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My blog has moved! In the moving process I had to export the blog, then I lost the ability to publish to it here. Now my hundreds of subscribers ;) can now find my new blog! Thanks for sticking with me - there are new posts on the new blog and I've already got several more scheduled to post. Enjoy!

Join me at:

http://kathrynpeebles.wordpress.com/

Things to come over this next week:
- lots of pictures!
- adorable baby chickens!
- a new competition between Joe & I - you pick the winner!

Where, O Where I have I gone?

Actually, I moved my blog! I still need to redirect the page on our website, but you can get to it here:

http://kathrynpeebles.wordpress.com/

You've probably missed out on a few new posts, too. Sorry for the delay, but I was trying to get wordpress to do what I wanted.

I'll save details for later, but I now have fairly strong opinions on blogger vs. wordpress, so ask me before you switch your blog between the two!

Thanks for the patience during the switch over. You'll be rewarded with a lot of new posts over the next couple of weeks!

Finished Project!

Well, sorta finished. Back in October I was working on an embroidery project, and Phase I is complete! Here goes: (click on it to see it bigger)

I'm going to cut out the letters that I embroidered and sew them onto better fabric (that's what I get for buying fabric from the $1 bin at Wal-Mart). The design on the P is a Celtic knot - which proves my interest in them extends to almost a year ago when I started this project!

The final product will be a duvet cover / quilt that looks something like this:

...except the purple will be the eggplant material below, the four shaded sections will be purple / gray leaf pattern below, and the middle will be a to-be-purchased silver / gray. (you can also see a close-up on the stitching for the bottom of the b and l)Here is the inscription below the shield:

I will embroider this in the same way I did Peebles on top, but much smaller. You can read my previous post for what it means. Time when I'm backstage turned out to be a great time to get some embroidery done!

for Andrew

Recently, a friend said that either people end up not keeping up with their blogs or their posts dissolve into descriptions of the sandwich they ate that day. This post is for him.
I ate a fudgesicle today. It's by Weight Watchers, but it was absolutely delicious. I can't stand the feeling of the wood popsicle stick without getting goosebumps all over, so Joe served it to me in a bowl. It was really yummy. Blogger says fudgesicle is spelled wrong and should be fussbudget. What on earth is that?

Day Spa!

For my birthday, Joe gave me a gift certificate to a local day spa (Riviera) and I promised to write about it after I went. (I had forgotten about the day spa dream I had until I reread that post - it went much better in real life!) Since the gift certificate expired this week, I finally went! It was very hard deciding which "treatments" to get, but I finally settled on the Escape package.

First, a 30 minute massage. I paid a little extra for a deep-tissue massage, and I'm sure glad I did! I had heard rumors about it hurting, but it was actually more like I expected a regular massage to be. It only hurt a little when she went over a couple of knots on my neck. I had trouble relaxing during the massage because I kept thinking about what I would write about it! I'm crazy! You'll be grateful that my thought of "I'm glad I didn't get a regular massage - if I wanted someone to pat my back for 30 minutes, I could have paid a neighborhood kid half this much" got cut due to its borderline-creepiness factor. Also, there were some bird chirping sounds randomly over the relaxing music that played. This occupied most of my thoughts. I really think it must have been a signal for the employees, but not for my massage therapist (she didn't change what she was doing anytime close to the bird calls). Anyone know what it could be?
I once was in physical therapy for back spasms (from a car accident), and he (PT) put some sonic pulse thing over the knots / spasms and pressed really hard, then rubbed the muscle. It was horribly painful (I often cried), but I felt EXTREME relief when he stopped. I was expecting something more like that for the deep-tissue massage, but it wasn't even close. Overall, I enjoyed the massage, but didn't feel any different afterward. Oh, and she rubbed my lower back / top of my rear. It felt as weird as one would expect (not creepy, just physically odd).

Next, a 30 minute mini-facial. My favorite part was having steam on my face for a long time. I got to just breathe it in! That was very relaxing. She looked at my skin with a Wood's Lamp... I wonder how people would react if she called it what it is (a UV light). She said I should try topical or low-dose antibiotics from a dermatologist. I'm not sure if I will or not, but I feel better knowing that my skin care regimen is appropriate. Like the massage, I was surprised to not feel any different afterward.

Finally, a spa pedicure! For around 45 minutes I sat in a massage chair and had my feet soaked, scrubbed and pampered. It was great! Even now (two days later), my feet feel extra soft.

I probably will not get a facial or massage (unless it is more intense) again, but I definitely enjoyed my relaxing day off - three hours at a spa is very nice! The "relaxation room" that you wait in between treatments is calm and peaceful.

Thank you, Joseph, for the amazing gift!

Coming Soon: A Stay-cation!

I've go so much to blog about! We've done more work on the house and took a few days off work (during which a friend came to visit, and I visited a day spa).

You know it's bad went you are getting the only massage you've ever had and you are thinking about what you're going to write about it.

I have not been keeping up with the home & garden blog like I should, but I did post a couple before / after pictures that you might be interested in - check it out.

Little Black Book

Around Christmas time, Joe bought be one of my new favorite things. It's a little notebook that I write down ideas I have. The categories are things like Things to learn, Home Decor, Funny T-shirts, and Things to Give. Basically whenever I think of something I want to remember, I write it in there. I love using it!

This is the notebook I use - it also has a bookmark and pouch!

Most of what I write is related to things I'd like to make (like a piece of art for our wall or a potential Christmas gift). Some of these ideas just pop into my head, but usually I see something that inspires me - or that I just want to copy outright. :) My inspiration often comes from everyday places (a bamboo project from Panda Express) or design websites (like Dustbowl), tossed in with the occasional visit to galleries.

This week I seem to have an underlying theme in my ideas. You highlight one part by doing something to the less-important part! I'll share.

Though it'll probably be a kid or baby name (or one of the dozens of t-shirt ideas I have written down) instead of hello, I see this in my future...
That is the work of Emma Smart (found via sub-studio design blog).


Then I came across bleach stenciling.
I already know how the conversation at home will go...
Joe: You haven't done that?!?
Me: No. Have you even heard of it before?
Joe: No, but it seems like the sort of thing you would have done.

I think I'll let Mom off the hook for not introducing me... kids and bleach don't mix well.

Now that I've started thinking about it, I've already got several ideas going. I think my first go will be making some contemporary / modern placemats. Placemats are so expensive, but cloth and bleach are so cheap!
I may try dipping the cloth in bleach water, or using rubber bands or strips of paper.

(these pics are some quickly done idea "sketches" I made using PowerPoint)


If you're looking for bleach stencil ideas, you should check out this site - they must have had fun!






I'd love to hear some of your ideas! Have you ever tried bleach stenciling? Is it as easy as it looks?