The Next Parts of My Life

Hello all! It has been the longest time since I made a moment to fill the blog world in on my goings on. Here's the deal. My life has exploded. It has been both good and challenging, hard and wonderful. But it has been one of those times in life when there seems to be a lack of time. Every moment is filled with things and feelings, and every spare moment slips by quickly unnoticed. 

So, I am tired. I am the kind of tired that goes to the bone. And what sounds really nice right now is a snow day. But it's August, and there's no inclement weather approaching to secure a day of forced inside coziness.

Here's what's been up with me:

June 13 - Said goodbye to my first car- "Timber"the best Saturn SL2, ever.
Highlight: my "new" (also made in 1996) car, "Mixy" is a station wagon. 

June 16 - I went to LA on a mission trip with high schoolers for a week.
Highlights: Runyan Canyon Hike, seeing Ron Jeremy with a bunch of church kids, amazing weather.

July 14 - A week-long "vacation" away from home with Stan

Highlight: a hot walk on Put-in-Bay island that IS funny now as I look back (Stan was right), Erie seaglass, watching the kids wrestling with Stan.

July 27 - Stan PROPOSES. I say YES! (duh)
Highlights: wading through ankle deep mud puddles to get to the spot where he did it, him- in general.

August 11 - We decide to get married this fall.
Highlights: Cool weather, fall leaves... and we get this done and over with. 

[insert photo of a frazzled, probably-crying, actually quite happy, bride to be.]

August 13 - Nephew # 4 born. Samuel Ezra.
Highlights: squishy little nose, that new baby smell, the way his brothers and sisters adore him.

August 24 - Completed renovation of two student ministry rooms in the church where I work.
"Highlight": a horrible trip to ikea with a buying team of 5 - it felt like I had 3 husbands.

And then there were the other things. Things like A) job hunting for the Mr. B) trying to figure out how two people will fit into this itty bitty apartment full of my overflowing chotchkies C) wedding planning D) work work work & E) a tiny bit of socializing F) Not much creating.

Next Up in Life?

November 3 - Get hitched.

Details: Check out our wedding website.  (still under construction)

Tons and tons of wedding planning. I've been feeling an awful lot like I have two full time jobs lately. I go to work and do work and then come home and do work. I've designed our invites and save the dates myself. I'm shopping for decor for the space. Things are coming along, but good god, it's so much more complicated than I ever thought it could be. Thank goodness I have a fantastic prize waiting on me at the finish line of this race.

Hopefully, I'll get some process pictures up here sometime. We're having the wedding in a barn in West Chester, Ohio. It will be family and close friends from all parts of our lives. Think a little rustic and vintage. Yellow, red and tiffany teal. Records and games and fun oh my. With hot cider ladled into paper cups. Here goes!

My Grandpa's Vintage Abode - A Tour de 70's

I keep meaning to give ya'll the certain satisfaction of a mini tour of my grandpa's home in Dover, OH. he moved in here 11 years ago when he married the house's owner, my step gramma, Dottie. The 70's decor is as pristine as it was upon installation. I always marvel at the patterns and color schemes. So last time I visited, I took some sneaky pictures of some of my favorite highlights of the home.

Just a quick pictorial update. I'm using the blogger app. I really don't know how to format on here, so I apologize if the page looks wonky.

Don't you just love those bright colors? the green and pink rooms are both bathrooms. I love the simplicity of being able to tell people directions in a color coded fashion. There is no question where to put my luggage when Dottie tells me I'll be sleeping in the purple room. 

The Gift of Decor (or) Window Treatment Fix

Since it's spring, I suppose it's time for a little catch up with Christmas time crafting. (Yeah, that doesn't really follow- but I'm gonna run with it anyway.) My sister is a mother of 4 (soon to be five) who lives in a rental home in Ypsilanti, MI. She's a wonder woman. She cooks, cleans, crafts and home-schools her little ones - and usually with a contented smile on her lips. I adore her and have always looked to her as a role model. One drawback to the business of her life is that she hasn't had much time (or will) to decorate her home since the family moved in last summer. Since it's a rental, it's hard to make an investment in any kind of decor decisions that might be permanent. In six months, she's put 1 nail in the wall. I can't imagine living in an undecorated home. Every apartment I've ever lived in, any home I've ever had a room has been decorated immediately. I can't feel at home until the space feels "homey". 

For her Christmas gift, I put together a low key decor kit for her tiny master bath. It's one of the only places in the house that receives more adult usage than kiddo, and I wanted for her and her husband to feel like it was a little special. Like a little oasis? I don't know if any space in that child-ridden home will ever really be relaxing. (Although, I gotta say, sitting next to the fireplace with one of my brother-in-law's homebrews is pretty magical.) But at least the room has a window treatment - and a bath mat!

A lot of the decor elements came from the Dollar Tree (oh I love that place!). I cut down a bamboo placemat to make a makeshift runner for the flat surface behind the toilet. I made a little candle feature with stones and funny moss covered rocks. The cut-off portion of the placemat had this neat suprise feature of staying in a twisted shape like a vertical pinwheel. I stuck a string on it and it hangs fromt he ceiling! Elements of the decor kit not pictured: bath mat, soap dispenser and toothbrush holder. All in a light sage shade. 

My favorite invention for the bathroom? A tricky way to hang a sheer curtain and valance on only 1 pressure curtain rod. Knowing my sister would be hesitant to put holes in the wall I wanted to take out all the work of hanging the curtains. Problem solved!

I achieved this special magic using a length of foam tubing. (That stuff people on Pinterest have been making wreaths out of!) I cut it to just shy of the width of the window and slit it down one side. Then I put it over top of the sheer on the rod. 

What's awesome about this method is that I could have two sheer panels on the rod and still be able to open and close them to adjust how much light I want to come in the room. You have to tug a little to move the bottom sheer, but it's still effective.

Sorry the pictures aren't better. It's hard to photograph a window feature during the day especially with a silly little camera. (It's so time for an upgrade!)

Making it is simple. I made a rectangular valence the width of the window and finished it on all ends. Then I HOT GLUED the sucker onto the foam tubing. Here's a picture to explain the construction.

I think maybe I might be a genius. (A super-humble genius!)

Happy spring, ya'll!

Picture of New Growth (and) Last Union of 2012

My dear cousin married her beau the weekend before Christmas. It was a gorgeous ceremony and a family and friend embraced event. There was a fresh layer of snow on the ground. How perfect for a winter wedding with Christmas tree decorations. 

Kate is several years younger than I, but we've grown to be pretty good friends over the years. Both of us are adventurers at heart. While most of my adventures have been confined to the Midwest, Kate upped the ante. She spent several years in Kenya teaching at a school in Nairobi. A year and a half ago we had a sleepover and watched countless "Friends" episodes cuddled under comforters, hair knotted up in buns. We talked about boys that night, about my adventures and misadventures and her lack thereof. We talked about marriage like it was the distant future. And now- she's a Mrs.

For their gift, I stemmed from the Bible verse engraved inside their wedding rings. A beautiful thought. We love because God first loved us. I sketched for a while and decided to make the script of the verse the foliage of a tree. 

My least favorite part of any embroidery project is transferring a design from paper to fabric. I came up with a pretty good solution to this challenge. A milk crate, an old window pane, and a desk lamp made for a functional light box. Quick work at transferring. I'll have to remember to do this again.

The tree needed some little fascinations so I added in some leaves, a bird, and a flower.  I'd seen the couple's names etched on the trunk before, it's no new idea. But it is sweet and quaint.

I'm too cheap to get a thing framed professionally. I bought a frame with a matte that was cut a little small for the design. I learned that cutting mattes on an angle, as they are supposed to be, is really hard. So this matte doesn't have an angle. But it is watercolor painted a robin's egg blue to help make the picture pop. 

It's a new year tomorrow. Certainly, it's been a big and eventful year. I'd love to take a moment to think over the senses again as I did last year. Maybe I'll celebrate my new year at the end of January when life slows down a bit. 

Until then, have a great one! Every day is a blessing. Truly.

Assembling Christmas & Oh, That Feeling

This time of December, pictures of Christmas trees take over social media. Normally, it's pictures of tasty looking foods, babies, or kittens in cups. But for now, it's holiday decor that inundates the senses. I, for one, am totally okay with that! I, in fact, am happily hopping on that band wagon. If you hate Christmas - skip this post. (And maybe the next couple to come, as well. Because this is pretty much my favorite time of year.)

I spent last Saturday with my parents again, picking out and cutting down my Christmas tree.  I think this is my new favorite holiday tradition as an adult. It's great to include my parents in my new traditions. I know that they appreciate being a part of the excitement. There's something lost when the kiddos aren't around for the Christmas season. I guess I'm still a "kiddo" to them. (Who am I kidding? I'm still a kiddo, period.)

This year I transported, trimmed, and erected the tree entirely on my own. Stan was around to help me hang the ornaments, though. We had fun unpacking the box of tissue-wrapped memories. Each had a story, some longer than others. Above, in the circles, are a few of my favorite ornaments. 

• A couple came from my grandparents' tree: the glittery (DISCO!) Santa, and the mod, glass kitty. 
• The glass Santa has been broken since the day I picked it as my choice of a gift from my grandparents and squeezed just a little too hard. The edges of glass look as though they've burnt but it's just time's wear on the glass. 
• The little doll is half of a pair, my sister has the little boy. (I think I'm the girl because I probably threw a fit.) 
• The last one is the clip on name badge I was given when I checked in as a visitor at the hospital the day my niece, Lily, was born.

A Christmas tree full of memories. Now for some great Holiday tunes, a mug of cocoa with peppermint schnapps. Dim the lights. Cuddle up. Ahhh. There's that feeling I've looked forward to all year. 

Also- I think you ought to get a closer look at disco Santa.

Visiting Amish Country

While in eastern Ohio for the Huff Family Reunion, I spent a good deal of time touring the rolling amish country hillsides with my Grammalo (my dad's mom), my parents and my aunts and uncles. 

Holmes county Ohio, the county adjacent to my grandma's hometown- Sugarcreek, has the largest Amish population in the world. My own grandma's father was Mennonite and so our family has some connection to the culture. Now, mostly, we enjoy purchasing Amish made baked goods and crafts. 

We hit up a few little stores here and there. Some were much littler than others. Our first stop was a little Amish general store, meant for the Amish to shop in themselves- as opposed to hoards of tourists. Leave it to us "shopping pros" (I learned how to shop from my grammalo and aunts.) to break into the untapped Amish stores. The store featured Dutch New Testaments, adorable canisters of school supplies for individual purchase, tiny tiny leather shoes for tiny Amish babies, and enormous stock pots. There was also a necessary aisle toward the back with a stash of white cross-your-heart brasseries and 40 styles of stiff black bonnets. I didn't venture towards the men's aisle of undergarments, I didn't think it proper.

The next shop was Miller's Bakery. This two room, clapboard store is hidden up a hill of a twisting road with hardly a sign to mark it's existence. But the place was packed with customers both Amish and  otherwise. Oh man, I wish I could have bottled the smell of this place for you. I had a raisin bar- which is really a chewy bread-y molasses cookie with raisins. My favorite. My mom and I got caught up in the back room, filled with local crafts. I love these clothespin bags. I don't have any clothespins, but what could I make one of these for? What other useful thing could it hold?

One larger store had built a business out of a petting farm in the parking lot. You could buy a waffle ice cream cone full of feed for a dollar and scatter the food amongst the goats, bunnies, horses and more. I snapped a couple shots of some cuddly animal families.

Often, when I am shopping on vacation, I focus on collecting craft ideas rather than filling my shopping basket. I hate to transport too much on the road. Besides, most things at crafty joints you could easily make for cheaper than retail. I love the felt details on this lampshade and the idea of making oversized buttons to hang as wall art. I'm not sure how I'd do it, but this plaid mirror has got to be possible to recreate in house. And how about those boot planters? Fun, right? Makes me want to find the tin man and decapitate him. (Okay, that was weird.)

Check out that beautiful lady above. That's my Grammalo. 82 years young and still climbing out onto her roof to sweep off the leaves. Sheesh. I hope I inherited a lot of her genes.

As we drove through the Amish farm country, it was notably quiet and peaceful. There were few electric posts to mar the horizon. As it was Monday, wash day, the yards were filled with lines of pastel dresses and shirts and dark pants and skirts, flapping in the wind. I admire the Amish life. They live simply and quietly always in community with others. Their "church" meets inside homes and shifts weekly. So open, so democratic. I know that even in their society there are faults and hiccups. Still, tonight, I envy their evening times. No screens to distract them from looking up at the night sky- no electric bulb in sight. The stars surely shine brighter in their country.

Huff Family Reunion 2012

My absence is due to a long weekend full of travels to eastern Ohio for a family reunion and some (maybe) restful moments away from work. I saw some familiar faces and spaces and enjoyed a great deal of fun times with my dear family. 

The recaps are going to come in installments, because (you know me) I took a bahzillion pictures and want to share a lot of it all with you. I'm starting with the Huff Family Reunion in Dover, Ohio. 

My family has been having this biennial reunion for over 20 years now. For years, we met at a hotel resort on Atwood Lake in the boonies of eastern Ohio. After some economic turns in the region, the resort changed hands and purposes and we were left to find a new host for our event. The result? We moved back "home" to Dover, where my grandpa grew up. This little town, filled with lots of german and Moravian descendants,  is the origin of the Francis Huff and Adella Portz family. We enjoyed being surrounded by our own history. 

Saturday included a tour of the family home, which was built my my great grandfather many years ago. It is still in the hands of the family that purchased it from my great grandma some 20 years ago. My family traipsed about the house poking into little corners admiring and remembering. I was too little to recall my visits to grandma's house as a toddler, but most had very specific and beautiful memories and they shared stories. 

My uncle Tim and his cousin, Kip, remembered hiding treasures in a secret door in a wooden panel. My dad didn't even know it existed! Sneaky sneaky. My 2nd cousin, Andrew recalls tossing toys down the 3 story laundry chute. I was amazed as I thought about the work my great grandfather must have put into this building. I adore the old, original hardware and his beautiful woodwork. 

The home was surrounded by beautiful gardens and yards where children have played for over a hundred years. Three generations of "Huffs" toured the family home together. What an honor to have a family that values this history.

I've always enjoyed getting together with my father's side of the family. We're fun people often with a strange sense of intelligent humor. We're kind and yet a tid bit sassy. (We don't evade the normal family dramas...)  The gang is a diverse one. You'll find, as you click through my hyperlinks on this page that we're all over the map in careers and passions. We're a melting pot of conservative and liberal, old-fashioned and modern, scientific and creative. (As I make these links, I realize we are often VERY creative.) We hail from: OH, MI, MT, CA, IL, NY, MN, GA, MA, & AZ. 

I love my family. I can't wait until next reunion. Just think how the little ones will have grown by then! And who knows what I'll be doing then...time shall tell.

Cute as a Button Bunny (as promised)

As promised, here's some pictures of the present I made for my friend's newborn. I crocheted the bunny then made her a little dress because she seemed like a modest gal. No naked bunny boobies here. (Too far?) Her head is permanently cocked to one side- because I attached it crooked. But it's kinda cute, like she's giving you a coy little smirk.

I love to imagine a cuddly toy like this nestled under a sleeping arm, or dragged along behind a tumbling toddler. The button eyes are secured pretty tightly, but if you were a stickler or worried parent they could be replaced with embroidery like the nose.

Back when my little niece was a baby, I made her a similar bunny. She's now 2 years old. In January, I had a half hour phone conversation with her on her birthday. It's so hard to believe all this time has passed. She's so grown up already.

I miss my sister's little ones. I might be due for a visit. I'll see them in June for the Huff Family Reunion, but maybe before then I can sneak up to Ann Arbor for a fix.