Catch All - Trip, Sewing, Desk & Potatoes

I am so behind on blogs- my own and your's. My reader says I have 78 unread posts. No wait, 79. I've decided it makes sense to update my own before reading about the Pioneer Woman's cows.

In my last post I talked about our upcoming weekend away. We had a fantastic time, just the two of us. {Thanks, Momo and Popo!} Nell and Joseph hosted us in their new GORGEOUS house. It looks like they've lived there 15 years, so homey. You can read Nell's post about her sister's beautiful wedding here. 

Friday night we arrived in time for a dinner date and then headed over to the Peabody for a drink. We just sat there and enjoyed the peace and quiet, feeding only ourselves. Then we bought J a duck. 

Sadly, this is the only picture we have from the weekend, taken by Anderson Humphreys whom we visited with in the Peabody lounge. A real "Ad Man".

He said Don Draper isn't very talented.

Backing up a bit and switching gears... my birthday was also Friday, and on Thursday a sewing machine arrived in the mail from my parents:

I think it is the second machine I have truly loved. {my camera being the first}  I have talked about wanting to learn how to sew for a long time.  I was skeptical though, thanks to an awful pair of shorts I was forced to make in Home Ec in 7th grade.  Three years ago I got the itch and bought a $20 "shark" mini-sewing machine at Target. It was a disaster. M had to thread it for me, and I developed a mental block and irrational fear of bobbins. I returned it 2 days later.

However, when my mom emailed and asked if I'd like a sewing machine for my birthday, I thought, "I do. I really do."  Instructions are hard for me. I get impatient. I like to "wing it". But, thanks to being married to a man who does not wing anything, I am learning to take the time and do it right.  I committed myself to sit down. Read. Understand. Practice.

What do you know- I LOVE IT.  I hemmed some jeans, and almost finished up a dress for Bean. It's riddled with mistakes, but that's okay. The pattern was more challenging than I wanted, but it did force me to learn. I have called my mom 5 times a day this week asking things like, "what's a top stitch?". Thanks, Mom.

Try not to be overly inspired by my organized workspace. Maybe someday M will build an elaborate desk with cubby holes. Hint, hint...

Backing up even further our yard sale with Chris and ML was the weekend before last weekend (what?! a bit ago). It was a success, and great to get rid of some things. Chris and ML pulled this little charmer out of their rental's attic (their landlord said they could have whatever was up there):

Three of the legs were falling off, the wood was breaking away in some places, but I saw potential and I've been wanting a little "planning desk", so they let me have it. Thanks, guys.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out! For those of you interested, this process is not hard, just time consuming.

Glue. Wait. Sand. Prime. Wood putty. Wait. Sand. Prime. Wait. Sand. Paint with oil based enamel. I'm certainly a self-taught beginner, but if anyone wants more specifics let me know.

Here it is all gussied up, doing it's job- collecting clutter. Please notice that the "colors" (aka: pens) are in the center so J cannot reach them. This was in vain, he now just moves the desk and walks behind. Sigh.

Oh, wait- here's a better picture of it... {smile}

Anyways, the take-away is: if you get too close to me, I might sand and paint you.

I read somewhere that my generation is being called (among other things I'm sure) "the DIY generation". I think that's great. I have tons of friends doing amazing things with their time. Of course, to me this is not limited to "crafts" or "projects", it's more an attitude of engaging. Wonderful hosts, musicians, gardeners, decorators, friends that make time for coffee and a chat, friends that simply like to take a drive with the windows down.

I am so relieved we were not ruined by Wal-Mart and Nintendo as predicted.

Lastly, an EASY weeknight dinner. Baked potatoes with chicken and broccoli. That's it. Zip the potatoes in the microwave, finish in the oven. Layer with butter, sour cream, diced (cooked) chicken breast (leftover is great), steamed broccoli and cheese.  Put it all back in the oven till melty. 

Top with more sour cream and chives, if that's your thing. The Roosta had about a half a cup on his. This picture also proves that anyone will like it. And that it's time for a haircut.

Happy weekend to you all! We plan to do nothing. Can't wait.