Cool T

We went to The Killers concert last night and it was a great performance with a spectacular light show. Nate got this shirt cause it had the best design.

Orange cats are the best!

I was just discussing the many merits of orange cats at a party last night and then I came across this story! It has nothing to do with the fact that they are orange, but it's a great story.

This article is equally amusing.

Forsythia

I wish I could say this was in my yard, but it belongs to my neighbor with the perfect yard. I call him Pick Up Sticks because he goes out every morning and collects even the tiniest twigs. I'm glad I can enjoy his efforts from my living room window. We have some forsythia in the back, but it's more of a ratty, overgrown mess and not so perfect.

Dining Room

This print and buffet were new in February, but none of you have been here since then! Print is from allposters.com and buffet is from Target.

Soda or Pop?

Check out these old labels I got on eBay. I love how they are each so unique. I have big plans for them, so stay tuned!

Martha, Martha, Martha!

Martha Stewart: Crafts has exploded at my Michaels store and possibly yours too! I was wondering what those empty aisles were for. It's really an impossibly fabulous collection of paper, stamps, labels, stickers, embellishments, punches, albums, shadow boxes, organizers, pens, general craft tools, wedding favor supplies, and kids crafts. There are things I was eyeing, like the bone folder, that just look so much cooler in the packaging they've got going on.

I've always wanted a ribbon box, and now I have one!

Concert Posters

I design all the posters and programs for the orchestra I play in. I'm working on the latest one, so I thought I'd share all the past posters. I like the way they look together and I have them hanging on the wall as you go up the stairs.

Spring Cleaning

I'm in the process of cleaning and organizing the office at home. I have *a lot* of office and art supplies, so new bins, boxes, and baskets are a good motivator to clean up. I found these really cheap silverware baskets at the drugstore and put some paper in the bottom to keep anything from falling out.

Good Huntin'

It was so nice today, we went to nearby Fort McClary to look for sea glass. It was very successful, probably due to all the storms! We found some rare red and pink glass. I'm trying to collect a little bottle full of each color for the small pieces and the big pieces just go in the printer's rack. I just happen to have a picture of the printer's rack from yesterday when an unwanted visitor decided to camp out there. Scroll down to find him! Sorry, I know it's gross, but imagine it in person.

Bird Overload

My aunt has the best shop in Snohomish, Washington called Joyworks. They sell all sorts of neat decor items, clothes, accessories, and gifts. Everything is displayed by theme and arranged perfectly in unique salvaged cabinets and other vintage furniture pieces. I wish I had pictures of the store, but the last time I was there, I was too busy getting excited about all the bird and egg items for my future bedroom makeover. I've had the postcards for a while, and I was just waiting for the right use. They are from a series by Cavallini & Company, where everything is cool. Oo! I just realized they have bird stamps and labels too.

Cattop

This table is supposed to be for my laptop, but apparently it's a good perch. Or maybe it's a suggestion that the most important laptops are large and fuzzy. The photo is also fuzzy, but you get the idea!

Yipes Stripes!

When we were little, my cousin had a shirt that said "Yipes, Stripes, It's Spring!" There were coordinating striped pants, of course. I just remembered that when I saw this beautiful paper designed by Amy Butler. I'm excited to play with it and perhaps experiment with some mixed-media creations.

Bracketology

Nate recently brought home The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything. It will probably end up in his office waiting room, but for now it's at home to entertain us. The book received a lot of press in March, for obvious reasons, and though I don't agree with all the winners, it is still a unique concept. There are brackets on everything from Typefaces {winner: Gill Sans} to Scrabble Words {winner: "QAT" (U-less Q word)} to Presidential Speeches {winner: Lincoln, Second Inaugural}. You can browse a few of them on your own here.

Cheery!

I've been spending some time on eBay lately and I found these adorable flower juice pitchers. I'll probably use them as vases, as I don't see myself serving orange juice TV-commercial-style anytime soon.

We've had some serious wind and rain here, but we survived with just a little water in the basement.

Nor'easter S'more'easter

It rained all day today (and will probably snow tonight), but last night was a great night for fire at our friends' house — a little chilly, but perfect near the fire. I certainly am looking forward to summer and not having to wear socks.

1st Ice Cream of the Season

We first heard about Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's last year. It's coming up on Tueday, and I want to make sure everyone knows! I won't be able to go, so we headed over this afternoon. I not a huge ice cream fan, but I was eager to try the new "Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobbler™ {Peach Ice Cream with Cinnamon-Sugar Shortbread Pieces}". Unfortunately, our shop didn't have it, so I settled for another new flavor called "Cinnamon Buns {Caramel Ice Cream with Cinnamon Bun Dough & a Caramel Streusel Swirl}" and Nate had Crème Brûlée {Sweet Custard Ice Cream with a Caramelized Sugar Swirl}". Their website is pretty fun and I especially enjoyed the flavor graveyard!

Side note to locals: Bob's Clam Hut is kicking Ben and Jerry's out on May 1 and they'll be serving their own ice cream. Boo.

Ahhh!

For those of you viewing this in Internet Explorer, I apologize! I just took a look and was horrified. The sidebar headers are not supposed to be huge, black, and gross. They should look like the date above this paragraph. Also, I just added a playlist on the left (thanks for the idea, Kim!) but it doesn't show up in IE. I'm going to try to figure this out, but I'm very surprised. Usually, things work in IE and you have to adjust them for other browsers.

Edit: Ok, I should have thought about this for 2 more seconds. I realized that I have an old version of IE and that's probably why things weren't working for me. I tried to get an update, but apparently Microsoft stopped supporting IE for Macs and there are no more updates. Oh well, I didn't like it anyway! So, the bottom line is that everything probably looks fine. I checked Firefox and that works, so let me know if you see anything weird.

Happy Birthday, MOM!

In honor of my Mom's birthday, I'm sharing the super cute purse she made me for Christmas. It's knitted and felted with a fun bead handle.

TitleTrader

These are my first two receipts since joining TitleTrader. If you have books sitting around that you don't want, you can list them on this site. Once an item is requested by another member, you mail the book to them at the media rate and you earn a point to choose another book!

Seeing Clearer

I used to be anti-blog. Then I started reading a few regularly and I've come to realize how fun they are. I always have pictures and ideas that I want to share with my friends and family across the country, but I rarely get around to emailing them. For example, my new glasses! I'm not brave enough to post a picture of them actually on my face, but this will have to do.