Better Late Than Never

Our tulips finally bloomed! I'm so thrilled to see the pop of red in my front lawn now. I'd drive by houses, and their tulips and daffodils would be in full bloom, while mine were kicking back, taking it easy. A few days ago I saw the little buds forming, and yesterday they finally bloomed! Hoorah!

Definitely worth the wait, don't you think?

I can't wait to plant my window boxes and the little garden I have in the front yard. Plus I'll have sunflowers at different corners of the lawn too. Last year was the first time I tried my hand at gardening, and although the upkeep can be quite tedious (I do not enjoy being outdoors or in the sunshine), it was well worth the effort to see my beautiful flowers blooming healthily. I was pretty much winging it, but I must've done something right because the geraniums and lobelia were thriving.

New England Weather

I'm sure I speak for everyone in New England at the moment when I say we all feel like this vase of tulips. In the time that I've been living in Connecticut, I've come to realise New Englanders enjoy talking about the weather. A wee bit too much. The past few days though, I've finally realised why.

Ever since the official beginning of spring, it'd been fairly comfortable, temperatures remaining in the 50s and 60s* (between 13 and 18 Celcius, approximately) during the daytime. Nighttime, it got quite cold, normally hovering just above freezing point. Even though I grew up in tropical Singapore, I absolutely detest the heat and sunshine, and would probably give my right arm to never have to endure another summer. The cool weather suited me perfectly fine and I was a happy little bunny.

Well, on Saturday, the weather went severely haywire. We hit the 80s (I'd say about 28C) and the hubs and I had no idea what to do with ourselves. The two of us went around the house throwing open any window with a screen and turned the attic fan on. I dusted off my tank tops and shorts and cast off my flannel jammies. Sunday we endured even higher temperatures and I endured incessant grumbling from the hubs.

Tomorrow we're supposed to hit 90F (32C). I'm not sure I'll survive this. It's not like this is the worst heat I've ever endured. I lived through Australian summers that soared above the 110F (44C) mark where we got the day off from school (you'd think this was great like a snow day, but then all you get is to suffer the disgusting heat in your own home). I think our biggest problem with this heatwave is that it came on so suddenly and completely out of nowhere. I'm not sure if I imagined this, but on Sunday afternoon, I believe my sewing machine made a sound much like a wounded animal breathing its last breath. Or perhaps that was the hubs...

Thankfully on Wednesday we're supposed to return to the 70s and it'll continue to go down to the 60s. I, for one, am counting the hours. No freaking wonder people talk about the weather so much here. There's more turns and twists than any soap on telly!

* I will go on record as declaring that I have nothing but loathing for the Fahrenheit scale. 32F is freezing and 212F is boiling?! What? Why? Ugh. It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Mr. Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, you suck. From now until my death, I am damned to have to convert from Fahrenheit to Celcius in my head everytime I check the weather forecast. Thanks a lot, you colossal ass.

Picture from About.com: Chemistry.

House Arrest Over

So all this week, I've been under what felt like house arrest. The hubs was supposed to pick up books for his bar exam prep last Wednesday but the morons that run the place only emailed the notice the evening before and he missed it. His next two options were to either drive to Boston and pick them up, or they'd ship it to us via FedEx. He opted for the latter, and was told that someone had to be home to sign for it or it'd cost us to have it resent. I stayed home, and waited... and waited. Monday... nothing. Tuesday... zip. Wednesday, I got fed up and asked the hubs to ring them to see if we could get a tracking number. Turns out, they hadn't even sent the package! Oh the fury... He finally got them to send it and got a UPS tracking number (yes, they even got the carrier wrong) this time. We checked, and it said Thursday would be the day. So I stayed home again... waiting and waiting. 4pm rolls around and finally the beautiful vision of a brown UPS truck stops outside our house. I run to the door to receive the package and sign for it... only to find that it didn't need to be signed for. So. Angry. So very, very angry. I was cussing like a sailor and my cats are possibly quite traumatised by my tirade to no one in particular. I wasted days and days just sitting around the house instead of running errands and getting materials for the shop. I do have a very clean and tidy house now, but that's beside the point. I just wish people would pull their heads out of their bums occasionally so the rest of us don't have to suffer. /end rant.

Catproofing The House

Number of chidren: 0 Number of cats that enjoy chasing each other across our bed while we sleep: 2
    This is what the entry to our bedroom now looks like. Last year, my in-laws bought this child safety gate to keep their puppies from leaving their back deck while they weren't on leashes. For some reason it didn't work on their deck, so they gave it to us.

 Yesterday I had the genius idea to put it up on our bedroom door so we no longer have to keep that door shut. Since we've had the door shut, the dehumidifier has to be turned on after every shower to prevent mildew, and I wish to cut down on wasting electricity wherever I can. Now, you might be thinking "Oh, but they are cats. Surely they can leap over the gate!". But that is where you would be quite wrong.

Luckily for us, Ragdolls are large, stout cats that can't jump too high. Which allows me to leave food and my knitting on the kitchen table and counters without worrying that the cats will get into them. I'm not 100% sure they can't find a way to climb over the gate, but chances are it won't happen. Oh, and the stool... That's because I'm a Shortie McShortiepants and would get stuck in a manner quite unbecoming of a lady.

Dad Jokes

It has been established that somehow, once a man becomes a father, he tends to develops Lame Dad Joke-itis. My dad's the king of them all. Him and my mum are in Japan with a bunch of people right now, and he emailed to tell us they got there safely etc.

Here is an excerpt:

"Food-wise, we ate throughout the day on our own as the rest don't seem too hungry, or there is not enough yen to eat!"

Oh dad, new heights (or perhaps lows?) of lameness have been reached with that one. But even he knew that was supremely corny. I secretly enjoy his lame jokes, but nobody tell him please.

Herman Watch: Birthday Edition

Just as I was getting done with my last post, I looked out the window and Herman popped out from his hidey hole!

It's like he knew it was my birthday or something.

By the way, looking at the state of the side of our driveway makes me think we ought to do a bit of sweeping. And by we, I mean the hubs.

32 Is The New Black

It's my 32nd birthday today. I was born in Singapore so technically my birthday started at noon yesterday. And I'm quite happy to have 36 hours instead of the usual 24 to consider as my special day. Hah!

My sisters collaborated with the hubs to get me an Anthropologie gift card -- they're both overseas and gift cards aren't made available to international customers. My hubs got me one too, so you can well imagine my excitement. I was squealing in delight and then smashed his toes in the process. Ahem. 

But of course since I wasn't aware that they were going to do this, I went to Anthro the other day and used my 15% birthday discount. Damn it. 

And my friend Brigette made me this beautiful painting:

The picture really doesn't come close to doing it justice. It's meant to be a red velvet cupcake. See, I was the first person to bake her some so red velvet always reminds her of me. I've always wanted one of her paintings so this means a lot to me. She also got me two tea towels from Anthro. Last year she got me one and I framed it. I'm under strict orders to actually use these towels for their intended purpose. I kind of don't want to though... perhaps if I turn them into aprons?

Technology Hates Me

My laptop has decided to make me miserable. All my web browsers refuse to work, but thankfully my chat programmes work or I'd be tearing my hair out. I'm not proud of my Internet addiction but I fully admit to it.

So in order to stop myself from going nutty, I have sown even more seeds. Although I'm beginning to think it's much too tedious for me. So I planted half of what I have, and the rest will just be sprinkled on the ground once I'm fairly certain there'll be no more frost. Then again this is New England, so anything can happen.

They're mostly zinnias but I do have some sunflower seeds in there too. Just experimenting to see whether they do better in the soil than on the damp paper towels. Clearly, I have too much time on my hands without the Internet.

I did get some poppy seeds too but those will go straight into the ground. The package instructions were very clear about that. Who am I to defy the package instructions?

Also, I have finished a beret for a friend in Singapore. No, she won't wear it in Singapore. I hope. She told me she wanted a beret for when she goes on business trips, and since she's dark-haired and fair-skinned like me, red's a winner. The colour doesn't come up quite right here... it's a gorgeous, fire engine sort of red. More red, less pink.

I'm now working on armwarmers for her to wear at the office. I used to cover myself in a large shawl or pashmina when I worked in an office in Singapore, so I know full well how bleeding cold it can get. Hoping to get them done over the weekend so I can send them to her soon.

Pretending To Be A Gardener

Last year was the first time I ever did any gardening and I'm attempting to do a bit more this year. Of course my gardening was confined to my three window boxes (in which I grew geraniums and lobelia) and a tiny patch in the front yard by a large rock. Why do people put a large rock in their front lawns anyway? This one was here when we moved in, so I have nothing to do with its placement. But I digress.

So this year I toyed with the idea of planting veggies. For about five minutes, then I decided I can't be bothered. So I went with sunflowers instead. I might still do some veggie gardening, but I wouldn't put money on it.

I looked up growing sunflowers from seed, and one site suggested germinating them with damp paper towels. I'm using a baking dish. My OCD-ness wants to burn the baking dish after I'm done germinating the seeds.

I find myself having to spray the paper towels every few hours because it dries up. The site said the seeds should be kept damp, not wet, so I suppose I'll have to keep spraying the damn thing for the next week or two. Damn things better germinate quickly.

I also got some Zinnia seeds and I think I'll get one of those trays that allow you to grow the seeds into seedlings before transplanting into the ground. This could be very awesome or a colossal waste of time.

One Year!

Our little Isobel is one-year-old today! We nicknamed her Izzy and Squeak... the latter because she doesn't meow but lets out these tiny little squeaks instead. She's my little cuddle bug and is just the sweetest little Ragdoll we could hope for.

For some odd reason, my mum-in-law facilitates my love of Mr Potato Head and got me Mr Potato Head Spud Bunny for Easter. My mum just shakes her head at me and tells me to act my age. Anyhow, I tried taking a picture of Spud Bunny but Izzy had other ideas. So I gave up and went to snuggle with her instead.

Hand Me My Stretchy Pants

Why in the world did I invite a bunch of people over for a dinner party the Saturday evening of Easter weekend? WHY!? Oh yeah, because I completely forgot about Easter dinner. That's why.

 In all my life, I've only ever celebrated Easter once. My parents took me to an Easter egg hunt organised by the country club. I think I was 8. Since then, Easter to me has only meant Friday off from work and lots of chocolate. It's still sinking in that Americans take their holidays and celebrations pretty seriously. I love that they do, I just can't be bothered to do all of it.

 Anyway, my mum-in-law had asked me to bake bread loaves and perhaps bring along a dessert for Sunday's Easter dinner. Then I gave myself more work by having to cook an entire dinner and prepare dessert for Saturday. Lucky I have lots of dishes that can be prepared the day before, so I've only got the main dish and a side to prepare tomorrow. And the bread baking. And Sunday's dessert. Oh boy. A lot of cooking and a lot of eating in store.

Good thing I have Cadbury Mini Eggs to dull the pain of my stupidity. Picture borrowed from small pieces of silver because I decided I'm too lazy to go take my own picture.

The Tree Show

Lusting after Mark Ryden's special edition The Tree Show exhibition book. 128 pages of amazing photographs and images of Ryden's work, studies and references. Signed, numbered and comes with vintage souvenirs (like the postcards below) that the original release didn't have.

 
So much want. I believe the Internet exists solely to torture me.

Heartbreakingly Beautiful

The series of pictures called "Days With My Father" by Phillip Toledano both broke my heart and made me smile. It's such a beautiful way to honour his parents -- I know this was about his father, but I think in honouring one parent, you honour the other too.

An excerpt...

It's amazing. My father is so appreciative of the love he receives. Each visit is an incredible gift, to him, and to me, as though we're both drinking deeply from the same well, for one last time. He's always talking about how much he loves me. What a genius he thinks I am. How glad he is that Carla is part of our (tiny) family. These are things he's never told me before. I'm so glad we have this time together.

This made me think of the very first time my mother told me she was proud of me, and the first time my father wrote the words "I love you" in a letter to me. I always knew how they felt, of course, but my parents aren't very vocal with their affections, so hearing and seeing the words felt amazing.

And I'll never forget that I was able to tell them and everyone I loved exactly how much I loved and appreciated them in my wedding speech.

I live thousands of miles away from my parents, and as they're getting up there in age, it frightens and saddens me that I won't always be there for them when they'll need me to be. I hope they know my sisters and I will do our best.

While We're On The Subject Of Coats...

I spotted this at Old Navy's website a few weeks ago but now that it's spring and my wool coats are just too heavy, it got me thinking about it again. Plus my birthday's coming up, so I get to give myself a little pressie, right?

If I get it, I would so change the buttons to red ones... Refer to my last post for explanation of red button love. But I haven't seen it in person yet, so who knows. It could look completely wonky and not look good on. I'm kind of miffed that I can't order it online though(they ran out of my size... damn my procrastination!) because I have a 30% discount code for an online purchase.

(Which by the way is "NEW30" for anyone who's interested. I believe it also applies to Gap and Banana Republic.)

Fashion Inspiration

The red buttons on her coat make me want to drive to Manhattan, hunt this woman down, and rip the coat right off her.

Picture from The Sartorialist.

The Want Is Palpable

Why do I even bother poking around online when all I tend to do is get myself in trouble? I'm in love with something else I don't actually need. Behold the 15" red satchel from Cambridge Satchel Company.


I just want to pet it and feed it cookies all day.

I need blinkers.

Buzz!

A few days ago my little sister asked me to make her a camera pouch for her fat Lomo camera. She wanted it in grey and black, and striped. Easy enough, but my sister is very particular about things, so putting my own creative spin on it was going to be tough.

I came up with this:

(The colours are a tad off because I took the pictures at night. Not smart, but I was anxious to show it to her. FYI, the colours in the top picture are more accurate.)

I told her I was going to put a button and some embroidery on it, and she balked at the idea. Turns out, she really liked what I did. Which goes to show, little sisters need to just shut up and trust their big sisters sometimes. Give me an Amen people.

Honestly, I'm delighted that my sisters actually ask me to make them things. I'm currently working on a phone sock / pouch for my other sister, and I'm doing an argyle pattern on it. Just because she's poncy and posh.

Ruffles + Buttons = Happy

I do believe the best way to celebrate the arrival of Spring is to wear pretty primary colours, no? These ones from Anthropologie speak to me and make me smile.

Who Moved My Car

On his way home from work, the hubs calls and asks me if I moved his car while he was in the office. I assured him I neither had the foresight nor energy to pull an April Fool's joke on him that required me driving all the way there.

Of course he doesn't believe me because he's completely freaked out, keeps going "My car's backed into a spot I'd never take! Are you screwing with me? Are you screwing with me?!".

Who moved his car then? His dear ol' parents! That's who!

I commend them for their deviant behaviour, but I do believe those two need a hobby other than messing with their son. As for me, I didn't play jokes on anyone. Last April Fool's, I bullshitted my sisters that I was pregnant. While my youngest sister's response was a nonchalant "Oh man, you're going to look so fat in your wedding dress", my other sister let out an almighty scream and started whooping in joy. At the office. To this day, she still wishes me harm and wants my head on a stick. So I say don't poke the bear.