Mrs. Poppy

This little lady was for my mom for Mother's Day this year. She wanted some big red poppies, so big red poppies she got! (Legs sold separately)
The sewing desk is all set up and I'm frantically trying to get things made for my etsy store!...coming soon. I'll let you all know when it's up. It's a cozy rainy day here - perfect for sewing. Looks like Judah's going to be introduced to Toy Story today! (Fast-forwarding through that creepy part at the neighbor kid's house, of course). And I'll get some pictures posted soon too of the new place now that the boxes have cleared.
Toodle-oo.

Charming Little Birthday

I wasn't looking forward to this birthday...new town, a teething baby, and John Jay was at orientation all day. But it turned out to be quite lovely! On Birthday Eve, John Jay gave me a giant cupcake from Whole Foods...mmmmm. Then another at six the next morning with, um, a birthday candle(?) on top of an elegantly wrapped gift (see picture below). After a nice walk, Judah took me on a date to The Gardens for a picnic. When we got home, I had flowers from the McIntires, and Anne surprised me with a subscription to one of my favorite magazines! After leftovers for dinner, (no cooking on your birthday!) three more cupcakes and ice-cream followed. Although two of those cupcakes are hanging out in my freezer - even I have limits. Birthday kisses were given by both my boys, then Judah fell asleep on my shoulder on the way to bed, something he rarely does. It was a beautiful day.

RETRACTION

Melinda just called and she DID put the cookie cutter in my suitcase!!! I checked with a sweet, but ambiguous source before my last post...always go to the source! Lesson learned, and Judah's name cleared. He is an angel after all.

Mommy's Little Criminal

I forgot about this guy. I made this sleep shirt back in Ruston. The bottom half was an old, odd-fitting t-shirt.














The top half was a normal ribbed tank that got the ax. The little ruffles were made with tiny elastic. John Jay says it looks like I have a skirt up around my ribs. What does he know? :) I might make him a matching one that he'll have to wear, so as not to hurt my feelings. Just for the record: this picture of me is hilarious...ho-hum, ho-hum.



















Moving on...I found it the other day when I was (finally) unpacking my transition suitcase from the move. I also found one of the dino cookie cutters used at the McIntires when we made short bread cookies. I hoped hoped hoped that, knowing my son's affinity for dinosaurs, and mine for cute shaped cookies, that Melinda slipped it in there while I wasn't looking. But, shamefully, I had just discovered my sons very first theft. When?! When did he get the cookie cutter and crawl off 50 feet unnoticed?...and how did he know to go find MY suitcase to hide his loot in? Well, it's too late to be honorable and return it...so we made sandwiches. So as a reward for his larceny, he woke up from a nap with triceratops migrating across his high chair. I might need to reevaluate the "punishment fits the crime" discipline style. Sorry McIntires!

Play First, Work Second

We've been so busy! I still haven't cleaned off the sewing desk. I removed a few of the top layers, but it's still cluttered around here. We've been preoccupied with more important matters. See the brief footage below:

Junk Heaps Everywhere

This is what my sewing desk looks like right now:














So, needless to say, I don't have any projects going other than making this place purdy. Durham is gorgeous. Every time we go outside we say, "I can't believe we live here...I can't believe we live here..." I only have John Jay for a few more days until work and school start. But after that - let the projects begin!!! I already have some things in mind. But first things first: clean, organize, put away, and clean again.

Fig Rustons

My latest project:














We are almost done! Ugh...we accumulated so much boo-hockey since we've lived here! Lesson learned for the next homestead.
Here's a little tribute to this old town...
We have fig trees in the back yard, and Judah and I can only eat so many. This is my attempt at homemade (whole wheat) fig newtons. I combined a few recipes from this list. These pictures are so unappetizing - does the rainbow napkin help? They remind me of this book I just bought for John Jay. But I promise they tasted delicious.
Oh, and I learned (from Mr. Wiki, of course) that fig newtons were named after the town of Newton, Massachusetts...ergo the post title.




























































This is my last post for a while. We load up tomorrow for Durham! So stay tuned...
Bye Ruston! It's been swell.

The Last Supper

Our menu looks grim. We are trying to eat everything in the fridge and not waste a drop. Well, at least I am, John Jay is just complaining about eating everything in the fridge and dreaming of fast food mush. But the other night did me in.
It was our last Ruston-cooked meal and it was going to be special. Pan seared garlic steaks, spinach dip and baked potatoes (sweet and original). Ruston had another thing in mind. She can't sustain her electricity through a slight breeze, let alone when the wind knocks down trees all over town. Out goes the power...during the middle of cooking. In an effort to avoid food poisoning, John Jay squinted through the flashlight beams and created shoe leather, while I made makeshift spinach dip, sans everything but the spinach. The potatoes were only half baked when the power shut off, so in the microwave they remained. (Our old lady of a kitchen gets too hot to run the oven for an hour, especially when it's 102˚ outside and the air be broke!) Ahh...dinner's ready! Garlic and teriyaki tire tread, with a side of flavorless spinach gruel. Wash it all down with a nice glass of lukewarm water! Mmmmm...
With a baby sleeping in the house, we had no escape from the heat. My genius of a husband came up with a plan...we used our cell phones as a baby monitor (thank you free mobile to mobile!), and went out to the air conditioned car with popsicles for an hour. But thanks to Ryan and Anne (and their candles, Scrabble, and ice cream) the night ended on a high note.
Here's Hubby, enjoying the steak jerky by candlelight:

BFF's Say "See You Later"

To those of you who don't know me and/or Jenn very well, this post might seem a bit narcissistic. But let me explain...
Our photo-shooting all started about four or five years ago when Colin Todd needed some subjects for a school project. I have conveniently left out those photos from this post. :) Two years ago, Kelly Moore asked us to help out with some new ideas she was playing with. We complied, but had no idea what we were getting into. We spent the day playing dress-up and posing all over North Louisiana, and ended up in a lake in wedding dresses! (click here for a few of those pictures)
Since then, our new mom schedules haven't allowed for many dress-up days and just-for-fun photo shoots. So for an early birthday present this year, Jenn took me shopping to buy an outfit for...you guessed it...one last session with Kelly for old times sake! We had so much fun! It got a little engagement picture-esqe, but whatev. To post them all would be ridiculously long. Besides, it gave me an excuse to make a slide show video! I was going to set it to this song, but settled on a song Jenn gave me instead.
We have seen each other through a lot...school (one of us graduating!) bridal showers, a wedding, painting and moving (although, that's always been one sided...sorry!) sharing a duplex, crazy jobs, Dessert Fests, pregnancies, baby showers, and the births of our firstborns! and all their firsts, lots of birthdays, lots of Lost, lots of tostadas and cookie dough, and way more laughter than anyone could hope for in a lifetime. She's seen me at my worst and still loves me anyway. If people in North Carolina are half as great as Jenn, I'll be okay.
Jenn: Thank you for teaching me how to be a friend. I love you and will miss you terribly, but it's just "see you later".