. . . it's tradition . . .

. . . of course,

i do a little here and there

as needed, but . . .

. . . at least once every six months,

my ironing gets done . . .

. . . all of it . . .

. . . it's the perfect

saturday conference activity . . .

. . . along with

the tabernacle choir . . .

. . . the sweet, sweet sound

of power tools

provided today's accompaniment . . .

. . . which was music to my ears . . .

. . . dream job . . .

. . . so excited

for my

new church calling . . .

. . . playing the . . .

. . . at the . . .

. . . every . . .

. . . whole fence . . .

. . . you may call me daniel-san . . .

{but you should substitute "bathroom" for "fence"}

. . . it's all in the wrist . . .

{and under my nails}

. . . favorite day of the month . . .

. . . quilt group day . . .

. . . yay! . . .

. . . thanks so much

to jamie for hosting . . .

. . . and when i say hosting,

of course i mean

making us a yummy

bowtie pasta

spinach

strawberry

chicken

craisin salad . . .

. . . and giving us a tour

of amberlee's darling bedroom . . .

. . . i have really talented friends! . . .

. . . other highlights included:

show and tell . . .

. . . nedra brought

two fabulous quilts . . .

. . . oh my stars! . . .

. . . check out

these kaffe baskets . . .

. . . the applique and piecing

are impeccable . . .

. . . texture magic

adds just the right oomph

to select blocks . . .

. . . and to top it all off . . .

. . . it was quilted

by judi

of green fairy quilts . . .

. . . whose work is

probably the best

i've ever seen . . .

. . . nedra also brought

her version

of nanette's

all dressed up quilt . . .

. . . serious . . .

. . . quilt . . .

. . . envy . . .

. . . covet . . .

. . . covet . . .

. . . covet . . .

. . . again ~ texture magic . . .

. . . notice the green

and purple dresses . . .

. . . and . . .

. . . judi's . . .

. . . quilting . . .

. . . again . . .

. . . and finally . . .

. . . take a gander

at this darling number . . .

. . . renee pieced

these wonky little girl blocks . . .

. . . and i absolutely adore

the wonky border, too . . .

. . . great job, my quilty friends . . .

. . . you are awesome mentors

who inspire me to keep sewing . . .

. . . poof! it's gone . . .

. . . i've tried lots of different methods

over the years . . .

•fabric softener

•electric steamer

•slap on some drywall mud

•paper tiger, hot water & patience

. . . but the best idea so far

for getting rid of

pesky, unwanted wallpaper? . . .

. . . josh squared . . .

. . . josh, my nephew . . .

. . . and josh, his uncle . . .

{also uncles ammon and lamoni ~ i wish i'd taken their picture}

. . . and bead board . . .

. . . lots of bead board . . .

. . . i've been in awe

of the craftsmanship . . .

. . . they've faced

the tub and shower enclosures . . .

. . . they've wrapped

every {unsquare} corner . . .

. . . they've filled and sanded

every nail hole and seam . . .

. . . now let's just hope my

{less-than-professional}

painting skills don't mess up

their beautiful work . . .

. . . progress? . . .

. . . yes . . .

{i think so}

. . . it always gets worse

before it gets better,

doesn't it? . . .

. . . the calm amid the chaos . . .

. . . do you know this trick? . . .

. . . wipe excess paint

on the rubber band . . .

. . . keeps groove

on top of can cleaner . . .

. . . ensuring the lid

will still fit well . . .

{i learned that on pinterest}

. . . ttfn . . .

. . . tons more beadboard

to prime and paint . . .

. . . twenty-nine . . .

. . . and holding . . .

. . . no, really . . .

. . . these two turned twenty-nine . . .

{tyler on st. patrick's day and brent today}

. . . we feel blessed to have

them for sons-in-law . . .

. . . 1983 was a very good year . . .

. . . i think . . .

. . . wc . . .

. . . water closet:

a compartment or room

with a toilet . . .

. . . meaning: this room

does not currently qualify . . .

. . . as you can see . . .

. . . what? . . .

. . . you don't keep your toilet

on the back porch? . . .

. . . so . . .

. . . while you were watching

a midnight showing

of the hunger games . . .

. . . i turned into

a beadboard painting machine . . .

. . . one coat of primer . . .

. . . then four coats of semi-gloss . . .

. . . and i've only just begun . . .

{totally open to suggestions for a color

to paint the top portion of the walls . . . help!}

. . . time to change . . .

. . . remember that one episode

of the brady bunch

where peter's voice keeps cracking

when they're trying

to make a record . . .

{go ahead and watch that video

and let me know how long it takes

to get that tune out of your head}

. . . isn't this

a lovely waverly print? . . .

. . . i, apparently, thought so . . .

. . . back in 1996 . . .

. . . but the time has come . . .

{actually it probably should have come a long time ago}

. . . for a change . . .

{insert cracking voice}

. . . so i've decided

to get rid of part of it . . .

. . . there are three essential tools

for removing wallpaper . . .

1} a paper tiger

[it's an amazing scoring/perforating tool that makes tiny holes ~

i wish i'd invented it]

2} a spray bottle of hot water

[i use a pressurized garden sprayer,

sparing myself from painful hand cramps]

3} and the most important tool

is patience

. . . the tools are used in that order . . .

. . . score the paper . . .

. . . spray . . .

. . . wait . . .

. . . repeat steps two and three

many times . . .

. . . especially the waiting . . .

. . . trying to peel the paper off too early

only brings frustration

and damaged drywall . . .

. . . about four hours later . . .

. . . and that's all there is to it . . .

. . . i'd say it's already looking

about twenty-five per cent better . . .

. . . good for your eyes . . .

. . . while carrots are

a good source of vitamin a . . .

. . . your mom

wasn't exactly telling the truth

when she said they'd

improve your vision . . .

. . . colby, however,

ate every last spoonful

and doesn't give a flying fig . . .

. . . mmm ~ figs . . .

. . . maybe they're

next on the list

of fruits to try . . .

. . . we aim to please . . .

. . . remember when i said

our pool turned green . . .

. . . i was waaaaaaaaaay off . . .

. . . anyone can see

that what we're dealing with here

is yellow algae . . .

. . . and after lots

and lots

and lots of gallons of chlorine

and super shocking it

multiple times . . .

. . . a fancy pool chemist says

the only way to fix it

is to drain the water

and start over . . .

. . . which can only mean one thing . . .

. . . neighbor kids are happy campers . . .

. . . especially on a 75 degree

early release school day . . .

. . . seasons . . .

. . . the calendar tells me

today is

the first day of spring . . .

. . . the weather forecast tells me

that here in mesa,

we'll be experiencing

all the seasons

within the space of one week . . .

. . . all the seasons

except that one

that lasts for about six months

where it feels like you're

on the surface of the sun . . .

. . . two thumbs up . . .

. . . recipe successes

from over the weekend . . .

. . . first up ~

salted caramel butter bars . . .

. . . they're salty . . .

. . . they're caramel-y . . .

. . . they're buttery . . .

{and, yes, they're bars, too}

. . . a couple of mental notes

for next time . . .

. . . and there will be a next time . . .

. . . the recipe says

to coat a 9x13 pan

with non-stick cooking spray . . .

{why don't they just say pam?}

. . . but you might say to yourself:

"self: there is

one pound of butter

in this here dough ~

there's no way it's going to stick" . . .

. . . and then ~

you will not spray the pan . . .

. . . and you will be right . . .

. . . the dough just slides right out . . .

. . . the caramel filling,

on the other hand . . .

. . . will be stuck

to the sides of the pan like

super glue,

e6000,

gorilla glue,

epoxy,

liquid nails . . .

. . . take your pick . . .

. . . spray the pan . . .

. . . i'm just saying . . .

. . . also ~ next time i will salt

a little more . . .

. . . there's tons of sweet going on . . .

. . . next up ~ spring-ish potpourri

simmering concoction . . .

. . . you should make this . . .

. . . it smells a lot better

than the three packages of bacon

chris and i cooked last night . . .

. . . it's simple: slice a lemon {or 4} . . .

. . . snip a few sprigs of rosemary . . .

{i have tons. i'll share}

. . . pour in a little vanilla . . .

{go easy. the vanilla was a slightly overpowering on my first try}

. . . simmer on low . . .

. . . i would recommend

not leaving home

while the stove is on . . .

{public service announcement}

{it looks really fresh and pretty until you start to simmer it.

then it looks kinda like a brown slimy mess.

but it smells delish.}

. . . gotta run . . .

. . . wish me luck . . .

. . . i'm making these today . . .

. . . gracias frani . . .

. . . everyone should be so lucky

{at least once in their life}

as to have a next~door neighbor

like frani . . .

. . . we were partners in crime

through more crafting shenanigans

than you can shake a stick at . . .

. . . she was always the glue gun whiz . . .

. . . i was in charge of sewing . . .

. . . remind me sometime to tell you about:

•the time a bunch of us

stayed up pretty much all night

making framed pictures

of victorian houses

out of fabric and trims

•the time we stayed up

pretty much all night

making gingerbread man wreaths

•the time we

bought a special machine

that applies metal picks

to silk flowers

•the time we made

who knows how many

flower arrangements

to sell at a boutique

•the time she introduced me

to the orange county swap meet

•the time{s}

she caught drew and brad

tinkling outside

•the time she played matchmaker

for amelia and tyler

•etc

•etc

•etc

•and then the time

she showed up at my house yesterday

with this darling jellybean topiary

she whipped up for easter

. . . it's getting a little crowded here . . .

. . . since now we have

a february

mary engelbreit calendar page . . .

. . . a jellybean easter topiary . . .

. . . then to make things

a little more confusing . . .

. . . i thought i'd throw in

our st. patrick's day

double rainbow fruit plate . . .

. . . seriously ~ i miss

having frani right next door . . .

. . . those were the good ol' days . . .

. . . wearin' o' the green . . .

. . . remember that one time

when everyone but amber

got the memo? . . .

{she was waaaaay too old/cool for matching by then}

. . . happy st. patrick's day

from the romney kids . . .

{ca. 1992-ish}

. . . and happy birthday

to son-in-law, tyler

and former visiting teacher, jamie . . .

. . . gifted . . .

. . . friday night's

television lineup

includes

a gifted man . . .

{but not during march madness}

. . . a series about a neurosurgeon

who is visited frequently

by the spirit

of his deceased ex-wife . . .

. . . i know, i know . . .

. . . but i like it . . .

. . . and my favorite part

is that during each episode

i get to see

what my hair is going to look like

in the next life!!!! . . .

. . . meet dr. kate sykora . . .

{aka actress rachelle lefevre

~ she's gorgeous ~

and apparently she was in twilight, which i never saw}

. . . she's not the dead ex-wife . . .

. . . she just plays the doctor

who took over the ex-wife's position

at a free clinic . . .

. . . oh ~~~ it's complicated . . .

. . . but i love her hair . . .