vv 1/14...group o' love

one fun way that i decorated for valentine's day this year
is by looking through some stuff i already have...
i like that i didn't have to buy anything new
& that all of this has a little history
that goes along with it
in the words of my grandpa cal
'i knew i was saving this for something'
:)
this little sweetie was made by my sister, kate
when she was just a wee girl
(no, not in ireland:)
i love groups of things
& crayon drawing
& kid created
& ragged edges
this is one of my favorites
& i'm thinking i need to frame it soon
some of you know my friend jessica
she's jmbmommy round here
& she is a quilting maven
if you haven't seen her quilting creations
you need to go look at her blog
but do it after you finish reading this post
because trust me
you will get lost in all the talent & beauty...
for my bridal shower she made this little guy

a jmbmommy original!
she also made baby blankets when both of my
little elves were born
& what did she get from me for her babies?
lots of good intentions
& sadly good intentions don't keep babies warm...
enough of my guilt
i love this quiltieone day
when my time was my own
& not spent hanging out with little people
(who i love with all my heart, of course:)
a little red plate fell & broke
& so naturally
i saved the pieces
& put them together
in a little mosaic heart
the grout part was so fun
i must say:)
& this one
is a favorite
for sure
vintage letters
(found at ruthie b's)
used for those changeable signs
(when i was on student counsel
one of our jobs during 'student counsel class'
(that was a class just chock full of learnin')
was to change the sign outside the school...
& let me tell you
it's not easy when the sign is 10 feet in the air
& all you have is a long pole with a suction cup on it
trying to make the letters stick...
of course when you convince the adviser
that it takes five people to do it
it does become lots of fun:)

& the letters do mean a little something to me:)

since this is my house
& my ideas
there are no rules
& so even in a valentine group
a heart is not required...
Q made this last year
& i love it!
& red fits just right...

one day when my generous friend
let me look through her
stash of stuff
i found these little heart pins
& now i use them all the time...
so sweet...
the wall that put this little group on
has been pretty blank since we have lived here
(almost 5 years!)
& so it is a distinct possibility
that it will remain like this for a while
& that is just fine with me...

:)

ps i am watching lost from last week
because i was working last wednesday
& i need to watch it before the next episode tonight...
i do love that show
we have been watching from the beginning
& are most definitely
wait wait wait!!!!!!!
i am literally watching it as i type
& only lost heads will understand this
but desmond & penny are talking
& he just said his son's name is charlie...
could it be THE charlie?
somehow with all of the time travel craziness
is charlie actually desmond's son?
or did he just name him after charlie
because desmond was there when he died?
oh that might be it...
my mind was just being blown
but maybe that makes no sense
(because this show is just full of logic, you know)
okay
maybe i have calmed down
but i'm still not sure...
ANYWAY
my favorite quote
which i think sums up the show
quite beautifully
was a few weeks ago
when lock woke up & said

'when am i?'

loved it...

:)

heartie...

i love hearts
i heart hearts
i always have...
in fact i just found my old sticker book
& there is a large area dedicated to hearts
(in the h section naturally...
yes my sticker books were organized alphabetically
& it's a good thing we have kids
or brian's socks would be too)
i'm not sure what it is about them
the symmetry?
the rounded edges that meet in a sharp point?
or is the symbolism?
love & all that crap...
don't know
but i love them
& so guess what my favorite holiday is?
easter!
no silly billy...
valentine's day
of course...
this holiday has never been about super romancie stuff to me
(not that i don't love getting romancie stuff...
note to brian)
i just love seeing the hearts
& making heartie stuff
just love it...
& so for the next couple of weeks
i will be sharing some 'very valentine' ideas:
cards
stuff to make
decorating ideas
my heart things
& other heartie goodies...

but not in alphabetical order...

:)

promise.

be back in this space soon...

:)

something new...

icy & cold: excitement in the air

arms & legs: still intact

owies & tears: inevitable

something new & the four of us: always fun

:)

ps this was my first time ice skating
& brian said
'doing something for the first time at 34.
that's pretty good!'
& i hadn't thought about it
but it is pretty cool
i mean of course i do lots of things for the first time
all the time
like clean paint out of two year old belly buttons
& hear four year old jokes about poop
(the jokes aren't four years old
the teller is
actually the jokes are probably hundreds of years old:)
but somehow this was different, you know?
i was on a little 'new thing' high for the rest of the night...

so have you done anything new lately?

:)

pps thank you for all of your
comments on my wonderfinds post...
i loved reading them:)
i will be doing that again
for sure!

:)

happy shoe year...

okay since i'm now experiencing blogger's remorse
about that last post
(but i'm not going to delete it!)
let's talk about shopping!
i have my own shopping budget
just for me & it is $20 per month
(close your jaw)
for a while i would try my best to find things
at target or walmart
old navy online
(cause that's the only place they sell their plus sizes
curses on them!
but not too much
i still like what they have!)
i would try
& i would look for clearance things
& find things for $19.99 online
but then shipping would send me over
so i had to try to find things for
$12.99
& that's SO EASY you know...
anyway
i started thinking
'wouldn't it be great if there was a place
where people could give away
clothes they don't wear any more
& people who are looking for clothes
WILL go buy them there?
that would be so GOOD...
WILL
GOOD
WILL
hmmmm'
so i went to st. vincent de paul
& let me tell you
why have i been wasting my time on new?
why?
i have no problem wearing other people's shoes
i have a washing machine
(& a dryer, even!)

i think every once in a while i will show some pictures of my finds
& then the price i got them for
(is that weird or annoying or braggy?
or all three?
cause i was going for all three)

& so i present you with
emily ruth's wonderfinds: shoe edition

i love these little sweeties
especially the red stitching on the outside
& the red inside
....$3.49 at SVDP
i am a person who spends half my day
wiping things off of my shirt & pants
so a little patch rubbed out on the toe of these
was no biggie to me
& they are super comfy
...$5.99 at Assistance League of Eugene: Thrift Shop
somewhere along the way little tennis shoe flats
were renamed skimmers
(i like that name much better, anyway)
& i love skimmers!
...$4.99 at GW

& though i would cherish my own spiderman slippers
these were actually a stocking stuffer for Q
& he insanely loved them
...$1.99 at GW:)

ps all four of us are going ice skating tonight...
& so i might end up only wearing one shoe from each of these pairs
for a little while
if you know what i mean...

pictures will be forth coming
if i can stay on my feet
that is...

:)

it's about time...

it's beginning to look alot like two weeks (& ONE DAY) after christmas...

um
okay
so yeah
it's not two hours after that last post
it's not even 24 hours after it
because
you know
life happens
sometimes that life comes in the form of
a little girl elf who had a raging morning
which included the words
'i want a new mommy'
&
'i don't want a new mommy. i just want daddy'
& it also included
screaming
yelling
crying
(& she did some stuff too. ha:)
she did have numerous time outs...
gosh i wish i could have a time out
just once...

anyway
that plus the interesting occurrence that
when i moved all of the containers out from
the spot in the garage
under the stairs
between the hot water heater
& the shelf that houses
extra food
& snow chains
where we keep it all
someone moved in
& is now calling it the basement
(& i am praying that he doesn't start telling people
that i make him sleep in the basement
though if i did he would have all of the essentials of life
blankets
check
blocks & trains
check
football
check
cans of chili
check
gilmore girls season 5 on dvd
check
(look closely
it's all there))

& so
how can i make him move out of the basement?
when he has decorated it
& says things like
'i'm going to the basement to read!'
&
'can i have some snacks to take to the basement?'
(what?
canned chili isn't a good snack when
you're not allowed to use the can opener? huh.)
he's too cute...
& so our christmas decorations
only partly packed up
(not all my fault!)
sit in the garage
waiting to see...
will the basement stick?
will he move his bed in next?
or will this lose it's novelty too
like watching tv while hanging upside down from the couch
or wearing long pants in the winter?
only time will tell...
time
& how long we can maneuver around the christmas boxes

:)

it's beginning to look alot like two weeks after christmas...

& so we bid a fond farewell to
the decorations that we took such joy in putting up
& are now buried in the minutia of everyday life
(can you see the christmas village rooftops under
the papers
& plastic box of christmas cards (very classy, i know...))

& the little cabin
trying to peek through
(perhaps i could also put away his
turkey friend who seems to have stuck around to celebrate)

my wish
my hope
my want
(all in the christmas spirit right?)
is that this charming pile
in a few short hours
will look like something resembling this
oh wait that's martha's basement
maybe more like this
or even this

which is actually a before shot
of a real simple garage makeover
but i would take it!
trust me you don't want to see the after
it's proof that
too much organization can kill you
or at least looking at someone else's hyper organization
make you feel very very messy
even when you're semi tidy...
sometimes

& on that lovely note
i go
off to get it all together
& i hope to return
to this very spot
later this afternoon
with photos
& contentment
& joy to the world
all put away
ready for next year
(i'm even going to try to label the outsides of the boxes
i know!
overachievers look out!)

c u soon
:)

so so great...

thanks kambria!


:)

she...

"who is this?" she says pointing to her new christmas undies
"tinkerbell" i tell her
"tinker bell! tinker bell! tinker all the way!" she sings...

:)

can you believe that hair
sometimes i can't believe that little blondie
came out of me...
i know where the blond came from of course
let's not start any rumors...

:)

she will be three in march
& giant Giant GIANT fits are now the norm
& hitting her brother
& yelling 'NO!'
& screaming (oh dear God, the screaming)
& making silly faces with arm motions to match
(she's very 'vogue' in her movements)
& singing her own made up songs
& coloring very small deliberate marks
& mommy-ing her babies
& giggling & giggling
& 'reading' us books
& asking what each letter is
& every night after we pray she says
(faster than anyone who is not me or brian could ever understand)
'i want to tell you a story
mommy & poppy go to the park
that's a good one'
& asking for 'lips' (chapstick)
& saying 'i love you so much in this world'
(she pronounces world 'wor-yold')

:)

she reminds me of this great
fresh ink hallmark card i saw once
'you are a human sparkler, you are'
she is
she is...

:)

& no little girlie
i would rather spend my days with...
love you miss m!
so so much...

before it's too late...

(gulka 2008 christmas card photo)

hope it was & is fun...
as fun as photobooth posing...

:)

ps i know
my kissing face in the bottom picture
is totally wack-a-doo
just for the record
i don't kiss like that on a regular basis
only when i'm trying to 'look' like i'm kissing...
come on, emily! relax, man!

:)

okay

so maybe i like those word verification things
a little too much
but i got such a good one today
when i was friending someone
on facebook
(oh yes i'm friending...watch out!)
it was:
yourself grand

isn't that good?
:)

even though it's almost over...

merry christmas!
hope it was grand...

:)

twas the day before christmas & all through the house...

if you think i am together enough
on the day before christmas
to write a little poem
you give me much more credit than i deserve:)

i'm off to shop
& hang out with my sister
& enjoy the hustle & bustle

oh & i joined facebook yesterday
because
you know
one more thing on the to do list...

everything must go!

a few years ago
(actually it was probably about 8
geez i'm getting old)
a large department store in my area was closing
(i think it was the emporium, for those of you
present or past eugenians:)
so of course i went to the big
'we're closing out doors' sale
not sure what i would find
but always excited about the possibilities...
on a table they had a big pile of these
little price sign holder thingies
(official name)
for $1 each
i saw them & instantly had a few ideas
so i scooped some up
or rather
awkwardly walked around
trying to balance them on my arms...
& so
once again
when we lived on the farm
& had no elves running around
(except for the little furry ones that
we could lock outside if they were getting in the way)
i tried an idea
& it stuck...
snowflakes & angels
hanging out in the frames...
once again i hadn't used them for a few years
but this year they called to me
& so i set them up outside on the porch
where they had been on the farm too
(snowflakes & angels do enjoy the outdoors)
sprinkled a little fake snow
(which apparently called to it's friend
the real snow
to come for a visit:)
& called it a merry christmas!

i also think it really dresses up our shoe shelf
& everyone knows
those little shelves love a little flair...

i think pictures would look really cool in these too
don't you?
for a party maybe
or just a fun display in the house
if we ever have a surface
not covered with crayons
or dollys
or cars
or legos
or paper
or fabric
or camera equipment
yes
if.
:)

ps
yesterday the snow all melted
& then last night we got more snow!
it is so beautiful
but
i am such a wimp
& plus i like to be free to drive my car
so i'm ready for this to go too...
although
a white christmas would be really fun...
:)

snow business...

:)

o christmas wreath...o christmas wreath...

i love decorating for christmas
& i'm so glad we did it early this year!
when brian & i were first married
we lived in the house i grew up in
on my grandparents 107 acre farm
(yes it was beautiful & wonderful:)
for christmas one year
i made this little wreathie thing
to hang over our table...
since we moved i only pictured it above
our table
& i didn't want to drill holes in the ceiling
(well, honestly i would drill holes
all over the house if it were up to me
but my husband
the logical one
thinks that would not be so good
because someday
we might need to try to sell the house
& people wouldn't want to live in swiss cheese...
sheesh!)
so year after year
i just left it in the box
but this year
THIS YEAR
i pictured it someplace else...
so to make it
i used a fake wreath
(i mean EVERLASTING wreath:)
& set it on a table
then wrapped lights around it
twisting the wreath branches around the wire
i used tulle to hang it
but you could use ribbon or twine
or whatever strikes your fancy:)
the tulle worked well because it hid
the wire from the lights...
to finish it off i hung sparkly snowflake ornaments
around at random spots...
i'm so happy that it worked outside
why didn't i think of it before?

here's to all foliage everlasting!
:)

ps
i had never been a big fan of
non-real plants
(i can't afford the kind that look real
& i can't make the cheaper one's look good
like i've seen friends do)
but one year i bought a few wreaths & garlands
& i worked hard to make them cute
& so for christmas
i am big fan!
:)

paper & glue= :)

i've really been liking
playing around with these old dictionary pages
& paint
& ribbon
& glue
& buttons
serious fun.

& so there are a few new things in my etsy shop
closer to christmas than i wished
but it came so fast!

hope you are checking things off your list
& enjoying it...

:)

cuteness overload...

*sigh*

:)

que?

that's mustard up there
& that address was for a really cool holiday sale
& the other note?
doesn't it just beg the question
will the neighborhood pizza & the neighborhood quiche
be mad that i'm not emailing them?

:)

there's snow place like handmade (or something like that...)

i've been playing around with pipe cleaners & buttons
i love doing things with simple materials:)
& i put a few in my etsy shop
so if you're yearning for snow
& you don't have it
maybe some of these little sweeties could tide you over
until the real flakes start to fall...

click on the picture to go to the shop...
buying handmade
ahhh
almost as refreshing as a true snowfall
:)

ps i also made some other ornaments
& i was planning on putting them in the shop
after the crafty christmas sale
but
(get this)
they all sold!
so i'm going to make some more soon
here's a little sneak peek:



we are getting our tree this afternoon
woohoo!
it's the most wonderful time of the year...

:)

stars hollow & gabon...

(if you already know what this post is about
just by the title
ten points for you!)

i am looking for a very specific subset of people
shall we see if you are in it?
are you a gilmore girls fan from at least season 3?
are you watching survivor:gabon on thursday nights?
if you answered yes to both
then you are just the person i am looking for
check it out:

stars hollow...
i came to gilmore girls a little late
we never had the channel
& my sister would rave about it
i could see how it would be great
but never saw it until netflix!
(thank you netflix!)
anyway
we got the first two seasons from netflix
four episodes at a time
& then i couldn't wait for that red envelope in the mail
any longer
so we started buying the seasons
(they were written into our budget for 4 months:)
& since then i've watched the entire series
7 seasons
two times
i'm working on my third right now...
okay so
(now i will be getting specific)
remember the third season
when rory & jess weren't talking
because in season two he wrecked her car?
& when she came back from her summer in washington dc
(at politics camp or something...)
& she sees him making out with some blond girl
& then for the next few episodes
he's just always making out with this girl
& rory finds out that she works at the beauty supply store
when she & laine go to get hair dye
because laine is feeling rebellious
& dyes her hair purple for 45 minutes
before she gets scared & dyes it back to it's original color
(but it was still dyed! so she's still rock & roll!)
okay so anyway
that girl that jess was making out with?
blond & cute & sassy & grumpy
her name was shane
& so i was watching those episodes this week during nap time
(i don't really watch them around the kids
though if i'm watching anything they say
'are you watching gilmore girls?'
& they both know the theme song
where you lead i will follow
anywhere...)
& this time when i saw shane i was like
what is she on?
she looks so familiar
so i started going through the show we watch
the office
30 rock
ncis (i was conned into this one but now i like it:)
grey's anatomy (me, watch online)
private practice (me, watch online)
samantha who (which coincidently sukie from gg is on...just keeps getting weirder!)
i didn't even consider the reality shows we watch
amazing race & survivor
because that would be silly
& then!
last night!
survivor comes on
& there she is!
sugar!
sugar is shane!
& i'm like
'brian!
remember!
gilmore girls!
the girl jess makes out with for three episodes!
remember!
(& god love him he did remember:)
it's sugar!
SUGAR!'
(yes her name is sugar
at least on survivor it is...)

i told brian i wanted to blow this wide open!
give me a radio show!
i said
i will tell the world!
then i realized the chances of
anyone even remembering her on gg
were slim
(though lydia, i have faith that you remember her
& kate? you too!)
plus those same people watching survivor this season?
maybe there are 8 of us out there?
but boy would i love to meet up with those other 7
they would call us the the survivor-gilmore 8
(like the oceanic 6, you know
oh, we watch lost too)
we could have coffee at a diner
(or rain forest)
i picture that meet up going something like this:
'wow, shane is sugar'
'i know! sugar is shane'
'it's really crazy'
'yes it is.'
'so...'
'so...'
'do you watch battlestar galactica?'
'no. do you watch project runway?'
'no.'
'do you want to see my gilmore girls collector plates?'
'YES!'

so anyway
i am so happy to get that out
into the open
i feel so free...
now to ponder how she got to survivor
& is that a step up or step down from gg
(i think we all know the answer to that one)
& would she ever admit it
like if someone was so hungry & starving
& they started to hallucinate
& images from their past came back
christmas when they were 5
third grade spelling bee
mom reading them a bedtime story
first kiss
high school graduation
college graduation
wedding
birth of children
third season of gilmore girls
& they were like
'hey!
you're shane!'
would she say
'go back to your daydreams bucko'
or
'yes that was me & i got to make out with the guy
who is now one of the main guys on heros
pretty cool huh?
by the way
can i have the fake immunity idol?
thanks!'
i know i could find out most of this info online
but speculation is way more my style....

:)

ps
okay so i had to look it up
i googled:
shane from gilmore girls sugar survivor
& found this
with video & everything!
woohoo
i love the internet...

:)

pps
i have seen all of the seasons of gilmore girls
for about $15 each at costco, target, walmart
& in fred meyer ads in the past few weeks...
so if you're looking for the perfect gift
for the special (& freaking cool) someone
i would recommend getting them a season or two
they're the gift that keeps on giving...

:)

mix it up...

i'm so excited for christmas
i will be posting a lot this month
(have i jinxed myself now?
we shall see)

as soon as we got home from portland on friday
Q started asking
'are we going to get the christmas stuff out now?
now?
are we going to do it now?
okay. now?'
& so we got it all out
(actually
i held him off until saturday
feeling like a grinchy mommmy...
seriously!
if i can feel guilty for waiting until the saturday after thanksgiving
to put up christmas decorations
you can see i am a world class guilt monger:)
so saturday
the earliest ever for me, i must say
& i also must say that is it so great
to just have it all out
& getting to enjoy it
plus
(don't faint)
we put all of the boxes away...
i know!
no red & green tubs in the corner?
no snow village foam & cardboard boxes floating around?
the age old question:
if there is no mess after decorating
did it really happen?
it did!
& i am gleeful about it:)

only the stockings are left to do
i will post about that soon
we each have to choose our button
& that's all i will say
i know, suspenseful!
(though if you have been
reading my blog since last christmas you already know
what that means
i'm not much of a mystery writer i guess:)

& i need to mention that little star up there
it was in a cute little primitive shop
& i am not really a primitive girl usually
more vintage is what i am
but
i love it
i have to say
i do.
& i stuck the hanging silver merry christmas thingy
(official name)
on it
just to see
& i wondered
is it the mixing of two too different things?
like ketchup & chocolate
good apart
not so good together
you know?
rustic & shiny.
but i decided that i like it
it's two of my favorite things
a good visual of me, my life:
country girl dreams of the big city...
& that my friends is the true official name of my
outside
to the right of the front door
decoration.
the end.

:)

ps i got the star at a cute little shop in junction city
buttermilk junction is the name
it's primitive & sweet & rustic for sure...
but not so primitive that they don't have a web site
click on their name to see it
or if you just want to see how much i spent
on the star click on the picture
i know tricky...

i can't remember where i got the
hanging silver merry christmas thingy
probably some year at the target after christmas sale
75% off is hard to resist...
:)

the sequel...

lots of cute stuff...
come visit:)

& so it begins...

after a lovely little (long) thanksgiving weekend:

wednesday night:
work work work

thanksgiving day:
drive to portland
fun with great in-laws
cousins running around in their undies
(okay that was just my kids)
pumpkin cheesecake
(so incredibly yummy
& the only reason i tried it
is because i knew it would be rude
not to try the homemade dessert:)
'& because there is such a thing as manners
these fish?
these fish have manners.'
name that movie:)
kids to bed & watch cable
give thanks that we don't have cable

black friday:
6 am lessons learned
(1.check the store open time
2. make sure the comforter you want is on sale friday not sunday)
cuddle with the twins
drive home
date night at home
(feed kids early
put them to bed early
eat homemade calzone
& watch the brave one...
that's a crazy movie)

saturday:
thanksgiving dinner 2: the sequel
sausage stuffing
(i know!)
fire eater
(lilli's boyfriend is! really!)
the civil war game!
(the civil war game!
you know!?!)
rock band
(i am so in love with this game...
so glad we don't own it)
spend the night on the most comfortable couch ever

sunday:
late to church
(surprise! surprise!)
soccer game (Q)
nap (miss m)
sesame street live at the hult center
(so fun to take my kids there for the first time...
the place where i saw
annie
& the nutcracker
& chicago
& les miserables
& stomp
& amy grant
& many others)

a great weekend full of
great people
great food
great things to do
great! great!

& now on to the next!
i love this month
i love the bustle & busy-ness
& decorating
& wrapping
& happy happy:)
& i love that we made our list
& budget
& we have cash for every bit...
i might love that the most actually:)

can't wait to just enjoy this time of year
both of my elves are at great ages for christmas magic
& they are elves for goodness sake!
this is their time:)

hope you're excited too...
try it, it makes everything more bearable & fun...
happy december!

:)