(Be) // Playing in the Rain

As most of you know, it's been a very hot and dry summer here in Texas.  Today around noon Lydia had just finished her snack when the clouds opened up and it began to rain!  I quickly scooped her up and took her outside to enjoy this rare and beautiful event. 

What a glorious way to spend an afternoon.

(Lov)e,

-k.

(Be) // Half-Ass Crafts: Lamp Shade

I may be a creative person but I'm actually not that "crafty".  I tend to have great ideas and just jump right in without much planning.  In some mediums, this lack of planning does little to effect the quality of the outcome.  In others... I'm learning that planning is everything.  Crafting, home repairs, sewing, or construction in general all require plans, the proper supplies/tools, and research/knowledge as to what the hell you are doing. Otherwise, you end up with what I call "half-ass crafts". 

So we have this fantastic Mid-Century Arco lamp with a gold color acrylic dome shade that Brendan acquired from a friend.  In it's original state, it fit into a wooden floor piece that cradled the lamp and allowed it to suspended without touching the ground.  We never had the floor piece and have taken to using a hook in the ceiling and securing it to the wall.  It was in amazing condition until the day we moved into our current apartment when we dropped and broke the shade.  It cracked in a couple of different places, but with a little glue we were back in business. About two years later, I was cleaning and knocked it loose; breaking the shade yet again.  The existing cracks emerged and became noticeably worse while also adding a few more. It was beyond repair, so we took down the lamp.     

Trying to find a replacement shade has proven to be very difficult and would cost us a small fortune.  SO, I decided I was going to make "fixing up" the broken lamp shade my project yesterday.

I started by re-gluing all of the cracks.  To hide the newly glued cracks, I was going to decoupage it with some nice paper but decided to go with fabric instead (bad idea number #1- fabric on a round surface).  I went to the fabric store and bought a couple to feet of some fabric I thought would look good in our living room.  I then went on a hunt for Mod Podge (if I was "crafty", I would already own this).  Three stores later, I settled on a spray adhesive (bad idea number #2 - don't settle on your tools/get what you need.) I thought when I got home I would create some sort of pattern to follow, but Iwas hot and tired and just decided to wing it (bad idea number #3- self explanatory). 


Brendan came into the living room to find me trying to wrestle the fabric around the lamp shade quietly singing "I'm not crafty, I'm not your type...I'm not crafty, I'm not what you like"; a play on the Beastie Boys song but with a tone of pathetic self deprecation. He lovingly listened to me whine about how much I suck at things like this and got on the floor to offer me some help.  The two of us managed to get the fabric on and glued.  The end result:

 

Not BAD, but it certainly isn't anything I would say I am proud of.  I hope to do a better job in the future, but for now I will let this serve as a constant reminder that I could be "crafty" if I wanted to be.  I just need to have a PLAN, the proper tools/supplies, and enough "know how" to accomplish my goal. 


And unless you want to see glue globs, frayed fabric edges, fuzz, thread, and some random stands of my hair, I don't recommend looking on the inside.

Cheers to all you bloggin ladies who do it right the first time.  As for me, I will just focus on writing "full-ass" blogs about my"half-ass" crafts. :)

(Lov)e,

-k. 

(Lov) // Bits and Pieces

Life has gotten so unbelievably busy since I started my blog.  Of course.  I do something creative and it leads to more creative "stuff".  I am not complaining, as it is all good "stuff" that I am very excited about...it's just more.  I'm saying this even in the middle of a Texas drought... when it rains it pours.

Busy being a Mama and Wife. Busy with design projects. Busy with clients and the salon. Busy with life and all it's living.  I keep having all of these great blog ideas only to have them pushed out by an email I need to return or a diaper that needs to be changed. Trying to find balance when you work for yourself is always a difficult task.

As far as blogs go, I need to remember that they are whatever we make them.  If I only have time to post bits and pieces just to stay connected... so be it. I conclude that it's better to blog a little than nothing at all. With that being said, here is a bit from today... we ate watermelon.

 We like watermelon. Happy Tuesday.

(Lov)e,

-k.

(Lov) // Muchos Backflips! :: Curtains i Tell You

I am very excited to announce that the long awaited sophomore record from Muchos Backflips!...Curtains i Tell You... is finally HERE!  My husband has been playing bass with them for 4 years now and we are SUPER excited, indeed!

The heart and soul of the band, Winston Barrett, did an amazing job. The many long hours spent in  (Cucuy Productions) yields an album that any perfectionist would enjoy; the incredible attention to detail that comes through loud and clear.  It takes you on a unique musical adventure...a frolic through the weird and wonderful, dark yet playful mind of Mr. Barrett.  The design of the album cover, photos, and the original art work are perfection. AND...the vinyl is orange (my favorite color)!

Want a little taste?  Go here to listen to four of the songs ( El Zilcho, Curtains i Tell You, Night Blaster, and Worst Episode Ever). Go here to get a free download of their single "Bug Jar" (not on the album). 

Here's a review from www.leicesterbangs.com: 
  
Muchos Backflips! - Curtains I Tell You (Independent) Experimental and completely off-the-wall, Winston Barrett’s Muchos Backflips! mix up hardcore, metal, epic soundtracks, mariachi brass, unstructured jazz flip-outs and previously untested jerk-rhythms, sometimes all within the same song. Mostly instrumental, when words appear they do so as grunted asides, left to fester in and amongst the cacophony of shredded guitars, weepy horns and convulsive beats. 
 

Opening cut “El Zilcho” begins fairly straightforwardly with crunchy guitars, but we’re less than a minute in before a reggae trumpet and a love of spy-movie themes comes to the fore. The title track includes a vocal of sorts, gentle at first, but then growly and ugly and you won’t be singing along in the shower. “Worst Episode Ever” builds and destroys, embraces its stimuli before quickly dying.

Needless to say “Curtains I Tell You” will appeal to a limited audience; they are the lucky ones. Of course it’s a record that challenges listeners to make choices, but for all its flights of aural insanity, it retains a musical core. Barrett’s obviously a fanboy at heart, utilizing his many influences to make his own musical investigations. Indeed, I’d love to spend an intimate week with his record collection. 

Our record collection is certainly much better off (and a bit more colorful) now that Curtains I Tell You has found a home amongst it's vinyl brethren...

 

The band got help with the production of the vinyl records through Kickstarter, a fantastic organization that helps fund creative projects by independent artists.  In 30 days, the band raised $3,200!  I and the rest of  the friends, family and fans who contributed got a shout out in the liner notes!  (Well, being the unofficial band hairstylist and wife of the bassist got me two "thank yous", but whose counting.)

I love this band (especially the bassist).  I love this album.  And I love knowing that when I am holding it in my hand, I am holding Winston's dream. Congratulations on a masterful success, gentlemen! 

(Lov)e,

-k.

(Lov) // Procreation epicenter

My husband sent me this picture in an email on Sunday.  He had forgotten that he took it when he went back to Colorado a few weeks ago for the funeral of his Grandfather, Norm.  What's so special about this extra frilly and floral bed at his Grandparents house?  We believe that it was in this very bed that we conceived our lovely daughter Lydia while on a trip the summer after we were married.  Hence, the email (and blog) title. :)

Apparently it take 14 hours on the road and having sex in a garden of lace to make a baby. Who knew?

(Lov)e,

-k.