Apricots

Well, it seems we have an apricot tree on the Vogt farm. Who'da thunk it? It didn't even bloom last year, let alone develop any fruit, so when I saw a tree full of beautiful blooms this spring, and now it looks like the apricot Gods have heartily blessed it...well, needless to say I was a little shocked.

I'm not really a fan of apricots. Bummer. But, Mike is, and we know lots of people who are, and perhaps I will be with just the right use of them.

So, it seems that I will be canning galore this weekend. I've heard a few people say they like apricot jam (and I do too - I use them in a thumbprint cookie I make sometimes for Christmas), so I'll make some jam. Apricot butter sounds like a good fall gift, but I don't know if there is such a thing. And apricots packed in water would probably go over well too. I found a recipe the other day for an apricot glazed pork chop. I can't find it now. Perhaps it will cross my path again someday soon (would probably help if I actually looked for it.)

Anyway, if you have any delish apricot recipes I should know about, send 'em my way. I also heard that Mike's grandma's cherry tree has been blessed as well, so I may be using cherries this weekend. I foresee lots of hard work...which is exactly what I like to avoid on weekends :)

I hope everyone has a great one!

To Sum Up...

The last few days, in bullet point style...

• Happy 4th of July! It's one of my favorite holidays. This year didn't feel so much like normal...it was rainy most of the day, relatively cool, we had other plans in the morning, plus it was a Sunday. I feel like I sort of missed out on some things. But, the celebration we had was awesome, with lots of family, and I know that I'm truly lucky to have had it. 
• I broke my toe on Saturday. That was awesome. {sarcasm font}
• I'm struggling with a lot of things right now and trying to decide if I should open my mouth. Right now, my silence is winning out because of the consequences that would follow if I was honest about how I feel. With that comes much anxiety.
• I still watch that dance I posted last week at least once a day. Usually more often than that. I'm still amazed.
• My brainstormer is working overtime on a party I'm planning for Labor Day weekend.
• It's still raining here. Still. Pray for a break, and for the safety of everyone in immediate danger from the flooding. 

(This is a crappy pic taken with my phone, out my car window, while driving...this used to be a field. It's now a lake.)

• I'm so looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday. Cannot. Wait.
• 9 more days until my camera is in stock. It was back-ordered again. I was not pleased.
• 2 more days until the weekend. That's where my focus has been the last couple of days. After the insanely busy weekend we had last weekend, I just need a break. Badly.

Well, wasn't that a happy little post? :) This is definitely a chapter in the "crumpled" part of our story. Sometimes I just have those weeks, you know?

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!

SYTYCD

OH MY GRAVY.

That's all I can say. I'm blown away by what I saw on SYTYCD last night. I've watched this number at least 15 times since it first aired and I'm never less amazing by how exceptionally awesome it is.

A little background in case you don't watch the show:

Alex Wong is trained as a ballet dancer. He danced with the Miami Ballet for a year, and left his contract to come to SYTYCD. He has absolutely no hip-hop experience. Twitch is one of the best hip-hop dancers on this show. He's incredible.

Okay, now watch this (make sure your sound is on)...

Can you freaking believe that? It is seriously one of the most amazing dances I've ever seen. I watch a LOT of reality TV, and sometimes, there are things that just stick out in your mind. This is something that will be in my mind for a LONG time. Ah-mazing.

My Project

I'm in full "re-decorate" mode right now in preparation for company we'll be having both this weekend and in October. My cousin staying this weekend was just the push I needed to start, even knowing there was no way I'd get it all done before she gets here on Friday. The good news is, I'm not waiting til the week before my friend gets here in October. :) The bad news is that I've become obsessed with decorating when I should be cleaning my house...

I promise I'll have after pictures as soon as everything's reasonably complete. The living room should be almost done this weekend (minus a few wedding pictures I'm still waiting on from my photographer), and I'll have a good start on my guest room after this weekend. Here's a little preview of the bedding I purchased last night from Target (LOVE their Shabby Chic line this year):

Isn't it pretty (and sufficiently girly)? I have managed to avoid all florals and overly feminine things in most of my decorating, but when I realized I didn't have a drop of my favorite color (pink) in the house and Mike's favorite (blue) was starting to take over every room that I had to do something.

I didn't actually get a TON of pink things. The quilt has plenty of pink, and the sheet set I bought is pink with the little rosebud pattern on one of the patchwork squares. I have a white bedskirt and white pillow cases. I didn't worry about shams yet, but those will probably also be pink and the curtains will most likely be white. I don't know how this is going to work with my little black dog, but we'll see! I'm pretty sure that my dad still has an antique lamp of my mom's that is pink with crystals hanging from it - I'm going to his house tonight to look and see if it will match what I'm doing. I was at TJ Maxx last night and found some deliciously shabby chic pink and white frames that will be perfect for the pictures in there.

Now, I'm just waiting for my decorating ambition to catch up with my budget... :)

Have a lovely Wednesday all!

Floppy Hats

What are your thoughts? I hear they're coming back into style. I've never been a hat person. Let's face it, how many people my age really are hat people, unless you include baseball caps or something? Not many that I know of.

Aura rocks the floppy hat though:

Of course, Aura rocks all kinds of things I couldn't ever pull off. She's lovely, isn't she? If you haven't visited her blog, go immediately. I'll wait. Come back here when you're done.

Here are other cute pictures:

All of the above photos found here.

Maybe I have cute blinders on, because these women are adorable. I think adorable women can pull of a LOT of things us regular women have issues with. For example, I may look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man once I stuff my head into one of these things.

Not that SP isn't rocking his little hat, by any means.

I have to go to a family thing this weekend where hats are required. It's supposed to be fun, or some such thing. I went to Target over lunch and found myself a cute blue floppy hat with a raggedy flower attached. It was love at first sight. I shall try it on and perhaps photograph myself in it this evening. I would post a picture, but it's not listed on Target's website. Boo Target. Boo.

So what are your thoughts? Would you rock the floppy hat?

What Up, Dawg?

ETA: Look at this little beast. I took the picture with my phone, so sorry for the blur.

She jumped on my lap, then on the desk and refused to get down until I moved away. I guess she owns the place now!

For those of you who don't know, today is Take Your Dog to Work Day. So, of course I thought that was brilliant idea. Who wouldn't want to spend the day with their favorite furry friend?

Yeah. Enter Molly.

To her credit, she's actually a pretty well behaved dog for not being trained like most pets are. She's a little excitable and gets very wiggly, but she calms down when I tell her to for the most part and is extremely friendly with all other dogs. She's been to work before and once she got over the initial excitement of it, was very well behaved.

Not so much today (at least so far). My work neighbor across the hall brought her dog, also a pug (named Missy). Missy doesn't get along so well with other dogs (there may be some baggage in her past as she is a rescue). Either way, there was an immediate hatred for Molly. Molly, of course, doesn't understand why anyone wouldn't love her.

Have you ever been around a pug? They're extremely noisy breathers, because they have flat little noses and tend to breathe through their mouths. So, they can hear each other breathing across the hall. Every once in awhile, one will just start barking at the other because they want to get together.

We let them chill a little and thought we'd try to introduce them.

Round #1: Lots of butt sniffing. Lots of mutual butt sniffing. Then, apparently Molly got too close for Missy's comfort, and all bets were off. Missy bit Molly and lots of snarling ensued.

Round #2: Some more sniffing. Things seemed to be going well. Until Missy saw Molly's food. Missy went for it, Molly stood in front to protect it, and lots of snarling ensued.

Round #3: More sniffing. Then Molly got very happy and tried to hug Missy (she doesn't play with little dogs often, most of her doggy friends are bigger than she is. Or they're cows. She has no concept of "gentle" when it comes to other animals). Missy didn't like that much, and lots of snarling ensued.

We gave up after that. Apparently that last hug was just too much.

Both dogs are extremely quiet now. Molly is laying against my metal door, cooling off. She looks a little sad that no one is playing with her, but that's her normal look. I guess for now, we can say that all is calm.

(By the way, I love that I packed an entire bag full of things for Molly...food, water, her blankie, two stuffed animals, her favorite bone, a new bone, treats and her leash...and all she's interested in is my metal door. Super.)

Energy Level

Do you ever find yourself having energy for a project at a time when it's not at all beneficial? For example...I often feel the urge to garden in the middle of the afternoon. That's just not likely, considering how disgustingly hot and humid it's been lately.

I've always had this issue when it comes to being crafty or creative. I feel the most inspired to actually work on creative things first thing in the morning or REALLY late at night. It seems like that's when I have the most energy and feel the most inspired. Problem is, I go to bed at like 9pm. (Yes, I lead a ridiculously exciting life). Oh, and I'm out of the house no later than 6:30am. Not exactly the best schedule for crafting.

So, I spend most of the drive in to work thinking about what I could be doing, what I want to be doing, ideas for wedding invitations or things I should make for craft shows or my Etsy store (which is sadly empty right now). And then...nothing. Because by the time I get home at 8pm, I'm just tired and want to lay around.

Why is that?? Why can't I work (at work) from like 11am until 7pm, go home and create til my heart explodes with happiness, sleep in, and start all over again the next day. Who decided it was a good idea to work so gosh darn early in the morning??

Any thoughts or ideas on what I could do to realistically fix this problem? I already keep a sketch book with me so I can jot my ideas down. So, I have a ton of ideas all in one spot, but nothing to show for them. I've tried scheduling time for creativity, but I'm sure you can guess how well that works. Anyone know the winning lottery numbers?? :)

Have a great Wednesday, ya'll.