Wish List....

So... my birthday is in a few weeks... Just in case you are wondering what to get me, I'll love one of these:

Maybe one of theses:

And, if you get in a hurry last minute: This entire room would be fine, really....

Oh, Pottery Barn. You are killing me. Kill-ing me...

DIY Does NOT Apply...

Jas has deemed this the "Year Of Just Living" - which was told to me when I told him of the grand painting plans I had for our master bedroom. Nope. He said he is out. He doesn't want to do anything this year. WHAT?!?!? Just when he was becoming my decorating/ crafty-project P.I.C.! Ugh. You would think after knowing him for almost half my life, I would know when he's not bluffing. But, nooooooo, I figured I could woo him, guilt him, or cry if it came to it! Or not.

I have a medium-sized barn star over our TV in the living room. I love tin stars, have in them in almost every room. But it has always bugged me a little that it was smaller than I really would like. It looked a little dinky up there to me. So I went in search of a larger star...but I found something even better at (guess where? where else?!) Hob Lob. Metal scroll-y pieces. I'm telling you! They sometime put the best treasures closest to the floor! They were small, like 10 inches long and they had them in reverse of each other and a little alarm went off: hello! hang them on either side of the star! Loved the idea and stalked them until they were 50% off.

I brought them home, painted them, sanded and distressed them and was fired up to get them on the wall. So, like I normally would do, I asked Jas to come help me. And you know what he said?? "No."

WHAT!?!? He couldn't be serious!

He was. So I got the leaning ladder out of the garage, and leaned it up againt the wall in the living room to show that I was serious, these guys where going to be hung up.

Nothing. So I leaned the ladder on the right side of the TV careful not to bump anything. I shook it a few times to make sure it wasn't going anywhere, climbed up and then called Jas. Got him! He came in the room and I asked him to tell me when it was straight. He was mad he got dooped, but helped me. Then he left. So I moved to the other side of the fireplace, and as I was climbing the ladder I had one of those moments where I thought, Damn, it sure would be a nightmare if I fell. And I started to do a quick inventory of all of the awful things I would hit: the TV on the wall, the big wooden mantle, the tile hearth, the large media cabinet... I got up there and called him back, begging him to just stand there and tell me up, down, left or right. He did it, but with very little enthusiam, and sure enough when I got down the left scroll was too close to the star. Now, I am sure I am the only person on the planet that would be bothered by the 1/2 inch discrepency, but it had to be remedied.

Jas told me to leave it. It was fine.

He walked out.

(This is the part of the story where my mom would say, "Alright, hard head." Yeah.)

I climbed back up the ladder, and I guess I went one rung too high, because as I hooked the back of the hammer around the nail I wanted to remove I heard the most awful metal clink sound and down I went. The rubber bottom of the ladder is on a hinge and had flipped up, and on our slick floors, the whole ladder started sliding down and backwards. And in that moment I ran through that laundry list of what I was going to hit in those 2 split seconds. Then WHAM! the ladder slammed into the mantle, it flipped over and I was able to roll off, but not before I hit my ankle, my shoulder and worst of all, the inside of my leg.

(thank you mantle for breaking my fall. {hugs})

When the ladder hit and flipped it wasn't a pretty sound, and luckily Jas came running. I just sat on the ottoman- in shock, but thanking God that I wasn't more seriously injured and embarrassed that I had acted like such a toot. And in true Anne fashion, I had one of those laugh-like-a-psycho-then-burst-into-tears moment.

So, maybe he has a point. Maybe decorating has become too dangerous. Better to live...

(Then again, maybe I can bribe a certain someone who understands how much looking at that 1/2 inch-too-close-scroll will make me slowly go insane until it is moved to come help a sista' out!)

Teacher Gifts '09

Its Teacher Gift time! Having worked in a school for numerous Christmas-es, I know what NOT to give: Bath and Body Works. Ha!

I always try to make something... and then I usually end up wanting to keep it. Last year I made coffee baskets. And it took everything I had not to brew up a pot while I was pouring each specialty flavor coffee into their precious labeled tins... KILLER.

So this year, I needed something that didn't have to do with my serious addiction, why do that to myself two years in a row. So I went the crafty-route. And made tassels.

I luv Nester. And I loved the tassels she made. And I stocked every picture trying to figure out how she made the darn things. There had to be something in the middle- but what? Alyshia and I spent several hours discussing what we could use: old thread spools... wooden circles... Well. Last month sweet Nester sold her secret and I bought it. And wouldn't you know... She just rolls the dang fringe. Could it get any easier than that??? So I read her "How To" ebook, waited til ornaments went on sale at the Hob Lob and got my tassel on. (Ooo... that sounds kinda bad. Sorry.)

Normally, the brightly colored toppers would not be my first choice, but my children loved them, and since they are for their teachers, I got over it. I made one for each of their teachers. Then I made two identical ones of the glittery Santa on his bag for O's principal and and Bub's director. 'Know who I love so much I could eat him? The chocolate Santa. He's for my Nanna. YUM.

I hope they go over well, and people don't look at them like, "What the heck is this thing??" I have been prepping my kiddos on what to say, "Its decoration..." "You can hang it on your doorknob..." Ha! We'll see! Careful though... they were so fun and easy to make... it might be the gift everyone gets from me from now on...

Its Begun

Countdown to Halloween: T-40 days....
Oh, really...?
That long...?
Okay, so maaaybe I've jumped the gun a little here...
Oh, well!
Whoo-hoo!
Let the fun begin!!!!

You Should Have Seen It Before

Please Excuse This Break From Our Week Of Organization: I have a party to attend!

Jen at Sanctuary Arts At Home is having a "You Should Have Seen It Before!" event to bare our souls and show the embarrassing well-meaning decorating styles our houses have been through!

So, without further ado:
Here is out Kitchen

This is our first home- we bought it in December of 2006, and I LOVED that fact that our kitchen is really pretty big. But it was built in 1984 and hadn't been updated at all. I was an avid HGTV watcher- and just knew I could paint those cabinets white in an hour- just like on the shows! We moved in and within 24 hours, we were ripping down the wallpaper and getting geared up for the couple of hours we knew it would take us to transform and update our cabinets. WHAHAHAHA! Try over 6 days later! Talk about the blind leading the blind- which is never good when chemicals you can't pronounce are involved! We had really no idea what we were doing, and very quickly learned that any project you see on TV takes about 5 days longer than they lead you to believe.

But we did it! And I loved them white. I think it took away from the cream laminate counter tops and back splash.We also shadily-painted the kitchen by adding texture to the paint rather than properly sealing and re-doing the walls after we took all the wall paper down. (I regretted that for the next two years.) Style wise, I was going for a Lori Smith, classic-modern feel. Made window treatments and slip-covered my chairs with her fabric from Hancocks...
And then! Typical me, I wasn't happy with it. I decided that was not my aesthetic. I was more of a classic girl at heart. I felt the khaki was too blah. So I started painting the kitchen with some old white paint I found in the garage in morning. Something was wrong with it and it smelled so awful, we had to vacate the house for two days. I Jason had to totally repaint the kitchen- and so of course, we had to start over and chose a new paint color. It was a beautiful blue-Picaso Blue (Or Dallas Cowboys blue according to Jas!) and I found some Waverly paisley fabric that I loved and made new curtains and chair covers... I don't have a good pic, but you can see it behind Miss O in this shot. We loved the bright blue against my crisp white cabinets. It was bright and sunny... I was slowly on my way to discovering my true style. We loved it. But our renters did not. We moved and they decided to go for a more fleshy faux glazed color.

Luckily, we had the opportunity to remodel and spruce up our sweet kitchen before we moved back in this summer. And now she is EXACTLY what I wanted! She has new walls, paint and molding, new floors and trim, new counter tops and back splash, new appliances, a new sink and faucet! I am obsessed with the brown and tan zebra print fabric, and love the mix of it with the light blue toile. My chairs are from a dining set that belonged to my great-grandmother and I made them cute little plaid skirts. I love the pedestal table (just not the cheap top... on the hunt for a real solid wood one). We loved her before, but now she is juuuuuuust right!For more fun transformations- head over to Jen's

If Pee-Wee Can Do It...

If Pee-Wee Herman can marry a fruit salad because he loves it so much, then you should be on the look-out for your invites to the Yarbrough-Podge wedding, planned for, I don't know... this weekend?...

I love Modge Podge. So much.

I constantly look at things and think , "Hhmmmm, how much cuter would you be with some ink-rubbed, decorative-edged-cut scrapbook paper decoupaged on to you??"Its a problem.But look how fun! How cute!
(Thanks Steph for the pencil box idea!)How cheap!!!
(This soap dispenser was $1 from Joanns, with .59 cent paper
and ribbon I had left over! SUPER cheap!)

(Oh, and in case you want to get us something to commemorate this special day in our lives, Modgie and I are registered at Hobby Lobby, Michael's and JoAnns. )

Husband Pleasin'

EW! No! Get your mind out of the gutter. This is simply a post to share my famous in my own mind Chicken Nugget recipe- I've been promising Fan Target I'd give it to her, and I just so happened to make it for dinner last night. Its the only thing I've made in our almost 8 years of marriage that Jas begs me to make again and again. (Sad, I know.) Its not fancy, doesn't have mysterious ingredients, there are not utensils needed that you can only get at Sur La Table- They are short and sweet. And Damn Good.

(Now lets take a minute for Lysh and Heather to get their defibrillators out and revive themselves from the shock-induced heart-attack I just gave them from the mere idea of me writing about cooking....)

Okay, girls? Alright, lets proceed.

You Need:
3-4 chicken tenders per person (I used to use chicken breast cut up, but Jas prefers then to be more nugget-y, so the tenders work better)3 eggs
1 1/2 cups Flour
2 Cups Corn Flakes (crunched up)
1 Cup Bread Crumbs
Canola Oil
A fork
BBQ Sauce ( I personally prefer good ole' Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce, but that's just me...)

Prep-ville:
1. 2. Pour enough oil in the your skillet to cover 2/3 of the nugget if you laid it in there and turn it on between the 6 and 7 on the dial. (Very technical, I know.)
3. Get out three mixing bowls and a plate. Pour your flour in the first bowl, beat the three eggs in your second one and then mix the corn flakes and the bread crumbs in the third. Put your plate at the end. This is your Road-To-Chicken-y-Goodness- assembly line.4. Set out a cookie sheet next to your skillet.

"Leez Do it!" (say in your best Tone Loc voice)
1. Stab the top of your first piece of chicken towards the top with your fork. It needs to be able to wiggle around so you can properly coat it during this whole process. Now dredge (Holy moly! Look at that fancy cooking word!) each piece of chicken in the flour.2. Now dip it in the eggs, coat, coat, coat- this is your "coating glue"- make sure its everywhere!
3. Dip your nugget in the coating mixture. I rest it in there and shake the bowl a little to get it nice and covered. (Whoa! Where'd it go!?)No, worries! It was smothering itself in the corn-flake-bread-crumby-goodness...4. Put your ready-to-be-cooked nugget on the plate.
5. Rinse and repeat.
6. Once all your nuggets are coated, your oil should be nice and hot, so place as many nuggets as you can fit in the skillet. Check them and flip them when the bottoms have gotten crispy. Once both sides are cooked, move to the cookie sheet and continue until you have all your pieces nice and done.7. Put your cookie sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes.
NOTE: If you want to make frozen fries to go with this, you need to stick those guys in as soon as you turn on the oven. They take forever! This way you should come out all on time. If you make your own mashed potatoes, you should start to boil the potatoes when you start putting the pieces in the skillet, then mash once the nuggets are in the oven. That works out time-wise, too. We've tried lots of side combos: home-made fries, corn on the cob, mac and cheese...Morgan Jane is always suggesting new sides to try.Or you could have the sweetest husband ever, and he will drive through KFC for you and pick up a million different sides... and you don't have to worry about anything but looking like you slaved over these delicious guys!

"Bon Appetit! You may eat!"

OB-SESSION

I CAN NOT get enough of this print:

Where did I find this treasure??? My favorite store in the universe: Hobby Loobby. On sale (its ALWAYS 30%off) so its only like, $10 a yard. I bought 2 yds. about a month ago and have used almost every last inch of it. Once we move, there will be a touch of it will be in almost every room!

Here it is all fun and French in my kitchen window treatment: Here it is mixed in with my new bedding fabrics....And then, right as I was about to put away the sewing machine, I saw a scrap of it laying on this floral print and had to whip up a quick pillow to put them together. It will go on the chaise in what-will-be-the-office area. Added the bow at the last minute. So sassy.I spent most of yesterday making pillows. 9 to be exact. Sooooo much fun! Can't wait to see it all put together in the new house!!!...

But its so cute...

So, I finished something completely adorable the other day, and I think I have come to grips with the fact that I have a serious craft-addiction problem. I can't just leave well enough alone. I realized this as I was getting high from inhaling the Modge Podge fumes and specks of dust caused by distressed-initiated sanding. But I couldn't stop. I bought this precious little wooden step-stool today at Michael's with my coveted 40% coupon. I got it home and painted it with my new all time favorite color of blue, Martha's Vineyard. I freaked out anytime Luke went near it let it dry really well and then spent the remainder of the afternoon trying to come up with the perfect image to decoupage on the top of the step. Then while eating dinner and watching, My Dog Skip, it came to me: It had to be a Boston Terrier, like Luke's beloved Romo! I then spent about an hour scouring the Internet to find just the right vintage style image, as I knew I would be distressing the whole thing and it all needed to "flow". I took the cutest one I found and printed it out and decoupaged it to the top. Once the decoupage was dry, I then sanded the whole stool to make it look like some little boy had drug it around, roughing it all up some 60 years ago. Then I dry brushed white paint all over to add to the aged look even more. I waited for that to dry, and then sealed the whole thing- smiling all the while because I think it turned out so stinkin' cute. Twelve hours of work later and I just love, love, love it! It turned out exactly how I wanted it.

Too bad it is the step stool for Luke to use to get up on the potty and will probably be peed on in the next 24 hours. Sigh.

(notice that the bathmat is missing...wonder what happened there... my point exactly... :)

Happy Things

Because I am totally freaking out about Obama's win last night, I have taken time this morning to appreciate the things in my life that make me happy:

My Breakfast Of Champions

Please do not think I am looney- OCD, but I have honestly eaten the same breakfast everyday for the past 6 years. I wake up in the morning and can't WAIT to have a hot cup of coffee and a chocolate granola breakfast bar. They are like gold to me. I have a hard time having one without the other. My children know not to eat them. Jason knows EXACTLY which kind to buy. I even pack them and bring them with me if I travel somewhere- because they make me happy.

Olivia's Desire To Have A New Name

Jason and I found this written on our deck last night. I have been finding pieces of paper in her room from when she's been "playing school" and noticed that she had been signing things, "Kim Yarbrough" or "Olivia Rose" and just thought it was cute. Seems like last night she decided to finally leave us a huge hint about things she would have preferred we had named her:

1. Olivia Elle Yarbrough (at least she put that first! Not much she can do about it for another 12 years)

2. Kim Roes (Rose) Huchen (this morning it hit me that Huchen must be
for Vanessa Anne Hutchens of HSM fame- So funny!)

3. Stace (Stacy, Stacie...) Hart (Heart) Huchen

(Not sure about the hieroglyphs drawings at the bottom yet though...) Seriously, she is so sweet and funny... At least she didn't put anything like Candy or Bliss- that made me happy.

Luke Singing

This is a new thing. He LOVES to be sung too, and I hear him singing little songs to himself when he's playing in his room, or looking out the window in the car. This is him singing his new favorite song, that I now almost regret ever singing to him in the first place: The Super Duper Pooper Song. Lyrics (the Yarbrough version) are as follows:

"He's A Super Duper Pooper

He Goes Potty Like The Rest

No More Diapers In His Way

He Likes Undies The Best- Yea!"

While the choice of song is not my favorite, his little lisp-y voice is- and that makes me happy.

Sewing

I made these four pillows for our couch last night. I am starting to get addicted. The fact that I am able make almost whatever I can think up is kinda fun. I am getting a little better with each project (Put a little fringe detail on two of these throws- watchout!) Jason hates the orange pillows- but they make me happy. (So they're staying.)

Clockwork Napper

I love that Morgan goes to sleep for her early morning nap one hour and fifteen minutes after she has woken up- regardless of what time that was. I think its hilarious. There is like this little tiny clock inside of her and if she wakes up at 7 with me, she is back asleep at 8:15am either on her play mat, in the swing or in the car seat. I finally saw this pattern this week, so I have been putting her back in her crib and she been sleeping better and longer- and that makes me happy.