lost dog of the month

so far this year, i've found one dog per month. go here to read about january's pick and here to read about february's.

this pup was shivering out in the cold and was pretty dirty & wet. and scared. without a collar. i, of course, got out of my car and trying to convince it to come over to me, without much luck. i think it had been outside for a while because it was pretty finicky.

i called animal control and wasn't impressed with the "help" they offered. pretty much "we'll send someone out when we can." well that's great. since i was right around the corner from my house, i zoomed back and grabbed dog treats and a leash. i made a little trail of treats towards me and the pup would eat and walk, eat and walk, until it was close enough that i could loop the leash over it. i picked it up gently with a towel and set it in my car.

i thought it might have been the same dog i found in february, but tried ringing the doorbell at that house and no one was home. i should have taken a picture of the february pup.

so i drove to animal control and by the time we got there, the pup was nice and warm and super friendly. i dropped her (as i found out) off and am keeping my fingers crossed that she was picked up. keep your fingers crossed too. she's a sweetheart.

baby blankets

here's the pics of the blankets for the baby shower i mentioned last week. my friend is having twins - a boy & a girl! i thought they turned out pretty nice!

this one was made for the girl:

and this one for the boy:

i haven't made anything like this in quite some time. i used to crochet & knit all the time and have gotten so busy that i just haven't. i've missed it - it's kind of a relaxing thing for me to do. hubby just recently had a new nephew added to the family so i might be busting out some more blanket skills soon :)

haircut!

i feel SO much lighter now! here's the before:

and the after:

what do you think? i haven't had it this short in years & years so i'm still getting used to it. but it's pretty spunky :)

studio toys

i decided it was finally time to order a couple of things for tama press....

pic from hollanders

sewing frame: i did a restoration of a giant book a few months back and didn't have a sewing frame. so i constructed one out of cardboard boxes and other stuff i had laying around. no good. so i decided it was time to get a real frame. plus, i've been itching to try some new bindings.

pic from talas

awl guide: i punch a lot of holes in paper by hand. and sometimes, they aren't straight. and boy, does that irritate me. this awl guide takes care of that frustration. plus, it'll beat using an old phone book as my guide.

pic from talas

book press: i've been making books for a few years now, and haven't had the luxury of a book press. instead, i've been using old yearbooks as my weights (at least i'm using them for something). this press is pretty multi-functional and only weights 10 pounds. i'm pretty excited about using it.

pic from talas

corner rounder: i'm going to round the corners of every piece of paper i come into contact with. seriously. paper corners too pointy for you? i'll round them. i have wanted one of these little guys for YEARS. i got the lightweight model, since i think it'll cover my current needs.

hopefully i'll receive everything next week. then i will play with my new toys and definitely not get any homework done.

cooking

you guys, you should be so proud of me. i cooked dinner last night...

let me preface this: between hubby & i, he's the one that cooks a lot. i can cook...but i mainly stick to vegetarian dishes because cooking meat kinda freaks me out. beef, not so much, but chicken or pork? ewwww. oh, and whenever i cook, he always asks "is there meat in this?" he's a carnivore at heart.

so, hubby got back from a trip yesterday and i wanted to cook him dinner. i bought a couple of steaks, called my mom for a simple recipe, and went to work: sliced the steaks into thin strips, marinated for a few minutes & cooked the strips up on a hot pan. i taste tested a piece and was pleasantly surprised at out it came out!

in the meantime, i made a parmesan risotto with a twist....we had fresh red beets from our full circle farm order. so i chopped those up and threw them into the risotto. this risotto cooks in the oven for 45 minutes, so when i took it out, the beets had stained the rice, transforming it into a deep vivid magenta red. SO pretty & yummy.

i also made a salad with some mixed green, diced tomato & strawberries. dinner was GOOD. and i actually managed to cook MEAT. very proud of myself. one day, i might graduate to chicken.

baby shower

i'm going to a baby shower this weekend - the second one in the past month! and i've been working on a couple of baby blankets for my friend....who is having twins, a boy & girl! i finished the first little blanket last night and really like how it came out; i made it with the little girl in mind. the second one is still in process for the baby boy.

i'll try to post the pics of the both blankets soon.

is it just me, or is there a sudden boom of pregnant women? i know NINE people who are currently pregnant. pretty crazy.

appointment is made...

the big haircut appointment is made for this weekend....i keep pulling my hair back and trying to envision it super short again. and i'm waivering a bit.

so i look at more pics of this pixie cut...

pic from the fashionable foodie

channel my inner audrey hepburn (my grandpa said i looked like her when i had my hair cropped years ago)...

and make a plan to not wuss out at my appointment.

Japan help

last week, i posted about "for Japan with love"....and when i decided to participate in the shelter box donation, the fundraising goal was set at $5500. at the time, about $3500 was raised. well, i checked back today at the fundraising site and the amount of money raised is now at $56,303. that isn't a typo, guys. FIFTY SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS. amazing! giving a little bit from a lot of people CAN make a huge difference. if you want to check out shelter box and their program, go here. and if you want to see that number keep rising, go here!

another blog i follow, called SWOON is hosting a giveaway from PalmerCash vintage t-shirts. PalmerCash developed these shirts to support Japan at this time of tragedy. All the profits from these t-shirts go towards the relief efforts in Japan. Here's a couple of my favorites:

pic from PalmerCash

pic from PalmerCash

i have a close friend who has a ton of family in Sendai. she still hasn't heard from many of her family members with whom she's been trying to get in touch. please keep them in your prayers.

reading...

i've been doing quite a bit of reading lately, in between schoolwork and lots of other more pressing things.

i finally finished the twilight series...full of teenage angst? yes. overly dramatic? yes. call it a guilty pleasure read. lots of people were all for team jacob....but i have a thing for vampires :) go team edward! besides, my father-in-law's name is edward, so i'm biased.

i also received a book for my birthday called "the art of racing in the rain" by garth stein. i sped through (haha) this in just under a week. it's written from the perspective of a dog named enzo as he tells the story of his life and his family. i really enjoyed it, although i did cry a few times. made me think of my own pups...

pic from amazon

anyhow, if you're looking for a new book to read, you might want to try it. if you're a dog person, you'll get a kick out of enzo...and will probably start talking to your dog a lot more.

for Japan with love

like pretty much everyone else, i've been reading of the awful news coming from Japan. the amount of destruction is unimaginable. and from what i've read, Japan was one of the most prepared places for a disaster like this. i have friends & some family there too...thankfully they are okay. my heart goes out to the survivors of this tragedy.

i read about For Japan With Love:

if you want to help, here are a couple of ways:

(information below from ever ours post)

fundraising:

For Japan With Love has a direct link on the website to our fundraising page for ShelterBox.

ShelterBox was one of THE first organizations asked by Japan to help and were on hand on the Saturday after the quake. Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items. Please check it out and whatever you can contribute will be so appreciated.

bloggers day of silence:

Anyone that has a blog can help out with this one. The aim is just raise awareness and respect and acknowledge the devastation going on in Japan.

take care and stay safe out there friends.

it must be spring fever...

it's warm (low 30's) and sunny (the sun actually FEELS warm for the first time in months) and suddenly my hair decides to be ridiculous and wants to get chopped off. check out my previous hair escapades here.

its been many years...but i'm thinking of making a big change.

my current do (or lack thereof...since i've basically given up trying to fix it in the morning):

isn't mia a cutie? :)

and the potential new 'do:

pic

thoughts?

p.s. that's not the BIG news

i'm in love....

i was perusing some letterpress sites and came across this:

the adana 8x5 platen press
photo from caslon

and fell HARD. i want, no, NEED this press. it's only 33 pounds and full of awesome.

i sent an email to the company, inquiring about price. keep your fingers crossed for me.

a short break

wow it's already been a week since i've posted. oops!

i have some big news but am not quite ready to share it yet. i'm still mentally processing the huge changes that coming up. emotions are coming in waves and there is a to do list forming that is miles upon miles long.

"the news" is why i've been absent. i'm still reading blogs when i have time here & there and will post when i can.

closet? check.

hello! i know i'm a bit late coming back from the weekend...but i did manage to get quite a bit done! i tackled a major project - cleaning out the walk in closet. i cannot believe how much stuff we crammed in there. five bags of clothes & i don't know how many bags of trash later...it's a clean, organized space.

i'm hoping to work my way through our house & get things cleaned up. all of the clutter has really been bothering me, kind of stressing me out. it's hard for me to relax when there are piles of stuff everywhere.

my plan is to check one thing at a time off my cleaning list....even if it's a drawer at a time. splitting the chores into small pieces made the process less intimidating.

i would have shown some before & after pictures, but frankly, it was pretty awful before.