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Thursday July 26, 2007

holiday road


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J and I in our last-minute-thrifted sunny hats.

We're ready. The wagon is gassed up. The oil's been changed. She is freshly washed and vacuumed and so well organized. There's the correct amount of air in each tire. Our auto club membership is up-to-date. All that's left to do is paint honky lips on the side and listen to this song as we pull out of the driveway. Hee hee!

We're off now for a beach holiday. I'll be offline (thankfully- it's time for a break) for a few weeks, so once again I won't be able to publish comments. PLEASE feel free to leave them anyway. I'll put them up as soon as I get back.

Love to you all. Take good care!


Wednesday July 25, 2007

boring but practical


Good morning! I made these car organizers last night and thought today that they were almost too boring to even talk about. But they were so fast, easy and seem to work so well that I changed my mind. A little practicality never hurt anyone, did it?

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They hang over the top of the seat, and the head rest thingies hold them up by slipping through large button holes. There's an elastic band that wraps around the seat at the bottom which you can barely see from the front. I put a row of large pockets on the bottom and a row of smaller pockets up top. There's even a little velcro loop to hold their, ahem, DVD earphones. I know, I know. I always said my children would NOT watch t.v. in the car. But cut me some slack, people- we're taking a 17 hour car trip, for the love of Pete.

Why didn't I make these ages ago?!


Monday July 23, 2007

randomness


As requested by Emily, 7 Random Things about me:

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**me in my new beach-worthy top**

One: I had never eaten (thanks to my dear mom) a Pop Tart when I went away to college. So of course I lived on them for a couple of years. And now if I even see one, it makes me gag a little.

Two: I once wore Paul Newman's nightshirt. I worked at a dry cleaners in high school for a little bit and he was in town filming a movie. His assistant brought in his laundry and I put on the nightshirt. Over my clothes, of course! I was unprofessional, but not THAT unprofessional.

Three: I love all kind of rodents and bugs. Ants, worms, bats, spiders, caterpillars, mice, etc- I find them all very fascinating. But if I see a cockroach it sends me running and squealing like a little girl.

Four: We had a car accident (just a fender bender) on the way home from our wedding. When we got out of the car still in our formal wear, a sweet lady came out of a nearby store to see if we were alright. She asked, "Awww... are you on your way to prom?!" Um, we looked just a little young.

Five: When I was 15, I spent two weeks with a friend sailing around the Virgin Islands on a 45 ft. sailboat with a friend of her dad's and his girlfriend. It was The Trip of a Lifetime. I still think about it often.

Six: What's my ultimate favorite junk food? Funyuns. No doubt about it.

Seven: I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I'll cry at the drop of a hat and when I'm happy, I'm really happy. And I think because it is so hard for me to hide how I feel, I am a terrible liar. My children are exactly the same way.



** the top is made from a thrifted straight skirt that I stole was given to me by my mom. I thought it would be cuter as a little halter shirt using the same method as the pillow case pj's. I do believe it's downright beachy.**


Sunday July 22, 2007

the rolls


Good grief! Must I do everything myself? wink. wink.

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These are our favorite oh-so-easy, overnight bread machine cinnamon rolls:

Dough:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 T. butter
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 T. active dry yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp. salt

Filling:
2 T. melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped walnuts-optional (My family doesn't like nuts in rolls.)

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Heat the milk, water, and butter in the microwave. It needs to be very warm, not boiling, and the butter doesn't need to be completely melted. Pour into the bread machine pan and add the remaining ingredients in the order listed. Set the bread machine to the dough setting and let it do it's thing. If you don't have a bread machine, you could do all this the regular way- I'm just not so great at it, so good luck with that.

When it's done, remove the dough, knead it down a few times and roll it out on a floured surface to a large rectangular shape. Brush the melted butter on the dough. Mix the other filling ingredients together and sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough. Roll up and seal the edge with a little water and pinching if necessary. Cut them (I use dental floss- slide it under the rolls, "tie" through the roll to cut them) and place them evenly into a greased 9" x 13" pan. I've found that depending on how thinly you've rolled your dough, 12 or 20 rolls will fit nicely into the pan.

Here's where the overnight part comes in. You can cover them with a towel and let them rise for 30 minutes or so then bake. I'm sure they're even yummier this way, BUT we just don't have the patience in the morning to wait for all of this. I usually make them the night before, cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator until morning. Covering with the wrap in the fridge sometimes makes them sweat a little, but it doesn't seem matter.

In the morning remove them from the fridge, uncover and let them rise a little more (for about 20 minutes). They'll puff up in the oven too- don't worry if they look a little pitiful. Bake at 375ยบ F for 20-25 minutes. While they're baking blend frosting ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth- you want it thick. Add a little more powdered sugar if it's too thin. Frost rolls and serve while warm.

Yum Yum! Obviously they're not super healthy, so moderation, people. please. : )


Friday July 20, 2007

happiness is


new rain boots.

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Especially when there's no rain so your brother makes puddles with the hose for you.


Hope someone does something nice for you this weekend! (A batch of sweet rolls might do the trick.)


Thursday July 19, 2007

pool party equation


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Eleven kids, seven moms + hot dogs on the grill with all the fixins + one Slip 'n Slide + two kiddie pools + a pitcher of fruit punch (for the kids) + a pitcher of Sangria (for the moms) + brownies and cookies (for the kids and the moms) = one terrific summer afternoon.


Tuesday July 17, 2007

hello, crane


My crane arrived. We're beginning to get acquainted.

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Things seem to be dry on the creative front these days. The summer has thrown off my rhythm, perhaps for the better. Maybe I'm rejuvenating. Every time I find myself with a few free minutes, I'm much more attracted to the romance of summer activities like bike rides, the swimming pool, or dinner and drinks on the patio.

Also, I've slowly been attempting to take the focus off of my kids here in this space. I still want to include them; they are such a big part of who I am and why I create. But for safety sake I'm trying to be more discrete with photographs of them. So that limits my subject matter a little more.

These two reasons are why things seems a little thin lately here. Please forgive me and thank you so much for sticking around.

Hugs to you all,
Alicia


Friday July 13, 2007

contemplating mid-summer


Things I have learned so far:

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Cucumbers need A LOT of room to grow.


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Crisp line-dried sheets? Love them. Stiff line-dried jeans? Love them too. Crunchy line-dried towels? Not so much.


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The sprinkler is fun, but the pool is better.


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Local, organic blackberries almost melt in your mouth.


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It good to be six in the summer. It is also tiring.

No matter where you are and what the weather, have a terrific and relaxing weekend!


Tuesday July 10, 2007

little big girl room


I've been working on putting my daughter's big girl room together. (Well, bigger girl room. She's still just a smidge of a thing.) Here's a little tour. It's a very short tour; it's a very small room. She doesn't even have a closet. It is in the hallway outside her door.

Click on these images to see them larger.

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The bed was mine when I was little. I painted the little birds above the bed for her nursery. I really wanted to make her a quilt, but alas it isn't happening. So the plan changes- Ikea duvet for the big bed, a quilt for her doll bed.

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These cubes on the left came from the JC Penney catalog when I was about ten years old, and my dad and I assembled them to make a window seat for my room. They are on their fourth life- first the seat, then a television stand in college, then a changing table for both my babies, now shelves for N's room. My best furniture purchase of all time.

The repainted dresser belonged to Brian's mom and her sister when they were tiny.

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I've seen these flags floating around crafty blog wonderland for quite awhile, but it wasn't until I saw them in Grace's daughter's room that I decided she might need some. Of course she does!

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And I just didn't have the heart to take down her crib mobile. So it stays.

That's it. It's an itty bitty room for my itty bitty big girl. And all potty trained now too. Sigh. Where does the time go?

Added 7/14/07: Several people have asked about her wall color. It is a Home Depot custom color match of a nice light grayish mint green. If you're interested in the formula look HERE.


Friday July 06, 2007

spotted by j


Some blue found by my assistant at First Friday this evening- a blue sign and a blue lady.

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She ever-so-slowly nodded towards a tip jar after I took her picture, but I didn't even have a buck on me. Oops.

Hey Hannah, I peeked in the shoe store and I didn't see you. It was so crazy crowded that I didn't go hunting. But tell your friends if they had anything to do with that band? Excellent. They were rockin'! Little N is their new groupie.

Have a terrific weekend, you hear?


Thursday July 05, 2007

love/hate


That's the kind of relationship I have with the orange day lilies that live in our yard. Fifty or so weeks out of the year, I hate them. They are bushy and weedy and droopy. They spread like crazy and are hard to dig up.

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Then there's the two magnificent weeks a year that they bloom. That's when they take their turns smiling up at the blue sky and sway in the warm breeze. Dagnabit, they always talk me back into falling in love.


Wednesday July 04, 2007

happy 4th!


to those of you here in the states. Sorry no yellow photograph- we're neck deep in red, white and blue today.

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We spent the evening at a get-together in a neighboring county in which the firecrackers aren't illegal. Crazy fun- burned my finger on a sparkler, but it was totally worth it.


Tuesday July 03, 2007

the dress fits


She picked out this vintage dress to wear today. It finally fits. And luckily it was green.

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(The dress isn't really all that cute, but I know it is old. Look here for the proof.)


Monday July 02, 2007

another thing to love about summer


cherries. yum.

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Speaking of cherries, look what was waiting for me when we got home from our trip. Double yum.

p.s. These cherry photos fit right in with Kayte's color week, so I think I'll play along!