What Ana Does

Just Hung the Rod I'm about to tackle my biggest sewing project yet ... the dining room curtains. My plan is to use chevron (zig-zag) curtains because I love the dynamic feel of them and the navy will continue my theme. Over the year, I've picked up chevron placemats and made a rainbow chevron throw pillow. I also found chevron contact paper, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. I thought I'd just buy pre-made panels, but no store is selling them. Etsy had a listing and at $165.00, I thought it was a pretty good deal but never got around to pushing the "BUY" button. So, when I was at the fabric store last weekend, and saw it for $18.97/yard -- about $100. I thought I could make that work. Add in the $40 curtain rod from Home Depot and we're rolling! This should be pretty straightforward -- I'm just doing a pocket for the rod at the top and a hem. Two panels and I'll swath them out with some hooks. (Heh, easier sa...

I know, I know ... the summer just started ... but I'm already looking forward to the Fall and all the SWEET sequels I'm dying to read. Just One Year by Gayle Forman -- because I can't get the ending of Just One Day out of my head. The book was based in Paris and was romantic and lovely. Sigh. More! More! (Due in October.) The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater -- because, as I said last year , I'll read anything Maggie Stiefvater writes. And I didn't love the first book, it did set up an interesting story for the second. (September) Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins -- because Lola and the Boy Next Door and Anna and the French Kiss were so fun-tastic to read that I don't want to miss out. And I love all the interweaving of characters in these books. (May 2014 -- they moved this date. BOO!) United We Spy, Gallagher Girls #6 by Ally Carter -- because this is the LAST book in the series and you practically...

Before: Pine and Unfinished It's amazing what a little stain can do on a cheap Ikea table. But first, the background: Right around Christmas, Mom took matters in her own hands and bought us a coffee table from consignment shop -- mostly because she was tired of us not having one. We'd been stymied by the choices, the height and price. ( See here ) We like the table (really, we do, Mom) but it's too short, the wrong wood grain and not the right size. Finished Table So we found this table at Ikea and I felt pretty confident I could match the color of our entertainment unit. Here's what I learned on this staining project: The two-in-one stain-and-poly is awesome. I was glad not to do have to do the coats of poly.  I tried using the recommended pre-stain again -- I really don't see the point. The wood just feels greasy.   Don't be so conservative with the stain. The first two coats were too thin. By the third, I was slathering the stain on with ...

Family Room Window The rumors are true ... there's a Loomcraft outlet 20 minutes from my house. (I know, you're pea-green with envy.) It's conveniently located next to a popular kids birthday destination, so last weekend I dropped Leah off at a party there and wandered the aisles of home decor fabric. Pretty sweet. My goals were plenty. David has been campaigning for curtains in the family room to block out the light while watching TV in the middle of the day. And I've been pining for chevron curtains in the dining room for the last year. I'm also thinking about updating my duvet cover in the master bedroom. See, lots and lots of ideas.  Dining Room Window In the end, I decided on a great navy chevron for the dining room and a dark navy fabric for the family room (Dave is ecstatic). And, I spotted a remnant that looked vaguely Scandinavian with birds similar to those in the kitchen. It was marked rather high for what it was so I bargained down to $3....

Planted as bulbs by my Mom last year, the Asiatic Lilies are finally blooming. Looks like there is a lot of potential for a lot of flowers this summer. Yay! Related links: More BACKYARD posts

I have lots of reasons for coaching Leah's soccer team and I just confirmed a big one: Sitting and watching soccer practice is torture. I see bad passing and I need to get up and fix it. Energy level is waning and I want to jump up and cheer. Why must I just sit here! I am getting good ideas for drills and watching them executed by professionals is helpful. So, there's that. Ugh. Longest. Hour. Ever.

First day of soccer clinics and Alice is ready ... despite the rainy morning that sent her practice inside. This is the first time out for Alice and shin guards, so big moment in our lives. When she's playing for Olympic gold, we'll look back at this picture. :) Leah's practice was outside, when the "clouds finally gave the sun a turn," as Alice phrased it. Leah had never had another coach than me and she'd never played with boys. She handled it with her usual style. 

I give you ... The Grand Jessica !! I Made the Ultimate Sandwich From the top: Dab of mayo, ham, lettuce (from my garden), egg, sliced cheddar, avocado smashed into the bread -- all on a slice of fresh, crunchy French bread. Yum!! And, yes, it was as delicious as it sounds.  Related links: More FOOD posts

I've been reading a lot of dystopia recently, having been sucked into the Delirium trilogy on my commutes to and from the office. ( Review is here .) And I do mean "sucked into" because I get way too deep into books. I'm far too easily transported into these places -- which is why I love books and why I don't read anything too dark. I don't have good boundries with imaginary stories. Anyway, these dystopian novels make me rediculousely thankful for all that I have. As a concept, dystopia is when our world goes bad. We run out of oil, tyrants take over the government imposing horrible laws, sun flairs, terrorist takeover, nuclear war, etc. It's not a good vision of our future. Books like Delirium , Maze Runner , Hunger Games, Fahrenheit-452  are excellent examples of this genre. They're fun books to read because they're dramatic and full of action, suspense and a little touch of romance. But they're usually full of deprivation. People a...

I always like to read those "Other Uses" features in magazines. Real Simple does it so well. So here's my attempt at it. I've had this lamp forever. It's had a few different shades on it, the latest was beige, and since I'm banning beige from this house (it's all over the walls) it had to go. I bought a very YELLOW lampshade a few months ago, because that's my living room accent color. However, it's not meant to fit the lamp, so it sits crooked on the base. A Shade Askew I've been looking at it askance for months, formulating my fix. Is there a piece at the hardware store I can buy? Will leftover Play Dough do it? The solution I finally decided on ... TIN FOIL. Eureka! The Solution: Tin Foil In about five minutes, I shaped the tin foil around the base of the shade, where it meets the lamp and created a customized seat for it. The tin foil easily curled around the base and secured to the shade. The result: Hooray! A straight lamp...

Hands In! My co-coach Tracy sent me this photo take at our last game. I don't think we won the game, but we had a fun time playing. Ahhhh ... I love being a coach. Leah's in the front with the tie-dyed soccer socks. She played her best game that day.

Audiobook: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver Read by: Sarah Drew Genre: YA Lit, Dystopia This is the sequel to Delirium , a dystopian novel, that supposes in the future fractured U.S.A has deemed love a virus and are curing the population of it. ( My Delirium review here .) That takes away choice, freedom and passion. Lena, the main character, is all about this cure until she meets Alex and realizes she can't live like a loveless zombie. So she runs. I couldn't help wonder what will become of Lena after she crosses into the "wilds," so I picked up the second audiobook. Now, I've got to pick up the third book. Like now. Usually, the second book in a trilogy is dullsville. It's a bridge from one action book to the epic finish in the third. There's lots of internal development, as the character gets to the place mentally to take on the crazy stuff in the third book. But this second book was actually good! We get new characters, "Then" an...

Monday morning Leah and I spent about an hour walking through the perennials at Home Depot. This is not my usual style. I like to buy perennials at the end of the summer -- when they are really on sale and likely to do better. (In summer, it's too hot and transplanted perennials tend to fail. In the Fall, it's cooler and wetter, thus more success.) However, given my eagerness to complete some landscaping projects , I thought I'd break tradition and plant a few things now. We had great success and I spent an hour planting one of the beds today. There is still more to do, so no "after" photo, yet. However, I pull this beauty from the clearance pallet. A potted Morning Glory on a trellis. Love the gorgeous light-blue blooms. Morning Glories always reminds me of the stairs of the house on Sheridan. Mom planted Morning Glories and they'd wind up the railings. There's a picture of me somewhere standing in front of them when I was 5. I remember thinking they ...

One night this week I was doing my usual Pinterest-ing and started to see these neat-o lists for "100 Things to Do This Summer." I thought (as I often do while trolling Pinterest), " What a GREAT idea! " Today, Leah and I stopped by Michaels for a big piece of tag board and we sat at the table and started a list. By about 8 this evening, it was all filled up. In fact, it was A LOT easier than I thought. We all got involved and everyone's ideas were added. Come on over and join in! Our 100 Things to Do This Summer list ** the camera cut off the bottom row -- there are 100, I promise.

Veggies: Peas, Carrots, Onions, Lettuce, etc. It's early June and the veggie beds are getting down to work. I spent Sunday morning stringing up the peas on some new trellises and weeding. Lots of weeding. Watering hasn't been an issue this year, as we've had more than enough rain. But the warm-loving tomato seeds and strawberries didn't make an appearance. Too bad. In the herb bed, I'm very excited to see the cilantro (coriander) coming up from seed -- good news for Dave's guacamole. The oregano, sage, parsley and thyme came back from last year, bigger than ever. I've also got some radish in here, and they're growing like crazy. Herbs: Parsley, Sage, Oregano, Cilantro, etc On the veggie side, the peas are rapidly growing, the onions are starting to form bulbs. The broccoli is getting bigger, as is the lettuce. The carrots aren't ready to be thinned, but soon. And I'm going to need a solution (cage) for the cucumbers soon. The tomato...

Pretty Leah in Chicago  Updated the blog with a summery yellow look. Pretty! Who doesn't like yellow!?

This weekend I started to tackle some landscaping issues ... in earnest. I decided the unseasonably cool temperatures are intended for weekend landscapers and gardeners. So here I go. There are decidedly many more than two landscaping issues in my backyard, but I'm choosing to only focus on these for now. Projects like adding six feet of additional lawn (relocating the back-eyed susans) and removing the creeping juniper will have to wait. Problem Area #1 In Problem Area # 1: a medium-sized pine tree (it was part of a grouping of three) died so Dave cut it down a few weekends ago. Now, I've got this even-bigger hole than before with direct views into the neighbor's yard. Fortunately, I have yet to see a single person (other than their landscapers) on this property. Also, weeds have completely taken over where there should be mulch. And the surviving spirea (on the right) is way overgrown. It's just an eyesore. Solutions: I have to bring something that will grow...

Audiobook: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell Read by: Rebecca Lowman, Sunil Malhotra Genre: YA Lit I've read a few reviews about this book and though it didn't sound like my normal cup of tea, it still seemed enticing.  Well, I didn't make it past the first disc. Here's the thing about me: I like to escape into books and if those books turn too dark, it spills into my real life and I get moody. And this book was hinting at some bad things to come, so I returned the audiobook after one disc. So, I'm sure it's great -- raw and emotional. And great for adults who grew up in the 80s and love nostalgia.  But not for me. Grade: Red Light

Get Your Game Face On! We're entering the last week of soccer season and oh how I hate to see it all end. Team Sharks have not had a very triumphant season, but we've had a lot of fun. Leah's becoming a pretty swell player. And she absolutely loves to play. There's always a smile on her face when she's running for a ball. We're so proud of her. And there's a few girls who I've been coaching for the last year. It's been fun to see the grow taller and become better players, too. I've got one more season before Alice joins up and I'll be coaching two teams. Oh boy!

Outside the Field Museum Let's be honest, I don't have the best impression of the city of Chicago.  In my mind, it's just a scatter of weird neighborhoods with some tall building in between. And finding anything worth finding takes way too much searching.  So when Dave got a hotel room for a weekend-long conference, we decided to crash his hotel room so we could explore "the loop" on foot.  We left Saturday after soccer practice on a warm 80-degree day. By the time we got downtown, the temperature dropped 15 degrees and it was pouring rain.  The next morning, it was 50-degrees and raining. Not what I had packed for. We did our best. Got to the Field Museum and stopped at Old Navy for sweatshirts.  In Front of Sue the T-Rex So, instead of walking around "the Loop" and maybe Miracle Mile, we did the Field Museum, packed up and went home.  This seems to happen to us a lot in Chicago. The weather here just never cooperates...