Valen-what?

that is what our calendar says for February 14th. Scott and i both realized a few days ago that Valentines Day was a comin. our first Valentines together (married)! how exciting...well, what should we do? shoot, what have we done in previous years? anything? did Valentines Day happen last year? cause i sure don't remember it.

well, Scott came up with the brilliant plan that we should stay in, choose a magnificent meal out of one of our many cookbooks, and make it together. then sit down and watch some Hitchcock.

it took us a while to settle on the dish - it's hard to find a meal that is out-of-the-ordinary enough + delicious looking + sexy. we decided that soup is not sexy. but pasta might be too cliche sexy/romantic, and it's generally pretty easy to make.

finally, we found it. indian yellow chicken curry from William Sonoma......it was magnaflorious (better off ted).

those are my lightening quick cooking hands you're seeing...or not seeing

Scotto at the pan

SO tasty, you just don't even know

we're cute, eh?

finished product. HUGE success. good job WS. you rock at recipes.

then for dessert, from the same recipe book, we made some Apple Betty. Yummers.

also delish. but so fattening. did you see that butter??

something distracted him. but i thought he was cute.

so that was our Vday. great fun and definitely a new tradition for years to come.

more to come later (an outing is calling our name), but here's a glimpse at the fun that has been our relaxing weekend.

i finished all little creature projects and they are waiting to be shipped out tomorrow. so in the meantime, i decided that it would be very valuable to finally have a good ol pincushion. i just can't seem to keep track of those sharp little suckers. so i started a new project (they just don't end in this house :)

i once saw a little rough cat made in a fashion similar to this, but i am not a huge cat person, so i thought about what other animal would be fun. and you cannot tell me that giraffes are not fun.

i tried a few cartoony sketches of giraffes and finally settled on this one. and so the giraffe came to be.

i am working on finishing up his outline now, and then i will debate about a face and whether or not he should have proper giraffe splotches. i'll show you when he's done. but he is already up and serving his purpose with great gusto!

last but not least, after a pancake feast this morning, husband showed off his many talents to serenade us into the rest of our day. i love his days off. and really the only reason i threw this photo up was because i just loved it so much.

hope your valentines was wonderful!

old friends and new skirts

i had the opportunity to chat for 10 minutes or so this morning with an old friend of mine who is currently in Baghdad. i believe the last time i saw him and his wife was actually at their wedding 2 years ago? 3? that is horrible. but i wish him safety and grace and hope that he gets some Fantastic time with his wife soon. we'll be praying for you Thomas!

the other part of my morning has been, what i would call a valiant attempt at being Helpful. i was browsing some good pencil skirts for the potential bridesmaid-wear for the sister's wedding. Holly, here is what i found:


obviously we would find a more appropriate top than just a frumpy t-shirt found in the bottom of my drawer, but the skirt is nice. so tweeeeeedy. yum. however, please note in both the above and below pictures...

did i miss a memo?? is it now hip to wear SOCKS with your heels? this bit of information could have saved my feet from some very unnecessary discomfort for the last 3 years of work. is it considered business appropriate? who knows. the last time i wore socks with my dress shoes i think i was 4 and the socks had lace frill on the cuffs. if 4 is the new 24, i feel i have a right to know these things! somebody! memo me in!

moving forward, this above picture may be more...light? than you were thinkin Holls, but the put togetherness of it is nice, i thought, without dipping too much into costume.

and the only reason i posted this picture is because i want those shoes. badly. shiny turquoise kitten heels?? hello.

i also wouldn't mind owning this outfit. i can't really see what the top looks like, but the shoes are a party already, and the fringe of the sweater implies flirty so count me in. and with the yellow bracelet...come on.

now, how helpful am i?? eh?

yup folks, *sigh* i may be what they call a Pro MOH. it's God given, what can i say?

i also have to show you this photo shoot (engagement and wedding) i found on GreenWeddingShoes -- reminded me of you and Chaz, even though it's way more over the top than you would have:



i mean, her veil? gorgeous...her hairs are cute too :}

ok, that's all for now. i have to go see if my new vacuum parts came in the mail (it's really just too thrilling. please, hold me down)

bis morgen in alter Frische!

the curious incident of the dead dog in the ... daytime?

i am currently in hiding from my kitchen and washer/dryer.

let me tell you, it's much easier to hide from the washer/dryer since it's behind a closed door. you really only have to tiptoe when you pass the doors so that it doesn't try to burst out and grab you, forcing you to do yet MORE laundry, folding, and ironing.

the kitchen is a trickier bit though. mostly because it's ... right ... behind ... me. but i've found that i can just get up from the computer, and take two left side-steps without turning around to make eye contact and be ok. getting back to the computer/table is much more difficult to make look casual as i would have to walk into the room backwards. i tried it once doing kind of a dance and humming some obscure tune so that the backward walking looked purposeful, but i don't think i can pull that off too many times.

the other problem seems to be, i'm hungry. i have some bread, eggs, and cheese waiting to be made into a sandwich, but i'm afraid of passing the clean dishwasher. it's sure to break my shins this time. and once i'm in there, that kitchen will make me do all kinds of cleaning. and then i will feel guilty about my abhorrence to taking out the trash (public garbage is The Worst - i'm positive i have anthrax, mad cow disease, or radioactive garbage liquid on me every time i have to open that lid) which will also lead to taking out the bathroom and bedroom trashes, (so that i am making the most of the horrid trip) which means i will have to put new bags in each, which will take me right back to the kitchen.

and then the kitchen will force me out the door to the market. then all fun stops. errands have begun, slacking time is officially over and i have to make a solid game plan for Dinner Time.

HOoly MolY. someone just dropped something in front of our screen door from the second floor. sounded like a folding chair, but there is now mysteriously a small dog thing running around in a zig-zag pattern. weird. i can't believe he's alive in the first place, much less that he survived the fall.

i heard my upstairs neighbor, just moments ago, vacuuming the begeezus out of her living room and a small creature that sounded like they might think they are a dog but are in fact a glorified hamster, barking and squealing. i envisioned the worst, naturally, and i can't say that i was too saddened by it. those dog things creep me out. i'm always afraid their eyes might pop out or they'll projectile pee from the sheer fright of a falling leaf or some such similar horror.

well the dog incident may have distracted me momentarily, but the hunger is back, so i'm afraid i cannot skirt the kitchen issue any longer. maybe if i close my eyes and make my sandwich, everything else will leave me alone. not likely, but better than trying to come up with another backwards dancing tune.

wish me luck

the haps of the week...not much

well, i'm afraid it's that time again...Daniel uploaded more pictures, so i am here to assault you with them today :] here are some of the ceremony:

dad's cute

all those leaves we collected! they looked great

smoochin. you know us...

my family. please note the hilarity that is Tim.

i adore how both of these turned out. SO happy we did them!

i would say, comparing between the two, both our families are heavily women! woot.
but look how cute we are. there may be many of us, but that's what counts.

super fun.

well, i'm not going to lie to you...chana masala did not happen last night. Scott worked out with a buddy after work so he got home late, and i was wrapped up in ironing, laundry, and catching up on this season of project runway. so we had french toast with a big fruit salad when Scotto got home. ergo i will have to let you know how the recipe turns out another night. after today we have a rather busy schedule lined up for the week...places to go or people coming over every night. so i think i am going to whip out another round of the carrot soup for tomorrow. it was very tasty once we spiced it up a twinge. the other nights are tbd.

ok, i think my shower is hurling insults at me right now, so i need to go show it who's boss.

later

mondays, birthdays, and blue

welcome back to Monday everyone. i'm sorry for Peyton Manning, but then again i'm happy that Drew had such a redeeming year. good for him.

in other news, today is (getting to be not so) little cousin's birthday. so Happy Happy Birthday Nicolas! we small Diehl family love you oodles!

(cutie guy)

his little creature is getting final touches before being sent off. unfortunately, i got distracted by another creature i started making. i had such a vision for it, i just couldn't stop. but all will be finished soon.

i seem to have gotten into a bit of a blue phase. i blame it on the painting last week. all that blue paint really did me in. plus i found some wonderful blues like these:



gah! i had a fear of making our house just a blue house, but now blue is trying to take over my life! i need an outlet! i might have to do something with all of this blue inspiration (besides painting! no more house painting please!) so we'll see what comes out of it all.

in the meantime, and to change the subject abruptly, i just got a fabulous new work bag. check this out ~


it's fantastic, i love it so far. it has pockets for things like my scissors and needles, which is very nice - even though i do love the awesome rush one gets from scrambling around in a bag o stuff only to discover Exactly where you put your threaded needle. that's always exciting.
please also note the new ball of blue yarn on top. hmmm...it's a problem.

well today i have great amounts of cleaning and ironing to do...so i really should get down to it. trying a new recipe tonight, chana masala, by smittenkitchen, so we'll see how that turns out.

have a sweet sweet monday all!

5 minute weekend update

we woke up this morning to some wonderful rain and decided to stay tucked in our bed with our laptops for a while. in my opinion, a fantastic way to start off the weekend.



i, of course, am checking blogs, my email, facestalking, and the like, while Scott is dutifully working on some side projects. many a < /dav > and < / g > 's are flying around. i understand it all, naturally, and lend a hand when he gets stuck.

we had some friends over last night for dinner - which turned out to be quite the fun evening. i busied myself in the afternoon and decided to make a pie for the dessert. i popped over to PB (those are the closest Trader Joes and Henrys to us. very convenient) and noticed for the first time as i was driving back home from my outing, these signs are posted every 100 yards or so on the main streets:



alarming? perhaps...i'm just glad we have a plan. so at least if all this rain keeps up (which it has been so pleasant to have), we will all know that when ginormous waves start hitting us in Bay Park, we need to all follow the signs "Inland!!" feeling safer already.

i have to tell you that my big endeavor for the weekend was not actually the pie (which was delicious!) but this man's head o' hair.


he has commissioned me to cut it today with more confidence than i can honestly muster up. but i decided, you know, i used to cut my barbie's hair...this is only, what? ... 113 times the size? and he's a boy...i guess that plays in too. but my mother cuts hair and has for years and years. i get compliments on the cuts she gives me all the time. so really, how bad could it be? she didn't take a class on it. or have anyone teach her.

yup. i can do this for sure.

speaking of the pie though, here is the pre-baked version:

YUM!

it is Martha's Sweet Potatoe Pie

WHICH, might i add, may be construed as a partial scam. in my mind. don't take this to offense, Martha. i like you, but really if you name your recipe "Sweet Potatoe Pie" it stands to reason that it would be made of sweet potatoes. and further more, if the recipe itself says to go out in the rain, and pick up the equivalent of 1.5 lbs of Sweet Potatoes at your nearest Henry's, you should really stand by that and make YOURS out of sweet potatoes too. and not yams.

people, they are different vegetables. and in the market they are even put in separate bins. because they are different. i understand fully that a recipe named "Yam Pie" is just not going to sell as well. but at least tell me in the ingredients that you are switching things up on me. please.

irrelevant though. my pie was delicious, even though it wasn't orange. because sweet potatoes are white. Martha.

ok, the parents are a comin over in a little and the husband and i are going to attempt to look like we've been up and about all along. not lazily stuck in our warm bed. thinking of food.

shower blitz time!

NOT expecting...Not. Very Much Not.

just felt the need to make that clear in the title. i love all things baby/child so i often save things like neat patterns, toy ideas, room ideas, name ideas ... and stuff like that. however, i recently said the phrase, "scott and i just found out...that we have a leak in our bedroom" over the phone to a friend and she had a minor heart attack and told me not to start a sentence with any such sentiments again. unless i meant...you know...(a baby).

so i am being very careful at the mention of anything little Diehl like. Not Yet folks! not yet!

however, with all this caution being put out there - i was browsing through my latest addiction: Brooke Hellewell Reynold's blog "inchmark", (and by latest, we're talking, discovered her last night and browsed through pages and pages of her blog). anyway, i was browsing and finding tons of awesome ideas (she was the senior art director for both Martha Stewart Living and Kids) when i stumbled upon the name Liesl.

now i know, the first thing you think of is this:

I am 16 going on 17...

but what do you really think of a Liesl Diehl? too much? too cute-sie? it's a lot of i's and e's granted - but they sound very different. unlike say...Heidi Diehl :]

anyway, i haven't even run it by Scott. that and we don't even have a baby to try it out on. the thought just occurred to me in passing.

more thoughts later. less baby-like too, i promise. this is just what happens when i blog before i shower...those are related, don't worry. or think about that too much...

watch this to forget all about this nonsense. i'm addicted to his cover songs.