chalkboards in the kitchen

recently, we made two chalkboards for the kitchen.  a simple thing really, but they've made a BIG difference in how we eat/cook/organize our every day meals.

the small chalkboard on the side of the refrigerator is actually just a sheet of chalkboard contact paper (i bought it from amazon, see here, OR you may be able to find it at your local craft store.)  it came on a roll and i just cut a piece to fit and stuck it on. VOILA!

i originally envisioned this chalkboard on the fridge as the place to write as our grocery shopping list, but my better half refused to write on it (bah!) as he preferred paper and pen.  sometimes he’s no fun ;)  
instead, i began using it as a “make and eat” list.  the make - the weekly menu/things we have on hand so we don’t have the it's5:30pmandwhattheheckarewegoingtoeattonight panic, ‘cause that’s the worst!  
the eat list  - things to remember to eat up so no more wasting salad greens etc that get lost in the back of the fridge!  it’s working!  a simple thing like this has totally changed the “witching hour” in our house.  we know what to eat, when we will eat it, and we are not wasting any food or standing for minutes on end in front of the open fridge trying to make a plan.  hooray!

the bigger wall chalkboard that you see is actually painted directly on the wall.  i was hesitant to go for this, but i’m glad we did!  this is an adult/kiddo shared chalkboard.  up top we (or perhaps i should say me, ahem.) write important household things to remember.  some things that are commonly listed on the wall- to do’s, places to go, gifts to buy/make, things to remember to clean, appointments to make etc. and the bottom area of the chalkboard? that’s ada’s space, and it’s usually covered in scribbles and letters, but today it’s displaying the early valentine she made for us. a bonus- toss a her wet sponge to erase/clean the wall and it can buy me a few precious minutes when i’m making dinner. 

a poem for today

snow day

by billy collins

Today we woke up to a revolution of snow,
its white flag waving over everything,
the landscape vanished,
not a single mouse to punctuate the blankness,
and beyond these windows

the government buildings smothered,
schools and libraries buried, the post office lost
under the noiseless drift,
the paths of trains softly blocked,
the world fallen under this falling.

In a while, I will put on some boots
and step out like someone walking in water,
and the dog will porpoise through the drifts,
and I will shake a laden branch
sending a cold shower down on us both.

But for now I am a willing prisoner in this house,
a sympathizer with the anarchic cause of snow.
I will make a pot of tea
and listen to the plastic radio on the counter,
as glad as anyone to hear the news

that the Kiddie Corner School is closed,
the Ding-Dong School, closed.
the All Aboard Children’s School, closed,
the Hi-Ho Nursery School, closed,
along with—some will be delighted to hear—

the Toadstool School, the Little School,
Little Sparrows Nursery School,
Little Stars Pre-School, Peas-and-Carrots Day School
the Tom Thumb Child Center, all closed,
and—clap your hands—the Peanuts Play School.

So this is where the children hide all day,
These are the nests where they letter and draw,
where they put on their bright miniature jackets,
all darting and climbing and sliding,
all but the few girls whispering by the fence.

And now I am listening hard
in the grandiose silence of the snow,
trying to hear what those three girls are plotting,
what riot is afoot,
which small queen is about to be brought down.

from sailing around the room: new and selected poems

thankful

hello hello!

where did last week go? not sure. my apologies for not returning until today! i've been hard at work painting/creating/planning/brainstorming... i also finally have my chalkboard back, (hooray!) so it's filling up with ideas for the future~ lots plans and projects in the works. i'm also pulling together a big etsy upload AND a little giveaway... so stay tuned for that early next week.

today, i'm wrapping up some commissions and tying up some lose ends, then i can relax for the next couple of days. i'm really looking forward to a great meal tomorrow with our families. (yup, all together, my parents and my husband's family) it will also be the first thanksgiving in a very l o n g time when we won't be traveling AND since we'll all be together, we won't have to eat two thanksgiving dinners! : )

on friday we'll take the day for a few adventures to kick of the holiday season... no mall shopping, instead we'll go up into the hills for something called moonlight magic. it all takes place in a little village nearby, they light up the sidewalks and riverside with festive luminaries, while all of shops and galleries stay open late. a nice way to enter into the hectic holiday season don't you think?

it's been a foggy gray day here in new england, i stayed in and made soup for lunch and decided to take some kitchen pictures for you!

happy thanksgiving to those celebrating here in the states! i'm thankful for you, my wonderful blog readers! thanks to you and have a happy weekend!

xo *s

ps: we did see some meteors last week! we watched the night sky as we were serenaded by lots of howling coyotes! i had some pretty cold/windburned pink cheeks the next day... but it was worth it!

long road & a fresh start

lordy loo!  what a busy last couple of weeks!  (actually, insert stronger language than lordy loo if you'd like here  _____! )  

since the last time typed to you here i've turned a year older,  am able to walk (wobbly) again, we've moved AND i am no longer married to a graduate student!  although, i should proabably stop saying that last part since i scared a friend recently with my facebook status which announced that same thing... she of course just got the "no longer married" part and panicked! (oops) what i mean to say is that jesse, my darling husband, defended his dissertation, which was just about 7 years in the making.  we did it. hooray!  it's been a long road... but we are so happy that it has ended in a wonderful new job and a favorite place to settle down in and call home once again!  

so where have i been for the past 2 weeks?  well, we stayed longer than expected in the land of grad school for a few days as there was much celebrating to do and paperwork to be signed.  we then returned to home to pack up our things and move on out of the wonderful little house in the country that we'd been living in for the past 7 months and into our new apartment in the "city."

i think i've actually started about a hundred blog posts to you in my head, but this is the first time i've actually been able to sit down, concentrate and write. although i'm not writing from our new apartment, but from my husbands office, since don't have the internet at our place yet. not only do we not have the internet, but we don't have any of our furniture or stuff!  you see, it's all been in storage in ithaca since january and although moving is such a chore, i'm kind of enjoying the new space sans "stuff!"  it's a beautifully sunny, old fashioned apartment with hardwood floors and tin ceilings and i can't wait to share some photos with you.  

well, instead of a list of {8 things}, i feel as if i could write a list of {800 things} to you since it's been so long!  i began feeling bad for not blogging, but when i read this post i realized that i wasn't the only one.  now that things are truly settling down a bit, i'll be setting up my *new* spacious studio and being here with you to report in on a regular basis from now on.  i have lots to catch up on, so i'm signing off for now.  i'll be back this week to fill you in on some new artistic endeavors and some exciting new creative projects in the works.  

it's nice to be back.  thanks for all of your good wishes!  

xoxo, *s

 

bits from my holiday weekend...

and now we are waiting for friends to stop in for a lunchtime picnic, then to a cookout for dinner. what have you been up to over the long weekend? 

i'm so glad you liked sketchbook friday!  see it here (on flickr).

xo, *s