…because I am so doing this to our living room floor.
(sent to me by Leslie, who should know better than to give me ideas…)
Category Archives: Home
…And Then I Bought Something.
A friend of mine linked me to this article on Cracked:5 People on Etsy Who Are Clearly Serial Killers. It features some…questionable objects: dead animal faces. Teeth from an asylum. A jar covered in what the seller insists is human flesh.
I read the article. I cringed. I laughed. And then I bought something.
She’s photographed, according to Pamela Klaffke, the photographer, “with a holga cfn 120mm toy camera, using expired film”.
She’s a little eerie, but I love her. (Or maybe that’s WHY I love her?) There’s a certain dreamy quality to the print, an almost-Instagram-except-way-better distortion. She struck me when I saw her, and I had to have her.
I have a feeling, though, that she might be coming to live in my office with me. The office is where C makes me house all the weird shit he doesn’t like looking at (though why he doesn’t want anatomical drawings and stuffed elk heads* wearing tiaras in the rest of the house is beyond me).
Go check out the other critters in Klaffke’s collection (because, seriously, who doesn’t need a scary Hanukkah fox child in their lives? Or click here for the rest of the Cracked article.
(screen grab via Cracked, photo featured copyright Pamela Klaffke)
*(Relax, vegans: this is the head in question.)
The Further Domestication of One Mrs. Snider
I was baking cookies last night (because yesterday was Saturday and Saturdays are for baking) and managed to spill cinnamon everywhere, including all over my pants. Sexy. I figured it’s about time I do something about this whole wearing-what-I’m-cooking thing.
I just bought the most adorable apron:
Look at how cute that is! I’m 100% certain it will make my already-stellar baking taste even better. I mean, seriously. How could it not?
(photo belongs to Etsy seller Boojiboo, who stocks the cutest vintage-inspired aprons I have ever seen, including this horror movie piece.)
PS – Honourable mention goes to @falconjockey on Twitter for suggesting a Darth Vader apron, though my tastes run a little more to Fifties Housewife than Dark Space Lord.
Post-Christmas Reveal!
I hope you all had a fantastic winter holiday of your choosing.
Us Sniders (past, present, and honorary) gathered at my in-laws’ yesterday for Christmas dinner. C and I brought gifts for the kids — “kids” in this sense including his 15-year-old little sister. Which worked out well, considering that when I saw a certain pattern I knew I had to knit it for her.
She’s a Harry Potter nut — she knows everything, and I mean everything about the series. Her favourite House is Gryffindor, hence the colours. But she’s not 100% pro-good-guy: she mentioned a while ago that she wanted a Dark Mark tattoo.
Which brings us to the best part:
Illusion knitting uses strategic knits and purls to create peaks and valleys that, when viewed on an angle, reveal a picture. It was a ton of fun to knit, and I think she really liked it (“You could knit for me next Christmas” is probably the most enthusiasm you’ll get from a teenager).
The pattern information is here; it’s free with a free Ravelry membership. If you make one, let me know! I’d love to see other versions.
Oh, and of course I made my father-in-law’s favourite ginger-molasses cookies, because there is nothing worse than seeing a grown man cry.
Have a great day everyone!
That Whole “Balance” Thing
Here we go again.
I haven’t written anything in a few days. Scratch that, it might be approaching two weeks at this point. Two weeks without fiction or journalling. Two weeks of barely even maintaining my planner. Two weeks may not seem like much, but two whole weeks without creating anything is like drowning. Not only does it feel awful, but with every day that slips by it gets harder and harder to get started again.
It’s not even a block, not really. It’s… an absence. Whole days pass without even the inkling to pick up a pen or to open a text program.
Bizarrely, I’ve been super productive lately in other areas. I’ve been baking up a storm, knitting a very secret Christmas gift, deep cleaning and streamlining the house. But the more I seem to get done in my day-to-day life, the more it seems my career is suffering. It’s completely unacceptable.
I’ve decided that enough is enough. One whole year of my five-year career plan has slipped by, and I’m not where I thought I would be. I’m not where I need to be. But today starts a new month. I’m considering December a practice run before the new year kicks in.
In four years I don’t want to look back and realize I let myself down.
This is it.
(photo by Colin Harris)
SniderBaker
I made these tonight using this recipe, which is super easy and remarkably tasty. If you’ve never made bread before, start here!
It Pays to Be Nice.
I like to think karma works.
I went to Michael’s today; I had a 40%-off coupon that was ready to expire. I found myself wandering the aisles: knitting needles? Canvas? Frames? This isn’t my regular Michael’s (God help me, I have a “regular”), so when I stumbled across the clearance section it was a surprise.
They had these fantastic stretched-canvas prints, regularly $34, on for $10. C and I were just talking about adding some new decorations to the house, so it was perfect timing. I found a great little piece for the kitchen:
We tend to seek happiness
when happiness is actually a choice
Since it was on clearance, I couldn’t use my coupon, which expires tomorrow. So on my way to the checkout, I offered it to a couple of women who were still shopping. It made me feel nice, and that alone would have made my afternoon a little brighter.
But.
I got to the checkout and the cashier scanned the canvas. “That’ll be one cent.”
“Pardon?”
She turned the screen so I could see it. “One cent.”
I asked her a couple of times if that was right. She even re-scanned it, just in case. It came up the same every time.
The funny bit is that I never carry cash, and I literally had no money on me. I had to ask her to tuck it behind the register and hold it while I went to rummage through the car.
I got back inside and waited in line again, already getting the sinking feeling that the other cashier had probably spoken up after I left. Would I bother to argue if she quoted me the ten-dollar price I’d expected?
I approached the till. The cashier had a big smile by this point. “One cent, please.”
I plopped a single penny in her palm, and she handed me my receipt.
I like to think it was good karma for doing a small kindness for someone. The new picture looks great under the martini in the kitchen…
…and now when I look at it I’ll smile, since it comes with its own story.
Bonus ZoeyBomb:
PS – When she handed me the receipt, the register had printed another 40%-off coupon. Double score!
Domestic Little Weekend
This weekend was exactly what I needed. The week was exhausting, and stressful, and I still feel like the whole week flew by without my getting anything done. By the time Friday night rolled around all I felt like doing was hanging out under blankets and reading. So I did. Saturday we meant to go to the movies, but by the time C finished work neither of us was in the mood. So we had a nice dinner out, then bought movies and snuggled up on the couch. Today I went to a book sale with my mom, and out for brunch.
Then I spent the afternoon cleaning, and reorganizing, and reading the Young House Love blog. It’s time to get the house ready to be closed up all winter, to fill it with yummy smells and baking bread and rich, heavy meals. It’s the time when I start reading cooking and decorating blogs and making plans to cozy up the place. As much as I hate winter, it gives me a great excuse to just be comfortable at home.
This winter I think we’ll finally get around to redoing the living room floor. I want to get C’s blanket finished. I want to master this whole Crock-Pot thing and spend more time making good food.
The outside world is getting faster and harder and, frankly, meaner as time goes on, but that only means that home is more important than ever. So if you need me, I’ll be here: reading and knitting and working on my writing career. Working on what matters, what makes me happy.
