I make things

I'm not, like, a craftsman or an artisan or anything.  But is there anyone on the planet who doesn't get an extra thrill when they look at something beautiful in their home and they know they made it?

No, there isn't.

I've been taking a pottery class all spring, and loving it.  I'm moving onto the wheel class this summer.  I start in one week and I'm inordinately excited.

Here are the results so far.

This pot was intended to hold and pour honey.  I left the coil shapes and the rough shape on purpose.  My favorite thing about it is the color (a yellow glaze with a brown wash in some spots)

Next we have a couple of paperweights in ebony with a different wash on each one.  I love the variation of color.

This little dish sits on my bedside table to hold jewelry.

Hello Mr. Owl

This was some extra length of a footing I was putting on another piece.  It's perfect for rings or small bracelets.

This fish no longer lives with us.  It was a gift for my mama.  The scales and other details were all made by hand with wooden tools.  I made a template to cut the fish shape and then shaped the plate by hand.

This tray collects mail, keys, whatever at the front door.  I love the way the colors turned out.

And last of all, here's my box.  This is a little stash box on my bedside table.  I love it more than I can say.

The design on the outside is done in black slip and then a clear glaze is done over the top.  I used an ebony glaze on the inside for contrast.

I'm pretty proud of myself considering my beginner status.  I'm really looking forward to next week's class.

Get in bed

My husband has been complaining about our bedding FOREVER.

He doesn't particularly care about how it looks.  Although I think he has vague positive feelings about that.  It's a very layered, gray look.

(Heads up, I'm a West Elm bedding fanatic so expect lots of links to WE in this post)

It starts off with these sheets.  The Organic Ikat Sheet Set, with a white background and a charcoal gray pattern.

Next we layer on this herringbone woven blanket.  It's no longer available, sadly.

Then, the layer that's the big issue for my husband.  The duvet.  We have the Stripe Duvet Cover in gray.  It matches our cat.

It has ties inside but Brett is always annoyed that it's not perfectly lined up and there's always extra space around the edges.  It bothers him so much that we were looking for a way to get rid of it.

OH, let me also note that we have the stripe Euro shams, and a couple of standard shams in the Chevron Pattern.  I'm a fan.

So, what were we to do about this.  We decided we needed to get a quilt.  We would keep the herringbone blanket and layer a quilt over it (I'm not a fan of comforters, I'm grossed out by them for some reason).

I got a little reward gift certificate from work this week and as soon as I got that west elm card in my hot little hands, I was ready to purchase.  Between the reward and some West Elm Design Dollars we had, I was able to pay for the entire quilt.  I also got some shams in different patterns (we'll be keeping the chevron but dropping the stripe entirely I think).

I'm super excited about it.

But I'm also excited about the fact that my bed won't just be white and gray anymore.

Nope, white, gray, and coral baby.

This is the quilt we chose.  I love both sides, and love the red orange (they call it coral) color.

They even show it layered with our sheets on the website!

I can't wait for it to get here so we can enjoy it.  Of course, the art over our bed will seriously not go, but we've been out of love with that forever now.

I also got a great kitchen rug on super sale for $14.  It's also coral.  I'm so excited!

OOTD: Throw together

I didn't plan to dress cute or make an effort today.  But I just woke up before my alarm went off (and boy am I paying for it now.  yaaaaaaaaawn) and felt like putting in a little effort.

I still wanted to be comfy so I reached for a knit skirt in basic black.  Pairing it with a black and white stripe tee shirt still left it pretty plain, so I added some color in the form of a cardigan and bright yellow shoes.  I topped it off with red orange lipstick and called it a look.

Comfortable, cute.  Perfect for summer.

Skirt - Old Navy, cardigan, t-shirt - Gap, Shoes - J.Crew

Watch and yellow bangle - J. Crew, red bracelet - Madewell.  I'm also wearing a thin gold bracelet on my other wrist and a compass necklace from AE

Check that lipstick!  I feel fun and fancy today!  It's NARS Heat Wave, no liner.  I'll try it with liner, but I love that it doesn't seem to need it.

And this last picture doesn't really have anything to do with my outift.  It's just too good not to share.

Pumped up kicks

And they're not ballet flats.

I got them a week or so ago, and I've worn them on a few long walks and to Zumba class yesterday (my first time - SO MUCH FUN).  I would say they aren't for everyone.  I have pretty flat feet and I prefer a really minimal amount of support.  That's why I wear ballet flats and flat as a board sandals all the time.

These shoes have a little bit of support in the arch and a bit more through the heel.  But they're not bulky, heavy, and they're pretty soft and flexible.  I love them for general exercise use.

Plus they're pretty swell looking.

Onitsuka Tigers are by Asics and most of the styles are unisex.  They come in lots of materials.  Mine are mostly leather with suede accents, but my husband has a pair that I think are suede all over.  I'm a huge fan of all the different color combinations available.  Check zappos for all the different configurations.  I think anyone could find one that works for them!

Day 41

For some reason I deleted my last hair appointment from my calendar, but I have a habit of taking a photo and texting it to my mom after each appointment (we're very close, okay?  we deal with living 7 hours away from each other in our own way), so I figured it out.

It's been almost 6 weeks since my last haircut.  I had an appointment for a cut scheduled for today, but I cancelled it.

These pictures are making me rethink the decision to grow it out a little.

The memories of doing battle with it this morning to get it to not look like a rat's nest are not.

And yes, I totally ripped this off of dooce.

OOTD - The Webster

Yesterday, I wanted to wear the navy eyelet skirt I picked up as part of the Webster Collection at Target last week.

But I also took some inspiration from the other colors in the collection, particularly in this cardigan.

I liked the mix of the blush with the brighter pink.  And I LOVE those gold buttons.  I translated it into this.

The colors are off a bit since I took this in the early early morning, in fluorescent light, with an iphone.

The blush tee is from J. Crew.  The sweater is actually a bright pink, and is from the Gap.  The skirt is eyelet, from Target.  And  love those glitter shoes from Zara.

Watch and enamel bangles are J. Crew, gold bracelet is from etsy.

My favorite thing about this outfit is the mix of pinks.  Even Brett gave me a compliment as I walked out the door.  He said he liked it and that my shoes were very sparkly.

That they are sweetie.

Ten years

Ten years ago, I was a sixteen year old girl who'd never had a serious boyfriend.

Ten years ago, I was a drama geek extrovert who loved to be the center of attention.

Ten years ago, I had no idea I was about to meet my husband.

Ten years ago, I was excited and scared to be moving away from my family.

Ten years ago, I had no idea that I would find out years later that I had a mental illness, that would seriously affect the rest of my life.

Ten years ago, I had the rest of my life planned out.  I was totally wrong about where I would end up.

Ten years ago, one kiss changed my life, and I'm so happy it did.

I love you Brett.