Liz has this posted on her blog today, but since you don't visit hers, I thought I'd share. This is a spaceship for sale on Craigslist! The description is awesome, and while I think it'd be too hot to have in our backyard, I think the kids would LOVE to go visit Nana and Grandpa to play space pilot. It would fit right in with the Giant Head. :)
Yesterday I heard an interesting story on Here and Now about Kelsey Felthousen's inside-out house. She's a fine art's graduate student who built an inverted house in the middle of campus, installed live web-cams, and then lived there for 13 days in what she said was a grand statement on society's casual relinquishment of privacy. The title of the piece was "myspace". I found it fascinating, and a little disconcerting. Read about it here, or see more photos here.
You may think that the previous image was from some fantasy beer commercial, but no. It was honestly like that! I spent nearly half of my vacation under that very umbrella, watching the husband and kids play in the ocean and look for sea shells (or sea shovels, as my boy would say). Two treats that I thought made the whole trip feel exotic were the fabulous pina coladas and the mango on a stick. I want to try and re-create the mango flowers. They used a VERY ripe mango, skewered it, peeled it, carved it into a flower and then drenched it in lime juice and a sprinkling of salt, paprika and maybe chili powder. My mouth waters just thinking about it. It was an immensely relaxing trip. Good food, good company, great view, hours of lounging in the sun and water, and I even got to run on the beach. Twice! It doesn't get much better than that. (Image via)
Perfect squares! Orderly numbers! All my OCD twitches are instantly calmed by this image. Via black.white.bliss
I'm spending the cool hours of the morning this week finishing my garden and landscaping. I know that posting about gardening is a little redundant, but it gives me an excuse to put up this photo by orangeacid. I needed something pretty to look at. :)
I must be on a japanese kick today- satsuma trees and now Botan Rice Candy! I used to eat these when I was growing up in Washington. It's a chewy, sweet candy wrapped in clear rice paper resembling cellophane. The rice paper melts in your mouth. I had some again this weekend when my brother and sister in law visited from Seattle and brought some for the kids. After all these years, the novelty has not worn off!
Remember my longing for a satsuma tree? I've been casually shopping for one for the last few years with no success, but on Friday I hit the jackpot and bought a lovely little tree in full bloom. It smells heavenly! I plan to keep it as a potted tree, and hope with proper care I'll have a small harvest come Christmas.
I'm still really craving an outdoor room. The thought of a chandelier hanging from a tree is so romantic and fanciful. It all strikes me as very English explorer. "I say chap, we may be in the middle of a deadly jungle, but I do believe it is tea time. Assemble the whole house here! One must keep up civilities, you know." :) 
I think this would make a good home school project. My daughter would especially get a kick out of it. Download , print and assemble your own pinhole camera for free! Via
One of my favorite things about Real Simple Magazine has always been the paper art that they feature as category dividers. I have a whole series that I tore out of an issue that portrayed shoes and handbags. I want to frame them for my closet. You can see some of their latest spring creations here.
The premise of Lars and the Real Girl (a lonely and awkward man orders a blow up doll and introduces her as his girlfriend) sounds like it would be uncomfortable to watch. We only gave it a try after it was nominated for an Oscar, and were surprised at how tender and funny it was. The psychological journey of both Lars and the towns people are both believable and completely engaging. In the end, I haven't been this attached to an inanimate object in a movie since Wilson the Volleyball.
Last night I caught the tail end of Nova: Marathon Challenge. I have always wanted to run a marathon, but now I'm seriously inspired. Since nothing solidifies a goal like writing it down, I'll share with you that I have a goal to run the 1/2 marathon (got to start somewhere) as part of London's Run on January 31, 2009. I haven't decided on a training schedule yet, but I'd like to find one and start in 4 weeks. Until then, I'll be shopping for new running shoes and getting my fitness level back up to par.
I've never considered myself to be a handbag type of girl {I'd rather be obsessed with dresses and shoes!} but lately I'm loving the famous Birkin bag. The clean lines are such an antidote to those slouchy hobo bags everyone seems to be carrying. Unfortunately, I'd need the wealth of Victoria Beckham to buy one-- the chocolate one above sold at auction for over $42,000. I'll be shopping for a knock off, thank you very much!
Happy tax day. Thankfully, ours were finished early. We've already received and spent the return {nothing fun, just reduced our credit card debt}. If you are in a similarly relaxing position, you may enjoy mocking some of the famous people who tried to get away with ducking their taxes. Photo via See Jane Work.
Despite the fact that just as I've done 5 loads of laundry, another 5 loads manage to get dirty, I do like to clean. Something about cleaning is cathartic, and often a full day of scrubbing grime off of walls or organizing a closet will leave me feeling absolutely wonderful. The problem now is time. I just can't seem to get it all done, even though I really, really want to. As I walk through my house, my mind starts to compile a list of all the things that need to get done. I thought I'd share my (growing) list with you in order to unburden myself and free up some brain space. Note that this is my spring cleaning list, not day to day chores.
This was a lot more work than I anticipated. I dug the trench (7ft x 21ft x 1ft), and my father in law came with a cement mixer and some fence-making know how. After two weekends, it's finished! Kind of. I need to paint it to match the fence, fill it with garden soil, and plant. Hopefully, I'll do all that this weekend. I'm excited to have a large garden area, though the kids will miss their large 'sand box'. 
The baby is 2 months old now. When he isn't in pain from the reflux, he smiles and coos and does these little baby laughs that I love so much. The other two kids like to talk to him in high voices. They like to have him hold their finger and they fight over who gets to fetch things for him. These small pleasures are like healing balm to my day.
The last few weeks have been pretty hard. I'm tired. I don't have enough hands, or hours, or degrees of sanity. I want sleep and healthy food and a skinny body and a clean house and a date with my husband and kids that are happy and healthy and sleeping through the night. I know that will all come in time (maybe not the skinny body), but for now, just thinking of trying to go grocery shopping with three kids sends me into despair. I'm going to spend today thinking of ways to step away from the cliff. Wish me luck.
I can picture (pun intended) this lamp in my husband's office. Or maybe his side of the bed, I also really love the concrete walls and satin chair in the photo. Great contrast. Perspektiva lamp via Fancy Schmancy.
I planted my herb garden last week and now all the little seedlings are starting to sprout up. So pretty! Although a little behind schedule, my new vegetable garden should be finished shortly (photos coming soon), and I'm in love with all the patio pots at IKEA. Spring is in the air-- I'm determined to be surrounded by green and flowering things for as long as possible in this Arizona heat!
I tried this one on my family this morning. The kids could hardly eat it. Amazing, considering they willingly put the fuzzy lollypops found wedged behind the car seats into their mouths.
