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Under a Blue Moon

Decor, cooking, organization, all the pretty things

Personal Grooming

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This post is not for the faint of heart.  I am going to share intimate details of my toilette so if you are of the masculine persuasion or just don’t care to read of such things then I invite you to click on any one of the links to the right.  This will just take a few minutes – you can come back in a bit.

Okay then – is it just us girls now?  What kind of freaking sadist came up with the idea of an epilator??  I mean seriously – it’s tarted up with monikers like ‘caress’ or ‘ gently gold’ like there is anything remotely caressing or gentle about it.  For those of you who don’t know it’s basically a torture device that rips the hair off your body with lightening fast little tweezery things.   It does, however, come in a lovely little velvet lined carrying case. 

Rick had to work late tonight so I thought I would take the opportunity to do a little grooming of the defoliating nature.   The apparatus looks basically like a woman’s electric shaver.  In fact, if the whole ripping your hair out by the roots thing turns out not to be your thing there is actually an additional shaving attachment you can pop on.   We are made of sterner stuff, though, and soldiered on.

You basically turn it on and then proceed like you were shaving your legs (or where ever).  Only the second you place it against your skin every nerve ending in your body shrieks bloody blue murder (or maybe that was just me – the dog did leap out of his bed with a start and scurry out of the room, giving me worried, backward glances). 

I persevered though – I cleared a little spot on my calf and then made little furtive moves to other areas on my leg – quickly coming back to the already denuded part (the thing is very painless if there is nothing to grab on to).   I was dripping sweat and my face had hectic red patches from the misery of it but I did it.  There was one heartbreaking moment when I realized that I had finished one leg and had to move on to the other or risk hirsute asymmetry for a month or two.

When I was done it looked like a cat had exploded in the bathroom and I was covered in blotchy welts but my legs are silky smooth.  And very pale.  We’ll talk about self-tanners in another post.

I do have to mention the loose power container pictured above.  About seven years ago I heard about the Versace line of cosmetics – they’ve since abandoned it but for a while you could buy lovely lipsticks,  powders and other cosmetics from them.  The powder – called Extra Glow Soft Loose Powder – is fabulous in it’s own right.  It makes your skin look ethereal and luminous.  Candle lit is the description I heard most associated with it.  However the best thing, for the entire line actually, was the packaging.  It was so luxurious and glamorous looking.  Like cosmetics used to be.  There was just something so nostalgic about the packaging that I think I would have liked the line even if the products weren’t so nice.  Unfortunately you can’t get it anymore.  I managed to find three unopened packages of the powder on e-Bay and snapped them up.  When I run out I’ll save the container and find some other powder to put in it.

Once last thing – in order to gently segue back to our regularly scheduled program of decorating and the like.  This past weekend, at the fun little antique store we visited, the owner had a display of old hand mirrors, each with a pretty vintage satin or velvet ribbon tied around the handle, mounted on a wall.  She had half a dozen or so and it looked so pretty.  Perfect for a dressing area or a bathroom. 

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April 20, 2007 6:53 pm Andrea Filed Under: Musings

Moving slowly

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I am moving slowly today.  I’ve managed to come down with a cold or the flu or quite possibly some brain debilitating ailment.  I feel so foggy and slow this morning. 

Does anyone grow peonies?  To me they seem like such a bother.  You have to baby them along, they take up considerable space in your flower bed and they only seem to bloom for a few fleeting weeks.  Maybe it’s just the climate here.   The peonies above are faux – they came from Crate and Barrel.  I was fooled when my sister Kate walked in with them and handed them to me.   

I have two pots on either side of my garage door that have to be hand watered.  Now I have the best of intentions whenever I plant anything but I know myself and I cannot be trusted to hand water on a regular basis.  I’m all about the drip system.  Only I don’t want tubing running in front of the garage – there is no way to camouflage it.  So I’m thinking I may plant a couple of pots of faux peonies instead.  Maybe with some ivy trailing down the sides.

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The paisley under the peonies is from the April Cornell Sunshine group of fabrics.   I received this fat quarter bundle in our white elephant exchange last weekend.   The exhange that lasted about 48 seconds because no one would steal anyone else’s gift.  We just aren’t wired that way, I guess. 

I’m not sure what to do with it just yet.  It’s very Springy – I was thinking of a table topper that is mostly white with the blue, green and yellow accents.  I know I said I was going to branch out from just making table toppers but I do have a few months left to complete.

April 19, 2007 9:26 am Andrea Filed Under: Musings

Quilting Retreat – Part 3

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Now we’ll get down to the quilts that were made on the retreat.  This bright and cheerful creation was made by my niece Sara – this was actually a spur of the moment project that was inspired when we went on our little outing on Saturday.  Sara had run out of a certain fabric for her Sanctuary quilt so she picked up some more material at Quilter’s Inn in Danville and completed this quilt top in the rest of the time we spent on our retreat.

It totally captures her fun, young outlook.

My sister Nicole brought a number of projects to work on.  She is very prolific.

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This is just one of the quilts she was working on.  I love the robin’s egg blue with other, warmer colors.  Nicole loves a scrappy quilt, that is for sure.  I wish I had a picture of her Valentine quilt that she brought – you’ll just have to wander over to her blog and check it out.  She took better pictures anyway.

My other sister Kate was working on a blue and yellow quilt using the April Cornell Sunshine line.  I didn’t get a good picture of any of the blocks that she was working on but she did bring a baby quilt for Sew & Tell that she just made for a coworker. 

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The front was adorable but was really really sweet about this was the quilting.  Here is a close up:

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Heather was working on a project from a class called Strip Club and typical of her quilts her color choices for this one are bright and vibrant – I wish I had taken better pictures, especially of this quilt because the blocks seemed to float on top of the black.  It was really striking.

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Bette was working on a quilt for nephew in batiks in beautiful shades of greens and purples.  Only she got tired of working on it and put it away before I could get a proper picture of it.  She did have this incredible (oh all the quilts are incredible to me – who am I kidding?) project to show.  I love the middle border.  I could never do that.  I don’t even think I could aspire to do that.   Sorry for the crummy angle on this picture – there were throngs of other quilters in my way.

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And last but not least Linda was working on a huge undertaking.  Three quilt tops – actually two quilts and one duvet cover – for her teenage daughter and two of her friends.  She was working with bright pinks and greens.   She had a whole assembly line thing going on –

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That black fabric with the little purses on it was seriously cute.  She brought another finished project to show and coincidently it was the same fabric I was working with.  This was her first project free form quilting on her new sewing machine. 

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I really had a fabulous time and I’m inspired to branch out from my safe little table toppers.  Nicole went to an incredible amount of effort to make this a fun and rewarding retreat for everyone.  I think it was a perfect retreat to go on for my first time.  I can hardly wait for next year. 

In the meantime I’m going to keep cranking out yo yo’s.  Who knows maybe by the time I’m 90 I’ll have enough for a quilt top.

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April 18, 2007 12:01 am Andrea Filed Under: Crafts

Quilting Retreat – Part 2

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Okay now onto the quilting.  We had a huge room to sew in.  My sister, who organized the retreat, and my niece arrived early and set up the room.  The facilities provided long narrow tables and chairs for us.  The tables were set up in a U-shape almost against the walls.  Each quilter had their own table to spread out their stuff. 

In the middle of the room we set up a larger cutting table.  And here’s a clever idea – borrowed from a local quilt shop – they had created leg extensions using pvc pipe and pipe caps.  You just set the legs of the table into the open end of the pipe and you can raise the cutting surface by a foot.  Very clever and back saving.

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At the other end of the room (not visible in the above picture) they set up a drink and snack table.  One needs to stay fortified and hydrated while quilting.  Hmmm – is someone drinking a glass of wine whilst quilting?  I do believe they are (okay we all did – we just had rules about using a rotary cutter and drinking – don’t drink and cut).

This was my very first retreat.  I think I behaved myself and will be invited back next year.  The only thing I would do differently is to bring more projects to work on.  I actually finished my Christmas table topper except for the final border (I have to order more fabric) and ended up working on my yo yo’s.  I even ran out of those to work on and ended up reading magazines and pestering the other quilters.

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Out of the seven quilters four had Singer Featherweights.  I totally covet a Featherweight.  Mostly because they are so adorable but also because they are simple to operate (a plus for me) and they are small and travel easily.   The picture above is my niece Sara working on her Sanctuary quilt.  I love the pastel colors in this line. 

I’m not really telling this tale in an orderly fashion.  Let me start over and tell how it went.  Like I mentioned my sister and niece arrived first and set up the room.  Then the rest of us trickled in on Friday afternoon around 4:00 or 5:00pm.   We set up our sewing machines and got our gear all organized.  Then we had happy hour, chattering away and looking at each other’s projects.   We did a little bit of sewing before dinner was served at 7:00pm and afterward we went back to the room and sewed some more. 

Our sleeping rooms were right off of our sewing room – it was very convenient.  We all toddled off to bed around 11:00 or so.  The next morning some of us got up early and started sewing before breakfast and others of us woke up, wild haired and bleary-eyed just as the breakfast bell was ringing (okay that was me). 

I managed to get my table topper cut out and assembled by Noon on Saturday.  We had made plans to have lunch and visit a local quilt shop.   There was an adorable antique shop right next door and I think we spent more time and money in there than we did the quilt shop.  I bought some old glass buttons and some hankies.

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It was nice to break up the day with an outing like that.  When we got back I worked on cutting out circles for yo yo’s.  My sister had some games and prizes for us.   When we went to the quilt shop in Danville (Called Quilter’s Inn, I believe – I can’t find a website for them though..) they gave my sister a ton of stuff when they heard we were on a retreat.  They were incredibly generous.  Patterns, books, even a $25 gift certificate!   The games tested our quilting knowledge and I failed miserably.  I did win a prize for the ugliest sewing machine though.  And I was promised I wouldn’t be mocked.  Harrumph.

We also did a white elephant gift exchange but we were all too polite to steal from each other so it was basically everyone just picking out a gift and keeping it.  Except Heather stole the two charm packs that Bette picked but then she felt so bad that she gave her one of them back.  Yes, quilter’s are nice people.

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After dinner we did show and tell.  Everyone, except for me, brought a completed project to show to the rest of the group.  The only two quilting projects I’ve completed are a baby quilt that I gave away and a Halloween table topper that is packed away with the rest of the Halloween decorations.  I did have my bag of yo yo’s with me so I shared those.  Everyone was polite and ooohed over them. 

Tomorrow’s post will be all about the quilts.   I swear quilts are like finger prints – everyone has a certain, unique style that shows up in designs of quilts they make.  I have lots of pictures!

April 17, 2007 7:32 am Andrea Filed Under: Crafts

Quilting Retreat – Part 1

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I am going to have to break up the post about our quilting weekend into several posts.  I took about a hundred pictures, both of the facilities and of the quilting.

So I thought I would start with the facilities.  We stayed at a place in Danville, California called San Damiano.  It was built in 1961 as a retreat.  The buildings are Spanish style and are nestled into the hillside above the town of Danville.  It is very peaceful and quiet.  Just the environment you want when you are on a retreat. 

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The buildings consist of a chapel, a dining hall, meeting rooms and guest rooms.  They are built around a central courtyard that is just gorgeous – beautiful roses, columbine, English daisies, azaleas ~ the list of flowering plants could be a post itself.   It rained all day on Saturday, otherwise I would have more garden pictures.

The buddings are all connected with fences with signs on all the gates reminding everyone to close the gates to keep the deer out.  Outside the gates there are 55 acres of other gardens, walking paths, ponds and private meditation areas.  Every where you go there are benches where you can sit and contemplate. 

Picture_037 I almost slid down a muddy hill trying to get this picture.   That would have been fun.

We were set up in a large conference room where my sister and niece had set up seven long tables around the perimeter of the room for each quilter.  We sat with our backs to the walls so we could face each other and talk.  In the center of the room there was a large cutting table set up.

I’ll post pictures of the room and talk about the quilting tomorrow.

Our guest rooms were just outside the conference room.  The rooms were plain but all either had a beautiful view of the courtyard or the green hills behind.

Three meals a day are included when you stay at the retreat.  They are served buffet style in the dining hall.  The food was simple and probably the best meal was breakfast.  We actually never did stay for lunch.  We ventured out on Saturday and left before lunch on Sunday.  The food was nourishing and plentiful but maybe not the most exciting culinary experience.  There are a lot of nice restaurants just a five minute drive down the hill though (meals are included in the price of staying there but it’s so reasonable anyway that you wouldn’t feel too guilty about skipping a meal or two).

Everyone there was so friendly and seemed genuinely happy to have us there and was interested in what we were doing.  Several times a friar would peak his head into the door of our conference room and ask if he could come in and see what we were working on.

We’ve decided to make this an annual event and are already making plans to book our visit for next year.  San Damiano is a very popular place so you pretty much have to make your plans early.

Tomorrow – we’ll get to the quilting!  I actually almost finished something.

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April 16, 2007 7:38 am Andrea Filed Under: Places

Retreating

Sewing_machine And we are off!  I am joining seven other women for a weekend of sewing, laughing, oohing and for some of us, certainly, seam ripping.

We are going to a Franciscan monastary nestled in the east bay foothills.  The monks will serve us our meals and leave us to our sewing (as long as we are quiet – we’ll have to keep the laughing and the oohing at a respectable volume).

The one rule they do have is no cellphones.  If you want to make or recieve a call you have to go off the grounds and stand by the status of St. Francis at the entrance to do so.

So needless to say the laptop will stay at home – look for pictures and a report on Monday.  I cannot wait to see what everyone brings to work on.  Nothing inspires me like other people’s creativity.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Photo by iStockphoto

April 13, 2007 7:40 am Andrea Filed Under: Crafts

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