I am so incredibly tickled at all the people who commented on my 100th post. Thank you so much! And if you haven't yet, be sure to, so you'll be entered for the apron drawing. (Ahem- that's means you- my St. Louis friends and family!)

My mom and I found this tiny rocker at a garage sale just now. It's perfectly N sized. I love second hand stuff for many reasons. First, the "mystery history". How many babies have plopped down into this seat? The more the merrier! Second, fixing up something and giving it a new life is thrilling. My thought here is to clean it, paint it, and make a little cushion. I'm envisioning a simple little patchwork number. Third, you just have to love a great deal. $2- Can't beat that!

This week I've been crushing pretty hard over some teeny tiny things. So fun and fascinating. But I've never even had a dollhouse. Until now! At the same garage sale we found this suitcase style dollhouse. There aren't many rooms, but it has a working door and garage door and already J has set up shop making roads leading up to it with painters tape and is busy driving cars in and out. I'm tempted to sand it a little and paint it up, all gingerbread-house-like. It's kind of nice just plain how it is too. Clean it up a little and be done. Hmmmm.... I can't decide. Either way, it's a baby step into the dollhouse world. Not to overwhelming.

And just so you know, I'm taking a long break from the computer next week because we have some fun family plans. I'm sure I'll be twitchy for the first day or two, but then it will be nice. I'll be back next Monday. So this means I probably won't even be publishing comments. But PLEASE feel free to leave them, especially to enter the drawing! I'll announce the winner on Monday, July 3rd.

Thank you again for dropping by and hanging out!

Posted by Alicia at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Some of my non-blogging friends just don't understand. They say, "Uh, geez, you sure have put a lot of work into your blog." And when they do, I am secretly proud. It is work, especially keeping up with all of my friends' blogs. And that's just what I consider you guys. Friends. So in celebration I'll tell you 100 things I like about blogging.

Just kidding. How about 5?

•Inspiration
The beautiful things my fellow bloggers create take my breath away. Knitted things, sewn things, painted and drawn things. Photographs. Your homes. Your families. Wow. I was in a bit of a creative slump, but through your creativity, I am rediscovering my own. Thank you.

•Motivation
I'm prouder than ever of my creative skills. I haven't sewn this much in ages. There's a little pressure to put new things up on the site, and I like that. Instead of watching worthless TV in the evenings, I spend much more time being creative.

And when I'm immersed in such beautiful things, places, and people, it really makes me want to live a more artful life. When I set the table, plan a meal, take the kids on outings, make something new, arrange a room, I try to stand back and think, "If I took a picture right now, would this be blog worthy?" It sounds a little frivolous, but I'm hoping it is something that will make a difference in our lives.

•Community
This crafting community is just amazing. I feel like I have made friends with a lot of you. It's like having pen pals with similar interests all over the world. We get to visit each day and we don't have to wait by the mailbox for weeks. Through blogging I have become closer with old friends and made tons of new friends. And swaps are just incredible- oh, the generosity out there!

•Intellectual stimulation
I'm a work from home mom. I miss co-workers. You all have become my co-workers. Saying things to Brian like, "My blogging friend so and so, just did such and such" used to get me some funny looks, but now he gets it. I know I may not be as eloquent as some, but having the task of writing a little everyday is good for me. I want my posts to be interesting, or at least not too boring, and you can only say "lovely" so many times in one post!

•Record keeping
I don't know how long I'll be blogging, and although I really enjoy it now, I know there will come a day when it becomes a chore. So until then this blog is a nice record of my family's days. Already, when I look back at the early posts, N looks so tiny- and bald.

So now, the give-away. I'm hoping I have enough readers to pull this off, but last night I made this craft apron. It was inspired by Courtney's craft apron, which is marvelous. I made my version a little longer around, not knowing who it will need to fit. It's thick and has pockets, and I prewashed everything together so hopefully it's done all the bleeding it needs to do. What? You're not the crafty type? Use it for a work apron, a gardening apron, or for cooking. All you need to do is leave a comment and include your email address in the appropriate field. I'll draw a name in a week or so and it will be yours. It doesn't matter if you live across the planet or a few blocks away. Please enter!

It's my way of saying: THANK YOU!!

And I do.

Posted by Alicia at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (42)

I really wanted to play the back-tack game this time around, but I was silly and lazy and missed the sign up. So Tracy agreed to do the swap with me anyway. We decided we'd follow the same rules and stick with the same time frame. The best thing about missing the sign up is we could break the rules a bit and be tardy. Absolutely no pressure. Ahhhhh.

So, here's Tucker. He's got a t for Tracy, but all along I kept thinking of him as a boy, hence the name Tucker. He's made from Jenny's scotty dog pattern, as I'm no expert softie maker and don't know how to design the softies on my own very well. Thank you, Jenny! I really like his clean lines and simplicity. I broke the rules by adding more than one accent color on his Posie-esque collar and he only has four buttons. Gasp! But I think he's pretty cute and was fun to make. Click here to see him lookin' all cool sunning himself in California.

Of course I had to make something for Tracy's little bugs. So I stitched up some quick little bags with ribbon handles. I know, white isn't the best choice for two young girls, but they're completely washable. I tucked a couple of pocket book appropriate candies in them. Oh, and I sent Tracy some licorice hard candy that I found at the dollar store. I think licorice is a hit-or-miss sort of candy, either you love it or hate it, so hopefully someone out there will like it. (I love it.) I couldn't resist the black and white package; it went so well with Tucker. I've said it before, you've GOT to coordinate.

Posted by Alicia at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

Every once in awhile, J will come whispering in our ears, "Should we build a fire tonight?" and Brian rarely misses the chance. He's got a thing for fires, and he seems to have passed the trait to his son. So when J asked tonight, it seemed a fitting way to end a perfectly fine Father's Day.

Several years ago, Brian was driving to work. (If you haven't checked out the ReStore link over in the sidebar, you should. There are ReStores all over the country and they are so very cool.) Anyway, passing someone's trash pile, he noticed a big 1970's fireplace complete with screen, hoisted the huge thing into the back of the car and took it. He gave it to the store to sell. Later in the day, he described it over the phone as "something you'd lay in front of on a green shag rug, listening to your Hi-Fi." o. k.

The next day I was down at the store looking at something unrelated and saw it. I flipped out! "Don't we need this for our patio- for an outdoor fireplace?!" He yanked it off the floor, explained to everyone that he was un-donating it and that was that. We've been hanging out in front of it for years. It's absolutely perfect. The tall flue directs the smoke up above your head, and the golden-rod yellow is very retro hip. It is hands down our best trash pile find ever. And we have many of those such finds in our home.

So tonight we made a fire in Sputnik, as we have named her, as our homemade ice cream churned. J could hardly wait for it to finish, and my Dad and Mom came over for a bowl. Mmmm... nice Father's day.

Posted by Alicia at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Friday is red. I am breaking the rules with two pictures today.

My train man.

I hope these red aphid-y bugs aren't eating my raspberries!

I really enjoyed this Color Week. Stepping out of my snap-shot box a bit is good. Thanks to Mav, Arc, and Stephanie for the plan.

Have a great weekend, all. And happy Father's Day to the daddies!

Posted by Alicia at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Today's color is blue. I had a perfect blue photo opportunity yesterday at the ReStore, where Brian is now the Associate Director (yup, that's a promotion!) They have this great light blue vinyl couch in the kitchen and J was sitting there at one end drinking a blue Gatorade. AAGH! No camera. I should know better than to leave the house without it.

This morning I walked around and found some blue. I recently put this basket together of stuff to use when we eat on the patio, our outdoor "corner". The melamine dishes are pilfered from my parents' camp box. We used them when I was a kid. Click here for a few more of my blue photos and here for more Corners.

Posted by Alicia at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Continuing with Color Week, please meet Petey. Pete owns one of my favorite black things in the world- that cold wet nose.

He is the BEST dog. OK, maybe he's not the best, as in best behaved. He does naughty things like scratch holes in new cotton sheets. He climbs into the compost to eat rotten vegetables. He barks at every little noise in the house. And as it goes in families that have furry children first, and then the not-so-furry variety next, his status around here has dropped. But he's old, and we've had him a long time- 13 years this October- and as we consider the end of his days with us, we only seem to appreciate him more.

Posted by Alicia at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Tuesday = brown. I'm trying to change my viewpoint to discover something unexpected.

Posted by Alicia at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

It's Color Week, thanks to Stephanie and Mav. One photo a day- today's color is white.

Have a great Monday!

Posted by Alicia at 08:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

A most beloved time of year.

The days are long and warm, but not yet stifling.
The evening winds down with a meal of grilled pizzas on the patio.

Citronella candles burn to shoo the mosquitoes.
It's time to put on your swimsuit and flip-flops for the first time this year.

An afternoon trip to the pool stretches into evening when Daddy brings a fast-food supper to eat under an umbrella.
A wandering storm leaves a big puddle that leads to a half hour of messy fun.

Raspberries begin to ripen, only to be snatched off their branch at the mere hint of pink.
At a neighborhood art fair, hot dogs on the sidewalk are the lunch of choice with out-of-town cousins.

You remember how well you get along with those cousins.
The anticipation of upcoming vacations camping and relaxing at the lake is nearly unbearable.
Play dates with friends, long before nagging boredom sets in.
Passing bedtime by to catch "firebugs" with Daddy.

And rediscovering with your children the joys of early summer before the dog days come.

Posted by Alicia at 07:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Two of the lesser known Ingalls sisters. (My niece and N.)

Posted by Alicia at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Thank you so much, everybody, for humoring my shameless plea for comments! It really does make my day! [keep it up, please]

Remember the new house thing? It fell through. We were really going to do it. It would have meant a monster "bridge loan" so we could afford two houses for a few months, but before we could make an offer, the owner signed a contract. I was a little sad. Oh well- it wasn't meant to be. But now it has really given us incentive to get working on this house, just in case something like this comes up again. Cleaning out the basement of all the junk is priority number one, and this is going to help: www.kcfreecycle.org. Why haven't I ever used this before?!

I made a few of the Mailorder Club bonnets this weekend. So very cute, fast and easy. Photos to come soon.

Have a great Monday, nice blogging buddies!

Posted by Alicia at 08:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We are tree huggers. Well, I'd say we try our best. I'd love to shop at Whole Foods or Wild Oats, but we just can't afford it. So when I shop, I try to buy most of the organic products offered at our grocery store. I believe that the more mainstream organic products become, the cheaper they will get. And recently I have tightened up my grocery standards.

I am trying to buy fewer items that have enriched flour (all the good stuff is taken out and a little bit is added back in), high fructose corn syrup (super sugar- who needs that?!) and partially hydrogenated oils (um, yuck). If the first five ingredients include any of these, I don't buy it. And it's hard. Even our favorite whole grain bread has high fructose corn syrup! Now, I'm not trying to overdo it. I don't want those foods to be off limits. J always gets to pick out a "treat", and he always picks out something worthless. But that's ok. Everyone needs their treats. But I'm really trying to make an effort. I need to feel like I'm doing what I can to protect our health, and the health of the planet.

This year we have joined a csa. It is called Rolling Prairie and we get a big bag of organic produce every Wednesday. One year we joined alone and ended up composting a lot of this locally hand-farmed produce. We just couldn't eat it all. So this time, we're splitting it with my parents.

This week we got a big bag of snap peas. I sat down at the table to shell them, and J wanted to eat one raw. Now, there's nothing like raw, garden fresh peas, so I said sure. J and N and I sat on the couch and ate the entire bag, like three peas in a pod. As N wisely puts it, mmmmmm.

We also got a little container of strawberries. They are tiny, imperfect, and melt-in-your-mouth sweet. A little bite of pure summer.

Posted by Alicia at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

OK. Actually? Do.

Here is my submission to May's Tie One On challenge, a Smock to Wear Out. The rules: something stylish enough to wear out of the house, open in the back or on the sides so it can be considered a smock. My goals: cute enough that I actually would wear out and not look like baby number three's on the way. Which is not. I'm very done having babies.

I was inspired by this pink number, which I found through Red Current. (I'm clueless about the Japanese site.) The gathers on it are so great, but it's approaching maternity wear, especially at that length. I looked for a shorter blouse pattern that I could alter, leaving the back open. I settled on Simplicity #4123. I added the muted freezer paper leaves for a little extra something, and the vintage button was my great grandmother's.

Walking around last night in my best runway fashion, I asked Brian, "Am I cute or what?" and he made a funny ppffbbt noise. Hmmm... I just hope he doesn't hate it, cause I really am going to wear it out.

I know, I know. It is a day late- again, but hopefully she'll let me play anyway. She's nice like that! There are a couple more photos on Flickr.

P.S. Thank you for visiting my blog! Please leave a comment if you have time- It makes my day!

Posted by Alicia at 09:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)