My Pear-y Christmas

 

This Christmas my family surprised me with some of my gifts. It seems I have an affinity for all things pear right now, and my family picked right up on it. Check out these sweets treats they bestowed upon me!

This fabulous clock from Etsy seller, KitchenTableVintage.

Now my challenge is to find a place to hang it!

Three of these precious ornaments from Etsy seller, Defabricate.

I can't wait to hang these on my tree next Christmas!

This amazing timer from ModCloth.

Technically, this was an early birthday* present.

I can't wait to add to my pear collection now, and the color works perfectly with my dream kitchen color scheme!

(*10 days away)

The Christmas Spirit

              

The infamous C.S. (that would be Christmas Spirit) hit me last weekend after returning home from Thanksgiving in NY. So I put the tree up. It's been a few years since I last put up the tree, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover some of my favorite ornaments all over again. I also threw on my creative cap and made some of my own this year, seeing as how I felt the tree was lacking in the cool department (what with all the gifted ornaments on the tree that weren't quite my style).

Please forgive the awful photography. My digital camera and I are not friends.

p.s. Is it just me, or is the tree waaaayyyyy crooked?

Retro-Cool

      

I have concluded that I want an all-white kitchen with splashes of color. You know, when I finally decide to settle in somewhere. I think a white kitchen would be the perfect canvas for someone like me. Someone who constantly yearns for change. I'm currently obsessed with three VERY retro colors, and I'm dying to put them in my (future) kitchen...

AVOCADO!!!

I have these bowls, but one is busted. So sad.

(Source)

TURQUOISE!!!

(Source)

RED-ORANGE!!!

(Source)

I'm imagining something like this (but with a splash of red-orange)...

(Source)

And I ♥ the idea of painting the interior of the kitchen cabinets. Like this...

(Source) discovered via

And I absolutely, positively HAVE to have these in my kitchen. I realize this would be a pretty big commitment, but I cannot express how much I want these...

They're available in many, awesome, retro colors. I'm not entirely sold on the avocado; the color possibilities are endless! Sweet!

(Source)

(I think my ceramic ducks would fit in perfectly!)

(Ooh! And my ceramic Lincoln Logs too! I'm super-psyched!)

Sometimes I long for a place I can call...

 

 Sometimes. But for the most part, I usually feel like this...

You say cheap, I say thrifty. Part One.

   

(Please forgive me for the plethora of lame-o post lately. In case you didn't know, I'm knee deep in thesis work, so right now, somethings gotta give.)

I had started working on a series of posts awhile ago that outlined my thrifty-style by taking a photo tour of my present domicile and exploring all my clever, cheap thrifty tricks. But then my computer contracted a virus and I had forgotten all about them. The other day, Hipstercrite posted the Broke Hipster Budgeting Tips which reminded me of my thriftiness.

I try to live very simply, especially since I move frequently and I HATE packing and hauling a lot of crap around. I have issues with needlessly spending money and will very rarely make any purchases aside from everyday necessities (like food and toiletries and coffee). I'm not sure if this is a direct result of my practically unemployed status or if I've always been cheap thrifty, but I very rarely spend money on anything and I NEVER pay full price for something I can get on sale. If it's not on sale or on clearance, no matter how much I love it, chances are I'm going to pass it by. Call me cheap if you want, but I have ZERO credit card debt, something that is quite rare and unusual in America today, and I am quite proud of this feat. Mostly everything I own was purchased on sale, was free, was given to me as a gift (which, if you know me, is a huge issue for me. I have problems asking for and accepting gifts and have yet to break my family of this) or purchased with a gift card (but still on sale). 

At any rate, here is Part One of my walk around my room...

(my little corner of the world. I do everything here. Eat, sleep, work, gold leaf...)

1. This is half of a set of hanging lights I picked up on clearance about 6 years ago from Target, or maybe it was Bed, Bath and Beyond. I can't remember. I do remember that I spent under $10 on them and they have become very, very useful and convenient. I can change them to match my various decor by wrapping place mats around them and securing the mats with pretty paper clips (the green flower print is original, not a place mat). Oh! And they can be disassembled. Which is perfect for me when I move because they flatten and can be packed away just about anywhere.

2. This is one of three originals from a series I created for a digital photography course I took in undergrad. It's the only framed and matted artwork that I own. My photo professor hooked us up with a woman who did the framing at a discount for college kids. It's not my favorite piece, but I sold one from the series and gave the other one away to my sister as a gift so this is the one I was left with.

3. Best decorating idea ever! These frames were made from stretcher bars that have been taking up space in my closet. The best part is that I can very easily disassemble them when I have to pack up and move again. And of course, the best items to cheaply decorate with are photos from family and magazine cutouts! Oh, and that little magnet man was a stocking stuffer gift from my sis.

4. I love these guys. They've been with me forever and have become a favorite part of my decor. The sock monkey was made by my grandmother. The brown bear with the smooshed nose belonged to my dad when he was a little boy. I've had the Cabbage Patch Kid since I was 3 or 4 and she goes everywhere with me. The orange-hatted beaver (named Barry, by the way. A name I did not give him nor would I have given him. My parents suck at naming things.) was the first stuffed animal I've ever owned. He was with me in the hospital (I was born premature) and wears my hospital bracelet around his neck.

5. Technically, this laptop doesn't belong to me, but I think it has become mine as I've had it for the last two years. I've customized it to meet my needs, and the owner has since moved on to better laptops. It's falling apart (most of the damage occurred prior to my ownership), but it's a trooper, and I know it's going to stick it out to the end of this grad school thing with me.

6. Good bedding isn't a big concern for some people, but for me, it is. Most of my bedding comes from TJMaxx, like this bedspread, my set of sheets and my pillows (not the throw pillows). TJMaxx is great for finding quality items at a fraction of the price you would pay elsewhere (gee, I sound like a commercial). The throw pillows currently on my bed are another great idea of mine (if I do say so myself). Instead of buying new throw pillows (which can be super expensive!), I decided to create slipcovers for some really old, ugly ones (okay, well, technically my mom made them since I have no sewing ability, but it WAS my idea and I did come up with the design, so...). The slipcovers are actually cloth napkins I purchased on clearance from Anthropologie (I got four for about $5!) and backed with a matching fabric I found at Walmart (I shudder to think that I once shopped here, but it was the only store in the area that sold fabric where I lived at the time. I'm not providing a link because I think they are evil and you shouldn't shop there).

7. These throw blankets were gifts. The off-white one has this cute heart-texture and was a gift from my grandmother when I was a teenager. I hated it at the time. I thought it was too country, but over the years I have come to appreciate it. The green down throw was a Christmas gift from my Aunt. I remember my sisters and I all got one, in different colors. I'm pretty sure we traded until we each got our preferred colors. This throw is so warm and comfy.

And there you have it. Part One. Be on the lookout for at least four more related posts. Hope you enjoyed this peek into my room. Hopefully it's inspired you to think of ways you can recycle/upcycle some items in your home! Oh, and if you're curious about the artwork in the top left-hand corner of these photos, you can read about them here.

Mountain Getaway

  

I just returned from a weekend back home in the mountains. I haven't been home to visit since... uh... well, I'm embarrassed to say I don't know when I was there last. Maybe last August? Or was I there for Thanksgiving? I don't remember. I wish I could say it was purely a social/catch-up/self-reflection visit, which it was, but I also went home to attend the wake of the mother of one of my good girlfriends from high school. It's hard to imagine that we're at the point where worrying about our parents and their health has become a part of our lives. I still have a hard enough time coping with the idea that most of my high school classmates are married or have children or are going through divorces or all of the above. I, as you may or may not know, have yet to reach any of those stages or milestones yet (ever?). It's hard to imagine we're going to have to start dealing with losing our parents.

So, Friday night my sister, a good friend of ours and I attended the wake. There were some familiar faces in attendance, and while it was good to see them, it certainly wasn't the best of circumstances. Part of the evening was spent reminiscing, part was spent crying, or more accurately, bawling, and the other part was spent discussing breast feeding, Dora the Explorer, potty training, and... well, I don't really know because I stopped listening at breast feeding. I had originally planned on returning to NP on Saturday, but I was easily persuaded to stick around for "girls night out" (which, I am sad to say, is nothing at all like "girls night out" used to be) on Saturday evening. I also liked the idea of spending another day with my nephews. Here's a pic of Owen B'dowen telling me to, "Shhhh. Be quiet" because his brother was sleeping:

I had forgotten how deliriously giddy and stupid my sister and I can get when we're tired and haven't been around each other in a while. I've been told we have our own weird system of communication. We probably do, but when you've known someone since conception, I guess that can probably happen. Here's a pic of my sis when I was trying to show Owen B'dowen how the smile function on my camera worked. For those of you who don't know how this works, the camera can recognize when people are smiling and then automatically take a picture. For some reason though, the camera wouldn't recognize my sister's smile, but would instead snap away whenever she made a goofy face (I'm posting the tamest pic):

On Saturday, I was able to enjoy some of the previously unacknowledged (by me) perks of the mountains, no internet (well, my mom has dial-up, but that's so painful, she might as well not have it), no cell coverage and no television (again, my mom has a dish, but her tv is so small and old, she might as well not have one). In other words, complete isolation with very few distractions. This was something I hated about the mountains when I was growing up, but as an adult, with a ton of work to do, this was actually quite welcoming. My sister had hauled the boys off to a birthday party, so I was able to complete a few hours of work in silence. I think there's something to be said for the whole recluse in the mountain cabin thing. If I had a mountain cabin, I'd spend the next two weeks in it to get this thesis completed on time.

Saturday evening, my sis and I ventured out in a small caravan of minivans, sedans and SUVs to the middle of nowhere and drank around a bonfire campfire pile of coals with about five girls we graduated high school with (and the band members of E'town Express, as well as a few other folks). There was more reminiscing, and of course, more kid talk (yawn). The evening made me realize two things: 1. I miss having close friends, especially my high school girlfriends. They were the absolute best, and 2. I have very little in common with them anymore. Oh, they're pretty much the same people as they were in high school, a little more mature with a few more laugh lines, but, for the most part, I can't relate to their lives (read: kids, marriage, divorce). We were able to bond over our latest (mostly failed, or failing) adult relationships. We commiserated over our unemployment woes and reflected on the fact that we were entering (in the case of my sis and I, have entered) our 30s, and for the most part, none of us find ourselves where we thought we would be at this point in our lives. Now that I reflect back on it, I guess we do have more in common than I thought. All in all, it was good times. A little chilly, sure, but no one's shoes caught on fire, the police didn't show up, and no one fought over anyones boyfriend. Isn't it amazing what age can do? Just for fun, here's a pic of a "girls night out" in high school. Please, by all means, be embarrassed for us. Fashion didn't seem to exist back then:

Good times. So, this morning I woke up to snow. It is only March, you know. It's been known to snow in the ADKs in May, so this shouldn't have been that big of a surprise to me, but I feel like I've been gone for so long I had forgotten about this type of weather pattern (it had been sunny and in the mid-60s the day before). It was good to get back to the 72 degrees in NP. Overall, the weekend was good for my mental health. I reconnected with some good friends, saw my favorite nephews, completed some thesis work and was able to clean out some of the cobwebs in my head and do some spring cleaning/organizing in there. I hope everyone else out there in blogland had a productive weekend as well!

OH! I almost forgot! You know how I have a not-so secret, long-standing crush on Christian Slater? Well, I was pleasantly surprised to catch a repeat episode of My Name is Earl Friday guest-starring none other than Mr. Slater. And when I returned home tonight, and decided to turn on the TV around 8:50pm, low-and-behold, there he is again! On Extreme Makeover:Home Edition (which I don't actually watch, but I suffered through ten painful minutes of a very scary looking, spasing Ty for two brief glimpses of Christian)! Why didn't I know about this?

What's a wandering girl to do?

   

So, I received this email from my post office tonight, and I immediately began to panic:

Dear April:

Your renewal fee of $30.00 for the PO Box listed below is due on 03/31/2010.

PO Box:                          1134

Post Office location:         41 Main St.

I signed up for a 6-month PO Box last October when I was unsure of where I would be moving to at the end of the month (at the time, I was temporarily staying at the farm house of a friend of one of my sisters. It's a long story). A girl needs to get her mail, you know? Well, it appears my six months is almost up, and I'm left with a bit of a dilemna. I graduate grad school in May (fingers crossed) and have no idea where I'll be living or what my address will be after that. Do I...

1. renew my rental for another 6-months with the understanding that I might only need it for another two months?
2. have my mail forwarded to my current physical address for the next two months (I really hate the forwarding/change of address process, which I seem to do at least once a year) only to have to forward it again after that?
3. ... I forgot what my third option was, but I'm pretty sure there was one.

The point is, I have a big decision to make here. It seems I am once again approaching a crossroads where I must determine my next big move (and I don't mean the PO Box. I mean finding a job, moving...). How did this come upon me so quickly? Wasn't it just September and I was moving back to NY from VA

 

(sigh) The life of a nomadic soul.

I like change

        
I'm one of those people who has to have things changing ALL THE TIME in order to happy. The routine and the static bore me. I could never be happy working in an office, day-in and day-out, stuck behind a desk all day. I need to constantly be moving. I need to be working on 101 things at a time. I think this is why teaching art appeals to me. Not only do my students and classes change every year, but they also change every week, every day, every hour. It's great!

As a child, I was constantly rearranging my room. I mean, ALL THE TIME. Usually late at night. I still do this. I can't help myself. I also change my work space, my closets, my cabinets and my underwear drawer (I don't actually have an underwear drawer, just a basket, but if I did, I'm sure I would rearrange that as well). And, of course, my blog page, A LOT. I'm constantly working out new layouts, rearranging my elements and experimenting with new widgets. I really can't help myself.

Maybe someday I'll stop fidgeting, cease my quest for the different, the better and the more exciting. Or maybe not. It keeps life exciting, right?

I ♥ Etsy! The ADK Edition

    

For whatever reason, I have been feeling very homesick for the mountains recently. Maybe it's the depressing pseudo-winter I'm experiencing in this part of the world (it's been cold, then warm, sunny, then grey and very, very little snow). Therefore I present to you, the Adirondack version of I ♥ Etsy!. All items can be found on Etsy.com and are either inspired by the Adirondacks or made in the Adirondacks (or both!).

(left-to-right; top-to-bottom)

White-Tailed Deer Mug,  Adirondack Owl Journal, Rustic Maple Bowl, Adorable Adirondack Celadon Baby Cardigan, Adirondack Wonders, Eco Friendly Cedar Adirondack Chair, Wooden Cutting Board, Authentic by Sweetwater, Adirondack Chairs, Neptune by Tula Pink, Sky Blue Tags, Addie's Summer Lounge, Old Barn in Flowery Field, White-Tailed Deer Bowl, Adirondack Laid Back

Trinkets, Treasures and Pretty Things

    

I have fond memories of visiting my grandmother when I was a little girl. My grandmother's house was a treasure trove of little trinkets to discover and nooks to explore. Back home in the Adirondacks, my sisters and I spent most of our time exploring the woods, so it was always a treat to visit Grandma on Long Island. From the embroidered napkins in the dining room, the figurines in the entryway and the hatboxes in the attic, my sisters and I occupied ourselves for hours just exploring all the wonders. We were introduced to a world unknown to us. A world of hat pins, garters and girdles, fine china and silver.

When my Great Aunt, who lived most of her life in Florida, moved near us, her house introduced us to the novelty and tackiness of kitsch. Her furniture was the color of rainbow sherbet, her decor was gold and gaudy, but oh how fun it was to imagine her bright and floral world. Where my grandmother had pearls, my great aunt had plastic.

At home, the place to explore was my mother's jewelry box. Whenever she was away from the house for a bit, I would run into her room and carefully dig through the pretty things. I would try on her rings and wonder when in her past she wore them. I carefully examined every necklace and bracelet for any glimpse into my mother's past. Who was she when she was younger? I liked to imagine I could find the younger version of my mom in that magical wooden jewelry box.

Nowadays I don't have any places to visit and discover the treasures of the past. My grandmother and great aunt have since passed on. Occasionally, when I make it back home, I still take a peek in my mom's jewelry box. Now I have my own treasures to collect, my own connections to the past. I've even acquired some of my grandmother's and great aunt's trinkets. I'd like to think that someday my own daughter will root through my jewelry box and imagine what her mommy was like once upon a time.

 

(left-to-right: Hummel figurines from my great aunt, misc. figurines from my grandmother; a sock monkey made by my grandmother, my dad's childhood teddy bear, my Cabbage Patch Kid who has been with me since I was 3 or 4, Barry the Beaver, my first stuffed animal, who wears my hospital bracelet around his neck; a small collection of perfume bottles from my grandmother)

 

(left-to-right, top-to-bottom: my jewelry box with a picture of me and two of my sisters; cameo and pearl jewelry from my grandmother; a collection of lighters from my great aunt; my small collection of my special jewelry; a small, misc. container; a pretty ceramic container made by my grandmother; a pearlized pill box and fox tie tack from my grandmother; my grandmothers favorit clamshell earrings and a pair of teardrop costume earrings)

Some holiday reflection

The holiday season has come to an end and for the first time in many, many years, I'm sorry that it is over. Usually around mid-October I begin experiencing holiday related panic attacks, stress headaches and night sweats (alright, maybe not the night sweats, but you get the idea). After the holiday season of '08, however, I vowed to do things differently this year. I wanted a relatively relaxed, peaceful and stress-free holiday experience, and for the most part, I'm happy to report that I accomplished just that! So what was my magical solution? What mysterious remedy did I discover to banish holiday related stress? Well, I didn't buy a single Christmas present this year. Not one. And I didn't feel the least bit guilty over it.

As the years move on, and my immediate family gets older and continues to expand, the number of gift recipients keeps multiplying. I have four sisters and a brother and when you add in their significant others, their children, parents and step-parents... you can see how quickly things can get out of hand. This year I declared, NO MORE! Now, in the interest of full disclosure I must admit this decision wasn't entirely made as a result of my gift buying frustrations. It just so happens I'm in graduate school finishing up my thesis and trying to survive on the measly income I receive as a graduate assistant. In other words, I'm dead broke, which contributed significantly to my inability and unwillingness to purchase Christmas presents this year. I very well could have used my {gasp} credit cards to buy some holiday joy for my loved ones, but I didn't. (I am quite proud to say that I have 0 credit card debt, thank you very much)

In place of gifts I decided I would spend more time with my family and help them out with their holiday stress as much as I could. BEST. DECISION. EVER. I have never felt better about myself nor the holidays than I did after helping my mom wrap Christmas presents, or after staying with my sister for a week and helping her in any and every way she needed (she had three boys, all under the age of 5 and fueled up with Santa-fever, to manage), or after preparing an entirely homemade, from-scratch Christmas dinner for 12+ family members. Never has a last-minute, purchased gift, wrapped in over-priced paper made me feel as generous and giving as I did this year. I felt useful. I felt appreciated. Most importantly, I felt a renewed love and joy for my family that I haven't felt in years.

Will I buy Christmas presents next year, when grad school will be over and I'll be (hopefully) employed full-time? I don't know. I do know that if I do, I will put more time and thought into my gifts rather than rush through the stores, carelessly checking people off my list. I also know that I'm going to take more time for my family and offer to help them out as much as I can.

Happy New Year!

Quick Cookin'

I'm currently broke. I mean BROKE. In an attempt to save money yet still eat well, I've been making my own meals at home. Peanut butter and jelly is a classic, favorite stand-by (for all three meals and a late-night snack), however, one can only eat so much peanut butter. I recently picked up a tub of quick-cook oatmeal. My sister serves this to her sons every morning, so I figured it was good enough for me too. I was sort-of right. Plain oatmeal is bland, boring and slightly gross so I started looking for ways to dress-it up. I tried jelly, peanut butter,(leftover from the abandoned pb&js), brown sugar, applesauce and various other combinations, but I just couldn't get excited about my morning oatmeal. Then, during one of my daily perusals of the Allrecipes website, I can across this recipe for Pumpkin Oatmeal and I thought, okay, I like walnuts and honey and maybe I can get on board with pumpkin in my oatmeal, so I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I discovered that pumpkin puree is near impossible to find this time of year. Instead, I picked up some walnuts and frozen blueberries and created a super delicious oatmeal recipe of my own! I call it Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal and it has restored my love for a morning bowl of warm oatmeal!

Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal
3/4 cup quick-cook oatmeal
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1 1/4 cup water

Mix together in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. Stir and enjoy!
(I'm sure milk could be used in this recipe, but I've never been a fan of milk in my oatmeal and so I use water)

Trash Talkin'

I loathe those so-called tall kitchen garbage bags. You know the ones, right? The 13-gallon white bags with the fabulous tie-handles? Despite their claim, they’re never quite tall enough to sit securely over the rim of the waste can. These tall kitchen bags could never live up to their name, something that’s quite obvious the first time you try to use one. Sure, you can get the bag to sit around the rim, but you’re going to notice a good six inches of space between the bottom of the bag and the bottom of the can. Never fails, the first armload of McDonald’s trash causes that darn garbage bag to slip off the rim and right down the inside of the can. Try to get that bag around the rim again and you’ll involve yourself in a never ending battle between person and plastic.

I’ve lived in many different kitchens, with many different housemates, and while I’m not sure what kind of trash goes into the waste can of the genius who came up with these bags, I guarantee it’s nothing like the trash that has gone into mine over the years. From pizza boxes and leftover containers to milk jugs and beer cans, my kitchen waste can has seen a variety of occupants (yes, we recycle here in the mountains of NY, but that’s a battle I temporarily gave up on while I lived with four male housemates). And if you’ve ever had housemates like mine, then you know that nine times out of ten you’ll find that darn bag sitting underneath a pile of refuse, swimming around like a lost little sock in the toes of your favorite winter boot.

I once had a housemate suggest we put a rubber band around the rim of the can to hold the garbage bag securely in place. Yeah, it worked, but only until the weight of the trash pulled on the bag so much that it created rips, thus making it impossible to tie up the darn thing. My solution? Buy those clear bags made for recycling or yard clippings. Their size is excessive, but hey, at least you no longer have to waste your time trying to shove pizza boxes into sandwich bags. And those leftover tall kitchen bags you have lying around? Banish them to the home office, or better yet, the bathroom and give those grocery bags a rest- you should have switched to reusable by now anyway.