Pretty Things

Some of you might remember a couple of years ago when Kev got me this chair for my birthday (http://housepants.blogspot.com/2005/08/hello-37.html#comments) It is more than just a piece of furniture. It is a Tara Place. A place where I could sit and read or write or think about making various pants or whatever I wanted to do. My own little spot in our house. I love my chair, but I hardly ever get to sit in it these days. I am going to try to spend more time there. I think it would be good for me. Anyway, this is a picture of the chair, but as you can see, something about the worn-out salmon-colored pillow from Kev's batchelor days detracts from the whole idea of it being a Tara Place.

I like pretty things. Flowery stuff. Lace. Girly-girl things. They makes me feel happy. Sometimes, I think there aren't enough pretty things in my life. Like on Monday. So I made this pillow for my chair. Aaaaahhh. Much better, huh? I am going to go sit there right now.

(When I say girly, I mean simple girly, not extreme girly).

Paloozahead Peanut

http://www.paloozahead.com/25357-e64d

click link for silliness.

Pantsapalooza

You may recognize this fabric from the pile I got at the antique store the other day. Some of it, as you can see, is now pants for the Peanut. I used Simplicity 3941 which was in the Sewing for Dummies section of the pattern book, so the pants were REALLY easy to make. I knocked them out in about 45 minutes. I used the 18 month size though, so they are too big, and Daphne will have to wait to wear them later. I am going to make some more in the 12 month size in the meantime. This opens up all sorts of pants possibilities. I can make her some housepants. I can make her some plain denim pants and stick groovy patches on them or I can embroider them. I can put ribbon or lace trim on the bottoms of the legs of some pants. I have a lot of pant-making plans in the works. I'm having a hard time thinking about anything else.

Map

Here is the floating England weather map I was talking about. I think it is gone now.

I started sticking bows in the Peanut's hair recently so people would stop thinking she's a boy, but now she has figured out how to get them out and I'm afraid she'll eat them.

Twister

We spent some family time in the bathroom last night as tornados blew through the Metroplex. Normally I don't get too worried about this stuff, but last night the warning sirens went off, so I figured it was pretty serious. So we all gathered in the bathroom for a little while, lit some candles, and Kev entertained us with some ukulele. It was almost kinda fun.

The weather reporters around here get all excited when there is anything going on, so they sort of tend to blow everything up. I don't mind, really. Better to err on the safe side. But it drives Kev crazy.

Kev said last night that if he was the weatherman, he would wear a costume. I thought he meant like he'd come dressed as the weather of the day, like he'd show up in a cloud suit, or a big lightning bolt. But it turns out he meant he'd dress up like Napoleon or George Washington or people like that. It would be pretty good schtick actually. I'd watch.

When I was in England, the national weather was delivered by a guy in Liverpool who stood on a giant map of England that was floating near the docks on the Mersey. He would hop around the floating England and tell what the weather was like in various parts of the country. I'd like to see Kev do that on a US map floating in the Mississippi in his Mark Twain suit.

Anyway, we didn't have a tornado after all.

Blog Backlog

Dang. I have so much to blog about and so little time. I wanted to blog about my Big Weekend of T-Time Sewing Extravaganza, and our Palo Pinto Easter-versary celebrations, and various Peanuty bits and pieces, but something always gets in the way of my blogging time. I will try to get back to it soon. I am sad to say that nobody else seems to be doing much blogging lately either. Except for Fooie (http://mindsquirt.blogspot.com/ ), and you should all go read his latest blogs because they are funny (cuss-word warning).

Here is a quickie from me. Today I took the Peanut for a stroll down to the local antique store, and pictures are my findings: A cool ukulele book for Kev (above), and a stack of pretty vintage fabrics for me (below). Don't know what I'll use them for yet. Something pretty for Daphne I reckon.

I am sad that the great Kurt Vonnegut has passed away. Read his stuff. It is genius.

I have found a new radio station for when I need a break from talk radio. It is The New Movin' 107.5. It plays stuff like Prince and Madonna and cool old hip-hop, and some bad stuff in between. I finally heard the Holla Back Girl song. I didn't really get it. She's going along OK, and then starts spelling banana. She lost me there. Nice beat though.

April 5, 2003

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KEV!!!!!

Summertime

To celebrate what we have left of spring, I took the Peanut to the Arboretum today. It is getting hot, so I decided to put on sandals in spite of the sorry state of my feet (so neglected and unsightly!), and short pants, in spite of the fact that my legs, which haven't seen the light of day for several years, might reflect the sun and possibly blind some innocent Arboretum patrons. "I will get some sun!" I thought. And I need to if I plan to wear the $19.98 orange Anthropologie skirt on Saturday night. Well, I don't think I got much sun, so I'll have to go check my cabinets for some sun-in-a-bottle, left over from a couple summers ago. (Will it still work? Does it expire?) What I DID get, though, was a giant blister from my sandals, which is a drag not only because it is painful, but also because it is going to shoot the wheels off my plans to finally cash in a pedicure gift certificate I got for Christmas. I was going to do it on Friday. Dangit. With all that said, the Arboretum is beautiful and we had a great time. Daphne likes the waterfalls and fountains best.

SCORE!

Yesterday I went to the mall with my mom and the Peanut and look what I found! It is a cool orange skirt from Anthropologie, and it was only $19.98! (Original price a whopping $88.00!) I am going to wear it Saturday night because Kev and I are going out to celebrate our anniversary. I wish it matched the sweater I made. I love finding a bargain.

Inner Tulip

This is what you see if you get as close as you possibly can to the inside of a tulip.

Cedar Waxwings at the Arboretum

Cedar Waxwings at the Arboretum
Originally uploaded by Tara Holt.

Cedar Waxwings are cool looking birds. These are ones we saw at the Arboretum a couple weeks ago. I am testing sending photos to my blog from my flickr page.

Mall Walking

Today is a kind of yucky day, so I took the Peanut to the mall to stroll around. She is sleeping it off, and I am blogging. Every time I go to the mall, I stroll through Anthropologie. http://www.anthropologie.com/jump.jsp?itemID=0&itemType=HOME_PAGE

Do you have this store at your mall? They have the most awesome clothes. Especially skirts.

As I stroll through Anthropologie, this is what I say in my head:

Seventy-eight dollars! I could make that. Fifty-six dollars! I could make that. A hundred and thirty nine dollars! I could make that.

And so forth.

It is time, my friends, to get out my machine and do some sewing.

The key to the stuff at Anthropologie is the fabric. I need to know where these people get their cool fabric. Then I could make all the stuff for way cheaper, and maybe I could finally be the modern urban mom I want to be. My orange shoes have just about had it. And they don't have them on the Lands End web-site anymore, so I can't replace them.

Daphne loves going to the mall. Her favorite things are the guy who plays the piano by the escalators at Nordstrom (he is fabulous), the big spouting fountains by La Madeleine, and the window at Puzzle Zoo toy store which has a giant Big Bird, and other huge stuffed animals. She looks at it and squeals with delight. All the people at the mall like her red hair. I do too. She is a good little baby.

Tulips

Last year, Kev got me some tulip bulbs, which I planted. They came up last spring, and were really pretty, but all the experts assured us they wouldn't return this year. Since we have mild winters, tulips are more like annuals here. But against all odds, I have a flower bed full of tulips, and not only did they bloom, but some of them even multiplied. So there, you so-called experts!. If not for all the dandelions and other pesky weeds, my little flower bed would be lovely.

Exciting LRHS News Alert

If you entered the LRHS logo design contest but didn't win, your exciting parting gifts will be shipping out today or tomorrow, so watch your mailboxes for fabulous prizes.

Hmmmmm....

Knitting Rules

Project Number 4 is finally complete, and I am really proud of this one. I didn't think I could do it, but here it is: my first yarn sweater. Woo-hoo! The only trouble is, I soaked it in our bathroom sink, and it sorta smells like Kev's shaving cream.

Now, I just need a place to wear it...

Being the Butterfly

Stroller Brigade

Yesterday, our playgroup went to Dallas Blooms at the Arboretum for Mommy and Me Monday. There is Daphne in the middle, trying to take the toys off the kid's stroller next to her. She had a great time. There were kids to play with (steal from), goats, sheep, chickens, a pony, and nice soft grass to walk on.

New Blogger is Bad

Hell on Wheels

This weekend I busted out my roller skates at the Katy Trail. I pushed the stroller while Kev walked behind and took some very unflattering pictures that will never see the light of day. Daphne slept through the whole thing, and I had a blast in spite of fearing the public fall-down the whole time. My center of gravity has changed since my last roller skating adventure.

I need to make a roller skating song section in my iPod, and do this more often now that the weather is so nice.

PS. I got these roller skates for $19! They are Nike!

Field Trip

On Saturday, we took the Peanut to the zoo because it was nice out. Guess what. Most of the other people with babies in Dallas had the same idea. So it was kind of a beating. Crowded and hot...strollers everywhere. But we still had a good time, and Daphne liked seeing all the birds and animals. We took her on her first carousel ride, which she seemed to like. And she got to pet a chicken. It was cute. She was very gentle with the chicken. She fell asleep on the train on the way home, so we walked around the station until she woke up, and then had dinner at the Trinity Hall pub. Daphne likes lemons. She demands them back if we take them away. She's a funny little baby.

Pie at Last!!!

This morning my dad came over to play with the Peanut so I could cook some stuff. I made cream of wild mushroom soup, some meatballs (some to go with the sauce I made Monday, and some to freeze), and as you can see, I finally had a chance to use my new awesome apple peeler/corer/slicer gadget to make this apple pie. My house smells like Christmas in Italy. My dad said it is one of the best apple pies he's ever tasted, so thanks to him for watching Daphne so I could make it, and a very special thanks to Kev's mom for the recipe, and his sister for the awesome apple peeler/corer/slicer gadget. All y'all should get one of these gadgets. If you are worried that it is a one trick pony, you should know that it can also be used for potatoes and probably other stuff, but I haven't read the instruction booklet all the way through yet. Even if it DID only do apples, it's worth it for the pie. I will see if I can get permission from Kev's mom to post the recipe. It's really easy to make.

Rock On, Little Peanut

I will blog a real blog soon.

Good Stuff

Today at Central Market, I bought a big giant bag of Popcorn, Indiana brand Smoked Cheddar Kettle Corn, and let me tell you, this is some GOOD stuff. To find out where to get some, go to www.popcornindiana.com and it will tell you, and you will also see their cool tractor logo which would make a great t-shirt. Apparently, Popcorn, Indiana is a real place, 20 miles south of Bloomington. Perhaps my Kentuckiana cousins have been there. I would go there if I lived in Kentuckiana. Next, I am going to try BBQ flavor.

By the way, there is also a Santa Claus, Indiana. There used to be an amusement park there called Santa Claus Land, and we used to go there when I was little. I found out on the Travel Channel that it is now called Holiday Land, and that it won an award for "friendliest" amusement park, or something like that. Sorta like the Miss Congeniality of amusement parks I reckon. Anyway, maybe we'll take the Peanut there when she gets bigger.

The Travel Channel is lame. All it ever has are poker shows and shows about Las Vegas.

Problem Solved!

I think I have solved my halter problem without cutting. I made a crochet chain and weaved it through the back to use as a draw-string. Voila! Instant cinching! Tie it in a bow and go. Plus, it is adjustable and removeable, so maybe the Peanut can get a couple year's use out of it. This makes me so happy...I was really bummed out about the whole thing yesterday.

And the Winning Logo is...

So, yesterday, I printed out a sheet of paper with all the entries on it. Then I spent a long time staring at the sheet of paper with all the entries on it. Dang, this was a tough decision!

A lot of entries were ruled out because of details or colors that wouldn't be possible to screen, but then I had several really great entries left to choose from.

Finally, when I was trying to fall asleep last night, I made my decision:

The prize of a t-shirt and the honor of designing the official t-shirt of the LRHS goes to (drumroll) Kev for his very first entry, the Squippie Symbol: http://housepants.blogspot.com/2007/02/contestant-number-one.html#comments

I decided that while penguins and guitars and sock monkeys and owls and so forth are all single aspects of the LRHS, and all things I love, they all sort of fit under the squippie umbrella. And so, the squippie symbol best represents the overall spirit of the blog. Congratulations Kev!

With that said, there are so many good entries, that I promise you haven't seen the last of them. Plus, everyone who participated will be receiving exciting prizes in the mail (please be patient, it may take a few weeks for me to get my act together). Fooie, I need your address. Thank you all so much for entering my contest and reading this blog. Yay!

Knitting Semi-Success

This week, I knit this halter for the Peanut. I was so proud because it was quite a bit more challenging than the hats I've made, and as you can see in the picture, it is a really cute little halter. Here is the roblem: it is about 3 inches too big around, and to take the picture I had to cinch it up in the back with a clothespin. My friend Emily seems to think it can be fixed, but it is going to involve some cutting which is very scary with a knit piece, so we'll see. Anyway, live and learn. Stay tuned for tomorrow's big contest announcement!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLEACH AND BEAN!

Last Minute Entry

This last entry is from my cousin, Ben. Finally, one of my relatives comes through! Nice work Bean!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. OK, all the entries are in. An official announcement will be made on Monday regarding the winner(s) .

2. Speaking of Bean, please visit his blog for an rare and exciting interview with the great LarryFeathers. http://beanblog.com/

The Real Calliope

Three More Days

With just three days left in the LRHS logo design contest, Kev has entered for a third time. This entry puts me in a very awkward position, because if I choose it, I know all y'all will say I am playing favorites. But just LOOK at it! It's awesome! It is based on Ralph's sister, Calliope.

(I reminded Kev that the prize is a shirt featuring thewinning design. I just can't see him going around town wearing a t-shirt with a betutued sock monkey on it.)

Anyway, I don't know how I am going to pick a winner. All of the entries have been great, or at least interesting.

So, you have a couple more days if you want to enter again. Then I'll have to choose a winner. Oh dear. I don't know why I get myself into these messes. I may end up having to have a vote.

Blogging Because I Can

I have a few minutes, so I am going to blog. Last night, Kev and I went to Fort Worth to see Madeleine Peyroux at the Bass Hall, so Daphne spent the night in Garland with G-ma and G-pa. It was her first night away from us, or I should say it was our first night away from her. It was hard for me, but she was fine. She was good, and she even slept all night. My little baby doesn't need me anymore. How depressing. Actually, I am glad she did so well. Now I will feel more comfortable leaving her, and maybe Kev and I can actually get away for a whole weekend sometime. I have been itching for a camping trip since the weather has been so nice lately. Anyway, Daphne is on her way home, so I'm using this last bit of free time to blog since there's not really time to start a project. You should see my list of projects! I'll never get it all done.

The show was great last night. If you guys haven't listened to Madeline Peyroux, you should go over to Amazon or something and check her out. Her voice is amazing. And if you haven't been to the Bass Hall, I recommend that too. It is a beautiful big symphony hall, and the acoustics are great. We saw the great Doc Watson there last year, and we found out last night that he's coming back. Gordon Lightfoot is also scheduled, and I think that would be a good show. Especially since the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is a PPHPHB staple during band practice (it is one of the only songs where I can play all the guitar chords...no Fs or Bs!).

The opening act was a guy called "Goat." He has a real name, which I forget, and he is the son of baseball great Al Rosen. He was a really good pianist, sort of Ray Charles-y, but his voice was a little grating, and he kept pronouncing words that begin with "A" using a long "A" sound even when it wasn't necessary. For example, he would say AY-lone instead of UH-lone, and AY-gain, AY-way, AY-go, and so forth. Every time! It was past my bedtime, and I was really sleepy and irritable, so I was having a hard time tolerating Goat and his long "A"s. I was telling Kev this on the way home, and he said, "Boy, you are easily annoyed." And I said, "Don't you mean AY-noyed?" and that was the end of conversation in the car for a while. Sorry I was so cranky, Kev. I'm no good without sleep. But in spite of my crankiness, we had a fun night out, and we got to eat velvety lobster bisque at Daddy Jack's! Thanks to my mom and dad for Peanut-sitting.

This morning, myfirst daffodil bloomed. I'll post a picture later. Kev's mom brought me a butterfly plant all the way from New York. If I don't kill it, it will be a miracle. But I am going to try hard to take care of it, because it is a really pretty plant, and it will bring butterflies to the yard.

The baby will be here soon, so I better go. I can't wait to see her. Have a good weekend everybody!

Video Failure

Apparently nobody has been able to see the YouTube videos on here, so as an experiment, I put one on the Peanut Gallery since that one has not been forced over to the new blogger. I doubt if that makes a difference, but if you have time, please go over there and try to watch it, and let me know if it works. I have not had any trouble seeing them on my computer, so I don't know why it won't work for anyone else. Computers are a drag sometimes.

Field Trip

Yesterday, my mom and I took the Peanut to the playground at the lake. It was hot, which is funny because last week it was freezing. Texas. Anyway, she had a great time swinging and looking at birds like the Double-Crested Cormorant pictured here. You do not want to get pooped on by a double-crested cormorant, by the way. It is nasty stuff.

Last week, Kev's mom and dad came for a visit. We had a fun and action packed weekend. We went to the Fort Worth Stockyards and to the Dallas World Aquarium, and had lots of houseband time. I'll put pictures on next time I have blogging time. And I will tell you about my awesome Valentine's day gift from Kev, and about the jazz singer we saw Sunday night.

Seven days left before the LRHS logo contest deadline, so get those last-minute entries in. I am flabbergasted by the response so far. I didn't think anyone would enter. You are all cool. Or else you are a bunch of people with way too much time on your hands. I have to say, though, I am disappointed in my relatives, none of whom has entered. Dangit.

Triple Shot from Uncle Pat

Here are three from Pat! Click on them to make them bigger.

You are all so cool for being in my contest.

Musical Penguin

Here is Darlene's latest entry. This one may be hard to beat.

Play Group Dilemma...Need Help

Next time we meet for play group, I am in charge of food. Normally, I'd just whip up a batch of good ol' Texas Eggs, easy as pie. But here's the problem: One of the moms has a severely lactose intolerant baby, so she can have NO dairy. So I need some ideas for a recipe that can feed about 10-12 people, and that I can preferably make the day before and just heat up right before playgroup, and has no dairy, and isn't particularly gassy since a lot of the moms are nursing. Whew! The last two times, we've had soup. Any ideas?

Baby You Can Drive My Car

The Peanut got a brand new car for Valentine's Day. It converts to a walker, which terrifies me. But she LOVES it. She's one step closer to the Big Wheel!

Stupid Blogger

Blogger tricked me into switching the the "new" blogger the other night and I hate it. I am having a hard time with the comments (commenting on my own blog, and reading comments/commenting on other blogs of people who have switched over). Is there any way to go back?

Peach Face Lizard Baby

Video Killed the Radio Star

So, if you scroll down, you will see that thanks to the magic of YouTube, I have figured out a way to post videos on my blog. This creates a whole new world of possibilities. I will try not to abuse this new ability. The first two videos are ones of the Peanut (surprise surprise). She started crawling the "real" way this weekend, so we filmed it.

I had a crafty weekend. On Saturday, I went to a sewing class using a gift certificate I got for Christmas. I learned to make a giant box floor pillow, which is being referred to around here as my "tuffet." The most useful thing about the class was learning to sew in a zipper. I can now use that skill for things more practical than tuffets, like skirts and dresses and so forth.

Also, I finished my second knitting project, which is a "yarn hat" commissioned by LarryFeathers.

And I did a little experimenting with making iron-on appliques using scrap fabric and fusible webbing, which is a very cheap, easy, and fun way to embellish your otherwise plain clothes.

All of these are pictured on the Peanut Gallery, along with some pictures of Daphne holding a beer. Oh, the schtick you can do with babies!

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Peanut Crawls

Dragging the Peanut

Kev Enters Again!

Here is Kev's latest logo contest entry. I like it a lot. It looks like a high school mascot t-shirt. And it would be EASY to screen.

Fooie brings up an interesting idea, which is letting you all vote for the winning logo. But I think you would all just vote for yourselves, so it probably wouldn't work.

Speaking of Fooie, you should all go over to http://mindsquirt.blogspot.com/ and read about the bearded soup smeller. It is good stuff.

Contest News

Hi and I am so excited that all of y'all are participating in the LRHS logo contest! Competition is heating up, and there has even been a little trash-talking!

All of your entries are great, with all the birds and penguins and owls and guitars and such. I'm surprised no-one has included any housepants in their designs. Thanks for your entries, and feel free to enter again (and again!) if you want. The DEADLINE is Feb. 28. (Keep in mind that I unfortunately can't screen-print complicated and colorful images onto t-shirts. )

Whitney: I am still hoping for an entry from LarryFeathers. He is out of town until next Thursday, but there's still plenty of time.

And if you are one of those silent readers out there, please feel free to enter too.

Here's One from Julie!

This one's great too! Love the colors.

Another Great Entry!

This one's from Darlene. Very representative of the spirit of the LRHS, and with a Texas twist!

Contest Update

If you have entered the contest, please comment or email me with your t-shirt size and color preference in case you win.

Triple Threat

These three entries are from Marty, who was wondering if iron-on decals would be acceptable since his designs would be difficult if not impossible to screen print. The problem with the iron-on decals is that they don't wash well. They get all cracked. But I did hear about June Tailor's Ink-Jet fabric sheets, which are sheets of fabric you can run through your printer. Then you could use fusible webbing to make an iron-on decal which would probably be more durable and less cracky. These sheets are expensive though. Anyway, I'll probably stick to something that can easily be screen-printed for this project, but I like all of Marty's ideas. I especially like the nod to Napolean Dynamite and to poor old Pancho. Thanks to Marty, and to everyone who has entered so far.

By the way, Whitney's entry was supposed to be in French Script font, but it didn't show up that way because we don't have it.

Fooie's Entry

Very colorful and action-packed! Perhaps just ever so slightly on the violent side, what with the guys labeled "dead" and all. I really like the sun and the birds though!

The Entries Pour In!

Two entries from Kim, complete with songbirds and penguins! Woo-hoo!

The Competition is Heating Up

This is Whitney's entry. Simple, elegant, to the point. Very nice.

Contestant Number One!

This entry was submitted by Kev because he is nice and probably thinks no one is going to enter my contest. I like the incorporation of the Squippie symbol. He just might win!

Play and WIN!

1. A long time ago, I found a cat outside the door to my old apartment. After some long, hard thinking, I decided to keep him. I emailed all the people I knew with the subject line "Please help me name my cat." I received many interesting, and some shocking, responses, and eventually named my cat Archie because it suited him. He is a great fat cat, and currently lives with a very nice lady in Garland because Kev is allergic.

2. Today, Kev's dad sent me an article about "How to make your blog more popular." I am not really trying to revolutionize the blog world, but it did give me an idea.

So,

3. I decided to have a contest. Here are the rules: Design a cool logo for the Lazy Russian Horses Show that I can make into the Official LRHS T-Shirt. It should be simple, yet interesting, and illustrate the general spirit of this blog. If anyone actually participates, I will post their entry so you can all see it, and then I'll choose the best one and make a free shirt for the winner. There might even be bonus prizes. Remember, this is a family friendly blog. Please keep it clean.

Email me your entry!

UPDATE: Enter as often as you like!!!

Deadline is Feb. 28.

First Hat Done

Yesterday, I completed my first knitting project: the little pink hat pictured at left. Not bad for my first try, I guess. But when I look at the sweater also pictured, knit by my friend Anne, I realize I have a lot to learn. That's OK. I've got time.

Thursday's knitting and coffee was great. I was inspired.