golden girls always in my heart

"you'll always be my sisters."  the final line spoken in the finale of The Golden Girls (1985-1992).  i love this show so much.  i own almost all of the seasons.  i think i love it so much because it reminds me of my time in college.  i am a loud proud member of the fightin' texas aggie class of '03.  it was some of the greatest moments of my life.

i miss my girls so much.  we three + one more lived together the majority of our time in Aggieland.    

left to right: natalie, mandy, me, sarah, lorena, deborah, & neekie

swimming in Rudder Fountain on campus at about 1am (hee hee hee)

oh i miss my girls.  most of them still live in Texas so i am able to see them.  this blog post is just an ode to those late, wild college nights.  

Taco C at 0300 = added 15 lbs. (hence freshman 15)

stink and drink with the ruggers

big bro' / lil sis' rugby parties

aderall induced study binges

internships

kindred spirits

love

i <3 college...

i <3 Aggieland...

i <3 my golden girls...

until next time...

monica

fussy tuesday

lilly is not having a good day.

what is her deal?

why does nothing make her happy?

did i do something?

did i not do something?

oh the questions are flying through my mind.  most days she is so happy and delightful.  today she hates her swing...what?!?!  hate her swing! unheard of.  the pacie sure ain't doin the trick either.  i know she is tired and that is the problem.  but the swing usually puts her to sleep.  oh you darn swing....what is your problem today?!  you are defective!  

well, i guess the only thing to do is rock her to sleep.  so much for working in my new space i.e. the new monica's workroom.  

scary isn't she...

until next time...

monica

slow readers book club

i'm very excited about my new venture.  small one it might be but  love it nonetheless.

i have recently become the newest member of the slow readers book club.  the current book we are reading is Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin.  so far i love it.  its pretty interesting.

hope on over and check out the club...its fantabulous!

until next time...

monica

blue is beautiful

on  recent trip to our gran's house we took advantage of the surrounding 

beauty.

welcome to spring in Texas.

lilly loving the splash of color

 

sarge getting lost amongst the beauty

 

daddy and his lilly

i love Texas.

until next time...

monica

under construction...

i have recently started redoing the back bedroom in our house in efforts to convert it into a work room.  i am very excited.  today we go pick-up my desk and will be moving the bed out of the room.  sorry to all my friends that will no longer have a comfy bed.  oh the sacrifices to have your own space.

i know this was a short post but here is little picture so your journey to my little page was for not.

Brazos river

until next time...

monica

every girl's favorite store

oh how i love ANTHROPOLOGIE.  

i love everything from the front doors to the dressing rooms.  the contents of course are always amazing.  so full of color and so unique.  here is what i bought on my most recent trip.

these so sweet.

and the lovely packaging my new member card came in

until next time...

monica

monsters in the house

everyone say hello to Kade.  he is so perfectly delicous in his "Max" costume.
 

he turned 1 this March and my best friend Natalie themed up his party with Where the Wild Things Are.  she had also painted a mural on the wall of his play room.  she is so talented and i'm not real sure why she doesn't take up painting more often. 

my little lilly-lu also dressed up for the occasion.  she was dressed as a little monster.  i think the lamb ears really say something. 

the food was really good too... 

giant pizza 

divine cupcakes from Ooh La La

veggies

scrumptious fruit

creamcheese with chipolte raspberry sauce

very simple but oh-so-cute and yummy

party favors were brown bags filled with odds and ends tied all up with little boy ribbon.

it as a perfect day...

nom nom nom...

so my sweet lilly-lu is 5 months old now and i decided it was time to start her on solids.  i am very excited about this.  i have been dying to make my own babyfood before i even had a baby!  i think its because i didn't stop eating applesauce out of the babyfood isle until i was a teenager.  for some reason it always tasted better than regular applesauce.  every week i looked forward to our trip to the local food store so i could pick out what version of applesauce i wanted.  the jars are oh-so-cute and tiny. 

anyway, i have started making it and i really enjoy it. 

my first batch was simple...pears.  she loves pears!  she has eaten pears for 2 weeks now.  my next batch...apples.  she ain't so kean on those. 

but last night, oh last night... we made acorn and butternut squash mixed together.  the color this concoction made was magical.  the 2 different hues of orange and goldy-yellow mixed together was fabulous.  i wish i had a sweater that color.  of course i might by the time she spits it all up all over me.  here is how i prepared them:
* preheat oven to 375 degrees
* cut squash in half and dig out seeds and stringy yuck (discard)
* place flesh side down in a baking dish and put a little over 1/4 amount of water in the dish. (not a 1/4 cup but about 1/4 up the side of the baking dish.)
* bake for 1 hour
* dig out the flesh and set aside to cool (do not discard your water left in the baking dish, you will use this to thin out the mush)
* puree in a blender/chopper/babyfood processor or with a giant fork which is what i did for this one
* add the broth from the baking dish until you achive the pureed consistency your baby can handle

after this we made more pears but this time we added bananas and cinnamon.  we also made more apples and added cinnamon to them.  my husband said they were delicious.  as i made each batch i gave my lilly-lu a sample and she giggled with delight when we added the cinnamon and bananas.

success!

i have been wanting some of those little ice trays with lids but was too lazy to go to Wal-Mart and get them so i used left over breast milk storage bags (unused of course) instead.  these are great because you can see how many ounces you are putting in the bags.  so i made a bunch of tiny ones and then started increasing the amount so i would have different portion sizes. 

now if i could just enjoy cooking for my hubby and i, all would be perfect.

until next time...

monica

searching for a schedule

being at home this week has kind of felt like a vacation.  that being the case i have to tell myself that this is not a vacation.  i'm supposed to be using this time to figure out what i really want to be doing with my time.  of course we know i want to spend as much time with lilly-lu as possible.  watching her grow and develop is going to be a God send.  working out and getting back to a healthy weight should also be on my priority list.  with all this being said i'm afraid my blogging is going to be a little sporadic until i can figure out a schedule.  

i will try to be good and post daily but i can't make any promises for the next couple of weeks.  i leave you with a little picture of my lilly-lu and her first trip to the zoo.

meet her kitty, Bosley.  she loves her kitty and he goes everywhere with her.

until next time...

monica

sunday afternoon project

for my best bud's baby she asked if i could make some letters for his playroom which was being done in Where the Wild Things Are.

of course i leaped at the opportunity!  she wanted a set that were made like the ones i had done for my lilly-lu.  here are those.

she wanted the same theme but different colors and no girly bugs.  so, here is what i came up with...

                            

i started with a nice navy blue acrylic paint.  

then i semi-mixed the navy paint with some cream paint so create a swirl of colors.

it made a lovely shade of dutch blue.

then with a medium brush i brushed it with a heavy hand making sure it didn't go on too smooth. (the messier the better)

i let that dry and then sponged on a timber brown acrylic paint and kind of wiped and blotted at the same time.

the goal was to make the letters look like they were old and covered in dirt.

after the paint was completely dry i hot glued moss all around the edges.

some places i made the moss real thin and others i would just clump it on.

after the glue is good and dry i raked my hand lightly over the moss to knock most of the loose pieces off and then filled in the gaps with more moss.

after the moss was pretty stuck i went back and added some rust dyed raffia to pull in the other colors from the book.

i think they turned out pretty good and she loved them!

until next time...

monica

penciled art

recently my employer annouced that they were closing down our entire department.  this means i will have no job as of friday.  don't cry for me just yet.  i am excited to get the opptunity to stay home with my lilly-lu and work on my etsy dream. 

so, this leads into why the post...  my friend was cleaning out her cube and came across some sweet little drawings her son had done for her many years ago.

he would be mortified if he knew i was posting these. 

his momma loves Dr.Pepper

not sure why he drew this one but ain't it cute.

i love childhood innocence.

until next time...

monica

threads of color

i love color. 

sometimes my mood requires soft blues, peaches, and seafoam greens. 

other times i am feelin' saucy with cherry red, sun-blaze orange, and carribean blue. 

nothing brings a day full circle like a pile full of color. 

here is my array of embroidery thread that i rewrapped around spools made from toilet paper rolls.  

i am very excited to start using them with my glovelies.

until next time...

monica

i'm awesome!!! no you're not dude don't lie

i heard this hilarious song on the radio last week and i can't get it out of my head.  if you have not heard the song I'm Awesome by Spose then go listen to it!  it is so funny.  i would have linked the music file to this post but i couldn't really find a good one.  a tad dirty but i think its the actual music beat and not the words that i truely love.  it reminds me of Office Space which is by far one of the funniest movies ever! 

i love the above scene in the movie.  it reminds me of my former job. 

go watch the movie and then listen to the song and you'll know what i mean.

until next time...

monica

shopping local is the thing to do!

local shops are the best.

if you don't live next to any, shop on etsy.

today i heart shopping local (and i don't mean the mall).

Vintage Red Band/Stripe

COFFEE CUP/SAUCER

Hotel / Restaurant Ware

Coffee Bean Burlap Bag Costa Rica

this would make a neato-pillow.

Mini Chalk Board Tags,

Plant Marker, Place Cards,

Price Signs, Wine Charm

Re-purposed

Crochet pattern Spring Bloom hat

i know these are very random picks and they don't really have a theme

but i think its important to shop local. 

i live in East Texas and these picks are from local artists on etsy.

so go ahead and search your area for some fantastic finds.

you'll be surprised how many artists live around you and how

easy it is to help support your community.

until next time...

monica 

Lá Fhéile Pádraig

since today is the fantastic holiday of Saint Patrick's Day, lets get inspired with everything green.  i love this holiday, and not just because it represents my favorite country, Ireland.

a little history lesson, Patrick was born in Britain in the 5th century.  he was kidnapped and inslaved in Ireland when he was 16.  he escaped and returned home and studied to become a priest.  once he became a Bishop he said he was called by God to return to Ireland to save the Irish people.  he converted many to Christianity.  tradition says that he used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity.  wearing a shamrock or shamrock-inspired designs symbolized your devotion.

what a beautiful lesson.  so now on with a few of my favorite green things.  these, of course, are etsy finds.

Flight

Leaf Stencil TShirt

Sage Pixie Hat

Fleur Filigree Headband

Street Lights Feather and Button Clip

Lambswool Spring Green Marsh

Envy -  Flower Headband

WenchHussyFloozy Changepurse

Arden

In Her Rebelious Youth

Five Butterfly Vase Midori

Flying Sparrow w/Leaf Necklace

Hand knit Leaf Wrap

i hope everyone has a safe and happy St. Paddy's Day.

until next time...

monica

this old house

old house 1, originally uploaded by monica doyle schiller.

i love this old house. i took this photo in San Fancisco when my hubby and i visited his sister in april. we had the most fabulous time. if you have never been to SF i suggest you go.

until next time...

monica

i heart my toes

i looked at my feet today and realized that i have been ignoring them.  i guess thats what happens when you have a 4 month old.

i personally love my feet.  i think they are perfect.  i love my crooked toe that i broke during my Senior year cheerleading tryouts (which i made by the way).  i think it gives my feet character.

my toes are perfectly shaped.  my arch is so elegant.   is it wrong to brag about your feet?

i took this picture sitting in a roof-top bar in San Francisco.  i looked down and thought, "oh my, my feet are so lovely."  i especially love these shoes.  they are fabulous!  they go with absolutely everything.

don't worry, i don't have a foot fetish.  i just think my feet belong on the cover of magazine is all.  thanks for listening to my friday jibber-jabber.

until next time...

monica

team edward

oh the world of Twilight is oh-so-amazing!  yes my fellow friendly feathers...i am her.  that annoying girl that squeals with delight over compassionate/charming/sexy vampires and hunky werewolves.  the girl that imagines herself into the fantasy world of forbidden love.   (not the evil ones of course, just the love-sick ones found in teenage novels) 

                                          image from fan-pop

i read these books at super-sonic speed all right in a row.  of all people, my mom, turned me onto this saga.  i could barely contain myself as i had to force my eyes to slow down and not get ahead of my brain as i read. 

how is that an individual such as Stephenie Meyer can suck you in just like that?  i had to take a small break during the reading of New Moon.  my heart was bursting with emotion as i felt like i was living in Bella's shoes; writhing in pain because my beloved Edward left me. 

am i crazy?  am i a complete loon?  i know i am not the only love-sick-vampire-groupy out there.  yes i'm talking to all yall out there....you know who you are.

i have to say that i was not as impressed with the movies as i was the books.  of course i am obsessed with the printed word and love book clubs, books stores, and anything "book" related.  even my love of coffee and tea is just an eventful reminder of my devotion to books.  do i really drink coffee for its eye-opening characteristics? i think not my friends.  am i a lover of the kindle?  not so much....  the printed word is my escape...my own personal heaven. 

so thank you Stephenie Meyer.  thank you for giving me my heavenly escape.

until next time...

monica