be careful what you wish for...

Do you ever beg and plead for something for a really long time,

then finally get it,

look at it sitting on the floor of your very own home,

and say,

"Darnit! Now I actually have to figure out how to do something with this!"

(I often wonder if men experience this when they finally get the fancy power tools they've been pining over. Not that they would ever admit it if they did, just like I will never admit to Husband that I have not the slightest notion where I should make the first cut or stitch on this lovely new cloth.)

So, now that I have 9 yards of this fabric, which I love, I have to figure out how to:

a.) sew a nicely fitting slipcover for this chair and ottoman or

b.) reupholster this chair and ottoman or

c.) perform a hybrid reupholster/tailored slipcover operation on this chair and ottoman

I'll be letting you know how this little project is going soon...

(Any suggestions, books, videos, tools, inspiration or seamstresses are welcome.)

how NOT to fall asleep at your desk

I have been burning a coffee-scented candle at my desk while working, and it's done wonders for my afternoon low-biorhythms!

This link even tells you how to make your own. (I'm not into the homemade candle-making, but some folks might be.) Mine was a gift, so I'll probably be contacting this young lady once I burn it all the way down...

read your favorite magazine for charity

(Photo from Real Simple)

This website lets you buy your magazine subscriptions and support education. 40% of every dollar spent on the subscription goes to the school of your choice! (As long as the school is signed up for this fundraiser.)

I subscribed to Food and Wine through this service (actually, a gift from my mother through this service!) and am thinking about ordering another. Maybe The London Review of Books, Garden and Gun, Elle Decor, Southern Living, Harper's or The Saturday Evening Post... they have so many!

If your local schools aren't doing this, you could either suggest it to them

or order your subscriptions through New Mountain Hill Elementary in Georgia. That's my little cousins' school! You met them in this post.

gum drop tree make-and-take for all the children at your christmas celebration

Doesn't anyone use twigs from the yard anymore?!?!?


I could not find one single image of a gumdrop tree made from a twig. So, here's the silver-plated one and a link to how to make a real old-fashioned gumdrop tree.

And this link to a short article about an old-fashioned gumdrop tree that you absolutely must read.

I suppose no one uses twigs because of germs. I recommend simply putting rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, spraying the twigs, rinsing them under hot water, and letting them dry before the craft hour arrives. That way, no germs will get into the bodies of the sanitary-conscious-children-who-never-meet-with-germs-in-their-day-to-day lives and thus have bodies which cannot ward them off ;)

Or, you could just go this route using toothpicks and Styrofoam cones.

how to get people to take the stairs

How to Obtain the Powers of a Superhero

I have posted before about the wonders that can be wrought from

Smoked Salmon & Cocktail-Style Pumpernickel Bread

Here is another way to eat this little sandwich:

Mix together cream cheese and prepared horseradish.

On 8 slices of pumpernickel bread, spread the cream cheese.

On 8 slices of pumpernickel bread spread avocado.

Put smoked salmon in the middle of one of each slice.

Printable (and more detailed) version here.