Happy Birthday, my Mosie!

Today is Mosby Amundsen's birthday....he is 1:

Hahahahhaha! I am certain that this is your new favorite photo of all time. How can you resist such cuteness? Ok, as stated before, if you have an aversion to hearing thoughts about kitties from their slightly obsessed owners, now is the time to look away.

Things I have learned about Mosie since we became a family:

- His loves sitting in the windowsill on the porch to watch the birdies and the crazy albino squirrel frolic about in the yard...taunting him on a weekly basis with their freedom to roam the outdoors. He would sit there for hours if I let him. Also, the kitchen garden window is a close second.

- On a related note, he has had a taste of the great outdoors and rather enjoyed it. I got a harness/leash a few weeks ago and we gave it a try. He is quite the overachiever...getting used to such an apparatus with little protest when the instructions said it could take weeks. My little kitty genius. We will do more of this as the summer months unfold.

- He can climb/jump onto all things. So strong and agile! Like....from the chair in the living room to the table in the dining room. Sheesh!

- He still sleeps next to me every night and has gotten so much better at 'sleeping in' (he no longer walks across my head a million times in the early hours, hoping to rouse me from my bed to feed him when it's just not time). He does, however, feel it to be 100% appropriate to take full ownership of my pillow around the 6:00 hour to snooze a little more. I don't mind.

- He had his first hairball...awwwww. Good job, buddy! Just kidding, gross.

- He has very happy feelings for apples, raspberries, bananas and scrambled eggs....in moderation of course.

- He thinks it is super fun to nibble (you could also read this as stalk, pounce and attack) my bare toes and ankles should I leave them exposed. It's actually not fun at all.

- He has the appearance of a skilled hunter and acts rather tough....but he often loses battles with small bugs due to uncertainty of their intent and a little bit of fear.

- He almost thinks it is a good idea for me to groom him without having to attack the brush. Almost.

- He loves the cat grass. 

- He and the shower curtain have a love/hate relationship.

- The laser pointer is his best friend. He gets super chirpy/happy when I go to retrieve it from the shelf and starts searching for it even before I light it up! It makes him crazy! He also is super good at catching stuff when I toss it into the air.

- He snuggles in the crook of my legs at night when I'm watching tv on the couch. I love that.

- He follows me around wherever I go and loves to have his tummy rubbed. He is just the sweetest and most lovey cat in all the land.

- He is pretty much my favorite! Happy Birthday Mosie Boo:)

Bestirs Weekend 2015

I know I have already blasted the Instagram with oodles of photos from my trip out west this past weekend. But it was such fun that it bears repeating!

This group of ladies have been my dear friends for over 20 years and I am so thankful that we have made a strong effort to stay connected. I know we will be enjoying 'Bestirs Weekend' for many years to come.

Ok, you've been warned. Here we go:

Love you girls ❤️!

Sequins & Sofas: 5 Things

It's time for another installment of 5 Things....just stuff I like and maybe you would like too:

1. Microwave egg cooker thingy- Not sure of the brand. I got mine at Target for like 3 bucks. My sister found some at Cub Foods for roughly the same amount. This little tool helps me whip up some scrambled eggs in a flash without having to scrub my skillet when I'm done. That makes me happy. Super easy to clean and less than 2 minutes to yummy eggs!

2. This brand of ice- Ok, kind of random but I don't have an ice maker in my fridge and this ice is little and easy to crunch (similar to the kind at IKEA if you are all familiar). Most ice in a bag is too big and not crunchable (I know, it's bad for your teeth...I don't care). This is delightful...it even says its PUREfect right on the bag. So you know it's not gonna disappoint. I happened upon it at a gas station on University avenue....hahahaha. I go there just for ice now.

3. Oiselle sweatpants- Check out their website to see for yourself----Oiselle.
For real though, these sweatpants are the first thing I change into when I get home from work. They are the BEST. I was gifted this pair a few seasons ago (thanks KG) so I don't think you can score this exact style. But the current styles are equally as amazing.

4. Norwex Kitchen Cloths & Mesh Dish Cloth- Both of these items are my new kitchen favorites. I was tired of spraying my countertops down with chemicals but still needed a way to sanitize them safely (so Mosie could make his way to the garden window without being poisoned. Ok, that was a little overly dramatic...but you get the point). The kitchen cloths (grey and purple ones) are awesome! They lock in the grime without fear of cross contamination and come in a pack of 3 so there is always one around while the others may be in the wash. The mesh cloth replaced my dirty sponge wand and is also easily washable and dries quickly after use. Two thumbs up!

5. Trader Joe's Pesto- I just love all things basil. The smell makes me crazy with happiness. My new favorite meal with this product is a big bowl of spiral pasta, grape tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Easy and so yummy! And it's a small jar which I like...because I don't end up wasting it! Win, Win.

Sequins & Sofas: Tower Power

I've been thinking of providing my furry little friend Mosby with more options for climbing and exploring inside. But here's the problem:

Oh yeah, and there's this:

Seriously, does any cat tree manufacturer really expect someone to enjoy such an item with a total disregard for style amidst function? Blah, gross.

I did a Google search of 'not ugly cat towers' and there were a few that could pass as almost acceptable....if I had like $600 extra dollars lying around for such things (which I do not).

Moving on. Then it hit me...I have a brain that is fairly capable of imagining the kind of structure that fits the style of my home, skills to draft up a design thanks to my highschool architecture classes (thanks Mr. P) as well as a talented daddy that can build many things.

So the new plan is to build something that is fun for kitty as well as happy for my eyes to look at. Here's the rough plan:

Here's where it will go:

4 corner shelves, rounded at the front, cut outs at each level so Mosie can climb, carpet (but not ugly...classy and probably grey) on each level so he can dig his claws in, a few other extras like a sisal rope and stuff to entertain the little buddy, and all other exposed wood painted white to mirror the trim in the house and built ins I already have. Functional AND NOT UGLY. That's the goal. Stay tuned to see how it all shakes out!

Sequins & Sofas: Backyard Bonanza!

This weekend was a big one for my little backyard. I had a large (dying and ugly) pinetree in the corner that needed to go. Luckily, I have some pretty amazing friends that are skilled in the ways of tree chopping.

They came over on Saturday morning with ropes, climbing gear, chainsaws and servant hearts and got to work:

The process went quite smoothly with the exception of pulling the neighbor's phone line off their house with a rogue branch that has plans of its own! Oops....they were so understanding and kind about the little mishap but I made some 'I'm sorry' brownies and my pal E got them a little 'I'm sorry' gift card to Chipotle. A day later, they were back in business with phone service. My tree guys were amazing...they worked quickly and then hauled it all away to the compost site!

Old tree...no tree:

So what are your plans for your ever improving back yard? Glad you asked....my kind friend Mr. E will be constructing a new privacy fence between my yard and the alley so I will be safe and secure and I plan to use that full sun spot to grow a plethora of raspberries! I also am going to buy some LARGE metal letters that spell 'Peace' and lean then up against the newly constructed fence. Oh, and my old tree stump will be decorated with a lovely peace sign to complete the peaceful theme. Here's a little visual:

After that is done, I'll be adding some hostas and maybe a little herb garden...we'll see. Here's the plan:

Although I am the worst at making things grow (either in a pot or from the ground), I'm gonna give it my all to make the backyard my own little oasis of lovely! Stay tuned:)

Crafty Corner: Little Jewelry Dishes

So, this season's contribution to The Red Door I saw in a magazine awhile back. It looked simple enough and I wanted to give it a try. The magazine inspiration:

My finished work:

It was a fun little project that I could complete in an afternoon with just a few supplies:

I purchased Fimo clay in a variety of colors, a set of tiny stamps with a bunch of patterns and a few oven safe bowls for baking. I had a rolling pin, craft mat, parchment paper and cookie cutter already on hand and was ready to go.

First step was to roll out the clay. I placed one package of Fimo between 2 pieces of parchment and rolled it out. This took a little muscle and patience...I kept rolling until it was around 1/4 inch thick:

When I was happy with the thickness, I cut out a circle with my cookie cutter and placed the excess clay in a baggie for later use (Sidenote: I had a bunch of scraps left over so ended up mixing a few colors together to make some marbled dishes...I think those were my favorite):

Next, stamps. I tried to make an even amount of well placed stamp marks around the whole circle:

After pre-heating the oven to the temp directed on the Fimo wrapper, I prepared my baking vessels with a light coating of vegetable oil and carefully pressed the newly stamped clay circles into the dishes. The dishes I purchased were kind of nice because they had a cute wavy edge which the pliable clay molded right into (any oven safe bowl or dish works fine as your mold- it just depends on the shape you want for your new creation):

I ended up baking them for twice as long as recommended on the wrapper as suggested by some clay blogger type people online. It was hard to know if the clay was 'done' and they all said that longer was always better and would not hurt the clay. Also, there was a slight odor while baking- not too strong but those helpful 'Clay Blogger' people said that it was not dangerous. Open a window if it's bothersome. It took a little finesse to carefully remove them from the ceramic dishes but I did so half way thru the bake (and just placed the Fimo bowls onto a cookie sheet) to assure that they were evenly 'cooked'. After cooling off, they were pretty sturdy.

I really liked the finished product:

But, after looking at them for a few days I decided they needed a little more pizazz. Enter Mr. Gold Leaf Pen:

Much better! Fimo was quite easy to work with and this was a super fun weekend project. I'm glad I tried it and I hope you do too:)