The Admiral Spies a Plane Overhead

I've decided I need to limit my "lookit how cute my cat is" pictures to one day a week. Sunday will now, officially be "My-Cat-Is-Cute Day."

Records

I have decided that we need a record player. On Saturdays in the summer, when we don't have a project we're working on, or when we'd just like to get out of the house, we have started going garage-saling. At first I had to beg Eric to take me, but one week, after I had gone to a couple of estate sales by myself and returned with a few old books, he was suddenly less reticent to come. And then, his discovery of a book containing the inner-workings of train machinery (for 50 cents, mind you), caused him to recommend that we add our names to the estate sale email list. But what does this have to do with a record player, you ask? Well, one thing that estate sales have, without fail, are records. They're usually 25 cents, maybe a dollar, but they are always there. Currently, the only music we listen to is She & Him, and that is typically reserved for the short amount of time that I cook. The rest of the time….we listen to the dulcet tones of one another's voices. I think we need more music in our lives. Doesn't an evening sipping Moscow Mules on the back patio, listening to the crackle of the Statler Brothers serenading us from our new turntable, sound grand?

Clockwise from top left: 1. Turntable; 2. Outdoor Planter; 3. String Lights; 4. Outdoor Rocker; 5. The Beach Boys; 6. Throw (for chilly nights); 7. Copper Mug (essential for serving Moscow Mules)

Shower Curtain

Found another shower curtain that Eric would probably like:

It's covered with scout badges.

Lefse

What we did this weekend....

New Favorite Food: Brussels Sprouts

I'm always looking for new, healthy-ish recipes to try for dinner; and, while I like a good steak as much as the next person, I'm definitely a fan of vegetarian meals. Especially if they only require the use of one pot (I hate doing dishes). Unfortunately, my forays into vegetarianism are not always successful. A couple weeks ago I made gnocchi using sweet potatoes, wheat, and chickpea flours that was just disgusting. Last fall I made a quinoa casserole that had to be thrown out. But finally, one of my experiments turned out to be eatable. In fact, Eric even liked it! And he wasn't just saying it to be nice! I give you Brussels Sprouts with White Beans and Pecorino!

Yum! Yum! For Eric, this dish is better as a side (with a big hunk of meat), but I find it to be extremely satisfying (and filling) paired with a hunk of good bread and a glass of wine. Mmmm.

The original recipe is here. And just a note of caution: the second time I made it, I doubled the recipe and ended up adding far too much broth, causing the sprouts to be a bit soggy. Don't do that! Another note, if you make it, be sure to eat the little leaves that fall off the sprouts when you pull them out of the oven. They may look blackened and charred, but they are exquisite! They fairly melted in my mouth!

Danggit, Cat!

I cannot take a picture of ANYTHING without Mister getting in the way!

Shower Curtain Solution

Our bathroom is basically done. The shower works, all the tile is in, the walls are painted....there are just some finishing issues....that will probably never be completed. The area between the top of the shower and the ceiling still needs a little love (and mud), and the two little narrow walls on either side of the tub are far from perfect. Oh, and the molding above the door is whacked. Those things need to be fixed. But it's basically done. And I find myself....un....thrilled? Don't get me wrong, it's nice.....I think the main problems are (1) that you do not do an all white, minimalist bathroom and have flaws. Everything must be square and perfect because the tiniest imperfection will scream out at you and smack you in the face. (2) I am a perfectionist. Really, I'm being super picky. Any normal person would have quit hounding their husband and finished the thing three weeks ago.

I have three choices:
1) Be a normal person and call the thing finished. 
which is obviously not happening
2) Paint the walls
therefore making the bathroom into something other than a minimal, white space
3) Buy a shower curtain
retail-therapy has been known to work wonders

I think I will start with option 3 and work my way up. The fact is, the curtain we have now is a weird, yellow-y white (probably from being balled up in a grocery sack for a year) that looks horrendous with the rest of the bathroom; I was going to have to get one anyway. I'm thinking of ordering this one from West Elm....

Or maybe one of the following....

Because they're similar to (but more affordable than) the one Eric (still) wants...

But most likely, I'll end up going to Target and buying the first one that looks decent. That or World Market.
Then to Home Depot for paint :)

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Eric got me an iPhone. I repeat, ERIC GOT ME AN IPHONE!!!! This is amazing, ladies and gentlemen! AH-MAA-ZIIIING! I was a bit worried that aliens may have come and sucked out his brain (what with the roof, bike, treadmill, and phone purchases), until he reminded me that this means I can no longer go shopping as frequently. Whew! There's my husband! But seriously, this phone is AH-MAA-ZIIING! I'm pretty sure it's more intelligent than I am (though it's totally confused as to the meaning of life, I asked it), and I'm loving all the apps. I am now able to play games with my friends all day at work, take amazing and artsy photos (this thing has an 8mp camera! what?!), and create awesome animated gifs of things like the neighbor dog barking and our cat climbing trees. I'm in love.

Get. In. My. House. NOW.

This rug rocks. I would very much like it to come live with us. Dang shizzle.

Shuttlecocks

"Pssht, I could make that," is a frequent thought for me as I surf the web for cool and interesting wall decor. That is probably why our walls our bare. I have no desire to spend oodles of money on something I can make for much, much less. For example:

This lovely screen printed shuttlecock wall hanging is $90 (plus shipping) online. I could do it for....um...let me see....nothing? I already have the paper, ink, and dowels. I would just need some string!

Michelin Men!

I already showed our completed basement, but I don't think I showed enough photos of the process....

Bahaha! That is a good looking man! He's so tall the XL barely fits...

Check out the cat about to glom onto my arm in 3, 2, 1....

Easter Weekend

This weekend was so much fun! I love not working! :)

Eric and I had Friday off and, since it was sleeting out, we pulled up the carpet in the back bedroom. I love ripping up the carpet in this house. The hardwood is so gorgeous, it's like tearing into a really great present. Another birthday present! 

A.G. really likes when we work on the house. He finds all kinds of new places to play.

Joe arrived just as we were finishing the back room, so we hung out with him before putting him on rock removal duty the following day.

You would not believe how many rocks there on are this side of the house. We didn't even come close to finishing this up; we kept finding roots upon roots of trees that had been hacked down, and more and more layers of rock and weed barrier. All this FINALLY convinced Eric (for reals this time), that this area is a mess and that we need to get rid of everything and start over with grass. FINALLY. It's going to take a while, though.
After we had some lunch, Joe took a nap while Eric and I made our garden!

Eric's version of American Gothic

We really wanted a garden this year, but the soil in the back of our yard is much too rocky and dry for anything to grow. So we built some boxes, stained them, lined them with weed barrier, and filled them with dirt. Voila! A garden! We were really excited when we finished, then realized that we had just completed some really classy cat toilets. We'll have to fence them in somehow. Maybe with the fencing we're removing from the side of the house....?

Front Bedroom

This quilt rocks.

Or maybe something more generic so I can switch it up frequently?

Awwww

Isn't he darling? :)