Crafty Pictures

I've been crafy this winter. Here are some of my finished projects...
Ronin's Crayon Bag... This was the project that inspired all the others. I really wanted to start sewing again and this was just what I needed. Now if only he'd stop eating crayons...


Little Lillian's Babydoll Diaper Bag...

The inside of the diaper bag...


After making the bag for Lillian, I decided that I should probably make some for gifts too. I gave out several. I forgot to take pictures, but my friend has a craft blog that she puts all her crafty goodies on. So I thank her for doing so!
Here's the link...Seasonal Gnome: A gift.

We’re back. Tired and tense, it was a slippery trek home. Ohio and very southern Michigan were extremely icy. But, the trip was worth it. We had a lovely time and I’m glad I was able to spend the holidays with family.

We received many wonderful gifts both for Christmas and as incidentals. Some of the coolest were a little vintage VW from my father’s childhood, Great-Grandma’s baked goods, and X-mas scrap fabric from Grammy Cathy.

On Wednesday, Nico’s dad and step-mom arrive. We have much prep work to get done before they get here. X-mas pictures soon, I promise!

Happy Holidays to All

We are headed to Kentucky tonight, so if we don’t see or talk to you please know we are thinking of you. Safe travels to all those who are also hitting the road this season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!

Here’s a little cheer for you (thanks for the idea PJ).

Love,
The Prelogars
-Nico, Goldie, Ronin, Venus, Jack Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Bella

Working with Daddy

Kitchen pictures!!!

Kitchen "Before" Pictures

These are the "before" pictures, but really, they are more like "during" pictures. Notice the stuff everywhere and the utter chaos. Our home is not normally like this, only during a project.

December 18th

Wow, December is flying by!

We've passed our cold/flu or whatever onto Nico. He's sick now. I'm feeling much, much better but still not 100%.

I'm really excited because we just signed Nico up for a Welded Metal Sculpture class at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. He will go Monday nights from 7-10. I'm sure he'll be exhausted after working all day, but he needs a creative outlet. He's also commited to REALLY try to quit smoking. He says his quit date is Jan. 1. Please keep him in your prayers/meditations/thoughts as this is the third time he will be trying to quit and it's such a hard process.

I've been sewing like crazy, when I get the time. Some of you will be getting handmade gift wrap this year. I've made little drawstring bags from recycled/scrap fabric. Please reuse them to whomever you like! I was going to try to make bags for all the gifts, but that was getting a little overwhelming. Instead, I will use brown paper sacks (from when I forgot to shop with my reusable bag) like I have in the past. I will make new bags each year... hmmm... maybe I should embroider the year on each bag. That way, we can remember which ones I made each year.

Our love to you all!

Sick and Tired... Kitchen too

Okay, I think this sickness is the worst I've had in a long time. I've actually resorted to antibiotics to help me get over it. Yucko!

We've come to a bit of a stand-still on the kitchen. We are trying to figure out what to do with the floor. Once we get that all worked out, we'll continue (probably after the holidays).

We've also decided to spend Christmas with my dad and Cathy. They are the closest relatives and with my dad's heart attack a little over a month ago, it's important that we see them. Now to figure out all the logistics.

Will Santa be able to find Ronin in Kentucky? Will he forgive him for the horrible visit at Somerset Mall??? Tune in next week when we find out.

too much fun for one girl

We're well into the holiday season. Last night I went to a Mom's Club cookie exchange and had a nice time sans husband and child. But all day yesterday my nose was bothering me. Today I woke up with what I think is a full-blown sinus infection. I'm pretty miserable.

Nico and I made a pact to go to bed early tonight. We've been staying up way to late in an effort to have some grown-up time. Last night we stayed up until almost midnight and he has to leave for work no later than 7:15 a.m. It's hard to balance all the stuff going on in our life.

If you haven't already gotten your holiday card, it's on its way.

Peace!

Santa is bad

Kitchen update

We had big plans to accomplish major kitchen reno this weekend. Nico did great yesterday with the help of a friend. Today we encountered some issues so we’ve got to make a trip to IKEA tomorrow for replacement parts. Hopefully we can get back on track this week.

Nico was able to hang the Christmas lights today. It doesn’t feel like the holiday’s without lights and decorations. I bought a small table-top tree for this year. Next year when we are not in the middle of a project and the kiddo isn’t throwing anything he thinks is a ball, we’ll put up the regular tree.

Also, I've been sewing like mad. This weekend I made a wrap-mat (inspiration and pattern collaboration from my friend Deb) and a tree skirt for the table-top tree. My wrap-mat is like this one.

On the Church Webpage

Well we are famous (at least in our minds). We showed up on the church homepage. We are the family of three (duh) on the far right.

One kitchen cabinet is in. It looks different than I pictured, but I think it's going to be just fine. I took "during" pictures, because I almost forgot to take "befores". I'll upload them soon.

A New Year Approaches

So we have been discussing this cool thing that we might do next year. After an interesting year (see posts about job layoff, etc) and even more interesting financial discussions we have come to certain realizations. 1) Times are tough and we made it. 2) Times will most likely get tougher. 3) Why do we have some much stuff?

We are contemplating what I like to call “A New Year without the New”. Essentially, we will not be purchasing anything new for an entire year. Of course there are some conditions and caveats with this. Exceptions are consumables like food, medicine, diapers, etc. and emergency situations (which will be evaluated on a case by case basis). For everything else we will either 1) do without 2) make due with what we already have 3) make our own 4) borrow 5) buy used 6) get from Freecycle or other free sources.

We are still discussing all the details. We have also stocked up on a few items that we deem “unable to due without or willingly buy used”. These items include (but are not limited to) underpants, socks, and tires.

More on this later… I think that it sounds like a fun and fruitful adventure.