Yellow House

Sorry for being MIA recently. Between moving and writing for NaNoWriMo I've barely got time to breathe!




I grew up in a little yellow house, so maybe that is why they seem so homey to me.

Now we are finally moved into our new yellow house here in Helena, Montana.

And right after we moved it snowed. A lot.

Nothing Says NaNoWriMo Like Moving House

I'm super committed to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year. I fizzled last year, having written something sad and pitiful like 4,615 words of Awake (quality, not quantity, people!) but I have redeemed myself by actually finishing the sucker once we moved here to Montana.

So, guess what I am doing November 1st? Kicking off NaNoWriMo here and on Indie Jane . . . aaaaand MOVING! Yes!

We are moving from our condo to a house. Still renting, but the exciting things are:


a) it's cheaper . . . mind-blowing.
b) it's bigger, although same number of bedrooms and only one bath, the downstairs is bigger than our whole condo.
c) it's got a yard, and that yard is FENCED.
d) we can paint the walls . . . pause for happy dance.

The cons are:

a) it's a WHOLE LOTTA work to move.

So wish me luck as I'm writing, editing, and packing like a mad woman this coming month. Only to be writing and unpacking like a mad woman in November! Yay!

What I Did For National Quilting Day and a Giveaway!

March 19th was National Quilting Day (it is the third Saturday of March) and as I haven't done any sewing in months (gee, I wonder why), and I haven't had a chance to set up my sewing stuff here at the new place yet I thought I'd at least start moving my fabric bins into the correct location.

I am planning to use this walk through closet for sewing . . . isn't it cute?!

It is also the hottest part of the condo because the heater is in a secondary closet inside it - yes, a closet within a closet! It is basically the walk through area between our bedroom and the master bath. The bedroom has a regular sized closet, and I just do not have enough clothes to need a large closet. My other problem is I don't have a table to put in here yet to put my sewing machine on . . . however, I have now moved all my bins and other paraphernalia into the closet/sewing room.

(Maddie and James rifled through my bins, wasn't that helpful of them?)

And in the process I managed to break my toe! Yes! Note to self: bare feet + pushing bins of fabric + door jam = extreme pain! This is not the first time I've broken this toe - you would think I would learn!

I have not been able to put on shoes, or go anywhere, or sew (also missing in the move seems to be my rotary cutter) since the 19th.

Also, I feel like I haven't posted anything sewing or crafty related in ages, so to make it up to all you lovely sewing gals, I thought I'd have a little giveaway from my stash (partially inherited) in honor of my new soon to be sewing closet and the fact that it is spring!

Up for grabs I have 1 yard and 2 fat quarters of this lovely spring-like fabric. It is from a 2006 line from RJR fabrics called Bungalow. I think it looks very California Craftsman and really pretty . . . I have two fat quarters of the pink flowers (with some green and yellow designs) on cream, and 1 yard of the green print.

To enter just leave me a comment telling me where in your house you sew . . . or your favorite thing about spring . . . or pretty much anything you'd like!

If you'd like some extra entries you can leave one comment for each of the following:

1. Follow my blog.

2. Comment on another post.

3. Follow me on Twitter.

4. Tweet about this giveaway, make sure to include @narniamum and a link to this post, you can use this wording if you'd like:

Enter to #win the spring fabric #giveaway on @narniamum http://bit.ly/gEk8ad

5. Share another way (blog post, email or Facebook status) just leave me a comment for each that you do!

I will keep this giveaway open until Saturday, April 2nd at 7:00 p.m. MST, and it is open worldwide, so everyone please feel free to enter!

This giveaway is now closed, thank you for entering!

Settling In - and a Giveaway!

We are starting to settle in here in Montana. I finally got to do a big grocery shopping trip yesterday (with two toddlers in tow, oh the joys!) and was a just a little bit shell shocked at the prices. It's also a little bit traumatic to be paying for fruit from California at more than twice the price I'm used to paying in California. Let me just tell you, I have taken oranges for granted my whole life.

I haven't had much time for decorating yet as are still getting furniture set up and organized - our living room is kind of a small, odd shape so the couches aren't fitting quite how I'd like them. The coolest part of our living room is this awesome fire place with a mantle and built in book shelves on both sides and a large space for a poster or picture highlighted by recessed lighting.

We haven't decided yet what to put up here. An option is to get Ed's reproduction vintage Disneyland poster framed and put up . . . it's of the original submarine ride (the plan is to get posters of all our favorite old school rides.) On the other hand it would be cool to have the mantle area free for holiday decorating, there are always cool mantle linkys around the net. But honestly, am I that on top of life? More likely I'd have St. Patrick's decorations still up in July. I also think it would be cool to have the vintage Disney posters up in Ed's office at church, so I am really torn.

The space is mocking me with it's blankness . . . I am sure we will feel more settled in once we've got stuff up on the walls.

Decorating a new place can be fun and intimidating all at the same time . . . who am I kidding, decorating a place you've been in for years can be just as intimidating! Are you doing any decorating? Maybe you need to breathe some life into an old room or add a new fun gadget to your kitchen? Well I bet you'd love to win $25 to CSN Stores to help out! CSN Stores is letting me give away a $25 gift code to one lucky reader and it's easy peasy to win!

Just leave me a comment on this post telling me what you would buy from CSN Stores (they have over 200 online stores!) if you won - and if you have any suggestions for above the fireplace you can hit me with those as well!

That's it! I told you it would be easy peasy!

If you'd like extra entries here are a few (please leave a comment for each entry).

1. Follow my blog.

2. Follow me on Twitter.

3. Follow CSN Stores on Twitter.

4. Tweet about this giveaway, please include a link to this post and @narniamum and @CSNStores in your tweet - or you can copy and paste this: Win $25 to @CSNStores - over 200 online stores to choose from! #giveaway on @narniamum http://bit.ly/fcH9AE

5. Comment on another one of my blog posts.

This giveaway will remain open until Wednesday, March 23rd at 7pm Mountain Time and is open to residents of the US and Canada. Thanks for entering!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks!

Oops, I zapped!

Moving is a lot of work.

Moving when you are sick is even more work!

So far since January we have had a cold, a new cold, the rotavirus, and now back to colds!

But we are here in Montana . . .

Getting settled in and figuring things out.

It's snowed three times, mostly just flurries that melt a few hours later.

I discovered that if you leave your laundry detergent in the car it will freeze. I mean it makes sense and all, I just didn't think of it.

It is so dry, our skin is itchy and our hair is standing on end. Everything you touch results in a mega electric shock - the crackly blue lightening arcing from one person to another type of static shock. We all look like Emperor Palpatine blue lightening the heck out of Luke Skywalker, except that we can't control it and it usually takes us by painful surprise. Maddie keeps saying "Oops, I zapped!"

And oh, happy day, I discovered yardage of my favorite ever Robert Kaufman print in the bottom of my fabric stash. This is the fabric I used for the Maddie/Jamie's crib bedding and I didn't think I had anymore of it. But now I am torn, use it for something or save it in case there is ever a baby #3? Cause I love it. Desperately love it.

Any opinions? Hold out for a baby? Make some pretty summer clothes (in white, yeah right) for Maddie? What else could I do with this gorgeousness?

Goodbyes

Just a reminder: today is the last day to vote for my story. Thanks!

Today is our last day in California.

Yesterday we said goodbye to everyone at church and to some really good friends.

Today I will say goodbye to my Grammy.

Tomorrow we will be 1,800 miles away.

I am excited to start a new life, but I am so heartbroken to leave my loved ones.

MIA

I have been totally MIA this past week. Both kids have had a horrible stomach flu, I've had a cold, and we were moving out of our place and in with my mother-in-law for our last two weeks here in California. I just cannot fully express the excitement of moving while your toddlers are projectile vomiting. Sick babies are the saddest things in the world - and the sight of poor Maddie hugging the toilet bowl was totally heartbreaking. Thankfully, they are doing a lot better the last day or so and have managed to keep some actual food down!

In more uplifting news: a week from today this is going to be the view out our front door.

Wow.