French Onion Soup

Nothing is better than a hot bowl of homemade French Onion Soup on a chilly/wet day. Speaking of F.O.S., could you believe the best F.O.S. I've ever had was in Paris (specifically at the base of Montmartre)? Preposterousness I know. It was so great I took a photo. 

Furthermore look at the fabulous floor of this cafe! 

Beautiful 

Priorities 

I hope the chilly days ahead force you

into the kitchen, until then

bon appetit mes amis! 

Why I Cut My Hair

A year ago while walking the Susan G. Komen my dear friend Jenn told me and another friend she had a lump. A few days later, October 20th 2009 to be precise, Jenn was diagnosed with breast cancer. This is her story and an amazing testament to 

her faith in our Lord.

 http://jennsstory.wordpress.com/

I beg every gal out there to take breast cancer seriously, as you never know which healthy 

35 year old it will strike next. Please get your checkups. 

Love you Jenn! 

October 31st, 2009

*Update*
Jenn passed away on October 16th, 4 days shy of her one year anniversary. Please keep her family and friends in your prayers. 

Welcome Autumn!

Dallas summers are brutal on this Yankee. 

This year it seems as if Autumn was in a hurry- the heat broke mid September and we've had chilly evenings since! It was also the first year to not be all sweaty at the State Fair of Texas which comes as a relief to me and the surrounding folks I'm sure!

 Anyway- I'm looking forward to carving pumpkins soon, Shakespeare in the Park, concerts and lots of business with classes this fall. Loving my new classmates and new found time at home to work/study with Fiona. Life is good. 

I've yet to top this masterpiece from 2008. 

Mason Goes to Heaven

Our orange cat Mason passed away unexpectedly Sunday morning. Last Tuesday I was told he had cancer and that he had a few weeks or months to live. Doctors never know. Needless to say it was quick and the most terrible thing I've ever seen. 

He had such a personality and will be sorely missed. He really acted more like a dog than cat anyway- loved to eat meat, greeted strangers and always came when called. 

Love you Mason!

May 05, 2005- September 19, 2010

.

Mason and his brother Rube always played and napped together.

Quick Baby Gift

Whipped this up tonight for a quick baby gift- 

Lilac and Ivory Tutu 

See link for instructions, tulle on sale at Hobby Lobby this week! 

My Office/Guest Room Before & After

This was my office before:

 Peeled the grass cloth off the wall... Primed, textured and painted the walls

 Removed wood from closet, doors and added crown molding all around... 

And After:

 $10 bed (garage sale) $30 rug (Lowes) 

 My favorite: a card catalog from my mother in law! It stores lots of odds and ends. 

 New & Improved Closet, light fixture and paint color! 

Before/After Living & Dining Room

A girl can only handle so much wood paneling. 

before

after

 this floor slays me

A discussion of my sculptures is in the works... stay tuned!

Fiona, 2009

before

 after

 Yes that wood was glued to my wall...

Floor Be Gone!

I hate this floor. 

A lot. It looks dirty at all times. (I might miss this in the future who knows). I foresee this floor vanishing before my very eyes in the near future. 

Options I'm toying with are:

• wood/engineered wood floors- worried about water and animals marring the surface. 
• stained concrete- indestructible but hard to do (well) yourself. Also hard on the knees/feet when cooking.
• large tiles- I like this idea because I know how to lay tile (well) and if one were to break you chip it out and replace. very appealing. the pretty stuff costs $$ however.

Anyone have any other ideas/suggestions? This floor runs throughout the kitchen, laundry room, pantry, 

dining room/bar/office and will continue into the tv room.  

Yes my precious perfect puppy, Fiona, stole that loaf of bread off the table. Jerk.

Sneak Peek

This wall was peach once. And sad. Now it functions as an accent wall with a fun homemade 

Ikea stretched fabric hanging. Believe it.

The Before's

This is the state of our house when we bought it. We've been working on it since 2007. Yes everything was covered in wood paneling and peach. Turns out that wood paneling was covering up cracks in sheet rock, which is a sign of foundation shifting. I often yell Roger's (previous 'handyman'- never left the 80's owner) name out loud. It's unbelievable what this man has achieved. Not in a good way. 

Since the peach paneled 80's house we've since redone the walls in this half of the house. I'll take matching photos so you can see.