Dugout

So I'm still not completely dug out of my craft-room yet, but I am a couple flat-rate boxes lighter, and minus about 15 sets of Stampin' Up stamps, and a large flat-rate box full of corks, and I'm about to be two bridesmaid dresses lighter. So that's something.

Yeah, something.

I feel like its never ending. I know one day I'll have the craft-room of my dreams, but this space I have is just too small for the stuff I own. So in order to be able to be crafty and be productive I have to get organized. For me, its the only way.

So I ask you, my friends, my confidants... for help. How do you organize your ribbon, your punches, your odds and ends, your Glimmer Mists, your rulers, your ATC's, your thread, your paints, your stamp pads (and I could keep going on...).

I did get a fantastic idea from Miss Stephanie on paper. I'd seen it when I was back at her house in June of this year and of course, like everything else in her freaking craft room, it was perfect. And... I was jealous. Her craftroom is the size of my master bedroom, but really, who's comparing???

Anyway, here's a peek at my new paper organization system. Thanks Steph:

Just to show you I'm not a complainer (usually)... here are a few (material) things I am thankful for this November:

(My very most favorite Jade plant that I got at the Farmers Market in Tacoma)

(Some flowers my mom gave me Sunday when they came over for dinner)

(My November calendar I made with Purple Onion Stamps)

(COOKING LIGHT. Say no more!)

(My Starbucks city mugs)

Today is my favorite kind of day. I had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast, slept in and played hooky at the gym. I'm sipping on a cup of coffee with a splash of plain cream and I can smell the braised beef I'm making coming from the oven. Its pouring down rain outside and it smells fresh and clean.

Speaking of clean, I'm inspired to do some. I actually cleaned every square inch of my kitchen after I was done cooking. You can ask my husband... I hate cleaning the kitchen and often leave him a plethora of dirty dishes in the sink to find when he comes home... oh I am bad.

My goal this week was to get my scrap-room all clean and purged. Yeah, woops. Haven't even started. I'll get there though. Do a little today, some more tomorrow, and finish it up this weekend and next week. I've been taking a lot of pleasure in the little things in life. Trying new recipes, getting a good ass-kicking at the gym. Going out to lunch with old friends from high school. Its been fun and good for my soul. Usually in the fall I start to feel tired and bored, but so far that hasn't happened this year, its been all good, inspiring. For those of you who don't get Cooking Light, I highly suggest it... as many of the amazing new recipes I've been making have come from there (i.e. the beef pot pie, the braised beef, the spicy turkey meatloaf i stashed in the freezer for next week, etc etc).

And because no post is complete without a picture I have a few of my family... so you can kind of get a gist of who I'm talking about when I mention my crazy sister ;) or my dad... or mom or brother in law.

Heres my sister, Jess and my Dad:


My soon to be brother-in-law, Dan (I know... I know...):


My Sister Jess, My Mom and Me. (this one's kind of old).


And of course, last but not least, the hubs:


I need good light recipes... you guys should send me stuff.

And it ended with a moustache...

What a crazy-fun weekend! Friday we went out to see Wolverine. I'm a fan of the X-Men movies, but the real truth of the matter is, the only thing getting me overly excited is Hugh Jackman (commonly referred to in the Westcott household as "Hugh Hotman"). I think the highlight of the entire movie was when he jumped off the building and you could see his buns clenched through his tight jeans. Yeah, I'd have to say that probably made my weekend. Thank you Hugh, you made this weekend a "tight" one. HA!

Saturday we celebrated Mother's Day with Mom. We took her to get flowers, out to breakfast @ Mrs. Turners, and then back to the house to plant everything. We had a really good time, it was nice just spending time together.

I came home, took an hour power nap and headed off to Seattle for a Bachelorette Party. We had dinner at a little Italian place and then stopped off at Twilight for a few drinks. It wasn't really my kind of place ... and... I found a shard of glass in my COSMO! That is the second time that has happened to me in a year. LAME. But, I got a free drink out of it, so I suppose that's something. Cut up intestines... Free Drink... yeah, I'll take the free drink. We spent the night up in Seattle because after all this hilarity ensued, we were in no shape to drive home.

This morning we made it to breakfast @ the Skylark and then I came home and finished my mirror (remember what it used to look like?) and Hubby helped me hang it! Here are a few shots. How was your weekend!??

and out of chaos comes a gem

I love waking up to a winter wonderland in March. Around these parts its not real common. A bit of snow had fallen last night before we hit the hay, but we woke up this morning and quite a bit more had fallen. I love it. I love the silence it brings, the romance, the want to be cozy with a hot cup of chocolate, tea or coffee and to curl up in your favorite spot with your favorite book and blanket. Ahhhh, 'tis a beautiful way to start off Monday:


THIS is what I did this weekend. I am completely and utterly exhausted and I can't wait to get in there and mess it up again! A clean craft space only makes me long for messy paints and bits of string and my scrap box!

BEFORE
(eeeeeek)

AFTER
(sigh of relief!)

It could be slightly better, but until I have more storage space, this is probably going to have to do... I have a crafting space, I have a sewing space, and MOST of my goodies are put away. I love it!!!

How was your weekend?

And she purged, but the taste in her mouth was not bad...

So, this past month, Stephanie has been purging her scrap-room and other areas of her house like a madwoman. She keeps telling me how good it feels, and how much more organized and creative she's been. (Honestly, she doesn't have to tell me, I mean, have you seen all the layouts she's done this month? She is ON FIRE!!) Then she posted those killer pictures of her crafty-space in all its organized gloriousness and the Virgo in me came back from the dead and INSISTED I clean my shit-hole disorganized mess up, and SOON.

So today I went through all the bins underneath my sewing table. I got rid of glass/ceramic paints, glitter, old colored pencils, watercolors, stencils, foam stamps, gift bags I've been hoarding, magazine photos of Paul Walker and Leonardo DiCaprio I cut out when I was in seventh grade and had on a bulletin board in my room to drool over. I giggled over old love letters from high school boyfriends and silly tidbits they'd given me over the years that I'd saved. I filed some of them away. I purged my bookshelves, my game stash, my stamp collection, and tried to sneak out a few things of hubby's but he caught me and I was shut down. Damn, next time he's out... hahahaha (evil laugh). I photographed it all and put a bunch of it on craigslist. Keep your fingers crossed people want my junk so I'll have money to spend in Atlanta in a couple of weeks.

I've also been working on a super secret project for purple onion. It's been finished for a while now but Michele just posted it on her blog. I loved working with her perpetual calendar set, its awesome because while this project took me a while to complete, I'll be able to use it year after year by just switching out the small calendar piece. As each month comes up, I've got it out on my bookcase to show off. (SUCH A DORK, I know).
I've gotten some special little tidbits in the mail from a couple of friends recently. You know who you are. Thank you so much, you made my day.

I hope everyone's weekend is going swimmingly!!

busy weekend!

holy crap, its been a week since i blogged. so many things have happened since last monday.

1. i made orange marmalade! (i used the recipe off the sure-gel box if anyone's interested).


its really good... and was really easy! and, i discovered something wonderful (well, i think its wonderful due to the fact that the thing i despise most about home-made goods of this nature is water-bathing) you can invert the jars as soon as you've filled them. let them sit for five minutes upside down, and then turn them right side up again and the suckers will seal. i tell you no lies, its a miracle. i almost squealed with delight as i realized i wouldn't have to water-bath my jellies ever again.

2. we had crown moulding hung in our bedroom. its not quite done, but it looks absolutely STELLAR. last week i also painted my bathroom and we'll soon hang more moulding in there. i can't wait to post the before and after pictures. there really is a pretty big change. i can't wait to start decorating!!

3. i bought a new outfit! and i wore my hot-pink shoes from jamie's wedding with it!

4. i went to my first ever 'commitment ceremony' and let me just say... it was way classier than any other wedding i've ever been too... well, except for the part where one of the grooms was wearing undies that had a big heart on the buns that said "rob's bitch". yeah, aside from that, it was classy and gorgeous and i thoroughly enjoyed myself. they had a full bar (which i happen to like and think is nice at weddings). i partook in the lovely beverages. in fact, i had three wonderful cosmopolitans... all made with grey goose, muddled with lime, and superb in flavor.

i can't not tell you about the dinner... i thought about skipping it, but we all know i LOOOOVE food. so first course... butternut squash bisque with a dollop of creme fresh. second course, baby spinach salad with berry vinagrette and topped w/ fresh berries and candied nuts. third course, lamb chops and risotto. mmmmm, holy crap it was good. and the cake. boy oh boy the cake... key lime with a cream cheese marionberry filling. or... banana if you prefered. both wonderful.

mom and i walked through the market for a bit before the wedding and froze our asses off. at least she had pants on, i was in that damn skirt. i must say, after the first half hour, i was mostly numb, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

5. got an ear infection. yeah, lovely, third one in the last month. so today i go to the doctor, hoping to get yet ANOTHER round of antibiotics. armed with knowledge. this time, i'm fairly certain of what has been giving me these dreaded ear infections. it is my headphones. they sit in my ear. they block out all other noise, save the music. i love them dearly. they are the greatest headphones i've ever used. however, i'm fairly certain (sorry if this is too graphic, but its my blog and i'll say it) that sweat has been pooling in my ear and being trapped by these little lovely beasties as i work off my donut at the gym. so anyway, i went to the doctor today, had to miss work, which sucks because where i work, leaving is frowned upon, we don't get sick time, etc etc. (i know its ridiculous). the doctor looks in my ear and all but screams "you have a hole in your eardrum!" honestly, i wasn't that surprised as i daily poke q-tips down there with reckless abandon because i thought i faintly remembered something of that nature from when i was a kid... something about tubes and the doctor saying it was small enough it wouldn't ever really bother me and not to worry about it. long story short, damn doctor doesn't give me anything for my ear infection because he can't get past the fact that i have a godforsaken hole in my damn ear and should see a specialist. so i get...wait for it.... wait for it... a referral! and i can't get in there till wednesday. so until wednesday i get to deal with sloshy crap in my ear, a fever, and lots of other goodies. whatever, its probably best i go to a specialist, but damn it, now i have to take more time off work.

so the conclusion i've come to is that: i will never see this doctor again (it was the first time, he was the only appt left available today...gee, i wonder why?)

i will write the company i bought the earphones from a strongly worded letter. perhaps i can at least get a pair of foamy headphones to replace my bacteria inducing pieces of crap.

6. i made this card for my sister for her birthday a couple of weeks ago, and the second i made for my grandma for her birthday:


i went to work with a hangover this morning, for the first time in a long time. oh, did i mention that not only did i have three cosmos, but i also had three glasses of wine? yes, i am a lush.

how was your weekend?

i've been tagged

and i didn't even know it. shalay has the funniest blog... her posts range from wondering what her children will look like as adults (and she's posted a picture that her husband morphed their faces together in... quite hilarious really), to making foil fit in their drawer. anyway, i hadn't been there for a week or so and i got tagged... so here we go:

its the HONEST SCRAP AWARD

The rules of the award:
1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
2) Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.
3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

here are my seven favorite blogs (sorry, i'm so not leaving tags on peoples' blogs, but if they read mine, they'll know):

heather armstrong's dooce
dina wakely
lollychops.com
denise
vee
ali edwards
holly

okay, here are my things:

1) I wanted to be a dentist till I was about 10 and realized that not everyone brushes their teeth every day. some people look like this (also, i got sick of school in jr. high... and couldn't see going that long):(ewwww, i'm grossed out again)

2) i love ketchup on my tacos (i always say that one cuz people think its weird).

3) when i was five, my neighbor and i thought we might have been sisters because we looked exactly alike, and we had the exact same pink turtleneck and black spandex shorts with a pink stripe up the side. also, we were mad dancers.

4) i've seen dave matthews band in concert 19 times.

5) i hate the feel of silk. i won't wear it, i won't sleep in it, on it, or touch it. its sick. it reminds me of nails on a chalkboard.

6) when i was really little, i thought drivers licenses were those things you put on your boat keys so that if you dropped them in the water, they'd float. boy was i wrong. one time dad got pulled over and he did not pull the boat floaty thing out of the glovebox. (disclaimer... dad did not pull a gun out of the glovebox either, i'm pretty sure it was just his registration)

7) i ate dog food once. my neighbor convinced me it was tasty. (it was not)

8) i used to listen to hanson. (no further explaination needed)

9) the first time i ever got seriously drunk, i drank a fifth of dark rum by myself. my "friend" was mixing it with root beer for me. mostly, it was just a splash of root beer. i was sick all night and sleeping in a tent next to my sister... a three-roomed tent. i opened up into her room and showered her in vomit in the middle of the night. funny thing is, she slept in it till the next morning when she woke up and realized. woops!

10) i once did over 120 mph in my dad's 1970 elcamino with my two guy sidekicks in highschool. he still doesn't know. also, the ignition was broken so if you didn't lock the wheel, it would start without a key. my sister and i would take it during the day in the summer and joyride. we were so slick.

and, if i haven't bored you to tears... i'm painting my bathroom a really pale buttercream yellow... almost cream color. and so i've been looking for new shower curtains. my GOD in heaven, i've found a few i like. of course they're from anthropologie so they're insanely overpriced...but would you take a look at these beauties:

this one is my favorite and this one is my second favorite.