Corrugation

Dear sister,

I originally brought up corrugated tin ceiling in the bathroom area and Jamie shot me down with a "People might say it looks like a bar bathroom." Which considering we live in Texas and lots of bar bathrooms have corrugated tin ceilings and walls and stalls and all sorts of other stuff adorned with corrugated metal. I agreed - it's possible.

So I found this:

And it would be lovely. But we're having to hold off because it's going to cost about $120, plus we have to polyurithane them, and buy a brad nailer.

 

 

So, I was showing him my pinterest board for the Master Bedroom Project Redo and he stopped me on the corrugated tin ceiling photo. He seemed less concerned it was going to look like a bar bathroom this time around.

 

What do you think? Can we get away with it?

 



I'm thinking we might be able to get away with it. And if it looks horrible - I could always paint it.

Love -E

Dear Sister,
You should totally do it!  Either you found that website via one of my pins, or great minds think alike because I discovered that site about 3 weeks ago when I was looking for options for making my own washer/dryer pedastal.  I love my front loading washer, but I hate that I have to crouch down so far to empty & load it.  I wasn't willing to dish out the extra $80 to buy a pedastal when I bought the washer, and I found this cute thing on that website that you linked below. 

I'm kind of hoping I'll be able to make it out of mostly reclaimed wood.  I have some old 4x4 pieces from fence repairs that I'm going to see if they are in good shape.  If I can get enough 2x4s out of the pallets I picked up from school, I may be able to get away with just needing to buy plywood and trim.  This is my big project for June.  I'm hoping it only takes me about a week to get it done.  I may get your help for the miter cuts on the trim, though. 

Anyhoo, I don't think you're crazy.  Unless maybe I'm also crazy.  Which is possible.

Love, Heather

Creative in another way

Dear sister,

I might be nuts.

I'm becoming more convinced I must build something. It's not an ark, but it's darn close.

I'm looking at this:

Confirmation - yep, NUTS...

I want to make my own bed.

Here's where it all began. It's amazing. Go there. But be warned, you may want to build an ark.

-E

Loquat Love

So, yesterday at volleyball I got a giant bag of Loquats from Kim. I'm not terribly familiar with the fruits, so I decided to look on the interwebs for some fun recipes. I found a great website at www.loquatworld.com that has recipes, including the following one for loquat wine. I am either going to make jelly or wine with the batch in my fridge. I'll let you know how to it turns out.

Loquat Wine Loquat wine needs to age at least one year. Therefore, it would be best to plan in advance.
INGREDIENTS: 9 pounds whole fresh loquats with pits in place. 7 pounds if pits are removed. (Fresh, ripe picked is best. Wash before using.) 2 gallons boiling water Juice of 1 lemon (Used as an anti-oxidant) 5 pounds sugar 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient, if available 1 package wine yeast, if available 1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme, if available 1 campden tablet, if available

PREPARATION: In a large container such as a 5 or 6 gal heavy duty plastic bucket or an earthenware crock, mash the loquats. Cover with boiling water, add lemon juice, and quickly stir for about two minutes. Cover with a clean linen cloth. Let rest in a cool, dark place, stirring daily for one week. You can also blend in 1 package wine yeast and 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient, if available. After one week, strain the mixture through a double-layer of cheesecloth into a large, clean bowl, discarding loquat pulp and pits if any. Combine loquat liquid with the sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. You can also add pectic enzyme and crushed campden tablet, if available. Pour into cleaned container such a plastic bucket or crock and let stand another week, stirring daily. After the second week, pour the loquat liquid into 1-gallon glass wine bottles or similar container and cork loosely. Use fermentation locks instead of corks, if you have them. Let rest in a cool, dark place for 3 months. When wine is clear and no longer fermenting (bubbling), pour into individual bottles, cork, and age at least 1 year before drinking this delicious loquat wine. Will yield approximately 2-1/2 gallons or 40 servings.

Decorating Fun

My Dear Sister,
I'm super glad you had a good trip to New Orleans!! It looks like lots of fun stuff!

You've already seen this stuff, but I wanted to brag on our craftiness!

As you know, I did some redecorating at the house and put up your pinterest inspired Christmas present to me!

The hearts have my favorite places centered in the heart cut-out. I wanted to make the photos above and below the heart locations match where the photo was taken, but I was overruled as too OCD. I used a pinterest inspired tool to hang this arrangement because it was harder than it looks. I am here to tell you the best ever tool for haning pictures is this:

Details on how to use it are at this blog (which is also where this photo is from): http://mmscrapshoppe.blogspot.com/2011/07/picture-frame-hanging-tip.html

Go and hang in happiness!

I also hung this section with the same tool.

In addition to all this, I went to Hobby Lobby and had a custom cut matte made for the piece of artwork we picked up the last time we went to ArtWalk in Alpine. It came out pretty good if I say so myself. A piece of art, matte, and frame for roughly $70. Not too bad!

The art was done by a student at SulRoss. The frame was from Garden Ridge - Jamie picked it out. The matte from Hobby Lobby.

Next I get to frame this:

Oohh and you should check out the Painting with a Twist website...they have cool paintings to choose from and the next time I go, you're going with me! It was super fun...even though you don't really drink wine. Still fun.

I hope you had a good week off since it was Spring Break for you! Have a great weekend!
-E

Fun Stuff and Things

Greetings Dear Sister,

I haven't talked to you in a few days and I haven't posted here in ages. Time for a new post!

Noah and I went to New Orleans last weekend with a couple friends and had an amazing time. I need to drag you out there - you'd love it. We stayed here:

Its a historic house that has served as a hotel for quite some time. It's known for its elaborate cast iron fence, the possibility of ghosts and the past famous guests it has housed like the Clintons, Elvis & possibly Jean LaFitte (though I think that last one is questionable). The quirky hotel manager told us all about the ghosts, the guests and some snippets about the hotel's history. Now, I love historical buildings a LOT, but that's not what made me like this hotel. It is on Royal which is only a block off Bourbon but much quieter. It has a modern bathroom in every room, which, though tiny, was clean and very nice. The manager was incredibly attentive and kind. And it has on site parking (see the tiny driveway) which is somewhat rare in the French Quarter. This place was our home base for the weekend.

We ate these things:

And we ate some wonderful pieces of cake/pie from this adorable bakery:

We also heard some AMAZING music, walked around looking at the beautiful buildings and popping into interesting shops as well as browsing in the open air market. Basically, a good time was had by all. Its on my list of places to go to again (even though this was my 5th trip).

The same, but different..

Dear Heather,

I always love hearing peoples stories about mom because they are so very different from mine. Same, but different. I try to keep that in mind on December 7th.

I've gone through some different rituals in honor of her death, some good, some bad. If you don't want to focus on the sadness, then don't. Do something in her honor that isn't sad and adds to the ways you are like or unlike her because even in the ways we are unlike her, we are more like her than we ever could be.

I used to be sad and depressed throughout the entire December season. Chirstmas was a reminder of the presents bought, wrapped, marked with her handwritten tags, and opened without her. The worse Christmas... EVER. I isolated myself this is the period of time where Christmas' involved you pulling my hungover self from bed to join the family from everyone and I realized many years later it was unproducive and an unhealthy way to mourn.

So, I tried to rush through December 7th, wearing a piece of her jewelry, mourning in secrecy, hoping no one would mention the date and call me out on it. This was the time it frustrated me the most that everyone mourned her on the very day I wanted to hurry up and get through. I couldn't understand why it seemed they were still on the first method of mourning - depressed and sad - because I had moved past that. But then, if the day went by and no one remembered, I found myself sobbing in bed because I convinced myself everyone had forgotten. The seesaw of this ritual was hard to handle.

So now, I'm embracing the day. It is my day to celebrate her. A day to do something she would like to do or something that makes me feel better - even if that's skipping the gym to go home and knit. That's what it ended up being this year ;).

December 7th is really no more of a reminder that she is gone than any other day of the year because I think of her often - anytime someone mentions going shopping with their mom, or talking on the phone, or hanging out, or going to dinner, all the day-to-day activities that people take for granted as I get older this is becoming a daily occurance. I've never had that type of relationship with anyone. My life doesn't revolve around her death or the particular day she died, but does very much revolve around her absence - it affects every facet of my life - friendships, social situations, relationships, holidays, financial decisions, professionsal situations, my family interactions, all of it. Yes, it is sad, tragic, horrible, unbearable at times, but I wouldn't be who I am today if things aren't as they are now. I am very lucky to have you and other fantastic people in my life who see beyond the neurotic behavior as I navigate through life and love me anyway. I just looked up neurotic to make sure it meant what I thought it meant...it does...and thinking through all the events of my life, I could've totally been diagnosed with neurosis in my younger days!

We all mourn her because we loved her. I find it to be beautiful - that all these years later, people who's lives have continued were so touched by her essence, they stop and are saddened by her absence. The stories of the ways she touched other people's lives read like a 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' book. I think everyone who has one of those 'Chicken Soup' stories is feeling the same as we are - happy to have had the opportunity to bask.

I love you.

-Em