Portabellopixie

Piles of Memories

I'm in a sentimental mood today. As I've scurried around the house this morning.. (does that make me sound like a rodent?) As I've bustled around the house this morning..  I've taken a lot of notice of the happenings around our home.

What makes a home?  Is it the loved ones that share the walls with you?  The colors you painstakingly pick out to paint those walls?  The pillows you lovingly create for your family to lounge against?  The meals your family has come to call favorites after you have lovingly tested recipe after recipe?  The bookshelf that holds your children's favorite bedtime stories?

For me, it's a little bit of all of them.  Certainly just having my family with me is enough.  But there is an appeal to homemaking.  It is an art.  In our times, it is being undermined with the term "housewife."  Take joy in the fact that you (even if you work outside the home and regardless of being male, female, mom or dad) are the maker of your home.  The MAKER of your HOME.  What a greater calling could there possibly be?

Perhaps I am sentimental today because I am packing for a little jaunt to Portland with Dustin this weekend.  We leave tonight and will enjoy three days in the town we have become enamored with.  This little trip is to check out a home that I have fallen in online love with.  We're viewing this house (and a few others) tomorrow morning.  We have been planning a move to Oregon for the last few years, and the time is nearing us.  We'll decide this weekend if that move will take place THIS summer or next.  

When we walked into our current home (actually - pulled into the driveway.  OK, actually I knew when I saw the address) I just knew it was going to be our home.  I got a warm feeling and could see us living here and making memories.  Anytime something big in my life comes up, if it is meant to be, this is what happens for me.  And then everything just falls into place.  So we'll see what happens this weekend.

I know that we will make our home in a new place eventually.  But for now I am soaking in the feelings I have for our current home.  There isn't a corner in the place that I haven't touched with love or that is saturated with memories.  I hope you feel the same way about your current home.  Even if it isn't your dream home, or anywhere near it.  Take pride in the space you call your own.  Create loving memories.  

I asked my mom the other day - "when do you know it's right to move beyond what you are living with to making a jump to the dream?"  She replied "You should always be working toward your dream.  Just make sure that before you jump into it, that the timing is right."  Wise beyond her years.

A few of my corners..captured as they were found-no styling.

My pear wall in the kitchen..

My lovely piano..

Our couch, with strew pillows from lounging last night watching Bones..

Some well loved bits of fabric in front of a painting I bought in San Diego that hangs in our living room.

Eliza latest art project and a smattering of her things.

The perfume I wore on my wedding day in front of the perfume Dustin bought me for my birthday.

My favorite vase, which I found for .50 cents at the thrift store.  Salt and Pepper grinders from Anthropologie.  Tablecloth from Target by Orla Kiely.

Now there are a few packing piles calling my name..

I hope you all have a happy, safe weekend!

xo

sandi

No time to come up with a cute title...

Because I know you guys are dying to see pictures from Disneyland and because my kiddos aren't here and all I can do is stare at pictures of them - here we both go.

The kiddos are at Grandma's, but coming back today!  I've had a weekend of nonstop book writing, pattern editing, strike off finger tapping (aka waiting for them) and dates with Dustin.  (Star Trek is really good!)

He was so so proud of that shark on his cheek!  And it took all we had to convince Eliza to go for something other than a dinosaur.  Something I feel a little guilty about now-if she wants a dino on her cheek, who am I to stop her?  But I just wanted those sparkly unicorns!  I suppose I should have just let her get the dinosaur and gotten the unicorn on MY face but I'll recycle that lesson the next time we are at a face painting station.

That area up there is my favorite part of Disneyland.  New Orleans meets Indiana Jones meet Pirates of the Carribean meets the Mississippi River.  Love it!

OK-I've got one more day of major alone time and need to make the most of it...  Be back soon!

Sandi

Candy on my Doorstep

Today when I came home, there was a big fat box sitting on the doorstep.  There's nothing like a big fat box sitting on your doorstep to get the blood pumping.  Especially when you glance at it and see the word "Moda" on the return label.  Oh goody gumdrops!

Thank you, dear Moda for the scrumptious offering you sent me.  I have spent the last 2 hours stacking, folding and planning how these lovelies will be put to use.  (In my book.)

I'm all set for a long weekend of book sewing and project photography and I can't wait!  It's been a while since I've really had the chance to sit down with my machines and get covered in thread.  

The sweet peeps at Free Spirit sent me an equally lovely box and I thank them, thank them too.

Kokka?  Alexander Henry?  Liberty?  Anyone else feel like sending me a nice fat stack to play with?  I won't turn it down and promise to give any fabrics a good, loving home with 3 square meals a day.

Thank you.

I'll take some of this one too...  (market reporting continues..)

Joel & Patty

Continuing the video coverage of quilt market!

I was so excited when I was standing around the Michael Miller booth to turn around and see Joel walking up!  I just think that Joel is about the nicest guy out there and so so talented.  His new collection, Deer Valley is his best to date, in my opinion.  I see a lot of it in my future..

Joel is the new designer that has teamed up with Hullabaloo, so you'll be seeing his designs on items similar to my home storage line!

Next up is Patty!

I feel so blessed to be able to work alongside such talented people and to call them my friends.

One funny story for you.  Was chatting with Laura and Heather when I burst into a fit of laughter.  I ripped a big huge SNORT mid laugh which I never do and preceded to burst out even more into a fit of giggles over it.  For the rest of the day, I would think about it at random and lose it to more giggles.  Still, it's making me chuckle.  How many of you snort mid laugh?

Roomies beware, you're next.  ;)

Quilt Market!!

Stay tuned for more!

(Yes, I look like I'm sneezing.  What a fabulous still shot.)

The Art Book

Since Eliza was celebrating her birthday at Disneyland this year, we didn't want to give her much in the way of presents. However, I did want to give her something to open. After thinking it over, I decided to take the huge stack of artwork she has created in the last 5 years and have it bound into a book for her. 

I had her write her name with my Wacom tablet into photoshop (she is always wanting to play with it!) and then created a pretty cover and took it to Kinkos. 15 minutes and $4 later, I had a gift for my little arteest that she loved! 

I included her first set of oil pastels and a fancy new black sketch book since she is forever stealing mine.

This was so easy and now we don't have piles of artwork that I didn't want to throw away, but couldn't figure out what to do with.  I just trimmed the pages to the right size.  If there was something large picture that I wanted to include, I put it on a double page spread like so:

Take a look at this one:

Notice how the sharks are playing tag with the humans.  Hmmm...

I also threw in some of her schoolwork that she has been the most excited about when they arrive home.  

All in all, it had the effect I was going for!  Created less clutter around the house and gave her an inexpensive gift that she will keep forever.  (Or at least I will.)

The Force is Strong with this one...

Happy Star Wars Day! (I didn't even know until people started twittering it, but since it is Star Wars day, I have the perfect post.)

By the way-we're back from Disneyland!!  We came home to grass a foot tall, mail a foot tall and a whopping 1208 emails in my inbox (a new record.)  So we've been tackling the pile, one at a time but it was so great to get away!!

Anywho-back to Star Wars.

I married the biggest (this is no exaggeration my friends) BIGGEST star wars fan EVER.  You know those insane Star Wars trivial pursuit games that have questions like "who is Padme's sister's cousin's brother's home planet?"  He knows those answers.  All of 'em.  His one thing that he didn't want to miss in Disneyland was the Jedi Training academy.

Now the funny thing is, he has completely passed the insanity along to our kids.  They're all nuts for Star Wars.  Ethan wasn't into jumping up and down to be picked out of the huge crown to be a jedi, but Eliza was all for it.  She hopped up on Dustin's shoulders and screamed "I want to be a Jedi!!!".  After the jedi in charge pointed to her and said "would the youngling with the white shirt and the excited parental unit please report for training" there was much rejoicing in the land of Henderson.

It was really quite cute-they teach them how to maneuver a light saber and a few moves.  

I think the only thing Dustin was disappointed in was that he didn't get to go up himself.  He was in charge of the camera and Flip Video and we have as many pictures of Darth Vadar, Darth Maul and Jedi Eliza as we do the rest of the vacation.  I don't know how he did it but he ran the camera and the video recorder at the same time.  Check her out:

Not only did she get to fight Darth Vader, she also got to fight Darth Maul:

I must admit, I was secretly afraid she would either run away screaming or run up and give them hugs.  But she did what she was supposed to and got her Jedi diploma.  :)

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm being beckoned for a movie.  Which one you ask?  Well, I can certainly tell you what series it will come from.  I'm making a vote for Revenge of the Sith myself, but we'll see.