a quick before and after

I mentioned previously that I need to feel accomplished when I make things.  Either a meal that turns out yummy or a sense of completion in a sewing project.  Recently I felt a quick win when I finally successfully re-covered my ironing board with- you guessed it- a thrifted vintage sheet!

I wonder what makes those ugly brown stains on ironing boards?

The before photo isn't great, but you get the gist.  Cheap Ikea ironing board, non-standard size, not much padding.

Better already!

And much nicer to look at while ironing!

Oh yes. This will do.

 I love projects that are pretty and functional.

a few recent mini projects

 
I work.  And, when I get home, much earlier than many people do from a traditional work day (it helps that my commute is non-existent, though), I like to eat dinner and decompress.  It takes work for me to prepare to make things.  I have to clear space, first.  I have to locate supplies.  And that all has to be coordinated with what Mark is doing and where he is doing it in our shared space.

So, I don't really get around to making things until much later in the evening.  And, as you can imagine in a space our size, there's no sleeping when there's noise and no sewing without noise.  So, there's no late-night sewing in the living room while Mark sleeps next door in the bedroom.  It leaves precious little time for making!

That means, I have to make the most of the time I've got.  And, I need to feel successful in my projects- if I only had long-term projects that were always works in progress, I'd never feel successful.  I need quick wins sometimes.  It's why the Farmer's Wife blocks have been such a hit over here.  It's why I don't mind starting new, small projects while other larger projects are still in the works.  And, it's why I make things even when I'm at home sick.

I was home sick a few weeks ago and pulled out the embroidery (which is nice because it requires little space and can be done in bed).  I have little patience to go with my little time, so I couldn't be bothered with printing out a template or finding a pencil to trace with.  I made this by holding my fabric (just a scrap I found) up to my laptop screen and dotting along the line of the 'm' with a fabric pen (I got lucky finding that one).  I love how it turned out, and now it lives on the wall with my fabric hoops (and my empty hoops, another example of the work in progress!).

I ironed it when I was done stitching... next time I won't.  It flattened the stitches a bit.

What do you think?

stitches aren't perfect... but they've got character!

The wall is starting to come together.

I mixed green and yellow embroidery floss to get a color closer to what I was looking for.

a day to celebrate love

my love, dressed to the nines

And also, a day to be spoiled by the one I love, apparently!  My day was filled with flowers (first at work, with instructions not to bring my lovely tulips home, then again at home with a pink mixed bouquet!), Trader Joe's chocolate, a special song written by my love and then the excitement of a real dinner date.  We got dressed up.  I wore high heels and make up.  Mark wore a tie.  The meal ended with chocolate cake.  Now that's a date (am I right?)!

Although I appreciate being treated to all of the special things Mark did, I have to say it is always my favorite when he writes me a new song.  The first time he played me a song he wrote, we weren't even officially dating yet.  I was turning 26, home to Texas for a week with my family and spending my birthday in the hospital, where my mom was admitted for dangerously low blood pressure.  I was having a pretty crummy day, and very worried about my mother.  Mark had been texting me and told me to check my email, that he sent my gift to my g-mail account.  It was a recording of him singing New to You, posted privately on YouTube.

I had never received a more thoughtful gift and know that the ways he expresses himself is one of the reasons I fell in love with him.

Since my birthday song, several written in the distance of a long term relationship, and his proposal song, I've enjoyed hearing him play on a regular basis.  I think, though I appreciate his music in all its forms, that I can't help but appreciate the songs he writes for me the most.  What can I say?  I love to hear how he sees us.

After six months of marriage, it would be easy to get to that state of comfort where romantic notions cultivated during wedding planning are a thing of the distant past.  But Mark knows just how to take how we are and how we've changed and make it sound like, well, we were meant to be this way.  He's real about us in a way that doesn't make me feel either like we are over-romanticized or that we need to somehow overcome how we are.  But, he also makes me love us even more than I already do.

Here's to a day celebrating love that is cultivated through the work and partnership of both of us, everyday!

I clean up okay, too. 

I love it when he wears dress shoes.

playing my valentine's day song

before we left for dinner

"But I love Italian!  You sure I can't come?  I wish I had a Valentine..."

we've been cooking

...aka hand making in the kitchen.  As far as I am concerned, if it's not pre-packaged, doesn't come with microwave instructions, or isn't from Whole Food's global cuisine hot bar, it's handmade.  We've been doing an excellent job of constructing recipes at home lately, many from our favorite light recipes blog, skinnytaste.com. 

mincing red onions for skinnytaste's potato salad

Pollo in Potacchio

Strawberries-- in winter.  I know, I know.

Trader Joe's Teeny Tiny Potatoes for Skinnytaste's potato salad

This was a modified Skinnytaste recipe that went from veggie side dish to pasta dish!

I think it's fairly common for families to struggle to prepare nourishing meals throughout a week when it's also filled with work, school, social activities, exercise and down time.  Mark and I are no different, although we are lucky that between us there is just one full time job and this semester just two classes. We are taking the opportunity to re-set our habits of eating and getting our food to the table (so to speak. Currently, the table is covered with sewing!).

For about six weeks now, we have been meal-planning on Saturdays, together.  Mark will cook one or two meals a week and help with recipes I select for the other nights of the week.  We have been really good about eating out only once a week (with maybe an additional coffee or sandwich added to that). After we decide on our menu for the week, taking into account sale items at our local grocery stores, we make our list of groceries, adding household supplies and pet supplies.  Then we go out and get all the shopping DONE!  We usually try to include a combination of meals that can be made fast (like broccoli rotel soup, stay tuned) and some recipes that require the slow cooker (Mark's favorite).  We have also been trying to tip the scales in the direction of fresh produce instead of processed foods.

With the exception of Better'n Peanut Butter and Mark's two-box per week habit of Special K (or Trader Joe's semi-equivalent anything with the clusters), we've been really enjoying our peaches, bananas, strawberries, pineapple and apples.  Mark and Moses, especially the apples.  Me, especially the peaches.

So, that's it. It's really helping us both to keep track of our Weight Watchers points and be successful in becoming more healthy and losing weight.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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{this moment} ritual from Soulemama