Can I just start over?

I know, it's been forever. And I feel terribly guilty (which is part of the reason I have avoided this page like the plague -- fear of facing that guilt). But here I am. I've been busy. Here is a little of what we've been up to:

Both twins were actually here in AR at the same time (and the world almost imploded). The Order was able to reunite for about a week. I needed that week desperately. I forget how much those girls are a part of who I am and where I come from. I needed that reminder.

We got to have our traditional birthday celebration @ Chuck E. Cheese

We attended the viewing of the films submitted for the 2010 Little Rock 48 Hour Film Festival. K & L, along with their brother, produced a film that is pretty fantastic. Beautiful, actually. I know I'm a little biased, but even if I weren't obsessed with the parties involved, this would probably still have been my favorite. I should be appearing on YouTube soon. I'll post a link as soon as it's available.

I've applied for some pretty promising opportunities that I am hoping to hear about this week. And in the meantime, I've been reading anything and everything I can get my hands on. The list of books I've read this year thus far has been growing rapidly. It's becoming rather lengthy.

We've got a few other exciting opportunities in the works. Maybe. I'll let you know more when I can.

Oh and tonight I watched a documentary on the life and works of Simon Wiesenthal, architect turned Nazi hunter, entitled I Have Never Forgotten You. It is incredible. He was an amazing man. I am adding his memoirs, The Murderers Among Us, to my must read list. I highly recommend that documentary. He did remarkable things with his life.

And we've taken the plunge and gone completely vegetarian. It's not that I have a problem with eating meat (I actually had chicken at lunch today with the girls), it's just I've always been weird when it comes to eating certain things, especially meat. Red meat gives me migraines so for the last year or so I've been eating chicken exclusively but lately, we've just become so incredibly aware of so many problems with the mistreatment of animals, including chickens, that we've just reached our breaking point and can no longer look the other way. And so while we do love meat, we've decided that this personal decision is more important than our appetites. I'm still not sure how I'm going to do without Chick-fil-a. Maybe I will just become a Chick-fil-arian.

Okay, so if you didn't know, I spend way too much time on the internet. But lucky for you, I also happen to save everything that I find to be incredibly cool/awesome/unique/inspiring/etc and I'm here to share it with you:

[carl kleiner]

[One of my recent favorites from Catalog Living]

[How awesome is this bike?! Not only would I get some looks riding around on this thing, but it can also carry two passengers. I'm thinking I've found my new career: bike taxi driver]

[Thinking about following this DIY to bring life to an old pair of heels]

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
[These are carvings done into the lead of pencils by Dalton Ghetti. I am amazed.]

I should have a career in wasting time online.

Here is a short list of the things orbiting around in our universe these days:

creating the perfect reading nook
unnatural obession with Bridget Jones
getting ready for classes to resume on Thursday
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (a really great read)
finally getting around to finishing some quilts that have been laying around here for a while
watching Daria on DVD
crossing things off our "to be organized" list
brainstorming on some exciting creative projects


And here are some interesting things from around the internet that you might enjoy:

This scratch map is awesome. How fun would this look hanging out on your wall?

The little sister of one of my favorite blogs is filled with tons of decorating ideas. I could look at those pictures for hours.

This stay-at-home mom takes some of the funniest pictures of her daughter while she's sleeping.

We use the template from this site to create our personalized recipe cards.

I'm not going to lie, I've been kind of interested in reading this zine for a while.

I've been wishing for about 90 different rolls of this decorative tape for months now.

St. Louis and back

We're back from a week long stay in St. Louis (our city of choice). It was fun. But we're glad to be home. I'm happy to get back into my routine of cuddling with Tillie. We missed her.

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

And now that we're home, I've made a list of projects to keep me busy until the Walkers' arrival:
1. Make a new cover for my heating pad
2. Pick out fabric to recover the slipper chair in my room
3. Learn how to upholster furniture
4. Clean/organize closet
5. Fashion something to store headbands on
6. CLEAN. EXTENSIVELY.

Boden Fall 2010

It was 105 today. Insanely hot. Way too hot. After trying to brave the heat this afternoon (stupid, I know), I holed up in the air conditioning and dreamed of fall and colder temperatures. I think I have decided that I like fall/winter much more than summer. Since summer vacation is not something I am awarded anymore (except this summer, anyway) I am no longer a fan of it. I'm ready the cold weather and sweaters, hats, coats, and warm boots. And as if they could read my mind, the new Boden catalog showed up on this, the hottest day of summer.

I love Boden. Love it. And their fall catalog did not disappoint when it arrived in my mailbox this afternoon. I can't stop looking at it. So hop on over to Boden and join me in wishing for the days when it actually felt comfortable to wear clothes.

P.S. They have guy's clothing too.

Project finished!

FINALLY finished the bag I've been working on for the past week (mentioned earlier here). It was a beast. But its cute. What do you think?