Black Market Beagle

Quilt, Take 2

2009-11-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

Decided that if I started now, I stood a chance of finishing a quilt for the boy by the time he moves out of the crib and into a bed. It's based roughly on the Big Zig quilt.

My first quilt was constructed with no advanced planning. I'm going another way on this one.

Two rows down, nine to go...

Yellow Orange Red Brown

2009-10-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

Summer. Where did it go?

Our morning walks have turned into afternoon walks to seek out the warmest part of the day. The grey sidewalk has turned maple-in-October gold.

There's a little (purchased) bear suit with homemade paws awaiting a (gulp) ten-month-old's first Halloween.

And there's a Halloween-appropriate stack of fabric ready to be cut into for a quilt.

Crib Tour

2009-07-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

The house and the kid- incredible time sucks they are. They're really cutting in to my leisure time. Knitting: rarely. Sewing: does hemming jeans and mending pillows count? Other craftiness: ha! Good thing I'm awful fond of them both.

In lieu of anything new and crafty, I'll show off the nicest space in the joint: where kid and house collide. Bear's room started off like this (mmm, cream of pea soup). And progressed to this last fall.

Nowadays it's fully occupied and looks like so:

The furniture is heavy on the Ikea. Okay, it's all from Ikea. I would have loved a modern nursery set, but holy $$$. And by the time I bought furniture, I was way too pregnant and busy to diy it. So, Ikea it was.

The room has pristine oak floors (like most of the house) which I covered with Flor tiles. I think they really make the room. As much as I love the wall color (and I really love it- I'd like to paint my bedroom this color), I think the room would have ended up a little too precious without the rug.

I don't want to talk about the ceiling fan.

Extravagant crib set, eh? SIDS prevention guidelines say no loose clothy bits in the crib, which appeals to my ~~cheap~~ minimalist tendencies (besides, it's not like my infant is going to use a quilt). By the way, it's not easy to find red crib sheets.

Yes, the artwork is off center and kind of awkwardly hung, but fixed very firmly to the wall. Like, won't come down until Bear leaves for college fixed. Thanks to my husband for that (both the awkward placement and sturdy mounting). All three prints are of polars bears, which pop up all over the room.

The thing about the bears-
1. We enjoy going to the zoo and are particularly fond of the polar bears.
2. My husband has a much loved pair of polar bear print pajama pants that we like to joke about.
3. I decided on the paint color, Arctic Blue, and polar bear theme before I even knew the sex of the baby.
4. The choice of the baby's name was strongly influenced by the fact that "Bear" is the obvious nickname. (But I am not trying to theme my child. I fell for the name before "Bear" was distilled from it.)

The number print is from Binth and, though awesome in its own right, coordinates ridiculously well with the rug. The futon got shoved in the room for Christmas houseguests and never left (the futon, not the guests). My little lap quilt from way back when found a home on it. Eventually the futon will be removed in favor of more play space, but for now, it's nice to have a place to read and to set the car seat for loading and unloading.

My husband tricked out the closet with a custom-built organizer (there's shelves down the center and a full-length hanging area on the other side). It's obviously set up for baby clothes, but can be adjusted as Bear grows.

Now, if only the rest of the house was finished...

Domesticity

2009-05-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Cooking, cleaning, shopping, knitting, laundering, mothering. I'm so domestic lately that sometimes I kinda want to gag. But... shhh... I kind of like it sometimes. Except when the UPS guy comes. Always when I'm cooking dinner. So I answer the door wearing an apron*. Sometimes with a baby on my hip. Embarrassing.

All this being at home has me thinking a lot about the house. I have a million projects that I'd like to do, but for now, I'm settling for trying to do some (late) spring cleaning and organizing, and the picture thing. See, I can no longer stand having frames photos sitting on surfaces (collecting dust!), and even the thought of laying out groupings of artwork for the walls exhausts me (not to mention that I'm squeamish about putting a bunch of holes in the wall). Add to the fact that I'm going to have baby and family pictures to display and I'm really liking the idea of putting up picture ledges. That way I can change out photos and frames easily. To help me visualize what I want to do, I made the cheesiest mock up ever:

In Paint, since I'm too po' for Photoshop. My depiction of this in the center really makes the mock up, doesn't it? All in all, I like it, though. I think it will work. Next step: a trip to Ikea for the ledges and some frames.

*I have to wear an apron because I always manage to get grease spattered on me. Which I don't notice until I'm hanging clean laundry. So I have to treat and wash my clothes again. And if there is anything I don't need right now, it's more laundry... which reminds me that I have to go put a load in the dryer. Ugh.

Knitting is a Stupidhead

2007-04-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

Not much happening on the knitting front. Jaywalker heel #1 has been successfully turned at last:

It took A. Long. Time. I am, happy to say, getting to be enough of a knitting adult that when I do terrible, terrible things to, say, a sock heel, I actually rip back and redo it the right way. Even if I have to rip back, say, five or six different times in a single weekend. You know, just, say.

What with all the bad knitting and ripping and more bad knitting and ripping on the sock, I really haven't gotten very far on the old sweater-of-my-own-design. Not far at all:

In addition to all this progress (hah!), I'll instead revisit a project past, Sitcom Chic:

Most badly executed sweater ever! Lessons learned? Knit a gage swatch, 100% cotton kinda sucks, measure oneself before picking a size... don't make one side of a (seamless!!!) cardigan longer than the other (seriously don't know how that one happened). This one was knit at least a year ago and was one of my first sweaters, so I'll cut myself some slack. Really, I think the pattern is very cute, it's a fast knit and maybe I'll give it another try in a better yarn choice and taking into account the other lessons learned.

At least I had one success this weekend; I made cheese. Really. Paneer, as in Palak Paneer (fresh cheese in spinach sauce). It was super easy, super satisfying, and I love me some Indian food for dinner. Sucky knitting is easier to deal with on a full belly.

The Third Day of the Rest of My Life

2008-12-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

I feel like the reset button has been pushed on my life. Last Friday was my last day of work. Not my last day of work until maternity leave was through, but my last day of work. As in, I no longer have a job outside the home (by choice). My new job is of the frighteningly traditional domestic sort. Needless to say, there are some mixed feelings, including a healthy dose of anxiety, that go with this choice*, but I'm pretty sure this is the right decision for our family for the moment.

This week I'm embracing the domestic. Albeit slowly, since being 37(!) weeks pregnant does not allow for sudden movements. Yesterday I spent a bit of the afternoon making the suddenly ubiquitous peppermint bark. I remember my mom making it with confectioner's coating and smashed starlight mints when I was a kid. I, however, now have a taste for the layered dark and white chocolate version so popular now. I thought that making it would be a cinch: layer some melted chocolate, incorporate some peppermint extract and pile on some crushed mints. Easy right? Um, not quite.

All of the recipes I saw called for the bark to be stored in the refrigerator. Why? Tempering. Or, rather, a lack thereof. If you just melt chocolate and allow it to cool, you lose the temper- the snap, the shininess, and the solidity at room temperature. So, in order to make something simple more difficult, I followed the "seed method" directions at Cooking For Engineers, and somehow managed to temper my chocolate. And my white chocolate. And produced three pounds of non-refrigerated peppermint bark.

Hmm, this domestic stuff is not so bad so far...

*I also feel very fortunate to even have this choice both financially and career-wise.

A Weekend of Yarn

2007-03-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

Dyeing with Kool Aid is fun! The yarn smells like Kool Aid! Um, that's just about all I have to say about that.

Mmmm, tie-dye-ie yarn soup.

So, I'm ever so slightly obsessed with this whole ripple blanket thing. Obsessed enough to learn how to double crochet, increase, and decrease in order to do a swatch. Not a perfect swatch, but a swatch nonetheless. Now, if I can only convince my mom to do the actually crocheting, I'll be in ripply blanket heaven in no time.

... and clapotis marches on.

Prepping for the Craftiness

2007-02-11T21:26:00.001-08:00

I ordered some beads from Artbeads, the lovely online store (free shipping, you don’t have to buy findings by the bag). I’m planning on making a couple of necklaces and a pair of earrings. I’m also going to rework this:

I love the beads, but am not so crazy about the necklace as a whole. I threw it together quickly to wear to a wedding. I’m going to lose the flexwire and crimp beads and put it back together with chain. Results to come…

I’ve also been jonesing for a little sewing lately, but have no projects in the works. I love to browse fabric online, but I seem to have problems linking it to projects I want to make. I sat down and thought about projects today and here’s what I came up with:

Tufted or quilted pillow for Mr. Beagle’s chair
Pajama pants (from Amy Butler’s In Stitches)
Fabric boxes (also from In Stitches)
Lap quilt (my first quilt)
I actually do have the supplies for the pajama pants. A couple of months ago I bought a flannel sheet set that I used to make the kimono robe from In Stitches:

I still have enough left over for the pants. Perhaps they should come first then.

Trying to Be a Girl

2007-02-21T19:16:00.001-08:00

After a not-totally-undeserved disparaging comment about my shoes from Mr. Beagle last December, I declared 2007 the year that I start to dress like a grown up girl. Today's effort was wearing cutesie avocado green drop earrings (made over the weekend) with my genderless sweater and chinos. Unfortunately, I think my work was undone by the grease smudged on said chinos when I was called upon to leave my (clean) office and fix something. Sigh.

Ready Or Not

2007-06-13T22:34:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post before the in-laws arrive for what is sure to be... something. On the bright side, I'll be at work 3 of the 5 days they are here. Yeah, bright side.

Okay, something brighter (in a black yarn kinda way):

The beginning of Rusted Root, rising from the yarn spaghetti that was SoMOD. I've only ripped twice so far. I should work on reading AND comprehending patterns before I start knitting all willy-nilly.

Done

2007-07-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Rusted Root from Zephyr Style
Begun: 6/9/07
Finished: 6/29/07
Size: S, but knit at a bigger gage to obtain L measurements
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Cavern (and only 3 skeins!)
Needles: #5 and #3 circulars
Mods: Aforementioned gage nonconformance and a provisional cast-on at the neck... that's it.

I really, really like this sweater. And I promise I won't wear it with the pink tank top- which I swear I have on in the pic- that is not beagle flesh you see. The little poufy sleeves are so clever and sweet. I was a little worried after reading about other's problems with the sleeve puff, or lack thereof, but mine turned out just fine. The whole thing just zipped along, thanks in no small part to my inlaw's visit, during which I got lots of knitting done, as the houseguests didn't want to actually do anything.

Pros: Cute, puffy sleeves, fits.
Cons: Slightly wonky where neck meets lace panel, directions say to pick up stitches around neck when provisional cast-on makes so much more sense, my hips.

On the needles is a super simple bag with some stash yarn while I wait for the yarn to arrive for the Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan (more puffy sleeves, huzzah!) from Glampyre's Fitted Knits (yeah, raglan shaping). Perhaps I can overcome the cardigan curse (neither of the cardigans that I've knit are at all wearable, while all of my pullovers turn out okay).

An Open Letter to the NFL

2007-08-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

Dear NFL,
You suck.

Why do you have to make my life so difficult? It's bad enough if you happen to live in an area where your team is regularly broadcast on local channels, since you need to get at least NBC, CBS and FOX AND ESPN AND now NFL Network. If you are, say, a Packer fan living on the west coast, the only way you can see most of the games from the comfort of your home is to shell out BIG money for a dish and a special package. If you have an irrational fear of cable, your only option is to spend the majority of your August through December Sunday mornings in a sports bar which may or may not have a working dish and a TV tuned in in time to see kickoff. This also means a bad sports-bar buffet breakfast and far to many bloody marys which make you sleepy in the afternoons and seriously inhibit your crafting ability. People also look at you funny when you knit in a sports bar.

Is there an alternative way, NFL, to distribute your sporty entertainment to football fans all over the world? I think there is: the internet. Perhaps you've heard of it, NFL. Everyone else is streaming quality entertainment (thank you ABC for Lost online and also for making the second half of the season not lame). I'd gladly pay to watch the Packers at home via the magic of the interweb. And maybe then, NFL, you would not suck so bad.

Sincerely,
Rebecca Beagle

Inspired by the sad, sad puppy eyes Mr. Beagle made when he found out that we wouldn't be able to see tonight's preseason game. Also by the nachos I did not get to eat.

The normal girly content of this blog will resume shortly.

Neato

2007-09-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

I'm in! Finally got my Ravelry invite yesterday. Now all I need is some time to check it all out.

Happy Me

2007-09-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

The weather has taken a turn for the chill. I slept in until 9:30 this morning while rain pitter-pattered away outside. My four year old nephew sang to the answering machine. It must be my birthday. Mr. Beagle baked a cake.

And bought me the second purse (the lustworthy one). A little more lazing around, then burgers and milkshakes, followed by, yep, more lazing, perhaps with a DVD. This is the way to spend a birthday.

2100 Miles or A Tale of Two Scarves

2007-10-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

I was a college kid at the University of Wisconsin when I visited my first yarn shop (Coyote Yarns in Madison). I walked out with my first pair of bamboo needles, a couple of balls of Plymouth Baby Alpaca, a simple pattern for a mistake rib scarf and a healthy amount of shock at the prices. The intent was to knit a scarf for my then-boyfriend. It took over a year of off and on knitting, but I eventually finished. Since I married that boyfriend, both he and the scarf are still around:

Five feet of nuzzly baby alpaca goodness.

My second trip to the yarn store toward the end of my stay in Madison, yielded supplies for a scarf for myself. I asked for something to make a chunky scarf. They pointed me toward some Cleckheaton Gusto 10. Chunky it is. I started the scarf. Then I ripped it out. And started it again. And ripped it again. Then Mr. Beagle and I moved from Madison to the Bay Area. The yarn came too.

Once in California, I began knitting in earnest. Every so often I’d pull out the Gusto and knit it for a bit, only to rip it out. Once I even finished a scarf with it, but decided I didn’t like it and, it got frogged. I really thought that Allison’s herringbone scarf pattern was going to do it for me and the Gusto:

But messy edges and frustration with the US 35 needles led to another couple of rounds of ripping. In any case, I now live in Northern California where it doesn’t get really cold, anyhow. Why can’t the Gusto just live indefinitely in my stash?

Well, my life is taking a turn for the different, and I decided that it’s time to finish the scarf. In December, Mr. Beagle will become Prof. Beagle and we’ll return to Madison. The Gusto will come too. As a scarf, at last.

Pattern: None

Begun: 2001?
Finished: 10/10/07
Size: ~6'
Yarn: Cleckheaton Gusto 10, 3 balls
Needles: US17

Straight up seed stitch. The first stitch of each row was slipped either knitwise or purlwise for neat edges. I put a "button hole" in the center since I was afraid it was going to be too short to wrap. It's not to short, but it's nice to have options:

Pros: Love me some chunky seed stitch. Gonna be warm. Moving where we can afford to buy a house.
Cons: The mohair in the Gusto sheds like a mofo. Winter. Humidity.

Not About Knitting

2007-10-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

So much knitting to talk about! There's the finished Clapotis (II: The Ugly One)! There's the Endpaper Mitts that I'm bravely starting! There's the wee baby sweater that I'm thoroughly enjoying ('cause damn, those things knit up fast)! But, until I have 1. daylight and 2. time, there are no pictures. No pictures, fun.

Instead I have a picture of this:

Nope, not space monkeys (though, if you get that reference, you're my kind of geek), not even a strange weather phenomena. No, Mr. Sterling Sharpe* (bottom right corner) and I spent most of Saturday going through clothes in prep for The Big Move. Seven bags of clothes (ack, where did they all come from!?!) went to Goodwill and we're a teensy bit closer to being ready to move.

Just so there's some crafty content, here's a little somethin' somethin' I made last weekend:

I'm calling it iPod case v1.0. Next time (I'm pretty sure I'm to lazy for a next time, but who knows), I'll either find thicker felt, or sew the edges before I cut it out, since I was going for a more industrial, less handmade look. All in all, it's working okay, except I'm not digging my earbuds dangling about in my purse. Recipe for disaster. Oh, and I have to remember to lock the iPod, since fastening the elastic around the button invariably depresses the click wheel.

Next time: pictures of yarn-based entities.

*Sterling's contribution to the process was so minimal that he was packed off to Goodwill. That will teach him to whine about being unable to help since he's just, you know, a t-shirt.

Getting There

2007-10-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

The countdown is truly on: less than seven weeks before we move. The movers have been booked. I have an apartment hunting trip planned. Mr. Beagle's wine collection has already been shipped off for safekeeping in his brother's cellar. This is for real.

Are We Moved Yet?

2007-11-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

What's going on here at Chez Beagle? Not a hell of a lot. At least not much unrelated to moving cross-country. It seems that searching for apartments online takes precedence over reading knitting patters, sewing stuff, and my other hobbies. I guess the apartment stuff is pretty important since I have only four days in Madison this week to locate and secure aforementioned apartment. Solo. Mr. Beagle's dissertation takes precedence over keeping me company on my trip. Stupid priorities.

There seems to be some knitting going on around here, but it's really minimal. My self-imposed sweater abstinence is leading to:

Accessories! A pair of mittens in Manos which are almost done and will be followed by a matching hat.

Baby Sweater! Which is actually fully knit, but still waiting for a zipper and sunshine to get it's final portrait done.

More Accessories! Endpaper knits. Colorwork + Rebecca = scary.

Enough of this. My next priority is to make dinner. Lidia's Seafood Gratin. Mmmmm.

Moving is Hard, Yo

2008-01-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

Packers (and not the green and yellow kind), movers, four days in the car, an apartment lacking fresh paint and cleaned carpet, sleeping bags on the floor, the movers again, the chaos of unpacking and all of it while I had a cold and was trying to maintain 30 hours of work per week.

It's strange to see everything you own sitting in your driveway.

I'd never been in the Southwest before. Amazing scenery. I'd like to go back sometime.

Every tree in Illinois was coated with a thin layer of ice.

We did all of our Christmas shopping in one day. I wrapped them all the next day. And placed them around the traditional Meyer Lemon tree. Okay, so we had no proper Christmas tree (or any other Christmas decoration) so I made do.

And the knitting? Well, I've done more knitting than I expected to over the course of the move. Unfortunately, this is all I have to show for it, since this has been knit and ripped out, um, five, maybe six times. It's kind of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Very Warm Hat, but as I don't own Knitting Around, I'm just kind of winging it. My problem has been fit. Fitting Mr. Beagle's noggin, that is. I think I might finally have it, though. It only took a month to get it right.

Extreme Snowitude

2008-01-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

This is the view from my office this morning:

Those smudgy things? Dirty windows? No. Dirty camera lens? No. Jumbo snowflakes. Yes. The succubi are all 'wtf?'.

Shhhh

2008-02-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

There's a ridiculously cute two year old asleep in his cage* in my bedroom. Do not wake him up. At least not until his father and my husband return from guitar shopping**. After moving back close enough to all of the nephews and niece to occasionally cover babysitting duty, I understand the importance of The Nap.

We also managed to move back to the land of weather in time for the snowiest winter in a long, long time:

The air conditioner will never again look as cute and marshmallow topped as this:

Ah winter, how I kind of missed you, but now that we're back not so much.

The knitting? Uh... Endpapers need some serious blocking action and Gretel is on the needles in grey Manos. But no pictures. Lame, I know.

*Also called a "pack and play", but really?

**That's guitar window shopping actually. The two year old declared that he was staying home with me and not going with the guys because shopping is for girls. Um.

Hello Handsome

2008-02-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

He's tall. He's dark (grey). He's handsome. He has five drawers. My valentine:

Vintage Steelcase. Mmmm. He's in amazing shape for being 50-ish. He was picked up for a song at the University surplus store. So much nicer than the cheapo file cabinet we had before moving (and so much sturdier). I kinda have a thing for old Steelcase office furniture. I don't miss much about going in to the office every day, but I do miss my round-edged, formica-topped, tank of a Steelcase desk.

You know what you can file in a file cabinet? Paper. And the last paper in the file cabinet? The end paper. Ugh. Worst segue ever. But, hey, Endpaper Mitts- done! Blocked and everything.

Do you see all my mistakes? I do. While I'm really glad I tackled these bad boys and they will be very nice to have when I get Cold Mouse Hand while working, they are not my best work. For one thing, I chose two yarns with really different thicknesses (I think they are very similar weights, but the brown has a tighter twist to it). My tension at the sides around the false seam is grotesque and the increases for the thumb are pretty awful. On the other hand, I'm no longer terrified of colorwork, so I declare the Endpapers an overall success. Huzzah.

Already on the needles is what appears to be a big knot:

but will hopefully with aggressive blocking, become Gretel. And then it's back on the train to Sweaterville with the Tilted Duster.

Happy Sunshine Yeah

2008-04-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

In honor of the fact that today has gone from superdarkthunderstormy to sunny and bright, here's what I'm loving right now (in addition to the sunshine).

WEBS

Why? I've been really pleased with their selection, everything I've wanted to order has been in stock, and their prices are really reasonable. Plus, even with normal bare bones shipping, the yarn I ordered late on Sunday, arrived on Thursday. Which is great 'cause I'm just about ready to start my Flutter Sleeve Cardigan since I'm almost finished with...

The Tilted Duster

Why? It's fitting great so far and it's almost done. I'm a little worried about the sleeves being too short, but if that turns out to be the case, I figure I can take the ribbed cuffs out and reknit them longer. No drama.

My New Camera

Why? Because it's tiny, it's got a great anti-jiggle feature (technical camera term, yo), and I just discovered it's got an extraclose macro feature. See:

Mmm... yarn.

Lemon Blossoms

Why? Um, have you ever smelled a lemon blossom? Right after I took this picture, I made sweet, sweet love to that flower with a paintbrush. I'm hoping the babies take after their mother rather than me. Or the paintbrush.

Terro

Why? One word: Effective. Some more words: now that it's all new and improved and arsenic-free, it still works crazy good while being pretty dang safe (the new ant-killin' part is just Borax).

Keds Eleanor Mary Janes

Why? Besides being cute and mary janes and everything, the cherries are flocked. Flocked! (The only thing better would have been if these had ric-rack like some of the other Eleanors.) Plus they were on Sale at Piperlime with free shipping. An flocked!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

2008-08-24T15:18:00.001-07:00

Busiest. Summer. Ever.

What didn't I do this summer? Knit, sew, craft or read blogs.

What did I do? Well, we closed on the house, then immediately took off for a week of vacation in the U.P.

Then it was off for Northern Wisconsin to see my baby brother married (I could post one of my photos, but they all pale in comparison to the shots taken by their amazing photographer).

Then it was back to Madison to clean, paint, and move in to the house. The house which happens to contain some amazing original 1963 light fixtures.

Then it was off to the Detroit area for the wedding of some good friends, during which, I consumed several kiddie cocktails (or Shirley Temples, if you will).

Less than a week later, we were in Montreal for a vacaconference? conferencecation? and to try some poutine. (And where Mr. Beagle snapped the water lily photo at the top of the post.)

And in between all that, we participated all kinds of family activities and had houseguests on five different occasions.

Oh, yeah, I also secured and started a new job. For which I had to buy all new pants. Because my old ones don't fit. Because in addition to everything else this summer, I'm also pregnant.

Dude, I'm tired.

Before

2008-09-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Summer is just not my season. Heat. Suntans. Shorts. I just don't do them. Summer produce is all well and good, but to tell you the truth, I love roasting and braising more than the juicy rawness of summer meals. I love wearing sweaters and curling up under wooly blankets and taking warm baths. By coincidence perhaps, the first day of Autumn frequently falls on my birthday.

Last week the heat broke here and since then, the weather has taken a definite turn towards the autumnal. I'm loving it. Gone is the lethargy that's been plaguing me since May when heat and morning sickness conspired to turn me into a slug for much of the spring and early summer. As soon as the morning sickness abated, I was hit with the busy one-two punch that was July and August. Finally now things are calming down. I'm taking time to knit and read blogs.

I'm also finally 1. starting to show and 2. starting to prepare for The Kid. The boy kid, as a matter of fact. Beginning with the room. I think I know that there really isn't any big race to get a room ready for the kid. He probably won't start out sleeping in a crib and doesn't need a room painted just the right color with just the right furniture, decorated just so. The thing is, I think Mr. Beagle and I need a room that looks like a baby's room with a crib and the whole shebang to make it real for us. And if the room gets painted just right color and decorated just so, well that would just be nifty.

For now, I just have a room that's mostly empty, clean, and has since been prepped for painting.

Right now it's a pale shade of pea soup and contains the fugliest ceiling fan known to man. The ceiling fan will be replaced (with another fan- we have radiant heat and no air conditioning- fans are a must).

But first: painting. Cross your fingers that Benjamin Moore's* Arctic Blue is just the right color.

*We've been using Benjamin Moore Aura low VOC paint in our house, and we could not be more pleased with it. It is virtually odor-free, has great color choices, and truly is self-priming. We've only had to do one coat, even when changing colors dramatically. It's kind of spendy, but I feel like it's worth it.