eat her up

I always want to remember her this way.

This one's giving us a run for our money, she is.

But oh. Those moments of transcendent sweetness 

just about make it all the hard parts melt away.

Just about.

god moving

I have been totally smitten this last little while with art journaling.
It is hard to move past -- there's no rules -- anything goes --
but I am starting to wrap my mind around it.
I love experimenting with different mediums that I don't properly "know" how to use
{i always wanted to go to art school}
-- tearing, pasting, painting, smudging --
and the freedom that color and dimension and no-lines-to-write-on bring.
Daisy Yellow is a blog that has been helpful in many ways --
supply suggestions, prompts, ways to get past blank-page panic.
Most of my pages so far have been pretty, well, personal, but one night I did this page
and felt such a sense of calm and peace while I drew and colored and meditated on those beautiful words.
What about you? Do you want to try it?

drywall vs. decor

We decided to do all our drywall ourselves, and we're glad we did. I think. 

But it really is a pain in the butt.

Drywall or no drywall, I am undeterred.

Hence the V-Day banner, adapted from the ever-lovely Danielle and her recent DIY post.

{how did I forget how awesome glue guns are??}

It ain't pretty (the drywall, that is), but it's prettier than nothin'.

pinned: delicious

It's funny to look backwards through what I've pinned over the past few months, especially in the food department. There's a sudden shift from decadent, rich, celebratory recipes in December to simpler, fresher, lighter recipes in January. {well, some of it, anyway.} What about you, been having any fantastic cravings lately? Because I for one am not one to say no to a craving. And I always like to have a new one. Or two or three.

Some of my faves...

baked grapefruit >> eat sleep cuddle

quinoa salad >> eating for england

tangled thai salad >> canadian gift guide

guacamole grilled cheese >> two peas and their pod

16-minute beef and bean burritos >> the pioneer woman

orange push-up smoothie >> love veggies and yoga

peach crisp with maple cream sauce >> the pioneer woman

{suspend that statement about craving lighter.}

book delicious: my favorite reads from 2011

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{i've been here!!}

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Though the rest of the world may quit with paper and glue altogether, I think I will take my books to my grave.
We had a Kindle for a little while but just couldn't get into it and ended up selling it off.

Looking for a good book to sink your teeth into? Here are my favorite reads from 2011.
Chip in with your favorites (recent or not) in the comments!

what i didn't buy (and what i did)

So many amazing finds at Old Jail Antiques last weekend! It's housed in the old city jail -- vendors can rent jail cells -- which is part creepy, part cool. I normally don't get bent out of shape about what our budget will/won't allow, but I gotta tell you, I so wish I could have brought every one of those pretties home with me.

I did get to bring one of the pretties home, though -- check out that chalkboard! It's double-sided, one green, one black, with the alphabet on each side. I'm not sure yet where it will end up, but I triple puffy-heart it.

low-tech diy valentine's day garlands

pinking shears + pink and red felt + candy-striped yarn

and

sparkly pom poms + sparkly eyelash yarn.

best constructed while freaking out over downton abbey.

layer over paint samples and bare drywall for best effects.

{my man says the sparkly one reminds him of dr. seuss.}