TinCanCozy: August 2014

Weekend Projects for Frenchie

After many months of talk, getting rid of our spare bedroom, waiting to paint, finishing the paint, and all the other setbacks, we finally got started on the move to a big girl room and the renovation of minifurs old room into an office/closet for mommy and daddy. Nana took minifur for the weekend so we could focus and get a bulk of the transition finished. We are sore today but happy how things are turning out. Here is what has happened so far:

art display when you enter the room (oh and hello kitty fanclub poster)

this corner will be tented in the near future. think cozy tent in the movie the holiday

even Geronimo moved in (bottom right corner)

Next on to mommy's happy place

Ikea desk with gold painted legs and gold tape border

not so bland and boring color pallet

to eliminate clutter in other parts of the house I started searching for things that just don't ever use. Like the faux gator tray in teal and the glass snack trays from the 1950s. Both made excellent vessels to display jewelry. You can still see the remnants of minifurs first room (initial and name peeking out behind the mirror, tree on the wall with blowing leaves) but she is happy in her bigger space and we are happy allll of her stuff can go in her room instead of scattered throughout the house. Its a win for everyone!

again..Frenchie made my imagination come to life. thanks bebe!

We had a dream...

Did you have a playhouse when you were a kid? A fort? A hideout? We did not but we saw them in magazines, at friends houses, on TV. Luckily I married a man that can take whatever random thing I have in my head and make it a reality. It started with a dream....A dream of a playhouse for our then 2 year old. A place where she could play while we hung out at the fire pit. A place where she could entertain friends or stuffed animals. Where she could let her imagination run wild (and do it outside).

It started like this:

and then turned into this process with the help of friends and family:

Well done Frenchie!

"My angel, my all, my other self, just a few words today, and that in pencil, yours" Beethoven

Could it be in this day and age that we are so busy, so connected, so overrun with things to do that we can't even connect with people like making phone calls. Long calls that lasted HOURs. Do you remember the last time you had hours to do anything (well except work and sleep). When you could chat with your best friend for hours on a phone connected to your wall while walking around only as far as the cord would stretch and maybe a little more? The sound and feel of a rotary phone. Letting your finger take ride. Stopping at pay phones to call if you were running late. I may be aging myself but now we are so connected that we don't even talk anymore. My schedule (or timezone) almost always conflicts with yours. We send quick texts because that is all we have time for. But you care about these people. You care about how they are, what they are doing, where they have been and where they are going.

Slowing down, reading for pleasure, having a conversation with an old friend: these are all luxuries we are not afforded. BUT, what if we took a step back, way back, middle school summer camp way back and wrote letters. You could write about your day, your thoughts, how you miss the person. You could write to your love, your siblings, your grandmother, your friend. Now I realize a text can tell the person all those things, even an email. But imagine sitting down with your favorite stationary and pen (or pencil - thanks Ludwig) and actually writing down thoughts, questions, feelings. You could do it late at night or early in the morning and it wouldn't conflict with your schedule or theirs. It could actually fit in your busy schedule. And now imagine your friend, cousin, mothers' surprise when they actually received written words from you. Thank you notes, although important, don't count. Jane Austen didn't have it wrong. Yes I am aware the written word was her only option but... Look at the letters written before cell phones, smart phones, emails, even the world wide web! A time when things were slower, relationships were cherished, and you didn't get an immediate response (oh no! no instant gratification?? how would you live). This was a time when you had to actually think about what you wanted to say with no immediate response from the receiver. Wouldn't that be a beautiful thing? Actually caring about what you said to people you care about. I am seriously considering writing a few letters to people I would love to talk to for hours, if I had hours to talk.

and my closing statement could be this:

Ever thine.
Ever mine.
Ever ours.

not TTYL. Which would you prefer?

Easy Summer Dish

Last week on vacation I began reading Notes from a Blue Bicycle, the Art of Living Intentionally In a Chaotic World by Tsh Oxenreider. If you haven't read it I must insist you do. The book will inspire and also frustrate you (frustration from knowing how tied we are to bills, debt, geographic locations, schedules..) But more on all that in another post.

This post is about food. Her book did inspire me to try to slow down and do the simple act of cooking fresh meals for my family. Cozy and I loaded up for the market after looking through recipes in Southern Living borrowed from my mom. One of the dishes we prepared was this:

Coffee Rubbed Skirt Steak - get recipe here. With a little modification (couldn't find skirt steak so opted for another cut of meat and our coffee was a roast from Cool Beans Coffee Roasters).

The dry rub ingredients smelled amazing especially the coffee :)

I left off the lime juice for dinner that night (actually just forgot to add) but it was still wonderful. The next night I sliced the meat in thin strips and threw them in a skillet with lime juice to heat it up. We enjoyed it on flour tortillas with a quick slaw (red onion, red cabbage (both thin sliced), evoo and balsamic vinegar), extra sharp cheese and a dash of tomatillo salsa. Wonderful even as leftovers and a light meal. No over stuffing, feeling miserable. What are your go to summer dishes?

The world is a book......

As I mentioned in the previous post, a road trip was in the works and now has been completed (sniff sniff). But what an amazing trip it was. Six states, two countries and 2,776 miles of AMAZING!

Kentucky Bound

Two books, one journal, endless coffee...

First Coffee...Loveland, OH (outside Cincinnati)

Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York then OH CANADA

HAD to stop at Tim Hortons (thanks Joshua Jackson in One Week)

Mmmmm Maple Biscuit...

Hey der guy..are your cans in French?

On our way back into the states via Alex Bay in the Thousand Islands...yes...like the dressing

The mighty St Lawrence River...hey...is that Canada eh?

We (well I) developed a slight obsession with the blue spruce

Seaway Festival in Ogdensburg NY...home of the Frenchie ;) I have NO idea why he wasn't on a float..you would think he was the mayor...look out Mark Valley, I believe my hubbie is more well known in those parts!