Sturdy for Common Things

In Love With Love

I’m in love with love.

Always have been.

And I’m lovin this video…

Postcards From Italy from ForYouLoveMe on Vimeo.

Day To Myself

Well, a whole 4 hours to myself this afternoon. Not an entire day per-say, but a solid allowance of time. The most time I’ve had to myself in one day since before LBD came into the picture. Usually when Grandma watches her it gives me the chance to go to my weekly 30 minute guitar lesson, or the dentist, or run errands, or go on the occasional date with my husband. This time wasn’t for any of those reasons other than purely selfish alone time.

I went to the fairly new coffee house in town, Redolencia. And since it was a special occasion I ordered a cappuccino. Fancy, I know!

It  gave me the chance to think about things like… Read More

Good As New: Wine Bottles

Not that you ever *need* an excuse to drink wine, but here are a few ideas I came across for re-purposing empty wine bottles into light fixtures. Will and I use to have quite the collection of empty wine bottles laying around the house pre-LBD. Love me a glass of chilled Sancerre in the park on a warm summer day.

We don’t go through wine as quickly anymore, except on those rare occations, with a little help from visiting friends (you know who you are), we’re back in the empty bottle business in no time.

Click the image for the “How To”….

Read More

I Like You Like This

I like you like this, Sweetheart.

Playing with your toys, babbling to your teddy bear, and chasing your kitty cat. Happy baby.

Today was rough. I made you eat broccoli. You hate broccoli. Not as much as peas, but still. And teething is the pits. That right front tooth was making you work for it this afternoon. Oh, you cried and cried. Later, you took a snooze while I was driving, but when you woke up at home that snowsuit was way too warm. You’re clothes damp with sweat. Boy, were you upset. Read More

Crunchy Tofu Stir Fry

Yeah, that’s right. Tofu. Comes with the vegetarian territory.

And you have to believe me when I say it does taste good! The taste factor all depends on how you cook it. (swearsies!) The best part about tofu is that it’s a chameleon of sorts,  as it adapts and reflects whatever flavor environment you put it in. Will likes it because he can fry it  and put it in a stir fry. Because what doesn’t Will like to fry? Man is like the male Paula Dean. Not the most healthy of alternatives, but that’s what the vegetables in this dish are for, right?

Here’s a ginger stir fry recipe and a sesame stir fry recipe. Both are great options for including crunchy tofu in the mix.

Will’s recipe for Crunchy Tofu:

Good As New: Tea Dresses

Naughty Shorts dresses are one of my many inspirations behind wanting to learn how to sew. Rebecca, the fabulous designer of Naughty Shorts, upcycles vintage fabrics, bedsheets, etc. to make one-of-a-kind, custom order tea dresses.

Look at all them perrdy colors!

Read More

Reminder

Last night was “one of those nights”. A universal term among parents, the new and the mature.

An overtired, teething baby doesn’t make for a cheery morning. Neither does an overtired mom. Morning naptime was a struggle. Eye rubbing, wailing, LBD wouldn’t submit to her creeping slumber. It took three rounds of Iron and Wine’s lengthy “The Trapeze Swinger” (3 x 9:32 minute rotation). Not the longest of the nap fight we’ve seen, but definitely not the shortest. She finally caved.

I sat down at my laptop and found an email from my husband.

He sent me this reminder…

Read More

Victorians

Unfortunately, there are a lot of derelict houses in Ludington, a result of Michigan’s crippling economic state, but there are also handful of handsome homes that continue to endure the times. When Ludington was booming harbor town, these Victorian dwellings were constructed by affluent lumber barons at the turn of the 19th century. Read More

Can Lady

After moving to Ludington, Michigan we had a bunch of friends and family over to help paint a few rooms in the house we currently rent. As a thank you we bought everyone beer and pizza for dinner after we finished. After most people had left that I night, I distinctly remember cleaning up, separating cans and glass bottles for recycling when my mother-in-law who was wiping down the kitchen counter remarked, “I hope you’re not recycling those. You take them back for the deposit.”

“Deposit?” I stood there confused. What? We aren’t homeless. I had this vision of standing in line at a recycling deposit center with my fellow can-collectors wearing tattered gloves, smelling of aged foods and stale beer, my trash bag slung over my shoulder like Santa Claus. I didn’t understand. Every place I lived in my life (Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, Kansas City, Fort Collins, Lawrence, Dallas, New York City) there was a preconceived notion attached to can-collecting– That’s what poor people do.

Later that night:

“Will, are were we poor?”

“No, sweetheart. We are not poor.”

I learned that in Michigan every bottle deposit is a dime and those dimes adds up quickly. Everyone takes bottles and cans back for the deposit. Really? Really. So, the above picture is of me and my grocery cart of aluminum wealth. Common practice nowadays.

Note: No, that is not our circa 1989 wood panel soccer mom minivan behind me.

Good As New: Greenhouse

I’ve been dreaming in green all week. And those dreams have been vacationing to these re-purposed greenhouses.

It snowed here in last night. No surprise.

As I lay in bed this morning, I was thinking how lovely it would be to get up, throw on sweats and a pair comfy boots, and go play in my greenhouse. Like visiting a morning in June any day of the year. (Hmmmm…. )

Is it spring yet? Read More