penny pickles art

Princess Emma's Jumper

2009-07-10T08:39:00.003-04:00

The title of this post is in reference to a comment from my latest and littlest client - "Oh, I feel like a princess!" Whenever I make something pretty for Penny or put her in a twirl-y skirt she says, "I'm a butterfly!" or rather (I a bufferfi!) It makes me sad because we lose that magic at some point. I mean if we put on something that makes us feel beautiful, it causes us to smile, but if I put on a dress and twirled out of my closet saying "I'm a butterfly!" my husband would wonder what I hit my head on the way out of the closet. So I relish in delight with happy little girls and their new beautiful dresses. We become so self-defeating with our image at such an early age - it is refreshing to see confident happy ladies (regardless of their age!) Off my soapbox now and onto my recent work!

I have been chomping at the bit to show you my latest and greatest in P2 jumpers. I was contacted a month or so ago by Stacey. Stacey and I went to high school together back up at LC! We reunited on Facebook (which has seriously been the best thing I could have ever done personally and professionally) and she saw some of the images of jumpers past. She contacted me to make a jumper for her little darling, Emma. Since Emma is about Penny's age it was another opportunity for me to perfect my 3T pattern. I finally have the measurements I for each cuts of fabric and how much fabric that equates to when buying. I am embarrassed to say I am such a "winger" when it comes to sewing, but I felt it was high-time to actually make it a bit more concise. So anyway, I realized while working with Stacey that while I enjoy pulling together the perfect custom piece, sometimes it really helps to have options. So I went to may favorite local fabric store (Always in Stitches), where the ladies are so kind and just let me hop around the store pulling bolts and pairing them up and photographing them. I was able to give Stacey 6 different options and she chose from that lot of fabric. I gave you a teaser last post, but I can't tell you how much cuter it all came together in person. Presenting - Emma's Jumper:

As you know it's one thing for me to like it, heck I made it, of course I like it, but I am always nervous about what my client thinks. I woke up to a wonderful email that I am happy to share - it has totally made my day!

Oh my goodness, Annie! The jumper is AMAZING! I absolutely LOVE it! It's perfect. Emma was thrilled with it, too. I opened the package and showed her and she said, "Oh, I'm a princess". She then wanted to put it on and played around in it. You did a fabulous job. I'm so bad, but I totally want another one. :) I took some pictures and I'll send them to you soon.

Thank you so much!

Stacey

Thank YOU Stacey for working with me to make the perfect jumper for your girl. I can't wait to see the pictures (and maybe work on something special for you again)!

Next up: McCartney's Big Girl Painting!

Have a great weekend and talk to you all next week! Thanks!

back to my simplicity stuff

2009-07-08T16:13:00.004-04:00

You might remember a few months ago I did a series on simplicity. One of the topics I touched on was buying local. I had the pleasure of interviewing the owner of my much loved The Wild Bookstore for my blog on the Indy Star. Now, I'd like to think I'm a pretty friendly gal, someone that is pretty easy to talk to, so I have known for some time that things haven't been all sunshine and puppy dog tails over on the square. After discussing things with Jane today, I am saddened more than I can express. While business is picking up slightly (and I use that word delicately) it isn't where it should be, and unfortunately many of our beloved stores on the square have closed. At least 10 to be exact.

I'd like to take a minute to attach a blog post from Jane emphasizing the need for shopping local, not to leave it up to other people and get caught up in the convenience of the superstores. We all like the idea of independently owned businesses, but are we really doing our part? I spoke with my cousin today that lives in Cicero and she had the misconception that because it is more of a specialty store and independently owned that it must be more expensive. That isn't the case - sure you can't get a 4.99 Bakugon, but you can find some great books, crafts, art supplies and more, something of much, much more substance for your kids and not break the bank, at all! So please check out Jane's blog - I will be doing my Indy Star blog about her and her store this Friday and next week I am going to delve into whether or not our fine City of Noblesville is doing enough to retain and assist these independents (I'll tell you right now they aren't, but I get into more of that next week). Thanks for tuning in - I've shipped out my latest jumper so by the end of the week I should be posting a new blog with pictures! Thanks!

Watermelony

2009-07-06T21:40:00.002-04:00

So at dinner I realized that Penny has never had watermelon before. I mean she's had a chunk or two, but its usually honeydew or cantaloupe, and never a big 'ol chunk with the rind attached. We had watermelon at dinner and the kids dug in. I think I have a picture of each of my kids with the biggest smile, watermelon in hand with juice running down their chin. It is the quintessential image of summer for me. So I thought I share some pictures of my chickens enjoying their summer treat.

Yes, she loves to be photographed

I have my latest P2 jumper finished and it is getting shipped out this week, so as soon as it is delivered I will post the pictures. Thanks again!

shameless pictures of my girl in her new jumper...

2009-07-01T19:37:00.002-04:00

Okay so I was fairly cryptic in my last post - which when accosted by some of my friends, I found humorous because I really can't believe that people are interested in what I have on the horizon. That's me, lack of confidence girl. I will fill you in on that later, but first I have a new jumper to share.

I was hired to do a jumper, so went out and picked out some fun fabric and such. Turns out it wasn't exactly what my client was looking for - no problem, so I decided that it would be just perfect on Penny, and it is. You see I don't sew every day (yet) so I like to do a small personal project before I launch into a hired one. It's like getting my sewing legs about me. Plus, I wanted to try a few different things in the way I laid out the pieces and how I put it together - which ultimately saved me time and made for a much more finished looking product. I am happy - now if I just had a serger, it would be perfect, but that will have to wait until a few clients from now (it finishes the raw edges of fabric). I also was pretty happy to test drive my new pressure foot. So if you are at all familiar with sewing machines they have a foot, a little two toed foot that puts pressure on the fabric evenly so that your stitches are straight and your fabric is smooth. Well about a year and a half ago my pressure foot broke -it was plastic and I had my needle set wrong and BAM - it was gone. So one would think that finding a pressure foot for a Singer sewing machine would be fairly easy. It's a name brand and the machine is just ten years old. Well you would be wrong. There is only one store of ALL of central Indiana that carries the foot I need. It was in my old neighborhood, but I don't get down there much and when I do the store is usually closed. I could order it online you say, well that would be true, but I wanted to see the foot, size, etc. since I also join pretty tiny ribbon together -so larger feet wouldn't necessarily give me what I need. So store shopping was my only option. A few weeks ago I sauntered down to the ol' neighborhood and picked up my foot - a metal one. I am smitten. Up until now I've been sewing with a zipper foot - which is a pressure foot, but it only has one side so you can sew in zippers, making my job feeding the fabric and joining ribbon that much more difficult. It is amazing what correct tools will do for a project. So sewing Penny's jumper today was a dream, it actually takes my more time to cut my pattern out than to put it together - now anyway, with my new foot. It went together like with out a stitch (pun intended) and Penny is a doll about being fitted and letting me pin things onto her. Ah, such a girl. Well here are like a billion pictures of my ragamuffin girl in her new dress that she reluctantly took off before bed:

details

discovering pollen

Penny rarely walks, she's always running AND falling and then running again

hello model pose (mom clearly takes too many pictures of this child)

wishing the grill wasn't there...

Penny has naturally curly hair, so we experiment on a daily basis on how to tame the beast during this humid time of year, we've yet to win, but we aren't quitters...

mom and her girl

So what I discovered with my latest client is that I like giving choices. It takes some of stress off of me to find "the perfect" fabric, as if I were reading their mind. So instead I went out and found 6 sets of perfect fabric and emailed her the options - she loved two and we agreed that one really was going to be the best fit for her - here's a teaser:

I've got to be honest with you, I LOVE to pick out coordinating fabric and pull it together with just the right accents. I never thought I would love it as much as I do, but I do. So these evening I'll be cutting out my next project and hopefully getting that done this weekend (coming your way Stacey!) Working on this project has opened my eyes to a new world of possibility. I don't have things completed, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I am expanding PP into a few girlie items. Right now it's just my jumper and I'm farting around with a top and skirt pattern, along with little purses and such. One thing at a time though. Right now I'd like to incorporate what I did with this project, offering several groupings of fabric and allowing my client to choose from those fabrics. Of course, I'm always game for a creative license endeavor, but I think that a lot of people like the ability to choose, making it entirely their own. I guess I'd like to ask some of my loyal friends and fans for their input on how you think that should be laid out - do you have any suggestions? I'm all ears - so for now I am annoying my friends with girls who shop and shop well - I've been fortunate with a multitude of hand-me-downs so I am not as savvy when it comes to shopping for the little ladies.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, be safe and enjoy. I'll be hanging out, sewing and painting (I am working on what I think is one of my coolest paintings yet) and I'll post again soon! Thanks!

BTW - if you haven't had a chance to check out my Noblesville Blog for the Indy Star - I'm going to include a link here on this page - check it out or RSS it if you are interested. Thanks!

there are changes a comin....

2009-06-25T17:18:00.002-04:00

So I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and decided to make some changes, or some expansions if you will based on the comments of some friends and clients. I've got a LOT of stuff going on at the moment, two jumpers, a painting and then my special secret stuff. So you'll just have to wait and see so stay tuned!

Thanks!

Lindy

2009-06-18T21:17:00.002-04:00

So my dear friend Heather, or Hea as we like to call her contacted me EONS ago to do a custom 8 x 10 canvas piece for her friend who just had a baby. Well this was all in the midst of my Seattle trip, Meredith's table, getting ready for the Relay and my Indy Star blog starting up, and to top it off in the middle of baseball season. To say that I bit off more than I could chew was the understatement of the year. So much for under promise and over deliver - thank goodness Hea is a thoughtful and understanding friend. A lesser person would have fired me! Anyhoo - she didn't and thank goodness because I had a lot of fun making Lindy's canvas. I love doing custom pieces, I love getting basic information and translating it. For Lindy, being born and to be raised in Kentucky, her room is Thoroughbreds, navy and white ticking stripes and batten berg lace. A dainty country girls dream! So I pulled that together and came up with:

Lindy's horse ranch

Neigh!

Notice the "L" on the horse blanket - yep, did that on purpose!

So cute! Here's what Heather had to say:

Annie,

I had to email to tell you know that I absolutely LOVE the lindy portrait. Better yet, Susan LOVED it. You are a remarkable, amazing artist and I am so proud of you!! It was PERFECT!!! I loved the different horses, the hay bale and silo -- simply wonderful! I can't thank you enough for your beautiful work and your time. I am so glad to be your friend. :)

Thanks, my sweet friend.
Love, Hea

Jon's new do

2009-06-16T17:17:00.004-04:00

I know that I said I would do Lindy next, but I wanted to squeak this one in really quick, so I can put Lindy up in another day and leave that up for a few. Here is the evolution of Jon's hair...

Jon and Jack, pre-mohawks

So if you know my Jon, you know in the last year he's had some pretty long hair - rock star hair if you will. It suits him, he has the perfect type of hair to pull it off. I personally loved it - as did he. Now over the last few months he got a few comments from some punky third graders - because you know 9 year olds are at the height of cool. Well Jon is bit thin skinned, so these comments would bother him. So I'd trim him up and give him a "who cares what they think, they probably have ugly hair and their jealous" pep talk. (I can be so mature, really) Then we started baseball and two of his best friends Jack and Sam both got mohawks. Jack wanted a mohawk last summer and I told his mom - it's the summer, let him. Well this summer she did and so did Sam's mom, then Marcus, so the pressure was on. Now I don't really care - hair is just one of those fights that just isn't worth it - it's hair, it grows back, it gives me little concern at this point. It is just a battle that I leave alone. So Jon began the campaign for a mohawk. I explained to him that we would need to cut his hair and then we'll do the mohawk because at this point his hair was down to his shoulders - layered, but still long. So he bought into that and we did - we went to a real hair dresser and got his hair cut, I told her two inches, he came out five inches later and my hairdresser just said, "he kept smiling at me and telling me a bit shorter." He already knows how to woo a lady with the power of his dimples. Girls beware...

Intermediate Cut

So it worked out well in the end because we adjusted to shorter hair - I told him lets give it a few weeks and then we'll do the mohawk - still wondering if this would run its course. Well today was hair cut day, Dad, Drew and Jon, Dad got his typical buzz, Drew just a trim because he is miserable to cut hair for and Jon a mohawk - I was SO nervous - I love his hair, so thick, yet fine - it lays so nice, frames his precious face. But I did it, I cut it all off - and he looks adorable in a punk kind of way. The rule is he can keep it and then grow it back for school - while I am not going to pick hair battles, I also am not going to have hair spectacles at school. He's already figured out how to use "product" to spike it up and I guess I'm just lucky he's a cool kid and can pull it off. Without further ado - the Jon-hawk:

How did I wind up with such a cool kid?

Sweet spikes

A lot of hair - my hand is just there for reference. With everything he'd cut off in the last month we might have been able to donate it to locks of love - next time we'll definitely do it.

Next up - Lindy!

I relayed...

2009-06-14T20:32:00.002-04:00

I spent my Saturday participating in the Danville Relay for Life. Many of you know this, because you donated to my team, for that I thank you so very much. "Why do I do the Danville one? " you might wonder. Well my brother is the team captain of our team "The Danville Class of 2000" or TDC2K as we like to call it. Again, it seems squirrelly - well my sister-in-law Anna and her friends had been doing the relay since high school (yes, they are a bit younger than me if you do the math) and they have continued the tradition by adding spouses and in-laws to the mix. The idea is that you set up your booth Saturday morning, the event goes for 24 hours and you have one team member walking the track at all times. I believe the rules get a bit fuzzy at 3 am, but you didn't hear that from me.

Steve and I

Steve and Anna

Through out the day they have different themed laps and ceremonies, cancer "victors" telling their story and music, lots of music. Each year the relay has a theme - this year was the eighties. So my team chose "Sweatin' for a Cure" and yes it comes complete with our own Richard Simmons. So for the costume lap we all donned our best eighties apparel. I will say we have a bit of a reputation to uphold, we have won best costume two years in a row and I am happy to report that this year was our three-peat! Seriously we looked hot AND our performance, led by my insane brother was hilarious - I seriously almost peed myself several times. Let me just say that it involved lots of Richard's classic workout moves.

"Richard"

TDC2K

Sad as it is my brother didn't have to shop at goodwill for his outfit

Most of the day involves walking and eating and walking and eating - I feel a bit like a bloated pig - I be running right now, but honestly I'm still a bit pooped. At the end of the day they do a luminary ceremony that included over 1000 luminaries in memory of or in honor of. It is so moving and sad at the same time to see so many people affected by this awful disease. It's a wonderful time to reflect, pray and remember - it is probably my favorite part of the whole day, bittersweet as it is.

I will sum it up with this, there was a group called "Laps for Laura," we found out that Laura was a teacher in Danville and in her early thirties, she had two boys and delivered her baby girl in July. She died in October from Cancer. I takes your breath away doesn't it? I think about my mom at 33 being diagnosed for the first time with me- 7 and my brother- 3. I think about myself and my girlfriends and it scares me to my core that it could be me or anyone I am close to. I pray that it isn't, that our fate is different, but it does push me to embrace my days, my family, my friends and what I love more and more. You just don't know what tomorrow will bring. Thanks for letting me share!

Laura's son said it best on his luminary

Up next Lindy!

Meredith's Table, Finally!

2009-06-05T16:20:00.002-04:00

I want to thank you for your patience. It's been quite a while since I've posted Penny Pickles stuff. I've been busy working on some things, but they've taken longer than I would have hoped, I took a vacation, busy with end of school and baseball starting up, yada, yada, yada...

So I am more than happy to present to you Meredith's table and chairs that I finally finished. Meredith is my wonderful and talented friend Leslie's, daughter. She is quite the adorable character and it was fun to do something just for her. It was cool too because Leslie gave me total creative freedom to do what I wanted - so I thought a bit about Miss Merdi and recalled some of the elements of my previous work that Leslie seemed to like the best. The outcome was simply adorable. I am pleased as peas that Merdi loved her table, as did Leslie. It was the least I could do after all the wonderful photographs she's done for me of my artwork and my family. Not to mention my incessant questions on photography once I bought my own big girl camera.

Well I'll shut up now, Leslie did a beautiful job photographing this little set. It was a bit trickier than usual to paint it. When I paint on canvas, I can usually get through one part and then go back and either do another layer or start to do details. With wood things don't dry quite so fast, so after smearing several flowers, I figured I needed to muster up my patience and wait for the layers to dry. So it wasn't really more labor, just more drying time. Then it's the poly layer to protect the design from what kids will throw at it, which takes a day or two - unless you want your kid high on fumes. So without further ado-

I couldn't resist this one, I stole it from Leslie's blog - one of the first things that Merdi did was set up a tea party for her and her pink unicorn. So sweet - even if the unicorn is freaking me out a bit.

Thanks again for your patience, I have more Penny Pickles to share. Next week is Lindy's horses!

Also I my new Indy Star blog releases on Monday, so check it out if you get a chance - I will be sending out a email link, let me know if you want to be included. Thanks!

Exciting News!

2009-05-27T16:14:00.002-04:00

Okay - so I DO have some Penny Pickles things done, they aren't photographed so that isn't what this post is about. This post is to pre-announce some exciting news going on in my world.

So a few weeks ago I saw an ad in our newspaper, The Indianapolis Star, requesting bloggers to write about their community. I thought, "hey I can do this!" (and i said it just like that!) I contacted the person noted and sent one of my blog posts to him to show my writing style and such. Well I'll be damned he wrote back t and said that he liked my writing style and if I was interested they would love for me to do a blog about my community. Ha! I am really, really excited. I mean I enjoy writing more than I thought I would and for some silly reason I have a decent following of people who seem to be mildly entertained by what I write. I also really like the community that I live in, have several friends who are local business owners and I am very involved in my school. So I am going to get paid (albeit very modestly) to write about these great people and the events and activities going on around me. How cool is that?? I have a meeting next week to sign some paperwork, get educated on the software and get my picture taken. My blog will be promoted online at www.indystar.com and if I get a good enough following I could even get some print ads, but I am getting way ahead of myself (can you tell I am excited?). So when I am all launched and ready to go I will include a link- this blog will remain my Penny Pickles work and personal stuff, so don't forget about this one when you get all caught up in my awesomeness over at the star.

A shooting star...

Penny is already taking precautions due to the potential for fame to come her way via her mom's blog.

Thanks!

it seems like forever...

2009-05-21T19:53:00.003-04:00

It HAS been forever since I've posted. Geez - over two weeks. I can't believe it. So I have a much overdue post about my trip to solo trip to Seattle and all the goings on since. This might have to be two posts - let's see how it turns out shall we?

So I left on Wednesday the 6th for Seattle at the end of the day - I had a fun dinner with my family, Ryan treated me with some goodies for the plane and pictures that I recently took of him and the kids along with a card and a picture of myself and Joel (refer to previous post), I suppose it was a reminder of what I was going to be away from and my guess is that it was also a small attempt to make sure that I didn't forget what was waiting for me at the end of the week, just in case I got any ideas about extending my stay. I happily headed to the airport knowing that I had four solid days of no one to be accountable for, but myself. WOW. I settled into my seat at the airport and started to read Twilight, I had saved the saga to read on this trip, there are a handful of things that I can do well in this world, reading for entertainment purposes is one of them. I read and I read fast. We were informed that Chi-town was experiencing bad weather and we had to sit on our plane for about forty to fifty minutes until we had clearance to leave. Fortunately for me I had no one sitting next to me so I sprawled out and read. We arrived in Chicago at 8:08, my connecting flight was LEAVING at 8:15 - on a positive note my connecting flight was still in the C terminal, the bad it was at gate 22, I was at gate 2. So I hauled my butt and my bags and sprinted down the terminal (a sight I am sure) and managed to be the last one on the plane. I arrived in Seattle at 11pm and Twilight was finished.

Can I tell you how much I loved Seattle. Now I have to say I do love the sun, I do. However, I love gray, misty, chilly weather. I think I've mentioned before that I really, really wanted to move to Minnesota when I graduated. I just love wearing jeans, warm shirts and sweaters. Some people want to retire to Arizona or Florida, I love to retire in Maine or now Seattle. I digress. So Heather is a friend of mine that I met through my girlfriend Jill. I've talked about Heather before, she is a phenomenal designer. So talented, her eye, how she can pull colors and styles together. She is just an incredible creative soul to be around. Her and her husband Shawn are the hosts with the mosts - they are rather used to being a bed and breakfast for family and friends who miss them and also want to get a glimpse of their life out in the PNW.

I had no agenda for my trip, I wanted to see some of the typical stuff, the needle, Pike Place market, but other than that, I was just happy to be away and in the presence of much missed friends. Heather took me around to some of her favorite restaurants and shops. Darling little cupcakes, top pot doughnuts and gelato - oh heavens did I eat dessert! It was all balanced with rest, reading and visiting. I just am floored by how much we did over the course of three days - we saw so much and did so much, but I never felt overwhelmed or rushed. I had the opportunity to go on a mini hike on Saturday and see Snoqualmie Falls (insert Twin Peaks theme music). The weather was phenomenal while I was there, but we did have some gray, chilly wind and rain, but like I told Heather, I would have been disappointed to have come all this way and only experience 60 degrees and sunny skies. Gray skies and rain are indicative of Seattle - I love to experience places in their true form.

I thought that I would be ready to leave on Saturday night when we headed out to the airport, truthfully I could have stayed for a few more days. I guess as the kids are getting older, spending some time away from them is a bit easier, knowing that they were doing just fine and having a great time with dad. Being away is good for me because it allows me to be Annie and keep that part of me alive and well, but it is also good for the kids to have some solo time with Dad and vice versa. Sure it shows Ryan what a true day in the life of a stay at home mom is, but it makes him stop being Ryan the employee and HAVE to focus on Ryan the dad. It's a win-win all the way around the block. I boarded my red-eye flight back to Chicago-Indy and finished reading Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight series.

I arrived home at 11 am on Mother's Day to find that everyone survived, I had cards and flowers waiting for me, my dad was here and my only request was a BLT, minus the L and the T and a hot cup of coffee for breakfast. Dad stayed until 2 and I settled in on the couch to read Breaking Dawn, the final book. We had take out Chinese for dinner and watched Wizard of Oz, which I saw up to the tin man and then off the wizard was flying in his balloon - I guess I was pretty tired. We calculated I had been up for forty-two hours and it was time for bed. I got me thinking how the hell doctors can perform surgery after long shifts- it is no wonder more people don't die under the knife.

Since then I have been in recoup mode. It took me nearly a week to settle back into my routine, painting, child rearing, household chores and the projects that we've taken on all at once. I am happy to say that two weeks later I am finally back to normal, whatever that is. I mean it's 8:30 and I'm on my fourth cup of coffee for the day and I still have a ton to do, so normal is relative in this house. So there is much to share, I will pick up from this point in a few days. I am wishing everyone a wonderful, safe holiday weekend. Enjoy this glorious weather and take care! Thanks!

the needle

cupcake royale - yum!

snosqualmie falls

rachel the pike place pig bank

heather and i

the skyline

the incredible, but terribly disturbing gum wall around the block and down an alley from pike place market

oh yes this miss WAS a hit. heather has these HILARIOUS censor glasses, they were begging to be used.

again and again

so the library is an interesting architectural number, but the fourth floor where shawn works is just darn cool - heather did the settings on this picture so i can take no credit what so ever.

the flowers are AMAZING - I am sure everyone who is a transplant in Seattle swears they'll buy flowers every week at the market these glorious bouquets go for 10$, are you kidding me?

gelato - just like the real thing in Italy - I have never tasted authentic gelato here in the states - oh it is SO good!

I MET JOEL MCHALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-04T09:22:00.005-04:00

Okay, wow, hmmm, okay - yes I MET JOEL MCHALE!!!!! Seriously - this is like MY red rider BB gun- I mean, I LOVE Joel, not in that "I fantasize about you" kind of way, but in the " I would love to sit down have a beer and pee my pants laughing kind of way" or " I would love to guest host The Soup with you!" Okay that's just my fantasy!

I religiously watch The Soup on E!, I have since college. I would settle in on a Saturday and do what I call "Celebrate Saturday," which involved my electric blanket on high and dozing on and off all day on the couch until five when I would get up and get ready and go hang out with friends. On such Saturdays I would watch E! and there would undoubtedly be a Soup marathon or what it was back then, Talk Soup with Greg Kinnear. I've always appreciated The Soup because it makes fun of really, really ridiculous and dare I say dumb people. I find that hilarious - I owe my sick, twisted, often inappropriate sense of humor to my dad and love it! I find humor so easily! So my roots run deep with this show, I have watched all of the hosts beginning with Greg and none have struck me like Joel. I know I'm not alone - since Joel started on The Soup he has quite the following and his packed house on Saturday night was a testament to that fact. When I found out that he does comedy shows- I was game. He came to Indy in January and it just so happened that I had a girls weekend planned for the same weekend in Chicago. So I missed that show, BUT he was coming to the Horseshoe casino in Hammond and I told Ryan, we ARE going or at least I am, if we can't get a sitter for the weekend.

I am happy to report that our wonderful cousins watched our kids for the weekend and Ryan and I went north to visit my dad, do a bit of shopping at this phenomenal garden center and then on to the casino for a bit of gaming and fun. The day did not disappoint and by the time I got to the casino I was just plain giddy! The show of course was awesome. His opening act was Chris Porter from Last Comic Standing 4 and all I am going to say is he was absolutely hilarious. You never know with opening acts, but this guy is good stuff, goofy looking, but good stuff!

They made an announcement before the show started that if you bought a shirt, Joel would sign it after the show. So I thought what the heck? Worse case scenario, I have a shirt. So I promptly went down and bought a Spaghetti Cat shirt - it was that or "It's a felony" and if you follow the show, you know that refers to Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend. But not knowing if I was going to actually get it signed, I chose Spaghetti Cat, because hey, you can't go wrong with a shirt like that! I got back up just in time for the show to begin and it was great. Really great, I mean his soup stuff was funny, but his personal comedy was better than I thought. He is a funny, funny man. I laughed, I cried, I fought hard not to pee my pants (fortunately I did not) and had an awesome time!

So immediately following the show I got down to the lobby and got in line - a rather long line, but not as bad as I expected. See I figured that I'd get in line and then some security guard would come up about four people in front of me and say, "the line ends here, sorry for your trouble." I say that because it has happened to me before, every time in fact except when I was 9 and I was able to get into an assembly line with others to get a David Copperfield autograph, but it was one of those, he signs a picture and his assistant hands it to you, you get to look at him from behind a table, but there will be no touching and since camera's were a bit bulkier in that day, you couldn't dream of a picture with him. So that's my celebrity experience, so I had LOW, low expectations on what this encounter might be like. I am happy to report that the security guard never came and I was in "the" line to meet him. Holy Sh*t!

After about a half hour he came out, now I again I figured he'd be behind the counter and we'd smile and be on our way. No sir, he jumped the counter and starting chatting, signing and taking pictures. I would venture there were about 150 people in line, not all of them getting signatures, some, like Ryan, were forced to be a photographer for their star crazed partner. We waited in line for about an hour, I couldn't imagine why it was taking so long, but then when I got within reach I realized this guy is actually TALKING to everyone he is meeting. Wow, I mean, sure he isn't Brad Pitt, but when you can sell out a theater because of your verbal banter, I am thinking your a bit more popular than let's say me or even a local weather anchor and you could be a bit of a jerk if you wanted to.

It was my turn, I was a bit dumbfounded at first, but he is actually a really, really nice guy. Asked my name, Ryan's name, where were from, why I didn't go to the Indy show and talking about how cold it was when he came, what he did while he was here, what he saw. Then he asked, "Annie, what do you want on your shirt?" I said, "uh, I didn't realize I had a choice. You are a hell of a lot nicer than I thought!" So we talked for a few seconds, "Chick's Man? Oprah's V-jay-jay." I said, "eh, let's not do Oprah's V-jay-jay I have three little kids." "Oh how old are they?" "Uh -7, 4 and 2." "Wow, you're f*#king busy!" So I opted for Chick's Man, because I really like that segment of the show. In hind sight I should have had some witty personal thing, but I am not nearly as witty as the character I play on TV! ;o)

He thanked me, then said okay picture time and posed and gave a squeeze good bye. Wow - it was a blur because I just couldn't believe this guy was taking this much time to talk to everyone in line. I would say I was special, but he was taking time with most of the people in the line. I would like to think I handled it as cool as I could. I mean he really was so nice and down to earth- I realize that people on TV are real people, but fame can go to ones head. I am impressed to no end and honestly admire and like him more now than I did before I met him. I have that fear and I am sure others share this opinion that you can be really let down by meeting someone famous and then find out they are a total ass. He wasn't and I am smitten!

So here are few pictures of my night:

waiting in line

discussing my t-shirt options

Joel and I (that's for you grammar girls!)

Okay, so not only is he nice, but he is a swell looking fella. That and he has great skin, which sounds really weird now that I am typing it out. Anyway, here is the only time you'll see be wearing my Spaghetti Cat t shirt because it is getting framed with my pictures and my ticket stub and going into our entertainment room. (and for the record THAT was Ryan's idea, not mine!) (what he doesn't know is that the picture of Joel and I is going to be 8 by freaking 10 baby! ha!)

For the record I do look this hot all the time, nothing but the best from this stay at home mom!

So I leave for Seattle in two days - I will be signing off for now - I'll have tons to report about my trip when I get back and then I need to get my rear in gear and finish up my Penny Pickles outstanding business! So much to do, so much to do....

Thanks!

one more sunny day to get through the rain...

2009-04-21T08:07:00.005-04:00

As I sit here in my kitchen and I look out to this gray, dreary day, I decided to post a few more sunny day pictures from our Friday afternoon. While we played during the day at the park, in the afternoon we decided to play in the driveway and wait for Jon to get off the bus. Jon is a bit of a celebrity walking the red carpet when he gets off the bus with Penny shouting his name and Drew rambling on about what he did and asking Jon what he did, like a little Ryan Seacrest interview. Of course Jon appears to be pretty ambivalent about the whole thing, but I know he likes the attention. While we waited we had to play a quick game of hide and go seek and I will say my kids are getting pretty used to me snapping away at them and me yelling, "Don't say cheese, just look my way, you don't have to give goofy grins!" Which I don't mind grabbing those either, but I LOVE getting a picture of they way they look at that minute if that's a smile than great, if it's just a look - than great. After having three children and they are all at such different stages I try to reflect on they way the older ones where and how the little one will be - catching these moments is an easy way for me to burn them in my memory forever (or at least on CD)!

Our Friday:

hide and go seek

penny counting

I just couldn't decide which I liked better

sleepy ragamuffin

frustrated ragamuffin complete with dirt on her face

(i LOVE this picture of her)

So today is the last day of the glooms for this week. Starting tomorrow the sun is going to shine and we are going to be outside.

You might be wondering where is the Penny Pickles art? Well there is art going on, just taking a bit and I have one painting in the wings. I am also about ready to start my assembly line of pink ribbon canvas' for the Relay for Life that I am participating in, in June - I will be selling my little ribbon paintings and all of the proceeds (minus my supplies) will be going to the American Cancer Society. I am also working on a drawing piece for that day as well. If you are interested in donating or just have questions - let me know.

Signing off - Thanks!

It's spelled wheee, not Wii

2009-04-19T21:24:00.005-04:00

We were blessed late this week with phenomenal weather. Warm, sunny and a glimpse of things to come in the next few months. It is amazing to me what a little sunshine can do for a person. I am clearly so much more motivated to do ANYTHING if there is a bright sun blazing in the blue, blue sky. We were invited to go to the park on Friday for a picnic and some play with the Webbers. We happily accepted their invite. You see we don't frequent parks, sure my kids go, when they have babysitters, but we have a perfectly wonderful play set and sandbox in our own backyard. I am a fan of our backyard because it is fenced and I am on constant kid search when they play at a playground, especially a busy one. So this rare occasion was celebrated by the two youngest Pages. We went to Forest Park, a wonderful park down the road from us with a variety things to play on - the young child play area was "the" place to be on Friday. So we settled down on a bench and off the littlen's went to play. Of course I couldn't pass up this opportunity of potentially great pictures of the kids being cute, so bear with me.

penny putting flowers in Leslie's hair - a rare quick pic of the camera shy lady

drew's smirk

drew, happy because I am waving chocolate in his face

ahh, joy

just a pretty daffodil

my ragamuffin

merdi's bouquet

After lots of fun at the park we headed home and the kids napped, but not enough and then they were just crabby - but the weather was still nice! Saturday was incredible and we had a busy, busy day, but that will be for another post. You might wonder what the heck my title of this post meant, but it occurred to me that when I say the word whee - my kids think of Wii. I was pushing Penny in the swing this weekend and she kept saying "wheee," every time I pushed her and when I would stop she would say "more whee?" Which was just too cute and of course I continued to push her and help her have "more whee" and I thought we need more whee and less Wii, and when the weather is nice it is so much easier to have that genuine "whee" time. So there.

Later this week I should have my next Penny Pickles piece finished - so stay tuned. It's suppose to be a few dreary days ahead, so enjoy the sunny pics - I know I will!

Thanks!

Easter!

2009-04-13T10:55:00.002-04:00

I sit here this soggy Monday morning, reflecting on this weekend. It was pretty uneventful - winding down our spring break to nowhere. Saturday we stayed close home, Ryan worked on some handy man stuff for our neighbor, I holed up in the basement in the office to start Penny's Easter dress. Yes, I said START. So after a few hours I managed to finish her dress and make an adorable camera strap cover for Leslie (yep, it's done and sooo cute!). I went out that evening for a run, I am LOVING this mild weather so that I can run outside. I just have such a hard time on the treadmill - I do it if I must, but if I have a choice, outdoor running wins hands down. I went out after my run to finish my grocery shopping and buy my Easter candy. Yes, my mother is looking down on me shaking her head - I waited until the day before to buy ANYTHING for Easter. It all worked out, we have replenished our supply of sugar for our home and the kids managed to sufficiently OD'd on sugar despite the fact that their peanut butter cups were in fact round and not in the shape of an egg and our M & M's are primary colors instead of pastels.

We woke on Easter morning to Jon having a 102 degree fever, which naturally put a bit of a damper on the days events. We decided to stay home from church and do our own service, reading from the bible the story of Christ's crucifixion and his rise to heaven. It was a nice time for all of us together to reflect on what Easter is really all about.

Ryan and I laughed because we had one basket for the family filled with non-Easter shaped candy and a few books and a Wii game for the kids and the bunny did in fact hide eggs throughout the first floor, but our children didn't discover these treats or even ASK until about 10:30 when Penny came upstairs and said "Egg!" and then ran to the stairs and said "Dew! Wook! Egg!, Dew!!, DDDEEEEWWWW! JAAAAAAA!" I add the exclamations for emphasis because Penny really talks that way! The boys came up, Jon's motrin kicked in and the egg collection began. They had such a good time and I did a terrible job videoing the events- we will undoubtedly get motion sickness once we view that video one day. I am generally NOT the videographer - give me a camera and I am fine, the video camera, I am all over the place. So I have no pictures of the egg hunt, but one terribly jerky film.

Dad came down, Steve and Anna came over, we ate, celebrated the day and ended it in a quiet way. Everyone left, I went for a run and the kids went to sleep. I couldn't help reflect on the absence of mom and how she'd be pleased with the sauce I made (my great-grandmothers recipe on dad's side), appalled that I didn't iron my table clothe, tickled that I folded all my napkins into little fans, and she would shake her head that I skipped making salad because we ate too many appetizers to make it worth it. I try, but I have big shoes to fill and while I want the table to look nice and ambiance to be suited for my company, I'm a comfortable girl and like to sit and visit. So I approach holidays a bit more relaxed. That isn't to say I don't try.

I am particularly pleased with Penny's dress. It may seem like I only have one child, but Jon wasn't looking his best and he had on sweatpants, Drew was playing Wii for most of the day and well, me, I was enjoying visiting so I didn't hide behind the camera much. Needless to say I don't have many pictures. Back to Penny's dress, so I tried a different pattern this time, I decided to make the skirt style the same, but not use elastic in the back, I also used contrasting fabric for the thick straps and then sewed button holes for the straps. For now, I criss-crossed them and tied them in the back to make the dress more fitted for now, as she grows I will just tie knots at the ends to give it a different look and honestly, she'll be able to wear this one until she's probably 6 or 7 because it fits Jon as a tunic-style top. Wouldn't you love to be a boy in my house! I like to provide longevity in the stuff I make - it may have only taken me three hours to make, but it is still my efforts that I would like to enjoy for more than just one season.

getting ready to swing

swinging baby

the runny "lady"

its kinda grainy, but i love this picture of my dad

Jon is home today with his fever, which he wasn't too upset about - we've managed to stay pretty healthy so I can't complain. Plus, Ryan stayed home today, he is feeling a bit puny so we're all still in our jammies, relaxing and holing up in the house on this dreary day.

I am nearly done with my next project and then on to a custom piece after that! Until then thanks!

hello conner...

2009-04-08T15:03:00.003-04:00

Well I certainly did my best impression of Andy Rooney yesterday didn't I?

I am happy to report that Rooney is gone and Annie, er Penny Pickles is back! I delivered a nursery piece that I had been working on for an old high school friend, Tanya. It turns out Tanya (who found me on Facebook) lives in Noblesville about 10 minutes away from my house (such a small world). It also turns out that Tanya is expecting her second son, Conner, in four weeks. She contacted me about a month ago to do a tile spread spelling out her newest son's name. What was so nice about this project was that I could go to her house, see the room, the type of furniture and bedding she was going to use, the other art pieces she was considering and sit and talk with her and her husband about what they were looking for. I don't usually get that opportunity, so it was a welcomed chance. That and I was able to hand deliver the painting, so no panicking about whether I wrapped it well enough or whether it shipped okay. Plus I get to see my clients reaction in person, which is worth it's weight in gold!

Their bedding is pretty simple and quite handsome, yellow, light blue and chocolate brown, I copied the bedding a bit, modifying it slightly and changing the blue tone a bit to work with some of the other pieces they intended for the room. I also really like the double matte look with these longer canvas', it really frames the final piece. The result was adorable and it looked great up against the cocoa colored walls in the nursery. Once they finish the nursery I will hopefully get a few pics sent my way to see how it all comes together.

I present: -CONNER-

secretly wishing i had a wide angle lens

Thank you so much Wilhite family for having me over, and allowing me to work on this great piece for your nursery. I just know when baby Conner comes home he is going to have a very, very special room of his very own. It was my pleasure to work on this for you! Thanks again!

Next up: Merdi's table and Penny's easter dress. I scored at the fabric store today and found some fantastic fabric to add to the fabric I already had - I just can't wait to start and from the looks of it, I'll get a one day turn around on Saturday! Ahh!

lots to do, lots to do

random bits of ranting...

2009-04-07T16:32:00.006-04:00

I realized today that it had been a week since I last posted. Wow, a week. Let's see - so the jumpers we're received by Lindsey and she seems very happy with them, I am excited to hear what her friend thinks when she gets them as a gift next month.

I finished my newest nursery piece, but it won't be delivered until tomorrow so I will share that later this week.

I am starting my first piece of furniture, I mean it's started, but I am really getting into the nitty gritty now that I am finished with my nursery piece. I'm very excited about this project.

It seems silly, but my days have been pretty filled, but nothing tremendously exciting filling them. We're in spring break right now, I am sad because I wish we were in Ft. Lauderdale like we were last year.

This yo-yo weather is almost too much for me - I'm dragging, tired and just wishing I could crawl back into bed and sleep this cold, blustery weather away. When did we lose spring? I figure it will be in the 80's in the next month, not giving us or nature a chance to adjust. I never realized how much the weather or environment effected me or my family. Drew especially, he's such an outdoor kid, loves it and when he can't be outside it leaves the rest of us wishing he was outside. ;o)

I am surprised and impressed by the inquires on my jumpers. I didn't realize people would like them or like them enough to want one. I was lucky enough to spend a day with Leslie last week - we found some awesome fabric to make a swing top for Merdi and I found some awesome fabric for Penny - I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but I'll figure that out later. I also realized that Easter is this weekend and I need to get cracking on Penny's dress - I have the fabric out, just nothing done with or to it at this point. I know what I want to do, I just need to sit down and do it.

That leads me to something I am terrible at: pricing. If you own your own business or sell something that you do handmade you might be able to relate. I am my worst critic and I under value my wares terribly. I am trying to get better at this and be realistic about the time I spend and the effort that it takes. I mean sure you can go to Target and get a dress for 9.99$. It will be cute, but not unique. When you want unique, sometimes you need to pay for it. I am a one woman operation, I do it all myself, including the pattern. When someone doesn't sew or paint or whatever, they either have a ton of appreciation for the skill and time involved or they do not. I haven't had much opposition for my pricing, but its something that has been eating at me a bit. I guess my point is that I don't over charge for my labor or skill. I generally only charge about $10 an hour, which is what I made at the Gap doing retail - I don't think that is asking too much, do you?

I'm a bit frustrated with the economy right now - sure we've been touched, Ryan lost his job last year. We were lucky that he found a new job and he makes a good living, but what makes me laugh is when you hear government workers complaining about no raises or private employees complaining about no bonus'. WTH? Ryan didn't get a bonus, Ryan didn't get a raise, hell we're happy he has a job! I just don't get why people can't keep that in perspective. And the government pumping money into the banking industry, encouraging them to lend, well I will tell you first hand they aren't. Ryan and I did quite a few renovations at our last house, we did it in a fairly traditional way, we had a line of credit, we'd use it, pay it back, use it again for home improvement, because lets be honest, not everyone has tons of money sitting around. So now we're in our new house and we want to do our kitchen, I mean it's a great time, retailers are dropping their prices on appliances and cabinets and such. The deals couldn't be better, but we'd like to take a line of credit out to do that work. I'll tell you what - we've got very little debt, we've got great credit scores, but the banks have made their limits so ridiculous that if you haven't lived in your home for 10 years you aren't going to meet their qualifications with regards to equity. To me, that seems ridiculous - no wonder the economy is in a tail spin. It makes me wonder what the banks are doing with that money and why our government in all the regulations that they love to administer to every aspect of our lives aren't labeling that money for lending purposes ONLY!!! I don't get it, but what I do get is that I am frustrated and that just plain stinks.

I have to admit this post has become a bit of a rant, so I'm going to go with it, I'm in a stinky mood today.

I don't like twitter, I don't. I love my friends, I love hearing about their life, I don't need the details of it every hour. I mean, I've got some cool friends, but lets be honest NONE of our lives are that interesting. Hell even the stars lives aren't THAT interesting. Call me old fashioned, but I'd rather talk on the phone or write a letter to get the low-down, not see twenty-seven tweets on Facebook about nonsense.

I am conflicted because I am doing a bible study with two girlfriends. I am so happy to be doing it with them, but I am more confused and frustrated than ever. I'm not happy with the workbook I am doing. I mean when I first started doing bible studies I was confused and a bit of a lost sheep. As I matured in my walk, I found deeper meaning in my studies, like they were specifically meant for me. I don't know, other than developing a new and deeper relationship with my girlfriends, this study is leaving me unsettled, dissatisfied and confused. I continue to pray for movement and guidance because I want this study to move me.

On a sad note, one of my clients lost her child a week and a half ago. I had done a painting for Robyn to tribute the loss of her twins and then did a nursery painting for her daughter to be, Rowyn. Rowyn had a difficult delivery because the placenta detached and Rowyn was left without oxygen. She was born with minimal brain activity, but she fought and lived and went home. A week and a half ago she left this life and joined her sisters in heaven. I find no words of solace to offer the Nix family other than I am so, so sorry. It is moments like this that move you in ways you can not dream. I am saddened so deeply by this loss.

Okay, I think I've sufficiently alienated and darkened everyone and every ones mood so I'll stop now. I promise Debbie Downer will be gone next time and happy pickles will be back with more work to show off - until then Thanks!

Jump for Jumpers!

2009-03-26T16:59:00.003-04:00

A Penny Pickles first: jumpers!

As you may know, I have a basic knowledge of using a sewing machine. So I've done a few things here and there, pillows, roman shades, quilts, camera straps (my newest!), costumes, pajama bottoms and last but not least dresses for Penny. In February when I posted pictures from Penny's second birthday, I mentioned how I created a pattern and dress for her. A friend from college, Lindsey, seemed to be taken with the style and asked if I would make something for hire. I was a bit nervous because I've only sewn for my kids, not to mention I can fit them as I am making it, so I know it will fit. So as I thought about it, I thought- sure, lets go for it! Lindsey gave me creative license to pick out the fabric and extras and gave me the following parameters: She had a friend due at the end of June. She has a 2 1/2 year old and is expecting her second daughter. Lindsey wanted me to make matching jumpers for the girls. She like the style of the tie straps, that way mom can adjust them based on the girls height. The great thing about these jumpers is that they can be worn alone or with a t shirt or long sleeve t shirt. You can also pair them with tights, leggings or jeans as the weather gets cooler or the dresses get shorter. So I found fabric that I fell in love with, spent about an hour and a half in the button and ribbon section of Joann's and went forth and conquered the great unknown of sewing for others.

Actually it doesn't take that long to make these dresses - its the details, like the fact that I rarely find ribbon that I am thrilled with alone, so I combine it with other ribbon to make what I am looking for - which takes time, not to mention layering buttons because I again, am not moved by what I find off the shelf, so I add buttons to one another to get the look I am envisioning.

The 3T jumper was easy, I used Penny as my guide, the smaller one though, was a combo of using the measurements of one of Penny's baby dresses and a baby doll that is pretty close to that size. We're pretty high-tech here! I am happy to report they are done, shipped and I am THRILLED with how they look. I am even pretty happy with my packaging, I added little thank you charms (thanks mom) and velum envelopes with washing instructions (thanks again, mom). I am always so taken with good packaging so I am always trying to get mine a bit prettier than bubble wrap - this was my chance!

So with out further ado, I present the jumpers:

Sorry couldn't resist the last one, I love the "rapid fire" ability of my camera that caught Penny twirling - love it!!!

Anyway - I am so proud of my handiwork and I am hopeful that Ming and her daughters enjoy the jumpers once they receive them. Thanks Lindsey for asking and taking a chance on my sewing skills.

Next up Conner's tiles - its my latest nursery piece - it will be a few days - so until then - Thanks!

My weekend and upcoming projects...

2009-03-23T09:39:00.002-04:00

Well I certainly had a busy weekend - March has been a whirlwind type of month and I am so looking forward to the calmness that is April. Spring break will make for lazy mornings, Jon will be home so no homework, and planting season officially begins, and last, but definitely not least the blessing of Easter! It also marks the beginning of baseball season and dusting off those bikes, which again are wonderful markers of Spring in the Page house.

This busy weekend we started off on Thursday when Jon had a half day of school so we went to see old friends, the Stumpfs, that we hadn't seen in years. I worked with Bryan and his wife, Lainie and I had the same doctor deliver a few of our kids. I say a few because the Stumpf's have a wonderful, large family of eight children. Lainie has a fantastic website and I just really don't know how she does it all! Anyway, they live on some beautiful property in Boone County, just about twenty minutes away from us and they have CHICKENS! It was such fun, the kids played, they chased the chickens, Jon and Penny got quite good at catching them and gathering up a few eggs. The only party-foul that occurred was Penny climbing into the coop and falling in while the chickens were partaking in their "scratch" snack, so she got pecked at a bit - but being the type of mom that I am, I wasn't going to leave without Penny making peace with the chickens (I was not going to have her declare that she wouldn't eat nuggets anymore because of her experience) so we went back to catching they chickens and then tossing them done saying, "here you go" (Penny not me) as though she was doing them a favor. It was a wonderful visit, it was so nice to catch up and see how their children have grown and one of the best parts was I was able to come home with three dozen fresh eggs!

Friday, Jon had another half day, so it was a lazy day for the kids, but a cleaning frenzy for me, that evening we had an overnight with our cousins, and promptly had a scrambled eggs and bacon dinner - delightful!

Saturday morning I was fortunate enough to host a "girls day" here at the house with my girlfriends that I've talked about here before. We normally don't get together so soon, but Annemarie is delivering her second daughter in April, so this was our last chance for a while to get together as a group. So we all met up, caught up and visited for the day - being entertained (or annoyed) by my children that decided that we needed a little excitement. Penny would sing for us, and dance and talk and walk up to and hug and kiss everyone - Drew decided some of my guests needed to be put in their place with a light saber poke or two. Poor Annemarie, must have done something to the dark side because she was the unfortunate recipient of most of Drew Vaders antics. Later that day we decided to head to Broad Ripple, we hadn't been their in a while and well we actually had an agenda in mind.

The girls (not in pajamas for a change)

Now before y'all think I'm nuts, I will say in my defense this is something I've wanted for a very, very long time. As I explained to Jon, this was the first time in my life I felt like this was totally appropriate, so I got my nose pierced. It really wasn't bad at all - although they don't use the guns like at the piercing pagoda, they use a ginormous needle - which I didn't see much of, but felt and saw on the table. We went to Metamorphosis in BR, and I was pierced by Paul - who isn't highlighted on their website, but is a really nice guy. Based on the piercings he had, I figured I was in good hands. So we went, and I did it and the best part is I saw women from my church their getting their belly buttons pierced. I guess there is a boom of piercings occurring in the suburban mom sect. I like it a lot, I am so glad I did it and I love the looks I am getting, like - people don't know what to say, did she have it before? am I rude if I didn't notice, but mention it now? It's hilarious really, I am curious what my dad is going to say - he's coming down next week. The kids didn't really mind and I explained that I did it because if I had done it in high school or college my parents would have killed me, and then I worked professionally and generally engineers aren't known for their piercings. Up until now, I just didn't feel it was the right time. So when their adults making their own money, they can decide what is right for them. They seemed happy enough with that answer.

We had a wonderful dinner and dessert and then said good bye. I hosted a couple girls overnight so I had the added treat of a bit of visit during breakfast on Sunday. Sunday was a calmer day, but we did get the garage pulled together and the bikes ready to go - I am almost done with my first clothing project - I will be finishing that in the next two days and shipping it out later this week. I am really excited about how these little jumpers are turning out. I had a little extra fabric, so I decided to make a cover for my camera strap, it is adorable, but I am wondering how Ryan is going to feel if he dons the camera next. It was super easy - I used a remnant of fabric and interfacing and it slid on like a dream and makes the strap a lot more comfortable, not to mention pretty.

Cute, no?

Sunday evening we hosted the Au's for dinner and fun - it was so great to catch up again - I don't think I had seen Lisa's husband Jeff in over a year, and the kids enjoyed the hours of Wii and backyard play. After our guests left and the house was picked up, we curled up on the couch and watched a movie, it was a nice end, to a busy, but fun weekend.

Just loved this picture from our lazy morning

Next up - Jumpers!

Thanks!

Introducing...

2009-03-17T16:57:00.002-04:00

It was brought to my attention a few days ago from an old jr. high friend that I should offer gift certificates. I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner, but its BRILLIANT!!! Of course - if you are interested in getting something unique for a friend, but don't want to make decisions for them - order a gift certificate! I can provide them in any dollar amount - and I can also give advice if you aren't sure where to start. What an awesome gift for baby shower or for new parents, that doesn't involve clothing that gets outgrown in three weeks!

Once my technical advisor gets home from work, he will update my site - its ready and waiting for him. So there you go - some new Penny Pickles news! Nothing earth shattering, but news nonetheless.

Thanks!

Happy 7th Birthday Jon!

2009-03-16T09:09:00.002-04:00

Today is the actual birthday of my eldest son, Jon. Not to be confused with our dinner with friends on Friday, or his kid party on Saturday or even his family party yesterday. Today is the day. See, if you've been tuning in since at least my birthday, you know that in the Page house we celebrate birthdays for days - they only come around once a year and one day just isn't enough. Of course than we need to go through birthday detox because it is easy to get used to all the attention.

We started on Friday having old friends over for dinner, the Green's. They lived in our old neighborhood and we've know each other since Jon was first born. Their family consists of three boys, Jake (8), Noah(7) and Matthew (4). We had pizza and Wii fun and the we all got a chance to catch up after too much time passing since the last time we last visited.

Saturday, we woke early to prepare for Jon's small party. Last year we went had a large party at a gymnastics's studio, it was fun, but expensive. With three children, we've made it clear that it isn't going to be an every year occurrence. In fact the success of our little party has made us wonder if it is necessary at all! Since Jon is a huge Star Wars fan (thanks in part to his father who rented all six episodes and sat the boys down for a marathon) we decided a Star Wars theme was best. We invited four of his little friends, two from his class last year and two this year (one of which is the cutest little girl/tomboy you will ever meet- Jon proclaimed, if I were a girl, I'd be like Sarah, cute, but I would like boy things). They were to arrive at 11, play and eat and get picked up at 1. Only two hours you say, well it was just about the most perfect timing ever. Our plan was to let the kids play for a bit and then send them on a scavenger hunt around the house to find clues to their next destination, each clue was written in Yoda-ease and had a word scramble for the actual room the next clue could be found. They wound up at the Jedi Temple (aka-our play set) and found a box containing a light saber for each child (fewer kids, cooler treats) the final part of their journey was to battle Darth Vader (aka Ryan) to save the universe from the dark side. Needless to say the Jedi's won and Darth got his butt kicked.

Let me back track a minute to show you the lunacy, ahem, dedication that my husband has to our children. He was up by eight, dressed and ready to hit a party store on 96th street because it was rumored to have an adult Darth Vader costume. Much to Ryan's chagrin, they did not, but he did buy a children's one and took parts and pieces to make his own. He hid by the side of the house as the kids ran outside to the Jedi Temple and then turned the corner to begin the battle. And yes, this is all on video.

We came in for lunch and presents, and ate the most adorable cupcakes made by my friend Melanie (who lives in Fishers, so if you live local and need a fantastic cake, cookies or cupcakes for your child I can hook you up!) We then played and all kids were picked up by one.

My dad then came later that afternoon and hung out with us and the kids as we prepared for our little family party on Sunday. I try to make my gatherings pretty laid back and easy so I can enjoy the festivities as well. We made homemade pizza (Jon's favorite) and had lots of snacks and of course another set of those darling cupcakes. My brother and sis-n-law, dad and our friends the Hazelriggs (minus dad who was at a KISS convention-which is probably a good thing because being a dentist I am pretty sure he would have had seizures seeing the amount of sugar the children where consuming). We ate, visited, played outside and opened presents. It was a wonderful day, and best of all, Jon proclaimed, "this is the best birthday ever!"

Jon then was invited to his friend Sarah's house for more Jedi fun and hamburgers. Ryan took our little Darth Vader (yes Drew in fact has swapped his Spiderman suit for Darth and wore it to a cowboy store) to buy himself some cowboy boots. I got in a run and had a chance to enjoy the amazing weather.

Today we had one last special treat for Jon when he woke up. If you know Jon, Jon is pretty snuggly. He loves to cuddle and be lazy. He also has an unnatural love for infomercials and can repeat them verbatim and can give you a million reasons why you need the product. (I'm beginning to think I may need to create my own curriculum to sell to schools and have it infomercial based because I have heard from friends that this is a phenomenom that is sweeping their children as well.) So months ago, he discovered the Snuggie. Yes, THAT Snuggie. He has been bugging me since for his own, in Red, so he can play his DS without his arms being cold - seriously. So seeing as I have a raw (and I mean raw) talent for sewing, I opted not to spend 19.95 to get two Snuggies and two book lights. I picked out fleece that I knew Jon would love, and used a Joann coupon and made his for less than $10 and I have enough fleece left over to make Drew one if he gets real jealous. Jon got up and we gave him his Snuggie and I said "look Jon now you can be warm and play your DS." He said, "let's try." Only on your birthday can you get away with playing video games before school. I am happy to report that the Snuggie does in fact work and his arms DID NOT get cold playing his DS. He also wore it around the house for the rest of morning, which was hilarious, but made me happy. Ah the simple things.

I am also happy to report that it was a Lego birthday, so while I have a TON of those crappy little pieces around my house, we managed to get through the weekend with NO action figures and toys of the like. I [heart] Legos! Can't beat them for creativity, imagination and problem solving. See learning CAN be fun. I will end this post with a ton of pictures, but also with this final statement. I am in love with my big boy, I can't believe he is seven, I can still picture my fuzzy haired baby, and even though he's getting big, he still has that big dimply smile and those beautiful, expressive eyes. I love the creative soul that he is, I love his empathetic heart and how he loves so unconditionally. He's a quirky, friendly, adorable child and I am so very blessed to call him my son!

Thanks for letting rant on - I promise some Penny Pickles stuff later this week!

Do you hear the Empire's death march?

Mini-Darth

The Jedi's at the Jedi Temple

Jon introducing our guest Drew-Vader

My brother serenaded us at dessert time with Jon's guitar.

Just a cool shot - Silly Papa purchased on his last visit a contraband Storm Trooper rifle, normally we aren't allowed to shoot mom, but it made for a cool picture so we went with it, just this once.

Gotcha!

I promise I will post some pictures of Jon in his Snuggie, I am pretty sure he'll be jumping in it right after school! Once again - Thanks!

Simplicity: Shop Local

2009-03-12T15:33:00.002-04:00

Today I had the rare delight of being able to meet up with a friend for lunch. You see Thursdays ALL of my chickens are at school - preschool or otherwise. Usually this day is reserved for running around like a crazy woman - doing every errand I can think of that would be delightful to not have kids in tow or have to juggle car seats for a two second turn around visit. While I had errands to run, it was my turn to work the book fair at Drew and Penny's preschool and most of my day was taken. I purposely didn't over schedule myself today-knowing I'd be starting with a handicap. So, I met my wonderful friend Leslie for lunch and a quick visit, since we've both been excessively busy and not had much time to gab. And boy can we gab. We decided on lunch at a restaurant on the square here in Noblesville, since I had to pick up my kids first - lucky Leslie gets an extra hour and a half at her school! We met at a wonderful sandwich, soup, salad shop that has become my usual stop on my day of choas, otherwise known as Thursday. As we were sitting in the shop eating our sandwiches and soup and salad, it got me thinking about buying local and how this terrible economy is really strangling not only the big dogs you hear about on the news, but the little guys that you come to love just right around the corner. Today my topic is shopping local - if you have to do it, do it local. Sounds like a t-shirt motto...

Now my friend Leslie is the knower of all things, she knows everyone, she knows where all the greatest shops and restaurants are and she is a wonderful source of knowledge (she reminds me a lot of my mom), so when I came up with a restaurant that she'd never heard or suggested going into a shop on the square that she'd never been, well I felt like a puffed up peacock! So we met at the Logan Street Marketplace and had our fab lunch and then went to The Wild children's bookstore to show off their goods and introduce her to Jane the owner and Pages the store cat (whom has decided he loves me, which is hilarious because he is SO cat, so don't tell him I told you!). In this world of big box stores that even I am guilty of shopping at, I find myself continually drawn to eating out, getting coffee or finding that perfect gift - right in my backyard. Maybe its because I started my own little business that these other ones (that are big dogs compared to me!) have become so dear to me. One of my other stomping grounds is Noble Coffee and Tea - let me just tell you as a coffee snob (I typically grind my own beans and prefer my own brew to coffee houses) I love these gals. They make a mean cup of joe and everything they have to offer is just perfect, not burnt or taste-sensory overload like some of the more common coffee shops. I even sport a bumper sticker, which I am normally not a fan of, but a friend gave it to me at Christmas. It says "Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks." So, so true. What I love about this coffee shop is not only the fact that everything tastes awesome, but you can get every flavor of Republic of Tea, teabags AND the girls know you buy name. I tell Ryan all the time, my highest aspiration for retirement is to work at Noble Coffee and Tea and on the weekends sit with my crones and talk about the old days. That's how much I love it.

I have stated my love for The Wild children's books store before, we purchased all of Penny's birthday gifts there and most of Jon's and Drew's. At Christmas time they are one of my favorite stops, but I realize (and Ryan explains to me as he does our finances) I can't solely keep them in business. It breaks my heart though when I walk into the store and there is no one shopping, it continues to break my heart to hear that business is down, not just for our adorable bookstore, but also for all of the businesses on our square. We have a beautiful square, with some really great shops. It makes me sad when I see one of our stores close. I pray that my beloved Wild or Marketplace doesn't fall victim. If you live local, you need to take the time to come to our square and enjoy what all we have to offer.

It isn't just our square, its square's all over the country - falling victim to keeping up with the suburban shopping strip malls. As a former planner, I can tell you that too many squares have succumbed to becoming nothing more than antique malls, being antiques themselves. I consider myself lucky that ours is still thriving, struggling, but fighting to stay a float. It isn't just the shops either, I have our insurance guy on the square, our investment guy on the square, our dry cleaners on the square and had my clock repaired at the clock shop, we need some screens rescreened, so I'll take them this spring to our hardware store to be redone. I consider myself blessed that our main street has so much to offer. But it can only offer its goods and services if people continue to patronize them. I realize that times are financially straining for everyone, but it felt good when I went to purchase Penny's kitchen at my favorite store and I didn't spend anymore than I would have if I had gone to Toys r' us, but I know that my purchase directly benefitted my LOCAL economy. Sure I didn't have all the choices, but that made the choice easy. Think about that next time you decide to go to Borders for a book or if you are lucky enough to have a local bookstore, or restaurant, or coffeeshop, well you get the point.

I could go on and on about some of our other amazing places along the square - but the bottom line is -shop, live and love local - thanks!

my best pulled-back-hair-no-make-up paris hilton pose

Simplicity: Home Organization

2009-03-11T09:48:00.004-04:00

I was made aware that my skoy cloth link didn't work the other day, then upon further inspection I realized that their website is different - so here is the updated link - sorry about that!

Today it is hard for me to get enough motivation to do much of anything. I normally am not so effected by the weather or the time change for that matter, but both have rendered me a bit impaired. I am tired, very tired, and when I get tired, I get sick. So that, coupled with the fact that our weather went from 75 yesterday afternoon to a crisp 30 right now, has officially slammed me on my rear. I normally don't feel the brunt of atmospheric pressure in my head, but there is always a first and never say never. Of course today would be my craziest day of the week with grocery shopping, dry cleaning, bank, 2 yo well visit (Penny's, not mine) and then finishing up cleaning my house for our weekend of celebration for Jon's birthday and then on to the preschool open house, where as a board member, my presence is necessary for directing traffic. So today is NOT the day to be feeling less than perfect, but less than perfect I am so there you go.

My topic of home organization is near and dear to my heart. As I explained in earlier posts, I was the dork who would go to friends houses and ask to organize their closets on a play date. Seriously. So it doesn't come as a surprise that I love to organize. Again, like most of my other philosophies, it isn't rocket science. Everything has a home or home base if you will. Be it a space on a shelf, a bin, a basket, etc. You get the point. If your stuff has a home you will be more tempted to put it there, if you are tempted to put it there then you won't have stuff all over and you won't lose things. It's a beautiful cycle. I also think that organizing goes hand in hand with purging. For example - my linen closet. Everyone in our home has two sets of sheets, one winter, one rest of the year. I wash them weekly or more frequently as necessary and just put them back on the bed. It's less for me to store and it airs out the mattresses. When the boys were in twin beds I had two quilts that I had gotten on clearance for their beds. Well now that Penny is in a twin we decided to move Drew to a double and needed to get bigger bedding. I was able to get the same sheets that he had in the twin, but obviously the quilts were history. When it came to those extra sheets and quilt, I obviously didn't need two sets, so I gave a set to our cousins whose little boy is about to transition into a big boy bed and his room just happens to have all the right colors for my stuff to match. Kismet! Part of organizing is paring down so that you can make sense of what you have.

Kids - this could quite possibly be a topic unto itself. I will try not to drag it on too much! My kids have never wanted for toys, between my folks and Ryan and my old toys, we've always had plenty to go around. What I have always done though is that EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING has a bin. That way when we are done playing, it goes back into that bin. Most of ours are IKEA bins that cost next to nothing and you can write on them with crayon and wipe it off with magic eraser. What doesn't fit into an IKEA bin fits into these mesh totes from the container store. Now my kids aren't perfect and we do have the occasional mexican stand-off when it comes to cleaning the toy room, but our toy room is picked up EVERY night and everything goes back into its place. That way tomorrow I don't have to face, "Mommy, where is my spiderman with the web slinging fingers?" Our friendly neighborhood crime watcher will be in his bin, where his other friends are located. We also clean out the toy room on a monthly basis. Things break, that is inherent with children, so we clean those out, markers that are dry, pencils with no lead, fully colored coloring books, etc. This keeps things as minimal as we can with our kids. I am amazed when I hear parents say, oh I just want a basement to put all their stuff and just close the door. While that is a nice luxury, it doesn't really provide the teaching opportunity of respecting ones things so they last and how to clean up after themselves. I may be a stay at home mom, but I'm not a stay at home maid.

Now before you think that I am this crazed lunatic when it comes to picking up, I'm not, not really anyway. My goal is to keep up with it during the day, but the bottom line is it is done by the end of the day. Now that isn't to say that the basket at the top of the stairs to our basement isn't filled with miscellaneous toys to be put away or a laundry basket of clothes waiting outside a bedroom for the next day - that happens, a lot, but the bottom line is that it is a constant. If you don't find a system and try to keep it up, you'll be drowning in excess linens and fisher price vehicles before you know it!

I think this post will end for now, I'll talk more tomorrow about organizing paperwork and crafts and such tomorrow or the next. Aren't you proud of me? I'm simplifying my posts, you've got to start somewhere!

Thanks!

Simplicity: Eating at Home

2009-03-08T22:02:00.005-04:00

So it struck me last week when we decided to do a DQ run that it costs my family $18 to go to DQ! If I take my kids to, horror of horrors, McDonalds it is $15- minimum and that is with me getting nothing. (not that I need it!) So while we're all trying to tighten our belts up a bit, I realized the best way (and generally the healthiest way) is to eat at home. Now when we were younger and the kids were younger we ate out a bit more - we'd be pooped or have a taste for something and out we went. As we expanded our family, it became less of a habit and now - we'll its just a couple times a month at most and one of those is pizza take out or Ryan and I on a date.

My Yia yia was a great cook - she was a true Greek woman - feeding the masses at a moments notice. I think about how back when she was a young mom you didn't have fast food, take out, big box grocers or heat and eat meals. I try to think about that - women at that time truly spent their WHOLE day in the kitchen. I try to keep that in mind when I feel like I'm spending most of my day in MY own kitchen. It got me thinking though - you cooked EVERYTHING from scratch - no boxed noodles, nothing! It was a better time, a healthier time. I mean you could still be eating fried chicken, but people didn't get it from KFC, it was homemade, people just didn't eat the quantity of food that they do now. While I want to embrace the everything from scratch lifestyle - I think I may still buy boxes of rice pilaf and couscous and steam-in-bag veggies for a quick lunch.

My new goal is to strike eating out from our budget, not entirely, but maybe once a month. I enjoy cooking and I realize to cook more, means doing other things less - it is a sacrifice I think it is worth making. I love making homemade dough - we make homemade pizza every Friday or Saturday night. It has become our family tradition - I use my great-grandmother's Sicilian pizza bread recipe - and damn it if it doesn't turn out awesome EVERY time. I also realized that as much as I love DQ, it is an expense that is totally unnecessary. My dad bought for us a few years ago a malt maker - I think it was a guilt purchase because growing up we always had one that was from my grandfather's bowling alley. It was a professional grade and it was such a treat to have dad make us malts. Dad decided to give the original to Steve and I have the newer model. My kids love when we make malts - so why the hell should I spend $20 at DQ when I can spend $5 on supplies and make malts for at least two weeks? It's the simple things that I think stick with us and I want that for my kids.

I've always been pretty organized with my grocery shopping and meal planning - I just can't wing it - I can wing it when it comes to cooking, but I need supplies. I also have been embracing the shopping style of "perimeter" shopping - it isn't rocket science, but shopping the perimeter of the store will generally provide you with the healthiest, freshest options. It helps you stay away from all those preservatives (I can't give up goldfish though - sorry!) and God forbid HFC! It can get expensive if you don't watch it - which is why buying some frozen fruit and veggies can save you a bit, not to mention keeping longer than fresh.

This spring I plan to finally join the local produce co-op and focus on in season veggies and fruits - not to mention expanding my own garden (another post!) and I've recently gotten in touch with an old co-worker and his wife and they own chickens!!! So I will be buying my farm fresh eggs from them - for much less than the grocer -and not to mention far fresher and healthier than their store counterparts. I also am going to start making bread - I had a neighbor in my old neighborhood that made homemade bread everyday - it was AMAZING. Oh do I miss it! So I am going to start making bread, once a week - that's my goal - it isn't hard and it's cheap as can be, far cheaper than the loaves at the store!

As far as snacks in our home, that was a purge I did long ago - my kids get smooshed fruit instead of fruit roll ups, there are tons of healthy chip/cracker/cookie options - and fruit - well, my kids love fruit, so I've done something right. If I am lucky enough to have to take them to the grocery store (yes, that is in my most sarcastic tone) then I let them pick out some fruit or veggie that we've never had - we picked up yellow carrots our last trip to Whole Foods - I was nervous I will admit, but they DO taste just like their orange brotheren. We also have always done water or milk as our drink options in the house. That isn't to say that my kids don't get the occasional lemonade in the summer or a glass of soda with pizza on a Friday night, but it's milk or water in this house and I am happy to report that my kids actually like water. Really, I swear! So I hope that by providing these healthy choices to them, but not being a nazi when it comes to the occasional less than healthy option that comes their way, that I set a good foundation. Balance - I like to make sure that my kids know their are other options, that you can have them once and a while, but generally you need to eat good to keep your body from head to toe. So far so good!

Thanks for checking in - I am amazed at how interested people have been - really. I promise I DO have Penny Pickles stuff coming soon. I just finished my first jumper last night, I have a second one to start, but is cut out (a baby one no less-yikes!) and I have a multi-tile name that I am about to start! So we're busy as can be here at Penny Pickles, which is why this morning came a bit earlier than I expected and I've had a very S-L-O-W day. I hope everyone has a great week - I think next up will be home organization - since I'm in the midst of redoing much of mine!

Take care!

Simplicity: Purging part duex

2009-03-06T10:25:00.002-05:00

Okay - so I was with my bible study girls last night and I was trying to figure out what I was going to blog about next. It struck me that I felt incomplete with my purging post, so I was going to continue - can you tell I a passionate about purging? So anyway, today, the kids are at my cousins for the day and thus marks the beginning of Spring Cleaning. Now I am not "cleaning" the house per se, that will come, but not before I clean OUT the house. So we're finally facing some nice weather and I can objectively look at our clothes and closets and see what stays, what goes and what gets trashed.

I'm a lucky girl, my kids are pretty easy going about clothes. Jeans and t-shirts and a warm fuzzy sweatshirt and you've got two of the happiest boys on the planet. Penny is too young to know better, so that is a battle I don't have, YET. I have been extremely blessed by getting hand-me-downs from friends for all of my kids so I usually don't have to buy too much. Before the hand-me-downs my mom was our personal shopper - we do miss that tremendously. I digress.

My point today is to go through our winter stuff, clothes, socks, jammies, etc. Remove what's too small, make sure everything is mended if need be and in good condition. The bottom line is we don't need a ton of clothes. The other part is that my boys wear the same size in everything except for pants - Jon is a slim, Drew is a loose fit guy. So its essentially like having twins. They even where the same size shoes, socks and underwear, which isn't too bad of a gig in those departments.

I had the misunderstanding that when I had a girl that we needed lots of dresses, now I've not bought any for her, but I have come to the conclusion that I can make her one special dress a season, I can count on few hand-me-downs from our cousins and friends and my dad always likes to get her something pretty. The bottom line is I have a girlie/tomboy on my hands and she is best when she can wear jeans and cute top so she can dive into the sandbox or color her body with markers. So I am going to be more objective of what she actually NEEDS, versus what might be fun to have.

For me, it's hard, I've been a million sizes since I've had children, I'm almost to the prepregnancy weight that I was my happiest at - so I've kept four pairs of pants from those skinny days - but otherwise, if I didn't wear it this season - its gone, if it doesn't fit exactly right, its gone. I would rather other people benefit from my excess than to perpetuate hoarding. While I don't want you to think I am extreme, I just know that we don't need as much as we have. I also know that I have gotten to a point in my life where I would rather buy something a bit more expensive and well made over something cheap and quick - those things don't last. I've also gotten to a point where I have dresses that I've owned for 6 years - but their classic and they aren't out of style and I'm confident they'll last 6 more, at least. Fortunately I have pretty classic taste so I'm not turning my wardrobe over every season . If I am compelled to jump on a trend, that's where I'll spend a little less, knowing it isn't a lifetime investment.

Along with purging, I review HOW I store things in my closets, now that the kids are getting bigger - the kiddie hangers are getting to be too small. Their pants aren't laying nicely on the shelf because their too big and their shoes don't fit in the bin originally intended for them - so with this purging I need to figure out how to better organize their closet making it neat, but also accessible to them since they dress them selves (with minimal guidance).

So for today, I am going to throw open my windows, enjoy the 70 degree temps and let the dust blow out of my house - I will clean in a week or so, once all my closets and drawers are purged and reorganized. There is this big joke amongst my girlfriends about me and my organizing - how can I have something to organize, when I am already organized? Well what I will say to that is that organizing is not static - you have to keep it up, review it, make sure it is working for you and for others. With kids it's hard, where I hung Drew's clothes last year, doesn't work this year because they drag on the ground. So I make a new plan. Sometimes organizing takes many attempts because you need to think about it and digest it and use it a bit to see that one part or another is or isn't working well. So I say to all of you, enjoy this rainy, warm weekend, if you live local come to my pancake breakfast at Jon's school tomorrow and go home and go through your closets - you'd be surprised what you will find. And if you are desperate - I'm available for hire - I work cheap - coffee in the am, wine in the pm! ;o)

Stay tuned and please comment, comment, comment. I love all the emails, but you can also comment anonymously if you don't have a blogger acct. Thanks again and take care - happy spring cleaning!