Heirloom veggie seeds are HEEEEERE!!!! :)

YEEE-HAAAW!!!!!!!

Check out what came in the mail today:


*grin*

Next up, plant these puppies:


I started a few tomato seeds last week ... but now the big guns are here!


Let's talk about heirloom veggies. Last summer, I read in Better Homes & Gardens about heirloom tomatoes. The gist of the story was that the tomatoes are supposed to be more flavorful. :) They also come in cool colors (like purple ... have YOU ever seen a purple tomato?).


I'm SO ready for this summer and to get my fingers into the garden!


And this was what I found on the bottom of my invoice:


I feel all the better for supporting a company that utilizes sustainable practices. The place they get the seed envelopes from uses wind power to make the paper. How cool is that??!!??!

Oh, and if you want the hookup on these seeds, CLICK HERE to check out their online catalogue.

Recycled Purse????

Ok, so for everyone who knows me, I'M NOT A PURSE PERSON!!!!!

But I do have one. Ok, 2 of them. And I admit, they come in VERY handy on occasion. But one is large and becomes a dumping ground/catch all for everything. The other is just the right size for my wallet, but it's sometimes a struggle to wrestle the wallet in and out of it.

So, when we were traveling over Christmas, I saw a glimpse of a purse ... wait for it ... MADE OUT OF SEATBELTS. Now, this is genius, I thought. Really. Reusing seatbelts. I like it.


And the more I looked, the more options I saw that there are in the world of seatbelt purses. Who would have thought????!?!?!


Then I saw the bag below, and really wondered if those seatbelts were reused, or if they were made specifically for that bag.


Seriously. Have YOU ever seen a seatbelt like this? Me either.


There's another company who makes them, and they do a diamond weave. I have to admit, I am digging this a bit more from a visual aspect. ;)


I might actually believe this was made from reused seatbelts.

But then I get back to the bottom line/question at hand. I don't really USE a purse that much ... do I really NEED a seatbelt purse?

Regardless, it's an interesting idea/product and I thought I'd share. :)

Are blogs like Christmas cards?

A few weeks ago, I was reading a friend's blog, and it was gritty. Real. Raw.

And I got to thinking. To wondering. Is this blog of mine like a Christmas card? Clean? Sterile? Showing only the joys?

Hmmmm ...

But on the other hand, I've read some people's personal blogs where they hang their dirty laundry, and know what? It ain't flattering and I just don't like it. Besides, I'm not a generally negative person. So ... what to do????

Some of the struggles in my/our life are medical-related. And know what? I've heard of instances where insurance companies use personal information from blogs to block or deny coverage. So, I am completely not willing to share struggles in that arena.

But there are other areas of life where I can certainly share/brain dump. OK, so here's my yesterday. I was in Wichita for a wedding consult. Went well. And to appear in muni court to pay a speeding ticket. Went OK. They chopped my fine in half, which was great, but court costs are killer! But I *do* have to admit, having a last name with B puts me closer to the front of alphabetical lines, which is a new concept for me, after being in the middle for my entire life! :)

But I also had tons of errands to do. I accomplished most of them in the morning, but there were a few I needed to do in the afternoon. Even though my youngest brother teases me for making lists, I SHOULD have made a "to do" list. It would have completely prevented my afternoon mayham. But I didn't, so it didn't. *sigh*

I ran to the west side to chat with a guy at a natural foods store, but of course the person I wanted to talk with wasn't there. So I found the only "snack-ey" sort of food I could have in the store (more about this in a future post, I promise!), and purchased them. Score! A snack I can eat on the run!

But about the time I pulled up at this store, I remembered I'd left 2 rolls of 120mm film at a lab on the EAST side of town. I was on West Central. I needed to go BACK to East Central.

*sigh*

So I did. And when I picked up the film, I was told only one of them had been shot, so I have another roll of 120mm film hiding in the house somewhere that I will have to remember to take to Wichita to be developed. Sheesh!

And baby bro ... as much as you think my lists are SILLY, if I'd have made one, it would have saved a trip across town ... so there! ;)

And as a reward for those of you who made it all the way through my rambling, here's a photo I took while we were in Arizona. It's about the only photo I've looked at. I have now downloaded, but not looked at the photos. Seriously!


This is from a series of photos involving textures I did in Arizona. And, for those of you who are curious, I used my little point and shoot camera to take this photo. The macro feature is fantastic! So for those of you who think you need a fancy camera, I tell you "YOU DON'T" ... just read your manual!

Update from the homefront

Ok troopers, it's just a mad scramble around here!

Still catching up on laundry (groan).

Doing lots of talking with brides and the like.

Also, just planted my basil and peppers. In my little makeshift plant growing-thingey. I intend to give heirloom tomatoes a spin this year and see how that goes. But per my mother's request, I'll still start a few regular plants for her. :)

Oh, and because I know some of you might be interested, I am getting my heirloom seeds from a place in Ellsworth, KS .... so not too far from home! The bonus is that we know the seeds will grow well in KS. :) To view the info, please CLICK HERE (a big thanks to Erik's co-worker, Gordon, for pointing me in this direction!).

Yes, I'm aware I need to post photos from Arizona, but truth be told, I haven't even had the time to download them. So continue to sit tight!!!!

Blast from the past

Remember in May when I was being all rambly? Well, I didn't want to share photos before the magazine was published .... so here is a photo from my photo shoot:


YOu can CLICK HERE to check out the photos. :)

Crossover — POY

Ok peeps, in case you missed it, I'M STINKIN' BUSY AROUND HERE!!!!! ;)

Yes, Erik and I went to Arizona for about a week and had a spectacular time. I will share photos once things calm down a bit around here.

So in the meantime, please CLICK HERE to check out the work Mike and I have done over the last year. :)

Inspiration III

Ok, last one in this series. This one is dedicated to lighting.


How great would this look in our master bedroom? Painted white.

Erik, of course, would say it's an affront to his manhood and veto it. But a girl can dream, right?


Or this in white?


Or for bedside, keep the base black and have white sheer ribbon?

Inspiration II

This is the wall stuff. :)


Kinda digging the wall decals. Not sure it'd look good on our blue walls, but ya know .... I can always imagine.


Integrated with photos. Digging this!


Stenciled onto a dark wall. Now THIS is an interesting thing to consider. Maybe on the wall our bed is against????


Just cuteness .... if your name is Angie, I can see something like this on your walls. ;)


Sticking with the word/lettering theme, this is for my dad. BELIEVE. :) Love it! I love the soft glow of the lights. I've seen some kickin photos from the neon graveyard in Las Vegas and this kinda reminded me of it.


Kinda like the frames. And that they're black.


This isn't really decorative, but I think it's certainly clever. If I ever live in a loft-like space, it'd be a great alternative to the traditional kitchen cabinets!

Inspiration!

When I was in Denver a few months ago, I was able to take a tour of Sam Puc's studio space. I have to say, it was uber-fab. :)

I'll break the photos from the visit into a few posts so as to not bore/overwhelm you out there in blog-reading-land.

This one will be about chairs. Yes, chairs and sitting surfaces. So deal.


I'm sort of on a kick about chairs with no arms, which is odd because I like to sprawl my legs over the arm of any chair I'm sitting in. But I think I like the clean lines, ya know?


I'm not sure how comfy any of these are to sit in. This one especially, but it certainly LOOKS nice, even if it might be uncomfortable. ;)


Just gotta love this.


This is great ... and could totally serve as a day bed, too, right?


Not sure I'm loving the fabric, but this certainly is an interesting looking piece.


Last one is a great way to store things! Seriously thinking about this for the garage!!!!

This is post #555

Yes, it's a number post.

Ok, not really. But it's post #555 for our blog. If you don't believe me, go back and count. I did. Ok, I didn't, but it tells me on the blogger dashboard. ;)

Ok, so Happy New Year everyone. I hope it was a jolly good time and that you all enjoyed yourselves immensely.

Resolutions? I am not a big fan. In fact, I read in a magazine that the average New Year's resolution lasts about 6 weeks (see the allure of doing a 101 in 1001 list?).

But I have a goal for 2010: Cook with 3 ingredients I've never used before. I'm thinking lentils and couscous for sure!

Sounds strange, but I think I can do it. :) Besides, I already work out on a pretty regular basis. So it's not like I can do that for my New Year's resolution.

If I come up with anything better or anything to add on, I'll let you know, but this is it for now!