Crafty by Association

Here I am, sitting in my newly renovated craft room, basking in the craftiness that comes with having an organized knitting stash. Here is an album of the renovation of the craft room, which literally makes me tired thinking about, so for the sake of this post (and my sanity) I am going to stick to talking about how much I have loved having it done. A whole recycled glass hurricane on sale at Target just for my knitting needles, including my fabulous new SUSHI NEEDLES from Joy:

They don't look that impressive spread out in the giant hurricane, but in my defense, this does not include my many many circulars, the ones that are currently in use in a project, or my full interchangeable set.

A whole shelf for bags organized by project:

I must have fun bags to hold the fun projects I am working on. From left to right:

Coheed bag I got at a show in Austin. Currently holding my projects for Charlotte's new baby boy, Ryan.

Natalie Dee "Will Knit for Tattoos" bag #1. Currently holding my knit sushi pattern.

Natalie Dee "Will Knit for Tattoos" bag #2. Currently holding my chevron scarf project. I made one for my mom like it.

Strawberry Target bag. Currently holding the massive log cabin blanket that will never be done.

A BIG OL' JUG just because:

OK, this isn't actually in my craft room, but this picture shows it in its full glory, so there ya go. I got this jug, along with many of my other favorite vintage things, at Bloom and Bee Swanky in Waco, right next door to the Museum. Amy is awesomeness and you should most definitely check out her store if you visit the Museum or are just in Waco.

Also, DJ is not amused by the craft room...

At work I am getting to be craft this week, too. My two new part time workers started on Monday and by golly we dove right in! We are spending the week reorganizing all of the artwork ever in the history of the collection it seems like. That kind of work is much more satisfying to me than sitting at my desk all day, but I am absolutely exhausted afterwards. DJ is annoyed with my exhaustion because it causes me to lounge in the craft room instead of entertaining her... She is SO needy!

Also, I don't want to talk about it too much because then it won't happen, but be aware that changes to the sidebar and to the blog itself may be on the horizon as I update things to reflect my evolving tastes in life! Hooray for evolution, right?!

Review: Fresh Sugar Rose

Product: Fresh Sugar Rose
Pricetag: $22.50 plus tax
Purchased: 9/8/2009 @ the Fresh store in the Northpark mall in Dallas
Link: http://www.fresh.com/makeup/lip-treatment/sugar-rose-lip-treatment-spf15

Today while in Dallas on a work trip I found myself with some time to wander the Northpark Mall while The Boss was in a lunch meeting that I was not invited to. No worries! I did fine on my own with a pretzel, cheese dip and a follow-up ice cream. No. Worries. So I knew this was going to be the case and after doing very well on my J. Crew checklist I ate lunch and circled back to the stores I mentally saved for if I had time. The fresh store was one of them. I have always wanted to try their signature Sugar lip treatment but recently saw that they now offer a tinted version! I am a huge fan of lip gloss that is a crazy color in the tube but goes on with the slightest hint of tint. I tried it out and looove it so far. If you follow me on Twitter or facebook you know I swear by bonnebell vanilla lip gloss and it has the distinction of being not only the one lipgloss I have ever finished a tube of but also the only one I have then moved on and finished several tubes of. That just does not happen in my world. So we will see if Sugar Rose can stand the test of time. Negatives include the fact that the tube is bulky and the lipgloss is freestanding in the tube, not poured in, which is just a personal pet peeve not an indicator of quality or anything. Here are some before and after pics of me:

Before, bad light! Sorry bout that...



After, outside, better light...



Here is the tube:



Here is the stuff:



Does anyone else use this product or brand?

New to me

Soo... I just downloaded this new blogging app for my new iPhone. I am hopeful it will allow me to post smaller blogs more frequently in addition to using Twitter, which I love but simultaneously hate because of the character limit. I used to love to blog but find myself making a list of things over time I want to comment on, then more time goes by and the list gets longer and I just abandon it, so maybe this will cure that whole siuation. Also this app does video and pics, so maybe I can use my new phone to it's full potential in some ways. The possibilities are, as usual, endless!!


-- Posted from my iPhone

Distract Me

Here is the deal. My life is not as sweet and nerfy right now as it has been in the past, which is why I haven't posted in so long. But I don't want to focus on that stuff here; I have to focus on it enough on a daily basis without purposefully sitting down and reliving it yet again, so I am just not going to do it.

One of the things that has kept me from posting for a while was the decline in my grandfather's health due to lung cancer that led to his death on June 19, 2009. I don't think it requires a lot of explanation to be able to imagine the emotional stress and anguish the accompanies watching someone you love die from something so deeply self-inflicted as a lifetime of smoking, so we will just leave it at that. However, the process of a family gathering to celebrate someone's life and then work together to iron out the details of the situation that is left behind has been a new, eye-opening experience.

My part of the process were things as simple as researching the printer my parents needed to buy to be able to print out all the necessary documentation and paperwork, or helping them set up the wireless internet in my grandparents' house so we could all be connected to each other. Before the funeral it was my responsibility to compile all the digital pictures we had, then scan in all the older ones that we wanted to include in a slideshow for the viewing. The undertaking of organizing and preserving my family's history is something that came out of all of this, and I am really looking forward to it. I was only able to do a fraction of the overall work while I was there, and I had to focus on scanning just the ones we needed for the various events. In the end I bought a huge tub at Wal-Mart and brought back every photograph that was not specifically being displayed in a frame or already organized in an album. As I work on it, I will share some of the results here. Like I have said in previous posts, it amazes me how well-documented our family history is when so much of it happened in a time when technology was just not an everyday thing. I am grateful, yet not too surprised, that someone had the foresight to make it happen.

Young Army Papa...so handsome!

Channeling Bear Bryant. The guy in the short shorts behind him is making me lol...

That is Papa and me!

This is just him, how we all knew him and remember him.

OK, so I know I said no more reliving bad stuff, but while the process behind his death was REALLY hard and bad, remembering him and being excited about the possibilities of preserving my family history is something I am looking forward to. I have lots of other distractions up my sleeve, so be ready!

Delicious

I have done nothing productive today at all. I slept until 10:00 then snacked and knitted all morning. The only productive things I have done today are be with Dave and see my family for a while; I did vacuum a little, but that was only motivated by the knowledge that my family would be here and I would be embarrassed if everything was dirty. Besides the snacks I grazed on all day I have had bread, pizza, ice cream, and a brownie with cream cheese icing to eat today. Pretty healthy, right? I watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist which was OK. I am still knitting, playing with the pom pom puppy and watching Shrek on TV. Also waiting for Dave to get done with thesis work for the night so we can watch Bones.

"You are literally like my musical soul mate."

I Say YES to Strawberries, Too

www.nataliedee.com

Germany 2009 Style

Courtesy of Kaboodle, here is a styleboard of the things I am going to take with me on my trip this summer. I am very excited, in case you can't tell:)

Germany 2009 by marbt

Pinch Me

This weekend has been fantastic. I have gotten a ton done while still getting to spend time with all the people who matter most to me, which is really what the weekends should be about, isn't it? Right now I am rounding out the weekend working on a project I started a long time ago. There have been a few snags in getting it done that I have yet to fully work out, but the general idea is filling my hallway with photos of our family. I think the majority are going to be vintage, and I have spent the afternoon cleaning up my craft room so I can continue scanning old pictures I got from my mom and dad. I am scanning as I write this blog, and I actually made enough room on the floor to spread out all the frames I bought and make some sort of plan as to what I am going to put in them.

This is the only one I have done. I have had it framed for a while because it is the only picture (of my mom, of course) that I knew for sure I wanted to include

Right now I am looking through and scanning pictures of my mother as a young woman. Looking at these pictures always fascinates me and makes me wish I could travel back in time and meet her as a person my age. Whenever I say something like that to her she cringes and says that I really don't want to because I wouldn't recognize her as the person I know; she was apparently wild and misguided and reckless with her own life and the lives of others, but I still think it would be amazing. It is always a toss-up if a picture of her looks like me or my sister, but you can definitely see where we get our bone structure and coloring. My mom's life is actually fairly well documented for growing up in a time where technology was nothing like it is today. When I look at pictures of her I also wonder what my dad was doing at that same time, wherever he was. My parents are not the same age, and for all my mom's lamentations about her mistakes growing up I know she wouldn't change anything because it all led to my dad and, ultimately, to me and my sister. For example, my mother was married before she met my dad. She had a big elaborate wedding, dropped out of school, and settled down. Things didn't work out, and she went back to school where, in her absence, my dad had become the editor of The Crimson White, the newspaper at the University of Alabama. That is where the met, and ta da! The rest is history. I love my parents' story, and I am so happy their life together, as well as my early childhood is well documented. Here are some of the pictures of my mother I have scanned today...










Hopefully I will get this project done over the next few weeks and I will post pictures of the end result. This is just one of the many things I still have planned for our house, and it has been nice having time to work on some stuff. Jen is coming over later and we are watching the Oscars. I am pretty excited for another good mindless entertainment session:)

Made for Walking

I have had a shoe buying streak recently. I am not sure what it is, but I am happy to forgo new shirts and pants for a nice pair of shoes. Some were bought out of necessity, others not so much.... I have ridiculously large feet. It is a horrible, horrible curse that I would not wish on anyone, but I always remind myself that as a person of 5'10" it is unreasonable to wish for size 6 feet. I would fall down all the time, but at least I wouldn't have the depressing shoe shopping experiences I have. I was recently told at Dillards during a trip to buy one of the pairs of shoes I am going to comment on that they only get ONE size 10 shoe in each style. That means that my years of agonizing over whether or not I should buy that pair, even if they are not something I really need, have been totally justified because the likelihood that they will be there when I come back after convincing myself I REALLY need them is very slim. I knew there was a method to my madness! I also do this thing with shoes where once I find a pair that I love I wear them exclusively until they fall apart instead of spreading out the wear across the hundreds f other pairs I have. Ok, not hundreds, but enough to satisfy most people. So here are three pairs of shoes I recently purchased, along with the justification behind each...

Red Canvas TOMS



I have had my sights set on a pair of TOMS for a while now but I felt that I needed to wait until I saw them in real life in order to make a final decision as to whether or not I wanted them. They are what I would consider expensive for a pair of non-leather shoes, although you are really buying two pairs because TOMS matches every pair purchased with a pair of shoes to a child who has never had shoes before. Then my friend Jessica (I should have know, Jessica is my hippie soul mate) came into work wearing a super cute olive green pair, and I really liked them. The main thing I was nervous about was if the soles were sturdy or if they had any support at all inside. They kid of look like house slippers, so I think my concerns were valid. It turns out that their soles are legit and the footbed is actually very soft leather with a medium amount of arch support sewn in. I know this means I just admitted they are not vegetarian, but f that bothers you you should probably quit reading this post now. Anyway, I originally ordered a 10 because it said order true to size, but they were too small when I got them so I sent them back for an 11 which fits perfectly. I got the 11s back on Wednesday and I have worn them Thursday and Friday in mildly cold weather with great results. Jen calls them my psycho shoes because they look like the shoes people are given who might harm themselves with buckles or laces, but I really like them and would recommend them for sure.


Brown Antonio Melani Flats



So remember when I was talking about my problem of buying a pair of shoes and loving them so much I wear them out? Well, this is what has happened to my pair of brown Antonio Melani flats I bought a little over a year ago. I LOVE them. I wore them practically every day until the sole is now worn down to a thin wafer and is coming unglued from the toe back to the middle of my foot. They don't look that bad from the top, but people who don't love them as much as me, namely my boss, think they look shabby. The only bad thing about them is that they did not have a leather interior, and actually thinking back I doubt they had any leather at all on them except maybe the patent toe, but the manmade material insides made my feet stink. So a few weeks ago I made my way to Dillards to see if I could find a suitable replacement, and I ended up ordering another pair of Antonio Melani's (I had to order them because they didn't have that one size 10 left! This is the trip where that revelation occurred). The are not exactly like my old ones; I think they are slightly better made and are more comfortable, although I am not as crazy about the overall style. However, I took them out of the box after they were delivered, put them on to discover a perfect fit, and walked out the door with David to the grocery store. I carried my other ones around with me for like a week after I started wearing the new ones just in case they decided to suddenly give me blisters and I would have to run back to the others asking for forgiveness, but that has not happened yet. I haven't worn my old ones since.


New Balance Women's W595 Sneaker



In a few months my mom and I are going to Germany. I am VERY excited because I have not been back since we left when I was 7. My sister and my mom went two years ago as my sister's graduation present, and my mom and dad went last year, so now it is my turn. We just recently bought our tickets, and my new passport came in the mail, so legally I am all set to go. I have been schooled by my mom in what I am allowed to pack so I can start preparing myself and anally purchasing small tubes of toothpaste and hand sanitizer months in advance, but there are actually two essentials for the trip that I needed to purchase. One is a jacket, and the other is a pair of shoes. I am waiting to buy the jacket from Land's End until maybe it goes on sale a little, but I wanted to go ahead and buy the shoes now so I could break them in. For a long time I wanted a pair of Merrill hiking-type Mary Janes, but decided I really just need a good pair of sneakers that I find attractive and comfortable. I had a pair of New Balances in high school that I have worn out a la my brown flats above, and I replaced them with a big ugly pair of Nikes when I went to college. I hate the Nikes, and I don't even remember what possessed me to buy them as opposed to another pair of New Balance, but that is what happened. I bought the W595s a couple of weeks ago and instantly loved their look. They are very stiff which makes me glad I bought them this far in advance, so it remains to be seen how they will wear in. I think I am going to be really happy I bought sneakers that I can wear with socks once all the walking and hiking in potentially cold weather starts.

So there ya go! Jen and I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic and we are both convinced our shopping habits are nothing now, and at least we buy attractive clothes as opposed to the total train wrecks in that movie....

Teeny Tiny Tittie Committee

The TTTC is the exclusive club that I was a member of in high school reserved for those whose ta tas never fully developed. My boobs have never been much to write home about, but for as long as I can remember I have worn a 36B. Well, recently I have known but have not wanted to admit to myself that I not only needed a new bra but I needed to get professionally measured when I went in to buy it. The bra I wear every day has deteriorated and the underwire was starting to wear through and irritate my side, so wearing my back up bra I trekked to the mall today with my sister. We spent some time continuing to deny the fact that I had no idea what size I should be wearing now that my boobs have shrunk down to the size of two clementines, and we gathered up several options that just didn't fit. I was officially lost, so we got the little measuring tape lady and she did her thing, listened to my sob story about my magical disappearing boobs, observed the tragedy that was my back up bra, and then left for about 10 seconds only to reappear with a bra that was obviously made specifically for my body. It was amazing, and as I write this at 12:34 at night when I should be asleep I can honestly say I would rather have really small boobs that debilitatingly huge ones, so I am not letting it bother me that my new bra is a 36A. Not at all. Now, my sister likes to go on and on about how her boobs are small and shapeless, but they are two regular Jabbas next to mine, so here we are in the fitting room together:

Me: "I just know it is going to be an A."
Carol: "If she brings back an A I am going to be making some phone calls to plastic surgeons for you."
Me (with a sad face as she hands me the 36A): "Well, it is an A. I don't think it will fit, but I will try it on..."
Carol (as she helps me fasten it): "How does it feel? It fits like a glove doesn't it!!?
Me (standing there observing my middle school self in the mirror): "Yessss..."
Carol: "You look like a french girl, with your haircut and your little bra..."

The worst part of the whole experience was having to take off the perfect bra and put back on the old one which was then OBVIOUSLY enormous in comparison. It put my years of poor undergarment choices into perspective. It was all very interesting, and I would highly recommend letting a professional help you with this process if you think you might not be wearing the right size. I shouldn't be preoccupied with the numbers, but it is just one of those things that women freak out over. I am now the official president of the TTTC, and we are accepting new members....

Shot to Hell

Since I apparently have commitment issues with this thing, my chances of being allowed to join BlogHer are, you guessed it!, shot to hell. Oh well, I guess that is just the way it goes. Things since I last posted have been busy, as usual, and with this being the first Christmas and Thanksgiving my dad has been here for in a long time, family time has been the main order of the day. I am very proud of our little family. My dad seems to have really mellowed out as a result of finally being free from the grips of Iraq for the moment; my sister has gotten her life together and is with someone who she is not only allowed to bring home but who is now a part of our family. My mother leads an active, healthy lifestyle that has rubbed off on all of us and we go walking as a family almost everyday. We have even been able to incorporate the puppies into this daily routine with the purchase of a "Poodle Pram" as my mom calls it. We get a lot of goofy looks, but whatever, it beats leaving them in their kennels while we are gone and they get a little fresh air, which is rare for two mostly indoor dogs. All-in-all, we are doing pretty good.

I am not a resolution type of person, but my accomplishments this past year have inspired me to set some goals for myself in 2009. In 2008, without any particular forethought or planning, I became a vegetarian and have been going strong for about seven months now. I also lost some weight, which was something I needed to do to be healthy and feel better about myself. In 2009, I want to let go of some of the anger that often shrouds my otherwise happy existence. The things I am angry about are typically outside my control, which, of course, just makes me angrier, and I need to just let them go. We will see how I hold up as the year goes on.

Tonight I feel lucky to get to go out with some friends I have not seen in a while. We are all growing up, getting married, moving away, and it will be nice to catch up. 2009 has started off pretty well!