Melange.

This is the wall in my apartment. Right next to my bed, the first thing you see upon walking in, the spot I care most about. I’m slowly (very slowly) working on filling this little area with beloved hang-ables, and want to show off what I’ve got so far. For the sake of context: The black bookshelf is like a sideways headboard for my bed, so below this visible shelf of books is two more rows of filled shelves, and below that is my never-tidy bed.

Speaking of which: What is the point of making your bed? Bed-making is my pet peeve. A rumply wrinkled bed is so much more inviting.

Another aside: More than one person has expressed concern that I have Georgia and Frida constantly supervising the bed/livingroom’s goings-on. This is another pet peeve of mine: When people aren’t in love with Georgia and Frida.

These doily-dreamcatchers are the beginnings of a collection; technically I’ve been collecting for about a year now, but so far I only have two. The little boy (named “Ichabod”) is an old thrift-store find. He’s a little painted Puritan and I love him. And next to him is an image from Grady’s birth.

A pretty little mirror (this frame will likely eventually be appropriated for some other fibery purpose), and an impulse-embroider-thing. “we make darkness only by getting in the way of the light.” I blogged about this a little while it was in progress, but didn’t talk too much about it. Apparently it sounds religious, but I liked it simply because it, like my wrist tattoo, is a simple reminder to stop getting in my own way. The quote is originally from this book, which appears to have been written strictly for actors, but could in fact be an excellent resource for all human beings.

The sweet little profile and the golden birds have no story; they’re just something pretty from a thrift store. Next to them, however, is one of my prized possessions; the first thing my first nephew ever drew for me.

Finally, another doily-dreamcatcher and a golden mirror that will likely stay a mirror as long as it is in my possession.

Tomorrow I will blog about the next addition to this beloved little wall; I need framing advice.

The fix.

This song isn’t just stuck in my head right now; it’s stuck in every little piece of my body.

10 cool homey things

Gorgeous, right? Found via drew-o-rama.

That blue door is out of this world. Found via Bloesem.

I attempted this last year with a few sweet pepper plants and I’m sure it would have worked wonderfully if I had remembered to water them. Found at Cheap Vegetable Gardener.

I don’t really have any desire to garden this year, but I do love the idea of hatching seedlings in eggs. But, I learned my lesson last year. If I’m going to plant anything, I have to buy sprouted plants instead of seeds. At least until Grady gets old enough to help me control the weeds. Found at Fidgety Fingers.

Another great idea for sprouting seedlings from Fidgety Fingers.

I really love this idea. I’m looking for a diy way to make my living room’s light fixture not-hideous, and this may be my best bet. Found at under the sycamore.

This is too beautiful. Seriously. Found at instructables.

I usually don’t love table runners, but this is cute. I’d definitely iron it, though. Those wrinkles are stressing me out. Found at under the sycamore.

Craft teaches how to roast your own garlic.

Wouldn’t this be great for herbs? Right next to the kitchen? Found at Craft.

10 cool homey things

DIY Universal knife block. Brilliant. I’ve always hated knife blocks because they only fit the knives they come with, and always look so generic. This one is beautiful.

Hydroponic herb garden. Ug. I’m so burned out on gardening right now. But I saved this link in the spring, and I’m sure back then it was thrilling.

Ikea hack-ed kitty litter locker. Winston would abhor this. We are currently slowly working on getting him to use the toilet. I’ll let you know if that happens.

Pretty painted pots! This is a great idea, but I’m not much of a pot-user. (Ha! That wasn’t even planned.) Maybe if I get my act together someday.

I’m just not interested in actually doing this, but it looks great in this room. And it’s made of yarn!

I’m planning on making a bunch of these DIY raised garden beds for the back lot next year, and tarp-ing off the rest of the ground. Strangle out that purslane.

Punched-tin recycled aluminum can frame. Awesome. I think this would look so good as an embroidery frame.

Recycled coffee-can yarn storage. I want to do this sooooooo bad, but I don’t make my own coffee (because I’m lame) and I never use other cans like these. I asked around among my formula-using friends to let me use their old formula cans, but that didn’t pan out. If you’re reading this and you have saved coffee or formula cans you’d like to give me, I’d be a happy happy lady. I think it’d even be cool with different sized cans.

I love this room, and I love that crocheted garland.

Oh man. So gorgeous.

home.

I was going to include this link in a “10 cool homey things” post, but it’s too beautiful to share the spotlight. I can’t pick just one photo. I found this at Bloesem.

Look how cool that sink is. That sink is the coolest sink to ever exist.

I’m not really certain because I don’t know Bloesem’s modus operandi, but I think this is all one house. Amazing.

That wall is the perfect color. I kind of want my kitchen to be that color, but it’s already so steeped in this terra cotta theme. Including beautiful terra cotta tile that I don’t want to change.

(my brain just exploded)

Is this not the most beautiful home? I adore every little bit. Especially the flooring in this picture – what is it, even? Other than perfect.

afternoon of June 25

Fragrant honeysuckle outside the window.

Sweet baby sleeping on my bed.

Good book waiting to be finished.

Fat cat hogging all the carpet.

Beautiful backyard asking for a hammock.

Bowl of cherries to be frozen.

All as zombie-bowie supervises. Not too shabby.

10 cool homey things

Tips for growing strawberries from Tipnut. I’ve only heard sad stories about trying to grow strawberries in a home garden in my county. The birds always get them. My grandpa used to paint rocks red and hide them along the borders of his strawberry patch so the birds would hurt their beaks and then get scared off, but I don’t know if that worked. This year my neighbor has covered his patch with garden fencing to keep birds out – we’ll see if that works. I wasnt’ going to try for any berries at all this year, but then some beautiful little blackberry plants kind of fell into my lap. I’m assuming my local squirrell population will get to the fruit before I do, but there’s still hope. Bla, bla, bla, just another blogger talking about her garden.

Winston would tear this cat house from Sew Take a Hike to shreds. Like as soon as I set it on the floor it would be demolished and vomited on. But it sure is cute.

This tutorial for making candles in a crockpot is awesome, because I’m always on the lookout for new things to do with my crockpot. So far I can make some great not-refried beans, and that’s about it. And also I’ve been saving all of my used candlewax since I was like thirteen. I’d love to make traditional dipped candles, but that’s just not realistic right now.

These framed succulents are just beautiful. Unfortunately my garden is being overrun by a succulent-y looking weed, so while I recognize the beauty of this idea, just seeing it makes me angry.

This doily throwpillow tutorial from Smile and Wave is also beautiful – but I hate throw pillows. Why do I always hate the things that I love? Also that blog is amazing.

I feel like I should have this book.

Ah! I’m saving up little jars for this – my craft room will eventually look so awesome. I’m really excited about it. And I think this is a really rare kind of storage; it seems both baby- and cat-proof. And spider-proof! And mouse-proof!

This is neither baby- or cat- (or spider- or mouse-) proof. But wouldn’t it be lovely next to a puffy armchair?

Next year I want to start a lot more of my plants indoors, and I’m preparing for it well ahead of time. It might not happen, because I’m still completely clueless about where to put it – I don’t know of any baby-proof places in the house that get good sun. Anyway, check out these tips for starting from seed.

More throwpillows! I want to use that freezer-paper design for a dress for Grady. Maybe a pillowcase dress, with a gathered neck.

Nevermind

Image by Oregon State University Archives via Flickr

The point is: It’s not important that you know how much I hate that word, because you’ll probably become a “nevermind” yourself.

But I do hate it. It means I did something wrong. It means I got my hopes up. It’s a step backwards – which on the outside is as simple as it sounds, but really requires sleepless nights and long stares and stupid grasps at physical change (like ugly haircuts or accidental scars or bruises). Each “nevermind” is a goodbye, and I hate goodbyes. With each “nevermind” an entire life is gone; usually that can be taken figuratively, occasionally it is literal. I still can’t adjust to the big “nevermind,” even now 511 days (12,264 hours) later. This one makes my latest batch of “neverminds” seem slight, I guess. I don’t know. The difference doesn’t make me feel more powerful than any of it.

Thinking of the older people I know, it seems like they have escaped the “nevermind.” They don’t seem agitated by its torment. Do they stop hoping? Or do they just get better at hope, gaining a sense of what hopes will turn traitor? Or are they just better at hiding it?

Silver lining:

• Grady is beautiful. Obviously, she has given me the luxury of being able to toss-and-turn myself into a blog post at 5 a.m. I never thought of sadness as a luxury until I became a mom.
• I transplanted some beautiful local blackberry plants today. Without me they would have died in a green plastic bucket, and now they’ll become the energy that eventually helps Grady run around the backyard and grow hair.