebratory and not crying in our drinks. ok, i think we're meeting for breakfast but it might be one of those occasions when a breakfast drink is in order).

and i'm not the craft-making machine i usually am at this time of year. i've got no craft shows lined up this fall, which feels nice and calm. i will be part of an upcoming art show in january, and i've been messing around with some ideas for that...

that's all i got. have a great week!