Strange Alien Plant Form

We recently noticed these green vines growing in our flower garden and across our yard.  They did not look like the flower seeds with we had planted, but we had used some compost from the composter that the previous owners had left.  We though we might have some unintended squash or volunteer cucumbers growing from seeds in the compost.  That's fine.  Great!

Then, we noticed this:

This isn't a cucumber.  Not one that I've ever seen!  Any ideas?

And the vines are taking over our little flower plot (please do not judge how flithy our siding is.  I'll clean it soon, I promise).

Best Laid Plans Go To Waste

I thought I was SOOOO smart this spring when I laid out my list of craft projects for the rest of the year.  This list didn't look too daunting and I thought I was giving myself plenty of time to accomplish my plans.  It seemed like it would be a productive, yet reasonable schedule.

WRONG.

From the beginning, my plans kind of hit the fan.

First, I found out that some friends were expecting a baby and had to sneak in another knitting project to make them a baby blanket.  You can see it on my list, added later, but now it's complete and I've sent to the expectant parents.

And then the painting I was doing as a present for my husband for our anniversary took much longer than I expected.  To be honest, it's still not done and our anniversary was in May (ugh).

Then, the yarn I wanted for my shawl projects was backordered so I had to find some other knitting projects to keep my hands busy at knit night.  At least I've completed the Chevron Cowl I have listed to work on this coming fall :)  And I've made a bunch of shawl pins for when my yarn does arrive and I can start my planned projects.

I have other excuses for not finishing (or even starting) the other projects on this list yet.  But in the end, it is now July and I haven't even finished some of my projects from April :(  I still plan to take on all these projects (maybe not painting my bureau), but my deadlines are on a rapid slide downward.  Sad face :(

First House Guest: Keep Calm & Make Do

My husband and I just passed our first anniversary in our new home and our now hosting our first house guests - my parents.  This is exciting, since now we have a somewhat guest room for them to use.  However, up until this point, our "guestroom" was the repository for all the furniture we didn't have a place for and probably needed to get rid of.

So, with our guests soon to arrive, we needed to transform our guest room into someplace they would want to stay - but we also didn't want to spend a whole lot of money.

First step - a cheap bureau.  I found this white 6 drawer bureau at Big Lots for $99.  We had to put it together (ugh), but it came with a choice of drawer pulls.  I like how we used the crystal pulls on the top row and the plainer pulls on the bottom drawers.

Next, I added a vintage scarf to cover the top of the bureau.  I bought the little mirror for $5, then painted the frame silver, changing it from the original brown color.  The middle painting I bought on clearance from HomeGoods, and  I already had the blue matted painting in my collection.  It's not showroom perfect, but it will do :)

I then found a nice storage basket for the guest bathroom.

This basket was just the right size to fit on our bathroom vanity.  I filled it with hand towels and toiletries for my parents stay.  I added some little packages of ear plugs and bath items from hotels we had visited.  I hope I have everything they might need.

What do you think?  Will it do?

Robin's Egg Obsession

Every summer, it seems I become enamored with a new color.  Last summer, it was teal.  All the clothes I bought were teal, I got a teal purse, etc.  This summer, I think it's going to be robin's egg blue.  I just love how refreshing it feels.


I've bought robin's egg nail polish.  I bought a robin's egg blue case for my phone:

I found this beautiful bedroom on Pinterest:

from countryhome.com

And I've fallen in love with this kitchen (which might be more mint, than blue - but I still love it)

from obaz.com

Do you have any summer obsessions yet?

Blooming and Bemoaning

I was cheered a few weeks ago when the peach tree in our yard starting blooming.  It was so beautiful, covered in pink blossoms.



A few days later, it looked like this:

Luckily, it seems the tree and the blossoms survived.  And my sweater is only a little worse for wear :)

Spring!!

I know, this blog has been cold and dormant for a long time.  I've moved most of my knitting patterns and craft tutorials to Hubpages.  I now plan to use this blog for other topics, like decorating, food, and recipes.

To start, I just finished this fun and VERY bright spring wreath.  I used strips of various fabrics and ribbons for the wreath, then added some artificial flowers for a fun spring-like decoration.  For all the directions, head over to my tutorial.

More fun ideas to follow!!

And the winner is...

My Textured Fingerless Mitts pattern!! Yay! My pattern won the Rising Star competition on Hubpages!!

And what did I win, you ask? A "virtual" trophy! And bragging rights for a little while :)

Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who voted! I really appreciate your support!

Check out my Hubpage for more free knitting patterns and craft ideas!

Thanks again!