Fiesta!

I am not a stamp collector but if I happen to be at a post office with the full selection of stamps currently available I like to buy fun ones and not just the generic flags or Liberty Bells.  A few weeks ago I was reading a decorating magazine and saw a little article about how Fiestaware was going to be featured on a stamp!  I was really excited, imagining all those bright colors on stamps.  It turns out that there is just one Fiesta stamp among a selection of other groundbreaking vintage designs by American designers. 

I love Fiestaware!  It is so bright and colorful.  It was on our wedding registry, so we have alot of the colors that are currently in production.  Also, I occasionally find pieces at rummage sales and thrift stores (always an exciting find!) so I have accumulated alot of the out of production colors as well.

There are my own disk pitchers!  Those mini ones are so cute and I wish I had every color.  They are probably the most impractical Fiestaware item ever to have been produced by the Homer Laughlin company. 

We have bowls of every size!  

I believe these are the oldest Fiestaware items I own.  I got the set at an antique store.  It is from the 30's and, according to Ebay and other websites, could be worth hundreds of dollars.  However, this set would not draw that much because the lid of the teapot is cracked and has been glued together.  I paid $15 for both pieces.  I don't care about that though...I like it the way it is!  That specific shade of green is hard to find because it is so old. 

I love this Christmas Fiestaware!  It shows up every year at Herbergers and the price is jacked up to almost double what the regular pieces without the Christmas themes.  I usually but whatever is left of it for 75% as soon as Christmas passes.  The colors of the lights and snowmen coordinate with the regular colors for a festive look!  There is also always a Christmas ornament with the year on it which is fun.

A few assorted pieces...these are the colors that we (by "we" I really mean "I") chose for our wedding registry.  Most of the heavily used plates adn bowls are in these colors with some navy and dark purple mixed in.  In the past few years a few new colors have been introduced and they are leaning toward a darker more fall-like pallete with brown, a dark yellow called Marigold, and a rusty red.  I have this fantasy that we will have a summer and winter set eventually...hmmmm I think I need more cupboard space!

 I did the spontaneous photo shoot with my dishes last fall for some reason.  I think I was trying to get the cupboards more organized and had everything out on the counters.  I can't remember.

Well, this has been one of the more boring posts I have ever done.   It was supposed to be about the stamp.  It might be my new favorite stamps ever except for the shelter animal stamps they had last summer that had puppies and kittens on them!

Lemons!

During law school, I spent two years living in a campus apartment, which would have been known as "married student housing" in my parents' college days.  They now let unmarried students who are in grad school or have been in undergrad for several years live there.  They also let lone individuals have two bedrooms without roommates since a few new residence halls have opened up and taken the strain off the housing supply.  We weren't married when I first moved into my tiny bedroom apartment at the height of harvest season before my 2nd year began.  My dad and brother had to help me move and they were WAY too busy for such nonsense because of the farm so they made a few trips from my storage unit that I was sharing with a few classmates and piled everything very haphazardly near the entrance of the apartment and took off leaving me to deal with furniture to position and boxes to move.  I think they must have helped me assemble the bed frame at least!  They also accidentally grabbed a large painting that belonged to one of my friends from the storage unit that I had to return to the unit later.  (I am not trying to sound unappreciative...I just think the whole afternoon was funny.  It must be so annoying to be a man and always have to help people move heavy items...)  I had no idea what to expect from my new campus apartment.  What I did know was that it cost about $300 less a month than the off-campus one bedroom that I had rented my first year.  The campus apartments had cable TV, internet was very cheap, and, since UND generates its own electricity, the monthly electric bill averaged about $4.00 per month.  Seriously.  The building was quite dated, with panelled walls and a porcelain sink protruding from the bathroom wall without a counter or any sort of cabinets.  However, it was spotlessly clean and the outdated faucets and showers dumped water in wonderful way that new, water conserving fixtures can never compare to.    

After one semester in the one-bedroom I upgraded to a still cheap two bedroom and was assigned to a unit in a neigboring building of the complex.  This place seemed cavernous compared to the one-bedroom, mostly because it had white walls instead of panelling.  Both of these units were quite sufficient for student living and I lived there until graduation.  The two-bedroom was our first home after getting married and I was always relieved to get back to that cozy little place after sub-zero walks from the bus stop. They lacked one major thing however...curtains...yikes.  Upon discovering this I pinned some blankets over the windows that August day that I moved in until I could get to Target to buy some cheap curtains.  The two bedroom had FOUR whole windows instead of just two like the one bedroom so I decided to make some curtains myself!  The kitchen had a window and I had my heart set on curtains with a corn on the cob pattern like the curtains in the Simpsons' kitchen!

I couldn't find any fabric with a corn print on it so instead I ended up choosing a sunny, yellow fabric with a lemon pattern!  I didn't care if it would look over the top because I couldn't do much else to modify the appearance of the apartment. 

Later that year I was in Kohls and came across this cheap lemon slice rug.  I bought it and it was the start of a lemon theme.  I am not crazy about themes in houses because they can get ridiculous fast so i will call it a casual lemon theme...it is not in your face as soon as you walk in the door...you notice it gradually... 

I found these towel and also a cutting board with lemons on it (I forgot to get it out for the photo) and also some dish sponges (long thrown away) in the dollar aisle at Target when they had a brief line of fruit oriented kitchen items in there. 

I found these fake lemon figurine things at TJ Maxx within the last year. 

I ordered this poster that hangs above the stove when we lived in the campus two bedroom.  It is a vintage Sunkist advertisement.

Oh...then there is this wall hanging...I bought that at TJ Maxx as well.  It is metal and the lemons are raised off the background.  I bought it to hang in our apartment when we moved here.  Justin hates it and didn't want it in our new kitchen when we moved to this house.  It looks kind of wacky in this picutre and the wall color looks all wrong compared to how it is in person but I actually think it goes nicely in the kitchen.  It is a small, 1950's kitchen so anything overly ornate or farmhouse-y would look wrong.  I should mention that the whole kitchen is not full of lemons...there are other aspects of the decor.  If you want to see you can click on the "kitchen" link on the right side of the page. 

The lemon slice rug has been with us since it was new back in 2007.  I wash it regularly the grippy material on the back is inevitably wearing out and it has started slipping around and causing problems.  It bunches up and I keep tripping over it.  This afternoon I shopped for a new rug to replace it.  It didn't have to be lemons...it just had to match the kitchen and preferably have a color or colors to match the Fiestaware dishes from which I drew the colors that dominate the kitchen (yellow, turquoise, green). 

Ohhhh my....there are so many ugly area rugs out there!  I went first to TJ Maxx, because it is a good place to find cheap crap that is a bit different from the usual things you see everywhere from Target or Kohls.  I couldn't find anything good.  There were some cute things but they were meant more for a living room or someplace that wouldn't require the rug to be washed regularly.  I was looking for something with a grip on the back.  Next I went to Kohls because that is where the original lemon slice came from.  They still had that half-circle shaped line that I had in mind but were so ugly!  Ugh!  There was one with fruit on it on clearance that I almost bought just to be silly but it was so bad I had to put it back.  Next I went to the mall and started at Herbergers and then went to JC Penney.  It was all the same...garish colors with pictures of coffee cups or wine bottles or vegetables and words like "espresso" or "vino" all over the place.  Maybe that would be OK if I liked coffee and I do like wine but that "tuscan" wine motif would be weird in our kitchen. The alternative choice was something in dull, muted taupe or sage green that would look all wrong.

I finally tried Target (the Target here is still attached to the mall like they were in the old days before SuperTarget took over!  It is convenient but I miss SuperTarget).  That is where I found this!

Hahaha...I still think it is kind of ugly but oh well...at least it doesn't get bunched up cause problems. 

Kitchen Faucet

Everyone hold on to their hats...this is going to be exciting!  Justin recently replaced the faucet in the kitchen!  The old one was seeping water out of the base of the  handle when it was turned on at full pressure.  There was always water residue along the backsplash. 

This new one is very nice!  I like how it has that less shiny look (what is that called...brushed?) because water spots do not appear the way they do on shiny fixtures.   Also, I like how the spray nozzle is not black like most of them are in older sinks.  I wish I had a before shot to show you for comparison.  Well...actually I don't.  Who wants a picture of a faucet from the 90's?  Who wants to see a picture of any faucet at all?  Yes, I know, it is your lucky day to get to see a picture of a kitchen sink. 

Allan did something naughty this morning.  It all started a few months ago when I thought it would be funny to put him on a shelf in the linen closet.  He likes enclosed spaces so I thought he would like the compact size of a closet compartment.  He seemed to think it was OK but jumped out pretty quickly.  On Saturday I left the closet open and later discovered that he had jumped in there and was laying on a towel!  Most of the towels were in the basement waiting to be washed so there was extra room in there. 

So...add one more towel to the pile in the laundry room...I promise if anyone comes to visit they will get a towel that no cat has had contact with. 

This morning I was in the shower and I heard a crash.  Allan had tried to jump into the closet again and somehow took down that basket full of crap that you can see at the bottom of the picture.  Maybe he fell short because I had since filled the shelf with folded towels.  I thought no harm was done and started shoving everything back into the basket when i realized I smelled nail polish.  That little blue makeup bag holds my nail polish and one had broken and the other bottles were all covered with pink polish!  What a brat.  Only one bottle broke.  Oh well...no big deal...the broken bottle was a cheap one and not one of nail salon quality polishes that I occasionally buy from bargain bins at Trade Secret.  There are so many naughty things that he doesn't do that I will accept his snoopy, curious behavior.  

January, Tedious January

Is it over yet? January is my least favorite month. Whatever gym I have ever belonged to has always been really busy and congested (but only for January, of course!) I want people to get healthy, but I also want them to give up already, because I know most will, so I can have my favorite equipment back and a close parking space! The weather is bad and cold (so cold!), and there isn't much to do except watch TV and clean.

There are some good aspects of January. My favorite aspect: Bargain shopping for wrapping paper and sweaters! Also, my brother, sister, and cousin all have birthdays one week apart on the 11, 18, and 25! Justin likes it because he can go ice fishing and there is always football on TV. We have more good aspects this year because a new baby joined the family on Friday the 8th! I'm not sure how to spell his name, so I'm not going to butcher it right now, but he is the son of Jenny and Cory and i can't wait to see him. Also, we are going to Mexico for a week at the end of the month for my cousin's wedding! I get to leave for one whole week of my least favorite month!

Here are some photos from the last week. . .

Justin loves a perfectly cleared driveway! Good thing one of us does! We have a lot of snow, and there are still 3 months left of possible snowfall! Blaahhhh!



The envelopes from our Christmas cards that I separated while I was organizing them. So many friends and relatives! I love hearing from everyone!

Yes, that is Allan on top of the fridge. I think we have a problem. He is constantly striving to find the highest surface possible. I think he found it! I will admit that he lookos very dignified. He's not a baby anymore!


A few days ago I was trying to put a dish away and one of the brackets in this cabinet broke and I caught it just in time before it collapsed and broke all of the dishes! Can you imagine the tragedy if all of this lovely Fiestaware broke! I can't think of it! It's fixed now, though. Sorry the photo is sideways. I forgot to rotate it!

The Experimental Kitchen

As the weather gets colder, Justin and I have both been craving delicious hot meals. As the unemployed one of the two of us it is logical that I am the one who has been trying to learn how to provide for us what we crave (or what I crave and what he will hopefully like as well)...Throughout the years my cooking and baking experience has been minimal and slow to build based on the fact that my mom cooked everything for us growing up. I prepared frozen pizza, pasta-roni, and canned soups when I was babysitting, and occasionally I had to make my own lunch (sandwiches) before I went to work in high school. When I moved to college I always had a cafeteria or cook to provide meals. During law school, I ate mostly sandwiches and pasta with sauce from a jar or food from the school food court for the first two years until my third year when I decided to start preparing eggs and meat for myself for the first time (yes, I was 24 years old and had never purchased raw meat for myself at a store. Believe it or not.) Such habits can only go on so long, however...

Has anyone seen the documentary "Supersize Me"? It came out a few years ago (2004) and followed the adventures of a healthy man who decided to eat McDonald's food every day and reduce his activity level to that of an average American. The results were not good. He gained a lot of weight and his blood pressure and cholesteral went way up. I'll never forget the opening scene where he said:

"When I was growing up, my mother cooked dinner every single day. Almost all of my memories of her are in the kitchen. And we never ate out, only on those rare special occasions. Today, families do it all the time. And they're paying for it."

This is the way I grew up as well. Many of you probably did too. Now, of course all of my memories about my mom are not based around the kitchen, and I don't think it is the duty of moms (or dads) to sit in the kitchen and cook all day. We ate plenty of baskeball game pizza slices and had regular Schwann deliveries during my youth, but such indulgences are not the downfall of one's health (especially if you are a teenager who is playing basketball for several hours a day!). However, our kitchen was used daily and what we ate was generally baked and grilled, not fried and filled with preservatives. You can't deny the affect that restaurant dining and the consumption of processed food on a regular basis has had on people. Children are definitely getting heavier, where in the past weight would not become an issue until adulthood. Everyone knows the feeling of going on a trip or having a fun weekend where every meal is eaten in a restaurant. I know by the end, as delicious as the food is, I am ready eat anything as long as it isn't greasy, oversized and costly. I truly can't imagine the aftermath of this type of behavior on a regular, long term basis.

Anyway, the habits ingrained in childhood never went away and I've been experimenting more than ever in the kitchen (with the assisntance of some fun new equipment we recently unpacked from the wedding gift stash.) It's not as bad as I thought (even the part where I have to touch raw meat!). The only problem I have is that eating happens fast and cleaning is a big pain! It takes longer that the eating! We'll see how long it takes before I'm like a "mom" and can just produce meals or batches of cookies without looking at a recipe. (A long time, I'm afraid.)

Gin and tonic?

The kitchen is all together finally, and I think it looks perfect. I can't imagine it any other way. As I previously mentioned, it is painted yellow and from the outside it looks like it glows through the windows at night. It makes me want to get inside!

My favorite corner is this:



Don't get the wrong idea. . .I don't drink constantly. I probably drink one bottle of wine every two months. When guests come over I don't prance around with martini glasses on a tray. I do think that the wine rack adds some fun to the room though.
I found the "Gin and Tonic" sign at my favorite source for home decor. That place is TJ Maxx! Well, at least it's the most affordable and available source of home decor in my area. The martini glass was a birthday present from my friend Mandy approximately 5 years ago. Now, I know that martinis don't have gin in them (do they?) Also, we don't have any gin or tonic water. I do like it, however, so if anyone wants to get us a housewarming gift, well...hint hint, wink wink...

After the Cyclone

We just had the "Internets" and cable activated at the house today. I hadn't seen the internet since (gasp!) Sunday! And I was in Fargo all weekend for some NDSU tailgating (and I'm ready for more!) But now I'm back in action...

Actually, I haven't had time for the TV and the computer for the last few days anyway. On Monday morning, Justin left for Wyoming for a few days and I have been moving the last remnants of crap out of the apartment and trying to organize the house. It is really out of control and I feel like there is no end in sight. Today I made progress, but you wouldn't be able to tell. Most of my work consisted of putting everything away in the kitchen. I unpacked some wedding presents that we haven't had room to use before (and that is pretty much everything except the basics such as plates, glasses, and silverware).

How grown up does this cabinet make me look? Don't be decieved!
I'll take more pictures when it looks better around here...no one needs to see it right now!

House of Fumes

On Monday and Tuesday, my mom came to visit and we painted the kitchen. It is two shades of yellow! I'm so excited. I love yellow, but it's not the most flattering color for me to wear so I have to incorporate it in other ways (although I do wear it occasionally...like when I am wearing Bison apparel...)
This is the darker of the two yellow shades...I think it was called Butternut or some other whimsical thing...there are some silly ones out there! The lighter color on the walls is called Sawdust, which is almost nauseating considering that the whole house is already full of sawdust, but I was able to get past it.

Mother did the detailed work.

Here it is, all finished! When the painting was done, we cleaned up all the sawdust that had accumulated everywhere! It was in side the cupboards and covering the floor. This means that in addition to the four coats of oil based floor stain, the house is also fulled with paint fumes, and the fumes of Pinesol, Endust, and Windex. It was a relief to get out of there yesterday afternoon!