things i love

hoops with fabric in them: hoops can be found at any craft store...but i like to get mine at the second hand store.

i can get a bundle of them sometimes for as cheap as 75 cents. and the metal ones are a bonus for that price!

i love to decorate cheaply, so this is a wonderful way to get a bare wall dressed up, and you can always change what fabrics you have in them for the season or for new found favorites!

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i'm working on some "things"

will post some pics soon!

my spa weekend?

*8 hours of mandatory meetings one day and 3 the next
*boys who haven't seen each other since being overseas together
*only 20% off of all spa thingies that cost a bazillion dollars to begin with ( uh...we need money to eat and feed our children)
EQUALSmaking cheap fun in our hotel rooms
yes i think they had like 5 controllers and they brought their own flat screen tv
we had fun laughing and playing games

this view was from inside the hotel (in the middle of it) i think there are three floor under me from this floor
the hotel was grand.

too bad i'm more tired coming home from this weekend then i did going to the place.

oh well

we're back,

and we get three weeks and weekends where we don't have to go anywhere.

we're pretty excited.

tutorial: baby girl quilt

want to make this?
go see it at the moda bake shop.
it's my latest tutorial for them.
go give me some love!
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we're off to an army thing this weekend. we get to spend a couple days at snowbird ski resort. the kids are being watched by my wonderful brother and sister-in-law.
i know poor me.
i get to go to a spa...
i know go ahead and hate.
it's understandable.

late to the party but i made it

well i really can't call it fashionably late...just really late. but i decided to join park city girl's
online quilt festival.
tomorrow's the last day to enter.
a little about this quilt:
this was my first quilt that i made that had triangles in it. yes, that was only last year mind you. up to that point i had made a lot of square blocked quilts and one buggy barn quilt...and that's it. i finally got the nerve to try something a little more advance (for me).
i think of this quilt as my hurdle of finally getting over being scared of trying new things in quilting.
i still consider myself a very beginner quilter.
VEEEEERRRRY beginner.
but most defitnitely i'm excited to keep going and learning.
and i'm not afraid anymore.

what i'm working on

another tutorial.

well that and a derby car.

come back tomorrow.

dresden plate

so i love fabric.
i think you sort of get that on my blog.
i also love old quilts.
i don't have any in my family.
a while ago i decided to start making quilts so that the tradition can begin of having old heirloom quilts passed along the way in our family.

it's been so nice for the last two days that i can not justify staying indoors all day near the computer or on the sewing machine. so what better time to work on "hand work" like they did back then. soaking up some vitamin D at the same time as well as shedding the paste-i-ness i like to call my limbs.
i love how this dresden plate turned out. i'm either going to frame it put it in a hoop, or keep going and make more. either way i love it a lot.
you can get this pattern in the book: Material Obsession: Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots

seriously the book is pretty sweet and the chicks are from down under.
they have nice weather down there.

like all the time.
they probably are always tan
and always doing hand work.

oh we laughed

yup me on THE chair photo taken by camille

camille from simplify thought it was real sad that i didn't have a quilt store or *gasp* a target near me. (3 hours away people!)so she thought it would be a good idea to have me over and let me get my fix of a big city. well, that will teach her...
we.didn't.sleep.
but we did shop and sew, and drink a lot of dr. pepper (diet does taste the same as the real stuff i don't care what YOU say!) ;)

look at how small her meal is compared to mine...i guess that's what tall lanky model body girls eat as appose to short little midget hispanic girls with curves like me eat...i'm not shy about my food eating habits...so it seems.

yes, i got to see THE chair in person...even got to sit in it while we cackled like old women. of course she got all the shots of me in the chair on her camera!...but no way no how am i going to bug her right before market to send me pictures of me in her chair. her new fabric line came today in the mail....thanks camille for sending over!

SO MAD IT DIDN'T get there while i was there so i could pet it in person.

i guess i'll just have to wait till it comes to the quilt stores to get my fix!
seriously camille thanks for giving my family to have the opportunity to miss me.

about that...

the family survived without me.

actually, when i walked in through the door the house was clean and the husband had dinner almost ready. the kids were all setting the table. the kids saw me and ran to me, hugged said their i missed you's and then i just stared and said "wow, the house looks great."

his answer was "yeah the floors have been swept and i vacumed. all the laundry is done as well. i think i would make a really good housewife."

yes, indeed he would.

so much that i think i'll be very happy and confident to do my little weekend trips more often.

that'll teach him for trying to upstage me and my housewife-ness.

birds of the same feather...

drink waaaaay too much soda, laugh too hard, and don't go to bed till almost 4 in the morning, and not because we were on the strip in vegas...but because we were having too much fun with fabric.
more pics to come

i'm off to vegas baby

for some nicer, warmer weather and to visit this cute little gal to have a girl's weekend. we're going to paint the town red (well the fabric stores and second hand stores) and she even promised me she would take me to TARGET. because i'm pretty sure that is what heaven is going to look like...a target store.

pillows sold...thank you (but there's more over there and i'm making more stuff for next week)more stuff has been added to my store...go check it out. i've been busy and i'm working on more stuff so more to come next week on that.

have a great weekend

see you on monday.

"the easter bunny sucks!"

so we were on the road on easter sunday. i know not very religious of us. but the husband had to be back at work on monday morning and we had to see family on saturday soooo...you do the math.

as we were traveling the oldest boy yells up to the front:

hey isn't today easter sunday?

me: yeah (oh crap he's going to lecture me on why aren't we doing what Jesus would want us to do)

one of the boys in the back to the other one: ooooh yeeeeeeah! wonder what the easter bunny brought us!

me: grumbling swear word!

my wonderful husband coming to my rescue: uh guys the easter bunny's not coming this year...

all three boys start yelling at once:

WHAT? WHY? but WHY?!! THAT'S NOT RIGHT!

husband that came to my rescue: cause the easter bunny doesn't leave stuff for kids who aren't going to be home on easter. we're usually home and so he didn't want to leave stuff just in case. sorry guys.

all three boys: THE EASTER BUNNY SUCKS!

me: oh now hey guys lets not be so mean to the easter bunny. sh..he has a lot on his plates sometimes and this time of the year you can only imagine how stressed out he was....grumbling too low for them to hear thinking about the wedding and all the other stuff

oldest boy: santa clause wouldn't pull something like that.

husband that came to my rescue: nope, you are right santa clause wouldn't pull something like that. (snickering in the front seat)

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so guess what?

the easter bunny came a little late this year.

feeling real bad and all.

sh..he showed up on tuesday (after i came home from walmart and before the boys came home from school)

the boys are all okay with the easter bunny again.

and the easter bunny got some KILLER deals on half priced items for easter.

go figure.

oh martha and a mini make over

i have in my possession the book:
and i have come to two conclusions:
a) martha is in hoots with the devil himself or
b) she has an awesome eye for things and has a huge team that she single handed picked out to work out her ideas and have them come up with ideas of their own that are "martha worthy"...

ooooh this book is so good that i can't refrain much longer, i must go and buy one for myself. i could just sit and stare at this book for hours. which i did yesterday. the day was so pretty we (the pasty things i call my children and my pasty self) spent a few good hours outside enjoying the sun. i also got to leaf through this lovely....sigh....

i also did little makeover. i took this fake bush i bought with every intention of doing something with (like last year)...and brain stormed and came up with:prune the heck out of it.

and ended up with a little more spring come into summer decor.

i'm off to walmart for my weekly get everything i need for the week because it takes 45 minutes of driving through the mountains to get here trip...wish me luck.

we're back

and we're POOPED.

i would like to sleep for like three days

the wedding was wonderful.

california weather, oh how i've missed you.

it was great to see all our family.

i'm itching to finish this tutorial i got going...

more to come...soon

ps: mom liked the bag

edited: sorry it's been brought to my attention that i accidently hit no comments...oops

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!