the show.....will go on

here is the official invitation to the show.
(the show that i may now have to pull an all-nighter for)
the small text is kind of hard to read in this format so, here is what you need to know. the show will be up from april 1st until april 20th at gallery one ten in provo. the opening reception is april 6th, 6 to 9 pm. if you live in the area stop on by, it should be a fun party.

ski day

from r to l: kipper, me, corby, ken, wendy




yesterday was wonderful. it took me back to college days when i would have so much studying to do or a project to finish, but the powder was piling up, your ski dudes call... and you just blow off everything and ski. (pulling an all-nighter to catch up) sometimes no matter how much you have to do, you have to just drop everything and ski some powder with some good friends. i would recommend a day like this for everyone, it cleared my head and gave me a new outlook on life. thanks to everyone who made this day possible, especially steve o who took over the after-school chaos, had the kids fed and p.j.ed, kitchen and house cleaned up, when i got home. you're the best.

late snow

it happens every year, whether you are expecting it or not. there is probably 4 inches on my lawn, and it has been snowing all morning. this late storm doesn't bother me like it might some people. here are some reasons:
-the trees in my yard don't have enough new leaves or buds on them to put them in jeopardy of breaking, this means less time with the broom.
-all the snow in the valley will most likely be melted by tomorrow and we can all go back to our springtime adventures.
-it really beautiful to look out the window and see the snow falling (we didn't really get enough this last winter) and have new snow covering everything, even the daffodils.
-i'm going skiing today at snowbird with my ladies. (and a few fellas) an opportunity like this doesn't come around very often for a busy lady like myself.
......getting together with my ladies for a day of speeding down the hill, not in uniform, in some new spring snow...priceless

eat your greens quilt

i made this quilt a few years back. it has been hanging at my parents bed and breakfast,slot canyons inn in escalante ut along with a few other quilts my mother-in-law jan and i have made. i borrowed it back for the nothing to say show coming up next week-yikes!

new curtains

i've been dying to make these curtains for my studio windows. (i guess that's what i'll call it) i know, the room has only been mine for a week, but i'm already sick of looking at the ugly basement window wells full of leaves, rocks (ok, so the rocks are supposed to be there) and whatnot. this weekend i finally put everything aside for an hour or so and whipped these up. i left them simple, although i thought about putting a ruffle at the bottom-out of another fabric...maybe later. i like this picture because you can kind of see the sparkle on the walls.

brunch

the kids didn't have school today (teacher development day) so we all slept in. steve o is in park city for a few days shooting the roxy chicken jam, a girl snowboard contest. i even skipped my morning run. unfortunately, i'll never get to it now- i'll have to go tomorrow morning. as a matter of fact- i'm still in my pj's( it's after noon) and it feels good. we spent the morning relaxing (for just a minute), then tiding up, vacuuming, putting away laundry, practicing piano and making the afore mentioned snickerdoodle muffins. the kids and i all agreed they were very delicious, and ate them til we were all full up. maybe i'll save you one steve o, eat an el chubasco fish taco for me.

before and after

i went to find some lace yesterday in the lace bin and nearly got swallowed up. so, i stopped everything and took to reorganizing the tub. a lot of this lace is from Jan (my coolest mother-in-law ever) in earlier years she was a sewer/project doer, but these days she mostly makes amazing quilts. being the only one interested in fabric and that sort of thing in the family, i get all of the items she want to clean out and get rid of. lucky me. the rest of the lace is from this wacky place in springville called tasha's that used to carry all sorts of trim (good) and fabric (mostly gross) for super duper cheap, now it's an antique mall...bummer. it took me all day to sort this mess out, but boy- does it feel good, and look good in my new clean organized workspace.

snickerdoodle muffins

oh baby, i can't wait to make these... i just found this new website called taste spotting that is so fabulous. the recipe and many others are easy to find on taste spotting. i would have made these muffins already if i had eggs in the house. i need to go to the grocery (story of my life) and as soon as i do- i'll whip these up and let you know if they are as delicious as they look.

my new space

i finally got my own room...steve o moved his office out of our basement and to a real downtown office a while ago and since then the room has just been used less and less my him and more and more for storage. so we made a shift. my fabric and sewing machines have slowly been taking over the toy room (because that was better than the kitchen table) this has been a rough spot between myself and the children. it was kind of a bummer for my kids to be told to not touch or move anything in their own toy room. so i have a new studio, office, sewing room... whatever you want to call it. i painted 2 of the walls metallic silver, the other 2 walls beach glass (martha color) then, i painted a glitter topcoat over all the walls. the glitter pieces are so small it's more of a shimmer effect, but i love it anyway. thank you steve o for moving all your junk out, giving me your space and your ikea shelves.

st patrick's day party

saturday we celebrated maia's birthday with a -lots of kids and cake and fun- sort of party. thank goodness it was warm and sunny. seven years ago i worked very hard- i mean i didn't work at all, just sat on my butt- making sure her birthday wasn't on st. patrick's day. (it's actually march 18th) i personally feel you shouldn't have to share your birthday with a holiday. but, she seems to embrace the idea that one day away is close enough to claim it as your own personal holiday. so when the party fell on the real st. patrick's day we had to go for it. we had the full on wear your best green outfit, rainbow and pot o' gold cake, "hunt for the leprechauns gold" treasure hunt, a special visit from the elusive "larry the leprechaun" (her brother fischer). who is happy to oblige this role, and i believe has been anticipating it since he played a similar role at last years' party. anyway, here are some pictures of the cake and the gingerbread man turned leprechan cookies. as you can see, i'm an amateur when it comes to royal icing, being in a hurry didn't help. i just realized... he has a sort of chippendales look to him doesn't he?

purses

here are some purses that are finally all finished. i think i will put some of my favorites, which include the ones shown here, in the gallery one ten show that steve o and i are doing, coming up in april.

pesto pizza

one of our families very favorite meals is fresh pesto with angel hair pasta. yummy, my kids gobble it up. put the pesto on pizza and everyone raves about it. so here are the recipes for the easiest pizza crust ever, pesto, and the pizza. so not hard to make and sooo delicious.

pizza dough:
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 c. warm water
2 1/2 c. flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

dissolve yeast in warm water and stir in remaining ingredients. beat vigorously 20 strokes, or use your kitchen aid mixer. let rest only 5 minutes.

pesto sauce:
1 c. fresh basil leaves ( I would recommend planting basil in your garden, or keeping a plant in your kitchen. it is such a wonderful addition to so many foods)
2 garlic cloves
coarse or rock salt, just a sprinkle
2 tbsp pine nuts (giant bags available at costo)
1/2 c. olive oil
4 tbsp fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp pecorino cheese or more parmesan
place basil, garlic, salt, and pine nuts in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. add olive oil with motor running, the add cheese. blend one more time until ingredients are mixed well.

pizza:
shredded chicken
sliced mushrooms
olives
mozzerella cheese
parmesan and romano cheese
pine nuts

roll out dough on parchment paper or pizza pan. spoon on pesto sauce, generously.
cover up the pesto with chicken, mushrooms, and olives, come on now, don't be shy or skimp now...
add shredded mozzerella, then about 1/3 as much parmesan and romano, once again don't skimp.
sprinkle with a handful of pine nuts.
bake on a pizza stone with parchment paper at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
-if you don't have a pizza stone just use a pizza pan or cookie sheet, but a pizza stone really makes the crust turn out yummy. i would recommend having a pizza stone in any kitchen. i cook frozen pizza on it as well, on those super busy or babysitter nights.
i transfer pizza & parchment to the hot stone in the oven by cookie sheet, and back out of the oven the same way.
enjoy!

errands

here are a few fun things I picked up in my travels today. this cute little egg basket thing i couldn't resist, it was cheap and is inspiring me to make fun easter things. i stopped at the scrapbook store to get some paper to make invitations for maia's birthday party, and some tiny velvet rick rack for a skirt, and of course i found other things. the company that makes all of these items is called basic grey. i really like all of their stuff, especially the bundle of fibers. i can do all sorts of things with those.

schnowlerblading

this is gavin "schnowlerblading" up at sundance today. steve o coined the phrase, a mix of snow and rollerblade, with a few extra letters thrown in. die-hard skiers like to look down their noses at snowblading, a fad that was "all the rage" about 5 years ago, and that just makes it all that much more fun. we just happened to have kept a pair of these goofy snowblades, and we're bringing it back, but calling schnowlerblading- something much for fun to say and do. what do you do that's different? you ask... well that's really up to you, but here are a few fun ideas in picture. it's a good way to laugh with (or at) your friends when the snow is really slushy and not really worth skiing or snowboarding.

bejeweled

i finally got the bedazzler out for a little fun, and the little bugger didn't make things dazzle like i wanted them to. so i went back to the craft store and found a bejeweler. this tool looks a bit like a sautering iron and affixes swarovski crystals with a heat activated adhesive. these little crystals really sparkle, and i like that. the name brand crystals don't come cheap, a package of 72 set me back $10, but on the other hand it is nearly impossible to find replacement gems for the bedazzler. The bejeweler cost me $8.99 at michaels craft store, and i think i'll use it more. my kids do love the bedazzler, and have really gone to town using it. it's safer for kids, no burning hot iron involved. i really love the new bling on my goggles. i've gotten many compliments on them already:)

baby face

my friend molly made this plate for me last year, i think. it hangs in my kitchen, above the stove. i love the comments some visitors come up with when verbaling their personal feelings about it. you either love it or you wonder why in the crap is that crazy plate hanging on the wall, and in the kitchen of all places?!
my kids and i like to joke about what it would be like to be eating a heaping mound of pasta off this plate and then make the startling discovery of a baby face half way thru your meal.
thank you molly, i love my baby head plate.

lip balm

i am sad to admit that my favorite lip balm is completely empty. here is the packaging, we thought it was so funny and silly-and as you can probably guess, i'm all about that. good lip balm can be hard to find, and i'm very picky. i was very pleased to find that this particular lip balm had a good texture and consistency, no weird after taste, the virtuous vanilla flavor was enjoyable, and spf 18 to boot. these qualities were all an added bonus because i bought it for the label...in las vegas.

pinking shears

this little birdie is on the front of a purse that will be made soon. i threw it in the washer with a load of clothes making it fray just the right amount, then i sewed it on. i like the way it turned out. i will probably be making variations on this theme on more purses, skirts, maybe t-shirts too.

it's time to sew

this week i am getting to work on some skirts for the art show at gallery one ten that steve o and i are doing in april. i have good ideas in my head if i can just make them come true, in real life.

headbands

here are a few headbands i made/fixed this week. molly made the two polka dot ones last year, but they had been left on the floor or something and the plastic part inside had snapped. it's so good to have them back and available for accessorizing. it makes you look at ribbon in a whole new light.

the best note ever

this note speaks for itself. it is possibly my favorite note I've ever read (secretly, of course) from my wonderful children. quinn here is once again reminding me in writing to take a chill pill, calm down, don't freak out, regroup, take a timeout, read some parenting literature, and try every day to be the best mom i can be.

tooth fairy

at our house, when it comes to the tooth fairy, some bit of correspondence must be included. most of the time they want personal information like: what is your name? are you married? or how tall are you? this time fischer was going along with the rumor that a friend's friend had gotten an RC car from the tooth fairy. i say, urban legend son. he did get three dollars though because it took that darn tooth fairy 3 night to pay up. sheesh! i mean what does a kid have to do to get some good service around here?

notes from maia

this is a self portrait of maia. she doesn't have bangs, but as you can see- she really wants them.

maia is not shy about who she has a crush on. she let's the whole world know, she loves to shout it out, literally. this is from her backpack yesterday. apparently, she has a new muse and his name is clay. she is working on getting his number. keep in mind she is 6 years old.

this note was sent thru the school valentine postal system from maia to her big brother fischer. i'm sure he and all of his friends really appreciated it. maia is one funny kid.