a list about moving and stuff

1. you find yourself clinging to the oddest of things. i keep trying to pack shelves to take with us to the new place. in case you were wondering if i've lost my mind, we are moving, but putting 90% of what we own in storage. we get 5% each to take with us. i keep wanting to take shelves of all things (and blankets). i have a couple of little shelves that i use to hold keys or my glasses next to the bed etc. they give me an odd sense of comfort, i guess. to always have a place for my keys and glasses? as for the blankets. i know not. it just seems practical to always have a blanket, i guess. i do sound kind of insane, never mind.

2. it is oddly exhilarating to only have the absolute basics to work with on a daily basis. as in plates, silverware, glasses, etc. i've been striving for a vacation home feeling (a la Scaling Down) for several years but my strange compulsion for eccentric items that border on practical prevented such a reality. except for now, i guess.

3. nothing has brought me more comfort these days more than my container garden. that, and the mr. of course. he's pretty amazing at the comforting thing. lucked out there. but, trying to figure out how to transport 10 pots of varying sizes on a rather long road trip and keeping them alive. i was considering rigging interior vehicular window boxes, but dangit my little plants are doing so great, i fear they are getting too big. it's not a bad problem to have, i just need to do some brainstorming.

4. when asked what movies he would like to take with him with our 90% storage plan, the mr. simply said: none. i, on the other hand, took Practical Magic, the entire 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls, both seasons of Flight of the Conchords, and wavered on taking The Blues Brothers as well, seeing as it's one of my all-time favourite movies, but it's on Netflix Instant (i think) so i stored it. what does that say about me, i wonder? two of the four are comforting, female-bonding movies based around a really awesome cozy house. the other two are male-centric music-based comedies. strange, no?

5. the mr. and i have been a tad sentimental about leaving our very first official home together. we named it the nest and have enjoyed our first 10 months of living together here. here, in our haunted little duplex, with our slightly silly bachelor neighbour who kept us up a few nights playing rock band and creating an indoor mini-golf course in his living room. the little patch of moss and shady trees behind our house that i spent many a morning with the buddy and moonlit night enjoying the atmosphere. the gargantuan squirrels who've grown fat on our trashy neighbour's mcdonald's litter. they are so big when they run on the roof, they sound like a goblin or a small child running freakishly fast. our neighbourhood busybody (we call her mrs. kravitz) who will suck you into terrifying never-ending conversations about the nere-do-well tenants of the neighbourhood (whether they haven't lived there in 9 or 10 years doesn't really concern her). i will miss having a window in the bathroom and my epic baths with a water-warped book and early morning light. hmmm. our little home. i'm excited for the new chapter in our lives (hopefully new jobs), but i will miss this little place. indeed.

more to come, friends.

cheers!

~lu

this week

heavens! my computer still won't post anything, i can't even comment on people's blogs! it's so frustrating and i have no idea what the deal is. once again i've hijacked the mr.'s computer so i can't catch up a little. it's been so long since i've been able to write anything, i've forgotten everything i wanted to share. but this is basically what is going on this week:

the house is in utter disarray, but we only have two major pieces of furniture to move before it's just boxes and miscellany. the problem? a very small storage unit. hopefully it will all fit!

i had planned on writing much more about what's going on, but that's really it. it's just boxes and packing and packing boxes and packing tape and finding more things to pack.

i think that's the most the word "pack" has been used in a sentence ever.

more to come, i swear. i'll hijack the computer again when the mr. is sleeping or something.

adieu for now!

~lu

mando madness

on the top of the list for the cutest thing i've seen all week. mando picker.

cheers y'all!

~lu

tom

i was at this very show. watching just this minute or so of footage sent me straight back to how magical that show was. tom puts on a show, lemme tell you; and if i could have any musical wish tonight, it would be that i could attend another concert of his tomorrow.

cheers, kiddos. more packing to do!

~lu

body flex

i'm terribly frightened by this woman, but terribly fascinated by her at the same time. so much so that i made the mistake of watching more of her videos (including a few tooty parodies) and got sucked into a strange world of chemically-damaged hair, skin-tight leotards, and extremely unflattering facial exercises.

enjoy, friends.

cheers!

~lu

finally another update!

for some bizarre reason, my blogspot will not publish my posts from my laptop right now, so i have sneaked on to the mister's mac (because they NEVER FAIL) and am doing a quick update. here's what's up this week!

1. the mister is on his way to mississippi for a day trip to get some things out of the storage unit and pay off his car loan (thankfully the mr. miati sold the other day).

2. i spent the past three hours walking around tallahassee nurseries and walking home (it's not that far, but it was a really good walk...i needed it). the weather is so beautiful and i wandered around examining triton maple, juncus (little twisty spiral grass of some sort), herbs herbs herbs (i procured sweet marjoram and provence lavender for my herb garden project), succulents (i am oddly fascinated by them), yarrow, begonias, geraniums, blueberry bushes, and bromeliads.

3. little buddy has been having a heck of a time with being an itchy boy. poor little critter. florida from april-september just does not agree with him. he's getting a bath today and lots of TLC from mama.

4. i've been in a major movie-watching mood. we recently finished youth in revolt and one of my favourites, eagle vs. shark (a wonderfully quirky and beautifully filmed new zealand romantic comedy...if you can call it that). i've written about it before, but i had to watch it again (and again and again) this week. youth in revolt was great too. michael cera's turn as a french, chain-smoking anarchist of sorts was terribly entertaining. i could watch an entire film of just that minor character, francois dillinger.

5. right now i'm trying to contrive a mobile container garden for our road trip. this is going to be an interesting experiment indeed. a fantastic challenge for a novice gardener.

that is all for now, really. we have a lot more packing to do. i'm going to try to get a bit done while the mister is en route. but it's such a gorgeous day...i just want to take a nap in the cool green grass instead! there has to be some middle ground somewhere.

hope you enjoyed that gorgeous full moon last night, friends. it's peaceful blue tractor beam was illuminated the whole neighbourhood last night. lovely!

adieu for now,

lu

pointy boots

the cultural anthropologist in me is rather fascinated by this trend. it's a blend of utter modern excessiveness and ancient showmanship. try to make it through the whole thing. i bet lady gag will be wearing this in a matter of weeks. at least, i hope so.

cheers!

~lu

new!

good morning, friends! it's a fantastically stormy day outside. my favourite kind of weather. thunder and constant rain. delight! i woke up so happy to hear the tapping of it on the rooftop. here's the newest list for the catch-up:

1. i went to see my chosen twin (aka super wonderful, amazing friend of mine) in a theatre production of Curtains. he was great! i laughed and as per usual got chills every time a perfect harmony was hit. what a fabulous experience!

2. one thing i love about me and the mister...we own a tremendous amount of books. and even though i asked him to get rid of some at the yard sale (which he did, and i got rid of my own as well), we still have 5-6 boxes ranging in size from little for paperbacks and huge for hardbacks of them being packed away. it's a really nice disease to have, especially on a rainy day like today.

3. it seems like it rained a lot more when i was a kid. does it seem that way to you? it's been a sadly dry year here.

4. 16 days until we no longer live at the nest. it makes me a little sad and sentimental. our nest is so cozy and happy. it's our escape from the world. i am going to miss our first house together. but, i'm really excited about our summer and how we will make that place our sanctuary too.

5. i have had an ungodly craving for vegetarian raviolis lately. why? i know not. but i cannot get enough! too bad for that craving too, because i'm cooking everything out of our pantry and refrigerator. nathan had to eat a 10-egg omelet the other day before the eggs went bad. heh.

6. the mister got so excited about packing up the house the other night that he packed up our bath mat. i find that so unbelievably funny.

7. enjoy your saturdays, friends. enjoy the rain, if you are getting it. it makes the plants and trees so happy!

adieu,

lu

here's what's up:from 5/11/11-5/13/11

i wrote an earlier post (four actually). the first didn't post for some reason, the second...well, mid-text it decided to disappear. as you can tell, neither me nor my computer are 100% with it today. but here's the update list for today:

1. we made it back safely from mississippi late in the day tuesday. we had a great time but my bed never felt quite as cozy as it did last night after 5 hours on the road.

2. the mister and i both woke up under the weather from the trip on wednesday. bummer!

3. chinese food is an awesome remedy for just about everything (see #2).

4. awesome post by Not That Kind of Girl, a delightfully intelligent blog, i have grown to love. read it, appreciate it, do something about it.

5. i not only finished #10/29 of my reading list but am now happily ensconced (a phrase i happily overuse) in #11/29. that's a 34% success rate thus far (at least in my book-reading project).

6. the official house-packing began wednesday night. we have been skulking around outside grocery stores for two weeks now grabbing any cardboard boxes we can find.

7. i have also, ahem, been shredding all unnecessary papers and using them as packing filler until we get the boxes back out of storage, then i'm using all the shreds to make my paper! i feel a little clever, and A LOT dorky for doing this.

8. the rug work is on hiatus for a week or so. there is still so much work to do on it, but my fabric scraps, admittedly have taken over the living room and have been driving me bonkers. i'm finding them everywhere! even in a glass of water one night. sheesh.

9. i want to try this. has anyone used clip-in bangs before? i told the mister about this idea and he looked at me like i was completely insane. but i want to try it. the jessica simpson ones in particular.

10. i swiped mr.'s computer this morning because for some bizarre reason, my laptop won't post blogspot entries. yeah, i know. strange.

stay tuned friends. i'm going to get to the bottom of this.

cheers,

lu

early morning update

okay, so the last book i read was so good, i finished it after four days. (two of meh reading a little here and there, and two days of "i can't put this down!"). so book 9 of 29 is done. i am actually quite on schedule and moving on to #10! i may not have any books left to read over the summer!

~lu

yatta

and because this is one of the silliest things i've ever seen, i must share. if you can, make it through the whole thing. i just think it's a test of strength and commitment to childish laughter that i feel many may be needing these days.

adieu,

lu

ha ha mandolin banditos

as most of you know, i'm obsessed with npr. for all the obvious reasons, of course, but also because of the "song of the day" feature. i have found more of my favourite singer/songwriters, rediscovered a few i had let slip through the cracks, and been exposed to music i may not have noticed otherwise.

now, i may be a snob about band names. i accept that i am, rather; but this band ha ha tonka, has something interesting nonetheless, and i am enjoying getting to know their music. i hope that you do too.

cheers!

~lu

tres de mayo

1. i know i said i would post pictures of the book i made this weekend, but i didn't. weird, long, fun weekend. i will eventually.

2. 28 days until the exodus and i need boxes and bubblewrap.

3. i dreamed last night that i was analyzing an ancient indian text (fiction i think) that was orange and pink and covered in mirrors and spangles...and written in my mother's handwriting. the first line read Hahahahahaha, and i wrote in my analyzation that upon first reflection, it was an optimistic text. hmm.

4. poor buddy has fleas. poor husband is allergic to flea bites. here comes the summer, once again. sheesh.

5. i don't think the rag rug will be finished until i turn 30. that's okay though.

6. i now have in my possession books 9-15 of my 29 books. i think that will last me through the summer. i hope so!

7. i received the shampoo bar i ordered, and my scrubbies. both of which (oddly) smell amazing. i expected the shampoo bar to smell wonderful (rosemary), but the handmade face scrubbies? incredible and soft and smelling very nice!

8. i keep looking around the house imagining what i want to take with me on this move (mr. n and i are getting a rubbermaid bin each of stuff to bring with us this summer). it really makes you think about what you can and cannot live without. it also brings to mind a certain reflection after the storms in tuscaloosa, the tsunami in japan, and all of the flash tragedies of the spring thus far: what would you save (if you had to or could) in an emergency?

9. fish sticks are not healthy food. why have i been craving them at least twice a week for the past month? why??!! before that craving, i hadn't had fish sticks in close to 7 years!

10. tomorrow will mark that one year ago, mr. n came to tallahassee to meet me in person for the first time. i took him to a really delicious indian restaurant in town. i remember he stared at me a lot during dinner; and i was feeling a little self-conscious because he has these piercing blue eyes. little blue laser beams shooting across the table at me. he was bashful and ordered every thing i ordered, almost exactly. it was the best date i had ever been on and it only took me four weeks after that before i realized i couldn't live without him another day. aw!

cheers!

adieu for now,

lu

english things and check marks on a list

boy there is a lot going on today. royal wedding was lovely. made me want to have a gin drink ever so much.

well, if that wasn't enough english in your friday, i finally finished the keith richards autobiography. 547 pages, 3 weeks. such an enjoyable read! it even drew a tear at the end! who knew keith was such a funny fellow? not i! i want to hang out with him now.

as for the 29 things list, i'm counting that book as two. it was just such a honkin' long book, and i make the rules anyway. so numbers 7 and 8 out of 29 are complete! that's pretty good progress if you ask me!

i also knocked out making a handmade book from my 29 things list. i will post pictures this weekend. and if that weren't enough, i also completed my meditation for 30 days straight and am currently happily ensconced around day 35 of pleasant, peaceful daily meditation.

last but not least, i have also purchased my shampoo alternative (interesting stuff, i know!) and will be trying that out in a week or so. i'm going to knock this list out if it kills me.

cheers friends! have some fish and chips today!!

~lu

a little thursday dose of awesome

possibly the cutest thing ever? it's a whole mess of adorable and i think my brain may explode if i watch it again.

~lu

babble on + keef + a pillow pup

it has been a long day. a fun, somehow productive, but long day.

i had a terribly fun morning/afternoon feng shui-ing at miss c's house. her apartment is in an old bungalow in a lovely older neighbourhood in town. i ate a delicious lunch consisting of the absolutely best deviled eggs i've ever had (curried!), and gingerbread muffins (for the love of! sooooo delicious!) amongst many other amazing things and a bowl of strawberries. we had a mini-dance party and channeled some chi.

well, bad storms are knocking my friends and family around up in tennessee and near birmingham, alabama. positive energies their way, please. i know it seems out of the blue, but dangerous storms that concern our family and friends kinda spring up that way sometimes.

anyway, mad men season 4 has just begun in the old dvd player, seven is atop a pillow looking like little lord falteroy. mr. n is pacing around the house, chatting with our dear friend, conductor ben. i am examining the rag rug and wondering how on earth i can work on it an entire hour and still not be able to notice a difference.

i also marvel at how an entire evening could sweep by so quickly and yet take such a long time. well, time to retire and read more of the keef bio. it's an odd and interesting world that man dwells in.

more tomorrow!

adieu for now,

lu

a little ditty

and a great find by NPR, as per usual. hard times. it has such a great 60's nashville + california + mephis vibe about it. right on, brooklyn, NY.

cheers!

~lu

a tuesday list

1. i woke up with a wes cunningham song stuck in my head. this isn't it, but it will be stuck in my head by the time this post is finished.

2. the rug is still taking forever.

3. so is the keith richards biography. but it is so worth it. it's 547 entertaining pages of awesomeness.

4. just ordered these for myself as a nice little post yard sale treat. i have wanted to try them for nearly a year.

5. we are getting really excited about our summer in the dakotas. the new scenery, the wide open space, the target practice.

happy tuesday, friends!

adieu,

~lu

p.s.

also, a lady bought my hula-hoop off of me at the yard sale for $0.75 (why is the cents symbol missing from the keyboard?). i feel like i've lost a limb. must procure a new hula-hoop!

~lu

selling shtuff

oh thank goodness. the yard sale is over. the surplus has been divvied and donated. we did well. it went by quickly. the mister consumed far too much coffee (maybe a little beer too) and i wheeled and dealed and had a blast. we are done. the sun is warm now. the mist has burned off. we are (give or take) 250-330 lbs lighter. it's a good day.

cheers!

adieu,

lu

some pretty voices

i just love patty griffin.

enjoy, friends. cheers!

~lu

rifling

there's nothing like going through old photos (cleaning out as a part of my 29 things project) and realizing just how much you have blocked out over the past 10-15 years. depression, fashion (ouch), hairstyles, adventures (misadventures), boys, old friends, long lost and dearly missed souls. i just spent about two hours doing so. it mostly made me cry, that is to be expected. but it also felt tremendously good to throw away about 50% of this little stash of history. it makes me think of what my kids (if i have kids) will piece together of my youth by looking through it all one day. i used to look through my mom's old pictures a lot when i was a kid. i saw her farrah-flip hairstyle days, the uber-sunbathing, the preppy button-down shirt tied in a knot at her tiny waist and her penny-loafers. i loved seeing all of that. it was all little pieces of her. bright blue eyes and bouncy hair. it makes me smile to think about.

but what would my kids see? will they see my long hippie hair and hemp necklaces? my yellow-lens sunglasses (helloooo 1990's)? my gangly 110 lb frame? my big (really big) awkward (really really awkward) smile and my obsession with baggy boys' bowling shirts (again, hellloooo 1990's)?

i hope they don't see the sadness, i hope they see something that i missed rifling through it all. i hope they look at me the way i look at my mother in her photographs. happy and hopeful.

~lu

raggamuffin part 4

what i have learned from this ongoing task i have taken upon myself:

1. don't begin your first rag rug with a 3x5. a 2x3 is probably far more rewarding in that immediate gratification way.

2. also, just start on one side and work your way over. i didn't do that, clearly and now things are getting hairy.

3. any fabric scraps with spandex in them, or jersey works the best. plain ole cotton, denim, or corduroy are a pain in the butt.

here's day 12 (the buddy was helping).

day 13
adieu for now!

~lu

raggamuffin part 3

and here are the rest of the photos i have thus far. today will be day 12 (i think) but here are days 8-11.

day 8

day 9

day 10

day 11

it's actually starting to feel like a rug when you walk on it, instead of some sort of odd foot massaging mat of knots.

cheers!

~lu

weeding

on an unrelated note, i am and have been quite the productive lady today. lots of much needed cleaning, last-minute yard sale additions (being cleaned and tagged shortly), a lot of day-dreaming about our future plans, some twisted nerves over a few friend situations. it's been a while since i have had the twisty nerves over something like that. i have a threshold, you know? i take a lotta hits from people, i give a lot of chances. i don't really indicate that you are nearing your final chance until you do. then, i do what i'm doing today. i sit and i ponder. i think of cost vs. benefit. i make pro/con lists. i honestly take into account where i need work as a friend. mistakes i've made with this person etc. i meditate. i listen to my gut. then i cut ties. i've only had to do this maybe four times in my life. only twice, did the breakaway have to wind up with a long drawn out conversation about it. the others fell away naturally. one actually was fantastically mutual. cleaning house before a move is like this experience. it can be really emotional. do we need this? i have another one just like this and it's never broken. these hurt my feet every time i wear them. this always reminds me of bad times. that thing is too heavy to keep hauling around. this i have to keep, it's perfect and always brings a smile to my face. i don't think i could go a day without having this around. every time i wear that i think of that time we...{insert time of awesomeness and hilarity here}. you see? getting ready for a big change has you thinking about a lot of things. the life you want. what you are willing to lug around and what makes every journey easier and more fun. that's kinda the thing i'm dealing with today.

i have a literal handful of friends who lift me up unlike anything else. who leave tulips on my doorstep on a random friday night, just because they care. or call you on the drive home from work, even though they are exhausted, just to get an update on how you are doing. i have friends who send me dirty jokes they know i'll love via text, just because they know we will be laughing together (though 900 miles apart). those are the folks who you keep around. there is no need for pro/con lists when it comes to them.

i think i accidentally just figured out what to do about my situation. thanks for listening, interwebs.

adieu for now,

lu

raggamuffin part 2

so the rag rug continues. this project has been going on for 3 weeks and though i haven't worked on it every day for three weeks (otherwise it would be done by now), this 3x5 project of mine is about 3/4 of the way complete. so here are the progression photos beginning where we left off...18 days ago.

day 4

day 5

day 6 (it's starts getting harder to tell which is which, but i will try my best).

day 7 ( i think)

sadly, i have about five more photos to post before we are up-to-speed. thank you for hanging in. just looking at these has made me tired.

more to come, perhaps even of substance!

adieu,

lu

monday butter bath

good evening friends. 'tis monday night. the boys are bickering on the carpet. i ate pizza in the bathtub. which, although it sounds oh-so appetizing, is pretty much the nastiest thing i may have done in a long time.

alas, this weekend was a strange one. despite being completely incapacitated saturday and spending a fun but mostly strange afternoon at a pool party on sunday; i somehow managed to wake up this morning with a pleasant and peaceful smile on my face.

i woke up inspired to achieve a bit more balance in my life. the bathtub pizza incident aside, i surely am inspired and motivated to eat more thoughtfully (really!), continue my meditations, and all-around fulfill the little goal sprouts i woke up with this morning. stay tuned for more on that, and i will try really hard not to leave you with any gnarly imaginings of underwater junk food consumption. ew.

~lu

(don't forget the full moon tonight!)

more happy fun times stuff

the voice that is in my head almost always. enjoy!

~lu

everybody needs a little sanctuary

pretty cool. though very different, seer farms and the cat house on the kings do something i would like to do. give animals a loving home whether it's temporary until their parents can afford to take care of them again, or to give them a sanctuary far away from a pound so that someone may find them and give them a new home. i'm not particularly a cat person, but the end result is the same. animals being cared for. i just love it! i hope you do too.

~lu

sunday

allo friends! 'tis sunday and i figured since i'm 100% better today than i was yesterday, i'd tip my hat to you and then share a silly video inspired by one of my favourite video games ever, Space Invaders. happy sunday, enjoy!

~lu

thunder and bugs

after all that. we had to cancel the yard sale today due to inclement weather. it ended up being a good thing though, for i got some sort of bug about an hour after we got home from bringing the yard sale stuff in at mom's house. sheesh.

~lu

links of love

a list to preoccupy you until this preoccupied blogger is finished with the yard sale.

1. my favourite smurf figurine when i was a kid was the one holding a beer stein. why that was a kid's toy i don't know. but i loved it and played with all 30 i had in the tub.

2. i often dream about what i would wear to awards shows if i were a famous filmmaker or musician. this dress (actually shirt & maxi skirt) is up there.

3. i have been in a stevie nicks mood lately, which happens once every six or seven years. but the wind is right, you know? i love this song (ignore the kinda cheesy opening from practical magic, a favourite movie of mine- but i can't stand when there is random talking before or during a song).

4. i'm also in the mood for hoots and hellmouth. makes me want to break out my bright yellow hula hoop (a treat for the yard salers tomorrow) and dance barefoot (though there is nothing unusual about either of those things with me, really).

5. my pop has a cool online radio station, east nashville radio (i'm on a music kick, can you tell? it's the only way to clear my mind while i'm clearing out my house). have a listen, if you dig my regular contributions of sound, than you'll dig it.

cheers beloveds!

~lu

boxes and bins and bright little round price stickers

we are still in moving sale prep. i would say waist-deep but we are in deeper than that. it has been a tremendously daunting super-fun task. progress is so inspirational! but because of my freakish focus, my bloggykins has fallen to the wayside a bit. so has my rug-making. not completely. i work on it 30 minutes a day, but for heaven's sake the giant knot-yacht still isn't finished. it's a half-assed complaint. i love every second of it.

well, because i haven't uploaded or posted any images of all the things i've been doing, rest assured i am a bee. that's right a busy bee; but as i have been rifling through 29 years of accumulation, wiping away tears when i see something wonderfully "grandma" or "mama" or "bestie" or just "lulu"; or reading about some of the things i went through as a kid in my journals and realizing i was some kind of resilient (and perhaps some of that bitterness i carried around had been rightfully earned after all- though i'm stoked most of it has dissipated). plus, i keep finding all kinds of neato stuff i had forgotten about, like a cameo ring, and a righteous turqouise ring, bangle bracelets, parchment resume paper (score!), a jumbo bag of rubber bands...

okay yes, i do realize i sound like a hoarder, but office supplies are something i feel it's sort of okay to have a lot of. you never know when you will need a new resume or a rubber band. seriously!

anyway, the point is, i've been having a fun time going through it all and rather mercilessly sifting through it, it's also been a bit of a harrowing, emotional venture. tears and smiles, memories and more tears. sigh. it's all for the greater good though, and in 112 hours (and counting), the end result will be in sight. i'm really really looking forward to that.

adieu for now, friends. more to come, i swear. i know i keep saying that, but i mostly mean pictures and stuff. heh.

cheers!

~lu

la vie

i know everyone already knows who they are and know all their covers...but i just love this.

happy friday friends!!!

~lu

the parenthetical haps

heavens i've been a busy lady. lots of productivity in the ole nest. we are still preparing for our moving sale which is far more all-encompassing than i predicted (and i predicted an insane amount of work). the rug is going great (more photos to come), the pantry is stocked with enough cheap groceries to get us through the week (i got a little tired of going to the grocery store every day even with my very bizarre love of grocery shopping). i'm moving on to the 7th of 29 books for my 29th year. the house looks great, the art paper is faring tremendously well (though not selling as much as i would prefer). the pup has been behaving (except for the corn cob he ate while i wasn't looking last night), so has my hair (which is just so magnificent i cannot express), we had a blasting thunderboomer move in through town last night (the downed trees the only evidence i could tell of it this morning) which caused me to sleep unbelievably well (i'm a storm lover). now i'm getting ready to pull out my olivetti and type away on my creative-writing project. more to come kiddos (with pictures!).

adieu for now,

lu

raggamuffin

happy friday kiddos aand happy april first as well! it's a wonderfully chilly first day o' the month here and mr. n and i woke up in ridiculously silly moods. part of that is due to the fact that mr. n fell asleep singing the friday song (much to my chagrin) so of course we woke up singing it this morning and began laughing hysterically at our parodies of it the entire commute to the shop. i have to admit though, i am relieved that i woke up singing something other than "what is wrong with the world today" which i had stuck in my head every morning for about two weeks. good grief. now it's back.

i digress.

i'm currently on day 4 of the rag rug project and now have some pictures to share with you!

day 1, there are probably 50 pieces on it and it took me forever to get that far!

day 2: i'm quite happy with the progress, though i could seriously use a pedicure.

day 3: we stayed up pretty late after a wonderful family dinner and watched always sunny in philadelphia while mr. n tested my new art paper and i added about 25 new pieces. i'm rather tickled with how it's looking but i needs some deeper colours to fill it in. if you begin hearing of dark t-shirts mysteriously disappearing from people's closets in northwest florida...well... it was me.

more to come, friends! happy almost weekend!!

adieu for now,

lu

lulu the lunar loon

good grief this week has gone by quickly. so has this month. just one quick spring breeze. well, we have been inundated with clouds this week in northwest florida. it's lovely. the green pre-storm skies are oddly soothing. perhaps i was a storm chaser in another life.

this week i have been working on my rag rug project. it has been so fun and tiring and is coming along wonderfully. i will have some pictures to post this weekend. i'm about 1/3 of the way through (after twelve hours of work). silly me, i decided my first rug project would be a 3x5. sheesh.

on all other fronts, things seem calm. i haven't been able to sleep terribly well, i think it's because of the cloud coverage and the lunar phases. i'm terribly susceptible to lunar phases and the new moon isn't until this weekend.

i sound like a loon. appropriate, no? ah well, stay tuned for something a tad more interesting (and photographic).

adieu for now,

lu

monday updateymans

good day to you friends! 'tis monday. i'm sleepy. it's dark and overcast out today, my favourite weather (if it were only 20 degrees cooler, it'd be the perfect weather). i want to stay inside and create and nap and watch movies and eat comfort food. you know, snugged-in things.

well, we had a good weekend. we didn't do too much. i checked a few things off of the ole 29 things list. we watched easy rider and curb your enthusiasm. we drank tremendous amounts of coffee. i watched a lady get hit by a duck. yes, a duck. i almost got hit by one two days before that.

spring is a dangerous time of year. oh, but i digress. here is the updates on my 29 project.

1. i haven't made any clothing yet, but i've been researching patterns and am getting ready to start! i'm really excited about it.

2. the same goes for my pillow project.

3. i designed some furniture ideas several weeks ago, but have since gotten sidetracked by an idea for a dollhouse i kinda want to make.

4. i haven't learned how to make gyoza & sauce yet, but i've contemplating ordering them from the chinese place around the corner several times.

5. i haven't mastered any yoga moves yet, but i'm a step closer than i was before because i have since begun stretching regularly which has does wonders and has me motivated to work on that item on my list.

6. i have not made a handmade book yet, but i have the supplies now! i'm once again a step closer than i was before. it seems like i haven't done anything on my list but i have been making baby steps, i swear!

7. i have been researching little felt creatures and i'm super-excited to get into it again. i need to get a new felting needle and found a really cute one on etsy, that i think i may get for myself.

8. i began brainstorming song ideas i may want to try. as for the melody, i know not. i'm horrible with melodies.

9. i was thisclose to making something out of sculpey last night but for some reason i put it back at the store and decided against it. i'm not really sure why, i guess my motivation dissipated.

10. i have been researching clothing choices to invest in. it's really fun and slightly depressing.

11. i cannot fathom which trend i will try. nothing seems to inspire me.

12. i have begun condensing my belongings. it feels good. a big yard sale is around the corner for this very reason!

13. i haven't canned a darn thing.

14. i have begun composting! yessss!

15. i have been keeping a journal almost every single day. yesssss!

16. i have begun a vegetable garden, but have yet to begin an herb garden. that's so like me to do the harder things first.

17. i have been very inspired to make a rag rug this weekend. i think i may just begin it this afternoon! yay!

18. getting ready for the shampoo alternative. i think april may be the month!

19. i completed the 5th book out of 29 i'm trying to read this year. i am several pages in to #6. go me!

20. i haven't learned how to cook fish 3 ways yet, but i found a roasted tilapia recipe i am really looking forward to trying.

21. of course i haven't painted a still-life yet.

22. i have found the wiglet i want and am saving up to buy it. that is such a weird sentence.

23. i have been meditating every day for 19 days, then i skipped a day and made myself start over at #1 on saturday. darn it. still successful though!

24. i haven't started learning french or relearning spanish but i have been reading some french and spanish periodicals trying to acclimate (and reacclimate) myself to the languages.

25. i have yet to refinish the dresser and mirror, but oddly enough my mom mentioned it last night at family dinner, so i may just try to persuade her to spend an afternoon helping me do so before we move.

26. i haven't learned to play any instruments yet, but have been desperately missing the drums, so papa may just loan me his old drum machine from the 80's (that i LOVE), so i can play with it all summer long.

27. i have been writing every day and am having a tremendously good time with it.

28. i have not sheared (shorn?) a sheep, but i did spend almost two hours with shears...shearing seven. like a pound and a half of fur, i'm not kidding. it sounds silly and after talking with my friend miss taylor about how sheep often get a little bit cut and bloody after such an even (and i almost passed out); i am really considering seven's lightening a successful sheep shearing equivalent.

29. i was supposed to make cheese with miss taylor this weekend but i totally flaked. that one is completely on me. oh well, i am going to do it for sure!

and that is all for now, friends.

~lu

i want this airstream trailer.

~lu

(kudos once again to yes and yes for supplying me with countless hours of fun reads)

'shrooms

fun with fungi.

~lu

great feature! thank you blueribbonmom!

at the libry. or library as the well-read would say.

~lu

the positivity bar

good afternoon, kiddos! 'tis friday and i have been a rather productive and busy little bee. well, in regard to everything but cleaning the nest. good grief, this place is a wreck. i kinda like that though. proof that there is indeed a happy life within these walls.

right now i am taking a brief break from my productivity to send a friendly "happy friday!" message out to y'all. the pup is tuckered out and fast asleep on the couch. his ears are spread out like...i don't know. something adorable and soft and fuzzy that flaps out on either side of a little sweet noggin.

ahem.

i hope y'all are all enjoying this beautiful (breezy & cool) friday and that you have as much positivity in your realm as you can handle. you do set the bar, for how much good stuff you can handle, remember that.

adieu for now friends!

~lu

gettin' crafty

cigar boxes make a great base for shadowboxes, art pieces, and well...cigar box guitars (or ukeleles in this case). check out the Orleans Apothecary here to see the kajillions of cigar boxes available for your every creative whim!

~lu

shades of a spring morning

it is a beautiful spring day. i'm inspired and motivated and feeling all creative and stuff. so, clearly the first thing to do about that was to make a spring-inspired treasury on etsy, right? right. check it out here, lovelies.

cheers!

~lu

rabbits, hypotheses, and lunar influences

what a bizarro whirlwind! i haven't been quite right in the head since the giant full moon on saturday. a little scattered, smothered and covered. the house is surprisingly neat considering i haven't felt much of an inclination to keep it that way. i've been active while somehow being completely inactive at the same time. i no get it.

oh well, it is a gorgeous day. i am making another to-do list (yes, i have a list every single day...even for basic things like making sure i remember to take a shower. you'd think i have short-term amnesia or something).

i have the slightest tingle of motivation for making more paper and i have have have to update the shop. i've not paid it much mind in about a week. it makes me feel gross that i've neglected it (and the blogs...sheeesh).

ugh. that ridiculous panic you would get when your teacher mentions the science fair is week away and you know you haven't even written a hypothesis yet. that's how it feels. heh. regression is fun, isn't it?

i reckon i will take all of my contradicting feelings and inklings and get some work done.

adieu for now, friends. hope you could follow that rabbit trail.

~lu

simple days

good afternoon friends!

it's a lovely day here in northwest florida. i have my binoculars out trying to see into the future (the fall) and where we will be and what we will be doing to make a living (no bloody clue). i'm also trying not to panic, so perhaps i will set down these bi-nox and focus on the present.

it's a sunshiney day. the pup is being behaved. in a few hours, the mister will be home and we will be starting out weekend. i'm hoping for a lot of outdoors activities and delicious food. hopefully some funny movies. it's not that fascinating today folks, i'm just craving a little simple joy. calm, and happiness, you know. more to come, perhaps of interest even!

~lu

lady greenfeet

pig in boots pig in boots pig in green boots boots boots!!!

happy st. patrick's day y'all!

~lu

*p.s. i really really really still want a micro-pig. cheers!

things today

1. it is absolutely gorgeous in north florida today. i am full of inspiration for our epic exodus in 78 days, but am making sure i appreciate every little thing about this area before we leave. can't take anything for granted, you know. one of the places i want to go most today? the green on miccosoukee road. the drive alone is an exercise in stress-relief.

2. i'm in a middle ground between terribly excited and motivated to work on the shop and make more paper, and wanting to go to the bookstore and wander around like a zombie drinking coffee.

3. i want these.

4. i want to live in here. (happy one year anniversary, lonny!)

5. my choice for summer fitness. me wants baaaad!

6. paired with those headphones with the bug antennae.

7. now i want to watch my girl 2 because it took place in california in the summer of 1974.

cheers, lovelies!

~lu

adurable.

dancing bears!

ballet

oh dear. it's just too cute.

~lu

turn the radio up

and on an unrelated and completely NOT SERIOUS note. i wish this were a real show on public television. i would have it on all the time while i clean the house.

enjoy your sunday friends!

~lu

-e-uioa

support support! it's good to have history, y'know. y'learn stuff.

~lu

i want to see this

~lu

paper pulp and wine

it is a gorgeous day. i finished the pieces last night after 7.5 hours of work spread out from 8:45 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. i was so tired and covered in paper pulp by the end of the night that i had to take a terribly long shower (poor me!).

well, i'm more than thrilled at having that assignment done, i'm going to do a few more ironings to get them perfect then mail them off.

i got hardly anything else done last night except making a delicious vegetarian meatloaf (with bacon on top. the irony was not lost on me, but damn did it taste goooooooooooooood). i half-assed pretty much everything from my journal entry to my exercise. today is make up day. it is cold and sunny and i will be meeting my lovely lady friend at the lake in one hour for our weekly chat/walk fest. though it is terribly challenging to chat while walking as fast as we do.

well, the week hath flown by. we had a successful couple of sales (thank goodness), we have eaten well, done pretty well with our money, and enjoyed some truly delicious wine. i'd chalk it up as a success. cheers for the weekend, darlings!

~lu

swoosh! blur!

well, i'm terribly excited. i have seven hours of paper-making ahead of me. that's right! a sale!!! three to be exact and of course, i wasn't expecting it at all and have been doling out all of my spare pages left and right for people to test and give me feedback on. bugger! it's the best kind of rush though!! i'm so happy that someone is interested in our paper! i'm gonna head into the art room now and get to gettin'!

more to come!

adieu,

lu

my colours are blush & bashful

my newest batch of pink art paper. i think it's pretty and fun and a tye-dye-y speckled step into spring!

shoes

completely inappropriate for work. so delightfully canadian.

~lu

bonjour mardi gras!

happy mardi gras, lovelies! i love new orleans. always have (our shop name reflects that, methinks). it is a wondrously spooky, southern, historic, well-fed place. i know that mardi gras isn't n'awlins specific, but my love of this holiday stems from my love for this city (note: i do not love crowds and being in new orleans during this holiday happens to make me break out into hives). regardless, i love the energy. most people who aren't from the southeast don't realize that mardi gras is celebrate all along the coastline of the former french territory reach spreading through mississippi, alabama, and even into north florida (though not as much as the rest).

i give up something for lent every year, though it isn't lent-specific either. i just like testing myself and why not kick of a test with a big ole party?! boy, do they have it right!

all of this is to say, i love this day. feast before fasting. gumbo, hurricanes, raucous laughter and my favourite in the world: king cake. i usually get one for my birthday. for some reason, that hasn't happened this year. sad. but it's okay. i've accumulated about thirty king cake recipes (cream cheese filled with sugar sprinkles instead of frosting is my favourite); but i doubt i'll ever make them. instead i purchase straight from nola and have them shipped. i save the little porcelain figures i get in each cake i've had. so i have a shelf of witches, skeletons holding umbrellas, and nameless saints (who share the shelf space with my growing collection of righteous day of the dead figures).

*sigh* it all just makes me terribly happy. i hope y'all take a second and do something festive ala mardi gras today. eat something incredible (jambalaya anyone??!), drink something with rum or bourbon in it (heh), dance to some zydeco, wear beads (but keep your top on...you don't have to of course, but you may want to save the bail money for when you really need it), don a crown, get a fleur de lis tattooed on your hiney i don't care! just have some fun!

so much love,

lu

far out

serena was always my favourite.

~lu

a window seat, a cat, and 15,000 books

one day i will have a bookstore. or perhaps a floor-to-ceiling library with a rolling ladder. i love books. old books. long lost tales. the smell of old paper and ink. i particularly collect antique books with handwriting in them. i like feeling a connection to the people or person who owned and loved it before me. the mister and i are in the midst of reducing our belongings. this, unfortunately, means that even my vast collection of antique books are fair game. today i added four new books to Orleans Apothecary. only one does not include handwriting (though it has some fabulous cooking stains...i just love that!). it also happens to be the youngest book in my collection, a mere sprig of a book at 50 years old. so, if you have a moment, check out some of the beautes happily haunting the shelves of Orleans Apothecary.

adieu for now, friends!

~lu

a cabin of rad

so me and the husband say "that's our new band name!" or "that's what our diner would be called!" or "that's a great name for a shop!" about twenty times a day. everything from our imaginary indie band, the swiss children to our work-in-progress dream diner the ampersandwich to what has become the mr.'s new blog (inspired by our brick & mortar dream shop...one of these days, pleasepleaseplease) Rad Cabin. he loved the name so much he made a blog for it. it's his little baby now and he spends hours updating it and finding cool things to share with the world for it. thought, i'd let y'all know. it's one of those blogs you can get lost in at work (and we could all use a little bit more of that, amiright?).

adieu for now,

lu

sloths and kitchen accoutrements

good afternoon friends! let me tell you a little story about being lazy. well, i guess i just did. i have been ungodly lazy the past day and a half. i have not journaled, read, exercised, meditated (blogged). i did shower and go to the bookstore, that's about as exciting as my activities have gotten. sheesh. so imagine my delight at waking up with the motivation to photograph, upload, and post to the shop. thank goodness, because it was looking blah to me and new stuff is always exciting. aaaand it makes me feel better for being a complete slouch all weekend. it's the little things, right?

that item up there? oh that's just one of my favourite vintage finds added to the orleans apothecary shelves. it's a retro, shabby-chic kitchen necessity dispenser. sounds like a lofty title, but it's a handy little bugger and i'm tickled to share it wif y'all.

here's to lazy weekends, folks.

cheers!

adieu for now,

lu

drunk middle-aged baby

amazingness. looks like my friend ivy's baby girl piper aaaaand it's awesome. check out the video on A CUP OF JO, a great blog where i found this video. later!

~lu

p.s.

oh and a side note after the longish post preceding this one, we have opened a shop-only blog. we thought it may be good to split up the kind of things posted on our style/inspiration shop blog since we have long since veered away from the shop on it. now Orleans Apothecary can be found in three places.

1. the shop itself.

2. the real shop blog updates and information. pictures, snippets, press, ideas, etc!

3. the inspiration/style blog under our shop name. it's more of a glimpse into our minds and imaginations which can be a rather amusing ride sometimes.

the two blogs are different, with rare over-lap. i hope y'all check it all out. you don't have to follow 'em all, but i hope you follow one!

adieu for now, friends!

~lu

there she goes again

good morning march! i love the beginnings of months. it's like a little new years all over again. last month i gave up one of my favourite indulgences, beer. i do this once in a while to make sure i haven't let myself get too carried away with something (i have a tendency to dive headlong into things, even beverages). a few years ago i took a month off of refined sugar. that was actually much harder than the beer thing. sugar is EVERYWHERE. i often have meatless months. that's not difficult at all really if you look at it with an optimist's lens. "i get to eat all seasonal fruits & veggies this month woo hoo!" instead of "i can't have a dog et al turkey corn dog with mustard and ketchup and their homemade chips. awww!". it's all in how you view it.

anyway, all of this is to say: here are my 29 things in my 29th year updates!

1. i haven't made a piece of furniture yet, but i've gone through several designs. i'm going to pick one and attempt to build it in a month or so. money is a little bit too tight to head to the hardware store for essentials.

2. i began the pages for the book i am going to make, but i haven't been happy enough with them so i am making more attempts this week!

3. i have done no work in making an article of clothing other than researching patterns that i think i could handle.

4. i have been researching the quality investment piece i am going to procure this year. it's between a black shift dress or a cotton all-rounder kinda dress that i can layer with in spring and fall.

5. i haven't learned how to cook fish three ways

6. or... make gyoza yet but i'm inspired. just waiting for my bank account to catch up to my brainstorming.

7. i have not decided which trend i will try this year, but i'm leaning toward a fringed hippie shawl or a romper. i know they were more trendy last year but i still want to try.

8. i have been keeping a journal every day. it still isn't anything interesting, but i have been documenting my dreams more which is always a wild ride.

9. i have been writing creatively every day (and if i have missed a day, i have made it up with more writing). yay me!

10. i did research on making my own cheese. i'm excited about it!

11. i am on my 4th of 29 books. not bad for three weeks!

12. i haven't worked on felting...

13. ...or sculpting but i'm inspired to and will get my new needle and sclupey as soon as i get a few extra clams (seeing a theme, yet?).

14. i have researched the wiglet i want to buy. i am waiting for money and my wig-buyin' sister to join me in the exploit.

15. i haven't committed to a solid month of meditating but i have only missed about four or five days since i began my 29 things list, so i have already developed a darn good habit. just gotta keep it up.

16. i haven't written my song or melody...

17. ...nor have i begun learning a new instrument. i have, however, been inspired to do both. lots of knee-slap percussion going on at the nest these days. hoping to procure a hand drum before too long.

18. i have been trying to consolidate my belongings. today alone i have posted four new things to craigslist that i'm hoping to sell.

19. i have yet to can any vegetables or grow an herb garden but...

20. i have successfully germinated wheatgrass and bell pepper seeds. i'm terribly excited about the experience. i want to grow more things!

21. i have not begun composting. no excuse other than laziness.

22. same for making a rag rug.

23. and the shampoo alternative project.

24. and painting a still life. in fact, i forgot about that one completely. woopsie!

25. i have been thinking more about relearning spanish and learning french. i spent a few minutes yesterday reading in spanish to a kid i was helping my mom babysit. it was fun and has me all excited to attempt this rather monumental undertaking.

26. sheep shearing...well, that's this month. i need to get in touch with my lady friend who can help me get that accomplished.

27. i haven't gone anywhere near refinishing my dresser and mirror. i'm totally intimidated by that project, but it does need to get done.

28. i haven't made a throw pillow. kinda wishing i hadn't put that on the list, but our pillows are pathetic and i know i will love it when i have it.

29. i have been exercising regularly which feels good. lots of laps around the pond and playing frisbee with the husband. alas, no yoga yet. i will get there. oh yes, i will get there and master those moves!

more to come!

adieu for now,

lu

cash

sheesh. budget crisis. i couldn't figure out for the life of me that with my careful budgeting, we were soo terribly scrapped by the end of this month. like wowsy wowserman scrapped.

then i remembered. a couple of weeks ago i had withdrawn 15 days worth of grocery money and had it in my pocket to stow away at the house later that evening. then, somehow, i lost it. send some positive money energy our way! this is silly and unfortunate.

more to come.

adieu,

lu

bride & broom

as many of you have discovered upon reading my rather scattered exploits, i have widespread interests and inklings (some would even go so far as to say schizophrenic).

one thing i love (besides old-fashioned counting machines, architect's chairs and boltable table pencil sharpeners) are really good brooms. it sounds silly, i know, but try living with an under-achieving broom and tell me how you feel. nothing is quite so marvelously good as a quality sweeping accoutrement.

there are a kajillion broom makers on my favourite online market, etsy. but i found broomchick the other day and just fell in love with some of the brooms she has, so i thought i'd share it with y'all!

enjoy this gorgeous day!

adieu,

lu

an artist's dozen

i have finally gotten enough paper made that i can post the bundles on the shop! i'm totally cabbage-patching for my productivity right now. makes it hard to type. heh. anyway, i wanted to share my pretty paper with y'all because well...i'm tickled and i'm a little proud.

so, the paper is being sold by the bundle. our orleans apothecary artist's dozen and half-dozen (14 and 7 pages, respectively). we have discovered, quite by accident that the thicker pieces (pictured above) are awesome for watercolors, acrylics, paint markers, and ink as well as for arts & crafts and stationery.

so friends, please check out the shop, here and tell your friends!

adieu for now,

lu

snappy

a snappy little ditty found courtesy of yes and yes.

adieu for now,

lu

single white feline

warning: it's a teeny bit naughty (not too bad), in case you have youngins around and/or are at work.

heh. bad kitteh. i love the bbc!

more to come!

adieu,

lu

she's around the corner

spring, that is. i was so tickled by the gorgeous weather today that after spending several hours outside, i came in and made a treasury on etsy celebrating it! bloom room. check it out!

~lu

good news & plums

there isn't really that much new going on with me personally this week. not yet anyway (it is only tuesday after all). i'm working on the shop a lot, trying to keep those wheels a-spinnin' and needing to make more paper. i have a feeling i will be spending the afternoon covered in paper pulp. not a bad way to spend it though, i must say.

on an unrelated note, the new optimist almanac project is a very rewarding one. it is also a little bit exhausting. do you know how hard one has to look to find ANY GOOD NEWS in the world?! it's almost like they print the bad stuff on purpose. like good things aren't newsworthy or something. *le sigh* there are a few other sites devoted to good news and i'll be reading ours and theirs until my news-gathering panic attack subsides.

heh. i digress.

the weather is beautiful. the sunshine is perfectly warm and welcoming. a giant cup of tea and a fresh plum are calling me and i have creative things to do. yay!

enjoy this beautiful day, friends!

~lu

new to you!

new items up at the shop!

barbary bo -a story of the barbary pirates. by reginald wright kauffman, 1929. pirates!!!

the short stories of james. t. farrell, 1943.

vintage bread box...groovy, no?

adieu for now!

~lu

good news

we have a new project!

so, i have mentioned before our shop, and shop blog: Orleans Apothecary. well, for a while now mr. n and i have discussed (sort of in jest) the concept of the Good News Daily. an idea stemming from a snippet of a favourite television show about creating a newspaper that only prints good news.

well, we needed to keep our positivity in check this weekend. we searched for the Good News Daily, thinking that we could start a blog with that name. alas, it was taken (and didn't do the trick) when we went a-lookin' for it the other day.

long story short, we decided to make our own online newspaper that's called: Optimist Almanac. it opened yesterday and if anyone wants a daily dose of good news, heartwarming stories and all-around positivity, then check it out. we'd love to see you.

have a beautiful day!

adieu for now,

lu

gratefuls

1. our seventh sale on Orleans Apothecary.

2. the hubbins. he makes me laugh all the time. it's rad.

3. always sunny in philadelphia.

4. the lovely warm but still cool pre-spring weather we've been having lately.

5. my really pretty wedding china. it's by simon pearce. we have the cavendish and corinth mixed together. i smile every time i use it.

6. my lil pup, seven. he's a cute little button.

7. gorgeous, peaceful sundays. perfection.

more to come!

adieu,

lu

and a little somefin from o.a.

and in case you haven't checked it out in a while, friends. the shop is looking really cute. we finally have up some of mr. n's artwork on my handmade paper too. yay! have a peek, if you so desire: Orleans Apothecary.

sunshine through my window

the sunlight through my bedroom window, tuesday morning. isn't it just lovely? so bright. you can't really tell from the picture but it had lit up the whole room in a really warm pinkish light (from the bark cloth window panels).

anyway, it's another gorgeous almost spring day in tallahoohoo; and though i love a good rainy day, i am enjoying all of the sunshine. i hope it doesn't last too too long though because the drought is getting a little ridiculous.

i hope today is lovely for you friends, and that you have a beautiful weekend as well!

more to come!

~lu

project update

so far from my list of 29 things to do while i am 29, this is what hath been accomplished:

1. i've read two books and i'm on to the third. that's right. two books in a week. i'm proud of myself too.

2. i've been meditating every night, though i fell asleep mid-meditation one night this week.

3. i've been writing every day in my journal. no real witty insights or clever prose. i have a bit of a mental block in journal keeping. workin' on that.

4. i picked up a few supplies for the rag rug makin'. i thought it might be fun to make a rag basket too.

5. i have been creatively writing every day for a minimum of 7 minutes. i usually write a little longer than that because i'm enjoying it so much. that is a nice change. i have fallen in love with the little world i have been creating and keep diving further and further into it.

that's all i've gotten so far. i'm working on getting paper made for the handmade book but i keep making paper for art projects instead. heh. oh well!

more to come. adieu for now!

~lu

boring stuff and sunshine

i'm on a productive kick, thank goodness. i somehow managed to make twelve pieces of paper last night (have the sore shoulder to prove it). that takes care of two of the bundles we will be delivering to our first two artists for a shop project we are working on (yay!).

today i'm plowing through my to-do list at a respectable clip. i've been "at work" at the ole home office for 50 minutes and have already made advances in some of my more daunting tasks.

the rest of the morning will be devoted to the more physical tasks on my list. this is all very interesting to you all, i am sure. yawn.

but despite all of the rambling on of not-so-interesting life details, i do want to take a second to talk about the sun. that's right, the sun. the big swirling pretty tangerine in the sky. lately it has been a focal point for me (as has the moon, interestingly enough. but that's another post). all of mr. n's artwork have featured little swirling suns (they always do actually but, i've been noticing it more since we added them to the shop). the sunlight has been peeping in through my windows more lately. i reckon because of the changing of the seasons and all...but it sort of took me by surprise this week. it's usually pitch-black when we leave to take mr. n to work in the mornings. today it was a periwinkle blue dawn. lovely.

last night we took a stroll around a nearby "lake" as the sun was setting and it was just magnificent. today my office is striped in sunlight pouring in from the vertical blinds. yes, we have vertical blinds and yes, i am aware we do not live in the 1970's.

my tulips are blooming, my wheatgrass is tall, my clementine seeds are germinating and i'm feeling good.

nothing beats seasonal affective disorder like a little mid-february sunshine. it's just a beautiful, priceless thing.

adieu for now,

lu

Orleans Apothecary original paper & artwork!

new original artwork up at the shop. Rain Dance.

~lu

morning person

another beautiful february morning. i enjoy my mornings so very much. i work on our online shop, my journal, my creative writing, the blogs, my plants and germinating seeds, and my important reading. it is a time all my own. by the time the afternoon rolls around i am focusing on looking for a job, paper-making for the shop, and the upcoming artists project we are doing. as well as cleaning our magically messy house and preparing for dinner. but mornings... sigh. mornings are so lovely. so peaceful. bright and happy.

adieu for now,

lu

dakota summer

new treasury on etsy. theme: north dakota in the summer.

~lu

lurve!

it's my favourite holiday. i love valentine's day!! it's never been about the romances for me. it was my mother's original due date (thanks to a freak full moon that set everyone in nashville into labour early, i came ahead of schedule by five days).

as long as i can remember, valentine's day has always been about love in general for me. for my friends, my family. this year i have a husband. which adds a cool new spin on my special day.

when i was a little girl i would get flowers from my dads and mom. plus a chocolatey treat.

i get whackadoodle excited about tulips and heart-shapes and chocolates and red & pink. it's just such a happy day to me.

what is better than a day dedicated to love? it's like thanksgiving in the sense that it's just so awesome to spend a whole day celebrating positive emotions. a whole day of thanks?! a whole day of love?! nice little reminders in what can be a deeply introspective time of year.

anyway, i'm excited to have my first married valentine's day. but the old valentine's traditions of yore (meaning the 28 years before this year) will be here happily as well. surprise valentine's for beloved friends. early morning "i love you's!" sent to phones across the nation. flowers for mom and dad.

and now a new tradition. well, i don't know if it's a tradition per se, but me and the mr. are making something amazing for valentine's day dinner. i'm stoked.

love to you all, friends! take a second to recognize all the love in your life. it's there. from a sweet pup that thinks you are the end-all be-all, to the friend that always seems to give you a ring on the telly right when you seem to need it.

feel the love!

adieu for now,

lu