Spring Has Sprung and I've Been Cleaning

A couple of weeks ago we went out to dinner and saw 300: Rise of and Empire. I forgot to post my outfit for the night. I really enjoyed dinner with my husband. The movie was okay. It was very action packed but it left me feeling king blah at the end of it. It seemed to me that the plot needed more depth and character development.

 

 Dress: Made by me

Shrug : Torrid    

Bangles: Vintage Lucite 

                 and modern plastic

 Earrings: Vintage faux pearl clip-ons

Over the last couple of weeks, I haven't had much inspiration for making or knitting much. I think I'm a little burnt out from knitting the capelet for my aunt and the hoodie for my nephew. I enjoyed making those items since they are both challenging and new.

I have gotten three small projects done over the last couple of weeks. I made a small pair of curtains for the kitchen. I've had this fabric for a few years just waiting to be turned into something cute. I had about a yard and a half left over. It took me a little over an hour from start to finish.

 

If I had had a few yards of this fabric I would have turned it into a circle skirt or a sun dress.

In our last visit to So Cal, my mother-in-law gave us this ottoman. It was Jess's grandmother's back in the day. I often use it when I do my hair and make up. It's this weird  yellow color and vinyl. One thing about me: I love the smell and feel of leather/vinyl but not in furniture. I always stick to it . I love vintage mustard color but this one is kinda bland. So, I made a cover.  I bought this fabric at a thrift store a few months back without knowing what to do with it. This was also a surprisingly easy project. An hour, hour and a half at the most and nothing special. I may re-make it in the future but for now I'm happy with it.

A few weeks ago, Jess's grandfather began chemo and radiation treatment. He's doing well and my mother-in-law is helping them out.  I decided to make him a nice lap blanket to help him through it. I love to crochet blankets/afghans. This was an easy and fun project. It's my first one-piece rectangular blanket.

I'm sure Grandpa will like colors. He's an All-American kinda guy.

This week has also seen me cleaning the house like crazy. I cleaned both bathrooms and the kitchen. Every year, I try and go through everything we own and rearrange what we use and donate or throw away what we don't used/need. I actually looked forward to cleaning the house now. I also did a lot of yard work. I cleaned out  and weeded both of our flowers beds over the last weekend. I have never been prouder of  clean dirt. I plan on laying down some brown mulch and leave space to plant some drought resistant flowers.

I also sat down and re-arranged my earring and brooch collection. I love being able to see and re-discover new pairs of earrings that have been hiding in my jewelry box. These are some of my more showy pairs.

Here's are most of my brooches. I love this collection. They range from the 1940's to present day. I've made a few of them myself. And some of them my mother-in-law gave them to me.

The rest of my earring collection. I'm sure my husband will say that I have plenty of earrings and don't need anymore. Oh, how wrong he is. We can never have enough accessories.

These are on the second level of the jewelry box. Bits and bobs that I love but don't show well.

 

 I still need to go through my purse and shoe collection. I need to see what items I use and which I don't.  I should buy a shoe rack too so I can easily access and see my shoes.  We're going to Reno this weekend to clean my rings (insurance purposes) and we're also going to look at furniture. All of our couches and chairs are broken.  The recliner chair broke at the begining of the week and Ridley has been upset. Since I can't stretch my legs out enough, it means Ridley can't lay on my lap. Spoiled cat. 

Oh, I hope we can find some cool vintage sofas or couches. I love vintage furniture because it was made to last and the fabric designs are just neat. It's be great if I could find some mid-century furniture at a great price but that remains to be seen.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!