Going Domestic

chocoholics central

Yep, I think that our little street in St. John's is the epicenter of chocolate consumption in this province. Today, I had no fewer than four little boys ring our doorbell to try to sell me chocolate bars for some fundraiser that I didn't bother to ask about! Four! That has got to be a record! I think that they were all from the same school, too, as the boxes of chocolate bars were identical.

I think that there is still a little bit of a management science geek left inside me because I couldn't help thinking that what they needed was a good mathematical model to carve out delineated sales territories so that each chocolate bar shiller had a fairly equal expected revenue.  And then my doorbell would only need to be rung once. Simple.

Wannabe Lamination Queen

Well, it took me over a week, but I've tried out my Xyron. Not with making anything sticky, mind you -  I used this week's 40%-off coupon for Michaels to buy the lamination cartridge and tried to laminate a few of Chris's business cards so that I can make up some durable luggage tags for his next business trip. Good news - it worked! And it was easy! Bad news - there is some sort of learning curve as my first attempts resulted in wrinkles. The last one I did only had a couple of small creases in the lamination film. I think I shall practice a lot before I actually send something I want to use for scrapbooking through the machine ...

Also bought these lovely little spools of ribbon while I was at the craft store - I hadn't noticed them at Michaels until I was there with my sister one day in August. I love that they all co-ordinate somewhat with each other. Supposedly, I can run ribbon through the Xyron, so I am hoping to frame some photos in the scrapbook with ribbon instead of my usual boring mats. Fingers are crossed :)

Future Home of My Fabric Stash

Madeline's stuff, now with organization
Originally uploaded by goingdomestic.

One of the problems with living somewhere temporarily is that it's hard to justify making substantial purchases. For months I've wanted to have some sort of shelving in our living room to hold our books and Madeline's toys. I was out today, taking advantage of our newly renewed Costco membership, when I spied these modular wire shelves for a paltry $23.

I will admit that it was really tricky to assemble this with a toddler who thought it was great fun to jump in the cubbies or climb up and sit on them, but I am thrilled that I can easily take the shelving apart, pack in back into the small box it came in, and then pack it all up to take back to Calgary. I think I'm going to use it to hold all of the fabric that I currently have stashed away in cardboard boxes under my sewing table ...

window shopping

It's been over eight months since I stepped foot in an Ikea. Eight months of missing my MARKOR living room furniture, eight months of missing my sewing table with the turquoise VIKA CURRY legs.  My in-laws brought me a copy of the 2007 catalogue when they visited us last week, and I've had a really fun time planning out a shopping spree when we move back home next year.

First, a BILLY bookcase (well, maybe two), in red!  Very tempted to add a set of glass doors it. I'd put the bookcase(s) in our study/computer room, add rug like this VEDBAEK one, and then bring my old POANG chair up from the basement. Maybe I'd get a new cover for it.

I think that a set of the EXPEDIT shelves would look terrific in our entryway. One of these IKEA PS units would be handy in the guest bedroom/sewing room, hiding all of my fabric away.

We won't be moving until February, so I have lots of time to do this imaginary redecorating :)

sticky fingers

I braved the usual line-ups at Michaels this past weekend to use their 50%-off coupon to buy a Xyron to use with my scrapbooking.  When I write "Xyron" I mean their product that applies adhesive to cardstock, ribbon, vellum, etc. - when I started scrapbooking, those machines were the only products they made, I think. I've wanted one of these for years, but never even window-shopped for one, thinking that they were terrifically expensive. I was surprised to find that the model I purchased, the 510, was only $70 here in Canada. I'd thought that they were several hundred dollars. I guess that it still was a big purchase, even though I had the coupon and paid about $35 plus tax. Then again, I haven't exactly spent a lot of money on scrapbooking stuff since we moved to St. John's, so I'm probably still within my annual craft budget :)

sous chef

Madeline's Blueberry Crisp
Originally uploaded by goingdomestic.

I have made too many crisps to count, and written about a few of them here, but this is one is special. It's the first crisp that Madeline helped me make. She pulled a little step-stool over to the kitchen counter, and stirred the mixture of wild Newfoundland blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch for me, and she also stirred the combination of oats, flour, and brown sugar that make the topping in the recipe.

I mean it this time

I am going to learn to knit. Honest. Yes, I have basically let my copy of Stitch 'n Bitch get dusty in the six months that I've owned it, but yesterday I registered in the beginner knitting class at the Anna Templeton Centre in St. John's. It doesn't look like their fall schedule is online anywhere, but I feeling a little sad that I didn't bring my Bernina when we moved here - there are some sewing classes that I'd enroll in as well - one on using different stitches and one on sewing stretchy fabrics.

I also should mention that I browsed through my friend's copy of Sexy Little Knits last weekend, thought that many of the tops were really cute. Except I was wondering if they'd felt if worn in a hot tub. Hmm ...