June, 2014 | Dragonflight Dreams

5 Things Friday

June 27, 2014 6 Comments

1. Currently sitting in my office while the A/C guys put in a whole new air conditioning system. Yeah. It crapped out Wednesday, only blowing warm air. Not the ideal situation when it’s 90 degrees outside every day. We have (had) an old system to begin with, and any fixes they did would have been temporary at best, and just need fixed again in a few months. Since Ian is tired of dealing with having to get this fixed so often, and we plan to rent this house out whenever we move to a new one, the whole system is being replaced. It’s slightly toasty and noisy while they do it (Sienna is not a fan of all the banging) but it will be a good thing long term. Oh the joys of home ownership!

2. No plans this weekend, which means that instead I’ll be tackling all of my house projects. First on my list is repainting the cement base on our back patio. I’ve been planning on it for awhile, and now I finally have all of the stuff I need (stripper, primer, paint, sealer) and some uninterrupted time, and can go to town. Then next week one day I’ll be stainless steel paint-ifying our fridge. Did you know that’s a thing?

3. The first few plants for our front flower beds arrived in the mail yesterday. They are happily ensconced. Now I’m just waiting for the big order, which had most of the plants. Then, pictures! Sneak peak of the type of planties I’m doing here:

Ignore all the writing/mark-up. That’s my planning notes. They make sense to me, I promise.

4. If, like me, you are currently suffering from a toasty house and zero desire to cook over a hot stove, I have the perfect meal line-up for you. Apples with this dip as an appetizer, these super easy slow cooker tacos as the main course (no stove needed!), and this dump-and-bake cake for dessert. The last does require the oven, but you don’t have to stand over it or anything. Anyone have any good minimal-stove-action recipes?

5. If I get my butt in gear this weekend, there will also be new prints coming to the shop. I have a whole pile waiting to be trimmed and photographed (if you follow me on Instagram, you saw). If I get that and the patio done, I will consider the weekend a productive success.

What are you up to this weekend? Working on anything new?

Book Talk, Thoughts

The Art of How to Train Your Dragon 2

June 25, 2014 4 Comments

I received a free copy of this book for review from Harper Voyager. This past weekend the boy indulged my fixation with dragons and took me to see How to Train Your Dragon 2. We both liked the first movie, so this wasn’t too much of a hardship for him. 🙂 I thought the first movie was a lot of fun, and the 2nd movie was a good follow-up. Still fun (and obviously full of dragons), but a little more serious and a little more mature, which fits for taking place 5 story-world years after the first movie. And I […]

Tuesday Treasure Trove

June 24, 2014 4 Comments

If you only read one thing on this list, read this one: Why you’re (probably) not a great communicator. Reading as a Kind of Meditation. This is very true for me. I sink into books. We’re Losing all our Strong Female Characters to Trinity Syndrome. The 15 Punctuation Marks – in order of how much they do and how hard they should be to learn. Rejected Princesses. Princesses too awesome, awful, or offbeat to get their own animated movies. Have Babies, Keep Reading. One mom (of twins) take on reading after kids: “I’ve come to this conclusion: the idea that […]

Austin, News, Shop Talk

Taking This Show on the Road

June 23, 2014 6 Comments

“This show” being my shop, and ok, not a very long road when it comes down to it. Just into downtown Austin proper, because I got into the Austin Craft Riot Summer Show as a vendor! Behold, the official poster: This will be my first major, juried show. You know, the kind where you had to apply and be accepted and pay a booth fee and all of that jazz. Official craft show time, you guys. It’s a 2-day event (indoors with A/C, thank goodness), and I am stoked. I’m already planning out my booth space. Which reminds me: there’s […]

Life, Thoughts

Taking Stock

June 20, 2014 2 Comments

Taking a page from Pip’s book and using this list to do a life snapshot. These pictures are all things I see from my desk. Making : more stencils to continue playing with this new-to-me screen printing method. Cooking : waffles, sometime this weekend, to take our new waffle iron for a spin. Drinking : French vanilla cappuccino. Reading: working my way through Northanger Abbey (a modern Austen adaptation), and also Archon (a YA paranormal). Wanting: to just curl up and read all day. Looking: at the computer screen, out the window, and occasionally at the sleeping pup. Playing: Words […]

News, Shop Talk

Flash Sale Alert!

June 19, 2014 No Comments

Mark your calendar, folks, because the Indie A List plus members (myself included) are having a flash sale this Saturday! It’s the annual summer flash sale, and it means that a whole bunch of shops are offering sizable discounts – but only for 24 hours! It’s this Saturday, June 21st and my screen printing shop will be taking part. You can use code FLASHINDIE for 25% off anything in the shop. So if you’ve been eyeing something, this Saturday would be a great time to snag it! Haven’t visited the shop in awhile and forget what I have on offer? […]

Book Talk, Thoughts

Book Review: Hidden

June 18, 2014 No Comments

Hidden (Dragonlands #1) by Megg Jensen. I received a free copy of this book for review from NetGalley. Oh, where to start with this one… How about the cover? You’ll notice there’s a dragon on it, and that the series is called Dragonlands, so it should be no surprise that I jumped on this. It’s the story of Tressa, a girl growing up in the village of Hutton’s Bridge, which has been surrounded by a mysterious (and deadly) wall of fog for the past few decades. Each year, 3 people are sent into the fog to try to find a […]