Under a Blue Moon

Decor, cooking, organization, all the pretty things

A whole lotta nothin’

Jiminy I should dust now and then.

Anyway – welcome back to the world’s shittiest blog.  I just cannot get back into the swing of things around here.  I’m definitely not a multi-tasker.   I can only handle one stimulus at a time.  I do think once I’ve really settled into the routine at work that things will pick up around here.

That print was given to me by my sister and brother-in-law about ten years ago.  I love it.  It is Oberon and Titania from a Midsummer’s Night Dream.  There is this fabulous old book seller at the Dicken’s Faire every year and he sells prints as well.  The books are old not the seller.  Although, to be fair, he is getting up there.  The books and the seller are both fabulous.

My brother-in-law bought the print from him.  Probably while I was standing right next to him perusing all the wonderful old books.

It hangs in our tiny little second bathroom.  No one ever showers in there so I don’t have to worry about the humidity ruining it.  I do keep meaning to upgrade the frame it is in.  It deserves something nicer.

I feel like I spent the weekend prepping for the work week ahead.  See what I mean?  I really need to work on a better work/life balance.  Fortunately this past weekend was deliciously cool and fall like.  I spent Sunday afternoon ironing shirts for the upcoming week.   It makes getting ready for work so much more efficient.

I do have a clothes steamer that is brilliant for getting out the odd wrinkle here or there that I use a lot in the morning but there is nothing like being able to pull out a crisply ironed shirt.

I hope the temperatures are cooling down where you are.  It was so lovely to actually have to use a blanket on our bed and to need to wear a sweater during the day.

Have a wonderful week and here’s hoping the content improves around here.  Soon.

Andrea Filed Under: Musings

First Pumpkin

Happy September!  What happened to August?  I don’t remember much about it – total blur.  It’s still hot as blazes around here, and will continue to be so through mid-October but I couldn’t resist bringing out one decorative pumpkin to celebrate the beginning of September.

I know I’ve said this before that I love all the seasons but I’m always happy to see Summer and Winter end.  Fall and Spring can hang out as long as they like, as far as I’m concerned.

HomeGoods has a great selection of fall scented candles all in white!  I do like the apple and pumpkin scented candles in the fall but I am so not a rust/orange/red kind of person.  So I was delighted when I heard they had fall scented candles in white glass jars.  The one burning above is a pumpkin/clementine scent and it isn’t overpoweringly pumpkin.    They had a big selection of them at my local HomeGoods.

I also bought an apple scented one that smells just like a freshly cut apple.  No cinnamon at all (which I find can be a bit overpowering).  It is in a pale, translucent pink jar.

The only think I don’t like about the candles is that the label is printed on the glass rather than being a label that can be peeled off like a sticker.  I just took a X-Acto knife and gently scraped off all the lettering.  Problem solved.

I really wanted to swap out my coffee table tray for a round one but I couldn’t find one to save my life.  I have a couple of ideas in mind, any would work just fine, and  even though I went to five different stores this weekend I couldn’t find a thing.  I may just have to make what I want.

I hope everyone in the US had a lovely long weekend!

Andrea Filed Under: House

Free Desktop calendar – September

It’s that time again!  Continuing with the free desktop calendar downloads for September.  I was feeling a bit floral this month and have two calendars featuring beautiful watercolor flowers.  One is in rich, almost autumnal shades and the other in delicate blues and lavenders.

I keep flopping back and forth between which one is prettier.  While I’m looking forward to Fall and all its deliciousness, I’m still not quite ready to give up Summer.

These are all rendered in 1920 x 1080.  To save the image click on the link and the image will open in a new tab.  Right click on the image and select “Save image as…” and save to your computer.

I’m not sure how to update a background on a Mac but on a PC you right click on your desktop background and select “Personalize.”  You can then browse to the file location of the picture you want as your background.

Dark desktop calendar

Light desktop calendar

I hope you enjoy!

Andrea Filed Under: Organize

Friday!!

reading your letters, wishing you were here, 2. ballerinas & bunnies cupcakes, 3. Vintage baking gal 4×4 Art Squared, 4. baking goodies!!

Happiest of Fridays!!

What a week it was!  I got to sit in on some exciting training (helicopters were involved…) and it was so much fun.  As an instructional designer it’s always nice to see your work in action.  This particular course wasn’t my work but I’ll be turning it into an online course.  It’s just interesting to see what I feel should be emphasized and what the instructor actually emphasizes.   Always go with the instructors instincts.  At least in this particular line of business.  The people that are doing the training have actually done the work.

We have some lovely plans for this weekend.  My sister is visiting from Wisconsin (she is staying at my dad’s) and we are going to pick her up late Saturday afternoon and go up to my son and daughter-in-laws house then go out to a fabulous German restaurant in their town.  There is chicken schnitzel in my future and I cannot wait!!

I am always admonishing my mother in law about apologizing for everything she feels is inconveniencing us.  Psychologically, it’s better to thank someone, rather than apologize.  So with that in mind I thank you for your patience as I get used to my new routine.  I’ll get back into my cooking, crafting, blathering routine soon, I’m sure.  In the meantime I’m trying to get two posts out a week.

I hope you have a splendid weekend planned and I look forward to sharing more with you next week!

Andrea Filed Under: Musings

Philately

I’m probably not the usual stamp collector because I collect to use.  I love either adding a funky old stamp to a current forever stamp or I’ll use a bunch of older, un-canceled older stamps that add up to our current first class stamp rate.

I have curated (cringe word, I know….) a number of Etsy sellers that I rely on to buy an assortment of stamps.

The planets must be aligned in such a way that paper is a prominent method of communication because I am sure into it lately.  All the card making, the letter writing, the stamp collecting.  I’m really feeling it at the moment.

You know I love a decorative envelope.  Which I am fairly certain my post office is NOT a big fan.   Even if I just address an envelope I like to embellish it with pretty stamps.

Okay that’s an obvious one – but can you recognize the other recipients of my fictional letter writing?

I tend to use my vintage stamps as decoration and as along as I have a forever stamp on the envelope I know my letters will get to their intended recipients.  I have a favorite Etsy seller that sells her stamps in bundles and you will get five letters worth of postage in your order (provided you are in the US and are mailing to a US address).  All stamps perfectly coordinated with each other.

I like buying batches based on color or theme.  Then I can mix and match my own.  Each stamp is like a little work of art.

Another great resource is the US Postal Service.  My local post office doesn’t always have a great selection of stamps to purchase but you can order them online.   I have an assortment of Forever stamps on hand to cover the actual postage and I’ll coordinate with vintage stamps.

Okay try to figure out that one without Googling.  I’ll give you a couple of hints:  Robin.  Thomas.  Mustache (okay.  That just gave it away).

I fully admit I bought the circus stamp to send to my clown phobic friend.  Before you chastise me just know he would have no problem sending me a letter with a butterfly stamp on it.

Here is my list of favorite Etsy sellers for stamps:

And of course check out your local post office or US Postal Service Online.

Bookmarks

I got a little carried away.

Once you get started making these bookmarks you can’t seem to stop.  They are so simple and charming (semi-pun intended…).

I used an assortment of fabrics, ribbons, lace and embellishments.  Some of the embellishments came from the craft store (bead department) and others were the lone earring, its mate long missing.  You know as soon as I take an earring apart its mate comes out of hiding.  Happens all the time.

When using fabric I bonded two pieces together with some fusible interfacing and then cut it the width and length I wanted.

You can buy the end crimps at a craft store like Joanns or Michael’s but the widths are limited.  I think they are really intended for making chokers which are fairly narrow.  I ended up buying an assortment off of Amazon.  I like the various widths and finishes in the kit I bought.

You don’t need any kind of special tool to use them.  Just a pair of pliers to clamp them shut.  I slightly clamped one end then moved to the middle and clamped a little more and then the other end to get it started then I went back over each area with the pliers.  That kept the fabric or ribbon in place and kept the crimp from bending or denting.

There’s not much else to say about them.   I think they would be a nice addition when gifting a book to someone.  Or just to have on display if you have stacks of books laying around.  Because who doesn’t have that?

Andrea Filed Under: Crafts