Monthly Archives: September 2011

101 Things: 10. Set up Studio

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I have to admit that I’ve been pretty much set up with my new studio since the end of June, but still working on the finishing touches. But since I’ll soon be refocusing my attention to the nursery, I thought I should share and cross this off my list.

I decided that I would commandeer this spare bedroom as my own as soon as we bought the house. I was stuffed down in the basement in Wisconsin and I hated being down there even though it was a walk out with great windows to the back yard. I was far away from the rest of the house and it was cold down there! This room is the smallest of the bedrooms, so it is quite cozy while still giving me plenty of room to spread out. I love the giant window that looks out over the trees in the front of the house. My one complaint is that we have carpeting -white!!- in here and I am paranoid about spilling on it. Shawn seems to think it is only a matter of time, but so far so good!

We went to IKEA and purchased some EXPEDIT shelving units, parts to make a desk/worktable from the VIKA system, and a BEDDINGE sofa bed. Shawn was AMAZING at helping me with the assembly. It was actually pretty easy with the both of us working together. Score another one for Team Colley!

I decided to keep it simple and go with white for the furniture, I knew that all of my supplies and accessories would give the room enough pop and I didn’t want it overwhelming. I kind of wish that I would have painted the walls – they’re the original off-white from when we moved in- but I think that once I get more up on them I won’t mind so much.

So that’s it, Widdershins has finally found an official home. I am so happy and excited to have my own special space to create. It’s really a dream come true.

(Please click over to the full post to see more pictures.)

Banned Books Week 2011

Posted in Books by

This year I am participating in banned book week by re-reading Brave New World hoping that you are standing up against censorship and joining in. More than 11,000 books have been challenged since 1982! For more information on Banned Books Week, click here.

The 10 most challenged titles of 2010 were:

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
 Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language, racism, religious viewpoint, sex education, sexually
explicit, violence, unsuited to age group

3. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
 Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit

4. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
 Reasons: drugs, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit

5. The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins
 Reasons: sexually explicit, violence, unsuited to age group

6. Lush, by Natasha Friend
 Reasons: drugs, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group

7. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
 Reasons: sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

8. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich
 Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint

9. Revolutionary Voices edited by Amy Sonnie
 Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit

10. Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer
 Reasons: sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence, unsuited to age group

Made Right Here

Posted in Noble County Gold by

I want to share with you something pretty exciting from my friends Joe Gannon and Max Wastler. The amazing duo behind, Buckshot Sonny’s, they’ve decided to share their passion with all things American Made with the world by creating Made Right Here, a show about how things are crafted in the United States. Here’s an explanation from Max on the reasoning behind the show:

“It’s our desire to not only show how it’s made, not only where it’s made, but to also show the people who make it. We want to tell their stories. We also asked them to show Joe and I how to make one of their signature items. We made six pairs of carpenter jeans at Pointer. We made a chambray western shirt at Imogene + Willie, and we made belts and buckles with Billy Moore.

I say we made… really, we tried and failed to make all these things. This is part of the story, too. These people are craftspeople who’ve dedicated their lives to mastering a skill, a skill that is really tough to do.”

I cannot say enough how important it is to shine a light on the heritage of craft here in the America and how important it is to support and celebrate those that continue to create products for our nation. Shawn and I try to support US companies whenever possible, however I know how hard it can be to find those options. Luckily, we have Max and Joe to help up light the way.

(Please check out the full post to check our their fantastic pilot!)

Reliving my youth

Posted in Fashion by

I’ve decided to relive my youth, well part of it anyways. I had a pair of these iconic Eastland Falmouth camp moc that I wore all through high school. I literally wore the bottoms out of them! With everyone on the boat shoe band wagon, it made me lovingly remember my cam mocs and decided that I needed to bring them back into my wardrobe.

Luckily, the four-eyelet oxford never goes out of style and they are still available. Actually, I must not have been the only one trying to recapture my glory days because they seem to be coming quite popular again. Maybe a boat shoe back lash?

I order a pair last week and received them yesterday. I must say that they are every bit as comfortable as I remember – right out of the box! After a few months wear, I’m sure they’ll be like slippers and will also start to get that gorgeous leather patina that my originals had. Now I just need to decide, should I Eastland knot or not? 







Craving

Posted in What's Cookin' by

Good Lord, I’d give my right arm right now for an apple cider slushie! Oh that nectar of the gods haunts me now. Sadly going to miss apple picking this year at Sunrise Apple Farm and the sweet heaven that is the Gays Mills Apple Festival. Hoping that I’ll be able to find a place here in Ohio that has Honeycrisp apples. So good!.

Cerclage Success

Posted in Oh Baby by

First off, thank you everyone of the congratulations and well wishes. Being able to share our joy has been amazing.

Wednesday, I was admitted to the hospital to have my cerclage put in. It was a fairly simple procedure, and I was released that evening. I had to have an epidural, so that kinda sucked, but otherwise it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I’m a little achy and sore and REALLY tired, but otherwise not too bad. I’ve been on bed rest at home the past couple days as a precaution, but I should be able to get back to normal by the end of the weekend. Shawn has been absolutely amazing through all of this. He took off of work to stay here with me and has been beyond attentive . . . thank you, my wonderful husband.

I have to say that I’m much relieved now that the cerclage is in place. It gives me a little extra reassurance that things will go better this time around. I know that we still have a long way to go until March, but I feel like we have a great plan in place to get us there. I am looking forward to sharing more of the journey with you all.

Big News Day

Posted in Oh Baby by

I wish that I could do a flashy announcement like Beyonce at the VMAs, but I am a TERRIBLE singer, and well, sequins aren’t my thing. Yes, Shawn and I are delighted to say that I’m pregnant again!

After the tragedy of losing the twins, we weren’t sure at first how soon we wanted to try again, but at the summer progressed, we felt like it was time. It took us quite a while before, so we thought that it might take a while. . . . uh, not this time. I’m currently at 12 weeks and due on March 15th. Yes, the Ides of March. . . no, I’m not going to name the baby Brutus, Caesar, etc.

My OB/GYN has recommended that I have a cerclage put in as a precautionary measure due to the issues I had before with an incompetent/funneled cervix. I will have the procedure on Wednesday. It is to be an out-patient procedure with me being on bed rest for the next few days at home. After that, I will be going to the doctor’s often -he jokes that we’ll become best friends- to keep tabs on things. Hopefully, it will be a normal pregnancy, however there is a chance that I’d have to go on home or hospital bed rest if the the situation changes. We are cautiously optimistic about things and are going to celebrate this pregnancy and not let fear or anxiety take away from our joy.