the right to bear arms.

this is the Halloween costume i made for Wayne this year:

get it?? the second amendment? the right to BEAR ARMS??? :)

and yes, he went to work like that today!

cookies, supposedly.

i followed the recipe EXACTLY, but i guess i'm prone to baking bloopers too (i blame the recipe, by the way)... okay, you can stop laughing at me now. (you can't even tell what they are!)

here is the same batch of peanut butter oatmeal cookies after some much-needed remedy-ing:

suggestions?

i need a more clever (and accurate) name for my blog than "Cecilia & Wayne are getting married!"

stuffed.

I just made a huge batch of mashed potatoes for company. I don't really have a recipe... I just add stuff that I think would be good and taste as I go. Today, I experimented a lot, which means I tasted a lot. ugh... I'm so full... That's always the downside for me when hosting dinners; I almost always ruin my appetite for the actual meal!

hello, clark!

Had a great chat with a great friend last night! Just wanted to say "hello" and give you something to read, because I know you're checking blogs in class. :)

and here is a quick Clark slideshow...

Fall Finds

I love this acorn cakelet pan from Williams-Sonoma! Isn't it fun?

dejected.

The trim is all done and looks great, especially if you admire from afar (like across the street), so you don't notice the parts where I colored outside of the lines (oops). But I don't mind too much; the new paint job definitely perks up the exterior!

Today, we are tackling the door, which I thought was going to be the cherry on top... except that it has been everything but. First, the rollers we were using started to come apart after multiple uses, leaving fuzzy bits and a spongey finish I was so not going for. Second, the "Fiesta Orange" we picked out is, indeed... festive. As a small swatch, the color is fun and playful, but as a large surface, it reminds me of nacho cheese! Third, after a quick run to Home Depot for new rollers, Emily and I were happily rolling away... until I think I rolled too much and peeled a whole CHUNK of still-damp paint off the door!

wah!!!

sigh... so I don't know what to do. Right now, I just want to crawl into bed and take a nap. And then buy a new door. Do-it-yourself projects are much more difficult than HGTV makes it look!

brrr...

... it's cold in here! There must be some toros in the atmosphere!

... that, or I'm experiencing the first signs of Sacramento fall. Probably the latter.

This feels like San Diego WINTER. And what's worse, it came from out of nowhere... I think I'm going to die.

ack!

I give up! I can't decorate. I can't even find sheets that will go with my very versatile linen duvet. I picked out some persimmon-y sheets from Bed Bath and Beyond, and was really excited about them until I actually put them on our bed... the sheen of the sheets does NOT go with the country charm I am going for. These sheets are going back to the store, I am regretting the duvet, and now I'm back at square one.

... I think I'm just going to have to go to IKEA, and buy pre-matched sheets and bedding that don't even have a thread count! I have NOTHING against IKEA; in fact, I love that store, but I was hoping to coordinate some things on my own. blah. perhaps I need to watch more HGTV.

home makeover

Despite the blanket of cobwebs, insect-infested shrubs, and colonies of ants and spiders that greeted me and freaked me out when I first moved in, I've calmed down a bit to admit that our little house actually has a lot of potential. As I've already shared in a previous post, I have high aspirations and a lengthy domestic to-do list to boot.

With insect-killer in one hand, and Emily as my brave and trusty sidekick, we are ready to tackle our first project: repainting the trim and door!

Before:

Day 1: Yardwork--getting rid of the GROSSLY infested gardenia bushes in front of the house.

As we cut the branches off, CLOUDS of little white bugs would fly off... not to mention the army of ants and aphids. blech!

Day 2: Removing chipped paint and sanding down all surfaces

Day 3 (today): Cleaning all surfaces with power hose and taping up sides of trim.

First gut-wrenching obstacle of the day--the ants carrying their baby eggs fleeing from their flooded nests. Notice the now-empty bottle of bug spray.

Second gut-wrenching obstacle--taking down the old, dirty, mildewy straw blinds that hung outside our back window... notice the cobwebs underneath. and the clump of cobwebs/mud/wasp nest that looks like a dead bird.

Our day's hard work looks like this:

Tomorrow: Painting!!!