Sunday headaches

I have to write a huge paper by the end of the day today - brand audit critique for my intersession class. My team mates and I have this paper scheduled day by day, with each of us touching the paper on each day until it's perfection. As the first on the list, I am supposed to provide the core. I have not done that yet. I am tired and have this yucky headache. Ugh...

So, who's to blame? Well, I did babysit my sisters last night. Parents were out of town and so my sisters had friends over pretty late. Frisbee-playing, movie-watching, pizza-eating bunch. I didn't get to bed till 2am or so. Then, I finally came home this morning (delayed by my sister's delicious Belgian waffle breakfast), greeted by my appreciative husband (I think he missed me). He could be blamed, too.

And after settling everything (that is, unpacking my overnight bag), I sit down to write my paper and instead produce this:
Why? Why am I incapable of directing my energy towards things that HAVE TO be done? Like... tonight! Sigh.

Ah, yes - I also purchased another shirt yesterday. It is supposed to go with the bamboo cardigan I ordered. Should look pretty sweet with it.

Online shopping binge while on steroids and opiates

Yesterday I went to the dentist for some very-much needed work on my teeth. I had 7 fillings! They were tooth-colored kind! Yay! The fact that I had atrocious, worse-than-cavity-looking silver mercury fillings (endearingly called "lead" by me) dates my last dentistry work on them. Three of the fillings ended up being very deep, which might lead to some root canals in the hopefully distant future.

Anyways, after he was done, he told me "these are really going to hurt for a while". Which sounds bad enough to a person with normal sensitivity and relatively high pain endurance. To me - it translated to "knock yourself out for the next couple of weeks so that people don't have to hear your screams." You have to understand - mere regular cleanings are painful for me.

So he prescribed some steroids and opiates, which leave me super-charged and super-drowsy at the same time. But they do help my sleeping disorder. (Divine sleep - I love you drugs.)

However, I did go on a online-shopping binge last night to "reward" myself. Below are some items I ended up buying at Fossil and the Gap (all on sale). Yay for the Toothfairy!

It was a very expensive night. Now on to revising the budget for the next month. Ramen noodles, here I come!

Socks and hats

Finally! It took me months to finish my hubby's wool socks. The needles I used were small and delicate, so it took longer than it needed to. But alas, they are done! And it seems like hubby likes them. He even slept in them - it was kinda cute.I also finished my flapper hat. Turned out pretty. There are two ways you can wear it, with the flap up or down. Too bad my head is so large.
Now on to those other projects! My goal is not to start a new project till all the others are finished. So I got three pillow covers, another hat, and a crocheted amigurumi owl to go. All I need is more free time.

Me colorful cucina

When I went clothes shopping with B this past week, she pointed out that the drab, neutral colors I gravitate towards feed my need to blend in. This, however, is not the case when it comes to my kitchen - the most colorful space in my house.That loudly screaming bag was gifted to me by one of my younger sisters. It is from her trip to France last spring. It has an inscription that says something loosely translated to "I am shopping with my Jaguar". It's perfect for the farmer's market.

And check out that bamboo thing-a-ma-jingie holder I purchased last week. It replaced a boring, plastic cup.
I also got this cute octopus pot scrubber that dispenses soap at Target. And I love that soap in "Kitchen Lemon" from Bath and Body Works. It foams up so nicely and it's anti-bacterial (bring it on, swine flu - or rather, don't).And the brightest thing of all is my kilim rug - it was made for me as an heirloom and a wedding gift. It's colorful, beautiful, and a pain to keep clean. (I've spent many moons brushing the dog hair out of it.)
There is a corner of the rug and the main mess culprit. See - I am colorful. Who's drab?

Too inspired

Despite my better judgment, I acquired more knitting books. As if I needed more...
Still got many knitting projects that need to be finished. Like this one:Here are a couple knitted toy books I got (really cute):And then I found this book on Folk Mittens at the library. It's out of print, so I was pretty excited I located this:And I am straying from knitting and trying to teach myself crochet - blame it on these cute amigurumi toys:
Right now I am working on the owl. So far, I've got the eyes:It's the money you could've saved... had you not bought all those books! (The eyes totally reminded me of the GEICO commercial - I just HAD TO).

Spring feelin's

Oh, how I love spring. Here is a picture of my front yard:
AND - the lilac tree outside my bedroom window is budding. Sigh...
So I decided to plant my meager little seedlings (seeds from my grandmother's garden in Bosnia that I brought over last summer) in the garden bed in our backyard.
Look at that yummy lettuce! Mmmm... Minus all the dirt, of course. :)
I'ma gonna eat it!

I wish I had Carla Bruni's milk-honey-butter voice

Last Sunday I opened our hallway storage closet and decided I would no longer tolerate the pile of shoes on the floor. It resembled a landfill. I could never find a matching pair. So being a perfectionist on either extreme (either perfectly messy, or perfectly organized), I decided to do a 180 and give each shoe its own "bed". I found a great shoe storage unit at Target on sale. Here is the After photo:

This required that I donate some of the shoes I don't plan to wear (ever). I also put the flip-flops and other flimsy shoes undeserving of their own rightful place on the shelf into a plastic bin on the top. My vacuum cleaners and mops fit in the corners, as well. Sweet. I kept opening the closet doors and admiring the view.

I also replaced an old, decapitating set of blinds from my kitchen window with a fresh, clean version. And I got some cute place mats by Orla Kiely (from this collection) and chair cushions for my dining room table. Then I made a dinner consisting of fruits and veggies I had on hand and my favorite wine ever, Caba Moch by our own Summerset winery.

There is my dinner, and there are them place mats. And here is my puppy, dressed for the occasion.