Progress in the Bedroom

Just a little, but I think it's the hardest part about painting: the cut-in work.

I don't like to use painter's tape because it takes really long to put up and it's expensive, so I just use a steady hand {or something like it}.

Hopefully it will all be done by the end of next week.This is the wall I have left to do the detail/edging on. And then I can pull out the big brushes.

Sneak-ety Peek

No good light today to take pictures. More tomorrow.

Around Town

Since I work out of my home office, there are often days where I don't get dressed much further than pajamas and a sweatshirt. Most days I don't even make it that far until after 5pm. Because I'm so consistently homebound, I take my time when I go grab lunch or run errands - it's just nice to remove myself from the 90 square feet I look at for days on end. {okay, let's be real. The chair I sit in is about 4sqft and I don't really work when I'm not in that chair} One such day last week I drove around and ate my sandwich in the car and almost tried to get lost, per se.


Instead I found buildings older than most I've seen in Lawrence. Most of the turn-of-the-century buildings I stumble upon are homes, not businesses. Especially once you stray off of Massachusetts Avenue.

If this building wasn't so close to the railroad, I'd put it on my wish-list for future homes.


Wouldn't it be awesome to have a home refashioned from an old warehouse or old office building? I know it's not for everyone, but both Ryan and I think it would be so cool to renovate and live in a loft-style environment.
I especially love the fact you can see the old owners' branding on the side and front of the building.

I don't know what this building it currently used for, but I hope it stays erect for years to come. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll come back and make it our home.

I wanted to get pictures of the building, so these are from this weekend. Saturday was an icy-wind, snow-for-hours day. We were waken from the glare at 7:30am, even though our blinds were shut. I debated staying in bed, where it was nice and warm, or getting up and heading to an estate sale I'd looked up the night before. Both won. I slept until 8:45, then pulled on some shoes and threw my hair back into a pony-tail and found a treasure! I'll have to post about it later.

As you can see in the pictures--taken around noon on Saturday--that it wasn't a fleeting snow storm. It lasted for a few more hours after that and finally let up just before we left for a birthday dinner celebration that night.

I live in such an awesome town.

*Edited: I just looked up the Poehler Building details - It was built in 1920 and started being renovated last year. It's currently for sale for $1.875 million but is 38,500 sq. ft. Here's another picture from the real estate site. It's being renovated for office space, retail space, and loft living. Too bad it's right on the railroad tracks, eh?

Add Chocolate Writing to My Resume

This picture is terrible {taken with my phone in bad lighting} but these are chocolate covered oreos with Es on them.

For a special birthday girl.

The CupCake Kit

{i.e. super cute and you know I already ordered one}

image via CB

I saw this one today on a design blog and clicked on over to Chronicle Books and purchased one for me and one as a backup...er...as a gift option for whichever family member really really wants it for their birthday next. I think I have JUST the person in mind.

image via chronicle books blog

I wish I worked for Chronicle Books. I wish I were an editor of craft books, actually. I found a company the other day looking for freelance editors and I've gone back and forth in my decision to email them my resume. I don't have ANY experience editing, but I know I have a knack for taking other people's work and making it sound just that much better. I'm not so great at writing my own stuff...case in point. Which, inadvertently, is why I chose to major in English at BYU, with an Editing emphasis. Maybe I should finish that degree...

{by the way - if, by chance, anyone from Chronicle books is reading and needs a good book/product reviewer for honest-to-goodness feedback, I wouldn't mind...no, not at all}

So start drooling over these adorable cupcake liners, because that's what sold me on the kit. Not even joking. I'm a sucker, absolute SUCKER for packaging.

image also via

P.S (aside - my second PS in a row, maybe I should not consider it a PS, right?) I was lucky enough to find a discount code. If you really really really want it and can't find your own, leave me a comment and I'll email it to you. I don't feel right about posting it on my blog and then having a bunch of coupon-hungry interwebbers finding it and using me for my codes. I don't like being used, really.

Warning: Crude Language Ahead {and hilarious video}

I'm an out-of-the-closet fan of Flight of the Conchords. I may have blogged about them before {I know they were mentioned in a survey I did at least}. Season 2 started a few weeks ago and this is - by FAR - my favorite song of the season.


I don't know how long this will be available, so watch it as many times as you can, while you can :)

P. and S. To set the scene, Bret and Jemaine's band manager, Murray, just dropped them off to go clubbing and their ethnicity-ambiguous friend Dave is there to make sure they don't do anything stupid.

And I Enter My 27th Year

On Thursday of last week I started feeling anxious about my birthday. When I was little I'd always thought of myself as having accomplished so much more by the time I turned 27. I'm not sure why I didn't feel this same sense of ...urgency? no, that's not quite right...acuteness when I turned 26. Maybe it's because 27 is closer to 30 than 25, maybe it's because I have been feeling down lately. Maybe it's because I wish I had children at my ankles and tugging on my shirt, asking for more juice or wiping their goldfish cracker-encrusted fingers on my just-washed pants by now. Who knows.

Either way, I have some fabulous friends and family who know just how to make me appreciate everyone and everything I love and made my day truly spectacular.

My husband wished me a happy birthday in hushed tones early in the morning. I think it was before 6am, but both of us were rearranging or rolling over and trying to get more covers from the other. He's so sweet. And he's perfect for me.

Then my fab friends, Erin and Amber, completely spoiled me with lunch from my favorite Thai food restaurant, a cake and ice cream, and this beeeauutiful serving bowl and plate. I can't decide if I like the present or the box they came in more! They're both beautiful and JUST my style.

mmm...delicious! and it's already gone. devoured.

this box is huge! i'm thinking I'll use it to store plastic serving things - forks, spoons, napkins - you know.

While they were here for lunch I got another knock at the door and my in-laws had sent me this bouquet of flowers. EVERYONE should get flowers once or twice in their lives. It just makes you feel so special. Thanks Mom and Dad!


By this time I realized I'd gotten nothing done at work. If I took off a half day I'd feel obligated to work the afternoon and finish my morning stuff. Not much fun. So I ended up taking the day off. I have the best boss. Seriously. He's one of the funniest people I've met.

I was planning on just using my afternoon to paint the guest room or clean up the kitchen {which has yet to be touched - it's so disgusting right now} but I wasn't even given an hour before Amber called me again and told me I was being kidnapped at 3:30 and I MUST be ready to walk out the door. I was given a list of what to bring. I kind of figured they gave me extra things to throw me off the trail, but I'm a smart cookie and I figured it out. Amber is prego and it was something all 3 of us could do. I was told to wear comfortable clothes but bring something else to go to dinner in, makeup, a hairbrush {i wore my hair curly/wavy yesterday, so nixed that immediately} and something else I can't remember. I was thinking tanning - a guilty pleasure of mine - or massages. Well, prego girl can't go tanning, so massages it was! Hooray!

After my hour-long massage, Ryan picked me up and we headed to my dinner of choice and came back and hung out the rest of the evening. So even though Ryan and I make up our little family for now and we'll have to wait to add to it until later down the road, it was a great day and I really didn't have a minute to be sad, thanks to everyone.

I know I'm right where I need to be. And right when I need to be.