Beginners Golf

Image by ►CubaGallery via Flickr

Golf? Yes, actually.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine put out a call for ladies to join a local golf league and with absolutely no golf experience whatsoever (unless you consider hitting golf balls from the backyard into the woods as "experience") I decided to join. Ok, I guess I've had some experience. I mean, I can hit a golf ball even if it's with terrible form and some cursing and swearing. But I had never actually PLAYED golf, like, on a golf course.  The first day of the golf league was officially my first time ever setting foot on a golf course!

So began my current (and weird) love affair with the sport. It's like we love to hate each other. I'm not an uncoordinated person. I can throw a ball and look relatively normal while running. But trying to hit a golf ball with the correct form is unbelievably unnatural and extremely frustrating. And yet, I find myself enjoying the process of commanding and willing my body with all my might to hit the dang ball correctly. Luckily, Andrew has a childhood of sports related experiences and lessons that he is willing to share. He's been very patient with me and has helped me figure out what I'm doing wrong.

There were many times when I threw up my hands and said, screw it, this isn't for me! But the other day Andrew and I were just hitting balls around the yard and something just clicked. I could see and feel what I was doing wrong and was able to fix it. I'm by no means "good" but I feel like I'm improving which, if anything, feels good!

Wish me luck!

-c.

Porcelain Glove Molds

I've missed you guys! Things have started heating up around here (literally) but it's still raining. Work has been getting busy busy and  I haven't been able to take photos of things I've been wanting to share. This weekend I was able to sneak in a mini-photo shoot while Q was napping of these cool porcelain glove molds (I got two!) that I found at the thrift store where we got our china cabinet/hutch thing-y.

They seem to be a hot thing on the second hand market these days. A little while back I found one at an antique store for $50 ding-dang bucks! I got both of these ones for a little over $20. I like me some vintage things, but only if the price is right.

I've been looking for a way to store my ever growing collection of necklaces and these seem to fit the bill. They sort of look like Homer Simpson hands but I like them!

-c.

Snapping Turtle

This is what happens when it rains too much. Snapping turtles start hanging out on the driveway! Andrew's mom found this beast lounging around. Scary, isn't it? It's prehistoric looking!

This weather is completely bipolar. It's been raining non-stop for weeks, but finally today it's all the sudden mid-summer. I guess we just sort of skipped Spring.

Finally got to clean up the garden area and till. It was starting to look like Grey Gardens out there, sheesh! Once it starts looking a little more garden-like and not just a huge patch or dirt, I'll start posting some pictures.

-c.

Medina Antique Mall

Everyone knows that the Midwest is where awesome vintage goods are just hiding out waiting to be discovered by some big city folks looking for a diamond in the proverbial rough. Well, the Medina Antique Mall is one such place. Also known as AntiqueLandUSA, it's so chock full of old shit it will make your head spin. Most of the inventory is stuff that I don't have too much interest in, like ratty porcelain dolls with scary eyes, old baseball cards, and Victorian furniture. I mean, some of the stuff is really beautiful, just not my style.

However, we took a little trip there a couple weekends ago and found some real gems. There was one dude who had a booth full of mid-century Danish modern goods, hell yeah! As well as a few other choice pieces scattered here and there.

One draw back of this place (other than the fact that it's super huge and overwhelming) is the fact that it's mostly out of my price range. At this point in my life, I just can't afford to spend $600 on a single side chair. No matter how awesomely designer-y cool it is. But it doesn't cost anything to browse!

I didn't bring my camera to the Antique Mall so I will resort to found images on the interweb. Here are just a sampling of the cool things I found:

1. Bertoia Side Chair by Harry Bertoia
2. Wassily Chair by Marcel Breur
3. Dansk Kobenstyle Cookware
4. Sprite Stacking Chair by Ross Lovegrove
5. Crayonne for Habitat Ice Bucket
6. Lucite Folding Chair
7. World Time Mantle Clock by Howard Miller
8. Herman Miller Eames Shell Chair
9. Italian Guzzini Arco Style Floor Lamp

Not all these items would be at home in our house, but I still enjoy them nonetheless, though Andrew wasn't too keen on some of the things I pointed out. A couple times Andrew referred to the furniture as "looking like it belonged in Akeem's Apartment". For those of you who forgot the movie "Coming to America" let me jog your memory:

God, I wish that image was bigger. But don't worry, our house looks NOTHING like that.

-c.

Exercise Motivation

Image by kevindooley via Flickr

Sorry I've been MIA the past few days. I was sick on Friday and had to stay home from work. I thought I would be able to squeeze in a post from the couch where I was laid up for most of the day. But instead I opted to hover in and out of consciousness while watching Howl's Moving Castle and hugging on my baby boy (who also was weathering a cold.)

I haven't posted about the progress of my workout lately because, to be honest, I've felt embarrassed at how badly I've been slacking. I hate to throw around excuses, but I will anyway. The main issue I've been having is that Q's schedule has changed. He's been going to bed later which means I have to start my workout later and most times I'm just too ding-dang tired! Luckily, last night Q fell asleep at 8:30 so I was able to squeeze in a round of Core Synergistics. I've even considered maybe trying to go to bed at 8:30 and wake up at 5am to workout instead of doing a nighttime routine. Knowing myself, that probably won't go over well.

I think P90X is really great if you want to see results relatively quickly, BUT I'm starting to realize that unless you are the type of person who's already in the habit of working out regularly, the whole 90-day thing isn't the best approach. I think that's my problem. I keep thinking, I just need to get to 90 days then I'm done! But I'm not done. Exercising isn't something temporary, it's something that has to become part of my lifestyle. More than anything, I need to change my perception of how exercising fits into my life. It needs to become something that just needs to be done regularly, like showering and brushing my teeth. What's that saying about old dogs and new tricks? Sheesh, they weren't kidding. It's not impossible, but it's freaking hard!

Time constraints aside, overall I am just lacking in motivation. Maybe I need to start a new routine? Maybe I need a workout partner (or just six kids, like Gloria in that picture above)? How do you, dear readers, stay motivated?

-c.

P.S. I reread this post and realized that I sound like a lazy bum who hates even the thought of lifting a finger, which is not the case. I actually enjoy being active. But, to me, there is a distinction between "being active" and exercising for the purpose of losing weight and strengthening muscles. The latter being what I've been bitching about in this really long, text heavy post!

Sleep Schedule

We got really lucky in this department with Q. He started sleeping through the night around three or four months. I have many friends and relatives with kids so I know this is not always the norm and something to be envied. So much so, that people give you the side-eye when you tell them that your baby sleeps through the night. I totally understand.

During those first few weeks I really understood why sleep deprivation is a form of torture. I was dead on my feet much of the time. But after awhile, the human mind and body really shows what it's made of! By the end of those first four months I was able to sit up in bed at 3am, wide-eyed, and not be tired at all. And not only that, but I could function normally during the day on only four hours of sleep! Take that college days!

Last night, Q had one of his rare bad nights and ended up in our bed around 5 a.m. only to whine, and toss and turn and chew on my shirt, and smear his snot all over my pillow until 7 a.m.! It really made me appreciate that, in general, he is a really good sleeper. However, all those super awake-on-4-hours-of-sleep powers that I gained during those first few months pretty much disappeared after he started to sleep through the night.

So, since we're on the topic of sleeping, I'm hoping to get better pictures of Q's crib soon so I can post those. Made with love by his Papa! Here is a sneak peek:

Enticing, isn't it?
-c.

Yearly Portaits of the Grandkids

I totally forgot that I never posted about this! Most likely because it happened during the worst drought of blogging that we've had yet. Slowly, things from that period are coming back to me that I wanted to post about but never got to.

Around Thanksgiving of last year my family decided that we wanted to start taking yearly photos of all the Grandkids. We figured Thanksgiving is really the most reliable time to take the portraits since we are all together. My brother, Tom, was the one who had the idea of taking the portraits and how they should be shot (he also handled the color correcting of the pictures.) Between my brother and I we tag teamed taking the photos and making sure the lighting was sufficient. With the help of sisters and husbands and grandparents we were able to wrangle this gang long enough to get decent shots.

I think they turned out really beautiful (though I am bias) and really show the personality of each kid. Falcon with his boyish, yet silly attitude (top row, far right). Arwen with a bruise on her chin (middle row, far left). Q looking like a deer in headlights with a cut on his nose. This year we'll be adding another portrait of my sister's new baby, Sofie, who was born in April.

Hooray for growing!

-c.

Dirty Vintage Furniture: Finish Stripping

This weekend we finally completed the next step in Project Clean-Up-This-Old-China-Cabinet. In the first phase, we cleaned all the grime only to realize that the top would need to be stripped because the grime had pretty much damaged the finish. Phase 2 consisted of Citri-Strip, which looked like this while it worked its magic:

Followed by removal of the loosened old varnish with plastic scraper and lots of this nastiness:

Disgusting! So after that, we let it hang out for a bit, then the next day we gave it a cleaning with Mineral Spirits, a little sanding with extra fine sandpaper, another wipe, then a couple coats of Teak Oil. Voila! A long ways away from this mess.

Andrew decided that it needs a coat of shellac because as beautiful as the teak finish is, it isn't as shiny as the rest of the piece so it doesn't quite match. I trust his judgement. So! One to Phase 3! Hopefully, Phase 4 will be the phase where I fill it with all my junk!

-c.

How to Love the Internet: Creative Inspiration

The title of this post really says it all. You can find (almost) anything on the internet, especially creative inspiration. If you ever feel like you need a boost of awesomeness, check out these sites:

Designspiration

Creative Journal

Some of my favorites of the day:

Miss Marple lamp, by Elisa Strozyk

Sweat the Small Stuff poster by Alonza Felix

I could post a ton more photos, but I'm lazy and also, you really should check out the sites for yourself.  You could really get lost in there! Which is not a bad thing.

-c.

Q: First Birthday Movie

Ok, this is the last video I'll post for a little while, I swear! I posted about Q's First Birthday a little while ago and it's overall success. The only thing I regret is that I didn't take more video. This video might be a bit dull to a lot of you since there isn't too much going on other than mood shots of the decorations and Q eating his cupcake in hyper speed! I had to get all artsy-fartsy with this one because of the lack of footage. Ah well, they can't all be winners!

Enjoy (hopefully)!



Music: "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence & the Machine

-c

Q Movies: Christmas 2010

I'm movie making crazy! Just try to stop me. I was feeling inspired and decided to go ahead and make a Q's Christmas video AND a Q's First Birthday video. I'm only going to post the Christmas video today since I need something to post about tomorrow (ha!) so I'll save the Birthday video for then. See how I keep you coming back for more? Bwuahahaha... sorry. I'm tired.

So, in the meantime, enjoy!



Music: "Ghost" by Gregory and the Hawk

-c.

Dirty Vintage Furniture

You may remember my post about my early Mother's Day mid-century modern china cabinet present? That was a really confusing sentence. But come on people, it was just last week. Anyway.

This thing is beautiful but very dirty. I'm sure it's just an accumlation of years of dust that has congealed into a nasty black grime. But part of me thinks it could be that someone never learned to wash their hands after handling crude oil OR Andrew's hypothesis: A smoker with a china cabinet next to their stove where they fried fish all day. Whichever way you swing it, this thing has some serious build up issues.

Murphy's Oil Soap to the rescue! Thanks to Morgan's post on Refreshing Vintage Wood, we had an idea of how to start dealing with this mess. As you can see from the before and after pictures, we got a lot of the nastiness off but next step is the strip the top of the old finish. Everywhere else on the piece is fine, but the top could use a sand and a finish with some Danish Oil.

I can't wait to just GET IT DONE so I can start filling it with all my junk!

-c.

Kids Gift Idea - Box O' Hats

Looking for the perfect gift for the little kids in your life? I think we may have figured it out.

There are lots of nieces and nephews in our family, so this means lots of birthdays and lots of present-giving. Andrew and I try our best to come up with original fun ideas for gifts for the little ones and this idea that Andrew came up with really takes the cake, in my opinion!

Introducing the "Box O' Hats!" This was inspired by our niece Layla, who loves to play dress up, like most kids her age, and who received the Box O' Hats for her 2nd birthday. So, you may be asking, where the heck does one buy such a multitude of crazy hats without breaking the bank? Party stores, my friends, party stores! Our local Party Station carried all the hats (pictured above) we could possibly need for a reasonable price. I think we spent about $25 (though you could potentially spend more or less depending on how many hats you choose and what styles). What's better than pulling hat after hat out of a giant box? Not much!

If anyone goes the Box O' Hats route, I'd love to hear how the little ones liked it. I'm thinking that the novelty of this gift probably wouldn't work on kids much older than 6 years old, but I could be wrong? What do you think? Would an older kid like something like this too?

-c.