Author: Faith

The Crib I Made

The people who run the community education program where I take my woodworking class wanted students to submit photos of past projects to their website. I was going through my photos and realized I didn’t have any of the crib I had made (it was from before I started this blog) so I ran upstairs with my camera to remedy the situation.

(Sorry I couldn’t get a full shot of it–E’s room is teeny and I couldn’t back up any further.)

Close up of the lacewood medallions.

So far E seems to be a satisfied customer.

The crib is made out of solid walnut with lacewood accents. It took me three semesters to finish but I wasted a bunch of that time redoing things I messed up on and sitting around waiting for help (it was back when I was more of a beginner). If I were to make another one now (not that I have plans to) I could probably finish it in two semesters. I bought my plans and a hardware kit (the spring support for the mattress and the rails for the sides to slide up and down on) online.

Look back now there are a few things I would do differently. The slats ended up being a touch thinner that I wanted them to be and in the back of my mind there’s always a small worry that E’s going to kick though one of them, but so far they’ve been fine.

It was a really fun project. If I ever make another one I’ll probably customize the plans in some way like other people have done. All things considered I’m happy with how it turned out.

Fabric Yo-Yos

Over the weekend my sister-in-law Miranda was talking about making a bunch of fabric yo-yos and then sewing them together to make a scarf.

It reminded me of this tutorial I had just seen on how to make silk yo-yos. Aren’t they gorgeous? I don’t have any justifiable needs for yo-yos but this tutorial makes me want to make piles and piles of them.


Design by Karrie and Elizabeth of posh paperie
Photography by jackie wonders photography
Link via Design Mom

Letter: Month Twenty-Nine

Dear E,

I think you’re starting to enter the famed Terrible Twos. Most of the time you’re pretty easy going but you can flip the switch and melt down in a blink. When our wills clash it’s usually because you want/don’t want to eat something I don’t want/want you to eat or you’re wanting to be carried around instead of walking and are clinging to my leg like a barnacle. You’ve also grown quite fond of clutching toys to your chest and shouting, “NO! Mine!” which we’re trying to wean you of.

But most of the time you’re still a joy. You’re a riot and crack us up everyday. You like helping out around the house. You love standing on a chair and helping stir when we’re cooking. You love riding in the car and going to your friends’ houses. You’ll bring me your shoes and look at me hopefully with wide eyes and ask “Li-um’s house?…Peter’s house?…Mee-maw’s house?” It makes me happy that you have so many people in your life that you love and who love you back.

When you test your boundaries it can be frustrating at times but I try to keep things in perspective. My desire is that you grow up to be a loving, well-adjusted person with self-discipline and who handles trials with patience and grace. Thinking of this long-term goal helps me keep my calm when you’ve flung yourself shrieking onto the kitchen floor because I won’t let you eat jelly beans before breakfast. It usually gives me the strength to help you calm down try and behave well.

But sometimes? Every once in a rare while when it’s not even 8 am, you’ve already had three shrieking tantrums and I’m dangerously close to the end of my rope? –You’ll have jelly beans for breakfast.

Love,

Mama

Spice Cabinet: Update 4

Yesterday was the last woodworking class until fall. I knew there was no way I’d be able to finish the spice cabinet in one night so I wasn’t frantically racing around the shop trying which was actually nice. It was the most relaxing last-day-of-class I’ve had in a long time. But I still made some great progress.

The piece of mahogany for the rails and stiles (sides and top/bottom) of the cabinet door.

The rails and stiles cut to size. (I taped them together before cutting so they would be exactly the same length.)

This is how they will be put together. The panel of diamonds will go in the middle.

I used the router to cut the inside edges of the rails and stiles to create a groove for the panel to fit into and also for the rails and stiles to fit together at the corners.

A close up of the cut profile.

And lastly, me with my long-suffering instructor.

I’m sad that woodworking is over until the fall but it’s nice to have more time to hang out with N during the summer months. And I have a list of projects to do around the house which should keep me plenty busy.

(Previous spice cabinet posts here: 1, 2, and 3.)

A Yogurt Upgrade

Lately I’ve been trying to eat better, not just in terms of calories but also in terms of eating food that is more natural and less processed (watching Food, Inc will do that to you). I recently picked up a couple varieties of Chobani Greek yogurt on sale at the store and man, they ARE GOOD.


I hadn’t had Greek yogurt with fruit before but these are thick and rich and satisfying and not too sweet. These also have a lot of calcium and protein in them as well as probiotics. They’re non-fat and 140 calories a serving which is a little more than your average lite yogurt but they don’t have that fakey artificial aftertaste that some yogurts do. I used to get those dessert-flavored yogurts sometimes but now I’ve come to the conclusion that yogurt shouldn’t necessarily taste like fake key lime pie. It should taste fresh and natural like these.

I would recommend trying these if you get the chance. I got them on sale for $1.25 a piece. I’m not sure what they go for normally but they are a bit on the pricey side, comparatively speaking. But at least Chobani donates 10% of their profits to charity which makes me feel better about the cost. If they were cheaper I would eat one for breakfast almost everyday but as it is I’ll probably have them as feel-good treats.

I poked around their website and they have a page where you can print off a buy-2-get-1-free coupon.

(In case you were wondering I wasn’t compensated for this review in any way and I bought the product with my own money.)

My Parents Were Awesome

I am getting seriously addicted to scanning in old family photos. The only problem is that most of them are still in a cardboard box at my parents’ house in WA. I’m trying to get my Mom to bring them down in batches when she comes to visit but she’s kind of hesitant to travel with them which I understand.

Have you guys seen My Parents Were Awesome? It’s pretty great. Once I finish going through these photos I might submit a couple of them.

Their wedding portrait.

I love their expressions in this one.

Easter Weekend

This weekend was nice and low-key. My church held its general conference on Saturday and Sunday. It was nice to listen to the inspired words of our prophet and other leaders. Here in Utah where there are so many Mormons the conference is broadcast on local tv so you can watch from the comfort of your couch. It was a great time to reflect on my life and my relationship with the Savior.

I actually got to attend a conference session in person: not something I do that often. I went with my mom who is in town visiting my sister Jan. There were a few small hiccups: we sat next to a distracting couple who were smooching and whispering loudly through the whole conference, I had to leave my camera at the package check and then it took almost an hour to get it back after conference (the line was huge and then it took them 20 minutes to find it during which I was freaking out that it had been lost), and then we accidentally got on the wrong TRAX train on the way home. But it was fun to hang out with my mom and to be there in person to feel the spirit of the conference.

On Easter we gave E a basket with treats and his very first Slinky. (Predictably, he has been mesmerized by it/shown great talent at tangling it up.) And sometime this weekend between sessions of conference and eating Easter treats N showed me this video.

You’re welcome, people. YOU ARE WELCOME.