7 things

camille, i don't normally do tags but i'm feeling a little on the nice side so here you go:

7 things you might not know about me:

1. spanish was my first language.

and even though my spanish-o aint so good-o these days i still consider myself bi-lingual.

i mean i can pick up what they are putting down on tv-novelas, but that dialog isn't where i want to be practicing my spanish. seriously how can i drop in a sentence "slut" or "bast..." i mean "jerk" when speaking with my grandmother? maybe i'll start looking into watching the news in spanish so when asked what i think of the weather, i can answer with how i think North Korea is super awesome.

2. growing up (well till i was married) i was a major tom-boy

my passions were running, volleyball, soccer, and wearing baseball hats.

as a matter of fact there wasn't a day that didn't go by (except for the three hours during church on sundays) that i didn't have a baseball hat, soccer shorts, and tennis shoes or flip flops on, or something along those lines. my mom and grandma would BEG me to wear some make up, i called them fools. when i started to wear make-up and skirts, my husband told me to quit it. i called him a fool. now i find myself a little in the in middle.

3. i didn't know how to sew till a few years ago.

uh yeah when you are super busy playing sports and such things you don't really have much time to realize that you really loooooooove to sew. but after a couple of kids and my bladder not being what it used to be, i found speed walking and sewing.

4. i am majorly scared of trying new things in front of others.

just ask anyone i have sewed with.

my first time cutting into fabric i cried (it was in front of people)

the first time i learned to sew clothes or make a quilt...i was crumpled in a corner rocking back and forth while everyone kept encouraging me that i could do it.

but get me in a room by myself and with a pattern and a sewing machine... and i will royally mess up over and over, but by gone it i will LEARN and make up a few tricks of my own.

if i were a guy i don't think i would be able to pee in a urinal at a public bathroom... i'm just saying.

5. i am really short

i've been told (by bloggers who meet me in person) that the most surprising thing about me when they meet me for the first time is...how damn short i really am. yeah i'm 5'1" on a good day.

my friends tell me all the time they feel like giants when next to me.

you are welcome.

oh and cooincidently the second thing they say about me is how super awesome i really am in person. HAHAHAhahha...ahha...hmmm

6. i made my husband so stressed out during our year long of being "kissing friends" for three months straight that he would throw up every time someone would ask how things were.

for as tough as the man is now, he has a very sensitive side (hello, he's a marriage and family therapist) i made the man go through hell, because i wouldn't commit to dating just him. i was having the time of my life in college dating anything that would ask me out, but at the end of the day i would always call him and we would "hang"... it was during this personal hell time (for him) that i realized i never wanted to live without him and i finally said "yeah, lets do this thing."

7. i'm an only child.

that probably explains a lot about me. and you better keep your mouths shut about this one.

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soooo we're off to california, for my nieces wedding and seeing my family. i'll be back next week with new projects i'm sure, but till then hasta amigas! ;)

she wants a messenger bag

we're meeting up with my mom at my grandma's house this next weekend in los angeles. and my mom gently reminded me that she's still wanting a messenger bag. well she didn't exactly call it that, but when she described what she wanted this is what she described.

she wanted it to rest on her hip, she wanted it just big enough to hold her wallet and keys and sturdy enough to go anywhere, especially the beach. where she goes every day. she practically lives there.

i'm so jealous.

first time in 10 years

that we don't have a crib up in our home. we did it.
we put her in her toddler bed.
this toddler bed was made by my father in law.
this bed is super sturdy and has survived
all
three
boys.
and now she gets it.
we anticipated a hard transition, but she's handled it pretty well and she even managed to take a nap or two in it as well.
boys vs girls : totally different breed

and my seducing skills paid off. we finally painted the boys room. i wanted to go darker but husband was like "it'll look better a lighter tan" i kept trying to seduce him into a darker paint but i guess my skills weren't that good. the boys kept asking why we were painting the walls white. HA. he thinks i paid them to say that. maybe i'll pay them just because...

even now as i'm typing this he's looking over my shoulder and saying "ugh. that's a horrible picture, you can't see the true color of the tan walls."

we'll live just fine with the darker shade of white for a while. i do admit that their room looks a bazillion times better than what it was before.

i'm still working on their room. i've neglected it till now. i don't really know how to decorate a boys room. it's super...ah...EXCITING with all the decor don't you think? i'm in the hunt of the perfect poster so i can frame it. and then i think that's it for their room.

we also minimized their "stuff" remember the whole get rid of your crap motto? i do it every month with the boys room. they seem to think that rocks and dirt with an occasional lizard thrown into the mix need to be brought into the house. the husband is working on getting a "rock garden" going just for them to keep the "nature" outside of our house. i think we've convinced them (especially after they tragically killed the last lizard...probably scared it to death) that their nightstand drawer was not to be used as a holding cell for any more live animals...

decorating 101

picture by pottery barn

CORRECT PLACEMENT OF WALL HANGINGS
i see it all the time. and really it's not their fault. they hear "eye level" and yeah we are taller these days, but too often i see pictures "floating" up on walls too high. and when asked by someone who wants my help to decorate their space i've had a couple of interesting "discussions" on what "eye level" in their house means. i often hear "my husband and i are taller than you."
uh yeah, well most of America is taller than me so what's your point?
it still doesn't change one HUGE point:
picture by pottery barn

art galleries actually set the standard. they say that the average eye level is between 59 to 63 inches. so as decorators of our own spaces, we are advised to use that as our guideline...oh i can hear all the questions already:

should the top, bottom, or center be that height?

the center of your art should be at the recommended height.

what if i have a group of pictures?

well then pretend your group of pictures is one big piece of art. the center of your art should always be around the 59 to 63 inches off the ground.
plan accordingly when you start hanging your group up.

image from the book: In the Country Style: Timeless Designs for Today's Home

what about over sofa's and beds?

6 to 12 inches above the sofa or your head board (so the experts say)

what about buffets or side tables (shelves)?

generally you want to hang it (or have it leaning against the wall) close to the anchoring piece of furniture so around 4 to 8 inches above (so the experts say)

so there you have it my first 101 for decorating.

here's to not having too high of art on the walls.

it'll make your house more pleasing to the eye i promise!
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have a great weekend!
we're just chillin

getting ready for our trip to california next weekend.

and while hubby watches dvr-ed shows after the noisemakers go to bed i will snuggle up next to him having a love affair...

i have a date with book #3

City of Glass (Mortal Instruments)
i would like to point out that EDWARD has BEEN REPLACED.

oh yes i dare say that JACE is

much

sexier

than

edward...

oooooh let the hate mail begin.

vintage pattern

i got this pattern yesterday. thought about making it into a dress but seriously look how short those things are...i mean can we say HU-SSY? anywho, i decided to make it into a shirt. and i really like it a lot so i think i'll make the hussy dress a little longer but not as long as the one on the far right.

i used the fabric i had left over from the little one's quilt i made last summer...

i think it turned out so light and spring-y. i love it.

and i think she does too. now if the dang weather would just cooperate so we could wear it outside...

oh and have you seen this?

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts: An A-to-Z Guide with Detailed Instructions and Endless Inspiration i nearly peed my pants when i saw it.
i just bought a few books so i can't just go out and buy this one. BUT my friend who everyone thinks we're related because we kind of look alike bought it...so i've already got first dibs on borrowing her book while i muscle up a little more money to get my own!