paper bag please.

Notice anything missing?

I have Funky Finds Spring Fling in March... the 10th and 11th.

Warrenton/Zapp Hall Spring show set-up begins... uhmmm... at the end of March - the show runs through Easter week-end.

We will not discuss the orders I have to fill between right now and then.

comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide where someone needs to hand me a paper bag really quick-like 'cause I'm hyperventilating... let me re-phrase that. I'm hyperventilating while duct taped to my sewing machine because that's not very many pocketbooks... wanna come play in my laboratory with me? I promise... I won't work you toooooooooo hard. (my fingers are totally crossed behind my back.) hee-hee

worried about oatmeal.

I'm a worrier. I know - that statement comes from out of nowhere, but it's a fact. However, I'm not your average worrier. You can tell me "the sky is falling! the sky is falling!" and I'll stand there all mouthhangin'open, wearing a silly grin while mumbling, "at least it's fluffy clouds and sparklin' thangs and not cinder blocks or tires!"!

Yes, I am disgustingly - you would want to whack me upside my head - optimistic in my worrying habits.

But... I'm still a silent worrier. And then it eats a hole in my belly. And then I'm havin' to eat oatmeal for a couple of weeks because:

This is a cereal that is considered to be soothing food for the nerves. It is one of the best sources of Inositol, which is important for maintaining blood cholesterol level. Oats are amazingly high in calcium, potassium and magnesium, together with lots of B complex -- all are vital to a healthy nervous system.

And it's easy on the belly that has a hole in it.

'Cept... I DO NOT LIKE oatmeal! Blech!

When I was little "the Mama" used to make us oatmeal for breakfast during the winter months before she would leave for work. So... I would sit at the dining table, legs dangling from my chair looking all angelic and innocent while waiting for my bowl of BLECH to cool off... it was SO amazing how it got JUST cool enough for the dog to eat it as "the Mama's" tail-lights rounded the corner.

I bought the "multi-flavor" box of oatmeal... cinnamon/apple, cinnamon spice and maple/brown sugar... it's still "blech". I did a google search: "How to make oatmeal taste better", and found these suggestions...

Raisins and brown sugar 

Low-fat granola and skim milk 

Currants and golden raisins 

Raspberry nonfat yogurt and dried cranberries 

Apricot fruit spread and sliced almonds 

Sliced strawberries and plain nonfat yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon 

Maple flavored pancake syrup and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds 

Canned crushed pineapple, sliced bananas, and chopped nuts 

Strawberry nonfat yogurt and sliced kiwi 

Sliced bananas and vanilla nonfat yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon 

Reduced fat peanut butter and strawberry fruit spread 

Chopped dates, raisins, and walnuts 

Coarsely chopped canned peaches and ground ginger 

Diced dried apricots and honey 

Apple butter and raisins 

Blueberry fruit spread and vanilla or plain nonfat yogurt 

Orange marmalade and dried cranberries 

Coarsely chopped apple and brown sugar 

Reduced fat caramel topping and a sprinkle of chopped pecans 

Warm apple pie filling and skim milk 

Honey crunch flavor wheat germ and cinnamon 

Canned pear slices and maple flavor pancake syrup 

Skim milk and sliced peaches 

Mixed dried fruit 

Cherry preserves and wheat germ 

Diced cranberries and maple flavored pancake syrup 

Chunky natural applesauce 

Sliced bananas and mini-semisweet chocolate morsels 

Blueberries and sliced strawberries sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar 

Canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice

Somewhere along the search I read, "soy sauce and sesame seeds"... who knew? How do you eat your oatmeal? Or... does your dog eat it? Mine might get a taste of it tonight...

comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide where it's raining today and yesterday and tomorrow (YAY!!!) but my pretty roof that is supposed to be invincible is leaking in my laundry room. (worry) At least it's not leaking through-out the whole house... but if it WAS leaking through-out the whole house, does the clean-up count as "mopping the floor?" (disgusting optimism.) hee-hee

I have a crush.

It's a BIG crush. One of those *tee-hee-hee* giggly,

gettin' all tongue-tied,

I would blush (aka: turn bright red) and proll'y quit breathing if he ever looked at me,

*swoon*-like crushes.

I have a crush on Jonathan Adler...

I go bananas for anything Jonathan Adler.

I keep thinking I'm going to outgrow it... but... no. Year after year I'm still crushin'.

I see his fun stuff and awesomeness and consider being his stalker...

starting with being all secret/sly/stalkerish and spending a few weeks days hours in one of his stores. Have you ever been to one of his stores?


comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide where some day the ohsotalented Mr. Adler is going to decide he needs a single-wide in his "I've created this masterpiece" portfolio... hee-hee


all of the photos are from when I went on a wild pinning spree this morning (here)... I've lost my MAKE SOMETHING FANTASTIC NOW mojo and my crush might have it. (Do you think that reason would hold up in court when I'm asked why I'm stalking Jonathan Adler? "But Judge, sir... he has my mojo.")

it's been established...

that i'm just not right, right?
i mean, you know this about me already, right?

well. last night i'm in my new "photo lab" (aka: storage room that had 3 extra square feet of prime real-estate) taking photos of my new clutch design/pattern: "aud.rey".

i decide i need a hand as a prop.

do you remember how i murdered the "very tall woman"?

exhibit A: here.
exhibit B: here.

uhmmm... i grab her arm with her hand miraculously still attached from under my bed and i think:

self: "this works"

other self: "this does work, but she has some serious road rash"

self: "that's okay 'cause I'm a red.neck and stuff happens"

other self: "it doesn't look healthy... her hand does not look healthy"

self (starts laughing and then cry-laughing then has to sit down from the cry-laughing that is happening)

self:

"i could call it the DEATH CLUTCH"

comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide where yes indeedy i'm watching for the white suit coat company to come take my measurements. do you think if I list "aud.rey" in my Etsy store as the "death clutch" she will sell?

disclaimer: i'm not normally this morbid, so don't be skeert. i DO have mannequin parts under my bed. again, don't be skeert...

prime real-estate.

Real-estate is a hot commodity in the single-wide.

And... since I'm embracing the fact that I'm a stacker/piler/layerer (thank you Janet!)...

I'm ALSO embracing the fact that only a small portion of my dining table gets used. Chili dogs only take up so much room.



Since the back 40 was just piled layered with whoknowswhat I'm putting it to work.

While I was cleaning the storage room I found my laptop buried under piles of... well... stacks LAYERS and thought, "oh - HEY! I've been needing that!"

I stack, I pile, I layer... I use my lap top and not all of my dining real-estate. I've got my laptop - a gooseneck lamp (the older I get the more light I seem to require!) and a big comfortable, cushy chair. It all makes perfect sense now... 'cept maybe my apparent fascination with tea cups.




comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide where I'm trying to find the perfect piece of "interesting" for that corner. I had "eat" up there in giant channel letters but they have since moved on... hmmm.....


P.S. A couple of fun facts: The tray in the middle is a birch tray that the red.neck Step-Daddy made for each family for Christmas and the wire rimmed glasses are some that Jill - the CEO and mastercreativemind of Jill Ruth & Co. made and sent to me!

pile-up

My name is Robelyn and I'm a piler. A stacker.

My idea of vignetting is stacking...

and seeing how many stacked piles look good together.

It's who I am. I'm now embracing that about me.

Are you a piler? A stacker?

comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide where sometimes I even know what's in my piles (although I'm not sure where the cookbooks came from or why I have them *scratches head*)... sometimes. hee-hee

pffttt...

I'm throwin' in the hat.

After three more attempts at creating "THE hat" this is what I've ended up with.

Yes, the end result is reminiscent of the first go-round. And I like it! I made this one out of a beautiful piece of ivory wool suiting. I'll be as snug as a bug in a hat.

I'm gonna now ignore the "thisisSEWnotright" towering hat pile that has built up on one table in my laboratory - all different shapes, styles and colors - and make another one of these in black...

just so that I have one to wear with each coat that I have. Have I ever mentioned that I'm a coat fiend? It's true.

This one from The Vintage Square is on my radar. I don't have a black one and I have a "thing" for big shiny buttons on vintage coats. Well... really... I have a thing for big shiny buttons period.

On another note: here's my kid. I found this picture while digging through my camera card and my heart went all mussssshhhhhhy like a Mama's heart does when she sees her towering man-child.

comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide... yeah, I've sprung myself from the laboratory and I'm back in the single-wide surfing around to see if I can find "THE hat" on line so I can own it. Have you seen it anywhere?

hmmmm....

Sunday night I was watching "Once Upon A Time" (the show that made me figure out how to make the DVR "playback" option work)...

and I gasped - out loud - when I saw Snow White's (aka: Mary Margaret) hat. Oh! I have to have that hat!!!

Sew off to the laboratory I go. The first one I made out of gray felt... that didn't work so well (imagine a top hat...). The second attempt (you know... where a girl feels like she knows what she's doing...) I killed a perfectly cute sweater by sewing two pieces upside down. Have you tried removing a seam from a sweater? *eye roll and a few choice words*

Third attempt:

It's just not right.

comin' to you LIVE from the laboratory where I could potentially become the had matter before perfection is achieved...

old-school...

Janet, the Sweet Talkin' Sweetie from SweetTalk did a post the other day where she had written the eulogy for her paperclip. She has gone all "high-tech" with her day planner.

I wish WISH I could do that. I have a hard enough time figuring out how to make my $20 cellphone go. Heck. I have a hard enough time keeping tabs on my $20 cellphone. Oh the places it's been. Dumpster diving isn't always just for great junk. And sound system wires? Don't even get me started.

I'm old school AGAIN this year. I'm super picky about my planner - it has to have the right number of columns, line spacing, the right size, etc. etc.

and the pen has to be a really cheap one with a medium point - preferably stolen (they just write better). HA! I scratch in where I'm supposed to be and when... work orders, status updates on the work orders... and anything else that pops in to my disorganized mind. My planner is my "safekeeping" spot. Sometimes I even remember to carry it along with me.

Are you high-tech or are you still cruisin' through the same "old-school" halls with me? Have any dates you need me to write in and keep up with? I'm all over it!

comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide where I'm so technoNOTsavvy that I was DVR'ing shows but didn't know how to watch them 'til a year later... hee-hee


P.S. Here's Janet's info because she's so incredibly cool... you need to go visit her!!!
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