hands+notions

easy sweets : peanut-butter cookies

popping in with a simple little recipe for peanut-butter cookies :

my mom got the recipe from my grandma - so i have no idea where the original recipe comes from...but here's what we got :
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    1 cup Peanut Butter
    1 cup Sugar
    1 egg

Mix ingredients
Roll into 1" balls and flatten on a greased pan
*you could fork them down with a sugar coated fork
or sprinkle lightly with sugar ( keep in mind they are
already a little on the sweet side)*
Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes
Eat while warm and falling apart!
Also good when they cool and have a bit of a crisp...

~Easy + sweet~

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and a post of some photoshop homework- still working with simple layers:

off to homework + housework, we just starting installing our new windows today!
first up was the kitchen window- now i can finally see out of it. i had to
stand on a chair before.

peeking out

i've been so bogged down with classes lately that i haven't time for much else. bleh. only 7 more weeks of this full time load. i haven't touched my wheel in an unforgivable amount of time..and there's a pile of fiber to list in the shop. i did get to a couple of yard sales the other weekend when i went out of town to see a dear friend. here's some of my finds :

sweet crystal-like shakers- normally not my style but they reminded me of my grandmother who died when i was 3. she always loved crystal + fancy things. they're a bit fancy to me...and only $1.

this adorable tape dispenser. charming + scuffed, just the way i like my things it has the flower decal on both sides. 50 cents. how could i pass?

a large ziploc of vintage zippers, trims, snaps, thread + buttons...and a handful of doilies - all for $2.

going to yard sales on saturdays, practically my only down day, is what is really making me happy right now. i've been finding some great things and having fun with my mom when she tags along. i've been busy with my nose in the books and my hand is about to fall off from writing papers. my only light class is a photoshop class that i took for fun and to fill up a couple of credits for my financial aid. so far we've been doing really simple things. really. simple. here's my first two assignments :

and some layering :

few finds : last week

last week was sort of a slow one around here. not much but a few lazy days, family days + rainy days. i'm not complaining..nope. i don't mind a slow pace sometimes. so here are a couple of things that i found during the week that i enjoyed.

this little bird was from a pottery show that i went to when my mom was scouting out vendors for her store that she had at the time. i cannot remember the guys name who made it nor does it say anywhere on it. it came with a metal stake to make it a yard decoration, but he stays with me in my house on my new shelf in the bathroom.

and this was a beautiful grave stone at the cemetery where i went with some of my family to visit + put flowers on our loved ones that have passed. there were many gorgeous headstones + honorary statues but my camera battery died after this shot ( one of my first shots)... i just find this so lovely.

well, my day today will be spent dyeing wool, spinning yarn + carding fibers for my shop update on friday. i will relish in this slow moving week before classes start next week. full time. summer courses are half as long and double the work so i wanna get some rest + fiber play in this week. overtime.

something fun from something awful

found this fun little quickie via the something awful forums. a short few minutes of pure fun... to me at least. i did three so far + they were the bees knees of randomness. no lie. i think i am officially loving this. here's the three i did earlier.. i was blessed with awesome random picks/pics.

could they get any better, honestly? you might not think..but then this happened :
all the cards fell out for me..perfectly. to happen upon some stellar images + phrases that just fit together so adoringly told me it was meant for me. my newest guilty pleasure. going back for more ( like i really need anything else to waste time on)....
do enjoy if you give it a try!

liking what's happening

my super wonderful new custom made bag (can't see the birds head in this photo) from a sweet little lady named Sue of giant dwarf. i could not be happier with it and i'm actually thinking of getting another.

my favorite, ferns, looking so snazzy all cuddled up with another of my faves, heucheras.. loving this. and that fern is going crazy.. this is only a small portion of it in the pic. i'm going to divide it soon.

good bye anatomy : classes are over until June. i'm pretty excited because this semester i got enough financial aid to cover me going full time. on the list : a writing course, technology in education, adolescent psychology + a computer database class.. this is just the rough draft..but i'm hoping it works out that way.

exciting news on the house front : new siding, roof + windows. this makes me (us) so happy. our house will no longer be pink + will no longer be the crappy disheveled house on the block. it will now be weathered gray with white trim, deep pumpkin rustic shutters, fieldstone front porch and windows with grids to heighten up the cottage-y feel. i am over the moon with delight!

and here's a cute little fella that paid me a friendly visit earlier this year.. he stuck around for a good hour or so as i was dyeing wool. i just found his picture + thought i'd share. he's too cute not to do a show + tell.

my dogs strife

the other day i hear my dog whining. such an intense screeching cry that i run to her..fearing her death by a repeated stabbing with shards of broken glass. i mean it was an awful + painful sound. i find her at the back door shaking violently in her skin - a loud ear piercing sound coming from her belly through her chest and out of her floppy jowls...and what do i see?

oh yes. her number one agony...squirrels who hang out in trees.

: my friday

today was :

---anatomy class---

---time spent with the boyfriend : antique shopping + walking away with this new lovely : table for the bathroom.. needs a little dusting but already has my love---

and you can't beat $17 for a solid piece like this beauty!

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been a little behind on my schedule + hopeful accomplishments lately- but all in good time. i have the weekend ahead... - enjoy yourselves!

: making me happy :

when in need of a little color + a pick me up after losing your job : look no further than to nature...

1. Spicebush Swallowtail, 2. caterpillar, 3. Ugly Caterpillar, 4. A new kind of caterpillar, 5. Royal Walnut Moth Caterpillar, 6. Spicebush swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio troilus), 7. Caterpillar, 8. Caterpillar, 9. Camouflaged looper, the caterpillar for the wavy-lined emerald moth, 10. Caterpillar, 11. gulf fritillary caterpillar, 12. Pandorus Sphinx Caterpillar, 13. Small caterpillar on the rose petal, 14. caterpillar portrait, 15. caterpillar of the laurel sphinx moth, 16. Common Indian Crow Butterfly's Caterpillar-India, 17. caterpillar, 18. Cute Tiger Moth Caterpillar, 19. hubbard's small silkmoth caterpillar (syssphinx hubbardi), 20. Cecropia Moth Caterpillar, 21. Saddleback Caterpillar, 22. Caterpillar, 23. Thorny Caterpillar Calcarifera ordinata thanks to Don Herbison Evans for ID, 24. Rock n Roll Hairy Caterpillar, 25. Mottled Cup Moth Caterpillar

don't feel so bad pooing here now-

we were finally able to start and almost finish our bathroom.. it took a long time to get started and a bit to get finished. there are still some minor things to complete, but even at this stage we are over the moon about it... A little back story about the bathroom might put our joy into perspective..

1. it was disgusting + i was embarrassed to have people use it.
2. it had about 4 or 5 different styles of linoleum all over the floor and walls. mainly light blue flowered and woodgrain. yuck again.
3. there were exposed beams, sagging ceiling, insulation falling out everywhere and no trim so you could see into the basement.
4. a nice full length gold mirror on the wall in front of the toilet but right next to the shower.. therefore i could see every inch of my body as it entered and exited the shower... naked. It wasn't too bad to have while you were using the toilet, cuz i would always make faces at myself to pass the time.
5. no storage. none.
6. and finally, it was disgusting. more-so than vomit.

so here is me in our beginning stages - wishing my bathroom a joyous good bye! note my smiling face:

i didn't get any true before pictures so here is our bathroom a little while later when we started tearing some things apart and doing the whole demolition thing...yay!

and this is it now with a boat-load of progress and improvement....almost done :

we replaced pretty much everything, on a budget with just over $500 to work with.. new ceramic tile, new built in shelves (on the left side) using some old shutters i had collected for the doors... a new vanity w/mirror, new drywall and stomped ceiling, chair rail + beadboard, electrical, trim.. and new paint! a gorgeous warm earthy putty color. new lighting and fixtures. we still need some functional wares like towel hooks, some shelving and small things.. and i still have yet to get my new paintings and prints framed and put up..i've been waiting too long to hang them. they are totally going to make the bathroom...at least to me they will.

just thought i'd share the progress so far...happy weekend friendlies!

:::stepping out

i ventured out today:

attended my anatomy class:

bag full of books from the library:

coffee on my way home : feeling much better : looking forward to the weekend!