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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Summer cocktails

I found this link to a delicious looking summer drink on Tastespotting yesterday. If you like a gin and tonic I think this drink would be a great alternative. I'm going to make it tonight!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Are you doing what you love?

Is the work (paid or unpaid) you're doing something you love? There are many things about my work that I think are interesting and important but it's not what I feel passionate about. I think I'm generally in the realm of where I'm supposed to be but I don't think I'm using all of my skills and potential in the best way possible. So I'm striving to be open to possibilities and changes that I'm not necessarily anticipating as part of the "plan".


I believe in making a difference and making the world a better place--as cliche as that sounds. For me it's important to feel like what I'm doing matters and in some small way can make a community better or make a difference in someone's life. We all have bills to pay but I'm hopeful that I can intertwine a career that not only pays the bills but satisfies my soul. However, I don't necessarily believe that one's purpose here has to be tied to a career. There are many ways to be your best self and be of your best service--parenting, care taking, volunteer work.


For me being a mom, wife, daughter and friend is the most important part of my life. Family and friends are critical to my well-being. I'm also interested in environmental issues, politics, community and social issues. These things get me fired up. But I spend my evenings reading food and design blogs. I suppose we're all like this there are many things that make up who we are and it's multi-dimensional. So I'll continue working toward fulfilling my purpose and trying to be open to my soul's purpose.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

DIY Headboard


After reading lots of DIY and decorating blogs over the past year I was inspired to make a headboard for my guest bedroom. The Collette bed from Crate & Barrel was my high end inspiration. Centastional Girl and Aubrey & Lindsey's blogs put me on the right track.


I bought a 3/4" sheet of plywood from the local lumberyard. It was about $30. My Dad helped me trace and cut out a (mostly) symmetrical pattern on the plywood. We used a jig saw to cut the pattern and then used a hand sander to sand down the rough edges. I bought upholstery batting at a fabric store a few weeks ago. Unfortunately the sales person and I miscalculated how much I needed, so when I went to cover the headboard I realized I'd only have enough batting for one layer. That didn't seem comfy enough so I stopped at Wal-Mart the next day and picked up two packages of quilting batting. I layered all the batting over the plywood, pulled it tight and stapled it to the back of the plywood.


I bought some great oatmeal colored linen from fabric.com for $6/yard. It was a perfect match to the C&B bed. I washed the fabric, ironed it really well and the pulled it taut and stapled it to the back of the plywood.


Finally I purchased a pewter nail-head trim kit from Beacon Fabrics for about $25. It was really simple to install. I just had to nail every fifth nail.


I put the headboard against a wall and I haven't mounted it to the wall yet and I'm not sure I will. It's in the guest bedroom and my little one isn't really allowed to go in there but we'll see.


I love the headboard so much that I'm thinking about selling my sleigh bed (which my hubs and dad likely think is crazy) and making one for my bedroom.

Work balance?

I've recently gone back to work full time, at the behest of my employer, and I'm really struggling to find the balance. It's only been a couple of weeks so I'm really in the transition/getting used to it phase but it's hard! My husband travels about 2-3 weeks out of each month which adds to the craziness.

I try to keep on top of everything like lunches, dishes and the daily stuff but it can start to feel like there's only time for chores. I feel pretty confident that this is what it's like for nearly everyone with kids. I think it's important to remind myself that there are seasons of life and this is going to be one of the busier seasons. I want to make sure we have down time, that there is time at least on the weekends when there isn't something that we're "supposed" to be doing.

How do you keep the balance? Or does that even exist?