downton abbey

if you think you're not missing out on something by ignoring this series you're sorely mistaken.  talk about great tv.  i don't really watch much tv at all, but this, this is good stuff.

it's like a super posh, high class soap opera...

minus the lame acting, low budget sets, and trashy story line.

and so fascinating to see inside the intricacies and snobbery of the gentrified english estates. 

there's enough of love, intrigue, and scandal to keep 

you on your toes,

not to mention an old meddling bat who loves to stir the pot,

and some pretty vicious sibling rivalry.

the second season cannot come soon enough.

oh, and the dresses!  the dresses.

max and nik have even been enjoying 

some of the first season with me.

oops. there's the dressing gong. time to go dress for dinner.   

i wish.

dang it.

do you think that large bar of salted dark chocolate i ate on the way home from the gym ruined my workout?

i was only going to eat 2 squares.

it's amazing how much trouble you can get into in the short ten minutes from here to there. 

in march...

we wear green to celebrate today, and to avoid being pinched.

(and because green is awesome!) 

and we set traps in hopes of catching the little creature who tells the secret to his treasures.

(notice the fake gold lures)

but he's a tricky one, that little swindler.

and this punk will certainly be eating green mint chocolate chip  ice cream cake to celebrate his birthday.

happy birthday, jess!

(that's my big brother)

and, since we're almost a quarter of the way through the year, today is also a great day to...

take down my christmas cards.

sheesh!

i"m looking forward to summer...

although i'm not sure why because this is the sort of thing that happens to me in the summer.

big girl says...

devan : mom, that fing in my body isn't working!

me : what thing?

devan : that fing that makes me grow bigger.  (insert big fat pout)

she doesn't even know how big she is.  i wish that "fing" would stop working so well.

adventures in thrifting 3 : art and frames

i like weird little pieces of art, which is fortunate for me because that's what you tend to find in terms of art when you're thrifting.

this little original painting is one of my favorite pieces, and it was a freebie, as in i found it slipped between the pages of an old book i thrifted.  that was a pleasant surprise.  i love the simple color blocking, and the tones are just right.

here's a funny little water color and ink cafe' scene that hangs with two other little architectural pieces (below) in my half bath.  i really need to have it re-matted.

an original wood block press of notre dame.

i didn't find this one of the spanish steps.  i stole it from my mom.  thanks, mom.

these are my other two favorites.  i wanted something paint-by-numbers (yes, i know.  totally trendy, but there's a reason these are trendy.  cuz' they're awesome) but not the typical seascape or landscape.  something else.  i wasn't sure what, and i wanted it to go well in my family room, which has greens and oranges.  whoa, is that just what i found!  it's not often that you can be that particular when you're thrifting, but i lucked out in this one.  

i just had to keep my eyes open.

aren't they sweeeet?  i actually like the color of the frames, but they are so so cheap and the paintings need to be matted or mounted properly.  the thing that cracks me up is that whoever painted these must have been really anxious to get them up on the wall.  they put them under the glass while the paint was still a tidge wet!  that's something i would do.  i'm too impatient to pay close attention to the finishing details.

a print of san francisco.

some funny little gilded birdy plaques.

this one wasn't thrifted either.  it was my grandma's.  some sort of mixed media screen printed/painted thing.  this is missy, one of her siamese cats.  any one of them, since they were all named missy.

i'm waiting to find the perfect oil painting to put in this frame.

patience, my dear.  patience.

these were brass and i sprayed them to match the mirror i put in nik's room.  they're kind of fun.

i have quite a few other art pieces and frames, but i grow weary of this post.