It's just a little crush.

September 24, 2010 Laura

This week's web browsing and catalog flipping has turned up several items that I'm drooling over. Lots of things that I really want, none of which do I actually need. But, it's ok to look and ooh and ahh over them, right? I have a major crush on this table from Crate and Barrel. It would be great in our kitchen, especially since the dropleaf would allow us to scoot it closer to the wall and have more of a walkway. (And I'll take those shelves in the background, too!)

A birdcage umbrella that's painted...wait for it...like a birdcage. Sure to cheer up any rainy day!

Love this quilt from Garnet Hill, preferably in the turquoise and green, but I'd take any of them.

And with that lovely quilt, I'd like to have a set of polka dot sheets.

While we're shopping at Garnet Hill, I'll also take one of these coats. I love a good ruffle.

Barndoor entryway. Be still my heart. (An old crush, but recently saw it and fell in love again.)

I would like to hang this wreath on my front door during the fall, but with a $50 price tag, I'll just admire it from afar.

I really, really want one of these spoon pendant lights in my next house. Aren't they so cool?

But if I can't have the spoon pendant light, I'll settle for a key plate one.

This necklace looks fun! Does it have earrings to go with?

I don't necessarily love these as pictured, but stirrup jeans seem like such a good way to keep my pant legs stuffed down in my boots.

Do I already have too many TOMS? Nah. These should be added to my collection!

This Silhouette SD machine is awesome. It's like a printer, except that it cuts out your images instead of printing them. The possibilities of things you could do with this are endless!

Ok, confession. I bought it yesterday. Sigh...

And, because it is so incredibly freezing cold in my office today, I'd like to have this right now.

That's all I've got. What are you crushing on these days?

Typical Morning

September 21, 2010 Laura

Lately, Minnie has decided she does not want to be a good girl. This does not make me, her momma, very happy. Her mischief occurs when I'm in the shower. She'll shred a roll of toilet paper, or dig through the garbage, or pull all the clothes of the laundry basket, or sometimes, she'll even have an accident on the carpet.

On this particular morning (the morning I finally decided to grab my camera), it was the bathroom garbage that she decided to peruse.

And then, no matter what it is she's done, she "hides" under the bed so I can't get on to her when I get out of the shower.

Bless her. I just don't have the heart to tell her I can still see her booty poking out.

And how am I supposed to get on to her when she keeps doing funny stuff like this? Seriously, it's every single time. Dig through the laundry; hide under the bed. Shred the toilet paper; hide under the bed. Have an accident; hide under the bed. And every single time, she just can't get that long body of hers all the way hidden!

Poor thing. I just love her, even if she is ruining my carpet.

Speech! Speech!

September 15, 2010 Laura

In a little over two weeks, I will be the matron of honor in a best friend's wedding. I'm honored that she asked me to be a part of her big day and am really looking forward to it. Except for one part: the speech. She told me this week that yes, I'd be asked to give a speech at the rehearsal and probably a toast at the actual wedding. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I have no idea what I'm going to say. Right now, all I can do is hope that I'm better at public speaking than this guy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1BXL5PyDak]

Lately

September 7, 2010 Laura

A couple of weeks ago, we cat-sat for Porter while his parents owners keepers servants were out of town. As far as cats go, Porter's pretty cool. Not only is he really pretty (can you say that about male cats?) but he's also very friendly and sociable. We spent the week petting him and feeding him and reassuring that his real servants would return soon. As a reward, he gave me this surprise:

A Cuisipro Cupcake Corer and Decorating Set! Cool, right? This is awesome for two reasons:

1. I can now fill cupcakes with things like icing, preserves, ganache, marshmallow fluff, and who knows what else, making them even more delicious than regular cupcakes. 2. As the baker, I think it's only right that while coring a batch of cupcakes, I get to eat all the cored centers, a.k.a. the best part of the cupcake. Oooooh yeah.

And, as if the cupcake coring set wasn't awesome enough, along with it also came this:

Oh yes, a book all about decorating cupcakes. Porter sure does know me well! I am so excited about this book. I have already read through all the tips and how-tos and have begun flipping through the different tutorials and recipes. Soon, I'll be able to make a batch of little yellow duck cupcakes, monster cupcakes, and even some that look like weenie dogs! Minnie will be excited about those. Now, I just need to find a reason to get baking...

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I bought some new tenny shoes.

I might actually start doing some physical activity to justify the purchase. Eh, we'll see.

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Sunday, while getting ready for church, we encountered a nuclear-grade meltdown. I dry my hair using a round brush, and I do it in three sections. This particular time, I had finished the first (bottom) layer and was working on the middle section. It was feeling pretty dry so I started to lay the hair dryer down on the counter so I could unclip the top portion, and that's when I screamed. Doc came running. There was hair ALL over the counter. My eyes were huge.

"Why is my hair everywhere?" I asked. "I dunno, but it smells like something's burning up here." Doc replied. "It does?" I apparently couldn't smell it.

And then we turned and looked at the floor and found a few of these:

CLUMPS of my hair melted together and no longer on my head. What the what?!?

We're guessing my hair dryer kicked up the heat a little and started burning my hair. I now have new unwanted layers in my hair, and lots of frazzled, fried ends. I'm still trying to decide what to do about that. I have, however, already purchased a new hair dryer.

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Sunday afternoon, while I was still upset over my melted hair catastrophe, my mom called to let me know that sweet little Parker had been taken to the emergency room. Funny how things can quickly get put into perspective.

It turns out the little guy fell off his chair while eating breakfast and busted the back of his head open. He and his parents spent about 5 hours at the hospital getting him fixed up. His mom, Erin, sent me a pic when the codeine kicked in and made him high as a kite.

He's doing ok now, I think. Back to running around everywhere. You aren't a tough two-year-old until you've had four stitches on your head.

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We were able to get lots of building done over the long weekend: two benches, a small coffee table, a console table, and something else that I'll be showing you tomorrow. I'm so excited about everything we're making and we have officially decided to have a shop sale!

We're shooting for Sunday, December 5 so mark your calendars! If all goes to plan, we'll have lots of fun things for sale that would make great Christmas presents. Plan to come shopping and check out our work!