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