Off to the city today. Thanks to Nurse Z's hook-ups we were able to get a last minute appointment with an Orthopedist. We're hoping he'll say that the fracture will heal on its and Hillsy won't need to go under the knife! Will keep you guys posted!
hey gang, looks like the big guy is going to be ok. He fractured a bone (not really sure which one) on his left arm and is currently on meds and munching on honey mustard pretzels.
I wished that he was home more often but I guess planting a skating rink in the bottom of the driveway was a bit much?
Oh pleasant experience at ER - totally not what I expected. We were seen right away, everyone was friendly, insurance accepted.... happy customers! St. Barnabus - Short Hills well done!!!
update: We'll be seeing a specialist tomorrow (thanks Z!) to rule out surgery. Fingers crossed.
I knew it was too good to be true - migraine-free for the past couple of months. I went to bed last night after a really really long day (at the fair, dinner and tea with friends) with a slight headache and woke up with an even worse one.
Just popped 2 Excedrins and gulping my morning coffee like no one's business.
Let's see, what's on the TO DO list today?
- work on February store update
- finish up my posts for HH for the rest of the week, including a craft fair favorites round-up
- force myself to workout once this headache is gone
- order something from here (I wish you could all see RJ's Bailey Doesn't Bark line in person, the pieces are really really really AMAZING) I LOVE the new GOLD series!!
hey gang, I'm off to cover the New York International Gift Fair! I'm so excited to see new product lines to cover over at Heart Handmade. Afterwards, I'm heading to one of my favorite sushi spots in the East Village (yes my old neighborhood!!! yay!!!) for some dinner with a few new and old friends.... so excited!!!
I'll see you back here tomorrow!
It was Hillsy's birthday yesterday and despite of my ruined birthday present*, I think the boy had a nice time.
Let's start with the breakfast...
He requested pancakes with a side of kielbasa!
Pancakes topped with honey and jam
... with a side of swine
Yay it's Friday!!! And it's not just any weekend - it's Hillsy's birthday weekend... yay!!!
I wonder if I can get myself to put up the wallpaper in our bedroom? I'm just so not in the mood to do that right now argh. I also still need to paint our little guest room - you know the one with all the Winnie the Pooh decals? But I suppose I have one more month before I really have to get my act together for that one - our special guests arrive in April :)
So guess what? I've signed up for a small freelance project - just a quick design gig with a friend (hello!) who kindly hooked it up. So we'll see how I manage my time next week - this should be interesting. I'm also working on the next shop update, remember the goal? something different every month to force myself to create more often? Well, this next batch is really fun - more fun than garlands. I promise.
Have a great weekend everyone. Gotta go figure out what type of birthday cake to bake. Uh-oh me baking... i know. Wish me luck!
My friend's husband was scrolling through my pictures in my camera and noticed the highly imbalanced food to people ratio. I never really thought about it before, but it's true - I hardly take pictures of people anymore. If I do, it's usually pictures of strangers doing strange things, purely for the benefit of this site.
Ever since I started Lifeflix my cooking, eating and day-to-day habits have certainly morphed into some kind of weird self-photo-journalistic-{often sadistic "wait, babe... put that fork down! I haven't taken the shot yet"}-exercise. Photo above is a perfect example. I was about to take a bite of this innocent Cuban sandwich when you know who ("Marichelle - the blogger") shows up. Ooohh I need to come up with a name for my alter-blogger-ego. Honestly, life would be so much easier if I had my camera strapped on to my forehead. Hmmm.
Another occupational hazard?... the occasional "Oh god, you're not gonna blog about this are you?" from my girlfriends. Thank goodness I don't write for Cosmo!
No. I'm afraid it's not one of my sick new fetishes... just me doing a little crafting.
I had some tulle and wanted it to look not-so-new and I've always wanted to try dying with tea, but never got around to it. I'm happy to report that the crafting goddesses only speak of the truth - it is in fact a great and easy way to antique fabric/textiles.
I brewed some tea, steeped it longer than I usually do (for drinking). Allowed it to cool off a little bit, since I was using tulle I wasn't sure if pouring piping hot water on it would've been a good idea. Poured in the tea, waited 10 minutes, fished it out, rinsed it off, paper towel dried, checked out the level of stain, thought it was too light, dumped it back in, waited another 10 minutes, fished it out, washed it off, dried it, happy!
Remember those pesky resolutions? Well here's a way for me to really force myself to start creating more this year. The new WUNDERLUST shop is a collection of whimsical treats straight out of the magical tiny teal workshop. My goal is to create a new limited series/collection every month - I hope you enjoy following along... www.wunderlust.etsy.com
Z and I were chatting last night and she mentioned how her hubby Ryan finds "us girls" (meaning our little chick crew) very amusing at times. Amusing in the fact that we allow such little things to bother us. Now before some you start bashing sweet ol' Ryan, I have to say, I agree with him 100%. I guess that's what makes us chicks right? The chemicals that rage throughout our curvy bodies, controlling our instincts and for the most part provide a steady dose of comedy relief for our boyfriends and husbands.
Now allow me to explain the cooking mitt. Hillsy made a request for cookies the other day. He hardly makes requests so I happily obliged. For some reason the damn racks were set too high but I didn't realize this until it was too late - the cookies were getting too brown at the midway point. So I panicked and attempted to move the rack with the baking sheet still on it (pure laziness which I pay for BIGtime). Trying to hold the baking sheet steady with one hand and fumbling the rack loose with my other, the cookies slide off the parchment paper and immediately plop down to the bottom of the oven - one by freakin' one. I'm cursing, getting all flustered, cookies sliding away, mitted hand trying to save them...basically having a cow at this point as I watch each one go down...oven starts to smoke up because the chocolate starts to burn...
And there was Hillsy in the background laughing away finding the whole thing hilarious. Taking pictures of the mit that looked like it just ate a dozen cookies. Thanks to him, I was able to snap out of it and we both burst out into laughter. I wasn't able to save the batch but we managed to have about 2 cookies each and had a really good laugh about the whole thing.
Thanks for that shot of testosterone babe!
Hmmm. Look what Hillsy and I discovered as we were backing out of the driveway yesterday...
So I guess we had a leak huh?
Any suggestions? So far we've tried melting it with hot water, salting, next up we have the chiseling technique where I'll be attempting to chisel a lovely swan :)
My friend Issey designed the cutest paper bird - Cherry Love and I finally had a chance to put it together this morning.
You can print it out at home using regular paper or stock paper - you just need some glue and a pair of scissors. The cutest thing...
There are other birds available at http://www.nanibird.com.
oh wow I'm super super late!! The year started off with a bang... two more blogs, house stuff almost done... [screech] ROAD BLOCK.
This week just flew by and I'm starting to get that "not enough freakin' hours in a day" feeling - not a good sign. I feel very unorganized and I need to get my thoughts into order, too many want to do's swimming in my head right now. I wanna make more soaps and getting really frustrated that I haven't even touched my new supplies that I spent a good chunk of my personal budget for. I'm crazily sewing garlands that I'm not even sure if anyone will be interested in buying, I want to go to Target but it's snowing out and there's a thick slab of ice in the driveway. There's a list of improvements for HHandmade that I'd love to get done but I'm just running out of braincells and hands.... yes, having one of those days!
The upside? Hillsy is working from home today.
Thanks for allowing me to vent :)
Hmmm, gotta go work on turning this frown upside down, coz I just annoyed myself re-reading that!
Before we moved, I was a hardcore gym rat. I was obsessed with my spinning/cycling classes, running on the treadmill and the Total Body Conditioning classes offered at NYSC. I miss my favorite classes, gym buddies and my instructors, but I certainly do not miss the gross locker rooms.
We cancelled our membership when we moved, we're no longer members of a gym and I'm happy to say that we're still relatively in shape despite the lack of gym action. So it goes to show with a little bit of discipline and a variety of DVDs you can save the ~$200/month gym membership fee (for the both of us) and still stay in shape.
I think the key to working out at home is...
1) Having the motivation and will power to do so. If you know that you're the type of person that requires a group setting or an instructor yelling in your ear embarrassing you in front of an entire class to get your butt going - DVDs aren't for you. For me, the $$ savings is enough to motivate me to do it. I'd also love to sit here and tell you that I workout for health reasons, but if I'm being completely honest - the fear of tight jeans and the thought of me in a bathing suit is what keeps me going! Oh and I LOVE to cook and most of all EAT so I have no choice. I'm not one to deprive myself of anything - that's probably the key motivating factor for me. If I want to eat deep-fried pork skin or a bag of Cheetos - I will :)
2) A good mix of workouts. A variety of workouts will keep you from getting bored. Mix it up and set a monthly schedule, just like going to the gym. Some days you'll dread some days you'll look forward to.
3) Having a buddy (is a nice to have). Persuade your partner or a friend to do a couple of workouts a week. As with anything, a buddy system can be a motivating factor which can take care of #1.
4) Consistency. Although one of the perks of working out at home is the flexibility, I think it helps to allocate a specific time/space for your home workout. It's so easy to convince yourself that you'll do it later and later turns into tomorrow and before you know it - the DVDs become dust magnets. Set a time, set your workout schedule every Sunday night for the following week...
My friend Karen asked me for my list of DVDs and so I thought I'd share it with everyone else.
Jillian Michaels 30 Minute Shred & No More Trouble Zones are our favorite (thanks Jessica!) It's only a 20 minute workout but she freakin' kicks your ass. It's a really good one. A mixture of strength and cardio. There are 3 levels - one is hard, two is really hard (took us forever to move on to 3) and three... we're still exhausted and defeated after the workout. You really have to have discipline to do this one, if not, you'll easily give up because it's pretty hard and the fact that it's only 20 minutes makes no difference. But it works, it'll definitely make you sweat and you'll see a difference. Equipment: You'll need hand weights for this (I bought 3lb, 5lb and 8lb ones from Target). Also a yoga mat would be nice.
Billy Blanks Ultimate Tae Bo. I just recently bought this knowing that it's a sure thing, I used to do it back in the day and I consider it a home workout classic. I find him and his entourage slightly cult-like, but it's a good workout so I do it. I try to do the 80+ minutes workout at least once a week. Warning - there's a really corny dance part. We're talking tootsie roll and Biance type of stuff! Equipment: They use a some sort of fancy stick for one of the workouts - I don't think it's necessary.
Power Yoga. Nice to switch it up sometimes, so I like to alternate with this DVD. It helps with flexibility and sometimes you just don't fee like jumping around. BUT don't be fooled, it's not an easy workout - I still get soar afterwards. Also important to point out that I often got dizzy doing this workout - which they warn you about. Must be related to equilibrium or something... as I got used to it the dizziness went away. Equipment: yoga mat
Workout One on One. My latest purchase. Overall a great total body workout - it's broken up into 20 minute workouts. Upper, lower body and core. Really love the core/ab segment. It's really hard and I have to modify some of the moves but this DVD is definitely growing on me. Her and Michaels share some moves but I'd still recommend it. Jackie isn't too annoying, although some of the backup girls are questionable! Oh just a warning, all of them have rock hard 6-pack abs - I guess it's good motivation right? Equipment: You'll need hand weights for this (I bought 3lb, 5lb and 8lb ones from Target). Also a yoga mat would be nice.
Let me know if you have any faves that I should try! Good luck!!
So I was trying to hunt down a particular belt for Hillsy, scouring every possible avenue when I came across this atrocity...
What the hell? Now why would someone pay good money for a shirt that looked like you just ate a rotten red bean burrito, crapped all over yourself and ran out of toilet paper? Am I getting old??? Please don't say I'm alone on this one.
Not to completely bash UO, I quite like this cardigan and tissue-thin T look!
Images: Urban Outfitters
OK, we've officially hit the dead of winter...
They're forecasting 11° for Thursday night, I'm sure there's someone out there that's gonna say, oh c'mon Marichelle - that's nothing you wuss.
1) You're crazy! 2) Where do you live? So I can add it to my "never move to___" list.
So what's a girl to do? Daydream that she's in the tropics of course! Wish I were somewhere warm, sippin' on a colada, complaining about the heat...
hotchpotch bathing suit, zanzibar top, sunglasses, silk printed scarf, fabulous patent bag, jewelled flats
images: www.bodenusa.com
No painting, nailing, curtain-sewing, digging.... ahhhh, so this is what it's like to have proper weekends. Love it!
The previous owners left their roman shades in the kitchen and as much as I hated the fabric/pattern, I actually kept them up. I have this strange fear of staring out into darkness. I'm fine with not having any shades or curtains during the day when I can actually see outside, but once the sun goes down - shades down, curtains untied! It's all paranoia since I'm pretty sure no one is lifeless enough to watch me from outside. I don't know, I just don't like it. Maybe I've seen way too many horror flicks.
Anyway, I finally bought some fabric (thanks IKEA) and gave the shades a little makeover. I wasn't about to sew Roman Shades from scratch - although I have looked it up online and it looks like a project that a semi-novice sewer could tackle.
I basically ripped it apart, to sew it all back together again. Luckily the fabric/pattern that I hated was only the front part and was able to salvage the back part which was just a plain ivory thickish fabric.
Steps
1. Unstitch the front from the back with a stitch ripper
2. Measure and cut new fabric to the same size as the shade (including seam allowances)
3. Pin new fabric onto shade and iron. Lucky for me, the original shades used some sort of fabric adhesive/binding and I was able to reactivate it by ironing the two fabrics together. Although I decided to use fuse tape for the side seams to make my life easier.
4. Sew!
I wish I enjoyed sewing more, but the more I sew the more I'm realizing that it's not something that I truly truly enjoy. I find that I often get frustrated half-way through my projects and start to think "uh oh, what did I get myself into?" I wonder if that feeling will ever go away?
I warn you that this post has been rated BI for Barf-inducing.
I was having a bad day and look what the Mr brought home...
As promised, here's a detailed look at how I reupholstered several chairs around the house...
Z and I met up on Friday and decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art. I must confess that I'm not a huge museum goer, surprisingly, I really really enjoyed it and have decided that it's something that I'd like to start doing more often.
There were two exhibits that really stood out for me:
- Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927–1937
- Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave
I'm no art expert but I am an expert when it comes to my own senses & feelings and when I walked through these two VERY different exhibits, I knew that I had made a personal connection with what my eyes were seeing. I think the fact that I had no preconceived notions about either artists really allowed me to trust my own instincts and was an experience that I truly appreciated...
Anyway, the point of this post was to show you a picture of the 3rd floor - well a part of it I guess. The walls were this vibrant, energetic pink - almost a pepto pink but really nice. I have one room left to paint (the guest room) and I've always wanted a pink room... so I'm thinking this may be it.
Hi gang! I'm back, I'm back!!
Hope everyone had a fantabulous holiday. I was honestly dreading this week (hate post-holiday) but I have to say, I'm kind of excited to get this year going... new rules, new goals, new start.
Hillsy and I had a "Family Summit" yesterday (his idea). So what happens in a family summit you ask? Well, it's sort of a looking back and planning meeting. We didn't have any hand outs or anything but I couldn't help but take notes. I highly suggest you plan one of these with your loved one, it's a great way to start the new year.
What do you need? Well, all you need is some uninterrupted time, an agenda, tea or wine, an open mind and don't forget to take a couple of honest pills beforehand. We'd like to have these more often, maybe every quarter or so... We walked away feeling really excited about this year, we're on the same page, and we're both dedicated to helping each other achieve both our joint and individual goals for the year.
Oh and I started 2 more blogs - i know, insane - to complete my Heart Network of blogs! From now on, I'll be posting all my food posts over at Heart Homecooked and for all you tech-challenged folks out there... Hillsy and I started a joint blog - Heart Hi-Tech. Our aim is to educate the beginner and to provide simple, tips, news and tech information to non tech savvy folks out there. I hope you enjoy them both!
PS. You'll notice that I will be transferring Lifeflix recipes over the Heart Homecooked so if you've been with me from the very beginning - I apologize in advance for the repeats!
