fly the friendly skies of United....

Oh, you get to read about another one of my travel adventures! So, you either run away screaming NOW or get sucked in.
Still here?
Nice to have you.
Today's adventure began with my plane departing SEA-TAC at 7:40 am.
Which means I was up before the butt crack of dawn starting the beautification process that would only last about 3-4 hours max.
And I know you won't believe this but I actually left the house with no ( gasp) earrings or necklace on.
I was naked.
Felt vulnerable.
Today I flew Continental/United.
Which sadly informed me they provide no internet service onboard. Whaaaat?
Annnd they charge 7.99 to watch t.v.
No lie. No thank you.
I'll just watch my movies on Netflix...oh wait. Never mind. What large airliner doesn't have internet?
 I'll tell you who....UNITED!
Which meant that I was forced to read. Aw man, I didn't want to read.
So instead I listened to the friendly dentist next to me tell me all about his love of touring bikes. Which was fine, turns out we knew the same dentists ( I used to work for) and that he actually came to several of my Doctor's famous Christmas parties that the girls and I would decorate the office for.
It really IS a small world.
But after he talked, he fell into a fast sleep. I must have bored him.
 But now, you realize, that left me to sit there and slowly go insane.
Ok I didn't but it felt like I did. I hate to be confined in a small space and have little movement. Hate it.
He took up both arm rests and once again, I had the cyclops giant boob thing going.
 Grand.
So I wandered back to the galley where I was told the TSA now forbids people to stand back there.
To which I charmed the staff into letting me stay by telling them all the cool things on Pinterest I have discovered.
 They didn't stand a chance. I was back there for an hour before they realized I was in direct violation of the TSA rules. YEssssss.
We finally make it to Houston. My most  favorite airport ever.
I lie.
This was the airport that changed my departure gate once travel adventure and I was running all over the place trying to find my plane in 30 minutes. Sweat was no stranger to me that day.
Once again, we have to deplane on the tarmac. Come On!  I see  the other terminals and THEY don't have to deplane like that! So we deplane
.And then I proceed to walk to China.
Or Gate K874A. Never mind there are signs everywhere telling you ALL about GATES A, B and C.  I walk with purpose towards where I think I should be going. Apparently, I must have pulled it off because before I knew it, there were about 10 others behind me all looking for terminal K as well. I stop and ask them and.... they are.
 " What's with the Gate A, B, C and nothing for terminal K? I ask.
They have no clue. So I get on a tram that takes me to terminal K. Then I walk past 34 gates and come to a steel corrugated structure at the end with doors labeled 1,2, 3, 4and so on. Nothing about K874.
These people all lag behind me. I feel I have been elected their scout, without them even telling me, no less.
So I venture forward to the first desk I see. Where I am promptly told, " yeah, you're in the right place. 874A is door #1".
Oh sure, makes perfect sense. So I turn to the crowd behind me and tell them the good news. They are relieved.
And we all find our seats. This is the conversation I overhear"
" I KNEW I should have gotten frozen yogurt when we were back by the shops, now we're too far away"
" I need to go to the bathroom but I don't think I'll make it back that far"
" this place is flipping hot in here, where is the air conditioner?"
"I'm dying, I need ice cream"
" I want something to drink but I am NOT going back there again"
Yeah..we were THAT far out from the rest of the airport.
And we had to walk out to the tarmac to board our plane.
Seriously? What do you have to do to fly normally here in Houston? I see your other terminals ! I know you have them!!!
Sitting there I all of a sudden noticed a pattern.
Of the animal kind. As in leopard print. Everywhere. On shoes, handbags, shirts. Uhm, wasn't that IN , back in 2005? Did I miss the memo?
While I am pondering this, I suddenly smell onions. Not the fair burger kind but the "man, I haven't showered in 3 weeks" kind. The woman sitting next to me looked at me, made a horrible face and said quite loudly:
" do you SMELL that?"
My look of horror told her I did.
Then she said" " oh, uh uh. NO way. I am moving. That woman STINKS!"
Did the woman behind us flinch, even a little?
Nope.
Just went on reeking of her onion self.
I moved. But no matter where I went, it followed.
Like a puppy.
So I wandered up to the podium where they had a small fan pointing towards the staff.
I ever so casually walked to where I could get a waft of that fan but not be so obvious about it.
Then the gentleman who was behind the counter made a move to change the direction of the fan so it would blow directly on him.
To which I may have said " don't even think about it" with my best smile.
"did you catch of whiff of onion woman over there" I ask?
Then he looks at me and says" what time do you depart"?
"Now, if you move that fan"
Whatever composure he tried to maintain fell apart. In a huge laugh.
" I will make sure you get on first my dear" he says to me.
"You just want the fan, you're not fooling me" I say to him.
And then he announced the boarding and motioned for me to step in line.
BEFORE all the other sections! That's right.
Not first class but as long as I was away form onion woman, I was good.
Goodbye Houston.
You eternal maze of an onion smelling leopard airport.

Come on( already) Spring!

Come on Spring!
This is one of those Washington days where we all long for Spring to be here. It is raining , more like pouring, outside and the wind is blowing and it's still cold!
I mean, we're used to this kind of weather and all, but come on Spring!
When I was on the road yesterday, this truck in front of me was going suuuuuuper slow. I thought to myself,
" I wonder if they're from Alabama".
I sped up to catch the licence plate not really believing what I just thought but, you know. Worth a check.
Yuuuup! They were from Alabama! No lie!
You see, people from Alabama and Georgia ( yes, I am lumping you all together) tend to , well, freak out when it rains.
They slow waaaaay down. I'm talking 35 mph on the freeway slow down.
It's annoying to us Pacific Northwest people. We know rain.And we know how to drive to drive it.
But today, today is not acceptable to me.
So to help the attitude along , I decided it was time for that "seasonal" change.
Oh yes. I am " one of those".
One of those = someone who changes out the bedspreads, linens, and decor to match the season.
Say what you will, but I will never change. So, put away the faux brown mink and bring back the crisp black/white/lime green ensemble.

Onward to my entry way, I hung my wreath. I love the colors in this thing!

On the sideboard beneath it, I got out just a bit of my easter/spring decor.

My German Easter egg made of paper mache  and Helene's pink glass beaded bunny 

I love nests.....can you tell?

And yes, that is a brooch in that nest. You all know me better than that!

And the one nest I have had for 36 years now is the nest that Michael gave me for our first Easter together.

 It came with a 6 pack of cupcakes. I knew he was the one.

Moving on to my bedroom, I have these bookcases I bought at Pier One that I use as  nightstands.Instead of stacking them on top of each other, I separated them. They are  about 3 feet long and it flanks my bed under each window. They work perfect.  And of course, I HAVE to decorate that!

You may have guessed by now, I have a thing for Cloches. It irritates me that people on Pinterest think apothecary jars are cloches. They are not. Cloches were originally made to protect the seedlings on the farms in Europe from the frost that may have snuck in.

If I had one of THOSE bad boys, I would be in heaven. I might even put my cats under them!

Since I  have no garden or seedlings....I put anything my heart desires in them.
 You can , you know. I said so.

And I had to throw in a flower I made for Breanne's wedding. I have a few left. ( don't get me started on how many I lost at the wedding)

Top it off with a gift tag someone sent me when I ordered from her website ( a gift WITH a gift!)

annnd I am done. I feel better now. Not so dreary , rainy anymore.
Now, back to the kitchen I go. I am cooking dinners for several families tonight.
Why? Because , one day, I may need one.  Simple as that.
Come ON Spring!

My Mind Lies

My mind lies to me.
How long this has been going on, your guess is as good as mine.
Today I bought a china hutch from someone on craigslist. I have been scouring the ads every day for the past week looking for just the right piece. That being said,
I just want to say that people have a very high opinion of their stuff.
Very.
 And with that, goes grand expectations....of the price they want for said merchandise.
Several I just wanted to call ....:
"hello?"
"yes, is this the party selling the Queen Anne Louis the 18th authentic reproduction hutch?"
"yeah"
" did you graduate high school?"

Scrolling through these ads, I would get all excited when I saw their grandiose descriptions and then when I clicked on the photos......it was all I could do to run screaming.
But I digress.
So I found one. And the man was only available this morning, due to his work hours.

I loved it, I bought it.
Little did that nice man know that I would be painting his beloved piece. Yes, I said painting.
Now, I realize some people have this aversion to painting anything wood.
"why can't you just leave it this beautiful golden oak color?"
Cause, I don't wanna.
I don't want to be stuck in Colonial times. I want to be stuck in Pottery Barn times.
So today I primed this bad boy. This is the part where my mind lied.
Considering all the other projects I do in a snap, it told me this one was just one more.
So I painted the primer on. Straight on, upside down,  inside out, and right side up.
Man, there were a lot of corners and "ceilings" to this piece. And lighting fixtures to avoid.
By the time I was done, Every bone and anything resembling a muscle was out for the count.
If can't trust my own mind, who can I trust?

Notice all the shelving, the drawers, the nooks, crannies and any other neck and back breaking induced painting. This was the primer. And I had to remind myself it ws just that. Primer. No one was going to see it Colleen. No need for professionalism here. Then came time for the coats of black paint.

Ahhh. Finally. It took me several days to do the black paint. Several reasons:
1. Michael has this house so dang cold, nothing is gonna set.
2.I am meticulous....no brush strokes for this woman.
3. I may have done 3 coats.
4. did I mention this house is colder than cold? ( gotta save money, you know)

Finally. All done. With the exception of a few touch ups I am sure I will have to do when we lift the hutch part onto the sideboard and unavoidably scratch something, somewhere.
Then the fun part. Putting all my vintage Pyrex pieces in place. I can't tell you how thrilled I will be to actually have some cookware I can use, displayed right there at my fingertips. No more hunting in cabinets,pantries and or garage.

I was lucky enough to find two sets of stacking bowls.(..each starting at 50 dollars on ebay) for 12 dollars each set at my local Value Village. It was all I could do not to shout hallelujah when I saw them on the shelves. True story. Altho, the woman setting it out, did look at me a little longer than I thought necessary.
(Maybe I shouldn't have talked to myself and congratulated myself on such a good find.?)
Then I  acquired a refrigerator set with glass lids thru etsy.com.

Got those for a steal as well.  Annnnd I may be waiting for a few pieces I was lucky enough to get for a song on ebay.
 Ok, I am.
So now I am on the lookout for any and all things Pyrex. You have been warned.
Next time I want to tackle a project this large, will someone tackle ME?
Please?
Because we all know, I can no longer trust myself.

Spring, er Winter is still here.

It was/is a beautiful day here today.
 The skies are clear, the air is so fresh ( could be all those fir trees beings chainsawed to death in the last week due to the snow/ice storm) and it feels like a wonderful spring day in Georgia!
 What?
But this is Seattle?
Days like this make me long to get out there and pressure wash the patio, the brick wall, and the driveway.

I want to empty pots and refill them with all the succulents that  I have seen pinned on Pinterest.
THEN get my glass globes filled with lights and place them all around the patio .
Ok, I may have placed one globe already.

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was genius! So off to Goodwill I went and found myself one large globe and one small globe.Yessss!( Remember these light fixtures that no one wants in their kitchens anymore? Yep. these are them.) Total cost for both: 4 dollars.
 Then I put some white lights I had into it and set in into my column planter. One down. One to go. Or maybe more. Depending on what I find at Value Village or Goodwill.
Michael is outside with his brand new " I can move rocks with this baby" blower. Cleaning limb debri and whatever else he can make move with that thing.( No worries, cats are inside and dog is at the groomers)
 See?
Makes me want to get ready for summer!
But, chances are good we will have another snow storm before this winter is over.
Good thing I am heading to Alabama/Georgia in 3 weeks! The bugs are not horrific yet , as it is, only winter there. And the temperature will be in the 60's. Nice.
And I plan on hitting all the antique and value stores I can to hunt for my joy.
 Did I mention that I may have an obsession with Pyrex dishes? You know, the kind I hated when I was first married and vowed never to own?
Yeah, that came back to bite me in the a$$.

While I was at Value Village, I saw the lady putting these out on the shelf.(Mine are actually a beautiful lime-ish color) I anxiously waited for her to finish and  I swooped down on them like a vulture!I gotta admit, she looked a little afraid of me.
I got a set of three for 12 dollars. Never mind they are on ebay for 50 dollars and UP! It was an exhilarating day, let me tell you.
Do not judge me.
It takes so little to thrill me and I am quite happy with that.
So now I am on a Pyrex hunt. I am intent on throwing away all my plastic bowls, food keepers and what nots. I am going to be totally Pyrexed.

I am buying a hutch tomorrow morning to put all my newly acquired pieces on so I can have them , right there, at my disposal when I cook.
Thrillled, I tell you. Thrilled.
It must be spring fever.
I blame it all on that.