Home » 2012 » March

Monthly Archives: March 2012

A Little Bit of Everything

Today I am tired but I have accomplished much this week. This time last week I’d found two cars that might work to replace, Lazarus, Trav’s 1995 Dodge Caravan. I found two different Hyundai Sonatas for sale on Craig’s List and one was a really low mileage car. After I looked at Consumer Reports and saw that the car got a nearly perfect review, I was pretty sure I’d found our new car. It takes more time and effort to buy from an individual and it’s a bit nerve-wracking to have to hold the deal together but we were able to purchase a 2006 Hyundai Sonata for about 2K under what it was valued at. And the car even has a sun roof! We weren’t even looking for that so it’s a really nice perk… I like perks. So, the running around town Travis and I have been doing-he to test drive and get the car checked out then I was working on making it legal at the tag agency and whatnot- was totally worth it. Tiring and stressful but worth it.

Then there was the cell phone thing, the a/c thing, and the lawn mower thing. You know, life sort of happened all at once. We have since battened down all the hatches and I’m looking forward to smoother sailing next week.

Weeks like this one make it nearly impossible for me to focus on the pretty things. But I did take a few minutes each day to see how my little garden is progressing. And I had the windows open as much as possible to let in the fresh air and to hear the birds singing.

The lavender is in bloom!

 

I’m surprised at how much I love lavender. I never really liked the smell in soaps or lotions but I love the smell of the plant itself. The only thing I don’t love is that this plant only blooms in the spring. This is french lavender. I think that there are some other varieties that bloom longer than that.

We are on spring break this next week…I’m super excited about that. And I’ve got a fabulous new post in the works for what I hope to be a regular feature. It’s called “Artist Spotlight” and I’m really excited about it. The only drawback I see is if I run out of artists to spotlight but I will cross that bridge later. For now though I think I hear coffee calling my name….it’s calling loudly since it’s noon and I haven’t had any yet (wink)

Have a great weekend!

About these ads

It’s a Doozy

This week has been a bit busy. I’m not complaining it’s just that Trav’s job change has brought a couple of other changes that require research and a lot of time. So today I am featuring a film that Amanda was in this semester at school. I love it that she’s a film student and it’s so much fun for me to get to see short films that are written, directed, filmed, etc. all by students. It’s fun and funny and silly…and this one has video game type violence so it’s probably not appropriate for smaller children.

And if you don’t know my oldest kiddo, here she is making a heart sign with her hands for me since I didn’t get to go to her award show. She won SEU’s equivalent of an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in a film I haven’t seen. I’m bummed about that. Next year I’m going to the 180 film festival that her school holds every year.

Photo by Taylor Murray

I miss my kid and I can hardly wait until summer. And now for your viewing pleasure, I present to you, (the link for) Level Up.

STH- Save This House

Today I’m sending out an S.T.H- Save This House! I drive past this place anytime I go to Cool Springs- which is at least a half dozen times a week. It sits directly across from The Factory at Franklin,  Harlinsdale Park sits behind it, and it’s within walking distance to the heart of Downtown Franklin.  It was built in 1926 and there was an article written about it in the paper when it first went on the market so I know there’s historical significance to it…I just can’t remember what it was and the article is no longer available. Drat!

It’s a foreclosure and is listed at $159,900. There are some smaller cottages in this tiny development that were purchased for very low amounts, I remember one that was listed in the $20,ooo dollar range with a warning that the floor was falling in.  And from the outside you can see that this home needs some TLC too. Take a look at the pictures and see if you’re up to the challenge. Here’s a link to the listing in case you’d like to be Superman or Superwoman and save this house!

Clearly the house needs a lot of  TLC.

The home has some nice features although the kitchen and bath need an overhaul more suited to the character of the house. Every time I drive by I can’t help but feel sad that it’s in such disrepair so I hope that whoever buys it does a fabulous renovation.

I did a little searching through my Pinterest Boards and came up with a few ideas for the kitchen.

How about a robin’s egg  blue kitchen island? It would have to be smaller, of course but I love it. I’m also considering doing something similar to my own kitchen island.

BHG.com

 I think that a vintage look kitchen with white subway tile would be sweet too.

I love the detail on this cabinet.

bhg.com

Some of the baths I featured on “A Colorful Day” would be pretty in that house too. I guess a girl can dream.

Now, I will bid you adieu and wish you a wonderful weekend. I predict that there will be much celebrating at The Button Casa since today is Trav’s last day at his current job! A new adventure awaits us next week and I couldn’t be more excited!

Fresh From the Farm

Rotten Tomatoes.com

Have you ever seen the movie, “People Will Talk”? It stars Carey Grant and Jeannie Crain. I put it in my Netflix cue simply because Carey Grant was in it. It also featured an uncredited appearance by, Margaret Hamilton, aka. The Wicked Witch of the West. I still got the heebies watching her in this role even though she was just playing a maid. The scene pictured finds Noah Praetorius ranting a bit over the state of the food of the day..

“What have you great men of science done with atomic energy to make people well?….Sauerkraut belongs in a barrel, not a can.  Our American mania for sterile packaging has removed the flavor from most of our foods.  Butter is no longer sold out of a wooden tub, and a whole generation thinks butter tastes like paper.  There was never a perfume like an old-time grocery store.  Now they smell like drugstores, which don’t even smell like drugstores anymore.”  ~ Cary Grant as Dr. Noah Praetorius, People Will Talk (1951) (I found the quote here.)

I don’t usually blog about the state of food and it’s quality, although it’s something I think about. This is my blog about making things pretty and sometimes yummy. When I watched that movie though I found myself cheering for Dr. Praetorius and not just because he’s played by Carey Grant. Who knew that some people were thinking about the state of food in 1951?

Many moons ago I used to drive very far away to get, among other things, farm fresh eggs. I saw for the first time ever a happy chicken running through the grass presumably to go after a nice, fat worm. I didn’t know a chicken could look happy. When gas got to $4 a gallon it didn’t make sense to drive so far to get fresh eggs. I went back to buying eggs at Costco and while that fit our budget better I really wanted to have the opportunity to buy farm fresh eggs again.

So, over a year ago I met one of my friend’s mom and she raised chickens for eggs. I told her that I’d love to buy farm fresh eggs again but unfortunately some of her chickens were, um, well, they have a dog and…you know. So she had to get more chickens. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and my friend, Lori, asked if I was still interested in eggs. Yes! Yes, I am interested in eggs! And even better? Lori brings them to me at church. No extra driving required.

Aren’t they pretty?

They’re speckled and brown and white and grey-blue-green. They’re pretty and yummy and fresh and as an added bonus there’s no chicken poo on them. When I used to buy them they’d been washed but I’ve never seen farm eggs this clean.

Eating fresh, local and organic is all the rage these days so is there anything you love fresh from the farm? I’d love to hear about it.

Daisy, Daisy, You Drive Me Crazy…

…but I still love you. That’s a song that Travis made up and sings to Daisy often. I’ve introduced Daisy here before but I haven’t talked about her much lately. It’s mostly because her boyfriend, Romeo, has  been visiting a bit and she ignores us when he’s around. Daisy is the sweetest dog I know, sweet but not terribly smart,  she loves other dogs. She’s nearly run out into traffic because she saw a dog on the other side of the street.

Before we got Daisy I had images in my head of how sweet it would be to take her to the park for a walk while Travis and I held hands and the girls walked along beside us. In reality though one of us tries to wrangle her while she’s nearly yanking our arms off. She’s literally pulled me out of my flip-flops before.

Here are her 3 basic maneuvers:

The Tank Maneuver- This is the move where she gets her body as low to the ground as possible to gain enough strength to pull me along behind her. If she’s lucky and gets me to a run, it’s all over. I’m sure it’s quite a sight watching a grown woman running out of control behind a dog. Really, it’s all my dreams come true.

The Stop-Slack-Slide- This one is for when I’m being adamant that she’s going to go where I want her to. I give her very little leash so she’ll pull her head back and give a tiny bit of slack so she can slide her head out of her collar and run around the park unleashed.

The Bolt-Slack-Yank- This happens when I decide to let her run (because I’m no jogger) and she runs almost as far as the length of the leash (she might be smarter than I thought), gives a bit of slack and then rushes forward as hard as she can so as to yank the leash out of my hand.

That last one has been successful a few times and the last time she did it I pulled a muscle in my chest by holding onto the leash and it hurt to breathe for about two weeks. This is also the trip that I had to send Chloe and Halle into a field, away from the sidewalk because she was trying to drag us into traffic to get to a dog on the other side of the street. She also ended up scratching my leg very badly. I was fuming and came home swearing that I would never, ever take her for another walk. If you own a dog, you know that’s not really an option. So I had to find another solution. I’d seen a type of leash on a dog training show that fits around a dog’s snout and back of the skull, like a horse’s bridle and it seemed to help some really out of control Rottweilers. Daisy fit the out of control category and I like that this type won’t choke her.

It’s also a little bit funny to watch her try to get it off.

She’s pretty though, huh? I seriously love her. It makes her shenanigans and hijinks easier to deal with.

Romeo is trying to figure out what in the world is going on. Not only is she acting crazy, she’s also ignoring him. This is highly irregular.

Then we drove to the park to take a walk. The spring breeze was nice and cool, the kids talked and ran and picked dandelions while Travis and I were able to (finally) walk hand in hand with a reasonably behaved Daisy by our side.

This is Halle’s, “I’m telling a story” face.

I now have hope that all of the Buttons, including our stubborn pup, can take walks together. I’m definitely looking forward to more evenings like this one.