No Place Like Home

Well, I'm at home. For 4 weeks. That's the longest I'll have stayed at home since the summer after freshman year.  I'm looking forward to it, and not just because there's a pool in the backyard.  It's not all fun and games, though, I have an internship...but nevertheless, let's see what craft shenanigans I get into here.

Things We Learned From Movies

I found this old list while cleaning out the "misc" folder in "My Documents".

Things We Learned From Movies

By Jessica and Courtney

What Women Want – Being electrocuted makes you a more sensitive person…..and it’s hilarious.

Mickey Blue Eyes – Marrying into the Italian mob is both hilarious and dangerous. Forgid aboud id.

Hairspray - Ever since this old world began a woman found out if she shook it she could shake up a man.

The Baxter- Every Baxter is somebody’s leading man. Reading the dictionary is an attractive quality.  Hip Hop Dance offs can be dangerous.

Love Comes Softly – If your pioneer husband doesn’t come back from the woods in 20 minutes, he might be dead.  Chances are, he is.

Road to Zanzibar- Political correctness hadn’t been invented then. But we do love Bob Hope and Bing Crosby!

Cinderella (the 1960’s version) – Female rights are overrated. Bad teeth can’t prevent you from marrying a prince.

Cinderella (The Brandy version) - one white queen + one black king = an Asian prince? According to this, at least. 

Star Wars (A New Hope)- The name “Obi Wan Kenobi” is way cooler than “Old Ben Kenobi”. Seriously, why the not-so-sneaky change, Alec Guinness/Ewan McGregor?

Star Wars (The Empire Strikes Back)- Responding to “I love you” with “I know” is kind of a let down.  And no, you don’t really like nice men. Don’t stay outside too long on the ice planet Hoth or your ton-ton will freeze.

Star Wars (The Return of the Jedi) – Falling into the gaping maw of the Sarlacc is probably the WORST way to go.  Sorry, Boba Fett.

Star Wars ( The Phantom Menace) – There is a pseudo-scientific way to see if the force is strong with you.  Just let Qui-Gon have a little of your blood.  Pod Racing is an acceptable hobby for children.

Star Wars (Attack of the Clones)- Star Wars has TERRIBLE relationship dialogue.

Star Wars (The Revenge of the Sith)- First sign of turning to the dark side = domestic violence.

Nic and Nora’s Infinite Playlist- Just say no. To EVERYTHING this movie is and stands for. Ick.

He’s Just Not That Into You- he’s just not that into you……unless he is. You probably won’t know.

Sixteen Candles- Turning sixteen isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  Unless, of course, it is.

The Breakfast Club- This movie has little or nothing to do with breakfasts or clubs. However, it is good for learning that crazy 80’s fast-feet dance Molly Ringwald does. Opposites Attract.

Gone with the Wind- Curtains make great clothes.  Just because you went through the civil war doesn’t mean you have to look like it.

Marie Antoinette- Rip Torn is the least French person ever.  Living in the 18^th century was kind of boring.

The Duchess- Don’t marry terrible old men. And if you do, don’t let your very charming best gal pal stay over all the time.  It’s SUCH a bad idea.

The Beautician and the Beast- Fran Drescher plays the same type of character in everything. We’re okay with that, I guess.

Father of the Bride- Hot dog buns and hot dogs are sold in differing quantities. 

The Patriot- When you are attacking enemy armies, start with the officers and work your way down. 

It’s a Wonderful Life- Apparently, the worst possible thing that can happen to an unmarried woman is to be a librarian……and you should appreciate what you have.

Oceans 11, 12, and 13- It’s better to be a good bad guy than a bad bad guy.  Criminal activity is always more socially acceptable if you look like George Clooney.

Catch Me if You Can- Drop out of school, become a master paperhanger! Get caught years later abroad, end up working for the FBI!  Check that out. High school drop-out to FBI. No college, no grad school.

Gigi- We can’t even talk about Gigi. That song that goes “Thank heaven for little girls…” Do you know what that’s really about?! This movie is a tribute to creepers everywhere.

The Sound of Music- Even if you are well on your way to being a nun, you can still change your mind and marry a widowed captain with 7 children.  Curtains make great play clothes!

High School Musical- Beautiful people are also multitalented in various ways! We’re all stars.

High School Musical 2 – Even upper middle class kids from the Midwest get oppressed by evil country club tyrants.  Why can’t we be friends?

High School Musical 3- Picking a college is hard.  Prom is the night of nights. Breaking out into a choreographed graduation dance is proper and natural.

Head over Heels- With enough makeup, anyone can be a model! Always find out if the guy you’re dating is an undercover FBI agent.

Grease- Apparently, abandoning your morals and wearing tight fitting clothing is a great way to end the school year!

Just Friends- Forgiveness is more than saying sorry.  Catching your private plane on fire does not mean you’re being punk’d.

27 Dresses- Men who don’t believe in marriage may, indeed, believe in marriage. Maybe they just haven’t met Katherine Heigl….or you.

December Boys- Daniel Radcliffe has a monopoly on teen angst.

Easter Parade- Fred Astaire is forever young.

Funny Girl- Don’t marry a French professional gambler. Or any kind, really. You’re asking for it if you do.

Hello Dolly- New York is a place where dreams come true….if you can talk fast enough to keep every one confused.

On The Town- Consider a career as a singing sailor.

Thoroughly Modern Millie- So sad to be all alone in the world. Don’t pay taxi drivers with checks.  Acrobatics is a useful way to defeat the bad guys.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day- If three men want you, choose the one who actually loves you (and is Lee Pace with a British accent). Also, if middle age finds you loveless and unemployed, you just might be able to find a guy like Cieran Hinds….so don’t give up the ship.

Be Kind To Your Web-footed Friend, For A Duck May Be Somebody's Mother

Court and Mom, before digital cameras.

Do you have a wonderful mother? I do, and that’s why today’s post is all about my mother.  Without my mother, Court couldn’t make that, so it is perfectly fitting to spend a blog post waxing poetic about my mom.

She taught me how to sew.  She taught me how to cook.  She taught me how to jump off a trotting horse, how to sing “Be kind to your web-footed friend, for a duck may be somebody’s mother” to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner, and that you should never match your eye shadow to the color of your shirt because it can look tacky.  She taught me how to make everyday, practical things beautiful.  She’s amazing, and not just because of her craft-related skills.   She is the most wonderful, patient, humble, kind, wise, elegant woman who I know.  I can hardly let a day go by without thanking God for letting me be her daughter.  We're alarmingly similar- we have the same eyes (although I totally missed out on her height and generally willowy-ness), have been known to buy the same clothes at different stores in different towns with no idea of the other's intentions, and today we both quoted the most recent episode of Modern Family to each other at the same time.

So what I’m getting at is this….Mother’s day is a special day, because I like to let my mom know how much I love her and how much I appreciate her.  For this Mother’s Day, I had an old picture of the two of us enlarged and framed for her.  I knew she loved this picture, and I do too.  I hope someday I’m a great mother like mine.

Yep, this is sort of hilarious looking. But who can resist the classic "recreate the photo holding the photo" shot?

PS- We celebrated on Saturday so that's why she's already gotten her present.  

Thank Goodness for Professor Bhaer

The MySpaceness of this picture kills me. Softly. (with its song?)

"...and she came walking in with a very queer expression of countenance, for there was a mixture of fun and fear, satisfaction and regret in it, which puzzled the family as much as did the roll of bills she laid before her mother, saying with a little choke in her voice, 'That's my contribution toward making Father comfortable and bringing him home!'

'My dear, where did you get it? Twenty-five dollars! Jo, I hope you haven't done anything rash?'

'No, it's mine honestly. I didn't beg, borrow or steal it. I earned it, and I don't think you'll blame me, for I only sold what was my own.

As she spoke, Jo took off her bonnet, and a general outcry arose, for all her abundant hair was cut short.

'Your hair! Your beautiful hair!' 'Oh, Jo, how could you? Your one beauty.'"

- Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

Her ONE beauty. Can you imagine if someone told you your hair was your ONE beauty? I’m all about inner beauty and razor-sharp intelligence, but I’ll admit if someone told me my hair was my ONE beauty AFTER I cut it off, I might feel a bit…low…for a while. I mean, that’s like saying “before, you were barely tolerable, and now you’ve sunk to new lows!”  

I know that isn’t what the good March sisters really meant, but it lingers with me, you know.  I feel for poor Jo.  It makes me so happy at the end when Professor Bhaer says “but I have nothing to offer you. My hands are empty” and she put her hands in his and says “Not empty anymore” and then they get married and open a school for underprivileged boys (have you read Jo's Boys or Plumfield? You ought to).

But I digress.

This post is intended to be about a flower hair clip. Please accept my apologies for the long and only vaguely related intro.  Hair accessories seem to be very, very in right now.  You know what I’m talking about.  Those headbands with the little flowers on the side? Everybody’s wearing them.  And the clips! The pins! Flowers, beaded do-dads, feathers! We’re decorating ourselves very liberally these days.  This is a trend I’ve largely avoided because for some reason I think these things look sort of odd on me.  That said, in moderation I like them very much and with the right outfit I would wear them if I had them.  The other morning I got dressed and felt my outfit was calling for a hair accessory, so I made one, right then and there, that morning. (and yes, I did make it to class on time).  This flower is a variation on fabric flowers I’ve talked about before on here.  HERE is a link to a site that shows you how to make them!  I sewed a bit of lace on the middle and also stitched on a few pearl beads.  I hot-glued it to a hairclip, and that was it.  30 minutes, tops.

http://kindawonderful.typepad.com/pink_paper_peppermints/2008/06/rounded-petal-fabric-flowers-31-crafty-flowers-in-31-days--day-23.html

Overnight Oats = Easy Delicious Breakfast

I read food blogs from time to time, and I’ve been reading for a while now about this breakfast phenomenon called “Overnight Oats”.  Now, sometimes I catch trends a little late so forgive me if this is old news to you.  This is what I've been eating for breakfast all this week- I really like this! I love oatmeal but sometimes it's just too hot for oatmeal here in the peach state!

Basically, to make overnight oats you combine oats, milk, yogurt, and maybe some honey and dried fruit.  Then, you cover them up and pop them in the fridge overnight, add some fresh fruit in the morning, and there you go.  A delicious, nutritious breakfast all ready and waiting for you!

I’ve seen recipes that call for equal parts yogurt, oats, and milk.  I sort of like a higher oat to liquid ratio myself so my recipe has almost as much oats (as many oats?) as it does yogurt and milk combined. You can play with it, it’s not an exact science. Here’s what I did the other day:

I used microsoft publisher to make this.  That's right. PUBLISHER. Artists everywhere are cringing.

½ cup oats

1/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt (want to make your own yogurt? check out my old post HERE)

¼ cup unsweetened almond milk

A drizzle of honey

Sliced strawberries

Combine the first 4 ingredients; store covered in the fridge overnight. Add berries in the morning and then enjoy!

Of course, you could use whatever milk, yogurt, and fruit you fancied.  This is just what I had on this particular day.  I’ve used regular milk as well, I was just feeling almond-y that day.

Here are some other great recipes for overnight oats:

Overnight Oats at The Weekly Bite (I'm a big fan of The Weekly Bite)

Overnight Oats at Kath Eats Real Food

Tastes better than it looks, promise.

Trouble Sleeping? The Magic Sofa Just Got More Magical

 I have a magic sofa.  It’s in my room.  It used to be in our living room, but we (my roommates and I) moved last year, and it doesn’t fit in our new living room.  It’s a magic napping sofa.  Seriously, it is the perfect size for a perfect nap.  (It’s also good for movie-watching, homework-doing, reading, writing, and being on your computer like I am right now!) I’ve been napping on this sofa for pretty much the duration of my entire existence, because it used to be at my grandparents', then in the basement at my family’s house, and for the last few years it’s been at my apartment.  

Remember how I said last post I bought some bird fabric? Today I got home from school, did some thesis-related stuff (today was amazingly productive, can I get a high-five?!), and then found myself looking at my new bird fabric. 

fabric, with the proper pieces cut out

 The pattern-on-whiteness of it made me think “pillowcase”.  So…..I made a pillowcase.  Pillowcases are perhaps one of the easiest things in the world to make; if you are just starting out you should definitely make one. I think it would be rewarding. Basically, you just cut a piece of fabric twice as large as the pillow in question, hem the top part, fold it over right-side-to-right-side, and sew the two sides together.  I wanted a bit more pizzazz for this particular pillowcase, so I used some of my fabric to make a ruffle by folding it over, sewing it, then pinning it too the edge of the pillowcase body in a ruffly way. 

I like ruffles.

 I decided that this pillow should belong to the magic sofa.  Together, they cannot fail.  I think perhaps this sofa and this pillow have the sleep-inducing capabilities of both Ny-quil and Benadryl (Um, I do not advocate the taking of these medications for use as a sleep aid.  They just make me very sleepy when I have to take them for legitimate illness-related reasons.)

I could go to sleep just LOOKING at this.

Sweet Dreams :)

Put A Bird On It!

First, go watch this: http://www.hulu.com/watch/210887/portlandia-put-a-bird-on-it

Then, read this:

I'm guilty of it.  I put birds on things.  Lots of things. I put a bird on my wall last week. I painted a bird last month. I recently bought three yards of three different bird-patterned fabrics.  I've put birds in frames, on frames, on canvas, under glass, on Christmas ornaments, on memo boards, on stationary, etc.  I've been writing this blog for less than a year and almost half the entries are bird related. Problem? Hard to say.

My name is Courtney, and I put birds on things.

okay I'm going to go write my thesis proposal now.
No birds on that.