Monday, November 8, 2010

A Simple Sewing Project

Nothing for me is ever a simple sewing project. FYI.

Up and at'um at 7:00 this morning. Daylight Savings has made me a new person :)

Anyways, I found a cute shirt at Old Navy yesterday. However, even though the tag read XS, it was nothing of the sort. But for a mere 4.99, I couldn't pass it up.

Back to this morning. Woke up early. So I decided that I would just do a little stitchity-stich up the side seams of the shirt and it would be golden. No one would ever know (except that now I am putting it on the world wide web. So technically, everyone knows.) I digress.

Put the shirt in the sewing machine and what do you know, I get about 2.5 inches in and my bobbin runs out of thread. (For those non-sewers in the house, it's the underneath thread that is super important to finishing the full stitch.) I was not lucky enough to realize that it was out until I went all the way down the seam, took out my shirt to marvel at my masterpiece, and found no stitch. Annoying for sure. I sucked it up and moved on.

Wind a new bobbin. check. (Though it wasn't that easy because I forgot how to do it so I had to pull out the old manual. 25 minutes later bobbin is wound. check.)

Sew half inch in on both sides. Try on. No luck. Still look like a hippo. Really old navy? I can take a whole 2 inches of fabric out and still looks bad. Ugh. Try again.

Go in another half inch on both sides (doubled though so now I am taking a whole 4 inches of fabric out.) I didn't sign up for this. Oh and let me just mention I make up everything I do on the good ole sewing machine. I have zero training. And not much more practice.

I got one side stitched in. Then I start to do the other side. Halfway through, oh yes, the belt breaks. You heard me. I have a foot pedal-powered (yes that's the technical name, promise) sewing machine. And the belt which powers the needle snaps off. Unfixable. So, now 1 hour into a 5 minute project I should have quit. But I'm no quitter.

So, I hand powered my mechanical sewing machine. You can read it again. Add that to the list of things no one in the world has ever even considered doing. No, I did not 'hand sew', I put my finger in the hole on the side of the wheel and pumped it in a circular motion all the way down and back the seam of my shirt.

dedication.

So, long story, I mean loooooong story short. Don't ask me for sewing tips.

but, I do have a new shirt out of the gig. Go me.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Shelves

Slowly but surely we are filling up our new apartment. By new, I am, of course, referring to the "place we moved into almost 10 months ago." It's all about perspective. :)

Bryan and I are constantly struggling to find a balance between having a cozy "home" and just having lots of "stuff." So, after much deliberation and budget finagling, here's what we came up with:

We bought some mis-matched frames, painted cheap(er) shelves the color/finish of the ones that didn't quite fit our budget, added some clearance candles, painted a cardboard "T", added some personal touches, and filled our frames with pictures of family. The end result is a collection of things that each tell their own story.

My personal favorite is the scrabble board peeking out behind my favorite wedding picture. And yes, I strategically found a way to display the "Marry Me" part of the board while hiding the "clown" word played just to the side of it. Apparently it would be rude/wrong for me to remove those tiles from the board. Something about "you can't change memories...blah blah blah..." Alas, victory.


Another story is the one sitting atop my stack of books. "At Home in Mitford" is just one of the many (and I mean many) books that Bryan's Grandma Gen gave me last Christmas-time. Until now, these books have done a wonderful job making our bookcase look full. Until now. I am falling in love with this fun little Mitford series and so glad that I have all 5 of them!


Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What's the point?


Su-per-cal-i


fra-gil-is-tic



ex-pi-al-i


do....ious!


Even though the sound of it


is something quite


atrosicous!


If you say it loud enough,


you'll always sound


precocious,


Su-per-cal-i


fra-gil-is-tic


ex-pi-al-i


do....ious!

(All photos courtesy of Bryan & Kendahl's collection of seemingly unexplainable and completely random yet hilarious iPhone pics)

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Recent work & announcement

A lot of design projects have come my way recently.

Here are just a few that I have loved working on:







Oh, and my announcement: I think I need a new fresh look to really get my blogging juices flowing. So, Blog makeover coming soon!! Keep an eye out!

in which I have nothing to say

I have not been blogging. Because I have nothing to say.

That's right, nothing.

If I did have something to say, it might be that I am in dire need of a pedicure. Okay, I know, need is a ridiculous word to describe a pedicure. Who really needs a pedicure? Well, I do. Get over it.

Also, work is crazy. Busy for me equals checking out of other areas of life. Like blogging. Priorities people. Sigh. I want this part of my life back. Conundrum if you will.

Oh and incase you were wondering, we watch HGTV every night whilst falling asleep. (Yes, I said whilst, and no, I'm not going to try and defend the fact that we watch TV in bed, it's just how we roll. To each his own.) Anyways, I have discovered recently that by brain has now associated HGTV with sleeping. So, when I walk up my spiral staircase to have a nice relaxing lunch with the husband and he is watching a writhing episode of "House Hunters," I have to do everything in my power not to fall into dreamland. So, HGTV is now banned in the Throckmorton house anytime before 10pm. Oh, and on a side note, I might be reconsidering my nighttime TV channel because the past 3 nights there has been a super loud infomercial that comes on around 4:45am which promptly puts both Bryan and I into a fluster to try and find the remote to turn it down. My life really is rough.

I'm still processing camp. I've been back for 2 weeks now and I feel incomplete. Don't know why or how it's just honestly the first word that came to my mind. Maybe I left something there. I should take inventory of my clothes.

See, absolutely nothing on my mind. Except for designing conference logos, creating blogs, Siesta Key, baked spaghetti, Dave-O-Rama, ear wax, contracts, baby onesies, washing saliva off of every window in my house, and sleep. I will spare you the details.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Not me :)


Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. For those of your unfamiliar with the idea, Not Me! Monday was born out of a desire to admit some of our imperfections and reveal a few moments we'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to
join in and do the same thing!


Too many things happened this week for me
not to post a Not Me :) Enjoy!

First off, after seeing this adorable indoor violet-wine-glass masterpiece on designsponge, I surely didn't get inspired to recreate the look. Upon attempting and failing miserably, I did not decide to go ahead and display them in our living room anyways. I would not be so stubborn as to decorate with wilted, dying weeds just so that I wouldn't have to admit that I couldn't recreate the look. Oh, and said decor would not still be upstairs as we speak, even more wilt-y and dead. Not me!!


And it wasn't me that you could have found camped out in the laundry room all weekend. There is no way that 2 people could possibly let laundry get out of hand to the point of needing to do 11 loads just to catch up. Seriously, that's disgusting. These are not my piles of laundry spread out around the basement floor!


And, if I did happen to have had some laundry to do, I would have checked to make sure that I had enough laundry detergent to do all of the loads. So, it definitely wasn't me who only made it through 2 loads before realizing that we were completely tapped dry on soap. I am always prepared and never get in over my head. Ugh, not me :)

Furthermore, had I realized that I was out of soap, I definitely would not have decided to make some soap (That's right, you read correctly, make some soap) instead of driving the mile to the nearest Walgreens and picking some up. Nope, I would not have searched recipes online and found one that I happened to have all the ingredients for. So of course it wasn't me who spent 45 minutes making detergent and (in the process of grating the bar soap) cut my hand numerous times with the zester. I would not have gone through all of this when the Walgreens is seriously minutes away. Not me!!


And to top it all off, while at church yesterday, it was not me who, after quickly teaching the preschool church lesson, let the kids get out the box of "Musical Instruments." I did not let them go hog wild, oh and I certainly did NOT join in. I would never grab a set of castanets and march right along side 6 screaming kids while there were other classes going on around me. Not me, seriously, not me...

So, tell me please, what did you not do this week?

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The view from here...


And yep, I'm working...

Monday, April 12, 2010

Happy Birthday!

Bryan and I had a great time celebrating our niece's first birthday this weekend with family and friends up in Chicago. I'm super tired so I will just let the pictures tell the story :)
Happy Birthday Charlotte!!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Surely

Alright, I'll do it again. After yesterday's lack of motivation, I decided to give it another go.

Only because last week went well. And I mean really well. Bryan told me that since I cooked (yes, actually cooked) 3 good (not just edible) meals in a row, that I was officially the new cook of the house. I don't know that I wanna go that far, but I guess it was nice to hear. I like cooking, I do. But don't get me wrong, it's very nice to have a husband that can cook just as well, if not better, when I just don't fee like it.

(I just had a genius idea - I should make one night a week "Bryan Night" where he cooks. Seriously, why did I not think of this before. Done. No discussion. Wait...Bryan has track practice till 6 every night. I won't eat till 9 if it's up to him. Plus he's grumpy if he doesn't eat around 6:30. Which now that I think about it is why this whole thing started. Ugh, scratch that. Moving on...)


So, week one went well. So here's to week 2:

Monday - Spaghetti w/ cheesy meat sauce (my own special recipe...ha!) :)

Tuesday - Grilled Marinated Rib-eye steaks, Asparagus & Potatoes (That's how we roll)

Wednesday - Stuffed Shells (from freezer)

Thursday - Bible Study Night

Friday - Leftovers

So, really, tonight is the only night that I have left to cook this week. I rock at this.


Oh, and whilst I'm well aware that it's Tuesday, but here is my Not-Me-Monday moment of the week:

It was not me who, upon whipping together a spaghetti dinner last night, took our large bag of burger meat out of the freezer, took out the pound that I needed, and forgot to put the other 5 pounds back in the freezer. I definitely did not leave 5 perfectly good pounds of hamburger meat out on the counter all night long. Surely I would have seen it. Surely I didn't ruin 5 pounds of meat. Surely.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Again?

A scene from the Throckmorton Kitchen, take 2:

Bryan: What's for dinner tonight?

Kendahl: I dunno, what do you want...?

Bryan: Ummm well I thought you were "meal planning"?

Kendahl: Crap, you mean I have to do it again?

Bryan: you're joking, right?

Monday, March 15, 2010

Food News and Great NEWS!


Kendahl's Adventure in Meal Planning : Take 1:

Monday: Stuffed Shells (F*)

Tuesday: Pulled Pork BBQ


Thursday: Bible Study Night
(students decide, we cook in bulk from Sams)

Friday: Leftover Buffet

*this is a freezer meal, meaning I will cook a full double
batch (40-50 shells) and freeze the leftovers for future meals.
With just 2 of us, we can get about 4 dinners and even
some lunches out of this! Talk about saving money and time!!!

After planning this week, I guess is wasn't that hard.
If anything, it's hard because we only have 3 real nights to cook.
I don't feel like planning a big meal for Fridays, because being
the party animals that we are, we never know what we
will be doing on a friday night :)

Riiiiiighhhttt....speaking of which, anyone looking
for friends? We are a pretty cool couple and have some openings...

Moving on (yes I did just publicly ask for friends,
but we are moving on, remember...?)


So, that's the plan. I will keep you updated.
No, I won't post every night for 3 very important reasons.

1. I won't remember.
2. Those who still read my blog despite all my forgetfulness would be bored to death reading about my dinner every night.
3. Though I don't always mind the public humiliation that comes as a
result of my cooking skills, that might just be asking too much of me.
I have a little dignity and this week may not go well...

Oh and now for the GREAT NEWS! Brace yourself. This is big.

HUGE.

I was up googling coupons last night and fed UP TO HERE
(imagine "here" wherever you see fit)
with not finding anyone who does coupon tracking
for Springfield, IL grocery stores. I have a few friends here and there that will post
a couple good sales, but nothing like www.moneysavingmom.com
or www.southernsavers.com. They are AMAZING but aren't in
our area. They have grocery stores like Piggly Giggly Wiggley
and Tom Thumbalina. That is not helpful for little ole me.

But, at long last search, I found it. I finally freaking found it:
Meet my new best friend: Her name is Margie.

You can be her friend too, and I encourage it.




She has taught me so much already. Did you know that
Dollar General accepts manufacturers coupons?
THAT'S HUGE.
If you are not even a little excited about that,
we havesome talking to do. Seriously, go check her out.

Be amazed.

Here's to Monday, a new day, a new week... Make sure you don't miss the moments.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Menu Planning??

I don't know about this...

I mean I thought menu planning was what my grandma did and went out of style with my mom. Not to mention I don't cook. I mean I cook, but I don't cook well. So, why would I want to plan out my whole week, or even month, of meals at one time and have to stick to recipes every night? Sounds like someone is trying to put me in a box.

That someone is my husband. Well, my husband with the influence of Dave Ramsey. I love me some Dave, but meal planning? Haven't I done enough for you Dave? Budgets, coupons, saving, getting rid of credit cards, not borrowing money...this is just crossing the line :)

(of course I'm kidding, I do all those things happy and willing, I seriously do...)

But meal planning? I can't wrap my mind around it. I coupon. I save serious money on groceries already. Ask me how much I spend, I dare you ;) But then comes dinner time comes in the Throckmorton household and this is what you will hear...

B: What should we do for dinner?
K: I dunno...

B: What did you get at the store? (looking in cabinets)
K: A lot!

B: Why in the world do we have 18 boxes of hamburger helper?
K: THEY WERE FREE!! Seriously, I was at Shop N Save and they were 10 for 10 and I had (8) $2/3 and then I had these other coupons...blah blah blah...but they were free!

B: THis is disgusting. What else did you get?
K: 6 boxes of cereal, some cans of soup, oh and a bag of chicken breasts and hamburger meat. I dunno some random things like cream cheese, chips, celery, bread and yogurt. Oh and 6 coffee creamers. And I only spent like $22.00 - It was amazing.

B: This is not going to work.
K: oh...

This conversation has happened too many times. Bryan is sick of it :) So, I've been challenged to a month of meal planning. I'm not going to pay for the E-mealz plan that Dave suggests, sorry. I'm all about saving money and I have the time to find meals myself. So, here goes nothing. For the first week, I found this "1 bag, 5 meals" on Kraftfoods.com that I am going to try. It all looks good, plus we have just about everything we need to get started. So, check back later for my first edition of:

"Kendahl tries to meal plan: Week 1"
I will update and let you know how it goes. ugh. I'm super (not) pumped. But I will try.

Happy Sunday! :)

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