The Proudfeet: January 2009

Mama's got the house to herself!

Well, except for the puppies :)

The Mr. was given a very generous gift card to a male oriented salon for Christmas, so he is spending the day getting pampered. Wait... do men get pampered? Um, I really meant to say he'll be spending the day in the lap of luxury. (That sounds a bit more manly, right?)

During the five hours he'll be gone, I plan on tidying and organizing the house, reading about Israel for our upcoming trip, and listening to music. Probably boring to most of you, but I don't get to blare my music very often so this is a treat. Not to mention I thrive in a neat and organized environment, so cleaning isn't necessarily a chore. Plus I love to daydream about improvements I could do.

For example, in my efforts to tidy up the house, I Freecycled a set of shelves we never got around to staining or putting up. I just happened to do a search for corner shelves that would better fit our needs now, and came across the Holman Shelf at Pottery Barn. Here's a picture from their website:

We could really use another few shelves for knick knacks, pictures and just stuff. (Who doesn't have stuff?!) They'd fit perfectly in the corner above our living room TV to hold DVDs, or in our master bedroom they could hold some of my Japanese pottery and Kokeshi dolls that I just don't have room to display right now.

See! Isn't daydreaming fun? :)

To CSA or not to CSA?

In case you don't already know, a CSA is community supported agriculture. It's a great way to support local farmers, plus you get incredibly fresh produce delivered weekly. Win-win!

A few of my friends have signed up for CSAs over the past couple years and I think we may finally be joining the ranks. We easily spend $25 on produce every week, and the upfront cost of a CSA would balance out to be a bit less on a weekly basis. Plus the CSA I am hoping to join has an egg share (where you receive half a dozen eggs every week) and a flower share (where you get a bouquet of wildflowers) that you have the option of adding on.

I know there will be a ton of 'foreign' produce, but it will be a fun challenge to incorporate those things into our weekly cooking. And we'll be able to find new things we like! Luckily they provide an online newsletter, which explains what things are, as well as new recipes to try. But if you have a fantastic recipe that you have to share, please do!

My mouth is watering just thinking about the tomatoes and green peppers to come!

I have got to stop looking at bedding!

In an effort to find more wallet friendly winter bedding, I've widened my search. In doing so, I came across a duvet cover at West Elm that I love. It's a bit different looking, but I think the simplicity balances it out.

It's the pin-tuck duvet cover

Of course I would get it in this dark brown

But then what color sheets would look good? I know a clean, crisp, white sheet would be nice... but the whole point is to have a winter set. Would a green be too much with the walls? What about a simple printed white and brown pattern?

Seriously, I have to stop looking. One of these days I'm not going to be able to hold myself back from adding to cart, then checking out!

Blooms of happiness

For the past few weeks, I've been buying flowers every time I go to the grocery store. The bouquets are only $10 a pop, and they provide gorgeous color for a week or more. In the middle of winter, nothing makes you feel cheery like blooming flowers! (OK, maybe a spa day would... but that's a bit more expensive.)

This is my weekly bouquet... b-e-a-U-tiful

Close up

What are those I spy in the background??

Look at that! My new City Love prints! With frames!

A couple close ups, just in case you forgot what they look like

My favorite :)

Aww, memories

I'm very cheery today... how about you?

Lazy day at home

The Mr. and I both stayed home today since our neighborhood streets were sheets of ice. When I peeked outside at 5am this morning, I could see the glare from the street lights. Not to mention there was a car going like 2mph the entire length of the road. Not something I wanted to deal with.

So we've just been having a lazy day at home. Watching movies, catching up on all our recorded TV shows. The dogs have had a relaxing day as well. I actually took some pictures of them on Sunday, after they got back from visiting their cousins... Those pictures show just how tired they are when they get home. Enjoy!

Using each other for support

Is there any way you could turn off the lights?

No? No problem... I'll just put on my "mask"

I love how tightly closed Macintosh's eyes are. Tired puppies- just the way we like them.

A couple of snow bunnies

When I got to work at 6am this morning, there was a paper thin layer of snow on the ground. As the day went on, it snowed... and snowed some more. By the time I left work, there was easily a two inch "dusting". I couldn't wait to get home and let the puppies out into the yard for a some more snow playtime.

Around 8am this morning

As soon as I got home, I took them out. After doing their business, it was all about the playing

Eat dirt errr snow, Macintosh!!

Have you met "the claw"??

Macintosh just tried to stay on his feet (priss didn't want to get dirty)

Then they found the "good stuff"... AKA ice

Macintosh hit the icicle jackpot

Yummy ice

Aspen had enough ice and wanted to play some more

But Macintosh was looking for more ice

He settled on some snow

All over the face :)

Hopefully work will be closed tomorrow so we can stay home and snuggle with the puppies... Nothing like cuddling while it snows outside!

I'm feeling very greedy

Or maybe it's needy. I have this laundry list of things I would love to buy right now. Some more necessary than others, but they're all on my mind at this point. So bare with me as I share my deepest desires ;) All aboard the shopping train!

First up is this duvet cover from Overstock. It's only $70, marked down from the original price of $350!! Unfortunately Overstock doesn't have the sheets, so I'd have to buy them from Macys- for the sheets, pillow cases and quilt, it would end up being around $320 (still a fraction of the original price). I have said before that I really want a darker set of bedding, and this definitely fits the bill. But this is rather far down on my "needs" list... so to the back of the line it goes.

Next up, is this combo trash-recycle bin from Bed Bath and Beyond. We keep our trash can under our sink, and after pulling it out and pushing it back in over and over, the trash bags begin to tear. Annoying, no? So the Mr. has made it clear that he would love to have a track to put the trash can on. And I would love a recycle bin to put our recyclables in until we bring them downstairs. Seriously, who wants cardboard boxes and papers littering their kitchen counter? Well, this fancy boy grants both our wishes, but the trash can is a minuscule four gallons. (We don't even produce a lot of trash, but four gallons?! Come on!)

So I think we're going to go with this trash can, also from Bed Bath and Beyond, since it's around 8 gallons. It also pulls out, but I think it's a bit more realistic in the size department.

And to cover all the bases, we'll also purchase this recycle bin (again Bed Bath and Beyond). I'll just clear out under the left side of our sink so I can make room for this puppy.

Next on Mrs. Foot's desire train, is this fancy schamcy humidifier from Amazon. The Mr. suffers from pretty bad allergies, and we both wake up really congested and dry, so I think a little water in the air would really help us out. I've done hours of research on cool vs warm mist, larger vs smaller, and I think this baby would be perfect. It gets good reviews, and since it's thin instead of round, it's more versatile in its resting location. Dry air, beware!

Last up on this long ride is this showerhead from Frontgate. The showerhead we have (brought along with us when we bought our house) has started to go downhill over the past year. The arm which holds the head up won't stay put, so we're constantly fighting to keep it upright. Not something you want to worry about. We've grown accustomed to our "rain showers", and this looks like it could satisfy our shower needs.

Of course I still have my eye on a new dresser and nightstands, but most of these items are a bit more doable at this point. I think the Mr. and I are heading to Bed Bath and Beyond tonight to pick up the trash can and recycling bin, and maybe we'll find a cheaper showerhead we like... I don't know why, but $70 for a showerhead just seems awfully expensive. (I did see a few $200+ ones, so maybe I am just naive!)

Thank you for taking this trip on the desire train. I hope you've enjoyed your ride. I promise to get over my greed and talk about something *much* more exciting than humidifiers and trash cans tomorrow.

Dad's paaaartay

On Saturday a group of us headed over to my Dad's house to set up his printer and celebrate his 60th birthday. He thought his present was a printer, and while it was, it was only part of the gift. We set aside a few hours to set everything up, but luckily it didn't take too long. And I say luckily, because that meant we could get to Carlos O'Kelly's earlier! (I love me some Mexican food.)

The Mr. was the lead 'engineer' in this installation

The rest of us chatted

Dad opened his other presents

The first of which was a pillow that read "I'm not over the hill, I'm just on the back 9"

The second was an iTunes gift card for some new audiobooks

Lovely ladies at Carlos O'Kelly's!

The birthday boy and P

Hope you had a great birthday, Dad! We're slowly bringing you into the 21st century :)

Tempting day

The Mr. and I went window shopping with S and P today. They were in the market for a new sectional sofa and we had nothing better to do, so why not tag along? Plus I'd been keeping my eyes open for that new dresser and night stands. This could be the trip that proves important!

We stopped at Ashley Furniture first, but they didn't have a ton of dressers to choose from. At least ones that weren't mammoth or overly ornate! They did find one couch they liked, but it didn't grab them, so they kept looking... This was when the Mr. fell in love with a sectional couch. I have to admit, I really liked it, too, but we've had an expensive month and a $1000 couch was not in the budget. But, for a convertible sectional couch (with moveable chaise and storage ottoman), that's a pretty good deal. Plus the idea of buying *new* furniture- not passed down or used- is really appealing. The Mr. is still pushing me to give in!

Next up was Haverty's, which is where S and P struck gold. They found a couch and loveseat that would work perfectly in their house, so they bought the set. P also found a massaging chair that I'm pretty sure he's keeping bookmarked in his mind. ;) But again, no dressers for us...

Lastly we visited Marlo, where I found a beautiful dresser and nightstand set. The set was exactly what I have been looking for and the sale prices were under half the original cost... But unfortunately all three pieces would still cost $1200, and I was feeling stingy today.

We walked away from a bunch of stuff we liked, but I'd rather wait it out and make sure I loved the pieces rather than splurge on a whim and regret it later. Being responsible can be so darn hard!

How blogs were born

So true! And unfortunately I do not have my camera cord readily available, so I cannot share the photos I took of my Dad's birthday 'party'. So this little picture applies even more ;)

Hope you're all having a fantastic Saturday... I wish it had been 60 degrees today like it was yesterday, but I can't be too greedy.

You're mine... all mine

On occasion I let the pooches come up onto our couch so they can cuddle with me. While the couch is big enough for both of them, I rarely call them up at the same time, because they usually take up the entire couch.

I made an exception earlier this week when both of them were whining for who knows what. (I'm guessing they got used to having me home and the constant attention...) I was trying to do some work, and just couldn't concentrate with the high pitched whine, so I called them both up.

Normally Macintosh tries to get as close as humanly possible to me, but this time was different. He gave me space, and a lot of it! Then I worried that Aspen was going to play Macintosh's part and try to squeeze onto my lap... but no! She was giving me room, too!

Apparently they wanted to cuddle with each other and not me... As evidenced by these pictures that the Mr. took:

Don't you love how Macintosh knows to use the throw pillow?