Germinating Seeds

On your mark get set go! We're attempting to germinate seeds for our garden... what's on the roster?



- watermelon (hee hee)
- carrots
- peas
- string beans
- squash
- tomatoes (2 varieties)
- lettuce
- peppers
- basil


I'm also growing an herb collection in a separate box near our backdoor - so far I have rosemary, oregano, lavender, and thyme.

So as you can see, the city dwellers haven't learned their lesson yet. Will we be feeding the neighborhood squirrels, birds and raccoons? Maybe. At least I'll have something to write about :)

Weekend Projects

Hello!! Hope everyone had a great weekend, wanted to share a couple of pics showing how we spent ours...

1. We've had a couple of super busy weeks around here and I was starting to feel really disconnected... look what the mister came home with on Friday night. He always knows when I need a sweet pick-me-up!! I know. I 'm lucky.

2. Hillsy started prepping our veggie patch. He cracks me up, he looks like he's going to work - I think we need to get the boy some gardening/weekend outfits soon.

3. Dog-sat on Sunday for a friend

4. I tried making homemade Greek yogurt this weekend... I failed. Twice. I'm gonna try again next week - I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong :(

Damn you IKEA

Just when I thought our affordable outdoor furnishings hunt was over... everything I want is either unavailable or out of stock in all 4 possible locations. Hmmm New Haven CT - how far is that? So if anyone is from Conshohocken, PA - here ya go, knock yourself out!

What are you feeling today?

... spring fever
... lazy
... like eating a bag of Mesquite BBQ Kettle Potato Chips
... and a cone of chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream
... swallowing a xanac or more gummy bears and taking a nap
... uninspired
... taking a long vacation somewhere with no internet connection
... making something with my hands
... buying a better camera & then complain about how I'm not any good at it
... getting a facial
... paying someone to do the rest of the housework for me

ah all better.

DID YOU HEAR THAT?

... a pin just dropped.


sorry Lifeflixers, it's going to be a bit quiet around here this week. I think 4 blogs is my max so hop on over to D*S if you're not sick of me yet.

Car update

It turns out that the structural integrity of our brake drums have been compromised!!! What does that mean? Oh it just means that we'll be dipping into our tax refund a little earlier than planned. Hillsy dropped off the car at a "trusted" mechanic near work and was repeatedly instructed NOT to drive the car home - apparently the brake drums need to be replaced immediately... we don't even want to think about what could've happened if we ignored the noises that all of a sudden went away.

The cost wasn't TOO bad, not high enough to justify getting rid of it and just buying a new car - so for now we're thankful we still have our hand-me-down, hopefully she can hang in there for another couple of months.

Learning to Expect the Unexpected

One thing I've learned so far with this whole playing grown-up thing is to expect the unexpected. Our weekend took a turn for the worse when our hand-me-down Honda decided to act up on Saturday night. We were on our way to meet a couple of friends in Montclair for dinner - suddenly we hear odd noises coming from the tail-end of the car. Hmmm sounded like we were dragging a tree and a couple of screaming raccoons. We pulled over and Hillsy checked underneath the car and nothin' nada. We attempted to drive again and it was just getting worse and worse so we drove back home.

Dinner was saved by Lyn and Mike - thanks again for schlepping back to pick up our sorry asses +Karen and Raul for taking us home (again!)

So I ended up ordering groceries from Stop & Shop/Peapod yesterday since we didn't want to risk driving the car. We took the car around the block to check on the weird noises and noticed a significant improvement - wtf? Luckily we live next to one of the handiest guys in town and he had a quick look under the car and didn't see anything suspicious. They even drove around for a bit and what d'ya know - no noises whatsoever. But I knew that would happen, I knew it wasn't going to make a peep and we would look like psychotic neighbors complaining about this god awful noise coming out of the back of the car. Riiiight? You guys heard noooises? Hmmm. Interesting.

Hillsy drove the car this morning to work, just got of the phone with him - NO NOISES! Seriously I don't know what to make of this.

All in all my weekend was decent, didn't get to paint the guestroom as planned but someone was happy about that I bet. On the good news front - I finally increased my running mileage this weekend, WOOHOOO!! Finally found my comfort-zone! Running around here is kind of tough with all of the freakin' hills but I guess that's good for my bum so I should stop complaining. My ultimate goal is to be able to run Hillsy's route - he covers about 10 miles!

PS. I'm guest blogging at Design*Sponge this week so please pop on over and keep me company. Here's my first post.

WTF

Happy Spring Everyone.

Well at least the weekend is supposed to be nice. Looking forward to finally having dinner with a few of my favorite people tomorrow. Not so looking forward to painting the guest room on Sunday. Next week will be a crazy one so I'm gonna try and savor the weekend - have a great one everyone!!

Christmas Present

Hillsy gave me an Anthropolgie gift card for Christmas and I've been holding on to it for sooooo long, finally used it up for these lovelies (Don't Look Down Platforms/Frye)....

I'm officially in love with them (summer shoe #2). So THERE IS a difference between real leather and TARGET "leather". OH-MY-GOD the leather is buttery soft, like buttah baby.

PS. I admittedly have a shoe problem. This I know.

Window Shopping

Received a Bloomies email yesterday that caused me to waste about a half an hour browsing through clothes I love but can't afford. If I had tons of money, I would probably run out of it pretty quickly because I would be hanging around Marc Jacob shops all day long and buying cute little furry stuffed bunnies from Etsy.

I only allowed myself to look through his Marc by Marc Jacobs line, the real deal just hurts too much...

Decor Update

I did it (RJ, so sweet of you to send over a visual aid)! These babies are on.

I'm happy with the way they turned out although I'm starting to think it's looking a little FUNHOUSE down here.

Lanterns are also up! I'm just gonna let it all marinate in my head before I decide whether or not it's too much all together.

Random Conversations

Background: It was a busier than usual blogging day and Marichelle ends up eating lunch at 17:00, a turkey sandwich to be specific. So by the time Hillsy comes home (approx 19:00) he's on his own for dinner. Fortunately the fridge is fully stocked with cold cuts and leftover meatballs from the night before.

SCENE
Hillsy is sitting in front of the television in the living room, finishing the last bite of his sandwich. Marichelle enters the kitchen to grab a drink and spots the tub of mayo sitting on top of the counter and immediately makes her way back into the living room...

marichelle: You know, you shouldn't leave mayo out like that. Hillsy looks confused.
hillsy: Huh? still looks confused.
marichelle: You know, you shouldn't leave mayo OUT tilts her head towards the kitchen attempting to point to the jar with her head like that.
hillsy: I didn't.

Marichelle soon realizes that the man in question made himself a meatball sandwich which didn't require mayo. She gets a sudden flashback of her making her lunch... bread + turkey + cheese + fuck! Mayo.

marichelle: oh. Innocently returns to the kitchen & puts the jar back into the fridge.
hillsy: You know, you shouldn't leave mayo out like that.
marichelle: It wasn't out for that long. It's fine.

Imelda strikes again

I really should go down in the basement and count how many pairs of shoes I have that I've worn once... but that doesn't sound fun so instead I'll share my faves from Piperlime's 20% off today-only sale - promocode TREAT (sorry Raul!)



1. SeychellesAraxi
2. DV by Dolce VitaDainty
3. Mia Mystical (looks just like my favorite sandals from last year that I wore EVERYday that desperately need to be replaced)
4. Kenneth Cole Gem-erama
5. Ciao Bella Adriana

PS. Did I mention I ordered two pairs from Anthropologie (will share tomorrow) this weekend, but that doesn't count because I used a giftcard I received from Christmas - alright, so it didn't cover the entire balance... but the intentions were there.... give me a break people!

** OH almost forgot! A couple of links to help counter any shoe purchases that this post might have caused:

:: The lovely folks from Snuggle sent me an email offering readers $2 off their latest product Snuggle Creme
:: Coupon Cabin - a new online promo coupon hub (via dailycandy) $5 off Target what??

Happy Friday

Taking a little break today. The mister is off and we're going to take a nice break from our laptops! I just posted about my funky smelling kitchen over at Heart Homecooked - some of you may find the idea useful.

Have a good one everyone!

Ideas to Borrow

I FINALLY forced myself to read my mags/catalogs last night and was so glad I did...

Found some really great ideas again. I love the way the lacy covering looks, although our windows are definitely not wooden framed (i wish) so I'm not sure if it'll just look dowdy or granny-esque.



I bought a similar frame a while ago, the previous owner actually turned it into a chalkboard but I don't really have a use for that so I think I'll turn it into a message board by attaching ribbons to it instead.

Photos: Toast catalog, Living Etc.

Book Tour on Heart Handmade

hi everyone! I know. Late again this morning but I was frantically working on this post early this morning and had to get it up by 10am!! I'm so excited coz Heart Handmade is part of Heather Ross' book tour! So if you're interested in sewing - don't forget to drop in today and leave a comment, I'll be drawing a random winner and one lucky reader will win a copy of Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing!

Fun with Decals

I can't even tell you how many hours I spent last night sticking, unsticking, sticking, unsticking - I can't figure out where I want these darn things!


I originally bought these decals for the staircase but as I tried to find just the right position for them, I soon came to realize that I didn't really like them there. So I moved to the only wall left in the dining room...

I thought I was happy with my final placement, but after waking up and walking downstairs this morning - I'm not sure if I'm happy with the right wall - I don't like how the two taller petals are almost identical in position. Wonder how many more hours I'll be spending on this before I finally peel and stick???

Bedroom Update

I think it was the Spring weather this weekend, but I was inspired to get back to fixing up our home. I finally put up the curtains I bought from IKEA almost a month ago. I decided to place the hooks way up near the ceiling, kind of nice coz it does actually make the room appear larger and I didn't have to hem the curtains. I also transferred the vanity over and hung up some pieces from two of my faves Heather Smith Jones and Lush Bella (placement totally inspired by Kerry).

I plan to get floating shelves to put on top of our heads. We don't really have that much space for side tables so I figured a floating shelf will do, just to add some sort of focus on that wall. For now, I put one of my all-white garlands just for fun. As you can tell, I haven't put up the wallpaper yet. It's in, I'm just waiting...

The ugly side of blogging

Cardinal rule (at least to me): once you add someone to your list of "friends" or blog faves, it's very rude to all of a sudden remove them. I just find that to be poor etiquette. I'm sure we can all think of a few exceptions to the rule (e.g. downright copying, suddenly you see a mirror image of your blog, they've removed you and now the feeling is mutual, you get rid of the entire list as I did on Lifeflix, etc).

I can argue all day about this and at the end of the day, it's your blog so you have the right to do what you want. Just my thoughts and feelings. Maybe it just stings for a while and as in all things we get over it real quick, which is why I decided to take this post down (originally posted on Saturday). A reader just pointed it out that it's up on google reader - so I thought, alright, might as well get it all out there. There are far more important things to worry about in this world, so like most things - put it out in the open, get it out there and write it off as a lesson learned.

sincerely,
ms sensitive

Baby, where'd you get those shades?

I twittered about this yesterday but I figured not everyone follows so I'm reposting.

LOVE these made to measure curtains from Natural Curtain Company. You choose the fabric, heading, pleat style, lining, provide measurements and presto done! And they ship worldwide.

I also love the way they style the rooms to showcase the curtains. I'm not usually a silver metallic shiny chic but I'm lovin' that first room.

Photos: Natural Curtain Company

Happy Birthday Ces

Happy Birthday to one of my loyal readers - my sister Cecile (or as Hillsy likes to call her my partner in crime)! Hope you have a good one sis!!

Spring arrived in a box

What's cute, comfy, and less than $20?



My shoes finally arrived!!
C'mon recessionistas - get 'em while they're in stock Wilda Slingback Wedges! They're also available in the stores.

Growing Pains

In my experience, once something fun becomes "work" it's no longer fun. Pretty simple logic right? Suddenly you don't feel in charge and all sorts of pressures start coming at you.

I began blogging a couple of years ago not for the potential money that it could bring but for the pure fun and challenge of it all. As I start to get advertisers and more readers, I'm also sensing a bit more stress. Believe me, I'm not complaining about the advertisers and readers - I'm very very grateful for that, it's just the inevitable byproduct (aka stress) that I need to deal with NOW before it starts to get out of control. Must nip you in the bud. And the annoying part? It's all self-imposed. Yep, the worst kind of stress. So what will I do about it? Step 1. Bitch about it (done). Two, trick myself into believing that nothing has changed? No, that would be dumb. You know what? I think I'm starting to hit the point where I need to decide whether it's a hobby or a job. Hillsy has been so helpful and has even volunteered to take over managing ad sales and other technical aspects that may soon need to change. Maybe by removing this from my equation it'll be easier to separate the two and I can keep doing the part that I love - the editorial "fun" part.

Sorry for the ramble, it's just one of those days.

photo: wikimedia

Could be better

A little down today...
my furry friend left last night, we had such a great time taking care of her. It was sort of sad not seeing her downstairs when I went down to make the coffee. I guess it's ok thought, she's literally 5 minutes away so we can always go and visit anytime.


She started getting used to the house, even venturing into non-carpeted areas like you see here. I think she also grew to love Hillsy, she loved hanging out with him while he filmed his heart hi-tech videos.


Oh and of course, my lappie mcMac died last night as well. Looks like the hard drive is totally f*cked. Hillsy tried reviving it but had no luck. I was at peace and said my final goodbyes last night - Hillsy wants to try one more thing this weekend but we'll see. Fortunately I backed up some of my files and I have an old backup of my favorites so all is not lost. Unfortunately I did lose some photos and a whole bunch of music (but then again I think most were illegally downloaded - so maybe I'm better off??)

Don't wanna be a total Debbie-downer today so I'll sign off with some good news...
+ I've sold 7 out of 14 houses on Etsy this week
+ Heart Handmade is officially 1 year old - and after a year of hard work, I think it's finally paying off! (Moral of this story: do what you love and do it hard as hard as your little body can take)
+ I've been asked to guest blog for one of top blogs this month (screaming, squeaking and squealing)

For my family

My brothers and sisters (especially the ones in Texas) loooove to call me up to brag about how hot and sunny it is over there...

So I thought I'd beat you guys to the punch today. This one's for all of you basking under the warm California and Texas sun... oh and for my friends on the cruise ship too (I'm sooooo jealous!!!)

This is what we woke up to this morning...