my last day abroad

saturday night in london was a ton of fun. we went out dancing & found ourselves on crowded dance floors celebrating the music of michael jackson. on our trip home we grabbed tall boys of stella & donner kebabs - ohhhhh late night london. the next day we headed out on foot to hamstead heath (a great spot for panoramic views of london without the $40 price), stopping at chewie's bakery & deli on the way. i'll tell you, i was pooped on my last night in london & spent the night packing, napping & watching to boob tube.

i went into total body shutdown (tbs) the minute i arrived in michigan. i meant to post about my last day in london when i got home, but i've had a hard time even getting out of my pajamas. it's been chilly & rainy here in fife lake, but it's nice to be with my family, cozed up playing cards, baking & lounging around.

singer reference guide

this lovely book was tucked into one of my favorite christmas packages this year. the beautiful gift included the singer reference guide, another how to book, a massive button collection & a deer skin roll filled with knitting needles (more on that later) - all from my great grandmother. it was such a perfect gift - i cried while thumbing through everything, it meant so much.

i chose to share this because i love the illustrations & the black plus one color printing. it's yum yum.

locker calendar for emma

i promised my niece a while back that i would make her a calendar for her locker. i forgot, she didn't & i was so gently reminded yesterday on the phone. here it is dear, i'll put it in the mail tomorrow.

i'm really loving all of the free vector work out there; it's great for quick projects like this. thanks to createsk8 for this floral & bird art.

quick hawaii download

most of the deotte clan (& more clearly, my feet) made it to hawaii for my cousin carrie's wedding. my short trip was filled with ample beach time & a large amount of family time (which really means eating, drinking & smartass time). maui was beautiful, warm & sunny. my parents, brother & i stayed in between wailea & kihei; our balcony had panoramic views & was enjoyed most mornings with coffee & a book (i finally finished under the banner of heaven). after the slow mornings we'd head to the beach for some sun & surf. the water was warm & we spent hours playing in the waves; the waves at big beach were monsters & my dad was hard core in getting in on some washing machine action. after the beach we'd head home for lunch & some poolside beverages. let's face it - the deottes enjoy laying in the sun. the luau we attended for the rehearsal dinner was out of control; good food, beautiful music & shiny buff men in very little clothing. my final night was spent at carrie & adam's wedding, it was just perfect. i won't go into all the gushing about the location, the dress or the food - i'll just say, it was perfect. i'm so happy that i got to see my extended family & celebrate this occasion with them. mahalo!

go here for more pics

found type

i stumbled upon this lovely old sign in petosky as kacey & i hunted down a place to get food & watch the sunset.


i arrived safely on saturday morning; it was a painful flight, but i was happy to be home, chatting with my parent aboard the new pontoon boat & basking in the sun. i've gotten to see most of my family, had the girls to fife, made it to petosky to see kacey (next time i hope to see more of nora & aaron), went to water aerobics with my mom & two aunts & picked up produce from the cherry street market. ahh. what will i do today you ask - be out on the lake with family, grilling, eating avacodos & fresh salsa, reading & dosing off. this is the life i tell you, this is the life.

i tried to upload more photos, but i can't deal with it, i'm on vacay & formatting is not happening properly.

finally a terrarium

whew - cross this project off the list. while my nieces were over for their sleepover, we made succulent terrariums & they turned out so great. i'm not sure they'll live, but they look good right now. i went to archie mcphee's to buy little plastic goodness for the girls & ended up putting 2 of them in my sedum plant.

tired & energized all in one

i mentioned earlier this week that i've had house guests since the beginning of june & on wednesday of this week - the rest of my family arrived (from michigan via van) for the 7 lovely days. i'm taking the weekend through tuesday off & may skip my usual posts - ok, i'll probably blog anyway.

i am having a slumber party with my nieces & brainstorming on some craftiness for the three of us. i was thinking about mason jar terrariums for them to take home, because it's not a family road trip without something awkward & delicate to take back (i used to insist on a hermit crab every time we drove down to alabama for spring break). we're also planning to do some baking, nail painting, park playing & top pot donut eating.

i hope to have some fun stuff for you in the coming weeks, as i spend my days lonely, but gratefully creating.

the above image is from kanako sasaki, a beautiful photographer. her wanderlust collection is remarkable & romantic.

iva jean's jewelry

i was 10 when my great grandma passed away. it's funny because i still feel close to her. i'm sure it has something to do with all of her things that make up my apartment & jewelry collection. here is the latest of iva jean's jewelry, it arrived as part of a birthday package from my parents a couple months back.

handmade christmas gifts for mom & dad

here are quick pics of my parents with their christmas gifts i made. my dad got beer labels for his at-home brew. i'm posting it mostly because it's such a great pic of my dad. my mom is holding her trivets, coaster set & teapot cozie. isn't she cute!

latest apartment pics

in the last couple of weeks i have a couple of apartment additions. first is a four generations picture of my mother, my grandma, great grandma & great great grandma. i got the picture matted & framed on capitol hill; i picked a slightly off white matte & a distressed gold & silver toned frame. it looks really good hanging next to my syroco birds. i also bought a shag rug from urban outfitters for dirt cheap! i like the way that it warms up my apartment & creates a separation of space. i also snagged a little white shelf from craigslist for underneath my photo collage. it needs a repaint & may eventually be replaced, but it works for now.

i'm getting there i tell you! still on the list: a new dining set, a chair to face my couch & artwork for behind my couch.

all in a name

my mom called me from fife lake, mi to ask me if i wanted these suitcases. the story is that she went to the estate sale of the woman i was named after & found these. the reasons i like them: the leather detail, the silk lining & most of all, her initials a.l.c. are monogrammed on both suitcases near the handle. they both need some tlc, but i thought they might look nice stacked as an side table. if it doesn't fit the way i think it will, i'll store my fabric & patterns in them instead.

crafting with the kids

while back in northern michigan for 9 days, i decided to do a project with my 2 nieces, ages 8 & 5. i had read about using freezer paper to do screen printing multiple times on craft:. i bought all the things needed: t-shirts, freezer paper, fabric paint, stencil brushes & of course, rhinestones & craft glue. i'm not going to say that i thought that it was as simple as i thought it would be; mostly because the freezer paper was hard to cut. i ironed a full sheet of freezer paper on the back side of the shirt & it did create a tight stencil on the front. i let the paint dry & pulled the paper off. the girls were really happy with the finished product.

mobile among others

img missing
here has been a small lull in crafting, by this i mean i haven't done any new projects in a couple weeks. again, i am intimidated by the pile of potential projects sitting on my bookshelves. first, my mom gave me a 1940's pattern of my great grandmother's for a wrap around apron. i remember my mom wearing hers when i was little. it was navy blue & kelly green paisley & she always wore it when she made sour cream cookies. i bought three types of fabric & bias tape to make the aprons for a couple friends & myself. a week ago i pulled out the pattern & started cutting, only to find that multiple pieces were missing. i tried estimating the size of the missing pieces, but the project is on halt until my mom mails her apron to model my new ones after. second, i am making fabric tacks that i found of craft:. i bought buttons to cover, which i simply wriggle off the backing after covering with fabric & hot glue thumbtacks to the back. i think the idea of getting rid of fabric scraps while making something adorable is always good. third, i will make this (pictured above). i have tons of metropolis, dwell & other magazines lying around & this will look great in my new apartment (hurray!).

grandma's thread collection

i'm the daughter that inherited the domesticity. i'm the one that wants all of my great grandma & grandma's old needle point, cross stitching, sewing & embroidery supplies. this saturday morning i was going through the tin of thread my mom sent me & realized that it was photo worthy. i love the old spool labels & discovering that my great grandma liked orange & green as much as i do.

coned cupcakes

i have fond memories of bringing cupcakes baked in rainbow sugar cones in to school for my birthday, maybe from second or third grade. they've been the topic of birthday treat conversation at my office for a couple months now & today that memory was recreated. it was really simple: i bought pillsbury confetti cake mix, sugar cones, cream cheese frosting & used my mass supply of sprinkles already in the cupboard. just bake like normal cupcakes with the cone as a paper cup replacement. yummy.

i also made sour cream cookies with cream cheese frosting; it's a recipe that has been in my family for over 4 generations (usually reserved for christmas cookies, but my birth is comparable to christ right?). i really just love all things coated in frosting & sprinkles.