Project Birthday

My friend, Elizabeth, arranged a Project Runway themed party for her birthday this weekend. It was brilliant and the most fun I've had in quite a while.

About twelve of us were invited to her place, where we spent the evening competing in PR-style challenges that led up to the final challenge of the night -- remake a hideous Goodwill dress into something that you'd wear today. Everyone was instructed to bring a pair of heels, three of their favorite accessories (to populate the "Bluefly Accessory Wall"), and a tank top/spandex in case we were chosen as models. 

There were five models, five designers, and four judges. At random (and with some trading around) I ended up as a designer and was charged with remaking this dress (well not this exact dress, but something pretty identical) into something more modern. My model, Margaret, and I were charged with making a split-second decision between five equally hideous frocks and opted for this one instead of a leopard print house dress. We had a few minutes to confer and she was sent to the workroom to stake out a table while I visited "Mood" (Elizabeth's guest room) to shop for fabric. I wish I had brought my camera, because there would have been a lot more documentation. 

Once in the workroom, Margaret and I decided on a converting the dress into a short jumpsuit with puffed sleeves and a collar. We paired it with pink pumps and hat from the accessory wall. Elizabeth had a sewing machine on hand, but it was missing a foot petal for about 1/2 of the challenge, so I ended up sewing the sleeves in by hand and safety pinning the dress hem into shorts. Thankfully, Margaret was a natural on the runway and made our outfit look awesome. In the end, we made it to the top three, but the judges were divided on the use of the pink hat. Regardless, it was an amazing party.

I was exhausted when I got home at nearly 1am -- by far the latest I've stayed out while having fun in quite a while.

Thrifting and Crafting

This weekend was beautiful and I decided to make the most of it. Jesse had work to do on Saturday, so I took Miles for a weekend outing with Anna and Elliot. We initially were going to stop for the grand opening of a new Cotton Babies store in Vancouver -- a grand opening that promised a free BumGenius diaper to the first 100 customers. We should have known that showing up only 30 minutes before the opening was a bad idea. As we drove by, we saw that tons of women, men, babies, and toddlers were already forming a line that wrapped around the entire building. Instead of joining the chaos, we decided to go to an awesome consignment shop that Anna has been raving about for quite a while. I scored a sweet pair of Converse sneakers for Miles for only $8. They're size 5's, so he won't be able to wear them probably until after his 1st birthday, but I will display them prominently on his shelf until then. I can't wait to go back when I have a better idea of what size clothes Miles will be wearing in the spring and summer!

Today, it's not nearly as warm, but very sunny. The non-gray sky put me in the mood to do a bit of crafting, but the success of my project largely depended on Miles. It seems like the sunshine put him in a good mood too and he was willing to sit through a morning of chores and watching me sort through projects that I aspired to start, but never had the time to finish. Between me cutting and folding fabric and the washer tumbling around load after load of clothes, he was a happy little dude. Occasionally he would let out a little shriek, as if to say "hey Mom, I'm still here," and I would make a goofy face and he would crack up. Man, it's been a good day. 

In between our stints of crafting and doing chores, he's managed to sneak in two good, if short, naps. As you can see, I've whittled down the laundry pile and am well on my way to making an adorable sun hat for Miles. It won't be very useful here in Portland for another couple of months, but we're headed to Florida and then D.C. to visit the grandparents in just 11 days and I am hoping for lots of sun (at least in FL). Ahh! Only 10 more days to start packing while biting my nails thinking about the long airplane journey across the country with a 5-month-old baby.

They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To

I was feeling crafty on Friday and decided to skip work and school work in favor of a project that I've been meaning to accomplish since Thanksgiving. Jesse's parents have been cleaning out their house to move to Virginia for a year and we were the lucky recipients of a few really cool pieces of furniture. We initially took home two dining dining chairs in November that belonged to Jesse's grandmother. I had grand plans of having the seats recovered in time for the arrival of the other two chairs this past week when Bob & Mary Ann visited. For multiple reasons, the recovering never happened. It's not like it's hard to recover a dining room chair. I estimated that it would take about an hour tops per seat.

As I embarked on this project mid-morning Friday, I was sure they'd be done in time for dinner. The only problem was that I never really bothered to look at the seat construction to figure out how exactly they were put together. Needless to say, my time estimates were terribly misguided. My apologies in advance for the photos (that look like they've been taken through screen door). My poor little dying camera was barely able to eek them out before going dark forever.

After ripping off the under layer of some very old-looking linen, I realized that the needlepoint covers (so carefully made by Jesse's grandmother) were held on by no less than three million upholstery tacks. Underneath the needlepoint covers was a fine muslin, also firmly secured with another dense layer of tacks. The hammer was of little use removing the tacks, so I opted instead for a flat-head screwdriver to pry them out. Once I removed the double layer of cloth, I flipped over the seat to inspect the padding.

Holy Crap! Lambswool and horsehair. I tugged gently at the contents and realized that they were also nailed to the frame. Yay. Who knew that horse hair would be so scratchy and easily secured by nails? Also, it was very very dusty. I tied a scarf around my face for the remaining portions of this deconstruction.

If this project were intended for any other chair, I think I might have just given up. But I really love the chairs and was determined to make them shine again.

After about three hours of tugging and ripping, I was finally down to the wooden frame of the first seat cover. You can see the guts that were ripped out, which included an old burlap sack tacked to the frame underneath the wool and horsehair padding. The sack covered jute strapping that you see here, which is also securely tacked to the frame with no less than six nails each. Somewhere out there is an upholstery tack salesman who is still rolling in all the cash he made from just these four chairs.

The first seat left me feeling slightly defeated, but I am determined to finish the other three this weekend, because if I don't keep up the momentum the chairs might just sit in a corner forever unfinished. After dusting off my sweatpants and vacuuming up what looked like piles of pubes in the dining room, I'm feeling pretty good about my progress. Two frames are completely stripped down and ready to go and the other two only have the burlap and jute strapping left to tackle. My fingers feel worn to the bone, but as an incentive I took a little break today to finalize my research on a new camera. It should arrive early next week, just in time to capture the final product!

Weekend Walk

This weekend, Jesse's cousin and wife stopped in to visit on the way up to their new home in Seattle, WA. It was great having them all to ourselves, since our visits are usually confined to a couple of hours during a quick visit to California. They arrived around dinner time on Friday and stayed until the late afternoon on Saturday. Since they had been in the car for hours on end, all they wanted to do was walk around and explore.

Friday afternoon, we walked around the Pearl and grabbed dinner at Bridgeport Brewery. After a hearty breakfast at Biscuits Cafe, we headed up to Washington Park and the Rose Garden. This weekend happened to be the Portland Rose Festival, so there were large groups of rose admirers milling around. All of the flowers were in bloom and fragrant, so I was incredibly excited to go row by row and smell each variety. I found a plant that I thought might be perfect for Jesse's mom's garden, but when I pulled out my camera, I found that I had left the memory card at home in my laptop. Sadly, I managed to go on another outing without taking a single photo.

After the Rose Garden, we walked up the hill to the Japanese Garden where I found a spectacular exhibit on textiles of the Aniu of Hokkaido, Japan and the Tlingit of the Pacific Northwest. Due to my lack of memory card, I'm borrowing images from the Japanese Garden's online exhibit, Parallel Worlds. I'd really like to go back before the end of the month to take a little more time to read through all of the exhibit and maybe snap a few photos of the textiles that are not featured online. However, I don't think a photo could do justice to the real thing. They are truly works of art.

The exhibit did an interesting job of examining the handmade ceremonial robes of two native cultures on both sides of the northern Pacific Ocean. Each piece displayed beautiful, rich colors applied in distinctive geometric patterns, yet called to mind similar motifs. The Japanese textiles were intricately appliqued with hand embroidery, while the Pacific Northwest textiles were primarily woven. I think I was most taken with the Aniu ceremonial robes because the technique used is most familiar to me. I was able to fully appreciate the time and skill it takes to hand applique and embroider.

Of course, anytime I see a beautiful fabric creation the wheels in my head start turning. I'm currently scheming to find a way to take some inspiration from these ceremonial robes and apply it to quilting. I got the graph paper out this morning and doodled a bit. It might take a while to plan, but I think it could be really beautiful!

April Showers

I know I sound like a broken record, but Portland's springtime weather is weird. The past few days have been really cold. It's so strange, because it should be warm and beautiful. I mean, look at the trees! They're exploding with blossoms. It looks like there was a giant pink wedding all over our neighborhood. Even the trash cans are lovely and pink with petals.

Today I took a walk to 23rd Avenue to send out a FedEx package for Jesse and decided to do a little window shopping. I stopped in at the Paper Source, one of the few stores that compel me to spend lots of money for no good reason. I am helpless in it's grasp, so I try to only go in when I have a specific item to purchase. It is also one of those stores that Jesse swears sucks oxygen out of his lungs -- that and shopping malls. Therefore, I choose to go alone. I spent about 30 minutes just looking and dreaming. It was nice, I picked up a lot of good ideas and left the store empty handed. I'm pretty sure that was a first!

I walked down the street to head home and was pulled into another shop, as if by gravity. It was Moonstruck Chocolatier. I know from experience that they love to give samples. Lucky day! I am not averse to trying samples! I tasted a raspberry Chambord truffle that was out of this world. They are smart, those Moonstruck ladies, because I never leave the store without a goody or two for later. I mean, I did it for Jesse. He'd be really sad that he missed out on chocolate. So, I picked out a milk chocolate banana truffle, and a Tuaca liqueur truffle with caramel. Did I mention that I am a mere selfless creature and bought the chocolates just for Jesse? They're being reserved for after dinner, but have been tempting me all afternoon.

As for now, I have a large task at hand. Graham, Jesse's youngest (yet tallest) brother, is arriving sometime tomorrow and the apartment needs a good cleaning. I think the truffles will be a nice reward for vacuuming and scrubbing the bathroom!

A Productive Weekend Indeed

Friday morning wasn't great, but the day got a lot better after I left the house. I grabbed lunch at a local noodles place and read my book for over an hour in the sun. The book, American Wife, was recommended by my good friend Lauren. The story loosely follows a certain former Republican First Lady and her bumbling husband with a fondness for booze and hatred of the press. I am hoping this book proves to be a juicy bit of fiction that I will sail through (before the May 1st due date) in order to resuscitate our somewhat failed experiment -- The Cross-State-Lines Book Club for Slackers. I take the slacker part very seriously (and haven't actually finished or discussed a book on our list yet). I feel though, that this is the one.

Reading alone with my noodles was refreshing and reinvigorating. I was going to take the streetcar home, but decided instead to walk because it was such a nice day. On my way home, I stopped in at the hardware store and picked up two rolls of duct tape (for my awesome project), two flower pots and a package each of basil and cilantro seeds. However, I forgot to get potting soil, so the seeds will have to wait until I run errands later this afternoon.

Saturday morning, I prepped Jesse on his duties as a husband (meaning that he would have to spend the better part of the late morning wrapping my torso in duct tape) and instructed him to hand over two of his old T-shirts. I have to admit, it was a lot more uncomfortable than I imagined and by the time he cut me out of my silver body cast I was ready to jump out of my skin. However, the dress form turned out really well. I had Jesse take photos to document the process, but they're just too weird to share with the world. Right now, only the shoulders and bust are stuffed because I ran out of filling. I'll have to stop by the fabric store today to pick up a few more supplies. Just for fun, I tried on a dress that I already own for size and it's a perfect fit! I think I'll pick up a few yards of muslin and experiment with a couple of cute spring dress patterns this week while Jesse is out of town. I might have my own Anthropologie inspired wardrobe this summer after all.

And of course, it wouldn't be a productive weekend without a cooking project or two. For our (very relaxed) Easter dinner, I made Martha Stewart's Perfect Macaroni and Cheese, but added my own little twist. Macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite side dishes, but so are collard greens. So, I halved the recipe, and added a ton of sauteed mushrooms and collards before baking. The spicy greens were a nice touch. I imagine you could do this with whatever vegetables you have on hand. Just remember to saute or roast the veggies until all of the liquid is cooked off -- you don't want a watery mess when you pull it out of the oven!

Today, I am dropping Jesse off at the airport again. He'll be in D.C. for a couple of nights for a work project. I think he is sad that he's going miss dinner at home tomorrow and won't get to enjoy the leftovers. Maybe I'll save him a serving or two. Maybe.

Checking In

Yes, I'm still alive. Not as active on the blog, but still alive. It's been a rough week.

My Mom decided to extend her week-long trip in Louisiana to visit my grandparents because my grandfather is not doing very well at all. He and my grandmother agreed to let Hospice come in and take over on Friday and his condition had been deteriorating rapidly. I spent a lot of time this weekend accepting this fact, but I've also been preparing for this for a while. However, my grandmother isn't handling it very well and that's been a strain. My Mom has relayed countless stories about how the relatives are worried that he's not interested in eating anymore. I can just imagine them telling my Mom, "maybe you could just puree a little gumbo for him" -- leave it to a southerner to worry about a dying man's appetite.

J's parents are coming tomorrow to visit for a few days. I am really excited for their arrival and can't wait to explore Portland this weekend while they're in town. Although, this week has prevented me from doing the chores that I would normally obsess over when guests are imminent. I just haven't had the (mental) strength to struggle with the vacuum hose. Lame. I know, I've already given myself plenty of guilt trips over that fact this week. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to have a morning filled with vacuuming, dusting, and general scrubbing. What have I done instead of vacuuming and scrubbing you ask? Well, I made an extra large pot of chili and a veggie lasagna large enough to feed a family of eight. I must be genetic -- I cook food in crisis, and lots of it.

Despite the rough week, I've kept myself busy working around the house and doing a bit of editing for J (to relieve him from a bit of strain that's piled up as a result of his site visits in February and March). I also signed up to do an online focus group and write a "blog" about my home decorating choices and purchases. At the end of 10 days, I'll get a nice fat $150 check, but mostly this stupid focus group/blog has been my sanity. I get to mindlessly sit down in the evening and write about my inspiration, which revolves around how I'd like to eventually redecorate my bathroom, kitchen and living room. It's all fantasy of course, because I'm pretty happy where I am right now in terms of home decoration, but it has given me a few ideas.

And, oh the things I've learned from having to do home decorating research online. Did you know that Fiestaware just came out with a new color called Lemongrass? I think it would look pretty rad in our kitchen. Also, for this focus group, I have to write a daily "inspiration journal" and realized that I should probably have a pretty shower curtain in the bathroom (instead of the clear liner that we've lived with for the past 7 months).

Speaking of redecorating, I have had this fabric from Urban Outfitters sitting around since Christmas and it just occurred to me that it would be a fabulous addition to the bathroom. Oh focus group blog (probably sponsored by the Devil), why do you taunt me when you know I have better things to worry about?! This evening (after writing my "inspiration journal") I pulled the fabric out of the closet and hung it over the shower curtain just to see if my mind's eye was on target. I summonsed J in the bathroom to give his expert opinion. I don't think he realized was that I meant was, "what do you think of me making this a shower curtain tonight?"

What? Can't a woman be spontaneous?

A Long Weekend in Photos

I had a nice long weekend and I'm sad to see it come to an end. Although we didn't really do anything spectacular, it was nice to just hang around the house with Jesse and relax. Tomorrow he is off on another business trip and I have the apartment all to myself. That means I have a list of things I want to accomplish while he's gone.

The Pecan Shortbread Strawberry bars were a hit at the office, but were trumped by a lemon cake. I never saw it coming. Oh Lemon Cake!! Why!? (shaking fists). Jesse got second place and took home a cute little box of truffles from a local chocolate shop. It was a valiant effort, but next year we're going to have to whip out the big guns.

In preparation for a busy week around the house, I maximized relaxation time this weekend. Most of my days were spent in slippers and sweats, only getting dressed when leaving the apartment was absolutely necessary (like beer and wings night for Valentines day).

We had a Risk extravaganza and Jesse kicked my butt again. I didn't really mind that he annihilated my army because I was "practicing" for our Belgium/Germany trip with Trappist ale. I think we will have to play Risk more often. It was a lot of fun.

The rest of the weekend pretty much revolved around sewing and cooking. My work space at the beginning of the week was a mess, so I started by cleaning up a bit.

I found out this week that my grandfather was diagnosed with leukemia. He's been sick for a while, so the diagnosis is more of a definite answer to a series of symptoms than a surprise -- nonetheless, it was shocking. I don't think the news quite set in until this weekend and as a result, I spent a lot of therapeutic ironing time, just thinking. There's something incredibly calming and satisfying about a giant stack of ironed, folded fabric. Don't you think?

I started playing around again with circles and some new color combinations. I've always been drawn to more primary and secondary colors for quilts, but decided it's time to branch out a little. I've been inspired lately by greens and browns and even orange. So, welcoming the tertiary spectrum into the sewing room has been a nice change. I have no idea where this one is going, but I am the queen of multiple projects!


Finally, finishing up the long weekend, I made a delicious dinner. I cheated a bit on the fish (it was marinated at Trader Joe's and quite tasty), but the sides were all homemade with love. We've been on a bit of a dark leafy greens kick, so accompanying the fish was swiss chard sauteed with mushrooms and onions, and creamy lima beans. The beans were made with the The Picayune's Creole Cookbook recipe and were even tastier than the first batch I made a few weeks ago.

Speaking of the Picayune, Fat Tuesday is on February 24th! That doesn't give me a lot of time to experiment with King Cake before the Lenten season begins. Not that I participate in Lent, but maybe it will be a motivator to try out some baking this week. I also have to make another round of granola, as Jesse has nearly made his way through my first batch. Needless to say, it's tasty!

Step Into My Office Baby

Productivity was the name of the game this week. In the absence of an office job, I have been concentrating on things to occupy my time here in Portland. In addition to the list of incomplete projects and tasks that I need to attend to, I have also signed up for some volunteering positions with local preservation organizations. I'm hoping that by mingling with other like-minded community members that I might get more leads on potential projects -- or at the very least make a few new friends and become more informed. As I continue to read about preservation issues in Portland, I am beginning to understand the growing need for the city to incorporate policies into their smart-growth plans that include provisions for historic buildings and districts. I'd like to be able to put my free time to good use and maybe find a job while I'm at it!

Also, though, I have set my mind to doing tasks that will help make Jesse's life easier while he is working for two different companies. I still haven't gotten around to doing laundry or cleaning the bathroom (ugh), but I did take Jesse's suits to the dry cleaners on Wednesday and took care of some administrative tasks that would have otherwise sucked out an hour of his workday. If I can put some of my skills to work for him -- like editing and writing when necessary -- then maybe he can feel more relaxed during the week and we can have more free time to go out and do fun things.

Today, Jesse is downtown at the office, so I'm going to try and finish up a few tasks that would prove distracting to him at home -- like vacuuming out our new credenza and moving our office supplies into it's drawers and cabinets. I finished the runner on top and it looks quite spiffy, so now the only thing left to do is make it functional! Also, I need to arrange a few more decorative items on top so we stop using it as a collection point for miscellaneous papers.

After the work is done, I'm hoping to have a little bit of free time to do some fun things, like continuing to expanding my Portland Love Quilt and tackling a small pile new fabric that has been lurking on my ironing board all week.

Even though we just went to Anna and Brian's for a Trivial Pursuit game night on Wednesday, I think I'm going to also try and convince Jesse that we should have our own game night tonight. After all, it is Friday. I'm thinking a Risk extravaganza is in order.

Weekend Update

This weekend had been all about furniture. After much thought, I decided that we needed a bookshelf in our bedroom to hold some of my office supplies, but more importantly to contain some of my fabric and sewing machine. I want my desk to double as an office space when I have work and a craft table when I need to do projects. So far, it's been difficult to switch between the two tasks because I have to dig out all of my crafting things from the closet. Jesse will be traveling a lot this month, so I'll have lots of time on my hands.

We headed out to Ikea on Saturday morning and got there right around 9:45 (just in time to get a quick breakfast). Unfortunately, this weekend was the annual Ikea mattress sale. Also, they were giving out free breakfast. There were probably 150 people waiting in line for a $.99 eggs and bacon. I nearly died. Jesse and I had to try our best to hold it together, since we both arrived at the store really really ready for food. So, we meandered silently through the store, picked up the Billy bookcase and headed straight for the checkout. Thankfully, the snack bar was open on the ground floor and we had a nutritious breakfast of $.50 hot dogs, a coke and a cinnamon roll. The day was much better after we ate.

Today, we went to SE Portland to pick up a piece of furniture for the living room. For a few weeks now, I've been poking around Craigslist looking for a small sideboard or chest of drawers to go under the big window in our living room. Not only does the space feel empty, but Jesse desperately needs some storage space near his desk (otherwise his "office" starts to take over the whole living space). This piece was at the upper end of the price limit I set for myself, but it's solid and couldn't be more perfect in terms of size. Oddly enough, the lady I bought it from turned out to be a classmate from undergraduate school. I'd say we were more acquaintances than friends, but it's kind of a small world to meet someone (buying furniture on Craigslist of all places) that I never expected to see again.

It needs to be cleaned up a bit in terms of vacuuming and tightening the drawer pulls, but overall I'm really happy. I'm thinking of making a runner for it this week out of fabric that I picked up at Urban Outfitters this Christmas on super clearance. I think I'll bring a nice bit of color in the room (and it'll hide a water mark on the top until I can get around to repairing it).

I'm pretty excited to get started!

Busy Lady

Yesterday I was insanely productive and wrote a good chunk of the report that I've been trying to finish up this week. Jesse also had lots to do, so we both operated pretty quietly from our respective offices (with the door closed). I would emerge from the bedroom occasionally to get food and water and then would scurry back to the old computer to type away. Luckily, I made a giant bowl of vegetable pasta the night before so we had delicious leftovers for lunch. By 5pm we were both pretty beat, so we took a break, walked out to get dinner, and then came back and worked again until about 11pm. I slept like a log last night and woke up totally refreshed this morning just before 8am.

Today is going to be pretty busy too. I still have lots of work to do on my report, but also a bit of cleaning in the apartment before Eric, Jesse's brother, and his girlfriend, Lea, arrive this evening. I'm glad we took time earlier this week to clean up, so all I really have to do is vacuum and wipe down the bathroom. However, I will be tempted to blow off all of my responsibilities in order to play with an awesome surprise birthday package from my mom -- a starter kit she put together for rug hooking.

It came in the mail yesterday and I was so shocked and excited! I have talked a lot about trying my hand at it, but never really got around to finding the time to do my homework and get the supplies. She found a book with some really cool rugs, purchased my first hoop and hook, and cut the wool strips from some of her own fabric stash. It was such a wonderful surprise. She even did a little research and found a wool store in the Portland area, should I want to indulge and spend some of my discretionary budget on a new project!

In order to prevent me from wasting away my Thursday morning and afternoon, I have put the kit away in the closet and will not allow myself to even thumb through the book a second time until this work project is finished. It will be hard, but I'm trying to start off the new year with a little discipline -- eating healthier, starting to exercise again, and getting myself on a work/life schedule that makes me happy. The kit will definitely test my willpower, but I'm determined to hold off until I can devote several hours to my first self-taught rug hooking lesson!