crooked shmooked

holiday cards from MINTED

2011-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

It seems it was fate that minted.com contacted me to do a review of their new holiday cards collection. They must have known that I was thinking about holiday cards... and how I'm a procrastinator and likely wouldn't get them out on time... and how I'm sick of Costco's options.

I remember hearing of Minted somewhere in the blogosphere and once I checked out their website I was happy to find that their selection of cards are fresh and unique and created by independent designers. Minted.com holds design challenges where any designers/illustrators can submit their cards and then the Minted community chooses the best ones. The card selection ranges from their Christmas cards to baby announcements, wedding invitations and more. I even discovered that my sister-in-law's wedding invitations were from Minted and that my other sister-in-law's dream invitations are from Minted! So when you head on over there, check out cards for all of your upcoming occasions. I know I've been checking out the baby announcements.

As for the holiday cards, there are styles for every taste, but here are some of my personal favorites.

That last one just may be my pick for our holiday cards. I love the square photo shape and the design almost reminds me of a polaroid. Gotta get the mister's stamp of approval first though.

Go ahead and check Minted out to find your own holiday cards. To get 15% off your holiday purchase before 11/28/11 use the code READERS18!

a BOY?!

2011-11-16T20:00:00.000-08:00

I am coming out of preggo hibernation to say hi and share our baby news. We are having a boy! What?! What do I do with a boy?? I don't have any brothers or close guy cousins so boy things are a foreign concept to my family, but I'm really excited none-the-less. I'm excited to see hubby with a son. He's already the sweetest dad ever with the little gal. I can't even imagine a mini him running around. Craziness. In less than 2 weeks I'll be in my 3rd trimester and that just sounds insane! February is right around the corner! The little man is kicking like a kook right now. I think that's him saying hi to you all.

The little man's first vintage outfit, from his Auntie Brigitte.

Little man clothes! Ah! And yay for 40% off GAP clearance sales!

Things consuming my brain right now are turning the guest room/office into a joint nursery for the kiddos, turning the gal's teeny room into an office/craft room, and Christmas shopping and crafting! Are you feeling the pressure yet? We're almost halfway done with shopping but I decided I'm going to craft a fair amount of presents this year so that's what my December will look like. How is Christmas prep going for you? Any handmade gifts in the works?

Well I just wanted to share our news. I have a few more posts in my brain that will hopefully make it onto the blog, but with this stunted piece of preggo brain, I make no promises. ;)

here we go AGAIN

2011-08-10T08:35:00.001-07:00

Well friends, you may be thinking I have been abducted or that I have some bizarre form of amnesia where I forget I have a blog every once and a while. But no- I know my blog life is just sitting here untouched. It's just that.... I am pregnant! Again! I feel like I juuuuust did this. But this time I'm doing it with a crazy 15-month old running around taunting me. Okay- she's not taunting me, but some days she might as well be. So in my blog absence I have been resting, eating, being overly emotional and resting some more.

The lovely and funny Ashley over at The Domestic Wannabe invited me to do a Day In the Life post so if you're curious what a 1st trimester day with a toddler looks like, head on over! And if you're a mama, check out the rest of Ashley's blog too. Her little gal is adorable, her house is fabulous, and there's all sorts of mommy advice to read.

Here's to surviving life until this baby appears in February.... And to getting some pills to correct my blog amnesia! Cheers!

NIFTY THRIFTY: lake county edition

2011-06-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

This last weekend our little family headed to Clear Lake with my parents and my sister's family. I will have photos and stories at some point, but for now, I am here to share my Lake County loot. On Saturday the men folk went fishing and us women folk took the opportunity to visit some yard sales. We followed every yard sale sign we could find and ended up at some interesting little sales. The $7 8 Fire King cups and saucers and $1 loaf pan came from the first sale that was the most normal of the bunch. Next we hit up a tiny neighborhood church's rummage sale where I picked up the vintage Pyrex pitcher for 50 cents. Then we followed 6 signs to a little, but very well publicized yard sale where I found the 4 trays for $3. On our way there we found a huge gorgeous, abandoned white hotel smack in the middle of the shady neighborhood. When we got to the sale, my sister asked the hotel's history and we were told it was once a hotel, then a Christian camp, then- said in hushed tones- a whore house where they brought whores in from San Francisco, and now they are fixing it up to be a culinary school. Ha! Quite the history for one beautiful building. The next sale we went to took us to the lower income side of the low income neighborhood we were already shopping in. A quiet older man with long fingernails watched as we picked through his things. It was there that I found the milk glass ash trays/candy bowls and a vintage Fisher Price chime ball, not pictured, for $5. The last sale we hit up appeared to be an eviction sale. Everything was hurriedly being thrown out of the house and the sale was manned by 3 girls under the age of 7 or 8. There were piles of things scattered everywhere and it was not intended to be the least bit organized. Their pit bull visited my mom while she was holding my little babe and it was some time after that that we decided to leave. I left empty-handed. All in all, I was happy with all of my Lake County treasures and very entertained by the whole experience. Lake County, you never disappoint.

NIFTY THRIFTY: money falling from the skies

2011-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

On Friday the babe and I set out with my 37 weeks pregnant sister-in-law to hit up some thrift stores in her city. Okay, money wasn't really falling from the sky, but remember last week when I talked about my bag of change coming thrifting with me? Well, first I did rely on my bag of change. I bought a tiny oval frame and this milk glass Pyrex veggie dish.

But then I spotted a vintage crib. It was labeled "doll bed", but I thought it looked pretty big for it to have been originally intended for that purpose. Either way, I was cringing because I knew I didn't have money for it. I left the store reminding myself that sometimes I'll find treasures that I simply can't afford at that time. My sister-in-law wanted to go in a consignment shop all of us sisters-in-law consign at to check for some shoes she wanted. I decided to check my balance even though I went in recently and didn't have anything at that time. I was happy to learn that they owed me the small fortune of $26. I collected and we visited a couple more stores before I realized I could now afford the crib! See? Money falling from the skies! Luckily the crib was still there when I got back and I was so happy that I gushed my story to the elderly woman cashiering. So that is the glorious story of last week's thrifting. The babe's nursery is teeny tiny right now so the crib won't fit in there to hold her stuffed animals and such, but when we add a second babe to the mix someday, they will share our bigger now guest room and the crib will fit in there just perfectly. So all that to say- yay!

The other yay moment is that I was telling my sister-in-law about how I was wanting a dress form and she said she would be selling one at her garage sale the next day! She told me all I needed to know about it and later sent me some photos and I bought it from her, fulfilling all my vintage dress form desires. How serendipitous! Hubby is a bit spooked out by a body on a stick, but I promise not to make it jump out at you or hide it in our bed. :)

I forgot to mention this vintage tin recipe box last week. It was with my $4 finds and I love it. I need to start writing my favorite recipes down now that I have a pretty place to put them--- besides the internet.

And I have to show you that I found a perfect place for one of last week's embroidery finds. It was the only completely empty wall in my kitchen and nothing seemed to fit there quite right- until now. I love when things fall into place like that.

I'm linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday and can't wait to see what the rest of you found!

a SLURPEE-LESS weekend: highs and lows

2011-06-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Our scary shed.

My amazing man made tempura!

Spotted on the way out of the park. Awesome.

A peek at today's activity. She loved it.

I hope you had a wonderful almost summer weekend. Praise the Lord, it was actually sunny. Hubby and I brutally went through all of our shedly possessions and made a mountain of things to sell at a garage sale or give away. It is so freeing to give up things that I "might use some day"--- my excuse for keeping things years beyond I need to. The shed was full of those sorts of things. But now it is organized and almost every box has been gone through and purged. The climax of the shed organizing was finding a rodent nest full of half eaten walnuts. I freaked out and texted hubby. Fast forward 15 minutes later. I went to pull a bag off of a shelf and noticed a huge hairy thing dragging behind it! AH! I danced around a bit, flinging my arms around as I screamed. Ugh. It still gives me the heebie jeebie's to think about it. Hubby eventually came home and cleaned up for me. We decided the deceased animal was a baby possum. Awww, sad. And ICK.

The downside to the weekend besides the dead mega-rodent? Blue Valentine. That movie was super hyped and I knew it was about a breakup but wow. There were not enough happy parts to make up for all the sadness. When it ended hubby and I were down in the dumps. I am not a fan of bummer movies.

The upside to the weekend besides our happy shed was that on Sunday we had our first family outing to the park. The babe loved it. She climbed some play structure steps, slid down the slide with our help, played with bark and said "hi" to dogs. That's pretty much the greatest day ever for an almost 14 month old. And maybe for me too- if you throw in a slurpee- which I didn't get. Next time, hubby. Next time.

So please, tell me, when was the last time you had a slurpee? Because we all the know that's what you are thinking about right now.

a tiny WEEKEND TO DO LIST

2011-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

My to do list for this weekend is as follows:

1.) Finish cleaning out and organizing the shed!

2.) Convince hubby to prep one of our many pieces of furniture that need to be painted.

...aaaaand that is all. I can think of a million other things I'd like to accomplish, but realistically, I can probably only finish one thing besides keeping the little one happy and occupied.

What are your plans for this weekend?

P.S. I dream of having tiny his and hers sheds like Artemis and Nao. How inspiring.

(Image: junkaholique)

NIFTY THRIFTY: wolfgang wrinkled my blanket edition

2011-06-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

While my sister was here a couple weeks ago, we hit up a couple of thrift stores and I came away with all of these treasures. Hubby sarcastically calls them treasures because sometimes they aren't things that he cares for at all, but sometimes they really are treasures to me. :) I was particularly excited about these finds. The orange vintage sheet set, plaid boy overalls, and orange butterfly mug are for my vintage etsy shop that is in the works- I hope to have it up and running next month. Everything else is for my own enjoyment. I scored the 3 vintage stitched pieces of art, the vintage embroidery transfer pattern, the 1974 nautical calendar hanging, the wooden whale pencil holder, and a variety of other things including quite a few wooden toys for $4. Yeah. That was pretty darn exciting. The vintage heels need to be taken to a cobbler--- are they called that anymore? it sounds so "day of yore"--- but I love them. They're leather with wooden heels and I never find fun vintage shoes in my size (9.5 pre-baby... 10 post-baby). I'm trying to spice up my wardrobe by wearing more heels so these are a perfect addition. The blanket is probably my favorite find from the bunch. It's wool and quite huge and I just love the stripes. I'm a sucker for interesting blankets, especially big 'ol warm ones. Don't mind the wrinkles. As the story goes, I had the blanket hanging to dry at my parents' house and my dad got up to get ready for work at 3am and ran into the drying rack and proceeded to knock it over and break it, so my blanket finished drying on the ground. Classic Wolfgang. Oh, that's my dad's name. Awesome, I know.

My sister-in-law and I are going thrifting tomorrow, but I am lacking money right now so hopefully I can find something fun with my bag of change. You think I'm kidding--- I'm not. Luckily thrift shopping is the perfect thing to do with a bag of change.

If you want to check out other bloggers' thrifted treasures, check out Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Mondays and if you have treasures to share, link up on her posts. I love seeing what other people score!

how to make the most HIDEOUS BANANA BITES ever.

2011-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

1.) Spend all of your free time on Pinterest.

2.) Spy a photo of delectable chocolate covered banana bites. Repin it.

3.) Decide that you don't need to actually go to the tutorial because you've got brains that you think can figure out how to make your own beautiful banana bites.

4.) Take 2 bananas and cut them into 1" slices.

5.) Take your enormous Trader Joe's dark chocolate bar and break it into pieces in a bowl, then microwave until melted.

6.) Try to figure out what the best way to dip bananas into melted chocolate is... spoon? knife? lollipop stick? chopstick? fingers? fork? Fork it is.

7.) Stab a banana slice with the fork and drown it in the melted chocolate until it is completely covered.

8.) Drop the gooey mess onto a cookie sheet or plate lined with parchment paper.

9.) Swirl some chocolate over the fork piercings left in your banana bite.

10.) Repeat steps 4 through 9 until you are out of bananas.

11.) Realize that you have a ton of chocolate left and start carelessly globbing it onto the already chocolate-covered banana bites.

13.) Realize that the bites are as chocolately as possible but you still have a bit of chocolate left and decide you are a confectionary wizard and can surely make a peanut butter cup with no instructions. Proceed to put a glob of chocolate on the parchment paper, slap a spoonful of peanut butter on top of it, and cover it with chocolate. Then notice that the peanut butter is melting and throw more chocolate on until you realize it is hopeless.

14.) Clean the bowl with your finger and lick the remaining chocolate off.

15.) Stick your hideous treats in the freezer until the chocolate is solid and devour them yourself because they are too ugly to share with anyone else.

And that is how I spent my Tuesday night. See what happens when you go to bed early, husband?

hair today, GONE TODAY

2011-06-07T18:51:00.001-07:00

Today my hair went from this:

To this:

Ah! Welcome back, pixie. My head is officially ready for summer.

audrey tautou's HAIR

2011-06-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! I hope you had a glorious June weekend. I am excited about this week because I am getting my hair chopped back into a pixie cut tomorrow. (It has grown out past my shoulders and I can't help it, I hate long hair on me!) I've been looking for hair inspiration and think Audrey's hair is low-maintenance perfection. She is just lovely, isn't she?

WEEKEND CRAFTING... or not

2011-06-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

scalloped shorts!

lace cut-offs!

It's Friday! What are your plans for this weekend? Some of the kids hubby and I worked with in jr. high graduated from high school this week (ah! we are old!) and are having grad parties this weekend. Then we have a birthday party for my brother-in-law on Sunday. It's one of those weekends that I desperately wanted to be totally free so I could craft and organize, but every free hour filled up in the blink of an eye. I am hoping we can fanangle some time out of one the days to rest a bit. Here are two of the craft projects I was dreaming of accomplishing this weekend. You know, for the nonexistent warm weather.

I hope your weekend is warm and that your hours are free!

MAIL CALL: living in ANTHROPOLOGIE

2011-06-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am in loooove with Anthropologie's most recent catalogue. The outfits are to die for. These are my three favorites. How amazing is that ombre maxi skirt? And I am tempted to save my pennies to buy the last outfit, but chances are that by the time my pennies are saved, that outfit won't be in style. We'll be wearing silver space suits by then. But if anyone can make silver space suits look hot and chic, Anthropologie can, right?

JUNE?!

2011-06-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it's June already. Ridiculous. It's especially ridiculous that it is raining around my parts this week. It feels more like February than June. I just want to bust out the sandals and shorts and sundresses, but instead I found myself wearing knee-socks, boots and a thick sweater today. I have love for the rain, but not in June. Rain, rain, go away! Seriously! If your summer weather hasn't appeared yet, maybe this free June calendar by Lisa Rupp will brighten your day, even if the sun hasn't. I'm going to print and pin it up right away!

how PINTERESTING!: an introduction

2011-05-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

-----

The other place I have been hiding in my blog absence is Pinterest. It is my favorite bookmarking tool ever. I know most of you have heard of it already but for those of you who have not, Pinterest is a social media site where you post, or rather, pin photos of inspiration from all around the internet. You follow other people's pins and can repin the things that are inspiring them. It is a wealth of inspiration. I pin fashion inspiration, things I want to buy for the crooked shmooked house, things for the babe, DIYs, recipes, you name it. My Internet Explorer favorites tab is pretty much empty now. Pinterest has taken over and fulfilled all of my bookmarking needs. Everything thing you need to know about starting up an account can be found right here.

And since I am constantly finding inspiration on Pinterest, I will be starting up a weekly post called how PINTERESTING! to share that inspiration with you.

Check out my Pinterest here.

INSTAGRAM my life

2011-05-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Cake ball leftovers!

First time at the beach.

Love cloud from hubby.

One way to celebrate the royal wedding.

Snuggle buddy made out of hubby's old favorite shirt. Based on this DIY.

She loves him.

Nap break in between errands.

New pillow shams sewed by me. Attempting to finish up the bedroom.

A crafting attempt and fail. Has anyone succeeded at making this?

Early Mother's Day present!!!

My dad, a mechanic, made me an actual mechanic's lamp after I showed him this one.

A cloud pillow that will show up in Lil' A's nursery tour this week.

Picking out sham fabric.

My favorite cereal with goat milk. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Not one bit healthy. Oops.

While I don't always have time to get behind the computer to post, I do always have time to snap photos on my iPhone while on the run and post them to Instagram. My username is heidijo if you want to follow my crafting and child-rearing adventures. Leave your username after the beep if you're already hooked up with Instagram.

*beeeeeeeeep*

the NURSERY TOUR! and a giveaway!

2011-05-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here it is, in all it's crafted and vintage glory. My goal was to have Adelaide's nursery "finished" (is decorating ever finished?) by Ohdeedoh's Smaller Cooler contest and I did. I still plan to either wallpaper a wall or do a wallpaper or fabric mural, but that just didn't come to fruition in time. I'm happy with it as is though. I have included all of the details- probably way too many- at the bottom of the post.

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY- What you have to do is head over to Adelaide's Kooky Hideaway entry on Ohdeedoh and vote "Big thumbs up- proof that small is stylish!" by 8am PST on Saturday. When you've voted, come back here and leave a comment with your e-mail address and you will be entered to win an 8x10 Have a Nice Day print by Katie Daisy of The Wheatfield which is no longer for sale in her shop. It's a great big thank you for voting! I have the poster size (pictured) and love it! Thanks for your help!

THE DETAILS:

Bought or Gifted:

name banner: gift from annalea hart - bird mobile: crafted as a gift by Kristen of Smith & Daphne based on Spool's Tutorial - quilt and bedskirt: Pottery Barn kids (gift from my parents) - bumper: Target - fitted sheet: Target - sheepskin rug: IKEA - horse hanger: gift from Monkey and Squirrel - porcelain boat: KG & AB - white cubby system: Target - silhouettes: Disneyland - bird softie in cubby: gift from kiddins - porcelain origami crane: thrifted - blocks: gift, vintage - dreidel: gift - monster puzzle: gift, Target

Crafted by me or Vintage:

embroidered pillow: sewn out of a large vintage hankie - clouds - house cubbies: found at a thrift store then painted and papered - shelves: I painted all of them white, they were mine as a teen - chair: vintage - Lord's Prayer and alphabet stitchings: vintage, thrifted - lampshade: crafted - pink bow: repurposed out of a dress shirt - crib: vintage, was hubby's as a baby - dresser: vintage, my mom's and then mine as a teen - books: mostly vintage, some thrifted and gifts - carousel horse window hanging: vintage, thrifted - sock monkey: sewn in high school - dresses: vintage, thrifted - toys in house cubbies: most of them are from the inside of Kinder Eggs brought to us by our German exchange student when I was in highschool, they are sadly now illegal - Avon perfume girl: vintage, thrifted - porcelain children: vintage

There are more details/toys in the room that I haven't linked to--- let me know if you have any questions about anything not mentioned. I ran out of linking/mentioning-everything-by-name steam. :)

UPDATE: The winner is Michelle! Congratulations! I'll send the print right your way!

AWKWARD & AWESOME thursday

2011-05-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

AWKWARD:

-Lil’ A constantly getting into the cabinet in the bathroom that houses all of my feminine products. She spreads them everywhere and often interrupts my shower by flinging the shower curtain back to show me the pads in her hands. Yes honey, very exciting...

-Going back and forth about growing my hair out or chopping it for a year. I have finally decided. My hair is a couple inches past my shoulders right now and I am just not a long hair girl. I loved my pixie and it’s time for it to reappear.

-Looking frantically around the house for my iPhone only to look down and find that it was in my hand the entire time I was looking. Time for more sleep.

-Being overcharged by $80 at a floral supply store on a day when I was in a hurry to leave. She handed me my receipt and I happened to look at the total and said, “Ummm- was it really $96.78?” It took over 10 minutes to rectify and I was given a red balloon and a “Happy Mother’s Day!” to make up for the inconvenience.

-The fact that I had like 5 obvious awesome things in my head minutes before writing this post and now they have all disappeared.

-Our bed breaking last week. Our mattress is now on the floor.

AWESOME:

-Lil’ A learning to brush her “hair” even though she has none.

-The sister and niece are coming to visit for 10 days. The girls are at the perfect age to play together so I plan to be entertained.

-Peonies and vegan donuts from a date to Whole Foods.

-Hubby designed and painted the custom cabinet pictured for our flatscreen. He’s awesome like that.

-Thrift shopping. I have gotten some fun finds lately. Some vintage children’s clothing here, some milk glass there.

-Free beef from my parents who raise and butcher a cow every year. I think we’ve only bought beef once in our 5 years of being married.

-Reserving the room for our August 5-year anniversary trip. 4 nights away with no baby! Amazing and scary at the same time.

-Lil’ A getting her own tiny Toms from Nana for her birthday. They are shimmery silver and I can’t wait till she fits in them!

design for mankind IPAD GIVEAWAY

2011-05-18T11:52:00.001-07:00

There are two reasons you should visit Erin Loechner at Design For Mankind right now:
1.) She's awesome and has a great eye for design.
2.) She, along with Merida Home, is giving away an IPAD 2!

Uh-huh. Amazing. Go enter.

adelaide's 1st B.DAY BASH

2011-05-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

It reads:

Adelaide Meriwether is turning 1. As we want the party to reflect her interests,

we decided to ask her what she would like the theme to be. She chose her two favorite things:

#1 was inappropriate

#2 was hair

As bizarre and repulsive as a hair theme would be, we decided that in order to appease our daughter, we will celebrate her birthday in the following way:

NO BALDIES ALLOWED*

Please bring your head of hair** and join us on Saturday April 30th @ 2 o'clock in the afternoon for some dessert to celebrate Little Miss Kookster's first crazy year of existence.

* mild baldness okay. ** hair extensions appreciated.

My little girl is one. I know everyone says this, but IT WENT SO FAST! I don't have a baby anymore, I have a toddler. I'm already freaking out about the day when she doesn't think I'm cool anymore. I'm sure I still have a few cool years before that. I'll have to savor them.

So... we had a party! It was all planned and crafted by hubby and I. The first detail to figure out about the party was the invitations. I don't have anything against themed parties, but I just didn't feel like a 1-yr old would care much if she had a theme. I tried to think of all of Adelaide's favorite things and the 4 that came to mind were breastmilk (hence the "inappropriate" invitation joke- I'm sure next to no one got it but it made hubby and I laugh), animals, hair, and being outside. I decided to pretend that the theme was hair because it seemed so ridiculous and I chose to have the party outside. With 30ish adults and 14 kids invited it's not like they would have all fit inside my teeny house anyway. After the invitations went out we got a few people asking if they were supposed to wear wigs, but we reassured them that no wigs were necessary. To go along with the theme, I made hair (the beards) and hare favors--- and that's where the theme ended.

Party prep took a month of nights since I was determined to make everything myself and as inexpensive as possible. The guest of honor would rarely let me craft during the day so after she went to bed, I got out my crafting supplies and spent hours with Psych on Netflix streaming. As far as decor, I made everything based on inspiration from around the blogosphere and pinterest. I didn't go by any tutorials as everything was pretty self-explanatory. The food was just all foods that sounded delicious to me. I didn't want to go overboard so I decided to do a cake in leu of cupcakes and I had been dying to try cake balls for a while so I decided this was the perfect opportunity. The cake frosting turned out quite runny as you can see in the photo but the cake ended up being delicious and I made way too many cake balls and had to snack on them for the following week to finish them up. Poor, poor me.

With a lot of help from friends and family on the day of, the party turned out great and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was rewarding to see everything come together--- well, except for one tiny detail. We had carrots to put in a bucket for the kids to feed all the horses that live on the other side of our fence, but the horses were all gone for the day! Luckily we had other activities for the kids. I got hula hoops and sidewalk chalk from Dollar Tree and our stepping stones were decorated to the max by the end of the party. Adelaide also loved the chalk and carried it around the whole party. The cousins loved the beard favors except one who tried them all on before deciding he didn't want one. He was also the cousin to ask "when are you putting the music on for the party?" and "where are the favor bags with candy?" (He belongs to you, Ang.) A couple of the bunnies went home, but some were forgotten and still have to be delivered.

As much work as the party was, I can't wait for the next party to plan and am already thinking of excuses to get friends or family together--- home movie screenings, Saturday brunches, clothing swaps. We'll see what actually comes to fruition.

I've included the details from the party below. If there is any interest in tutorials and downloadables for the beard and bunny favors or decorations, I'll try to put something together. I linked up the recipes, but want to note that I made them all non-dairy so that I could eat them. :) If you are interested in my non-dairy tweaks, I can do a post including them as well. Let me know if you have questions about any of the details!

INVITATIONS: Designed by hubby and I.

TABLECLOTH: Lace vinyl from Joann's over a white plastic tablecloth from Dollar Tree

GARLAND: 90 feet of fabric with index card and Dollar Tree doily half circle

HAPPY BDAY BANNER: Dollar Tree doilies glued to the back of a Party City banner

FRINGE BACKDROP: tissue paper and streamers (I hadn't even seen this post or tutorial before, but this is the perfect tutorial, except my fringe was shorter.)

HARE SOFTIES: Sewn by me.

BEARDS: Sewn and designed by me.

FOOD: Strawberry cake balls with cream cheese frosting dipped in dark and white chocolate (generic cake ball instructions), Coconut cake with raspberry preserve filling and cream cheese frosting, peanut butter rice krispie treats, popcorn and pretzels drizzled with dark chocolate (not pictured), Mike & Ikes, Newman's Own tangerine and strawberry licorice, and Lemonheads

BEVERAGES: cucumber water, lemonade, Hansen's flavored water, and root beer

happy MID-MAY MONDAY

2011-05-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

a Monday thought for you.

Hi there! Remember me? Yeeeeah. It's been almost a month since I've posted- a busy bee month. I was in full-on prep mode for Lil' A's 1st birthday party till April 30th, then I was in full-on recovery mode for a week, and then it was Mother's Day. Pretty much it's been busy around here and when it hasn't been busy it's been a yawning fest. The only person who has been rested is the little gal. Sometimes I envy her eating and sleeping schedules. Well, maybe all the time.

So how was your Easter and Mother's Day? We hopped from one grandparents' house to another on Easter and I scored $7 of change in the Easter egg hunt. I still persuade my parents to do money hunts for the 20-something and 30-something year old cousins. I'll shed a tear the day that they stop. Mother's Day was lovely as well. Hubby got me Decorate (woohoo!) as an early Mother's Day present and then on Mother's Day he and the gal took me shopping at H&M and we had lunch at Chipotle. He knows what I like. That preeeeetty much catches you up on the life happenings. Anything I should know about any of you? Engagements? Pregnancies? New jobs? Fabulous new shoes? ;)

This week I have some exciting things to share with you---

#1.) Photos and details from Lil' A's bday party.

#2.) Lil' A's nursery tour- FINALLY! I know you thought it would never happen, but you are mere days away from the reveal!

So hang in there and I promise not to disappear for a while. Happy mid-May Monday to you!

LATELY.

2011-04-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been crafting and decorating and thrifting and getting ready for A's 1st birthday party. I seriously cannot believe she is turning 1. Insane. I have been loving actually accomplishing things. When the birthday madness is over, or when I feel like I am prepared for the event, I will be back with photos of my craftiness. But for now- a picture of my gorgeous girl as shot by April Christine Photography. If only I had those blue eyes. Yes, I am jealous of my 11-month old.

ORANGE you glad it's Friday?

2011-04-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big orange lover- the fruit or the color. But these outfits are changing my mind. Who knew orange could be so chic? And who knew I would ever be wishing for an orange maxi skirt?
1- via Apartment 34
2- J.Crew via Style.com's iPhone app

AWKWARD & awesome thursday: it's almost friday edition

2011-04-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

AWKWARD:
-Right now I am wearing yellow sweatpants and a college sweatshirt with fresh out of a bun crazy kinked hair while eating Chinese food with chopsticks and typing. It is H-O-T. Ha!
-Being so exhausted that I had an emotional breakdown today right before date night. Time to start getting more sleep.
-Crying during Flipped, a PG movie about the romance between two jr. highers. Did I mention I'm tired? But seriously- it was a really sweet movie.
-Getting sprayed in the face 3 times in the last week by my water bottle after leaving it in the car and forgetting that the warm weather causes the pressure to build up. Luckily I wasn't going anywhere where I had to impress people with dry clothes.
-Realizing that I forgot my debit card at home while I was halfway into the insanely long line to get gas at Costco. Hubby bailed me out by bringing me his card since he happened to be a couple minutes away. Phwew!
-Getting emotional every time I think about my little girl turning one at the end of the month. She is growing up so fast!
-Having an elderly lady come up to me while I was in line at Target and singing "Li li li li liiii" to Lil' A while tapping her long purple fingernails on the shopping cart, then putting her head on my shoulder numerous times and telling A that I was "mama", then grabbing my hand and giving it to Adelaide.... she spent 5 minutes trying to get A to smile and she didn't once. People get crazy around babies!

AWESOME:
-Hanging out with my best friend who is visiting from SoCal on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. We usually only see each other once a year but we've seen each other twice already this year and there are 2 more visits coming up through summer. Yay! Now if only I could get her family to move here to NorCal...
-My sister is finding out the sex of her 2nd baby on Monday. I am SO EXCITED to find out and shower the little peanut with gifts.
-I finally have weekly walking dates with some girls from church which means fellowship and exercise. Win win!
-Tina Fey's new book, Bossypants. Hubby and I listened to an excerpt last night. She is hi-larious. I can't wait to read the rest.
-Having chicken and waffles for dinner on Sunday. It was so delicious. I've been having crazy cravings for Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles lately and was ecstatic when I found some pancake mix in the cupboard and realized I could make my own Roscoe's dish at home! It was mmm mmmmm good. I know it sounds weird, but don't knock it till you've tried it.
-Having a sweet little snuggle session with Lil' A before her bedtime this evening. She rarely sits still, but she just cuddled under a blanket with me and played with my thumb while I savored every second. It was wonderful. *sigh*

Oh my goodness, you know what was awkward? Writing this post! The brain cells are not cooperating today. I must sleep. Now. G'nite friends! I hope you are having an awesome week with an abundance of cooperative brain cells!

CORNERS of the living room

2011-04-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you have been around Crooked Shmooked since the beginning then you know that this blog was started as an attempt to follow what was supposed to be a quick remodel. It turned into over a year of the husband and I living with my parents while our house was worked on by family on and off. It was finally finished a month or so before the babe was born, but I haven't given a house tour yet and have been nervous to show any photos with decorating gaps throughout the house. My ideal was to have the remodel and decorating done before April of 2010 when Lil' A was born, but as Robert Burns said-- The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.

So, no living room tour yet, but these are some corners that I am liking right now...

1 - our unfinished photo wall: prints by Katie Daisy and JellyBeans, triangle collage by me

2 - thrifted globes

3 - a dottie angel wall hanging, gma and gpa back in the day, a tin found in my German gma's sewing kit after she passed, a bird terrarium a friend brought me when I was sick, thrifted milk glass with gma's wooden daisy

4 - IKEA lamp, World Market curtain, Nick & Nora zebra print blanket, vintage embroidery

5 - thrifted paint by number, vintage and antique books from various places, brass swans from the sister

daily duds: CRAYOLA COLOR

2011-04-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, ladies and gents! I disappeared off the face of the blogosphere for a bit there because my dear wittle baby sister and niece were in town for a week. She's not really that wittle. She's 3 years and 3.5 months my junior. Her daughter is 5 months older than Lil' A AND she is pregnant with number two. So she's older than me in babymaking years. That's peeerfectly alright with me though. Pop 'em out to your heart's content, sis. Besides spending the week watching our little gals share, not share, hug, knock each other over, and be their adorable selves, we shopped at F21 on ma's dime (a favorite pasttime, if I do say so myself), and hit up an awesome local Salvation Army compound. I came home with lots of treasures that initiated a bit of a clash between husband and I because, well, he didn't know that ma's tab was closed and the treasures were now on his. Marriage and money. Blech. Hopefully some of the money will return to me someday though, because most of the treasures are going to go in my vintage etsy shop which is going to pop up sometime next month! I'm pretty excited to finally open a shop. It will be a fun little side project that will hopefully drum up a teeny bit of play money for me. You'll be the first to know when it opens.

All in all, it was a pretty busy and fun and tiring week- so busy and fun and tiring that I didn't spend much time on the interweb. It's good to have weeks and/or days like that from time to time. In fact, husband and I decided that Sunday is our day of no technology. It's not a hard and fast rule in case we are both so exhausted that we want to just chill by watching a movie, but it has been nice to take our attention off of our iWorld and put it on each other and the babe. Oh- and excuse me while I laugh to myself a little bit because I happen to be typing this post on... Sunday. The other loophole in the no technology rule is that if the other person is napping, a bit of solitary technology is okay. I may or may not have made that loophole up just now.

(dress: F21, thanks, mom! - tights: Target - flats: Target - bangle bracelets: The Icing - earrings: gold studs so tiny you can't see them, stolen from ma)

(Husband is awake from his nap now so I have to finish this post quick! *gasp* I just turned around to see what he is doing and he is playing Words With Friends! I guess I can cease typing 100 wpm and finish this at my leisure.)

This is the outfit I wore to church to hear my BIL preach. He did a fantastic job, by the way. It was pretty exciting to wear such vibrant colors although I did feel like an advertisement for Crayola compared to the other colors worn in church this morning. Husband took my outfit photo this time. Isn't that nice of him? And I realized my dad's shop is the perfect backdrop. There are also a variety of barn walls on the property that may get some love in the future too. Maybe the days of bedroom mirror with laundry in the background self-portraits are over. We can only hope.

P.S. Today is my half birthday! Do you celebrate half birthdays?

PATTERN MIX inspiration

2011-03-24T12:51:00.001-07:00

Before Christmas I bought some chevron and striped linen Anthropologie curtains for the master bedroom and have been stumped by how to decorate around them ever since. I started to fear that I had ruined any hopes for a feminine and romantic room by purchasing such bold curtains. I am glad that I was wrong. This bedroom is now my inspiration. I am on the hunt for some equally beautiful floral accents to bump up the pretty in the room. I love when one single photo can give you an electric jolt of inspiration and send your decorating wheels a'turning, don't you?

What's inspiring you lately?

awkward & AWESOME thursday: the TMI version

2011-03-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

AWKWARD:
-My hair. My bangs need to be trimmed and I am attempting to grow my hair out but it is an odd length right now and lives up in a bun.
-Having bean burritos for dinner. And the resulting stomach ache.
-Meeting a relative's girlfriend who was the cause of his divorce.
-Aunt Flo visiting for the first time in 20 months. I did not miss her.
-4 sharp baby teeth + nursing. Figure it out.

AWESOME:
-Baby girl slept through the night three times this past week and has been taking hour naps more often rather than the 30 minutes naps I have been enduring for most of her life.
-Homemade pad thai with friends-- friends who brought me tulips.
-Hubby's new iPad 2.
-Scoring Baby GAP deals from a $50 for $25 coupon.
-My sister is coming visit in a few weeks and then my best friend will be here the next week! Looking forward to two weeks of awesome!
-Baby girl waving at me as she nurses as I finish this post. Okay, awesome for me... awkward for you.

I love having more awesome than awkward in my week! How is your week going? One more day till it's the weekend! Hang on!

daily duds: I WEAR YELLOW

2011-03-16T22:48:00.000-07:00

(shirt: F21 - cardi: LOFT - jeans: Express from 6 years ago... the beginning of the skinny jeans saga - belt: Anthropologie - flats: Target - laundry: overdue)

(shirt: H&M - necklace: Anthropologie from the inlaws - skirt: LOFT - flats: Target)

I think this cardi, skirt, and flats are the only three yellow things I own, but they managed to make it into a post together. Yellow just sticks together like that, I guess. These two outfits are weeks apart because I keep forgetting to take any photos of my outfits! I think it's my selective memory intentionally forgetting because it is really weird to take photos of myself, especially when I haven't found a good place or way to do it. Maybe someday I'll remember...

Lately I have been uber exhausted- uber duber. Hey, if people can say super dooper, I think I can say uber duber. It's fun to say out loud. Do it. I just did it. Really. It was fun. Anyway, do you ever get into a sleep and health rut and end up hating yourself for it? I am definitely in one right now and my body is paying for it. Ever since the baby stopped sleeping in our bed, I've been staying up way too late to get my "me time." My "me time" is taking the place of "sleep time." Not okay. And I've gotten in the habit of eating quick foods (as in Trader Joe's frozen chicken burritos) or forgetting meals and allowing myself to have lots of sugary treats. Ay yi yi... (Ricky Ricardo? Anyone?) I need to (wo)man up and make some changes! It's sure not easy, but it is necessary. *sigh* Sometimes it's tough being a person.

How are you doing? Any new health/sleep plans you've implemented lately? I need inspiration.

DECORATE or un

2011-03-15T13:08:00.001-07:00

It seems ironic that the two books I am drooling over right now are Decorate and Undecorate. I wonder which one I will end up doing...

awkward & AWESOME thursday

2011-03-10T07:32:00.001-08:00

AWKWARD:
-A stranger talking and singing to my daughter for 10 minutes in the Target checkout line while continuously grabbing my hand and putting her head on my shoulder to point out that I'm "mama".
- Getting a huge computer monitor and being excited to check out my blog only to see the iPhone pics I've been posting while computerless look hoooorrible. Sorry, dears!
- Goat milk chunks in my cereal this morning. Cow milk is not chunky. Why is goat milk?
- Thinking the man at Trader Joe's who spent 10 minutes in the cheese section, who was staring at his cart with his 2 inches away and talking excessively loud was mentally handicapped, then hearing him say "I'm hiiiiigh". Oh.
- Trying to type a big word and then being told by spellcheck that it's spelled wrong... then being unable to find the real word. I still have no idea.
- Daylight Savings is this Sunday. Ugh.

AWESOME:
- Going on a date with Mr. Man for his birthday last night. Three cheers for my husband being born! He is the best thing to ever happen to March 9th... well... since Charles M. Graham patented artificial teeth in 1820... and the first Ford Mustang was produced in 1964. Since then. ;)
- Mr. Man spilling the beans about how he bought tickets to an upcoming Josh Groban show for our anniversary. FLOOR SEATS. 13 ROWS BACK! AH! Hello, mother of early (5 months early) anniversary surprises! And hello, wonderful husband man!
- My new "go to bed at 10, wake up at 6" routine. Well, I have yet to find out if it's awesome. Today is my first day. But breakfast at 6:45 with no baby has been awesome so far!
- Finding adorable baby clothes on clearance at Target. A lot of them.
- This Anthropologie announcement. One is coming to my local Anthro!
- Doing this Awkward and Awesome post. I love all things awkward and awesome. Thanks for the inspiration, Sydney!

SPICY baby food spice jars tutorial

2011-03-08T13:14:00.001-08:00

As promised, here are the finished spice jars in all their spicy glory. I may glue some magnets to make a magnetic spice rack, but I'm rather liking them as is. Hmmm. Want to make these yourself? I'll give you a hint. They are much easier to make if you have a BABY who eats FOOD. You got it. These are baby food jars. We should play guessing games more often because you are brilliant! Okay. Here we go.

Materials:
-spices, likely in ugly mismatched jars
-as many baby food jars as your heart desires
-spray paint for the tops
-Goo Gone
-a labelmaker (or decorative masking tape, or little label stickers, or a paint pen)

Step 1: Empty your baby food jars. I would hope this involves a hungry baby but I have heard of the baby food diet and if that's your jar-emptying method of choice, I don't judge. Okay, I do. A little.

Step 2: Remove the labels and apply the Goo Gone to the sticky ickies left over. Kill a few minutes by reading this or cuddling your full-bellied babe while the Goo Gone goes to work. (This was my first time using Goo Gone. I am greatly intimidated by sticky ickies and the thought of using elbow grease, and didn't realize Goo Gone eliminates the need for my elbow to be greasy! I am now looking all over the house for sticky messes to clean up. True story.)

Step 3: Take a cloth or paper towel and rub the goo off, then wash the jars and lids with soap and hot water. I'd also recommend running them through the dishwasher for some extra sanitizing- if you have a dishwasher. Here on Crooked Shmooked we don't discriminate the dishwasher impaired. I love you, sister! ;)

Step 4: Go outside or find a well ventilated area and give your jar tops a nice coat of color. Only spray the tops and sides, not the underbelly. I used Rustoleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover in Satin Granite. I only had to spray one coat for full coverage but use your own discretion and eyeballs to decide what looks good.

Step 5: Crank out some labels with your labelmaker or stick sticker labels or tape on and use your best penmanship to write the spice names. I used a vintage Dymo labelmaker for my yellow labels and ran out of tape 4 spices short. Lovely. Gonna have some fun tracking down vintage labelmaker tape...

Step 6: Once your lids are dry, empty your spices into their jars, screw on the lids and you are done! No more mismatched spice jars. Arrange the jars in a cabinet or spice rack where everyone can see your craftiness.

Yay for you!

cook with my RIFLE

2011-03-08T01:28:00.001-08:00

I'm not a cook. Husband is the chef extraordinaire in our house, but this recipe box and these recipe cards from Rifle Paper make me want to cook up a storm.

CURRENTLY crafting...

2011-03-07T14:06:00.001-08:00

these:

into these:

...currently as in right now. I'll share the finished product and link up a tutorial when I'm done. I hope you are having a fantabulous Monday! Hubby and I decided we'll pretend it's Saturday to avoid a case of the Mondays. So far it's working--- but somebody forgot to tell the baby.

WONDERFUL wee wonderfuls

2011-02-24T07:21:00.001-08:00

I just love handmade softies but unfortunately I don't have a job to sustain my desire to fill little A's room with a never-ending supply of itty bitty friends. While I was at the fabric store this week, I found the book Wee Wonderfuls and instantly fell in love with all the doll and animal softie projects found inside. I thought, "I can do that!... Probably... Maybe... I think I can! I think I can!" And now that book is sitting patiently by my comfy cozy chair, waiting for the day when I get rid of my sewing-fright and decide it's time to make some Easter gifts for the girly. Luckily it is a beautiful and perfectly styled hardcover book so even if it ends up sitting in my living room for a year without being used, it will look lovely doing so.... Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself there. ;)

Hillary Lang is the brilliant mind behind Wee Wonderfuls. Check out her blog, and if you do have a job simply to sustain your softie obsession, check out these etsy softie shops: tiddlywinks --- Stitchface --- Contemori --- Koo & Poppet --- Sleepy King --- tiny warbler

nifty THRIFTY

2011-02-23T14:47:00.001-08:00

(The goblet and tallest vase were found yesterday. The other 3 beauties were found a couple weeks ago.)

(I am always in the market for more round and oval frames.)

(Little A's new softie baby and baby bed. I imagine someone's sweet grandma sewed this. I love that it can be thrown in the washer if needed. It was washed minutes after it arrived home.)

(A kooky It's A Small World Avon perfume bottle.)

(Little A's "new" vintage carousel sweater. So sweet.)

The thrifty queen asked that I post pics of my thrifted treasures from yesterday. Here you go, sister dear. And here you go, reader dears.

DAFFODILS a'plenty

2011-02-23T12:14:00.001-08:00

The husband brought me 10 daffodils on Friday. I put them all over the house and loved the cheer they brought to each room. They are now starting to die which is sad. Maybe if I wasn't a plant murderer, I could have happy living potted plants all over the house all the time! But alas, my thumb is not green. It is a thumb of death.

THRIFTING treasures

2011-02-21T22:21:00.001-08:00

Happy Monday, friends! It's happy for me because of these silly things

(I love this cross-stitched prayer for the nursery wall. The animals and their babies are precious.)

(I love these little cubby homes. I plan to paint them and back them with fun paper.)

(This paint by number grabbed my attention but I almost left without it. Hubby loves it too so I'm glad it found it's way home with me.)

(I found the middle Pyrex last week and was ecstatic. A little elderly woman behind me said "I have one of those! That's really old!" Ha... So cute.)

(My house is practically a zoowith all my animal decor. I can't help it. I've always loved animals. This cow had to come home with me. No question.)

My last two thrifting expeditions set me up with quite a bit of quirky loot. My sister is queen of all the thrifting royalty and her amazing finds have inspired me to search through our thrift stores more regularly. The little crooked house is thanking me for bringing it some things to pretty i up. Hopefully a house tour is in the not to distant future, and I may finally share the completed nursery with you next week. One project left to finish.

My sister-in-law and I are going out thrifting tomorrow and I hope to have a few more fun things to share afterwards. Fingers crossed!

kiddo rooms to LOVE

2011-02-17T13:49:00.001-08:00

These kiddo rooms speak to me. Loud and clear.

Source: spearmintbaby.com via Heidi on Pinterest

Source: gallery.apartmenttherapy.com via Heidi on Pinterest

smitten with PLAID

2011-02-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

plaid print

plaid purse

plaid sofa

plaid dress

plaid sequins

plaid baby pants

plaid girl

plaid wrap

plaid bunting

plaid pillow

plaid dinnerware

plaid deer

plaid shoes

Plaid and I were serendipitiously reunited this winter. My mom and I were hunting for Christmas craft materials in the beginning of December and I passed a rack of plaid and a fresh love for plaid washed over me. I brought a teal plaid over to my mom and told her I had to find some use for it. She laughed at my enthusiasm over plaid. After all, plaid is always around somewhere--- on men's work shirts, school girls' skirts, and your neighbor's Yorkie's little dog shirt. But plaid and I parted ways halfway through high school and I hadn't looked on it with favor again until the beautiful teal plaid showed itself to me in Joann. I have since put a plaid pillow on my couch, pulled my rarely worn plaid shirt out of the closet to spend the day with me, and loved on hubby's new plaid flannel shirts. It's official. I am once again smitten with plaid.

today I'M...

2011-01-31T22:14:00.000-08:00

I'm currently...

Cooking: Indian-Style Crockpot Curry

Watching: Glee Season 2 Volume 1

Listening to: Mumford & Sons

Baking: kale chips

Munching on: banana & peanut butter

Crafting: a fabric tree decal for baby girl's nursery

Planning: baby girl's 1st birthday party- only in my head so far

Reading: Home Comforts- the Art and Science of Keeping House

Wearing: Hudson jeans, a black and white striped tee, and hubby's white socks- his are always comfier

Loving: my big deer pillow Christmas present from the in-laws

Thinking About: consignment shops

Wanting: striped towels for the bathroom

Needing: honey and sleep

What are YOU up to this week?

MUST have

2011-01-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

I'm loving Anthropologie's Must-Have Collection. Everything looks so cool and comfortable yet chic. I'll make it easy for you, Anthro. I'll just take one of each. Thanks.

DADDY the stylist

2011-01-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

Hubby and baby went to church together this morning while I slept since she kept me up most of the night. Hubby dressed her. It made me smile.

I hope your Sunday was full of smiles too.

daily duds: 1.26.11

2011-01-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

Shirt: gift from sisters-in-law, I have no idea where from - Vest: American Rag from Macy's - Jeans: LOFT - Boots: Born from Macy's

Well I'm lucky to have even gotten out of my pjs and into presentable clothing today. Baby girl is teething up a storm and definitely running the house. She's barely eating, yelling at me if I attempt to put her down and do something--- like get dressed (heaven forbid I try to put clothing on!), and wants to be rocked all day. She's been teething for a long while but it got intense yesterday. Come on little teeth! Push your way through! Anyway- it's been a crazy day and I have gotten absolutely nothing accomplished besides putting this outfit on.

I don't wear much jewelry as of late which is not like me at all, but it was time to put away the big jewelry when little hands started grabbing the dangly things from my ears and little gums started nawing on anything hanging from my neck. These days my daily jewelry consists of stud earrings, my wedding ring and this right hand ring. Hubby got me this ring from Brilliance Found for Christmas. I absolutely love it.

I have two pairs of Born boots and love them both with a burning love that starts deep in the soles of my feet. Hubby got me these ones for Christmas two years ago and they are seriously the comfiest boots I have ever worn. I can wear them walking and on extended shopping trips and my feet are as happy at the day's end as they were in my slippers at home.

How is your day going?

this is REAL LIFE, people

2011-01-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

---Julie Blackmon---

Hubby and I often talk about how things that happen in real life are so much more interesting and unbelievable than anything anyone could imagine up. Real people are so much crazier than movie characters. Real situations are so much funnier than Seinfeld.... no, actually, Seinfeld is based on real life so it's pretty much just as funny as real life. Real life never fails to shock me and make me laugh- and that laughing often happens when I'm recalling funny instances from the week and am all by myself (i.e. wearing a baby--- which is pretty much all by myself because baby can't really contribute a lot to conversations at this point) strolling around a store where people can see me laughing to myself.

(Sidenote: Don't people look crazy when they are all alone and smiling? Whenever movies try to depict a crazy person, at some point they are just eerily smiling to themselves. I saw someone walking on the sidewalk the other day and they were just smiling to themselves and I thought, "Caaaaraaazyyy!" but then I remembered I do that all the time. I must look like a crazy too. Okay, I suppose I am. :End Sidenote)

Real life is too funny to not share the silly things that are seen, overheard, and experienced, so I have decided they will have their place on Crooked Shmooked. Because really, I want to turn you all into smiling and laughing crazies, like me. :)

up & coming

2011-01-25T22:12:00.000-08:00

Well darn. I just cleaned up my Google reader to put the hundreds of blogs I'm subscribed to in folders and delete those that I no longer read and then I stumbled upon the list of up and coming blogs from Alt Summit.... and now I am adding more blogs all over again! There are too many wonderful bloggers in the world!

your FAMILY as ART

2011-01-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

-----

-----

-----

-----

In lue of or in addition to getting family portraits done every few years, I would love to start commissioning family art pieces. How amazing would it be to just have a wall of your family year to year as depicted by different artists?

daily duds: 1.23.11

2011-01-23T15:06:00.000-08:00

Shirt: Anthropologie, probably 6 years ago - Jacket: Anthropologie, 3 years ago - Pants: Anthropologie this Christmas - Heels: JCPenney - Baby: mine

Okay, I know I said you'd probably never see me in heels but my usually anti-heels feet put these 2-inch pumps on this morning and said, "heeeey! these aren't so bad! and we look pretty dang good!", so the ban on heels might be off--- if I can find some more 2-inch heels that my feet can handle. (I was tempted to say "that my feet can stand" but it was too similar to something my dad would have said while I was growing up--- to which my response would have ultimately been a pity laugh and groan all in one. Daaaaaaaaaaaaad... )

Today we went to church as we often do, but last night I didn't get everything laid out and ready for church which made this morning a scramble. I'll admit I tried on 3 different outfits before deciding on this one. It ended up being cutesy and casual and comfy. I'm a fan. Of course, now I'm home with baby crawling all over the place and a husband working out in the yard, and am contemplating putting on my sweats to do a little housecleaning and decorating. Such is life.

I hope you are all having a beautiful weekend and that your Sunday is comfy cozy!

CHRISTMAS in the crooked house

2010-12-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

My house looks so happy and festive right now. I love it so much that I'll probably "forget" to take the decorations down till a month after Christmas. Oops! ;)

daily duds & WIWIW

2010-12-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday!

So, I have this problem. My interests are all over the place. I love the fashion blogs, the decor blogs, the crafting blogs, the personal blogs, and the fashionista blogs. It is all so different and interesting. I don't really have a single category that I want this blog to fall into. I have shyed away from posting any "what i wore" photos because I am definitely not a photographer and I am also not a fashionista and I tend to look ridiculous in the photos I attempt to take. But as I appreciate seeing all aspects of blogger's lives, fashion forward or not, I am going to try to share some of my daily outfits here and there. You will probably never see me wearing heels or extravagent outfits or $500 jackets like the bloggers I love to spy on (she is a fave), but I will share nonetheless.

Shirt: Forever 21 - Cardi: Old Navy - Pants: Urban Outfitters - Shoes: Toms

This is my outfit from Saturday. I prepared to go out grocery shopping, but my dear husband called me asking for a grocery list and ended up doing it for me. He is pretty great. At least my intentions led me to get out of the sweats I would likely have stayed in all day had I known I wouldn't be leaving the house. As much as I hate to admit it, sweats are like my second skin.

And here is what I wish I wore (WIWIW):

via Karla's Closet

Love it. Here's to a case-of-the-Mondays-free Monday to you all!

DIY felt phrase garland

2010-12-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

This year I have been crafting away as the stores don't hold many holiday decorations that I like. While I would love to just hop on etsy and buy, buy, buy all of the beautiful decor, the money to do so doesn't exist. Last year there was a happy holidays garland I wanted desparately from Anthropologie, but it was something like $120, so, of course, I bought 12! Ha- kidding. No, I was disappointed it was out of my reach, but with all my pent up crafting energy, I decided to make something similar although much less adorned. I chose a line from Joy to the World for my garland, bought a bunch of felt, and crafted away. I'm happy with the result and wanted to share a half-hearted tutorial with you. Half-hearted because I didn't take detailed photos and I stopped taking photos when I ran into the problem of floppy felt and had to run back to the craft store to get foam and then cut foam letters to glue to the back of the felt letters. Hopefully it makes sense even though it is not as complete as it could be. If you have problems completing any steps- let me know and I'll add more photos and more detail. Enjoy!

Supplies needed:

-felt -scissors -pins -sticky backed foam -a computer with a printer -yarn and big yarn needle

1.) Start off by getting on a word processing program on your computer and finding a font you like. Type out the words you would like on your garland as large as you would them to be. I believe mine were size 500. I had one or two per page. Print up your word/s. You will be using the printed letters as a pattern.

1.5.) I didn't do this step but think it would make things much easier than the order in which I did them. You can get some of the foam with the sticky backing and stick it to the pieces of felt you will be using before moving onto step 2.

2.) Pin your first letter to a piece of the felt (that has the foam backing) like you would with a sewing pattern. Hold the felt and paper firmly together so you don't have wrinkles as you cut around the outside of the letter. Do this with each letter until your words are all cut out.

3.) Put your letters in order and thread your yarn. Sew through the top of each letter to string them up. When you are done your garland should look like the top photo.

The cutting takes a while, but it is easy to do while watching a Christmas movie. If you make some garland, please send me a link to the finished product. I'd love to see it!

oh HOLY NIGHT

2010-12-10T21:36:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! It's been another month of no blogging and limited internet access. The excitement in the last week for me is that my little babe has finally started sleeping in her crib. For the last 7 months she has been sleeping in bed with me. Go ahead, shake your head at me. I shake my head at myself too. It was one of those things where it was okay and convenient in the beginning but then it was habit and I didn't want to bother with training the girl to sleep in her crib because I was afraid I'd be horribly sleep deprived from her waking a million times a night. After one horrible night where she wiggled all night in bed and kept me awake I decided it was time. She cried for a while the first night before falling asleep but then slept through the night in her crib! Oh, the glories of not having to go to bed at the same time as your child because they sleep with you. Uh-huh. I know. It's ridiculous. I'm ridiculous. If I had known the wonders of relaxing after your child has gone to bed, I would have tried to send the girl to her crib sooner. In the last week I have caught up on some e-mails, painted my nails, cleaned the house, eaten Spekulatius and goat milk icecream, and simply rested while baby has slept in her crib. Glorious. Hubby and I had a discussion of the whole new world that has opened up to us without a child in our bed all the time. It is a life changer. All that to say- #1. Let me be a lesson in what not to do with your child. I am much too laid back at times and it ends up biting me in the rear. Or for you nursing moms, it ends up nipping me you know where. #2. Here I sit without the child, blogging in the quiet with a lit Christmas tree and frogs croaking outside. I am happy to have found a time to do so again. So lovely.

--- Photo by Elsie Marley. You must check out her DIY Christmas decor. With all the amazing tutorials out there, I am likely to be crafting Christmas decorations up until Christmas Eve!

nice to meet you, KIDDINS

2010-11-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

My friend Jess recently opened up the etsy shop Kiddins and I am so glad. She is a talented graphic designer and has an amazing imagination that feeds perfectly into her work. She is selling fabric and notecards and will hopefully start a line of baby clothes someday- someday before I am done having children. Right, Jess? : ) Check out her etsy shop and also check out more of her fabric designs on Spoonflower.

CRAFTING adventures

2010-11-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've been in a crafty mood lately. Don't worry, I don't mean crafty like evil crafty, but crafty like I just want to craft all day. I've been giving into the urge and have been spray painting frames, making Christmas decorations, playing with clay, and I also have plans to finally get around to decorating our bedroom starting with an upholstered headboard. I've found that crafting is such a stress reliever. I'm hooked. All the DIY projects that I've been bookmarking on blogs for the last 3 years are finally going to get done. Who knew.

excuse the shadows- I'm not a photographer

This wreath took me a year to complete... okay, maybe it was just 4 days, but it felt like a year. With all the time it took to make and trim each yarn pom pom, I am so happy that I did it. It is such a fun Christmas decoration. I think I'm going to have to make one to have up year-round.

I've also been wanting to play with clay for a while. I actually asked for polymer clay for Christmas last year, and I got it, but hadn't touched it yet. I kept thinking of a forest of white clay trees so a friend and I got together last week and started building trees. The terror that I am in the kitchen, I ended up burning the clay in the oven and had to paint them with 7 coats of white acrylic paint. Crafting is an adventure. I'm not quite sure where these trees are going to live or if more will sprout up around them, but playing with clay is too much fun to not do it again. I am so glad the time, energy, and desire to craft has returned to me!

birthday BOOTS

2010-10-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

I have a quick minute and must share with you my favorite purchase of the year made a couple of weeks ago with my birthday money. I love birthday money. It's so much better than regular money because you can just buy fun and slightly frivolous or extravagant things with it. My extravagant birthday purchase was these Born boots.

They make every outfit I wear 100 times more exciting. That much excitement packed into one outfit element is definitely worth the dollars hubby earned, gave me, and I spent.

DIMyself Christmas Decor

2010-10-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. Will our internet ever stop acting up and will I ever return to blogging on here regularly? I wonder. As I type, I am sitting on the floor at my parents' house while the little one plays on a blanket next to me with Nana. I can usually get a few things done on the internet this way. Today's 15 minute internet goals were to check Amazon listings, check Facebook- which is beginning to bore me lately, and to look up a pom pom wreath tutorial. I plan to make a few Christmas decorations in the next few weeks. Due to our remodel and our health, hubby and I spent the last 2 Christmases living with my parents and we are ECSTATIC to celebrate in our own home this year. We are so excited that we plan to put up our tree as soon as possible after Halloween and have a nice long Christmas season all November and December. Yep, I'm skipping fall decor and going straight to Christmas. I hope to be able to hop back on here and share my Christmas decor once it is finished. Christmas project #1 is---

this Pom Pom Wreath from Bleubird

I was planning to make a wreath with store bought pom poms, but I can't get over the fun texture of the DIY yarn pom poms. Do you have any fun Christmas decor that you've made? I'd love to see it. Just link to it in the comment section...... aaaand baby is fussing. 15 minutes are up. I miss you all dearly and hope you are enjoying autumn. xoxo

P.S. Bleubird is officially my new favorite blog. Talk about style.

jumpin' JEGGINGS

2010-08-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to gap.com in a while so I don't know if this is a new feature or not... but I just got on to look at their jeggings and nearly had a heart attack when the legs started moving and posing for me. I felt like I was looking at a trading card Harry Potter-style -- (nerd alert). (And yes, I am jumpy.) But I must say that it's a helpful little addition, being able to see the way the pants move. I'm not sure if I'm on board for the whole jeggings fad because of way too many sightings of painted on ones that looked as though they were about to burst at our county fair... but if all jeggings were as tasteful as these, I'd probably give the fad a thumbs up and throw some into my own shopping cart as well.

playing CATCH-UP

2010-08-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

-----

Well we finally have the internet back up thanks to my husband and our tech-savvy friend who plays tech support for us via text message. I can't believe I haven't been in the swing of blogging for 2 whole months. I've missed it but life has kept me busy enough with other things. I have been:

-- on a family vacation to a Clear Lake lake house with my parents, sister, bro-in-law and 7 month old niece. Vacationing with a 2 1/2 month old is not vacationing. We came back more tired than before.

-- deciding to be more social- I am an introvert and a bit of a hermit by nature- and had dinners and chats at home with friends a handful of times. They were relaxing and enjoyable and are forcing me to come out of my shell more.

-- writing down real life scenarios I want to someday weave into a book. As creative as I try to be, life is even more surprising and random than what I can come up with on a high-functioning brain day.

-- trying to "finish" decorating the house. There are still lots of projects I want to do but things are coming together more and more every week. I look forward to having it done enough that I can share photos with you.

-- amazed that I was on call for jury duty and didn't get called in. Wonderful.

-- watching Adelaide smile and laugh and babble and finally come through some seriously grumpy and high maintenance weeks. She was nursing every 2 hours day AND night for over a month. Insanity. I am slowly catching up on sleep and returning to normal life tasks.

-- learning that the little girl loves being out to see new things, so we've been spending lots of time shopping, well, mostly the window sort, and she has been l-o-v-i-n-g it. She's a shopaholic already. Scary.

-- debating whether I should chop my hair off again or let it grow out. Every time I see a pixie cut on a stylish woman I want to chop mine back off. But then every time I see someone with long bedhead curls or hair thrown up into a fabulous ponytail with a tiny french braid twisted in, I want to grow my hair out. The longer I debate, the longer my hair gets, so I suppose by I am deciding by not deciding...

-- learning to speed date with my husband. We used to go on long, carefree day dates, but those days are on hold for the time being. Now we drop the girl off with grandma or nana and see how much we can jam into 2 hours. Or we just go home to relax in a babyless home. I love those glorious hours with just my husband. He is a fun one to date.

-- dreaming of a perfect life not sitting in a crooked house surrounded by laundry and a crying baby while I try to function on little sleep and attempt to make myself look presentable. But how boring would perfect be? I wouldn't be covered in teething baby drool that leaked out of an enormous baby smile. I wouldn't be able to laugh with my husband at yet another crack running up our kitchen wall. I wouldn't be able to appreciate freshly shaved legs after a week (or 2... this is real life, people!) of hairy ones. And perfection can stay a dream... Imperfection creates a much more interesting reality.

What have you all been up to? In real life and in your daydreams?

P.S. I wrote this post one-handed as my other hand is trapped below a sleeping baby. Motherhood is throwing all sorts of new talents my way.

RETURNING shortly

2010-07-29T13:53:00.001-07:00

I love this little cutie!

Hi all! Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive and kicking. Our internet has been down for a couple of months and with the busy life of parenthood and life in general we haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. I hope to be back on soon. I have lots of things rolling around in my head to share. I hope you are all having a fabulous summer!

NATURE NURTURES: my MYCHELLE skin regime

2010-06-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start a series of posts on living naturally- using things from nature rather than things fabricated by man to nurture our bodies through nutrition and beauty and medicine. Due to some health problems in the last years and finding that natural medicine and products were the only things to help my body heal, I am very passionate about nature's healing abilities. I believe God created our bodies to thrive off of what grows from the ground. I want to share with you the things that have helped my body get back on track in hopes that they'll help some of you.

For the first time in my life I love the skin care line I use. I have been using it for a couple of years and don't see myself finding anything better. I finally feel okay going out in public with no makeup because MyChelle has given me skin I don't have to hide. (And if I happen to want light coverage, my MyChelle foundation is perfect.) MyChelle's products are natural, paraben-free, fragrance-free and made up of mostly fruit and vegetable ingredients. I am all about putting natural things on and in my body and I am confident my skin is soaking up all sorts of goodness with my MyChelle products. It doesn't hurt that most of the products smell yummy because of their ingredients. I love their skin care line so much that anytime the subject of skin care comes up, I have to join in and recommend MyChelle... as I am to you now! The products I use and love daily are:

Fruit Enzyme Scrub: Made up of fruit acids and bamboo and jojoba beads, this fine scrub is gentle enough that I use it daily to clean my pores and remove the grime and dull skin from the day.

The Perfect C Serum: I swear by this stuff. Made of 17% vitamin C, it strengthens collagen and minimizes the signs of aging. It has made my skin tighter, smoother and brighter. I just love it.

Fabulous Eye Cream: This is a thick cream that has smoothed out some of my smiley eye lines. Other eye creams irritate my eyes but this one just nourishes.

Pumpkin Renew Cream: I love anything pumpkin and love being able to slather pumpkin on my face. It smells divine but most of all, the shea butter and organic pumpkin seed oil truly feed my skin. My favorite face cream ever.

I've loved each and every MyChelle product I've used, even those not mentioned. I want to get my hands on one of their masks next. If you want to try their products, check out their trial sets that include sample sizes of most of their products.

How about you? What natural beauty products make you glow?

my new LIVING ROOM

2010-06-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

diy via Simply Grove

I am in love with this living room. From the amazing yellow couch to the rug to the chartreuse (one of my favorite color words) table to the dog silhouettes and the pendant lights... it's all perfect. I'm sold. I'll take it. I'll be home between 8am and 10pm tomorrow. You can come by and set it up for me then. Thanks.

i need a WEDDING

2010-06-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

I most definitely need an occasion to wear this J. Crew silk chiffon skirt for. C'mon, friends... give me a wedding to go to!

SUNSHINY decor

2010-06-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

With the beautiful summer-is-near weather that showed up on my doorstep this past weekend, I am loving this sunshiny house from Hus and Hem. It would be hard to have a gloomy day in such a bright place! And what kid- or adult- wouldn't love a bunkbed or reading nook like that? Hubby and I are inspired to create such a nook in our guest room. The only problem is that we might fight over it. We'll just have to make it big enough for the whole family to snuggle in!

GRANDPA was a stud

2010-06-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

1. My grandparents on their wedding day. My grandma was gorgeous, wasn't she?

2. Grandpa and his buddies just hanging out on a roof like any other day.

3. He started smoking a pipe at a young age and did so till the day he died.

4. Grandpa and more friends. It looks straight out of Leave It To Beaver.

My grandpa was a stud. I wish I could travel back in time and meet him as a spry young man, but then I'd run the risk of falling in love with him and messing with the space time continuum and we don't want that now, do we?

i love me some KEDS

2010-05-23T22:29:00.000-07:00

Back in the day I thought of Keds as mom shoes, then while I was in college, I found a pair of cute slip-on Keds at a discount store for $10 and snatched them up. I was ecstatic when I found that they were comfortable as comfort and shoes were two words I never used together in a sentence. (I was still trying to find a husband at that point, so comfort had to be sacrificed for beauty..... ironically, it wasn't until I stopped trying to impress and started dressing for fun and comfort that I did find my hubby.) Later that year I found another pair of Keds at the same discount store and bought them immediately. To this day, my Keds are some of my favorite shoes and I haven't paid more than $12 for a pair... not because I refuse to, but because I keep finding them at discount stores. Well, the day I may end up paying full price is drawing near because Keds has come out with some pretty fabulous summer styles and colors and I want to get my hands on them... or rather my feet in them... before they are discontinued. Cute, comfortable shoes cannot be denied access to my feet.

EATING like a queen

2010-05-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

I have been eating like a queen for the last few weeks. Hubby has made steel-cut oats with cinnamon, apples, and cherries (now I never want to return to my mirowaveable oatmeal!), dark chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with coconut, peanut butter cookies with dark chocolate chips (we like dark chocolate- Ghirardelli dark chocolate to be exact), BabyCakes NYC cornmeal peach muffins (the recipe adds ginger, but I don't like ginger), and a host of other things. When I married my handsome guy almost 4 years ago, I had no idea I married a chef! Score!

the KITCHEN view

2010-05-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

Despite the crack in our front door that lets spiders and rollypollies roam free in our living room, the slant of every interior surface that gives me a headache if I focus on it too hard, the spring pollen that lets itself into our home and noses, and the paper thin windows that allow us to hear every crackle of every leaf at every hour of the night... I truly love living here for sights such as this- the view out my kitchen window yesterday.

MATCHY-matchy

2010-05-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

I'm not one for mother/daughter matching, but if I could get my hands on these in my size too, I might just change my mind this once.

america's next top HAIRSTYLE

2010-05-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

I admit to being an America's Next Top Model addict. I've seen every cycle and manage to jinx my favorites every year. They never win. Poor girls. It's all my fault. You know how you have a secret "If only I had done or tried such and such" dream? Maybe a sport or art form or career? ANTM is my "I wish I had done that". I don't really wish I had done modeling but I wish I could see how it would turn out in a "Choose your own adventure alternate ending" sort of way. So I love to watch ANTM to live vicariously through the girls... and to see the amazing photography and fashion. I'm not so much a fan of the drama, but I love the cycles where the girls actually seem to get along. So there you go- I love the show. I watched the entire Cycle 14 yesterday (not my favorite) and found my new hairstyle! (Yes... all this talk is to show you a haircut.)

My hair has grown out from the pixie cut into a choppy chin length shag. I'm rocking my natural waves and hair color and am loving having a low maintenance 'do for once, but it needs a little fine tuning. Ren's cut is just perfect. I'm going to add some bangs and define the layers a bit more and I'll have myself a new mommy cut. I'm pretty excited to have found a new cut so easily. Maybe I'll post a pic when it's done... after I get a chance to leave the little darling with a grandparent and can actually make it to an appointment. I guess ANTM is good for a little more than daydreaming this year.

such a BEAUTIFUL FACE

2010-05-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Photos by April Christine Photography

I just have to share a close-up of my beautiful girl. I can't get enough of that face! What a blessed woman I am to be a mother on this Mother's Day!

welcome to the world, ADELAIDE

2010-05-06T16:51:00.001-07:00

Photo by April Christine Photography

On April 27th at 3:23pm, after an attempted natural labor turned emergency c-section, Adelaide Meriwether Grace entered the world at 6 lbs 9 ounces and 18.5 inches. She is more beautiful than I could have imagined and is the sweetest milk-guzzler you'll ever meet. Hubby and I are so thankful for our surprise gift from God. One of these days I will return to blogging a bit more regularly, but for now- I'm hanging out with my little girl and learning how to survive on no sleep and next to zero time without her latched onto me. If she wasn't so cute, I might completely lose my mind... ; )

maternity shoot SNEAK PEEK

2010-04-05T18:25:00.001-07:00

This last week my talented friend April took my husband and I out into the field behind my parents' house for a maternity photo shoot. I just got some of the photos back and wanted to share. I love them and am happy to have a record of my time with this bump- soon to turn into a little baby. Less than 2 weeks till our little girl is due to arrive!

BABY buys

2010-03-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

Cate & Levi Bear

Purple Baby Mocs from KaBoogie

Oh dear.... I'm already struggling not to buy all the fabulous and funky baby goods out there and our little girl hasn't even made her debut yet. How much harder is it going to be when she is out in a few weeks and looking all cute? I think I'm doing a good job picking and choosing things to get for her though. These are just two purchases I have to share. Both are made from reclaimed materials, and don't worry- I got the bear on sale on Gilt and even had a credit to help out. And the mocs? They are seriously the cutest baby shoes I have ever seen. I can't wait to put them on a pair of little feet! Some things are just too adorable to pass up...

baby steps in DECORATING

2010-03-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still alive and kicking! .... well, maybe not kicking... more like lounging in the amazingly comfortable rocker/recliner my husband bought me for Valentine's Day. The decorating is slow-moving. So slow that it's not happening. My due date is 4 weeks from tomorrow and my body is definitely letting me know that daily. We are working on getting the nursery ready and have been organizing the house as well. I hope to decorate before our little girls arrives, but we'll see! Three steps in the right direction are--- #1.) Finding our living room color palette inspiration in this vintage doily from my grandma. (Excuse the horrible photo quality.) #2.) Finding money that we didn't know existed while moving and purchasing the IKEA cabinet I was loving. #3.) My mom buying me this sweet Dottie Angel wall hanging.

It will all come together in time. Baby steps!

that's a DIAPER BAG?!

2010-03-01T18:54:00.000-08:00

My first baby shower was on Saturday. It was very fun and my dear daughter was showered with the most adorable dresses, baby things, and such. I was showered with this amazing Timi and Leslie diaper bag! Everyone ooed and awed over it. I can't wait to fill it with bottles and diapers and toys and pacifiers.... And yes, I owe you photos of our house. The piles are getting smaller and it is almost clean. It will take a while to decorate... hopefully under 6 weeks as my attention will be off the house and on a teeny tiny person around then. Photos will be heading your way soon!

we're IN!

2010-02-15T16:12:00.000-08:00

We moved into our house! It took 1 year and 3 months of remodeling on and off by my dad, hubby, father-in-law, bros-in-law, uncle, dad's friends, and random other friends. We are living surrounded by piles of stuff and I don't know where half of my possessions are, but we are IN. We have no internet and no windowshades, but we are IN. Our stove isn't quite hooked up and we are living by microwaveable meals, but we are IN! I know you thought I was teasing you all these months. I know you thought, "Suuuuure she has a crooked little house that is being worked on. Living with the parents for over a year and saying she's moving in soon about once a month? Sounds like crazy talk to me." Well, I'm not crazy! (Okay I'm a little crazy...) I tell the truth! And the truth is- we are in our little crooked house and we couldn't be happier! Well, we might be a little happier if we had some awesome organizing superpower where we could snap our fingers and everything jumped into place, but that's probably the only way. So excuse me while I purge and organize and decorate (and take frequent breaks to rest and eat- after all, I am almost 32 weeks pregnant). I'll post pics when I am able and can't wait to share actual decorating projects with you rather than random wishes and inspirations. It is a good day, friends! Hugs to you all!

don't you dare tempt me, IKEA

2010-02-10T23:49:00.000-08:00

Hubs and I bought ourselves a flatscreen for Christmas. From us to us. Since we spend many a date night watching movies in rather than out at the theater, it seemed like a nice date enhancer. But once you buy a big 'ol flatscreen, you need a big 'ol entertainment center that it can go on top of. Today we found just the one we never knew we always wanted.

Unfortunately it is out of our price range of $0 - $0. What do you think: diapers for the little stinker growing in my belly oooor this shiny, pretty cabinet? Okay.... diapers it is. Gosh. Poop sure costs a lot.

ich liebe HABA

2010-02-02T23:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I definitely have baby on the brain these days. With nearly 10 weeks left until my due date and 2 baby showers coming up, I've been reading, researching, and registering all things baby. In my baby travels, I have found a German toy designer I love. I am anti-plastic and anti-overly complicated, annoying toys, so Haba is right up my alley. Haba makes adorable wooden and fabric toys in bright basic colors. I am having to refrain myself from registering for 20 or so of their toys... and I might have to learn to share with my daughter too.

it's raining SALT

2010-01-29T17:36:00.000-08:00

I love these Rainshakers by Sooda Mayer. I think I might get carried away with the fun of raining salt and pepper on my food and end up flooding it though.

THE crib bedding

2010-01-26T16:29:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed that I am an indecisive person? If not, I will tell you- I am an indecisive person. The things I planned for our house a year ago are a world apart from my ideas now. Remember the post I did detailing the nursery? Yeah... not happenin' anymore. I think I will just have to tell you what's going on as I do it so I don't fake you out again. So here is the actual nursery plan #1- the bedding. I just ordered this PB Kids Brooke Crib Quilt and Bedskirt (thanks, mom!). I also registered for a yellow gingham bumper at Target and then I am going to mix and match different patterned fitted sheets- dots, stripes, and flowers in all colors. Every crib bedding set I had seen so far and thought I might go with, I liiiiked, but this one that I ordered, I love!

It's so nice to be surrounded by things we love. My mother-in-law told me the verse "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17) reminds her that God gives us perfect gifts and so she doesn't buy anything unless she loves it. It may seem kind of silly, but it sticks with me and whenever I find the perfect thing on sale, I know it's a gift from God. : )

baby's VIEW

2010-01-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

If I was a baby, I'd love this view. A pinwheel mobile is such a great idea.

i'm watching you, DOTTIE ANGEL

2010-01-25T23:16:00.001-08:00

I discovered a new Etsy shop I will be watching like a hawk, dottie angel. She makes unique home decor, clothing, and such out of vintage scraps, lace, and fabrics. I was going through her sold list and found several things I wish I had been around to purchase. I don't know why I torture myself by looking at the things that have been sold. Oh well. I will watch and wait. And you should take a look too. Her product shots are so beautiful that I want to live in them.

GLIDER/RECLINER blues

2010-01-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

I'm in the market for a glider/recliner. Apparently these are not easy chairs to come by for less than $1000 unless they look like huge, ugly marshmallows. I know, I know- how can a marshmallow be ugly? They are so soft and white and fluffy! If they are tan or brown or hunter green, have rolls on their little marshmallow bodies and form the shape of a chair that looks strangely like your grandparent's favorite easy chair- that is how they can be ugly. I don't know if that made any sense, but it did in my pregnant brain, so it remains. All that to say- all the glider/recliners I want are out of our price range. I could settle for a traditional wooden glider for the upcoming baby days of our life, but if we are going to invest in a glider, why not make it a comfortable and stylish glider/recliner that can live on in our living room for years to come? I'm looking for a Craigslist miracle!

LIAM'S nursery

2010-01-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

My friend's son's nursery was featured on Design*Sponge today. Not that I am surprised. I've watched the progress on the baby blog and it's amazing. I've never seen that color paint on a wall or anywhere before, but it's looks just perfect. Jason and Marta have awesome taste. Check the room out in more detail over here.

a REMODEL peek

2010-01-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneak peek into the latest remodel progress. The kitchen cabinets are white, the floors are in, and the granite is ready to go in. (And we have a dishwasher for the first time in 3 years!!!) Our bedroom is all painted- I'm so excited about the green wall! The carpet is scheduled to go in the rest of the house next week. Yes, carpet. I've lived in houses with wood flooring and i've in ones with carpeting and I like the comfort of carpeting on bare feet in the living area. And I think our little girl will appreciate the softness when she is crawling and walking and falling the first years of her life. Once the carpeting is in, we go in- as in move back in... oh my gosh. I am SO ready.

MONSTER booty

2010-01-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

Oh dear. I have started looking at baby clothes. There are too many tiny little outfits asking to come home with me! And these Monster Booty Crankpants are just too hilarious and precious...

Follow my blog with bloglovin

a painted, wait before speaking, CROOKED REMODEL UPDATE with a side of sugar

2010-01-09T16:10:00.001-08:00

-----

You're going to be getting a lot of updates on the remodel in the next two weeks. The update for today is:

#1. The kitchen and our bedroom are painted and look great. Yay for my painter husband! That means all of the rooms are done being painted!

#2. I should really learn to keep my mouth shut until something actually happens or is finished. The concrete countertops I was so excited about? Not happening. The estimate was $600 and then my dad's friend came around saying he had a bunch of granite slabs left over from his own kitchen remodel. The cost for that? Free or so. My dad showed it to me and it's a nice white/gray/black speckled granite, and in the name of the budget- we are using it. And also, c'mon... whose budget-cutting countertops ever end up as nice granite slabs? We're pretty fortunate there!

#3. Our kitchen floors are being leveled by one of the brothers-in-law right now. The crooked little house is still going to be crooked (in some places it looks like the ceiling was intentionally slanted, but then you look across the room and it's not... ha ha) but at least we won't be walking on slopes.

I hope you are all having a wonderful, productive (or restful), and delicious weekend! I am munching on Babycakes NYC chocolate chip cookies hubby made last night and some fresh Babycakes NYC blueberry scones he made this morning (have I mentioned he's amazing?). And now I will be entering a gluten-free, alternative-sugar coma.

P.S. I have been saving glass jars left and right for months so none of my flours, sugars, or grains will be without a window from their place on a kitchen shelf. I just love homebug's example.

our bedroom is going GREEN

2010-01-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

-----

It's about time for our bedroom to be painted and I can't wait to live in it. We are doing white walls with a dark green accent wall behind the bed in Dunn Edwards Bonsai (the color it shows on my monitor is not at all the color on the card- it should be more like the 1st photo above). We bought the West Elm Organic Cotton Pin-tuck Duvet in Sea Grass on sale the day after Christmas and I'm thinking we'll go for some yellow accents (loving these sheets) and whatnot in the room. We also need to find some gorgeous blackout window shades- I sleep best when I can't see a thing. We added a built-in closet to the bedroom, so the bedroom that was previously small is now itty-bitty. I think we'll have room for bedside stands and a chest of drawers. And there is also a DIY upholstered headboard project on our list, but that can wait until we are in the house again.... as can the 100s of other DIY projects I have in mind.

Looking at the gorgeous greens in the photos above excites me. Green is my favorite color- it will be nice to live with it staring me in the face every day!

a CONCRETE dream come true

2010-01-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

-----

Dear hubby has painted our kitchen cabinets white and the news is just in that his father is going to make concrete countertops for us! I am so very excited. Concrete countertops and white subway tile backsplash. That was my ideal kitchen in the beginning but I never thought someone would actually do the countertops for us! This is a wonderful surprise.

I know I keep saying it, but the end of this remodel is in sight!

P.S. Can you imagine how amazing the white cabinets and concrete countertops are going to look with our vintage stove? Ah!!

COUCH dilemma

2009-12-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

Okay... I'm overreacting, I suppose. This is not a real dilemma. I just have a very hard time making decisions. We are currently in the market for a new couch and it is proving to be more than my indecisive, pregnant brain can handle. The mission is to find a comfortable, neutral, microfiber (so it will at least be semi-safe around the little one) couch that we can fit on laying down. The couch saga begins...

Our "ideal" couch was the 93" Lounge Sofa from Crate & Barrel, but when we actually tried it out in the store on Saturday, I realized how deep and loungey it really is. If we had a formal living room and a family room, it would be a great family room couch, but it is not a couch I'd feel comfortable using for both. The reason? I shimmied to the back of the couch so the cushions were supporting my back and in order to sit on it with my back supported, my legs from mid-calf below were just sticking off the end in mid-air and I'm 5'9", so it's not like I'm a short person. I began thinking of all the scenarios in which we'd have people over to sit on that couch and I thought of grandma and grandpa attempting to sit comfortably on it with their little grandparent socks and comfy shoes hanging off the end, and that is when I realized it just wouldn't work for us.

Then we went into West Elm and both fell in love with their Blake Sectional. I realized that our living room is shaped in a way that would make a sectional fit perfectly... buuut at about $2400, that isn't even an option. Oh, how we wish it was.

Then we decided to take our search to Craigslist and we are now looking at the following couches:

$500 for this sectional originally from the San Francisco Design Center. I'm really liking the sectional idea so this is a definite possibility.

This is a microfiber couch from Z Gallerie. It's 7+' long and comes with the two matching chairs. A living room set would be very nice and it's in like new condition. This is probably the closest we'd come to finding a newish microfiber set being sold used.

Not microfiber, but for only $250, I'll let it take whatever a kid can throw at it and will turn around and buy another used sofa in a couple of years. It's 8'6" and an interesting shape. It looks comfy, but I'll let our bums decide that once and for all if we decide to visit it.

So what do you think? Any comments, opinions or suggestions to help with our hunt?

Edit: Well, we did it. We bought the last couch listed and are going to get it professionally cleaned. It's fun and comfy and we can't wait to put it in our living room when we move back in!

very MERRY

2009-12-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

-----

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas with family and friends. Hubby and I spent Christmas Eve Eve with my family, Christmas Eve with his, and then we spent Christmas together. It was a lovely holiday week. Hubby and I bought ourselves an early Christmas present of a flatscreen at the end of November, so our Christmas gifts to each other were small but it was nice to have a small Christmas together. One of my favorite presents was this hedgehog nail brush. Give me something with animals and pretty colors, and I'm happy. All in all, time spent with family was wonderful and I was truly spoiled to have my husband around all day for 3 days in a row. Now my sister and brother-in-law and their sweet 1-month old daughter are here and the family time will continue until the New Year. I hope you all feel as blessed as I do and are able to end the year looking back at all of the growth, beauty, and love you have experienced in 2009. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from my crooked home to yours!

dreamy VANS

2009-12-17T13:29:00.000-08:00

I have some friends who got way more than their share when God was dollaping out creative talent. Lynda Jane is one of those friends. She writes, paints, does photography, and everything else and saw some hand-painted shoes being sold and thought "I can do that" and this is what she whipped out. Insanity, I tell you. She can draw and paint just about anything. Your imagination is the limit. When you've dreamed up the perfect pair for you or a friend, head on over to her Etsy shop then please share! I've gotta see what else she does. ; )

the PAIR that got away

2009-12-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

The joy and pain of Gilt Fuse.... This morning I found these amazing 80%20 flats for $39, down from $94. I rushed to tell my mom that she could buy them for me for Christmas asap-- those Gilt deals disappear fast-- I tried to put my size in the cart and they were GONE within minutes. *sigh* I guess they weren't meant to grace my feet because for $94 full price, they aren't coming near these tootsies.

Oh, and if you like the heart-racing rush of shopping unmatched deals on Gilt, shoot me your e-mail address at crookedshmooked(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll hook you up with an invite. Although I can't guarantee your experience will be pain-free. But what doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger, right?

COME, live in my closet

2009-12-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

Um, this sweater is amazing. And now half-price. That is all.

meet OUR HARTBEAT

2009-12-14T14:55:00.000-08:00

I love finding new blogs! Well... not new, but new to me. I was clicking around flickr a bit ago and found our hartbeat via the Electic Interiors group I am a part of. Annalea shares her beautiful family and beautiful home as well as sweet little stories of her children. Take a look at her home filled with crafted decor and bargain finds and be inspired. I know I am!

not much of a WATCH person

2009-12-11T14:57:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually a luxury brand name person... or a watch person... but if one of my beloved family members or friends or an adoring fan wants to get me this Michael Kors watch for Christmas, I won't complain. After all, I'm not totally set in my ways.

anthropologie + a budget= RUCHE

2009-12-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

I bookmark so many sites that sometimes ones I want to revisit get lost in the shuffle. How Ruche has been in my shop links without being revisited by me, I will never know. Luckily I just refound it and am making a mental note to visit often. Ruche is like Anthropologie on a smaller scale and on a tighter budget (as in clothing starting in the $20 range and accessories starting under $10). Works for me! There are gorgeous, feminine details in each piece and it is hard to close the site without dropping something in your cart. Luckily (or not), the beauties I wanted the most are sold out (these perfect boots). But maybe next time, I won't be so lucky and I will actually have to fight the shopping urge...

nice to meet you, KAREENA ZEREFOS

2009-12-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

I am luu-huuu-huuuving the work of Kareena Zerefos as introduced by Holly. Her soft, precise illustrations, colors, and beautiful subjects are just the kind of art that makes me smile. The girl with the rat on her head reminds me of my own pet rats as a teen, Lavern and Shirley (may they rest in peace). Now which one to add to my Christmas list?...

thank you, BABYCAKES

2009-12-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

Babycakes NYC is coming to L.A. this month! Dreams do come true! They'll still be across the state from my humble abode... but an 8-hour drive is much more realistic than a plane trip across the U.S. And my little sis lives in SoCal so I am destined to be in the area at some point in the near future. My mouth it watering already...

to DECORATE or not to decorate

2009-12-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

-----

I don't know if I will be decorating for Christmas this year. We are still living in my parents' guest room and our house is on the verge of being done. I am afraid that if I decorate in our room, it will bind our fate and the house won't be done by Christmas. But then again- the chances of us getting into our house, organizing, AND being able to decorate all by Christmas are very slim. So what's a girl to do? I think my plan will be to decorate for the holidays even if we move back in after Christmas. Is that totally absurd? Probably. We shall see. And we'll see how long I hold out on my "no decorating the guest room" vow.

In other Christmasy thoughts- I have no idea what sort of Christmas decor I like. Sometimes I think I like classic green and red and other times I think I like pops of whatever-color-I-decide-to-go-with like in the photo above. Someday I will figure it out. What is your holiday decor style?