A Small Fox in a Big World

I got a new car!

Friday, in a grand "4th times the charm" adventure, Brian drove two hours away and back in a snow storm to procure me a new automobile. It was time. I love my Volvo to pieces and miss it a lot, but it was a '94 and needed about $3500 worth of work to make it viable again. It just wasn't worth it. I'm pretending that my Nadamobile has gone to greener pastures to frolic with all the other much-loved vehicles. I'm not sure that that's not true, so I'm sticking to it. In the meantime, the Malibu and I are learning to like each other.

I was reading the manual on Saturday, trying to learn how to operate the command center and such when I got to a strange entry. It said "Rear Table (Maxx only)." TABLE?! In a hatchback? Surely I would have noticed that by now. Well, I ran right outside and low and behold, there is a table! The rear parcel shelf pulls forward and has a fold down leg that rests near to the latching mechanism for the trunk. I'm far more amused by that than I should be, I suppose, but still. A TABLE!

The CD player has no place to attach an iPod and you can't easily change out the CD player, as that also functions as the command center for the car. So, instead of being sad, I whipped myself up a CD holder for my visor instead, using this tutorial. It's quite a welcome bright spot in the otherwise dark interior of the car. Now, I just have to decide which songs to burn off. I haven't made a mix CD in the longest time and I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Salt Pig

It even has a little curly tail!

Before and After

I'm stuck in the house today. We're being walloped by yet another winter storm and it's been snowing steadily since yesterday morning. If my car wasn't in it, I couldn't tell you where my driveway is and my front walk has been missing since yesterday. Brian worked through lunch so he could come home early and the bakery is closed today, so I made myself lunch.

Guys, I cooked! On the stove and everything. And I didn't even burn the house down! I think I've said it before, but Brian does all the cooking around here. I'm terrible at it and don't really like doing it. But I know how to make one thing really well, so that's what I had for lunch. Eggs in the Hole. The funny thing is, I learned how to make it in 7th grade Home Economics class. And now, looking back, I wonder if I might have been a better cook if they taught us more than how to make Eggs in the Hole and soft pretzels. Because I make a pretty mean soft pretzel too. Apparently, culinary skills are all learned in 7th and 8th grade. Parents, you've been warned.

Ok... I kind of went off on a tangent there, and I really have no good segue for what I intended this post to be about. Which is my dining room. So, pretend that I transitioned beautifully into this new topic and take at good look at this before picture.

This is my dining room Christmas 2008 (which we celebrated in January of 2009). Not so bad, as such things go, but horribly outdated and just not me at all. Shortly after this, I decided that now was the time to redecorate. So, we took down the chair rail and tore down all the wall paper.

The wall to the right had some serious damage and needed a lot of plaster work, which Brian said that he would do, since I don't know the first thing about plaster work. I filled the nail holes on the other walls from the molding.

Flickr tells me that I took this picture January 11, 2009. Now, I know my husband, and I had no illusions that the plaster work would be done quickly. I wasn't even really shooting for timely. But I didn't think it would be November before I was priming, but it totally was. And that's only because I badgered him for 11 months and we would be having Christmas at our house and if he didn't get that plaster finished he wasn't invited. So, around Thanksgiving, I started priming. Finally.

I actually liked this color quite a bit. I could see it in a teenage boys room, or a contemporary office space. It's such a nice steely blue gray. But even though we liked this, and even though I could see the 2 more coats of paint in my future, not to mention the two coats for the ceiling, and even though I was sore from priming, I went on, because I had a vision.

And I must say, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out! I got everything done just in time for Christmas 2009, which was my goal when I started the project. I wish it could have happened slightly less under the wire, but such is life. I find myself making excuses to use the dining room now, just because it's so pretty.  Sometimes, I'll just lay on the couch in the living room and look at it. Though, from that vantage point, you are able to see both the freshly painted dining room and the freshly painted foyer and it just makes me woefully aware that I need to paint the living room too. Which also needs plaster patched... Here we go again!

Bookshelves

If there was an award for "Worst Blogger of All Time," I would probably win. Even before it got debilitatingly hot and humid, I was rubbish at posting. I'm sure there is a special hell for people like me, but I guess I'll cross that bridge if and when I come to it. In the mean time, you'll just have to forgive me. At least it's been nice for the past few days. So nice, in fact, that I could remove my self from the path of the fan and actually get something done.

A week or so ago, we drove to Minneapolis to buy my dad some new book shelves from IKEA. In return, he gave us the shelves he was replacing. Yesterday, I finally put stuff on them. I even alphabetized everything. Apparently, you can take the girl out of the library, but you can't take the library out of the girl.

The boxes along the bottom are also from IKEA and house most of our CDs. I need to get a few more boxes to fit the rest. Either that, or get rid of a few CDs.

Coraline found herself a comfortable home in the H's. Her book is on the shelf above, so she can just reach up and grab it if she wants.

This corner is 100 times more awesome to sit in now that there are books within easy reach!

And my book elf makes sure everything stays in neat and tidy.

We've been spending more time in this room lately, as it stay a good deal cooler than our family room, and we've been reading a lot more, too, as we no longer have TV, so it's nice to have everything tidy and within easy reach. I hope the cool weather lasts so I can get some more cleaning done!

Sewing Machine Meme

What brand and model do you have? Viking Huskystar E20

How long have you had it? 2 or 3 years

How much does that machine cost (approximately)? $200

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? Pretty much anything that can be sewn. Quilts, soft toys, handbags, pillows, etc, etc.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? I try and sew at least 3 days a week, during my time off from work. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? I think that it's a good machine for the money. My previous machine was a 3/4 machine, so I like the additional room in the throat, but I wish I could afford something a little better. However, if you're just starting out and want a good everyday machine, this is great for that!

What features does your machine have that work well for you? It came with like seven different feet, which was really nice, though I haven't figured out how to use many of them yet. It also has several stitch functions, but I mostly just use straight stitch.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? Sometimes when I'm stitching, if I pause, the needle gets "stuck" and I have to hand crank a teenie bit to remind it how it should work.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? I think this is a great machine for a beginner. Or someone who doesn't have a lot of money to spend. It's made by Viking, so you know it's good and it does a lot of what a more expensive machine does, but at a fraction of the cost. I've been very happy with it!

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? I think it's really important to look at the kind of sewing you do. I mean, sure it's fun to have a machine that does 1042 different stitches, but if you only ever use the straight stitch and maybe zig-zag, what's the point?

Do you have a dream machine? Not really. As long as I have one that works, I'm a happy camper!

From Sew Mama Sew!

Sometimes the light is just right

Stripes and Plaids, One Day Late

Pink Thursday

Color week couldn't have come at a better time for me.  I've only left my house twice in the last five days.  It's been insanely cold and snowy.  For instance, right now, the temperature is -22F, with a wind chill of -44F.  Without color week, I might have went crazy.  It's a short trip, you know.

Yellow Wednesday

You can find more of my color week pictures here.

Purple Tuesday