i love, love, love martha's recipe for banana bread. i've made it a few times, and it always turns out delicious. the best thing about it is the sour cream--it makes it super light and moist (i hate that word.) i used whole wheat flour this last time as well as some chocolate chips. i figured one healthy modification made way for a little chocolate...
have a wonderful weekend!
my computer is fixed and back home on my desk. happy day! i managed to do a little thrifting this week, and hopefully will have a shop update before i head to upstate new york for the summer. first we need to make it through two weddings and then a 20 hour drive, but the destination is so worth it.
since breaking my computer--which, i just found out, needs a new logic board (which is the mac equivalent of a motherboard)--i've had to find ways to edit my photos without my beloved photoshop. through flickr, i found picnik which is a super fun, and really user-friendly photo editing website. there are tons of neat features and options to use with your photos like adding a polaroid frame or fixing the colors, and doing things like rounding the edges of your photos is a one click deal as opposed to the multi-step process you have to go through in photoshop.
you can also make your own clip art and you don't need to upload your photos from flickr because they're already on there. it's wonderful! i could play around with it all day!
a finished project! can you believe it?!
this is the ring pillow i made for my friend's wedding which is happening in a couple weeks. i knew i wanted to sew on some sort of flower, but when i got to michaels yesterday, i wasn't too keen on any of them. 
i ended up buying a few different sizes and shapes, and when i got home i pulled them all apart and made a big pile of petals. i tossed out the plastic parts and trimmed down some of the petals, then i sewed them back together using a clear glass bead for the center.
hope she'll like it!
so when i called apple they told me my warranty had expired 4 days ago, and that they couldn't help me over the phone unless i paid them $49. 4 days?!?! so i called a place in town, and they said it could cost up to $700 to fix my computer. i decided to call apple back and basically beg them to make an exception--i think i actually said, "i'm a public school teacher...i can't afford to fix this!!" at that point they transfered me to customer service, where a nice lady took pity on me and extended my warranty, so they'll fix it for free (sigh.) it is at an apple repair shop now, and hopefully i'll have it back by sometime next week.
this has just been a crazy week--the school was flooded when i got to work this morning, we had to go into lock-down mode on wednesday because of a possible intruder, i found out i have two cavities (so embarrassing!) and my computer died. surprisingly enough though, i'm in a pretty good mood. i think it's because i am so close to the end of the school year, and we have a really good friend from new york coming to visit us for 10 days. it's hard to get new yorkers to venture into the midwest for a visit, so it's pretty nice when a friend braves the rising airfare and makes the journey.
have a great weekend!
my computer is sick. it's been just under a year since i got her, so hopefully the nice people at mac will fix her for free. so for now, i'm using ted's computer, which is going to be hard to get my hands on seeing as how he's a writer and all. so posts might be few and far between for a little bit. hopefully not too long--keep your fingers crossed!
this week i'm cleaning out my classroom and moving downstairs to a smaller room with no air conditioning...how did i get so lucky? anyway, i'm finding all sorts of old books and games from long ago and, by far, my favorite find is this book, the very tall little girl.
i would have loved this book as a kid. today, i'm nearly 6 feet tall, and i consider that a wonderful thing, but as a kid...i was a tad awkward. my pants were way too short most of the time, and i had nicknames like "string bean" and "stretch." 
i remember that in the kindergarten play i had to be the big big billy goat because i was the tallest one in the class. i really wanted to be the troll under the bridge, but mrs. sullivan said that just wasn't possible.
i ended up really loving that i was tall--but it took a while. i actually hope that one day i have a very tall little girl. at least nowadays they make pants long enough!
this was such a great weekend--it makes such a difference to have one extra day off. i was actually able to finish a project...20 oyster brooches. it doesn't seem like such a triumph because it is something i've made before, but i've never made 20 of anything. some will be going in my store during the next update, and a few will be heading to amsterdam for an etsy friend's (soon to be opened) online store.
two weeks left of school and then...freedom!
have a wonderful week!
after the giant armoire i got from goodwill, i swore i wasn't going to buy any more furniture, but then i saw this...
it was $6.38, and on top of that it was 30% off and it fit in the yaris, i couldn't say no. the wood needs to be sanded and stained, and one of the corners of the seat cushion has been torn off, so it does need a little help.
i'm thinking a darker stain, and a bold (maybe vintage) fabric for the cushion.
now i'm really done with buying furniture...i think.
i decided that this summer i'm going to try my hand at making clothes...or at least a simple dress. i was at joann fabric last week, and all the mccall's patterns were $1.50--i figured it was worth a try.
i really like this dress for several reasons, but the main one is that there isn't a zipper. i've never tried to put a zipper on anything, so i'm a bit intimidated. i'm sure it isn't quite as hard as i've built it up to be, but i am going to have to work up to it. this dress just has one little button closure on the back...i think i can handle that.
i'm thinking i'll practice with a couple vintage sheets i've picked up these past few months. i think they will make nice light and summery dresses.
have a great week!
