This Wild Idea

Are you on Instagram?  You should be.  Go check it out, download it on your phone, then come back here for this username that you’re going to want to follow: @thiswildidea

I have become obsessed with this guy and his dog, Maddie.  They’re traveling the country, meeting new people, recording stories, and best of all (for me) taking photos of Maddie in strange places and positions.  She’s been balanced on a bike, laying atop a wall mounted TV, or tip-toe on top of the golden arches. This week she was on a pool float, enjoying Las Vegas.  You should hear the debates in my household over some of these pictures and whether or not they’re Photoshopped.  (THEY ARE NOT.)

The photos of Maddie are great on their own, but when you read the story of her owner, Theron Humphrey, and the “wild idea” that he’s working on, it’s just amazing.  I used to love Steve Hartman’s “Everybody Has a Story” and I listen to every one of NPRs Storycorps broadcasts.  This project has the heartwarming goodness of both of this programs, AND a dog.  Check it out at www.thiswildidea.com.

And don’t worry, if you’re not on Instagram, you still can enjoy Maddie’s photos at her website maddieonthings.com

Get Lucky

Are you a loyal follower of Thursday Night Smackdown? You really should be. Not only is Michelle hilarious and fun to read, but her blog will make you cook better, covet expensive kitchen crap, and, as evidenced by yours truly, it will make you lucky.

I won (again)! TNS was celebrating its fourth anniversary and Michelle offered a cookbook giveaway to her readers. Lo and behold, last night I see on Twitter that the winners were announced and I am one of them!  Woo-hoo!.

Now you may remember that I won another giveaway from TNS a couple of years ago, a gorgeous set of prints, and now check me out: winning again.

So now the hard part, choosing a cookbook.  Here’s the list I have to choose from: http://thursdaynightsmackdown.com/cookbooks/  I’m leaning toward Curry Cuisine since it’s been on my wishlist for two years or so and no one will buy it for me.  But then again there’s The Perfect Scoop, which I’ve always coveted, but I would really like a book of ethnic recipes, like The New Book of Middle Eastern Food… Oh I don’t know. This is a tough one.  Any opinions?  Which book should I choose?

And thanks again to Michelle at TNS, you’re the best. Happy blog birthday,  I can’t wait to visit Sweet Biscuit Barbecue in 2017!

Here and There

From the rose garden at Elizabeth Park. I forgot to tell you about that trip last month.

It’s time for me to tie up some loose ends, isn’t it?  You’ve been wondering about things, I know you have.  Here’s a quick list of updates:

Operation: Chick (Phase 1)
Status: FAIL

Sadly, none of the eggs that Mama Hen was sitting on actually hatched. Nature, being what it is—which, frankly, is heartbreaking—most of the eggs were broken over the course of the month she sat on them, either by accident with Mama Hen moving around a lot, or as a survival-of-the-fittest measure by some of the other hens. My guess is that one hen, in particular, was breaking the eggs when Mama would take her occasional, frantic breaks to run around the yard and get some sun and a quick dust bath.  She was often seen squawking and squabbling with Mama, which leads me to believe she was the egg-breaker.  We had one particularly devastating broken egg incident when I found a fully-developed chick in a broken egg, just days from when he would have hatched. So sad. But! We are going to try again. Dedicated hen that she is, Mama is still sitting on the unfertilized eggs each day, so we have a plan to give her a new clutch of fertilized eggs and her very own private nursery in the form of a portable dog kennel, where she can sit on her eggs in peace without the other dummies sitting on her and laying their eggs in her nest.  Operation: Chick (Phase 2) might start this weekend if we can find the time to drive out and pick up more fertilized eggs.  Stay tuned!

Image via Pinterest

Pinterest

After several months of trying to figure out what the heck Pinterest was and why one would use it, I decided to join (for free) and try it out.  I have to say that I love it a lot.  Think of it as a place to save your bookmarked pages and ideas in one, beautiful, visual place.  For example I keep one “board” of things I want to make and one of things I want to eat.  Pinterest lets me refer back and see a photo of what it was that I wanted to make (or eat) and remember why I was excited about it in the first place.  Even better, if you have friends or know bloggers who are on Pinterest or have great ideas that you love to keep track of, you can follow them on Pinterest and see what they’re “pinning” on a daily basis.  This has given me many, many great ideas for crafts and for me, I feel more inspired looking at photos than link titles in my bookmarks folder.  Check it out, it’s addictive and it’s free to join.  You can either request an invitation, or let me know and I can send you an invitation.

Image via Pinterest

Summer Vacations

Luke and I took off for a long weekend at the Cape over the 4th of July. I’ll have more to tell you about that trip as soon as I upload all of my pictures, but I can tell you right now that it was wonderful.  Luke’s work schedule has been so crazy that I really haven’t seen him for a span of more than one day in about two months.  He’s been working crazy hours and Saturday nights and it’s really just, plain sucked.  This trip was three straight nights of getting away, no work, no house obligations, just relaxing and having fun with friends.  And I miss it so much.  So does Luke, who worked twelve hours last night.  At the end of the month we have another vacation planned for the Lakehouse in Maine.  Nothing but fishing and relaxing and reading and we can’t wait.  Then after that trip, I’m leaving for another part of Maine for a getaway with my mom, my sister, and her boys.  That should be fun!  I’ve been stocking up on my summer reading books and have, at last count, 14 books to enjoy.

Image via Pinterest

My Recent Addiction

Is there such a thing as compulsive nail-painting disorder? I may have it. Luke’s previously-mentioned crazy schedule leaves me with a lot of free time on my hands and browsing around Pinterest gives me so many great ideas for different nail treatments I want to try.  First I fell in love with this neutral look, then this awesome matte/shiny black manicure caught my eye.  Right now my nails look like this, but this feather manicure (above) is coming next. Or maybe I’ll try out one of these marbled looks, or maybe this blue/gold one… It’s an obsession, I tell you.

OK, I think that just about sums up what you’ve missed and what’s been going on.  As soon as I stop painting my nails for five minutes, I’ll upload my Cape Cod pictures and tell you all about that trip, I promise.

Stuff and Things

I’d say it was about time to get rid of those St. Paddy’s Day photos, right?  But really I have nothing coherent to say, so how about I just list off some things I have been enjoying lately?  Sort of a highlight reel of other potential candidates for What I Love.

Planting Chickens in the Garden – oh, just kidding. You knew I had to mention the chickens at some point.  I mean, it’s been at least two posts since I talked about them.  This, here, is a typical weekend scene.  The ladies all get to free-range on the weekends when we’re home all day and they’re particularly fond of taking dust baths around the Zebra grass in my garden bed.  They crack me up.

OK, now let’s get serious…

Nice Things Now – a new website from the always lovely Leah of A Girl and a Boy fame.  From the website’s About page, Nice Things Now “…is a place to find inspiration and share ideas on simple ways to make the world a nicer place.”  And that it is.  Lovely, quick posts, beautiful photos, and simple stories to lift your heart.

The Most Awesome Headphones Ever – after hula hooping with my iPod Vetrapped to my upper arm and with my earbud cord tucked into my bra for far too long, I finally bought a set of wireless, Bluetooth headphones, and let me tell you, they are the best things ever.  For less than $35, the Motorola S305 Bluetooth Stereo Headset has changed my life. Seriously.  As you may know, I live in the ssshhhhhhh! home of a third shift-working spouse where I do everything in my power to keep quiet at night while he sleeps. Now, I can put on my headphones, turn on some music or listen to podcasts on my iPod, and walk around the house without cords.  They’re comfy, they stay on securely while I run on the treadmill, and I can skip tracks with the easy control buttons on the headset.  And as an unexpected bonus: they have an amazing range. I usually leave my iPod on the kitchen counter, and I can walk all over the house, even halfway to the chicken coop without losing the signal. These things rock.

Spilled Milk - speaking of podcasts, it seems that everyone I know has never heard of, or at least never listened to a podcast.  I find this sad.  There are so many wonderful ones out there and most of them are free!  One that I have been enjoying a whole lot lately is Spilled Milk featuring Molly Wizenberg (of Orangette) and Matthew Amster-Burton.  As they say, “Spilled Milk is the show where we cook something, eat it all, and you can’t have any.”  It’s a show about cooking and more importantly, about eating.  Matthew and Molly are hilarious, it’s obvious that they love what they’re doing, and their enthusiasm is contagious.  I challenge you to listen and not laugh.

Not Martha - a wonderful website I have lurked about without commenting on for far too long.  Megan is funny and creative and talented and I swear, everyday I either bookmark a link she’s mentioned, or add something to my Amazon Wishlist from her posts and suggestions.  She’s brilliant!  I mean, check out this cake! And these dahlia brooches (I have to make one of these).  Last week she linked to this post from The Ugly Green Chair about online eyeglass shopping which led me to buy two pairs of glasses from Goggles4U.  Today I bookmarked a tutorial she mentioned last week about making yoga pants from an old t-shirt.  This woman is my crafty, clever, fancy-baking, online hero and I’d like to believe that if I lived in Seattle, too, we could be friends.

Great things, am I right?  So tell me, what have you been loving lately?

I didn’t know Urban Dictionary knew me so well.

The other day on Facebook I saw another one of those “go here, do this and post it as your status” things. Generally I ignore them, but I was bored so I followed along.  The instructions were to go to UrbanDictionary.com and type your first name in the search box, then copy the first returned definition and paste it into your status.

I went, I searched, I received:

“One of the most popular names for a newborn girl in 1970. Most Lisas are hot.”

Nice. I do like where that one is going, but as I went further down the page, they got even better.

“An intelligent and sexy female with LUSCIOUS physical features. Usually attracts weird guys named David who do absolutely NOTHING for her, but she still remains independent.”

LUSCIOUS, huh?  That’s new.  And I’ve never even been hit on by anyone named David.  Weird.

“A freakin AMAZING chica…anything but unattractive. Hell she is totally far from that. Can we say delelctible….Loves Chinese food and tattoos. Loves moths doing there own kamakaze suicide attempts into flames. Usually a very good speller. And loves her little, should be, foreign car. And is always ready for a fun time.”

(I corrected some of the spelling errors because, ironically, as the author put it, a Lisa is “Usually a very good speller.”)  This definition is mostly true.  I do love Chinese food, tattoos, my little foreign car, and fun!  The moth thing, though… that’s just creepy.

This next one is that one I most wish was true:

“An extremely smart and sexy female with great hair and a great face. Nice, sweet and generous are words that go along with Lisa. She is funny and giving. Not a slut by any means but does like to have a good time. Always ready to party and her phone is always ringing. She will even fly to another state for a house party. She is self confident and blessed with good genes. She just has it all; all other girls are extremely jealous of her.”

Don’t be jealous.  I’ve never even been invited to a house party in MY state.

Lastly, this is the sweetest one:

“Someone who has a great zest for life, always remain[ing] calm and collected and able to be in control of situations. Has an unprecedented sense of humor. It is rare to cheer everybody up in different situations, yet she always manages to do it. Moreover, she is the life and soul of a party, which makes her extremely sociable. She is not quick-tempered, in fact deep down, she is really an amiable person. Lisa has a very unpredictable lifestyle, for this reason she spends a lot of time exercising. Intelligent and very focused. Strong set of character, which makes her stand out from the rest. Never one who gives up. Extremely beautiful. Great lover.”

Which reminds me I should head to the gym. Also where are all of these parties I’m not being invited to? Don’t they know I’m the life and soul of the party?

So tell me, what does Urban Dictionary know about you?

Winner! Winner!

I guess have to start by thanking the Gilmore Girls.  You see, I used to read the recaps of the Gilmore Girls episodes on Television Without Pity and the ones written by Pamie were my favorites. I poked around and found Pamie’s website, which eventually led me to her friend Glark, and Glark led me to the Damn Hell Ass Kings, which led me to Thursday Night Smackdown, who so generously hosted a contest to win merch from Roosevelvet’s Etsy shop.  Which I won.  So thank you Gilmore Girls!

Actually, thank you Nathan from Roosevelvet for your generous contribution, and thank you Michelle from TNS for picking me!

I chose these two beauties from the shop as my super prizes:

Let Them Grow print

Contarex Special SLR Camera print

Beautiful, aren’t they?  I’m so excited to get them in my hot, little hands.  I’m sure they are twice as gorgeous in person.  Go now to the Roosevelvet Etsy shop and buy everything he has in stock!  I recommend this one and this one (my third and fourth choices).

What I Love: Moms

My mom, specifically.  Moms are the best, aren’t they?  I know that yesterday was Mothers’ Day, but I was busy cooking and celebrating the moms in my life and didn’t have a chance to write.  Plus, telling your mom how wonderful she is doesn’t have to wait until Mother’s Day, right?

Oh, and in case you’ve been on the edge of your seat wondering:

I made the strawberry cupcakes.  And they were delicious.  Very sponge-cakey and pleasantly not-too sweet.  Yum.  Just right for a post-breakfast treat.

So anyhow, back to the moms.  In addition to my favorite mom – mine – I realized that I’m surrounded by and acquainted with so many wonderful moms.  My awesome sister, for example.

Now if my mom or my sister had blogs, I’d refer you to their sites, but since they’re two of the last four people in the world without blogs, I’ll refer you to some of my other favorite moms on the Internet.  Some of them I know, some I wish I knew, some I feel like I’ve known for years.  Enjoy, and happy day-after-Mothers’ Day to all!

Amanda of Me, My Dogs, My Life : funny lady extraordinaire and rockin’ mom to Jane

Karen of Simply June : crafty, creative, and mom to Kolya

Heather of Beauty that Moves : you remember Heather – kind, creative soul and mom to Emily

Anna Maria Horner : gorgeous, creative mom to five kids with one on the way any minute now

Amy of Amalah : hilarious, smart and funny mom to Noah and Ezra

Beautiful Stephanie of Nie Nie Dialogues : mom of four, healing and recovering after a tragic plane crash last fall

Here equally lovely sister Courtney of CJane Enjoy It : mom to “The Chief” and all-around fun, insightful lady

Amanda of SouleMama : crafty, sweet mom of four from Portland, Maine

Amy of Angry Chicken : creative, crazy mom of three who shares my insane need to make odd things like her own underwear and homemade butter (although not at the same time)

And of course you can’t forget the mom-queens of the Internet, Heather of Dooce and Ree of The Pioneer Woman

Now it’s your turn.  Tell me about your favorite moms – actual and virtual.  Who did I forget?

Aw, Shucks.

Thanks again to everyone who entered Heather’s giveaway of my goodies (and her cookbook).  I am shocked and humbled that 358 people would all want to win something that I’ve made.  Or maybe you just like free stuff.  Can’t blame you there.  Either way, thank you again, and welcome to any new readers we may have picked up.

For the 357 of you who did not win the giveaway, I wanted to let you know about a special deal going on in my Etsy shop during the month of May.  My 33rd birthday is coming up at the end of the month, so to celebrate, I’m going to include a surprise birthday gift with every order of $33 or more.  Hurry on over there now and see what’s new.

OK, the shop-pimping and sales-pitching is now officially over. Back to our regularly-scheduled whining and photo-posting (and hyphen-overuse).

Spiffing Up

I had to do a bit of housecleaning today, spiff up the place, you know, because we may be getting a few new visitors over here.  Now sit up straight, let’s try to make a good impression on the new folks.  Hi new folks!

Today I am proud to be a part of the First Friday Giveaway over at the beautiful Beauty That Moves site.

Heather, of Beauty That Moves, is practically my next door neighbor.  We visit the same places, walk the same woods, shop at the same flea market, and she even sells her wares at the same Farmers’ Market that I love and visit every week in the summer.  (Of course I was too shy to introduce myself last summer at the Market, hopefully I’ll get up the nerve this year.)  Anyhow, despite our many opportunities to trip over each other, I found Heather’s website via SouleMama (another beautiful blogger from Portland, ME).  Once again, it’s taken the vastness of the Internet to find a friend in my back yard.

I’ve been reading Heather’s site now for just under a year and will continue to read until she decides to stop writing.  I can’t get enough of the beautiful photos of her warm and lovely home; her gorgeous handcrafts; her delicious recipes (like this bread – oh my, this bread – go make it NOW); and her honest writing which is calming, inspiring, and so open and friendly that I feel like I’ve been a friend of Heather’s for years despite the fact that we have never even met.

For the past few months now, Heather has been holding First Friday Giveaways where readers can enter into a random drawing to receive handcrafts and vintage items either from Heather’s stash, or donated by talented and crafty readers.  Being a fan and a crafty reader, myself, I decided to donate a small sampling of goods from my shop for May’s giveaway.  Head over there now and comment on the post and you may be the lucky winner!

Stick around while you’re there and get to know Heather a bit.  Start where I did last summer with her Month of Balance series.  Here are some of my favorites: Day 7,  Day 18 (I still have to make that skirt!), and Day 21.  Here’s her spot at the Farmers’ Market (one month and counting till it opens again!).  And don’t forget to visit her Etsy shops: Mayberries Vintage for the most gorgeous thrifted antique and vintage goodies, and the Beauty That Moves shop which is closed at the moment, but worth checking back in on for her lovely handmade things.

OK, I think I may have exceeded my link quotient for the week, welcome and thanks for visiting to all new people reading this today, best of luck to all who enter the contest, and thank you to Heather for including me and mentioning my little corner of the Internet on your gorgeous site.

I’ll Take One of Everything

The homepage at Etsy today featured an interview with Kerry of Tryst By Kerry, my new favorite Etsy shop.  Her “oui” necklace caught my eye immediately, and then of course I’m a sucker for anything with birds, so I immediately wanted this necklace.  And these earrings!  I have to have these.

After drooling over a handful of the twelve pages of gorgeous jewelry in her shop, I went back to read the interview.  She graduated from college with a degree in biomedical engineering!  I’m impressed.  Go check out her shop, wallow in the gorgeousness, and buy me something while you’re there!