Finally got this posted over at Four Seasons Cafe!
I definitely won't be making this tonight… it's much too hot in the house! But I can't wait to make it again when this heat wave breaks. I miss you, Aud!!
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Fit for Royalty
You won't believe what I received in the mail this week! I came home from running errands, and there on the counter sat a package. A package from France. From France! It's not every day a girl gets a package from France!
I eagerly opened it up and found the most wonderful surprises, all from an extraordinary stitcher and seamstress – Sandrine!
First, she had found a pair of jeans and made them into a super cute tote…
…And here's the back:
Now check out what was inside the super cute jean tote…
Btw, can you believe all of these lovelies are stitched OVER ONE??
Now check this out… Sandrine also made a stitching necessaire, and here's the back of it:
You can imagine my surprise when I unrolled it!
Wow!! All those little crowns… the lovely pink thread rings (there are actually 4 of them) and the 2 embroidery hoops… those beaded pins at the top… everything is outstanding! And take a look at what I found inside one of the little linen pockets…
A thimble! (Mom, don't even start in on me about how I need to give the thimble to you since you quilt wayyyy more than I do, bc if Sandrine wanted you to have a thimble, then she would have sent you a thimble. Right, Sandrine?)
Get ready for the grand finale… the front!
AMAZING!!!!
(I'm still speechless at all the over-one stitching!)
Sandrine, I cannot thank you enough for your kind generosity. I am truly honored that you would share your talent and creativity with me in this way. You are so very thoughtful, and I wish there was a way to express my thanks to you. What a beautiful gesture this was, and I am in awe!
And now I need your email address, bc I don't have it! 🙁
Merci, merci, merci beaucoup!
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Upper Classmen
Today was the first day of the last year of high school for Sabrina… She and her bestie Katie are seniors this year, which means they can sit at whichever lunch table they want to and no one can tell them to move.
They've paid their transcript fees, ordered their class t-shirts and are ready to blow this popsicle stand in about 10 months from now.
Today was also the first day of the last year of elementary school for Sophie…
She's got 2 large boxes of Kleenex, a great big bottle of Elmer's glue, and 24 Crayola markers at the ready.
Not to mention new tennis shoes…
AND a new lunch box that looks like a really cool purse…
(Little does she know, it's loaded with healthy food and a water bottle. I believe she's hoping for Oreos as the main entree and a Frappuccino for her drink.)
And let's not forget the most important thing of all for a brand new year of learning: freshly-painted nails!
Happy New School Year, sweet girls.
(Breanna leaves for college again on the 19th. sniffle…)
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Sweet Garden Salsa!
Just posted this recipe on Four Seasons Cafe. I hope you like it! 🙂
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Heat Stroke
It's been really hot here.
Like, the heat index has been around 115 degrees, and today was more of the same.
Mike announced that we were going to have a family golf day today.
Like, the heat index has been around 115 degrees.
So like a good wife and mom, I told the kids that today was a family golf day, and Breanna replied: "I don't do family golf days."
Me: (in a hushed tone) "Well, I don't either, but Dad wants to."
Breanna: (in a hushed tone) "Since when do we do what Dad wants?"
Me: (blank stare…then, in a hushed tone) "Well I don't know, but we should go."
Breanna: (louder) "You know it's gonna be like 115 degrees outside."
Mike: "EVERYONE READY TO GO?? THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT!!"
Breanna, Sabrina, Sophie, and Me: (blank stare)
Breanna ended up heading to the pool instead, but the other girls and I toughed it out and headed to a public golf course with Mike…
This is us, having the time of our lives…
Sabrina thought Mike announced that we'd be having Family Text Day…
Sophie got this buffalo club cover for her dad for Christmas one year. It's the one on the right…
Here are the girls, excitedly watching their father and waiting their turn…
Mike, giddy with Family Golf Day, demonstrates how to flex your forearms when you're swinging…
Sabrina demonstrates how to peeve your father by behaving like a non-golfing heathen…
But then she takes the game more seriously…
And then there's me, demonstrating why über-caucasians, such as myself, should not wear white-and-khaki clothing…
Here's Joonbug's put…
(That motorcycle burn from the day at the horse races is healing nicely.)
And here she is, teeing off on the last hole…
By the way, the last hole for Family Golf Day was the 2nd hole on the course. Yes, folks, we lasted for 2 whole holes.
This made Mike very sad, and he announced things like, "You guys aren't as hot as you think!" and "I golfed 6 straight days in Florida, and it was TWICE as hot as this!" and "It's gorgeous outside! What a day for golf!" (I don't think he noticed that we were the only ones on the course.)
So we loaded up in the golf carts and headed back to the car.
It's now about 10 pm, and the heat index is still, like, 115 degrees outside.
Maybe tomorrow we can have Family Obstacle Course Day.
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Home
When I was first married, and for several years afterward, I tried my hardest to make my house look like all the magazine photos I loved… perfect color coordination, ambient lighting, trendy doo-dads… but I failed. Miserably. My house ended up being a menagerie of mismatched stuff that looked great in the store settings, but not in my home.
I basically had no idea what I liked, and that wasn't fair bc my mother's home was perfect. (Okay, Dad, my parents' home.)
I'm so glad those days of trying to make a presentable home are over (thanks to the Yorkie). I've finally found my dream home, and it doesn't even come close to fitting into a magazine spread. Years into my marriage and homemaking, I can look around and see my family reflected everywhere. It's not always something a new bride can do right away, bc it takes years of loving and being loved to get there. And although I can't speak from experience, I imagine that if I were single or had no children, I could still find comfort in the things around my home that hold my fondest memories.
I thought I'd again share just some of things I love around here.. I did this once before, so if any are repeats, then I must really love those things! 😉
I fell in love with this Bethany Lowe figure one day, and my sister purchased it for me (even though she thought it was the ugliest thing she'd ever seen). Next to it is a small photo of my niece, Natalie, and a pair of the Lace scissors by Kelmscott Designs. It sits on top of a lace table runner that I brought home from my inlaws' house this past week. (My mother in-law loved lace doilies and table runners!)
This is a little acrylic stand-up I had made when Sophie was in her first dance recital. It stands about 8" high, and sits inside a shabby-chic-styled shelf my brother, Paul, got me for Christmas one year.
Here is another stand-up of my little dancer, on the other end up the shelf. In front of it is an egg coddler from England (my mother collected them when we lived there), and propped next to it is a lovely card from my dear friend Tracy Riffle…
These are some vintage spools I got from Etsy recently… they sit on top of a book my brother got for me (about King Henry's wives), and another pair of scissors from Kelmscott. Although you can't see it, underneath these things is a French General journal, gifted to me by my fabric partner-in-crime, Kim…
This is what sits on a table in my entryway, right next to the front door. The jar of oil and fragrance sticks are from my mom; she and I both love Keepers of the Light candles, and when these jars came out in Juicy Apple, she got one for me and one for my sister. It's my favorite smell! Behind it is a sheep statue, and underneath is a quilt square, made by Mom.
This is a painting I did a while ago… I saw a print like it in a little shop and fell in love with it, but it was quite pricey. So I came home and painted it myself, making a few changes along the way. In front of it is a lamp, given to me by my sister for my birthday one year…
This is the piano my parents purchased when we lived in Germany. I took lessons for a few years when I was a pre-teen, but always felt that it was better to play by ear than to actually have to read the notes. What was the point in reading notes, after all, when you could just plunk out the melody the way it was supposed to be written anyway? Needless to say, all these years later, I realize my parents were right. "You'll wish you knew how to play when you're an adult!" they'd say to me, as I rolled my eyes and flipped through all 3 tv channels, looking for Happy Days.
The sheet music you see is the one piece I'd learn to play if I could. I may have to get Sabrina to play it, since she can read the notes…
Needless to say, I love sheep. This one is from Mom, and next to it is a bud vase that came from my Grandma Olive.
Mom, I know at this point you've thought to yourself several times, "Gee, I've given Paulette an awful lot of love presents, and I have hardly received anything in return." Well, let me just say that your love present is this: LOVE.
Teeheehee.
My mother in-law used to tell me, "Don't worry about what other people think; if you like it, then just put it in your house!" :) I remember when I very first met Mike's parents, and I noticed this tiny basket of flowers hanging from a shelf in their living room. For some reason, I always found it charming, and it makes me smile to hang it in our home now…
Here is a tassle tree I pined for a few years ago and eventually found under the Christmas tree – also from my mom. 🙂 Since then, I've been given some really cool tassles by my family, and I love each one!
I'd never noticed this porcelain poodle in Frieda's belongings before, and now it sits in my living room, in front of a portrait of Sabrina, next to a book from my brother about the needlework of Mary Queen of Scots. (Does my brother give great gifts, or what?)
Btw, here's my (cute and single) brother…
And finally, another of Frieda's belongings that now resides in our home. I have no idea why this little creature has adopted me the way she has, but I suppose that's okay. Some days I'd prefer it if she were a porcelain figure instead, bc porcelain figures tinkle only when they break.
I've been sitting here long enough now. It's time to start my day by vacuuming and doing laundry and telling my girls to pick up after themselves… and when I'm feeling run down and irritable from all that never seems to get finished, I'll remind myself that this is my dream home.
Menagerie of mismatched stuff, barking dogs, and messy kids that it is.
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Halloween Greetings
I was honored when Just Cross Stitch asked me to design an ornament for their Halloween ornament issue this year. Since it's now published, I can show you the close-ups!
Here is Halloween Greetings…
Sophie designed the gate, and I included a pineapple bc it's a symbol for hospitality – and bc my mom likes them. 🙂
I hope you like it… and I hope you like my ornament for the Christmas issue too! 🙂 I believe that one comes out in September.
Happy Halloween!
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To and Fro
I've been extremely busy this past week getting organized around the house, finding any available space for the things we were able to haul from Kansas last week, getting school and dorm shopping done, filling orders, and cleaning up the Yorkie's calling cards.
(And did I mention that Breanna has hired me to stitch her new models for her? For free? How is it, at 19 years old, she still has me wrapped around her finger?)
I did manage, however, to complete Sea Hag and get her photo taken this morning for a sneak. She'll be released in September at the St. Charles market, and I really hope you all like her!
Guess I'd better get to Bre's models before she sees me sitting here slacking and fires me.
On second thought…
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Joonie
Recently Sophie was lamenting over the fact that her big sisters got to do a “photo shoot” with me and she didn’t. I told her I would be more than happy to take her pictures, and the only reason I started taking her sisters’ portraits in the first place was bc I wanted the practice. She got very excited when I agreed to take her out and let her pose for me (something I can never get her to do on any other day), but her countenance immediately dulled when I told her she was NOT allowed to put on mascara.
You see, Sophie is a bit of a glamourista. If she has two pennies to rub together, she’s going to scour the drugstore aisles for fake nails that cost .02 cents. If it sparkles, she wants it in her hair. The first time Sabrina ever gave her a makeover, she stared at herself in the mirror for 3 days, completely besotted with her new look.
And heaven forbid anyone tell her she has green eyes. “They’re brown. Brown, brown, BROWN!” she says. Jessica Simpson-brown, so there.
Glamourista or no, I refused to let her wear mascara, but she smiled for me anyway. And all I had to say was that she looks like she’s eleven, and not ten.
Let’s see if that whole one-year-older trick works when she’s 29.
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Love Thy Neighbor
We just returned home from a laborious week in Kansas, dealing with the many tasks involved in putting a house on the market. As many of you know, Mike's parents passed away recently, and the having to sort through their belongings was a painful process indeed.
With the help of Frieda and Jimmy's good friends – all like family – we got through quite a bit of it. There were many shared memories, tears, and lots of laughs when someone would bring up something funny that one of them would say, particularly Jimmy's "You been smokin' funny stuff?" or "You been sniffin' glue?" Either of those questions – asked in his Texas drawl – was always accompanied with his trademark look of suspicion, and followed by his soft chuckle.
I have a feeling that Jimmy would ask one of those questions – minus the chuckle – to the owner of this house, if he had lived next door to him:
Yes, that is someone's home. Like, in a neighborhood. The houses on either side – both looking perfectly mellow and normal – must be owned very patient people. Apparently, this homeowner turned his house and yard into a Hawaiian-style dessert oasis…
There was music playing over a loudspeaker, fake palm trees, lots of ocean-themed toys for children to play on, and an alligator on the roof. (Are there alligators in Hawaii?)
There was even a funny-looking tiki man…
(Pardon the grainy photos… I was using my little purse camera, and the sun was going down quickly!)
About twenty minutes later, we moved to the front of the line and placed our orders:
Mike: "I'll have a Green Hawaii, please!" (blue raspberry, pineapple, and strawberry)
Sophie: "Ummm… I'll tryyyy… ummmm….. a Pink Cotton Candy, please!" (cotton candy and vanilla)
Me: "I'll take a Banana Colada, please!" (banana and coconut)
When we were handed our 3 shaved ices, Mike decided to take a big slurp of mine before handing it to me bc he was so excited to try them all… A little tidbit about me: if something tastes or smells odd, please wait until after I've finished that something before you let me have your review of it.
This is what Mike said, after taking a big slurp of my Banana Colada shaved ice: "Ew. This tastes like suntan oil." (He proceeded to hand it to me with a pickled look on his face.)
At that point, I was ready to smoke some funny stuff. But I ate my Suntan Oil shaved ice anyway, and loved every bite.
If you ever drive through Junction city, be sure to visit Pelican Pete's! It's worth the wait. Amazing stuff, and everyone is happy! (Except for the neighbors, I'm sure.)(Come to think of it, I imagine they get a good discount.)
In the middle of all the sorting at the Stewarts' house, Pete's was a nice break. And I have to share this photo of Sophie with you… the following night we stopped in a Mexican place called Senor Tequila's to eat. Sophie had spent the entire day in the 106-degree heat, manning the garage sale with Mike and I. She worked very hard, answering questions and making change, and by 9:00 that night – when we finally got dinner – she was exhausted…
Yesterday was our last day there, and we went to Frieda's favorite flower market before heading out to the Kansas Veterans Cemetery. There was exactly one bouquet left, and it was beautiful. When we got to the graves, Mike was unsure as to which side to put the flowers on – his mother's or his father's. (In a military cemetery, there is one headstone shared by the soldier and his/her spouse. Jimmy's inscription is on the front of the headstone, while Frieda's is on the back.) We both decided at the same time that Jimmy would certainly say, "Put them on your mother's side – she deserves to have pretty flowers." So Mike did just that.
And because Frieda always shared everything with Jimmy, we did what she would have wanted us to do, and pulled a few flowers from her bouquet for him…
We love and miss you both so much, Jimmy and Frieda.
Thank you to those of you who checked in on us to find out what we've been up to. And thank you especially to each of our friends who helped us with all that needed to be done. You are, as I said, like family.
And thank you to Pete, for not living next door to me.