Love, Lydia - Notes from a geeky, plus sized artist.: home
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Pins!

Hi everyone,

So, I'm geared up to show you some new Pins and give an update on older Pins too.

4. Bryan and I put away all our Christmas decorations and used this method for keeping our light strings untangled.  It bends the flexible plastic hangers, but they're just the cheap ones so it's no big deal.  Not a bad Pin!

5. I'm already thinking about the new house and what moving will involve, so I made of list of things to do at/before moving based on this Pin.

In fact over the past few weeks we've picked out what colors we want to paint the walls (pictured below)!

Plus we've also chosen the cabinets, countertops, carpet, linoleum, sink, backsplash, and tile colors.



6. I tried out this quick little cleaning idea using a dryer sheet to swipe at the floorboards, catching the dust bunnies and supposedly keeping away future dust.  I'll update you all about whether this works.

7. I've been cleaning out my fridge and setting it up along the lines of this Pin to try to make things easier to find.  So I'm grouping items in ways that make more sense and keeps things visible.  Which will hopefully cut down of waste too.  Picture to come!

8. Since I've been doing so well on my 52 book challenge I'll be tackling this themed book challenge as well.  Starting the the Pulitzer Prize winning book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.  So far it's really great, I recommend it to any other comic book fans as it really seems to catch the spirit of the Golden Age comic book era.  It covers some heavy subject matter compared to many books I read, but I'm really enjoying it and keep finding excuses to go off and read a chapter or three instead of whatever I should be doing.



I'm editing the photo challenge together, so expect to see that in the next week or so.  And now it's time for feedback on the month of no shampoo.  Overall it was a pretty good experience.  It took a little getting used to in terms of getting the right amount of baking soda and handling it right, but after the 3rd wash I figured out a routine (for my small hands a palmful works about right, with a bit of water dripped on it to get the consistency just right.)  So, I felt like it was ok for my hair, but not optimal.  My hair tangles a little too easily to do it long term, and the lack of body and so-so shine wasn't helping.  However on the good side of things it made my lavender hair color last twice as long without as much frizz when blow drying!  So in the future I'll be alternating baking soda/vinegar washes with shampoo and conditioner ones.  Here's some shots of how my hair looks with the baking soda washes (taken several weeks apart with little variation in color):



And this is how my hair looks with shampoo and conditioner for reference.  I can tell the difference with frizz, but not shine usually:



Thanks for reading, if you have any great Pins to share let me know!  I'm open to ideas for new projects.  And I'll see you all again soon!

Love,
Lydia

Friday, January 23, 2015

A Bit of Reflection

Hi everyone,

So, I know it hasn't been long, but that's exactly what I was hoping for as I work towards making good habit in writing and life in general.  Here goes.

One of the things on my mind lately has been having kids.  Frankly a lot of my thoughts stemmed from contemplation of a couple posts here on Feathers in Our Nest.  Aliesha talks about how she's having another wonderful baby join her family, but knows that can be hard to hear for some folks, and writes about the loss she has experienced herself.  And it's fantastic to hear more and more bloggers be open about their experiences surrounding having and attempting to conceive children.

I know, a bunch of you out there are probably wondering why after two years a couple like Bryan and I haven't produced progeny yet.  Well, we'd love to.  In fact it's been one of our goals for quite a while, but it just hasn't happened for us so far.  And why is a good question I suppose.  We haven't found much in the way of medical reasons, and after 20 months of trying we're still in the testing phase.  We're not really looking for advice, but it's something that we know people will want to give us if the subject comes up because the natural response is to try to help in any way.  However, we're healthy and blessed to have our needs provided for enough we can support kids if we chose to have them or eventually adopt if it comes to that.

And for now we're buying a house, I'll be starting a garden, continuing to build my business, exploring, creating, and developing all kinds of wonderful things.  And I don't want to take any of this time to ourselves for granted, and as introverts we value it.  So I want to use my time wisely.

When I was in high school I wanted nothing more than to get married and have kids, babysitting and childcare were what I was good at.  I didn't really want to go to college, thinking my family couldn't afford it anyway.  Sure I had other goals, writing a book, making music, reading all the books I could get my hands on, and traveling too.  Then after a little while working I realized I could at least try a bit of college at the local community college.  And things changed, I didn't find the right person to marry right away, I fell in love with photography, painting, and Ireland first.



And when the time was just right I met Bryan, who knew he wanted to settle down and have a family; I was 27, things were good.  For now we're building a home (literally!) that we hope to raise our family in.  Some days it's still depressing for my own part, but I don't ever tire of seeing all those who are happy with kids and babies of their own.  I only get tired of having to answer the same questions about myself because I can't give the happy answer people are wishing for.  On the bad days I take it personally, as if there's something wrong in the depths of me.  But there are more than enough who need love in this world to go around, and I'll give it to whoever I'm blessed with.  And I wouldn't change a thing about my life so far, even if it's not what I expected.

Love,
Lydia

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Two Years and a New Year!

Good afternoon everyone!

This past Tuesday, December 30th marked the second anniversary of my marriage to Bryan.  I can honestly say neither of us had any idea of the changes both good and bad that would be in store for us over the first two years of our marriage.  However, both of us knew we wanted to meet whatever challenges might come with the other, side by side, as best of friends, and deeply in love.  That love has only deepened since, and I know I don't talk about it too often, but that's mostly because I'm private, and have no complaints!  I am ever so glad to to have him in my life.

He may not read my blog much, but I wanted to do a little photo recap of our past two years.  Hopefully you all will enjoy it too!

December 30 2012
We had a small ceremony, with mostly just family.  Photos taken by the fantastic Arielei Kinzer!

Bryan and I headed to Florida for our honeymoon, spending time in Savannah, GA, St Augustine, FL, and Orlando, FL.  You can see we're really just big kids at heart!
After the honeymoon, in February Bryan lost his job at ACHC, which was really an old internship from when he was in college that had let him stay on after graduation.  This led to a tough month for us as he searched for a new job and in March happily started working for the NC Dept. of Agriculture as a programmer.

In May we moved out of the little apartment we were sharing with Bryan's brother Stephen and into a little rental house of our own.  We got to paint and decorate a bit and have really enjoyed living close to both Bryan's job downtown and his parents in North Raleigh.


We went to the beach with family and friends that August, where I tested out a new lens for my phone's camera.


During the fall of 2013 I worked on my domestic skills, making chili (recipe for that here), growing my own tomatoes (everything else I tried to grow that year died), and working on my computer out on the screened in porch as Carolina Wrens occasionally visited.

Bryan and I headed to our first concert together, Switchfoot! And not soon after saw Neko Case, though no photos were allowed at that show.


In October Bryan was rear ended, totaling our old Buick, so in early November we got a little Honda Civic hybrid, which was a huge improvement in gas mileage and our first car of our own.



We also went to the NC State Fair together and made silly faces while enjoying ourselves.


As part of our Thanksgiving week that year we also went to DC for a couple days to visit the Smithsonian.  On day one we went to the National History Museum.  We didn't know my friend Samantha was going to be there, but we ended up meeting with her to go to the Natural Science Museum the next day. The butterfly house was amazing!


And we celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple!


Throughout 2014 we spent lots of time with family.  Some of it was at home and a bit at the family reunion, the beach, and the weekend in the mountains.  We spent our time having friends like Stuart over to visit, road tripping with brothers, exploring caves, playing board games, and fixing flat tires!


So you all have mostly heard about all that has gone on with us this year.  However, in October Bryan heard he'd soon be laid off from his job with the state.  He had enough notice that he was able to get a new position at a great educational programming company in Durham that he started immediately after his job at the state ended.  I couldn't believe how hugely blessed we were by that one.  I tried working for Anthropologie for a bit after attempting the Kickstarter in January, but am now simply working as an artist.  I had my first local show in December, and we also got our lovely pet rabbit, Scarlet, which has made the last month of the year exciting.

And finally, our next big announcement is that we'll be buying a house this spring!  We need to move closer to Bryan's job in Durham (it's 45 minutes to an hour each way!) and the new job has allowed us to afford buying over renting.  So we've found a new neighborhood that's being built and will be getting a house with some custom features built for us.  We're currently starting the design process, and are really excited.  I can't wait to share more with you all as we make the journey to home ownership!  Here's a shot of the rendering of our home (top image), plus the siding and door colors, Thistle Green and Tuxedo Gray respectively.  Any advice and such is welcome as we're learning along the way and love hearing the stories of others as we work our way through the process.


I'm looking forward to all 2015 has to offer, and can't wait to share it with you all!  Each weekday I'll be working on Pinterest projects and sharing the results with you all.  To start things off I'm doing a January Photo Challenge where each day I'm taking pictures which I'll share here.  Today's shot is "new" so you get to see the new home plans above.  More soon!

Love,
Lydia

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Christmas Eve Eve!

Merry Christmas everyone!

It's Christmas Eve Eve here in Raleigh and I've got lots on my plate as I finish getting ready for Christmas.  I thought I'd share a bit with you all about my life lately as I prep things.

Bryan and I have one stubborn gift left to get (for that one person on our list who's ever so hard to shop for of course!), and over half of our gifts left to wrap still.  However, we went to Richmond for a Thanksmas weekend with my family over December 12-14.  A lovely ham dinner, plus our gift exchange, and lots of time to just relax with family.  My dad and I got to catch up while doing some shopping and taking the dog out for a walk.  I tried to help my mom with the cooking, but she had picked some really easy dishes and barely needed me!  My parents are working on moving to Richmond in the near future and there were boxes stacked in my uncle's living room from it, but they disguised them as presents.  I have to say it made things very festive!


Other than that I've been busy with several commission pieces two watercolors, and four collages plus trying to fit in bits of other new work as I get the ideas.  I've been decorating here at my own home, and doing domestic things.  Here are a couple shots of my own tree:


I decided to go with a more rustic theme this year, last year I did all cool colors with more modern ornaments.  I shopped for a bunch of this year's ornaments while I was visiting with my parents some in November to help a bit with prepping their house for moving.  My mom and I took a trip to Ikea, and also found some of the ornaments at Kmart (the deer and white frosty bulb ornaments), and Cracker Barrel (the burlap banner with the Cardinal design and the heart ornaments).  Plus Bryan and I have been collecting ornaments on some of our little vacations, so we have things from St. Augustine, Florida, Epcot Center, The Smithsonian Museum, and I'm sure others I can't think of too!  And I made the bow for the tree myself.

Bryan and I have kept busy socially, between going to Raleigh's First Friday Art Walk (where I had a couple of pieces in a show this month!), checking out the Boylan Heights Art Walk (an amazing annual juried show that hosts artists on porches and yards in the downtown neighborhood of the same name), exploring Durham (we'll be moving there this coming spring to be closer to Bryan's new job), and going to the Pittsboro Christmas parade with family.  We've been spending most of our free time with family honestly, whether we're playing games, going to the movies, or just hanging out.  But I've ramped things up with work between the commissions and becoming more involved with the arts community on Tsu (Seriously, it's worth checking out!  There are loads of great artists, crafters, and photographers there, and you earn rewards for simply posting the content you make.  Join using my link here if you'd like.), so I haven't had a ton of free time beyond all that which hasn't been sucked up by things I've already mentioned.  Including spending time with out new little family member Scarlet, a Mini Rex rabbit.  Here's a little photo collage summing up all these things.




So, now I've got to run, groceries to get, presents to wrap, paperwork to finish, cleaning to do, gifts to finish making, and then a break from blogging for the rest of this week as I celebrate Christmas with family.  I can't wait for dinner and the Christmas Eve service with Bryan's family tomorrow night, and then be enjoying each others company for the next few days.  I hope you all will be having a very merry Christmas with your families too.  And look forward to seeing you again soon!

With love this holiday season,
Lydia

Sunday, December 21, 2014

My Mom's Chili Recipe

Hey folks,

So this weekend I made chili for Bryan and I, and I wanted to share the recipe with you all.  It's ridiculously easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.  I got the recipe from my mom, and then changed it a bit to suit our tastes.


Here's what you'll need:

1 can Pinto Beans
1 can Dark Red Kidney Beans
1 can Light Red Kidney Beans
1 can Petite Diced (Peeled optional) Tomatoes
1 can Corn (We like Sweet White, but it's harder to find)
1 packet of your chosen chili seasoning (We use Kroger's mild variety)
a 1lb package of Regular/Mild Breakfast Sausage (Jimmy Dean, or whatever brand you like)
1 1/2 cups water

Optional ingredients/condiments
1/8 cup sugar
1 diced onion
1 box Ritz Crackers
8 oz Sour Cream
2-4 cups Shredded Cheese (We usually get a Mexican style blend, but Colby Jack would do well too.)

You can make your chili spicier by using hot seasoning and sausage, or add the sugar to make a more savory chili.

Don't drain the beans, corn, or tomatoes, their juices are part of the chili too.  The skin on the dark red kidney beans tends to be thicker than Bryan likes, so we often put them in a chopper long enough to break the skin and split most of the beans, allowing the beans to soften as they cook.  But this is not necessary.

We don't care for onion, but my mom originally put it in her chili if I remember correctly.  So for those who like onion it's great.  My own addition to this chili is corn, which adds just a bit of flavor on the savory side.

Brown the meat (drain off fat if needed), then put all the ingredients in a crock pot set to high for at least 5 hours stirring occasionally.  By that time it should thicken up nicely, and once it's thickened it's ready to serve.  You can let everyone eating add crackers, sour cream and shredded cheese as they see fit.

The recipe serves 4-5 people, and is quite hearty.  However, you may find folks go back for seconds, if so you can double the recipe.  Though it won't fit in a standard crock pot if you do, to get around this I usually set a bit of each ingredient aside in a bowl.

Feel free to add more ingredients to make this recipe your own!

Love,
Lydia

Sunday, November 16, 2014

70 No Knit/Crochet Yarn Projects

Hey folks,
So, a little while back one of the gals I follow on Tsu (which everyone should check out, it's the next Twitter/Facebook, but better) was looking for ideas on what to do with some boucle yarn.  It's tough to work with since it shows less stitch definition in knitting and crochet and it's kind of lumpy, but can be really beautiful.  Anyway, it got me thinking about how many great ideas there are out there for ways to use yarn that don't involve crochet or knitting.  I thought I'd put together a collection of them here.



1. Modern Dreamcatchers - Mollymoo Crafts

2. 3. 4. Lampshades, Lanterns, and Globes - MADE Everyday (video)

5. Fiber Art Wall Hanging - Official Etsy Blog

6. Text Based Wall Art - Debbie Smyth

7. Garlands (could use lace instead of the crochet bit shown and could try tassels instead of pom poms) - Uppercase Magazine

8. Yarn Wound Blocks for Stamps - Print & Pattern

9. Yarn Scrap Wall Art - Easy Makes Me Happy (you could use a photo

10. Mini Globes for Sting Lights - EHow

11. Woven Friendship Bracelets - Unicorn Hat Party (I made these all the time with campers when I worked at a summer camp in Maine!)

12. 13. Yarn Bowls and Huge Lanterns - Top Inspired

14. Yarn Chandelier Version One - Ruffled

15. Yarn Chandelier Version Two - Wedding Chicks

16. Superhero Coasters - Kandy Kreations

17. Cross Stitch on Pegboard - Dudua

18. Or Embriodery on Pegboard - Hand Made Romance/Evie Barrow

19. Yarn Covered Pipe Cleaner Lettering - Bloesem Kids

20. Old Fashioned Yarn Dolls (could be used as holiday ornaments too) - Spud & Chloe

21. Yarn Octopus (another possible ornament idea) - Craft Stylish

22. Felted Balls for Beaded Necklaces or other crafts - Instructables

23. Easy Greeting Cards (use any silhouette image and you could even make them larger to frame as wall art - Katie's Crocheted Goodies

24. Pixie Tutu - Bugaboo, Mini, Pip, Mr & Me

25. Circular Weaving - Beesybee Fiber and a follow up post here too.

26. A Felt Leaf and Yarn Garland - A Beautiful Mess

27. Pom Pom Scarf/Garland - Bubbly Nature Creations

28. Woven Rug/Anything Square or Rectangular - Fab Art DIY

29. Cardboard & Yarn Ornaments - Snap!

30. Yarn Ornaments You Can Make Any Shape - Decora Recicla Imagina (photos instruct well enough that you probably don't even need to translate the page!)

31. Mini Wreath Ornaments Using Shower Curtain Rings - Smile Like You Mean It (imagine all the fun little things you could decorate these with, from floral bits to miniature objects)

32. Yarn Filled Ornaments - Dollar Store Crafts or the Fantastic Pokemon Themed Version - Jabberwonky

33. Yarn Wrapped Presents - Strawberry Chic

34. Yarn Surprise Ball - Lisa Vollrath

35. Wrapped Star Ornaments - Frugal Fun 4 Boys

36. Yarn Wrapped Pine Cones - Family Chic

37. Yarn Wrapped Paint Rollers - Home Dzine

38. Costume Wolf Tail - iSave A to Z

And last but not least:

32 More Projects (no duplicates from the above!) - Buzzfeed

Hope you like them!  I'm going to start numbers 26 and 24 soon myself.  I've got way too much yarn in my stash and need to get to work using it up.  If anyone has more ideas (especially from your own blogs) I'll gather them up and make a second post with more.

Til next time.

Love,
Lydia

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Days 153-154

Hi everyone,

Today's update is all about art!  So What have I been doing?  Well, In April I participated in Live & Local Raleigh, where I had a booth showing my art as part of the street festival.  It was a fun day, there was live music, and plenty of friendly folks stopped by my booth too.  I look forward to being part of the event next year as well!  Here's a shot of my booth thanks to Groucho's Deli via Facebook.

Additionally April 8th was Draw a Bird day, so while I drew my bird that day I'm just now getting around to posting it!  I looked some of my older reference photos and selected one of a Brown-Headed Nuthatch at the feeders from our old apartment.  I drew it on watercolor paper with various colored pencils and it ended up having a nice soft look to it.



I think I'll try to find a nice sketchbook next time.  Speaking of which I'm thinking I really should start to keep a regular one and hopefully share some bits of things in future entries.  I poked around my studio a bit and found a tiny sketchbook that isn't made of watercolor paper...I think I might need to go shopping though.  Hehe  If so I think I will get something similar to a Moleskin style book since I will soon be getting an Imbue creative tool thanks to my friend Stephen Hughett and his collaborative partner Igor Zemskov's fantastic Kickstarter!  The tool will be very useful for my Irish inspired pieces or really any pattern based art I work on.

In other news I finally have a new camera!  A friend of mine was looking to sell hers and the timing was just right for things to work out.  I'm so incredibly thankful too!  I now have a Canon T3i DSLR, which I have been having a great time getting used to over the past two weeks.  So, here are a few bits of what I've been up to with it.  First there were test shots, of which the following two were lovely.



Then we went to one of our relative's 1st birthday party.  They had the nicest spread of ice cream sundaes and toppings set out, and of course the birthday princess was adorable!



I've also been keeping an eye on the creatures in our yard, birds and bunnies, there are squirrels too, but they're just annoying buggers.  The feeder is just outside our kitchen window, but the rabbits are used to us enough that I could walk just off the porch to take this picture, the Tufted Titmouse didn't mind either.  Then while I was writing the beginning of this post I kept hearing at least one fledgling Carolina Wren, and soon after had one come and investigate what I was doing on the porch!


I also took a few shots during our Memorial Day board games.  We were playing Tzolk'in, The Mayan Calendar game, which is why there are little crystal skulls involved.  A young relative was arranging the extra pieces while her dad played with us.  The lighting made it irresistible, and I went to grab my camera partway through the game.
                           

                           

                           

                           

Lastly, today I was working on my first Pinterest style project.  It's inspired by this pin of a chalkboard cheese plate!  I had given one of my brothers-in-law a beer sampling paddle, and during the party I realized it would be perfect to add a chalkboard paint finish to, so I'm doing that, plus painting some lettering on the back for him too.  I'll be going through the steps of how I make it as part of my next post.  Here's a teaser shot of all the items I'll be using to put it together.


Enjoy your last day of May and I will see you all in June.  Thanks!

Love, Lydia



Thursday, January 16, 2014

Day 15

Hi!

So today was productive for me in a wide variety of ways.  I worked on two pieces, and did some brainstorming and sketching for a couple more, including one of the 2'x2' tiles for Healing Ceilings.  I've got one of the tiles for them about half done, with some knotwork and background still needed to complete it.  I got one of the casein paintings really close to completion and am trying to decide if I'll be adding any collage elements, though I think because it's so small I might not, it's just on a tiny 2"x2" canvas.

Beyond that I did a lot of boring housework that needed to be done, mostly so I'll be freed up tomorrow to work on art and putting away all of our Christmas decorations.  I worked on some online ways of earning a little extra income, surveys and the like, since so far I've had no pledges on Kickstarter.  And then this evening Bryan and I had my brother-in-law over for a game night which lasted til midnight.

So, now I'll see you all tomorrow, with hopefully a more exciting update including some pictures of newly completed pieces.  I came so close today...but sometimes you just have to pause and come back to a piece to figure out what final touches it needs.

Love, Lydia