JerkCake

Mike's First Fathers Day!

2011-06-20T18:14:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Papa Bears first fathers day! Sadly he had to work but after that he took the baby bear to his fathers while I made dinner for him. I made burgers with onions, mushrooms, sweet baby rays bbq sauce and sweet potato fries. Mike requested dirt for dessert like his mom used to make so I threw some together. It felt like we were in elementary school again, so yummy and awesome!

Ivan has grown very fond of his blue elephant and he spends a good portion of his day chewing on it and giggling. We have the best baby!

day in the life of

2011-06-13T21:44:00.000-04:00

Here is an average day in the life of me.

6am- I have already been at work for 3 hours and have started to bake my bread.

7am- Specialty breads are done.

8am- I move on to the Italian bread and start to finish up my bake. It's Sunday so this bake is small and I get to go home after six hours.

9am-All packed up, doors locked and ready to go home.

10am- Baby Ivan is happy in his swing while I pick up the house.

11am- The little bear gets dressed on this chilly spring day and is all smiles for it.

Noon- It's nap time in the house, baby bear falls asleep in his bouncer and the kitties fall asleep with mama bear in the bed.

1pm- Showered finally and ready for our day! Working so early makes my day way out of order compared to normal peoples.

2pm- Dishes and cleaning up the house, I seem to do a lot of this.

3pm- Pack up the diaper bag and head out to run errands and shop.

4pm- I promise I'm not driving when this was taken.

5pm- Out to dinner with papa bear where Ivan enjoys munching on his blanket the most.

6pm- Bath time, last bottle of the day then off to bed for the mama and baby bear!

Dear Ivan, Month One

2011-06-06T14:58:00.000-04:00

Dear Ivan,

Your first month went by far to quickly. The second day in the hospital you got your first bath which you hated, once we got home you soon grew to adore bath time. We went home after 24 hours and your Grandma Laurie stayed the first few days with us. The first two nights were some of the toughest. I wanted so desperately to breast feed you but you just seemed so starving all of the time. After the second night of you not sleeping because you were hungry a nurse from The Birth Place came to check on us and it was determined that I wasn't producing anything for you to eat. She called it a crisis situation. Your doctor had us supplement with a little bit of formula hoping that it would just take me a bit longer, sadly I never produced more than an once at a time for you and we now have you on formula only. It was the last thing I wanted but you didn't seem to mind and you are growing like a weed.
This month you spent a lot of time napping with me and Papa Bear showed you off to everyone he could. We went every where with you and you loved traveling. The car seat and stroller was one of your favorite places. There was some trouble getting you to sleep because of gas but we got special bottles and all was fine. You slept in your pack and play right next to me or I would sneak you into bed with me when Papa wasn't there.

Nana came down to see you all of the time. The three hour drive didn't bother her at all and she would call every day to check on you. Grandpa Brett and Grandma Jean came to see you at least once a week and helped Mama when she was tired. The first person to babysit you was your Aunt Lindsey at three weeks while Mama and Papa went book shopping and to lunch. Everyone kept telling us how fast time was going to fly by for us and it really was true.

Ivan's Birth Story

2011-06-04T14:44:00.001-04:00

On April 3^rd at 1:02pm Ivan Joseph Dougher was born. This is the story leading up to that moment.

About a week before Ivan was born I started getting this really bad tummy ache that was really bothering me. Tuesday March 29^th was my 39 week midwife appointment and I told her about it, she told me to call her the next morning if it didn’t get better. Of course it didn’t so bright and early I gave the office a ring and went in to have a nonstress test. Turns out I was in early labor with contractions 5 minute apart, silly me I didn’t even know. After being checked out and them determining that I was only 2 cm dilated they sent me home to wait it out. The 3 block walk home really kicked my labor into the painful zone. Within 2 hours I was in a lot of pain with each contraction. I called the midwife and she had me come back in to check me again, no change. Cut to 10pm that evening, my Mom had drove down from her house 3 hours away and we had all basically sat around as I was in never ending labor. Finally I had to fall asleep. 5 hours later I woke up and wasn’t in labor anymore. I called the midwife as soon as she was in her office and she was totally puzzled and told me to go walk around for awhile to see if it would kick back in. Three hours of walking around the mall did nothing but make me sad and super tired. My mom went home that afternoon and Mike spent the next two days trying to get me to stop crying. I was a mess, after being in actual labor for so long and not getting a baby at the end I have never felt so defeated in my life.

Saturday April 2^nd I spent the day cleaning the house and watching the X-Files while Mike was at work. I had finally calmed down and accepted that the little bear would come when he was good and ready to come out. At 4pm I sat down to play on the internerd and I started having contractions. I totally ignored them . Mike came home and we went out to dinner with a gaggle of friend at our favorite restaurant the Coppertop. During dinner Mike started noticing that something was wrong, every few minutes I was getting this pained look on my face. I finally admitted that I was having contractions but didn’t want to do anything about it till I was for sure going to have this baby. After dinner we stopped by the store to get cat litter and a few other things for the house. In the middle of Walmart I declared that I was in labor and we had to “fucking get home right now”. Labor brought out the potty mouth in me for sure. At 10 pm I called the midwife to tell her and we went up to the hospital to get checked out and see what was happening. Still only 2 cm! We were going to be giving birth in this fantastic place called The Birth Place where they have big beds and everything is set up like a real home birth but with the wonders of being inside of a hospital. They wouldn’t admit us until I was 5cm so triage had me walk the halls till midnight. When the doctor checked me then I was sure she was going to send me home and tell me to wait it out. But guess what! 5cm! Off to the Birth Place we went!

Now I allowed Mike to call our family and my Mom to drive back down. Before I was afraid he was going to jinx it by telling anyone. I labored in horrible pain until my midwife came in at around 11am and broke my water, gave me the tiniest bit of painkiller she could and sent me off to relax in the whirlpool tub. I went from 7cm to 10cm in an hour thanks to that combination. After getting out of the tub and her checking me again the nurses told me I could start pushing. After 21 hours of painful labor I explained to them why they could push and I would be going home to nap. I had no urge to push like everyone says youre supposed to get. Sitting down made me feel super trapped so I had being walking around the whole time I was at the Birth Place so I was beyond tired and over it. Finally they convinced me to start pushing at 12:30. Everything was going great the first half, minus the horrible pain I was in every time I pushed, the second half Ivan’s heartbeat started dropping every time I had a contraction. Thanks to my fantastic midwife he came out and was just fine.

As soon as they set him on my chest I started crying harder than I have ever cried. I kept asking the nurses and the midwife if I could keep him, if I could take him home. I was in disbelief that this beautiful creature was mine! Ivan was perfect at 7lbs 2oz and 20in. He cried like crazy, turned bright red and wanted to breastfeed right away. Three things which made the nurses so proud! My mom and Mike were fantastic during the birth. My mom held one of my legs because I was so exhausted I needed help keeping them back and Mike talked me through it all. After a few hours of new family time with just the baby bear, papa bear and I our family started coming to visit. I will never forget sitting surrounded by everyone who loves us holding our son. Even Mikes Mother and Father were in the same room together and that hasn’t happened in about 20 years! I couldn’t have asked for a better birth story, my little man was worth every second of pain and exhaustion and I would do it again a million times if I had to.

post pregnancy excitement

2011-02-09T09:27:00.000-05:00

A list of things I am excited for after Ivan is born:

planting a garden in our former weedy side yard
building a new wardrobe that makes me feel pretty every day
going on long walks with papa and baby bear
eating every meal on one of our two porches
iced coffee. lots of iced coffee
brie. i am going to eat 10lbs of it.
taking a trip to local wineries.
sleeping on my tummy.
kissing squishy little baby hands.
taking durden outside on a leash. cats on leashes will never stop being funny.
riding my bike. favorite summer time thing ever.
swimming in oswego at flat rock.

It will be the best summer so far. I am so looking forward to sharing it with our new expanded family.

10 Goals for 2011

2011-01-05T05:08:00.000-05:00

Last year on my birthday I made a huge list of 23 goals before I turned 24. Life being as it is I got sidetracked by switching around jobs, moving twice and getting pregnant. Therefore those got tossed aside. This year I have decided to make some goals but a lot less and ones that were more general. It's funny how different this year is than last. Last NYE we went to our friend’s house and partied hard (which is super unlike me ever). We also lived in a tiny apartment with no dog and were just getting used to being back together after a 6 month separation. This year we were with most of the same people but it was a calm celebration around a kitchen table eating snacks and catching up with everyone. We are 27 weeks pregnant with our first son, living in an apartment that is over 2 times the size and I am working only part time while Mike works 3 jobs. With that sprit here are my 10 goals for 2011:

1. Read more.

2. Have a healthy and happy baby boy.

3. Write in cursive more.

4. Watch less TV.

5. Discover new music.

6. Spend tons of time outside on our 2 porches (yup our house rules).

7. Open an etsy shop.

8. Hand make our home into something I love.

9. Get rid of clutter. We could be on hoarders.

10. Take time to work on our relationship.

This list should be much easier and more fulfilling to check off at the end of the year when I look back. Plus everything is super positive for our life, there is nothing meaningless on it. With that I will leave you with a few pictures of us from before we left for the NYE get together.

Happy new year everyone,

Casey

Danzig in a bag.

2010-12-18T09:35:00.002-05:00

Danzig in a bag. She spent hours running and jumping in it. I will never spend money on one of those cat climbing things we will just save boxes and bags.

birthday celebration with the mom

2010-12-17T21:34:00.000-05:00

Today my Mom came down to celebrate my 24th birthday (which is Sunday) and Christmas with me. We had a fantastic time shopping, attempting to train my dog, eating a delicious lunch and opening presents. Since my birthday and Christmas are so close together I always get "Birthmas" presents from here. Which just means two times the normal amount of stuff all mixed together.
She gave me the little point and shoot camera I had on my wish list just in purple, a bunch of super warm nice socks (she buys me the things I love to own but hate to buy), a stocking full of awesome little trinkets, took me maternity clothes shopping and gave us some seed money to save up for a new mattress and box spring. A fine year if I do say so myself! I made her a bunch of things including granny square slippers and a big embroidery project to hang on her wall that I of course didn't take pictures of. Here are a few pictures from the day. Expect way more pictures now that I have a handy camera that I can carry around with me.

My step grandmother made Ivan a beautiful afghan.

All around a wonderful day. I love my family so much.

tumblr photo dump!

2010-12-10T09:06:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures from the last week or so in no real order. It has been snowing for a week straight here. There has been a lot of inside working on presents time.

holidays and tumblr

2010-11-29T21:41:00.000-05:00

First off I hope that everyone's Thanksgivings were great, or that your weekends were awesome if you don't live in the US. The holidays are always crazy around here because both Mike and my parents are divorced so there are FOUR different places to go and FOUR different families to spend time with. The amount of love is amazing but also very time consuming for this little mommy to be. There have also been a few days where I have been so worn out that I feel like I have a cold. Then I wake up and feel totally fine. Isn't that weird? I am sure it's just my bodies way of telling me to slow down.

After moving twice, starting and quiting three jobs, getting pregnant and dealing with everyday stresses life is hopefully going to slow down here for awhile. Our apartment is still all cluttered with our insane amount of stuff that we will never use. This week I am hoping to get it all cleaned out and then decorate for Christmas!!! Which is my favorite time of the year of course. Oddly enough I date the biggest Grinch in the world. This turns out amusing every year because I am always determined to overwhelm his bahhumbugness with Christmas cheer. And yes every year I win and this year I plan on doing the same thing!

Posting may still be a bit slow around here for a bit longer till things fully settle down but in the mean time I have been trying to post a photo or two on my tumblr which you can check out here if you would like. Once a week I will try to post all of them on here. Most of them are bad quality pictures from my handy little phone but it's a fun glimpse into my every day life. Here are a few that I have posted so far.

Hope all is well with everyone there out in blogland. If you are new to this blog leave your link so I can check out your blog!

xo,
Casey

holidays wishlist!

2010-11-16T20:44:00.000-05:00

The boy asked me to put together a list of things that I would like for my birthday and Christmas this year. I'm a Christmas baby born only 6 days before! Which sadly makes it harder on my family so I normally get a Christmas/Birthday present which is totally fine. I lovveee the holidays! So now here it is!

A nice point and shot camera, mine broke so it would be nice!

Or this lovely camera would be oh so fun!

I want these postcards to frame and put on my wall!

Various plugs from these guys! They make such pretty stuff.

I've wanted this paper doll set for my book corner forever:

There is a ton more on the actual list but I will spare you from all of it.

What do you want for Christmas this year?

xoxo,
Casey

Dallas Clayton

2010-11-08T16:43:00.000-05:00

The Papa Bear just called me downstairs to show me this awesome children book author that he found through one of his favorite skateboarding websites. His name is Dallas Clayton and this is some of this work.

We plan on ordering both of his books for the baby bear. Check out his website and buy his books here. Time for me to get back to cleaning!
-Casey

Its a boy!

2010-11-06T16:30:00.000-04:00

It's a boy! His name is Ivan Joseph Dougher. And if you were wondering the first image that comes up when you google Ivan is this...

And yes I find that very amusing.

Mike and I are so excited. He spent all of yesterday making up songs that consisted of "we are having a boy" over and over again. The ultrasound took forever and I am pretty sure that the lady doing it hated me and there will be bruises popping up any time now. She was irritated that he was hiding his little face behind his hands every time she tried to get a picture. Yup thats my boy!

Now it's time for laundry and Chinese food. Saturday evenings are exciting here!

-Casey

a letter to my 16 year old self

2010-11-05T02:33:00.000-04:00

Inspired by Danielle and all of the #tweetyour16yearoldself tweets I wrote a letter to my 16 year old self. All of the tweets would have been overwhelming. Sadly time travel isn't real because I really could have used this letter back then.

Dear 16 year old self,

I know things are hard and you don't think you can do it anymore. You can. In a few years you will be the strongest, toughest girl you know so just hold on. Don't let your parents bad decisions make you feel confused and angry because in the end you will love them more for it. That lady you never hear from, you know, your Mother. Some day soon she will step up to the plate and save the day, then she wont stop doing that for the rest of your life. She will start showing up, no more waiting or disappointment. Some day you will understand and learn from her mistakes.

Don't let boys get you down. You are beautiful and never fat and always better than them. I mean come on step back and look at the situation. In about a year you will meet one that will seem like the end all be all, you will fall in love and he will break your heart. But thats ok, it's part of what makes you stronger plus he becomes a waste case so don't beat yourself up too bad about it. I know it doesn't seem like it but you will find "the one" and the journey to figure that out will last roughly 5 years. It will all work out I promise. Someday you will be a happy little part time house wife who is 18 weeks pregnant with your first child. Just pay better attention when you go to Montreal. Get it? Yeah I know but believe me you both change alot and it works so well now, oh and yes he moves back to America so that helps.

Let them come to you. Both with friends and boys. The heartache from both will be horrible at times. Don't let them get to you. Don't be friends with girls named Sarah or Karen. If someone does something horrible don't put up with it. Stop lying. I know it's hard but someday you will not lie about anything and it will also get you into trouble but a lot less believe me.

Stay in school, go to class, don't go to Oneonta go to the community college. Never stop drawing, never stop painting, never stop taking photographs, NEVER stop reading. I know walking into a school just gives you anxiety, so just stop and take a few deep breaths, remember why you are there and how much debit sucks. Learn to bake from scratch it will blow all anxiety out of the way. Just give away most of the baked goods because yes you will bake that much. Don't take ap chem its way to hard you hate chemicals. Take ap bio you can legally get out of cutting up a cat I promise. Work so hard in high school it will be worth it. Plus you will regret how horrible you did in your last year forever.

One last thing. Always believe in yourself. You are a fantastic person with a million awesome ideas. Write them all down, take a lot of pictures. Enjoy every moment of your life because it will be awesome. You will learn to love everything you hate. Living alone will be the best part of your life, besides being pregnant, so cherish it. Don't be afraid of silence or new things. And remember I love you.

Can't wait till you're me,
23 year old Casey

boy or girl?

2010-11-04T19:59:00.000-04:00

or?

Tomorrow is the day! At 1:50pm we will be taking the journey to the doctor's office to find out if we are having a girl or a boy. We have picked out names for both and are split on what we want. Mikey wants a boy super bad and I want a girl. Come on have you seen some of the cute little dresses they have out there?! This evening I had some fun and took a few of those silly what are you having quizes
2 said girl and 1 said boy. Either way we will be so happy to see that cute little face on the screen tomorrow. Just like last time I am sure I'll cry so hard that the lady will have trouble getting a good picture, silly hormones! I'll hopefully get some time to update tomorrow! Wish us luck.

-Casey

16 weeks

2010-10-27T21:02:00.001-04:00

Week 16. Time is flying. Names have been picked out for both boy and girl. November 5th we find out! Feeling tired, getting some gnarly headaches and stressing about life. But all is well and I am so excited to be a mommy! We love out little baby bear already.

<3

by the lake

2010-10-25T22:23:00.000-04:00

Some day we will live by a lake.

viaweheartit.

love

2010-10-21T19:38:00.001-04:00

I have fallen in love. With a crib bedding set.

It's gender neutral enough for me!

Thank you Pottery Barn Kids!
xoxo,
Casey

mom's suprise party

2010-10-21T09:02:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month I drove up to my moms house which is 3 hours away. My stepfather Charlie had planned this big surprise party for her 51st birthday. She was slightly suspicious so I drove straight to their house about an hour before the party. This way she thought that I was the surprise. She was so funny when I just walked into the house in the middle of a Sunday, I wish I could see that look on her face more often! After we settled in we all drove to the place were her party was. She thought we were just going to dinner and couldn't figure out why Charlie was driving so slow, we left a bit early so he was stalling. The restaurant that the party was at is this old hotel in the middle of nowhere in the Adirondacks that is only open during the summer and fall but my mom loves it to death. When we walked in the owner, who is the cutest old lady ever, ran over and grabbed my mom and stared leading her out back. Now the mom knew something was out. Outside there were tons of tables set up with all of her friends and a tent with tons of food and cake. She was so surprised it was wonderful to see. The turnout was great, there were people there that she hasn't seen in 2 years! All in all it was a lovely relaxing evening and I am so glad I went.

A view from a stop on the way up. I've been told that I shouldn't drive for long periods of time without stopping and walking around. With this sort of view it's hard to be upset about it.

The mom and the cake.

The party towards the end when people had left. It was so nice out that day!

Crappy picture on the way home, but sooo happy!

In a few years we plan on picking up and moving up north that way. I can't wait to show up at my mom's house and have it not be a suprise!

xoxo,
Casey

new jobber

2010-10-09T14:07:00.002-04:00

Due to being all knocked up I have had some trouble at my job. Not like they are mad or anything. I just can't do my job anymore. Baking bread involves me picking up 50lb or more bins of dough for hours starting at 3 or 4 am. My doctor told me not to lift anything over 25lbs and I just couldn't keep up with the hours. After each shift I would feel terrible. Being that there was not another position for me to fill there I had to go out and find me a part time job. Guess where I found one?

JoAnn Fabric! All day I will be surrounded by fabric and crafty goodness. So excited! Plus we get free classes so you know I will be taking advantage of that offer! They even have part time insurance. I have to sit down and figure out if it will be worth it but if it is that would be fantastic! So far I have trained in the cutting counter and really loved it. The manager called me today to tell me that I will be mainly working there. It's a lot less like you are working a corporate job when you have your hands on the fabric all day and get to talk to customers about their projects. Plus you get to use these sweet little hand held computers. So fun.

I still won't be working full time so I am going to try to make some stuff to sell on etsy like I have always wanted to. Just have to narrow down all of my crazy ideas into something people will want to buy!

Happy weekend everyone!
-Casey

baby questions!

2010-10-08T18:44:00.001-04:00

Thank you so much everyone for your kind words on my last post. It means so much to me to know I am not alone. These hormones are killing me over here. It doesn't help that our friends aren't very supportive. They all seem to not be into the idea of us having a kid. Almost like it's going to make us less fun and they will never see us again. Which is not true at all! But oh well life goes on. We are happy to be starting a family and that is all that matters.

Now I need some advice. I have been doing some research on what we are going to need for the little bear. Our house is small so we don't want to end up with a million toys and bouncy chair things and clothing we will never use. So we are hoping to make a registry early so our family doesn't go too wild and buy us all of Babies-R-Us. They are all really really really excited about the baby and although we love them we just don't want them to go tooooo crazy.

What do the moms out there recommend getting? What couldn't you live without? And what did you never ever use? We are thinking about doing the gdiapers since you can do both cloth and disposable inserts and the disposable ones are much better for the environment. Anyone use those?

Thanks for your help! Any advice would be wonderful. We are rather clueless when it comes to all of this.

<3 Casey

scared

2010-10-06T21:56:00.001-04:00

I am so nervous to become a Mother. To think that I will influence someone's life so drastically is scary. So many things are always running through my mind. Mainly what if I fuck it up? It's not like you can jump in a Delorean and fix it. Luckly all of those fears are over run by how excited I am. So soon I get to cuddle a little baby that I made with the man I love. Picnics, learning to ride a bike, movie nights, reading cute little kid books, tea parties, cupcakes, and constant hugs and kisses. April 8th 2011 can't get here fast enough!

via weheartit

Parents out there were you this scared before having your first child?

Time for bed, night everyone!
Casey

What I have been reading. pt 1

2010-10-06T08:23:00.001-04:00

A few months ago I went on a trip up to my Mother's house. This lady has the largest book collection of any person that I know. So of course she sent me home with a million books to read! Here is a list of what I read over the summer. I will start with the first three now and then in a few days finish up with the last three!

I loved this book. It was a total tear jerker, my boyfriend thought I was dying at one point and ran into the room to check on me. At first I was afraid that it was going to be to lovey dovey for me, but it turned out to be just the right amount of loveyness. Oh and don't bother watching the movie after you read it. Like me you will just be angry.

Didn't read Twilight? Don't want to give in to the vampire trend. Don't worry there isn't a single vampire in this book. Stephenie Meyer's website describes it as "science fiction for people who don't like science fiction" and I couldn't say it better. Now as a firm lover of all things science fiction (and reader of the Twilight series, don't judge me!) I didn't even realize that this was science fiction for awhile. A fantastic book, readable even for people who hate her other stuff I promise.

When my mom gives me a book to read I don't read the description at all. It's fun going into a book not knowing what it's going to be about. With this one I got all sorts of confused for about the first half of the book as to what the hell was going on. Then I figured it out and realized that wasn't a bad thing. I definitively recommend this book if you are looking for something different to read. Brockmeir's writing was almost refreshing to me. After I had finished it I was excited that I had read it which is rare. Normally after finishing books I have to sit for a minute and think about what I just read. This one was like a breath of fresh air.

What did you read over the summer? Anything you would recommend?

-Casey

13 weeks today!

2010-10-01T22:30:00.002-04:00

"Your Baby in Week 13 of Pregnancy
What's up with your baby? Well, besides being as large as a peach now, that big old noggin of hers is now about half the size of her crown-to-rump length (that’s one reason why your little peach looks more like an alien from outer space at this point). By the time you give birth, her body will catch up, measuring three-quarters of her total size. What else is going on in there? Tiny bones are beginning to form in her arms and legs, the intestines are beginning to move from the umbilical cord to the abdomen, and the vocal cords are well under construction (the first step toward saying, "I love you, Mommy!"). And because she can move her arms and legs in a jerky fashion, she may be able to get her thumb into her mouth (a habit that may come in handy for self-soothing when she’s a newborn)." (from whattoexpect.com)

This week I am feeling pretty much the same. There is a tiny bit more pep in my step but otherwise still sleepy, and eating weird. I woke up this morning and Mike and I swear my tummy grew overnight. He is so funny, he will just stare at it all excited looking and say "my baby is in there!". I am so happy that he is just excited as I am. Most days he keeps me going when the tired moodieness takes over. I am so thankful for the life I have right now :)

xoxo,
Casey

i made sadie a crazy cat lady sweater!

2010-10-01T17:56:00.000-04:00

The poor little puppy is so cold! She is half toy poodle and half aussie terrier and whoever thought that was a good mix did not think it through. She has no meat on her bones like a poodle, unlike a poodle she does not have the right hair to keep her warm! Sadie spent the first two cold days hiding under a blanket, although cute it was sad so i made her a nice little sweater that looks like a crazy cat lady should be wearing it. She LOVES it. If she isn't wearing it and you pick it up she runs over to you and starts jumping up and down with excitement. Seems that I'll have to make her a few more, maybe even some little booties for when it snows.

We are having a bit of trouble with training her. The lady we got her from would leave Sadie in her kennel for 10 hours a day and only took her outside 3 times the whole 6 months she had her. Where did she go potty you ask? She goes on a piddle pad. And yes, it is very hard to train a dog to not go on a training pad. We also think that she was beaten before we got her. Anytime you raise your voice, use a negative tone or pick up a stick like object she gets really scared and runs into her kennel. I couldn't imagine the kind of person who would hit a 5 pound dog who constantly looks sad anyways!

Hopefully in the next few months we will get all of this worked out. For now we will love her with all of our hearts and show her that she will never be harmed again.

I love you Sadie!
-Casey K

best news ever!

2010-09-29T08:26:00.001-04:00

I have some very exciting news to shout from a mountain top. Waiting to tell people this has been the hardest task ever. I am horrible at keeping my own secrets. Now that we are in the "safe part" I can do what I want!

We are 12 weeks and 5 days pregnant with our first child!

The ultrasound from 9 weeks 6 days.

Both Mikey and I are beyond excited. Everything seems to be working out. We moved for the second time in two months about a month ago into a town house that has two bedrooms. Best part is the rent is still the same! Our last apartment was a fancy Victorian apartment with 15ft high ceilings and all original woodwork and such. This one is in the carriage house behind it and is a normal apartment so rent was all the same, same landlord even so we didn't have to put down a new security deposit!

Every week I am going to try to post whats going on with the baby and how I am feeling. I'll start it off with week 12!

Week 12-

"By now, your baby weighs a full half-ounce and is about the size of a large plum. Most of his systems are in place, though there's still plenty of maturing to do. For one thing, his fetal digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements necessary for eating, and his bone marrow is busy making white blood cells — weapons against germs once he's out of your safe haven. The pituitary gland (at the base of the brain) has started producing the hormones that'll enable him (or her) to make babies of his (or her) own in a couple of decades or so"
(picture and quote from whattoexpect.com)

So far I have been crazy tired. I have a lot of trouble getting off the couch or out of bed most days. When I heard about this symptom I never imagined that it could be this bad! But I'm getting through it by telling myself that the apartment will get clean and organized soon and not to push myself too hard. My doctor and every book I have read keep telling me that I should be getting some energy back soon so some stuff can get done!

As for food I have been off and on again nausea (one week was really bad in the beginning). All of the foods I normally love totally gross me out. I went from eating super healthy to only wanting to eat anything that I ate when I was 8 years old. Baked ziti, tuna noodle casserole, sloppy joes, ham sandwiches, ranch dressing and hot dogs and mac & cheese. What is wrong with me! I can't make food either. Cooking totally grosses me out. Can't even get near raw meat. Lucky for me Mikey is a super good cook otherwise we would be screwed haha.

I'll try to get a belly picture soon! Our point and shot is broken and Mike can't figure out the rebel but it will come soon. Hope everyone is well.

-Casey Kirkland

going all natural... well mostly

2010-08-09T18:09:00.001-04:00

The other day after getting sick of using so many chemicals on my body all of the time I went out and bought this little facial kit. It's sold in Target and it's called Yes To Tomatoes. There is also Yes To Cucumbers and To Carrots. The Tomato is for oily/combination skin, cucumber for dry and carrot for normal. After using it for a few days and doing the mask once my face already feels so much softer! Totally did not expect this! I've been breaking out really bad lately so I'm hoping that it helps me out with that after a week or so.

This product is 99.4% natural and a lot of the ingredients are organic. Now that I have tested out something that is not filled with harsh chemicals and ingredients I can't pronounce I am thinking more about how women these days just bathe themselves in unnatural weird chemicals all day long. It can't be good for us can it? We wonder why there is all of this cancer and horrible stuff going on. Look at what we use! From here on out I am trying my hardest to stay away from anything that isn't mostly natural. I realize that in some things I use it just can't be avoided, so no setting unreachable goals. As a former hair dresser saying no to hair spray will be a challenge. Maybe just for special occasions. I've already cut down on makeup and hair styling products. For makeup I wear some light cover up, a powder and mascara. And for my hair I use Paul Mitchell's Super Skinny Serum to help protect my hair.

Do any of you know of some good natural body products, or hair products? I would love to hear what you have used!

-Casey

back at last!

2010-08-08T00:47:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! So sorry about the extended absence. I had planned a little blogging break for when I started my new job as a chef but then things just got crazy and the break got extended in order for me to keep my sanity. The past few weeks I've been meaning to come back but had nothing to really push me. Then I read Danielle over at Sometimes Sweet's post about why it's important to her to document her life and I realized some day this really could come in handy to see my daily ramblings. The past few months I haven't written anything down and took only 2 pictures! Ek! What a large gaping hole in my life. Now I promise myself to write a blog at least every other day and take a million more pictures. Time to dust of the 18 million cameras I have and actually use them.

So here is a quick round up of whats been happening this summer while I've been hiding from the internet.

-I started a new job.
-I promptly left that job.
-I went back to the bakery and love every second of it.
-My friend Emily gave me some new hair.
-The boy might be joining the navy.
-We MOVED! Now we live in this awesome apartment in an old Victorian house.
-We might be moving into a bigger more awesomer apartment at the same place within the next month.

There are a few more way exciting things to share in the near future! But you have to wait. That's part of the fun.

A few more things to look forward to:

-A tour of our current apartment. It's amazing.
-Millions of pictures of Sadie. She grew!
-Some new recipes and lots of food pictures.

On that note I shall leave you with the only two pictures of me from this summer. The first is on the Fourth of July with Emily and the second is of me and a puppy my dad babysat. She was bigger than me.

xoxo,
Casey Kirkland Johnson

opening day set!

2010-06-09T09:19:00.001-04:00

Hello blogosphere! Wow I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted anything. Everything is going super well. The restaurant is looking fabulous, my kitchen is spotless, we just passed our health inspection and best of all we have an opening date! Sunday June 20th Laci's Tapas Bar will be open for business. We are doing a fathers day brunch as our first day! How fun and cute it will be. Finally I am comfortable sharing all the info with you guys. My lack of posting was a) I have been so busy I can barely breath and b) I just wasn't sure when to share more info with the world. But now that there are dates and menus set all is well. If you wanna see some pictures and the menu sneak peak check us out on facebook and our website.

Today we are making our whole brunch menu to test it and play with it. This is such a fun process! I promise this weekend I will sit down and write a lot more about what has been going on and post pictures. I hope everything is going well out there!

Lots of love,
Casey K

hi guys

2010-05-18T16:53:00.000-04:00

Just checking in to say hi to everyone! This week is all working doubles to get the restaurant nice and clean and ready to go! All while still working at the bakery, phew! Thursday is my last day at the bakery. It will be sad and awesome all at the same time. Of course I'll cry, it's me thats what I do. Hope everyone is having a wonderful time.

I shall leave you with some cuteness:

(all via weheartit)

xoxo,

casey

working hard not hardly working!

2010-05-14T15:10:00.000-04:00

Ah hello blogland! I know I have been busy lately and not posting much. But lets be excited for when I get to share all of the pretty pictures of the new restaurant and awesome food. Here is what I have been up to lately. A lot of this:

Working on the new menu!

Of course working on my kitchen! I used to just have the little black shelf thing then the other day I got the silver one. Wow the difference having all of that storage space is incredible. Plus I love the look of the silver. Almost like it's a professional kitchen!

Look at what I found thrifting the other day, it's supposed to stick in your lawn but I don't have one so in the new kitchen it goes!\

I rearranged the wall near Mike's desk so that he could have a white board. Now I can write him cute notes for when he comes home from work! And also leave him to do lists haha.

Back to working on ideas! I promise I'll be back soon!

xoxo,
Casey

P.S. SIX DAYS TILL I'M DONE AT THE BAKERY!

mommy visit

2010-05-11T14:56:00.001-04:00

Hi I'm hommmeee! I do wish I could be back at my Mom's hanging out in the pretty house in the wonderful woods reading awesome books. Sigh. Look at these pretty pictures of her new house she is in the middle of building:

We had the best mothers day of laying around, making meatballs and spaghetti and ice cream with a ton of chocolate syrup of course! I can't wait to go back and see her again. We are so alike its awesome!

Have a great day everyone! Time to put away these 12 loads of laundry we did this weekend. Ek!

-Casey Kirkland

flustered

2010-05-07T21:27:00.000-04:00

Lately I have been very flustered. With the job change, things at home aren't so great and just never being able to find time to get anything done. So I'm going to change things. Tomorrow I am leaving for my Mom's house until sometime Monday. It's going to be so refreshing to not have any contact to the world. My cell barely works there and she has no internet. My time will be spent hanging with her, helping her work on the house and doing mass amounts of laundry. When I get back things will start changing here is my little list of what to do:

Go through my stuff and throw/give away anything I don't use
Color my hair (already done as you can see above.)
Do a week long detox. (I'm thinking the master cleanse)
Get back into my going to the gym/eating right routine
Put all of my ideas for the tapas bar into one binder so I stop getting confused

I'm so excited for change. I handed in my two weeks yesterday at the bakery. It's so surreal to think that in less than two weeks now I will no longer be working there. Can't decided if I am nervous/scared/excited. A little of each I think.

Well I hope everyone has an awesome weekend. If you need to get a hold of me just send me a DM on my twitter. Those go straight to my phone. Otherwise I won't be able to check anything until Monday!

xoxo,
Casey

p.s. that's what I look like without makeup. Not much different haha.

blueberry filled lemon cupcakes!

2010-05-05T09:31:00.001-04:00

These are the finished cupcakes I made last night. Blueberry filled lemon cupcakes! They are so yummy. I suggest you all get up from you computers right now and run to your local bookstore to pick up this book.

This is where I got the base recipe from. And of course added my own weirdness to it! That's the fun of baking. After you buy that book go and buy every other book that Isa Moskowitz has ever written. Ever.

Enjoy,

Kirk

this wine is so good

2010-05-04T18:39:00.002-04:00

Today has been awesome! I woke up and got a whole ton done involving the new job. Lots of looking up our awesome house wine and pairing it with our menu, and just basically learning about it. Then I went down to the tapas bar for a meeting with my new boss about the menu and it went so well. Tons of exciting new foods and yummies. I can't wait to start! Now I'm sitting here working on more menu stuff and sipping a glass of the wine we will be serving. Life is so good right at this moment.

Oh and I'm waiting for my lemon cupcakes to cool so that I can fill them with blueberry goodness and frost them! Ah!

Sadie is hanging out in her new favorite place. (this picture isn't so great because my lens is broken! oh no!)

And later I'm going to work on my current crafting obsession. A super annoyingly bright colored afghan. It's going to clash so well with everything!

Have a wonderful day everyone.
<3
Captain Kirk

so sleepy

2010-05-03T00:48:00.001-04:00

These past few days I've been working a different shift at the bakery. Get here at 10pm and leave at 5am, it's totally throwing me off but I love being here all alone. Tomorrow I plan on sleeping in forever. Normally I don't let myself sleep in but every now and then we all need a good long sleep. Then one more night of a weird work shift and a few days off that will be filled with finishing painting my kitchen and puppy cuddles.

Time to finish the bake!
<3

formspring friday

2010-04-30T15:40:00.001-04:00

This past week I have gotten a few questions in my formspring. Thought I would share them with you! Also thank you to people for the kind comments. I love you all. You have no clue how much it makes my day to read them. These are a lot of fun to answer. It's things I never thought about haha. If you would like to ask a random question of me my formspring is here!

Q: what would you say, is your best quality?

A: My best? This one is hard. I would say how honest I am. Many people would disagree, it can be taken as rude and awkward. I am also super loyal, I'll defend my friends too the death if they are honest and good people!

Q: I think you're so inspirational! Who/What is your biggest inspiration?

A: Awe thank you so much! I'd say my biggest inspirations are just our everyday things. Movies, music and art. Plus lately I've been looking at a lot of interior design that has been getting me so excited! I do a lot of my creative thinking while cooking or baking.

Q: I'm so glad I stumbled across your blog! When did you decide to become a baker? xx

A: I am also glad you stumbled across my blog! There was no real decision to become a baker. Ever since I was knee high to a grasshoper I have wanted/needed to bake. One day a friend needed someone to work at his bakery and here I am! I'm about to venture on and add Chef to my title also.

Q: Have you seen the This American Life television show? Don't know if you have Netflix, but both seasons are available to stream. I'm a huge fan of the podcast, too! by adaiha

A: I haven't seen it but I am thinking about getting netflix just to watch it! (update- I got netflix and watched. So awesome thank you for telling me about it!)

Q: What were you like in high school? Like, did you go to prom and what not? by CourtneyBruesch

A: Oh man I was so weird in high school. An art kid of course. I skipped almost every class but english and art. And yes I went to prom, I wore a black dress with white polka dots and elbow length red gloves. I still have the dress!

Q: Why are you so awesome? by CourtneyBruesch

A: I asked my Mom this and she says it's in our genes :) Thank you <3

fun little survey

2010-04-28T21:19:00.001-04:00

This was fun! Crystal from windshield diaries tagged me to do this fun little survey!

3 names I go by:
1. Casey
2. Kirk
3. Punky (from my Dad ugh.)

3 jobs I have had:
1. Head Baker
2. Hair Stylist
3. Sales Lady

3 places I have lived:
1. Syracuse, NY
2. Brooklyn, NY
3. Cazenovia, NY

3 fave drinks:
1. Water
2. Green tea frappuccino yummmy
3. Coffee

3 TV shows I watch:
1. Bones
2. Lost
3. Weeds

3 places I have been:
1. San Diego, CA
2. Montreal, QU
3. All over Florida

3 places I would like to visit:
1. Southern France
2. Portland, OR
3. Seattle, WA

3 fave retro TV shows:
1. Saved by the Bell
2. Pete and Pete
3. Are You Afraid of the Dark?

3 fave dishes:
1. Cheeseburger from the Coppertop Tavern
2. Burrito from Moe's
3. The special chicken salad thing they make me at Pastabilities where I work.

3 things I am looking forward to:
1. Starting my new job.
2. Picking berries this summer!

3. Maybe Chicago this fall!?

3 people I am tagging:

1. Chantilly from My Girl Thursday

2. Courtney from you will. won't you?

3. Mama Ventura from Unkamama

cupcakes and smiles!

2010-04-28T13:46:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Mikey and I went to this cute little cupcake shop called Cupcakes and Smiles. We have been trying to go here for over a year and luck has not worked out for us! But here we were. And we came home with some yummy treats indeed! Red Velvet, Chocolate Raspberry and Very Vanilla. They were so yummy. If you live in the area you must check them out. Here is their website.

Have a yummy day!
Casey Kirkland

p.s. Thoughts on buying baked goods off of etsy? I have been thinking about doing it just for fun. hmmm.

New Job?!

2010-04-27T12:30:00.001-04:00

So everyone I think it's about time for me to be able to talk about were I will be working at the end of this month. Had to hold back due to the internet being public and everything. Do you ever forget that literally everyone can see what you write? I do alllll of the time haha. Ok so I mentioned a bit ago about Tapas. Well at the end of May I will be Chef at a Tapas Bar opening in Syracuse. It's in this amazing old building so right now they are working on cleaning it up, painting and getting everything ready! I cannot wait until everything is up and running. Being apart of something brand new and getting to see it build up and change is going to be so awesome. Plus the food we will be making sounds so fun! Lots of pretty little plates and yummieness! And it gets better! How you say? The hours I will be working. Instead of 3am it's 3pm!!! Ah! Like a normal human being! Words cannot express my excitement. I'll make sure to post lots of pictures when we are open of the food and the building. And Cindy one of the owners things it might be haunted. My favorite thing ever is an old haunted house. Man I am getting so excited just writing this!

In other news. My kitchen at home is coming along slowly. This past weekend I got the new dishes and this week I plan on painting the cabinets and hanging things back up. I think next week we are getting something like this:

Just a basic metal shelving unit from Target that we can fill with dishes, baskets of goodies and of course my Hello Kitty waffle maker that is now in hiding. A few other things I want for my kitchen are food plushies. Super cute and will add some nice color to the room. Here are some that I found in my search.

little loves from mypapercrane

a zombie tea bag and coffee mug?!

Ah I cannot wait for this to be done. It really needs to get nice out again so that I feel motivated to paint. Currently it's cold, gray and SNOWING outside! Ah it's so not fair to have this weather in almost May. Anyways time for the gym! I hope the weather is better where you are!

xoxo,

Kirk

cake recipe and thrifting

2010-04-25T20:48:00.001-04:00

Hello again everyone! First things first. There were many requests for the carrot cake recipe, so here it is! Mrs Paula Deen gave me the original one that you can find here! When I use a recipe I make sure to take it and make it my own as much as I can. Little touches like adding some applesauce, taking away oil and of course I add real maple syrup to everything because my mom has her own company! My favorite trick is to take all the good stuff and add way too much of it. Now I don't mean add more sugar or flour if you like those, that will throw off the chemistry of it, things like chocolate chips, nuts and any sort of filling are totally fine to add more. Make sure to use fresh of everything and go have fun!

Summer is one of my favorite times of the year for one major reason. The Sunday flea market! Today my friend Emmy and I went for the first time of the year. We didn't find much but what we found were for sure winners! There was this one guy selling nothing but old weird trading cards. Emmy picked up 2 sets of New Kids on the Block and I got one of those also plus a pack of The Last Action Hero cards! What?! They made those!? Yes! They did! And now I own a set!

The only other find of the day was huge. Not in size but in awesomeness. Check it out. A mug that will protect you from getting any liquid or foam in your MUSTACHE! And yes I did make the boys try it and they say it's perfect for just that! No fear little mustaches you are now safe from getting wet when you are at my house!

Really this weekend was a great time for stuff getting. My Mom handed down her pots and pans to me. They are so much nicer than my old ones plus they're this pretty deep red color! I also went shopping and got a cast iron skillet, nice wooden spoons and a timer shaped like an egg.

I'll admit it, getting new stuff makes me happy. I am a stuff getting for sure. Did you guys get anything cool this weekend?

Time to go hang out with the animals.

xoxo,
Casey Kirkland

mmm carrot cake!

2010-04-23T11:37:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was a stressful day. So I made a cake. Finally the perfect carrot cake recipe.

I have a firm belief that cake makes everything better. Baking calms me. What do you do when you have had a stressful horrible day?

my favorite podcasts!

2010-04-21T13:00:00.002-04:00

So I have been listening to very little music lately and a whole lot of podcasts. There is something about learning while doing something that is just so awesome and fulfilling. Two of them I listen to the most lately are This American Life and Stuff You Should Know.

This American Life with Ira Glass always seems to make me cry. No matter what, but I guess that's not really hard to do. Every podcast they pick a topic and do a few stories under that. This past week was "babysitting". So many stories, so awesome. Plus look how cute Ira is!

Stuff You Should Know from howstuffworks.com is amazing! This one basically picks a topic every week and tells you all about it! From ninjas to how dogs perceive time. I now know so much information thats to this. Sunday I learned about high fructose corn syrup. Um... yuck. From this podcast I found the story of Howard Dully. At the age of 12 Dully received a transorbital lobotomy and luckly he lived to tell the story of how it has changed his life. This story is totally awesome. You can find out all about it here at NPR, or he wrote a book titled My Lobotomy. There is also a podcast of it, just search "my lobotomy" or "howard dully" should work also.

Dully getting the lobotomy! I can't believe that they got a picture of it. How horrible these were. You should definitely listen to the podcast about lobotomies.

I need this book!

Ah the life of a nerd. I love it.

love,

Casey Kirkland

a late jumpstart for the week of 4/19/10

2010-04-20T12:06:00.000-04:00

Yesterday totally got away from me. All of a sudden it was bedtime and I hadn't done a few important things, like the jumpstart I like to do every week to keep me focused and inspired. So a little late but here are some things that I'm digging this week:

-I made it through Indie Business 2.0! Yay for everyone who did also. So much was learned. I'm glad it will be up for a year so I can go back and relearn it all.

- This adorable website called The Layer Cake Shop. Go visit it, they carry such cute things as these that I need!

I haven't made cupcakes in forever. I think today might be the day. Carrot cake perhaps?

-The other day I ran around my local craft store looking at all of the amazing scrapbooking stuff. Now I have never really done this. But I think I just might give in a start a scrapbook myself. Any advice for a beginner? It's such a good excuse to buy pretty things such as this:

(find here)

- I want to plan a roadtrip to the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago this year. I'm sure the guy will be down. Then I can save up alllll summer and buy EVERYTHING there!

Now I just have to get the guy to agree to go with me!

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Love and kisses,

Casey Kirkland

i love food

2010-04-18T22:58:00.001-04:00

So I bought this book yesterday. It's wonderful. Lately I have been super into cooking, and Italian food is of course the best (but not that great for you). This book takes all of the yummieness of Italian food and makes it a bit healthier. Plus throws some awesome desserts in there, lemon ricotta cookies anyone? They are amazing! Just recently I started eating meat again, which means I get to learn how to cook meat now! How fun, I just love learning. Does anyone have any good recipes of their favorite dinner dishes? Baked macaroni and cheese from scratch will be made this week along with some roast beef and greek burgers. And yes I could talk food all day long.

Speaking of food. There is a Mexican restaurant near Syracuse called Boom Boom Mex Mex that we have been hearing about for years. "It's the best food ever", "It's so awesome blah blah blah". Tonight we went to finally try it out... umm not so much. An hour wait for refried beans, dry pork and all around flavorless food. Hopefully we just went on a bad day and normally it's way better. Otherwise everyone we know who loves it is absolutely mad. What I would do to be in San Diego eating at Pokez right now, no kidding the best food I have ever eaten in my life. I refuse to stop talking about it even though I haven't had it in four years!

In crafting land, I have made a few cute little creatures this week but can't share them yet! They are getting mailed to some special ladies and I don't want to ruin the surprise!

It's my only night off this week so I must go enjoy it. Have a good weekend everyone, Sadie says she loves youuu.

<3
Casey Kirkland

my oops prints!

2010-04-17T13:00:00.003-04:00

So I promised that I would post what prints I got from this post the other week. And finally here it is! I love them all. She even threw in the cutest little Christmas card. Don't you just love them? I can't wait to get frames and hang them every where!

I think my favorite is the grumpy girl saying "stupid fuck". That is so going in the bat cave!

Back to work,
Kirk

kitchen update slash new blog buttons!

2010-04-16T18:36:00.001-04:00

What another fast exciting super busy week! Today is actually my Wednesday so I guess I should say week so far. Oh well! So I snapped a few photos of the kitchen in progress. It's not anything great now but you can get an idea of the color change, the blue and green are the new and the gross yellow and purple are the old. A few years ago when I moved into here I got a little too excited and went out and bought the cheapest paint I could find just so that I could do some painting in my very first apartment! Little did I know that super cheap flat flat paint looks horrible no matter how cool the color combo is. I didn't ever bother taping anything off or finishing it. You can see where I took the blue and went over the line a lot, that's just me going over the bad paint. Next will be cleaning all that up with a white paint.

Excuse the mess. Mid redecorating over here!

Oh man did I luck out with the paint. I stopped by the Home Depot to check out the opps paint situation and hit the jackpot! 5 gallons of the new super nice paint that is also a primer in the pale blueish green color that I wanted came home with me! Normally a five gallon bucket of that paint would set you back $150 and I got it for $15!!! Can you believe it?! I also got a few more gallons of colors that will work perfectly for the rest of the house. I am so lucky with this paint thing!

Another awesome thing that happened this week. The lovely Courtney over at you will. won't you? made me some blog buttons! Yay they are so cute! I can't wait till she gets the stuffed monster I sent her! If you would like to add one of my new buttons to your blog just let me know and I would be happy to add yours to mine!

Tomorrow and Sunday I have to work. Yucky yuck. Lucky me I get to work with my guy both days. Big things are happening on the new job front. I'll give you a clue, have you ever heard of a Tapas Restaurant? If not click on the link and it will give you a fairly good overview of it.

Off to work on a cute pillow I am making. I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!

xoxo,
Casey K

why my dad is totally awesome

2010-04-14T11:16:00.001-04:00

I love my parents. On Monday I went out to my Father's house in Sheds, NY. Yes there really is a place called Sheds. His neighbors are Amish and I like to call it Scotland because of how pretty the rolling hills are. My Dad is the coolest, he taught me about welding and I helped build a race car trailer while I was there. He is the craftiest thing, he even made my bed and a lot of the furniture that is around my house.

Him welding the trailer.

His dog Suey. She is so pretty and the best to snuggle, look at all of that fluff!

This is the headboard he made me. I love love love it. It is way more filled now and will continue to be as time goes on.

In the summer of 2006 my dad went on a motorcycle ride for his birthday. All of a sudden a huge storm swept across our area without much warning. My father got caught in it and tried to get home but as he turned a corner a tree fell, swung and knocked him totally off his bike. The only reason he survived was because he was wearing a full face helmet, a jacket with a built in chest protector and thick leather chaps. His whole upper body was crushed and had to be rebuilt. The hospital told us they had never seen arms broken that badly but the doctors did some gnarly surgeries on not only his arms but a deep cut on one thigh, his tear duct and his shoulders. I am so proud of him for fighting through it all and now being able to do something like work on a race car. Most things take him longer and he has to figure out ways to do things differentially than he used to (he couldn't turn a door knob so he had to get special ones) but he makes the best of every thing and has never stopped creating awesome things and working as hard as he can.

(He had me sneak and take these pictures on my phone, the nurses yelled at me but he wanted them for later to look back on. I agree with him.)

I couldn't ask for a better father. He has lived through so much and I am so proud of him every day.

In a few weeks my Mom is coming down for a baby shower and to be awesome like she always is. I'll do a big why my Mom is awesome post then for sure. Parents are the best I hope everyone goes and hugs their Dads and Moms today!

xoxo,

Casey

kitchen makeover/jumpstart!

2010-04-12T18:11:00.001-04:00

Hi blog friends! This past weekend was super busy with Devon's birthday, Mike got tattooed and I started my apartment makeover!!! The kitchen is the first room to be getting a huge face lift and yesterday I got the biggest chunk of it done, painting the walls. Today I am going to do the trim and over the next few weeks there will hopefully be a new table, cabinets painted, pretty ceiling hangings, new lighting for over the sink and some new storage. I can't wait to show it to you all! I'm going with an outdoor them, sky blue walls with brown and forest green trim. Here are some pictures that are inspiring me!

(these are found here)

(via weheartit)

I want people to think of this music while they are in my kitchen.

Coeur de Pirate || Comme des enfants from Dare To Care Records on Vimeo.

Here are some awesome things that I MUST have in my new improved kitchen!

(found here)

(found here!)

A fun cake stand!

(via weheartit)

Ek I am so stoked! Then after the kitchen is the rest of the apartment! Endless possiblities.

xoxo,

Casey Kirkland

happy birthday little guy!

2010-04-09T09:06:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to post a real quick Happy Birthday to my friend Little Devon! Happy Birthday little guy! Now go check out his band here, and the pictures I took of them this past fall here.

Loves,
Casey

oh hai I ramble

2010-04-08T20:05:00.001-04:00

Phew what a week so far! Things are moving by so fast as of late. It's hard to stop for a minute and remember to enjoy it all. The past few weeks I have been into the idea of redecorating my apartment and making it even more awesome than it is now. There will be painting, taking pictures down and putting them back up and making sooo many awesome things. Today I worked on fulfilling my new goal of having a million pillows and blankets, all handmade. Household items that are handmade are just so much better. You can feel the love and hard work that was put into them every time you see them or snuggle up to them. When our friends and family come over and stay or just hang out I want them use a blanket crocheted by myself, or a pillow that I sewed so that they know how much I love them!

Haha my rambling is done for the moment. You get the point. So here is a pillow I finished for my guy a few weeks ago and just never got around to posting the pictures. The bicycle stencil I got from Sublime Stitching. Jenny Hart is amazing, go check out the interview over on A Beautiful Mess that was posted today. There is a link in the interview to some indie business advice that Jenny has given but I just wanted to double check that everyone interested reads it here!

On to the sharing of my surprise new job. Can't tell just yet! It's recently dawned on me that internet land and reallife land mix together some times so once I can share I will. But let me tell you, I am all wiggly giggly about what might happen. But something fun in the meantime! I took some pictures of the bakery that I work at. Enjoy!

That's where I got at 3am to make mass amounts of bread! Yum Yum. Lately we have been getting into a lot of other things such as huge cookies, mini bunt cakes, regular layer cakes and all sorts of fun treats! I wish it wasn't so dangerous to take my camera to the bakery, but with my luck something terrible would happen. Oh well! I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Talk to you all soon.

xoxo,
Casey Kirkland

look what I bought!

2010-04-06T10:54:00.006-04:00

Epp I am so excited! I bought this print set from Courtney Oquist on Etsy last night. It's five different prints that she accidentally cut the borders too small, but I really don't mind that at all. She picks out what five so it's extra exciting because you don't know what ones you get until they are here!!!

You must go check out her work she is wonderful. Here is her shop.

Have a good day everyone! I'm off to meet with the potential new job. If all goes well I will fill you in later.

xoxo,
-Casey

week of 4/5/10 jumpstart!

2010-04-05T22:30:00.000-04:00

Yay it's spring! Ah doesn't it just make you feel so inspired? Here are a few things this week that are inspiring me.

I wish we had trees like this in Syracuse.. Ah so pretty.

via weheartit

Um... why don't I own these?

(buy them here!)

These cards from The Regional Assemly of Text are so cute.

So a few months ago I bought a sampler of Mod Podge but haven't used it yet due to not knowing how. I found this blog the other day and now I think I am ready to tackle the stuff!

This is the school I'm looking at going to. Their art program is one of the best ones at a community college. So excited! Just gotta figure out stuff with grants. They even have this cool program called Arts Across Campus.

And last but never least. My love for Alexander Henry fabrics will never end. Check this cute one out!

(find it here!)

Have a good evening everyone!

-Casey

a lovely easter

2010-04-05T15:58:00.002-04:00

Hi blog friends! How was everyone's Easter Sunday yesterday? I hope it was as lovely as mine was. After sleeping in we woke up and I got to slip on my new favorite dress that Mikey bought me in Florida. I love it!

Then we were off to his Aunt's house for an amazing lunch. There are 5 aunts and they all made food that we can actually eat! Mike and I are both vegetarian so it can be hard at family get togethers. There was amazing quiche, homemade cinnamon rolls with the yummiest frosting, waffles and bagels! Needless to say I ate way to much.

This week is hopefully bringing some awesome stuff. Tuesday I am going to check out what might be a new job, and Wednesday I'm going to the local community college to see about maybe taking a few classes this fall! How exciting!

xoxo,
Casey Kirkland

A few things

2010-04-03T19:25:00.001-04:00

A few things you may not know about me:

- In real life I have a huge potty mouth.
- When I get really really excited I jump up and down and squeel like a little girl.
- All of my cats respond and come to their names. I am told this is odd.
- I have the name of my rabbit Jellybones that one of my old roommates stole and killed ( long sad story, I'll spare you) tattooed on my toes.
- One of my biggest pet peeves is the sound of fingernails scratching dry skin.
- I can't sit still for longer than 45 minutes unless I have something to do with my hands.
- When I am thinking really hard I touch my pointer finger of my right hand to my chin.

I'll be back tomorrow with awesome news about a new job!!! And a proper post. For now I shall recover from my 12 hour work day.

xoxo,
Kirk

homecoming

2010-04-01T19:37:00.000-04:00

Coming home was wonderful! I came home to a wonderfully awesomely cute package from Michelle over at MeeshOneStudio! She knew that I have an obsession with all things Elvis and found this cute little charm at her house, threw it on a chain and sent me the cutest little package!

I love it so much! Plus she sent Sadie some doggie chewies that her and the cats fight over haha. There couldn't have been a better way to come home last night!

<3,

Casey

On my way home!

2010-03-31T21:36:00.001-04:00

I am in the airport in Charlotte waiting for our next flight. Just wanted to check in and say a quick hellloo to everyone. I can't wait to catch up on everyones blog and let life get back to normal. Vacation is nice but I love my daily habits.

Off to board!

xoxo,
Casey k

happy days

2010-03-28T22:03:00.001-04:00

Vacation is:

-holding hands

-not blow drying my hair

-turning my computer and ipod off for days at a time

-giggling

-yummy food

-knowing life will return to normal

-getting to know the person i love even better than before

-warm breezes on sandy beaches

-the history channel while falling asleep

-love and family

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. This blog will return to it's normal schedule will return this weekend when I am back. For now if you would like to see some pictures check my flickr page.

xoxo,

casey kirkland

p.s. I am thinking about having someone do a blog makeover for me after I get back, does anyone have a friend or someone that they would recommend?

ahh vacation

2010-03-26T21:37:00.001-04:00

Hello friends! Today was the first full day of our time in Florida. We spent the first part of the day driving around seeing sights and trying to get to know where everything is. There is a sketchy yet awesome flea market that even had puppies at it, a million beaches and even a zoo! Tomorrow we are going to a go cart slash put put golf place that looked totally gnalry. And of course the beach!

After driving around we came back here and chilled out for a bit. Then Mikey and I took the car and went on a little date. We played on the beach for awhile acting like silly children, it was so fun and warm. I think this trip is really going to bring Mike and I together even more. For dinner we went to the cutest Japanese vegetarian restaurant called Healthy Garden. It was amazing, if you live in the area you have to go. Home like atmosphere, delicious food and the best customer service. I had fake pork and veggies stir fry with fried rice, plus it came with a salad and a small bowl of miso soup. All for less than $9! Mike had fake chicken with teriaki sauce and veggies. His was also super yummy. We ended everything with homemade green tea ice cream! All in all a wonderful day. Now we are gonna curl up and watch lost and sleep for a million hours.

Here are some pictures from our playing at the beach. Go here to see them all.

Have a good evening,
Casey K

I'm in Florida!

2010-03-25T21:44:00.000-04:00

We finally made it. Two days full of riding in the car, eating gross junk food and reading. All together we listened to some fun crime novel but I also finished two books!

Normally I am a little reading bug but lately at home I've been so busy crafting and doing all the little things I do that I haven't. Dude. Two books in one day. I am so proud of myself.

Off to enjoy my vacation!

xoxo,
Casey Kirk

off to florida i go!

2010-03-23T17:29:00.000-04:00

Ah! So in less than 24 hours we will be on the road heading to Florida! I can't wait. Thankfully one of our friends are going to be here so the kittens won't be sad without us. And little Sadie May is going to stay with her Grandpa. Awes. Everything is almost set, bed at 730pm, work at 330am, leave for Florida at 10am! Ah!

Too bad an owl won't deliver my mail.

(images via weheartit)

So lately I have been way into the idea of having a pen pal(s). I have never had one! If anyone would like a snail mail treat while I am on vacation just email me your address! My email is jerkcake@gmail.com.

Have a great week everyone! Get ready for lots of traveling and vacation pictures! Check out my twitter for updates of the fun.

xoxo,
Casey K

GIVEAWAY WINNER!

2010-03-23T13:02:00.000-04:00

Durden helped me pick out the winner today...

and he picked...

kevi/rae from oh, kevi! yay! Leave me your email so that I can get your shipping info lady!

That was a lot fun everyone thank you for entering and telling me your favorite books! There are a few I need to check out.

I'm off to pack now. I'll be back later!

<3
kirk

week of 3/22/10 JUMPSTART

2010-03-22T18:40:00.000-04:00

Hi internet pals! Today was a roller coaster. For Christmas Mikey got me an Ipod touch, which I used every day all day for everything. So earlier today I had been cleaning and went to go used it after a few hours and guess what... IT DIDNT WORK. None of the buttons would let me touch them, the screen wouldn't respond and it wouldn't connect to the internet. Of course I am very calm and mature and didn't freak out... not. We ran straight to the apple store and after an hour of standing there they gave me a new one! And I swear this one is better quality. We got ours at best buy and they were okay but this one feels much sturdier and the writing on the back is gold and not white. Even a few of the settings seem different to me. Needless to say I am excited, but all of my apps and pictures are gone which is a super bum out. Are there any apps that you guys like that I should download? Now onwards! Here is my little list of things that are getting me inspired this week:

1) Another reason to love NPR, they are streaming the new She & Him album until it comes out!
Listen to it here!

2) Flowers, I am so jealous of everyone who has a yard.

via wehearit

3) I have a solution to my no yard problem! I am going to make tons of paper and fabric flowers and hang them from the ceiling all around our apartment until Mike starts to get mad haha. Check out this one fabric flower DIY I found over at Once Wed

4) Our apartment is also very dark all of the time. And I'm sick of it in here. So we are going to rearrange the living room and paint it a semi glossy white. Right now it's a matte off white tan color that makes it so drab in here. Then all of the crazy colors we have in here will POP. I'm excited.

both via weheartit

5) I found this amazing holga set on flickr today. So dreamy.

6) I am currently in the process of putting a little tiny bit of green in my hair. I had it last year yet somehow didn't take any pictures of it. Oh well. I love different colored hair, if only I could pull it off the way Kayhlah from The Dainty Squid does!

7) Another amazing set on Flickr. So creepy. Love it.

8) The beach? 2 days until we leave? Need I say more?

fdsa

Have a lovely week everyone! P.S. today is the last day to enter the giveaway!

xoxo,

Casey K

my loves

2010-03-21T21:12:00.001-04:00

my lovers
Originally uploaded by jerkcake

Horrible cell phone quality but I love my nephew and my puppy.

late diy: Vegan Irish Stew!

2010-03-21T09:50:00.002-04:00

This weekend has been crazy just with getting ready for our vacation! Here is the promised recipe for Vegan Irish Stew. The original recipe is from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robert Robertson but we hacked it up and added our own stuff, but do check out that book it is fabulous.

You will need:

A slow cooker or crock pot

It will take:

4 to 5 hours on the high setting

6 to 8 hours on the low setting

It will serve:

4 people

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion

1 1/2 cups baby carrots cut in half both ways

6 potatoes, cut in half or quartered

2 garlic cloves minced

15 oz. can or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups veggie stock

1/3 cup white wine

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons tamari

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups fresh baby spinach

1 package Tofurky Kielbasa

a bit of olive oil

2 table spoons of corn starch

Let's make it!

1) Heat some olive oil in a pan, chop up the onion and add it to the heated pan, cook until softened (5 minutesish).

2) Throw the onions into your slow cooker. Add the carrots, potatoes, garlic, beans, stock, bay leaf, wine, tamari, salt and peper and give it a good mix.

3) About half an hour before you are all done throw the spinach in there.Then mix the corn starch in slowly, one table spoon at a time making sure it is well mixed before you add more.

4) While the spinach is cooking put some olive oil in a pan, cut up the Kielbasa and then fry it up intil it is just starting to brown.

5) Once you are ready to eat add as much Kielbasa as you would like and enjoy!

Crock pots make the world a better place! Enjoy this as much as we do. I'm pretty sure Mikey could eat it ever day and not get sick of it.

Love,
Casey Kirkland

dreaming of sand

2010-03-19T19:27:00.001-04:00

Only five days until we leave for Florida! I'm right at the brink of screaming "oh my god I give up already!" and sitting here waiting till we leave haha. Luckily I have Lady Gaga and pictures of the beach to distract me.

Oh and this set on flickr... Cornwall. Why aren't I there right now? Has anyone been? Ah! I am so in love with all of the pictures of there. I shall leave you all for now. Ill be back tomorrow with a yummy recipe for vegan irish stew!

Kirk

P.S. Remember to enter my first giveaway! You could win this:

happy spring!

2010-03-18T19:40:00.000-04:00

Today was a good day. Mikey and I took Sadie to the park to run around because it was almost 70 out! How crazy is that?! After we visited some local shops that we have been meaning to stop at for awhile. About 4 blocks down from us it turns out there is an amazing little craft slash handmade gift slash art store it's called Craft Chemistry and it was sooo stinking cute. Turns out there is a very small disorganized crafting community in Syracuse that I never knew about! How wonderful. The owner (I didn't catch her name) told me about how every 3rd Sunday of the month they have little craft circles. Sadly I can't go this Sunday but next month I am so down! Maybe I will get to network with some local artists and crafty people like I have always wanted too.

Spring is making things look amazing already.

xoxo,
Kirkland

WIP

2010-03-17T20:26:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone! Happy St Patrick's Day to you all. Thank you to everyone who has entered the giveaway so far. It's going to be so fun, hopefully I can do them more often. Here is a little sneak at the painting I have been working in my spare time. The Indie Biz class and training a puppy seems to be taking up alot of my time lately. But of course I am totally cool with that.

In other news, the gym has been going great. My clothing is starting to get real big on me and I can officially fit into a dress that was all sorts of tight on me before. I can't wait to reach my target size and buy a million pretty dresses. Old Navy has some super cute ones right now...

Getting in shape feels so awesome! I just need to stop cheating and eating cookies. Silly bakery makes it so hard for me! Do any of you have a healthy snack food that you like? I need some new ideas bad. Other than fruit, Cara cara navel oranges are the best things ever. Off to bed. Ek! I just realized how late it is (830pm haha)

Good night everyone!

-Casey

PS remember the giveaway below, sorry I'm going to be super annoying about this all week :)

my first giveaway!

2010-03-16T13:34:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to show you guys my first giveaway ever. Yesterday I traveled around the city to all of my favorite places to find little things that I love to share with you guys! Because I appreciate all of the wonderful comments and followers. Every time I get a comment it brightens my day (ask Mike it's true!). So thank you so much for reading I love you all. Here it is!

-Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

- a vintage copy of Stephen King's Pet Sematary

- The Last Action Hero with Arnold Schwarzenegger on VHS

- Army of Darkness with Bruce Campbell on VHS

- An awesome vintage Nautical Needlepoint Kit that has everything you need to make a cute little whale picture.

- A cupcake cellphone case made by yours truely.

- A pretty little hair bow that I thought was super cute.

This is basically a bit of everything that I love, crafts, books, and VHS tapes (soooo much better than dvds, you should see my gnarly collection). Just so you know the little baby pirate and the plant are not included. That's just the table they hang out at all day. Ok here are the rules:

- One entry if you are a follow this blog. The little google follow thing is on my right sidebar. Leave a comment on this post telling me you are a follower and what your favorite book is!

- One entry if you repost about this on your blog/twitter/facebook, make sure to leave another comment on this post so you get counted twice.

- One entry if you add my button to your page, make sure to again leave a comment on this post telling me so that you get counted again!

I am going to keep this open until Monday March 22nd at 8pm! Then I will announce the winner the next day and mail it all out the 23rd then the 24th I'm off to Florida for a week. Remember to leave separate comments on this post. Email me if you have any questions jerkcake(at)gmail.com! Here are some close up pictures of everything.

xoxo,

Casey Kirkland

week of 3/15/10 JUMPSTART

2010-03-15T19:37:00.000-04:00

1) I really want to learn how to make my own books. This sketch book is so awesome.

(find it here!)

2) There is something I have to confess. My super weird love of Lady Gaga. I know I know it's super trendy right now but I can't help it.

via weheartit

3) The lovely Maria posted this video the other day. It's so inspiring you all must watch it.

4) I really want to try out water colors. One of my friends recommend me trying these. Anyone try it?

(find them here!)

5) These amazing Alice pictures. So dreamy.

6) Sadie needs one of these. She would looooveee it!

(find it here!)

7) This wedding is amazing, the girls mother made her dress and her cake! How amazing does this look?

(find the amazing wedding at this amazing blog)

8) If only I had a bunch of money to buy new dresses for our little trip (less than 2 weeks away!) this is what I would buy:

all at modcloth.com

Exciting things happening this month! Can't wait for my vacation, my first one since I was probably 15 or so. Plus I got some awesome treats for my first ever giveaway tomorrow! Expect that around early evening. Have a wonderful night everyone!

xoxo,

Kirk

ps

2010-03-14T21:40:00.001-04:00

I think if I had to pick one thing to watch for the rest of my life it would be this. I'm not kidding. It makes me laugh so hard that I stop breathing.

long week!

2010-03-14T20:38:00.000-04:00

Finally! Tonight is my only night off from the bakery this week. I'm going to get crafty and cuddle the pups. This week is going to be fun. Tomorrow is shopping for cute stuff for the giveaway I am going to do this week! Tuesday I will be posting everything about that. I hope everyone's weekend was great. There was a St Patrick's Day parade downtown where I work and it was a crazy crazy day. Too many drunk people wearing green for this girl to handle.

Off to work on my blanket. Talk to you all tomorrow.

xoxo,

Kirk

I am so in love :)

2010-03-13T01:45:00.001-05:00

Today was a much better day. We got things done very quickly at work so I got out early, all the chores are done. I made amazing veggie chili and cornbread followed by my favorite cookies (see diy below). Plus lots of cuddles with Sadie. She is settling in so well! Hopefully this weekend will be filled with Mikey and Sadie cuddles!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

night night,
Kirk

DIY Friday: Cowboy Cookies!

2010-03-12T18:37:00.001-05:00

These are the cookies I remember from my childhood. My mother handed this recipe down to me when I was 18 and after only a few changes here it is for you to enjoy!

2 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup regular sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup shortening

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups oatmeal

12 oz chocolate chips

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2) In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together until blended.

3) In a large bowl cream the regular sugar, light brown sugar and shortening until smooth and fluffy.

4) Add the vanilla and then the eggs to the large bowl one at a time and mix till just blended.

5) Mix the dry ingredients into the wet in three batches.

6) Fold in the oatmeal, then the chocolate chips until just blended.

7) Use a teaspoon to drop cookies onto the sheets.

8) Bake 8 to 15 minutes, until the edges are firm but the middle is still a bit soft.

9) Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.

10) Enjoy with some milk and a loved one!

xoxo,

Casey Kirkland

p.s. Let me know if you make them!

silly life

2010-03-11T18:35:00.000-05:00

Today I am very overwhelmed. My to-do lists keep growing and growing and it seems that there just isn't enough time in the day to do anything. By the time I really get into something it's already time for me to go to bed. There are only two weeks until we go to Florida and there is so much to do before that! I just want to hide in my room with Durden and Sadie and read a Harry Potter book. But instead I have to clean up the dinner mess, shower, work on my indie biz workbook and put away clean laundry all in about... an hour. My real job seems to be getting in the way of what I really want to do!

I'm sure that there are many people out there that also feel this way. Sorry about the bummed out post. Life just sneaks up on you sometimes eh?

Hope everyone has a very wonderful and productive night!

Hugs and kisses,
Casey

works in progress as of today!

2010-03-10T18:15:00.001-05:00

I really enjoyed showing everyone my works in progress last week so I'm definitely going to keep it up. Along with a few other things, the Monday Jumpstart and starting this week a little DIY Friday. I love keeping a pattern and this will keep me blogging and recording my progress.

Here we go! As of this week I am working onnn...

The painting from last week has only been touched once (opps!) but I promise myself this week I will finish it.

Here is the crochet afghan I started last week. It is super wide so I have a feeling it will be done by... well by the time its cold again haha.

A giant painting I have been working on for a month. Some day painting I will finish you.

And of course what's taking up most of my time is the Indie Business Workshop! I am learning so much I can't wait to get started on everything. It's totally fine that other projects are going a bit slower because of it.

That's all of this week. Hopefully next week there will be a bit more progress. Tomorrow I'm going to post a few finished things and Friday some super yummy cookies that I have been making since I was a kid!

I shall leave you with some wiggling Sadie love.

xoxo,
Casey and Sadie (yes I'm that lame.)

Meet Sadie.

2010-03-09T18:40:00.001-05:00

Meet the newest edition to our little family. Her name is Sadie May Dougher and she is half terrier and half chihuahua. The picture makes her look way bigger than she is because she was closer to the camera. Sadie is 6 months old and loves balls and sitting on Mommy's lap.

Last night I went out to a ladies house to visit a puppy I had found on craigslist.com. Not hopeful at all after the last time I tried to meet a dog (it HATED me). Right away I knew this was supposed to be our dog. She was super excited to meet me, played lots of catch, crawled up in my lap and gave me a million kisses. Needless to say she came right home with me. The lady was nice enough to give me her kennel, all of her toys, the blankets she slept on, an unopened bag of really good dog food and a bunch of those piddle pad things.

She is soooo excited to be here. The cats are slowly getting used to her and she is slowly getting used to them. Mikey is still a bit scary to her at times. But if I was a tiny little dog a 6 foot big man with a beard would make me nervous too. I can't wait to buy her clothes and get her used to walking outside. She is barely socialized and gets a bit nervous when meeting new people, but she is young enough that we can ease her into it still.

Expect many many pictures of our little love. We gotta catch her sleeping or something so that you can see her better. She wiggles so much!

xoxo,
Casey Kirkland

Welcome!

2010-03-08T11:52:00.001-05:00

It seems that in the past few weeks this blog has obtained quite a few new followers (thanks to Indie Biz mostly). I just wanted to take a moment to say hello, welcome and thank you for reading! Go ahead and leave a link in the comments, I would love to read everyone's blog!

Let me properly introduce myself, my name is Casey Kirkland Johnson and I am 23 years old.

Syracuse, New York is where I currently call home, but I grew up about 45 minutes south of here in a small town called Cazenovia. One of those little towns that looks like it belongs in a movie. I share my home with my wonderful boyfriend Mikey, and our 3 cats Durden, Danzig and Mustache.

I am an avid collector. As my mother would say I am a "stuff getter". On my many shelf's are books, fabric, toys, comics, Elvis trinkets, owls, records and plastic toy cameras. If it's old and creepy I probably have it.

For a living I am the head baker at a bakery in downtown Syracuse called Pasta's Daily Bread. There we bake our signature bread called Italian Stretch Bread, foccacias, specialty breads, giant cookies, brownies and various other treats

On my off time I am constantly doing some sort of craft. Painting, crochet, sewing and any sort of home improvement. My greatest dream in life is to take all of those and squish them into one. I want to open a bakery/cafe filled with amazing coffee drinks, baked goods, art and handmade items. Where the decorations are handmade and it feels like a place you could sit for hours with your friends talking and sipping tea. In this blog I like to record new things I learn, what I am working on and fun things that happen during my day.

The next few months should be very exciting, a trip to Florida, Indie Business 2.0, tons of new art and hopefully a new puppy! Spring is bringing amazing changes and I can't wait to share them with everyone! Plus it's about time for a giveaway. Since I never win them (horrible luck with that sort of thing) I want to give someone else the chance to! But more on that later in the week.

It's wonderful meeting you all. And again. Thank you for sharing my little part of the blogosphere with me.

xoxo,

Casey Kirkland

50 followers?!

2010-03-07T21:47:00.001-05:00

How wonderful! I just hit 50 followers today. Thank you everyone for sharing my little part of the blogosphere. This week I'm going to do a mini biography post so we get to know each other. Feel free to leave your link to your blog so I can get to know everyone.

Talk to you tomorrow!

xoxo,
Casey Kirkland

xoxo,
Kirk

weekend in pictures

2010-03-07T13:38:00.000-05:00

This weekend I have been working in here

Cut my bangs

Saw (and totally loved to death) this

and have been listening to this

A wonderful weekend. Now I have 2 more days off! How was your weekend?

xoxo,

Casey

works in progress!

2010-03-03T20:14:00.001-05:00

I think a fun thing to do from now on is to show what projects I am working on once a week. This way I can look back and see how I have progressed. Perhaps on Wednesday.. I think so!

Here's my main project I have been getting started. It was started as a sketch before I got sick but today I got it onto the final paper and started painting! Also a fun way to see my setup when I paint. Basically I take over the living room haha.

There a few other small things I am just starting to figure out, like a heart blanket! Next week I should have a solid start on that and maybe a finished painting (better be done by then!). I am terrible at finishing things so this should be just the thing to spur me on and hold me to finishing!

I shall leave with a parting aweee picture of Durden sleeping on Mike's dirty clothing while I painted. He is the best.

xoxo,
Casey

Kitchen Pegboard DIY!

2010-03-02T18:04:00.000-05:00

Finally! I am gonna post all of the projects that have been getting done around here over this week!

This one was super easy for how handy it is. The ever so lovely Julia Child inspired this one, gotta love her.
It's so easy! Here are the steps so you can also have an awesome pegboard:

1- Go to your local hardware store and buy a pegboard, hooks and fun holders for your pegboard, spray paint in your favorite color, screws, anchors for the screws if you don't have a stud to screw into and these handy little things called spacers to create space between your wall and the pegboard.

2- Get your pegboard home (they sell them normally in 3ft x 4f but I had them cut mine there). Break out the spray paint and go to town!

3- While that's drying figure out where you want to put your pegboard (find the studs if you aren't using anchors) and mark where you want everything!

4- Go grab your dry pegboard and spacers. When you screw the board to the wall put the spacers in between the board and the wall to create space for the hooks!

5- Throw your hooks and hangers on and get organizing!

And that's my spaz attack DIY! Hopefully you will end up with something that looks like this!

Yay that was fun! Anyone else have a good way to organize around the kitchen?

xoxo,
Casey

week of 3/1/10 JUMPSTART

2010-03-01T20:24:00.000-05:00

Ah can you believe its March already?! Only 24 days untill I am off to Florida!

As for the surprise I was so excited about yesterday... it didn't happen. We were supposed to come home with one of these:

BUT when we got there at first everything was fun and he was sooo cute and loved us.. then about five minutes later he got super mean and started attacking me! Snapping at me and bitting me! It was horrible. No animal has ever hated me before. We tried everything to see if it really was me. I even feed him chicken and it still was a no go. Least to say I left in tears. It took Mike the rest of the night to calm me down. We are gonna continue our search for now. Hopefully a little love will be in our near future.. one that doesn't hate my guts for no reason.

Off to more positive things!

I got my first dress pattern this weekend and some pretty floral fabric. Can't wait to get started! After the one I got at Joann I think this one will be next

found here!

The next afghan I'm going to make after the one I am working on right now is going to be similar to this one

via weheartit

This week I'm going to take this awesome DIY that Elsie did and use it on my handy little sketch book!

found here!

Ummm.. can someone say adorable?

via weheartit

Last night this movie warmmmmed my heart when I was all sad.

Off to bed for me! Have a good week everyone! This week I am gonna catch up on all of the little projects I have been finishing and working on.

Night night,

Kirk

feeling better!

2010-02-28T17:57:00.002-05:00

Oouuff. Finally I am feeling better! Yay! Spent the day cleaning and trying to regroup myself. Being sick always throws things off. Tonight Mike and I might be coming home with a surprise. If we do I'll be super super excited!

xoxo,
Casey

I hate being sick

2010-02-26T18:02:00.000-05:00

I have bee super sick all week. This is the first time I have gotten up the energy to type. Yuck. There was a giant snow storm here yesterday my car got stuck in the snow at five am which was totally awesome. Not. Ugh. Sorry for the bummed out post I promise some happy stuff and painting progress when I am all better. Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,
Kirk

silly picture time

2010-02-24T01:30:00.001-05:00

I tried to get Mike to take a normal picture of me but we were giggling so hard it didn't happen :)

Can you tell how small our apartment is? The super low ceilings. It's like it was made for me. Everything is also super crooked.You can set a ball down one place and it will roll to the middle of the apartment every time!

At least we got a funny one of Mustache and I. Isn't he huge?!

xoxo,
Kirk

IM GOING TO FLORIDA!

2010-02-23T19:11:00.001-05:00

Everything got finalized today so I am super excited. Mike and I will be riding down to Florida with his mom on March 25th and then flying back six days later on the 31st! I AM SO EXCITED. I haven't been on a vacation like this since I was probably 15... and I'm 23 now (I refuse to do the math of how long because it will sadden me). This is so amazing. I am so thankful for Mike and his mother for making this happen. There was a little accident with my taxes this year and I ended up having to pay money when I thought that I was getting a solid amount back. Luckly Mike is the sweetest boy ever and is not only paying for fun things while we are there but has offered to help me with bills if I can't get my vacation pay a few months early. Plus! Yes it does get better! His mom is paying for the tickets to fly us back! This was all a total surprise to me the other day, I had no clue they were even talking about it. I'll never be able to think of a way to repay them, this vacation is coming right when I need it. Right when I am so close to breaking down, quitting my job and becoming a hermit.

We are going to be staying in Cocoa Beach with Mike's grandmother. I googled some images of it and well... I am so excited!

Look at that skate park!

ahhh excitement!!! I need to go get a bathing suit and film! Ek!

xoxo,

Casey Kirkland

week of 2/22/10 JUMPSTART

2010-02-22T23:15:00.000-05:00

This week I'm going to do eight things that are inspiring my current project!

1)

found here!

one of my favorite childhood books!

via weheartit

kurt halsey. always love.

kurt again. amazing colors.

Have a wonderful week!

painting process/ my weekend

2010-02-22T09:30:00.001-05:00

Ah Mondayyyy. Weird how excited I am that it's Monday today! It's probably because today is my only day off and yesterday was a horrible day. For some reason I got ignored all day long. No one was doing it on purpose but it just happened to work out that way and it was my only night off and I was exhausted so I went into super brat mode for a bit. If I admit it that makes it ok right?!

Today will be better. Lately my mind has been in 8 million places at once. I want to create but I didn't know what medium to do it in. Crochet is super fun but doesn't allow me to tell a story or express myself the way I need to. Photography requires me to buy a lot of equipment and go outside in the New York winter. No thank you! So in reading my current book (The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp) she was talking about your "creative DNA" and how if you stray from it what you create just won't be right. She had this little questionnaire that I then filled out and then thought about it for a few days. What it comes down to is my first creative impulses were drawing and painting. I love it. It just made sense to me. Then what happened was in high school all of my friend and everyone that I thought was cool started doing photography. When your a weird art kid in high school that all of the cool kids have made fun of for years and then you see an opportunity to fit in with a group sometimes you jump on it. I'll admit it, I've given into peer pressure and such in my life. Really I know we all have at least once. Anyways... Now I have tried all of these fun creative things, sewing, crochet, knitting, printing, photography, graphic design even a short musical attempt (I am super tone def) much of which I can use in the future. You better believe I will never stop doing crochet or sewing.

Now I just have to pick myself up and start over again with painting. It won't be hard I have everything I need in the house, plus I never really put down my brush. Already I have a super fun series that is in the works. It's going to be 4 8x10 paintings. The whole process I go through will be posted here. That's the best part I think! Saturday I got the perfect sketch book that's already bursting with inspiration and sketches! The process I generally go through is this:
- get a general idea of what I want to do through music, art and my weird brain
- gather a bunch of things that inspire me for this project and paste them in my cute little sketch book so I have them all in once place
- do the preliminary sketches of what I want to do and the colors I want to use
- do a sketch the actual size of the work
- transfer the final sketch to canvas and go to town!
I am on step two right now, know what is going to be done and getting other inspiration and writing down ideas!

Sorry for the rambling! I am bursting with green tea yogurt and granola and way to excited about all of this. Congrats if you read it all. I shall leave you with a cute one of my favorite person (tied with Mikey) my nephew Caleb!

xoxo,

Kirk

cutesy weekly date night

2010-02-20T20:21:00.001-05:00

It was cutesy date night with my man tonight. We try to do this at least once a week.

This is my favorite pin I have. I try not to wear too much hello kitty stuff because people already thing I'm twelve (I'm not kidding I have no clue why people think I'm super young, I have a haunted house tattooed on my chest... haha). But this pin is just too cute to pass up! It's actually two pins :)

For some reason I love how dark our lighting in the bedroom is. Mike hates it. (Look at how messy my bed is!)

Off to sleepy time. Work at 5am ughhh.

xoxo,

Casey

happy casey!

2010-02-19T19:56:00.001-05:00

I love this picture. I wish I could remember where I found it but it's been on my computer forever. I have been finishing so many little projects around the house that I had half started but never got around to. This weekend I'm going to take pictures of everything done so far. On this list is my first full sized granny square afghan, a bathmat for my cute little bathroom, two pegboards, tons of stuff in the bat cave, drawings and hopefully a painting!

Finishing things makes me feel so good about myself! Also my body is starting to get more fit now that I've been going to the gym and eating better. I can feel my back and tummy shrinking and getting stronger. Not a huge difference yet but just feeling healthier is so amazing. On the list is to cut out eating anything at the bakery while I'm there. Working at a place where I make bread and cookies for a living makes it so hard but I've cut down already a ton. Becoming vegetarian really helped also. No more heavy red meats in burgers, cheeseburgers are my favorite. Now its all tons of veggies and fruits and whole grains. Even Mikey is eating so much better. I don't think I would be able to do all of this without him. Having someone there to support you and remind you not to eat that ice cream is so helpful. And when he says "We shouldn't eat that" I know he isn't being mean. I love my workout buddy!

I love feeling this content. I hope it lasts forever!

xoxo,

Kirk

P.S. I think I may be getting this print for our kitchen this weekend!

formspring anyone?

2010-02-18T21:15:00.001-05:00

Ah yes I have jumped on the bandwagon.
http://www.formspring.me/jerkcake
Click on the link or go to the top right side of my blog! Yay!
This should be fun!

xoxo,
Casey

I'm back!

2010-02-17T17:24:00.001-05:00

I'm back! Went on a little hibernation there. Sorry about that! I had a wonderful long weekend filled with heart shaped cookies, many dates and lots of love. At the bakery we made tons of heart shaped treats for Valentines day!

brownie cupcakes!

cream cheese sugar cookies filled with wild berry jam!

cream cheese sugar cookies with buttercream

Sorry about the camera phone pictures. I refused to take my nice camera into the bakery due to all of the dust and yucky stuff!

Valentines Day this year was the first year that I really enjoyed it. In the morning I got up and made a pegboard thing for our kitchen (pictures to come later). Then I cleaned and crocheted until Mikey got out of work at 2pm. We spent the day shopping for new skate shoes for him . For some reason I could not pick out ANYTHING that I wanted. It was so weird! So instead of a present I requested dinner and a movie. We went out to Chili's, yes not the fanciest but I am totally in love with the tropical sunset margaritas and the veggie burgers there. Plus last minute on Valentine's Day you don't have much options haha. Everything was so yummy and we sat around talking about everything we want in life, what kind of house, how many kids, how we will raise them. It's so nice to be to the point in our relationship that we can talk about all of that without either of us getting freaked out. After dinner we went and saw the Wolfman! I loved it. I refuse to listen to anyone talk bad about it. I went in prepared to not compare it at all to the original. You can never remake a classic and have it be the same. It's just not possible in my mind. All in all we had a wonderful day. There was no ridiculous spending of money on little pink things that can't be used year round, which is why I hate that holiday normally.

The rest of the long weekend was spent curled up watching True Blood (I'm hooked I can't help it!) and being silly. We went out to eat with Devon one night and Emily came over another night to watch a movie. Lots of giggling and fun was had by all! I even had a bit of extra money so I bought some pretty dresses and a pencil skirt! I'm trying to slowly build up my nicer clothing collection so that when I get a job doing hair again I will actually have something to wear! There will be no scrambling about to find clothing to wear, which I have had to do before and it sucks.

Off to work on some projects and clean up a bit. I have an idea for a weekly post that I'm going to start doing. I'll be back later with that!

xoxo,

Casey Kirkland

fill in the blanks friday!

2010-02-12T12:47:00.001-05:00

I am joining in on the fun that everyone is having over at The Little Things We Do and joining in on fill in the blank Friday! Here we go!

1. I am hoping my Valentine's day this year includes, some good old fashioned quality time with my guy.

2. My biggest guilty pleasure is listening to Taylor Swift haha.

3. I am most proud of living all alone and supporting myself at such a young age.

4. If I could choose one outfit to live in it would be leggings, a baggy t-shirt and my Converge hoodie. Most comfortable things ever!

5. People are

6. I would rather stay in and craft than go out and party.

7. I love my cats more than I like most people.

New crochet book

2010-02-12T06:44:00.001-05:00

Mike got out of work early last night and we went on a book store date. I ended up getting this cute little book called Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden. I do believe Nosferatu is going to be first on my list of things to make!

xoxo,
Casey

Excited!

2010-02-10T21:51:00.001-05:00

I just signed up for this:

I am so super excited! Hopefully this class will help me gather my thoughts and ideas so I can reach my goals! You can check out the class over at http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/

I've got a clean apartment and an almost done afgan. Time to watch a silly movie and sleep!

xoxo,
Kirk

I have the best home!

2010-02-09T20:28:00.001-05:00

A few reasons I love my home.

Applesauce Oat Bran Muffins with dried cranberries!

yay for getting fit

2010-02-09T17:26:00.001-05:00

Working out the past 2 days has gone really well! Yesterday I did some morning yoga and then a gnarly pilates dvd that I got over the weekend. Oh my lord. Pilates is hard when you haven't worked out in years! I got through half of it and then had to stop. My body just doesn't twist that way! For what I did do my abs sure feel it. I love that feeling the day after a good workout when you are sore, but in a good way. Today we went to the gym and I did 3 more minutes of cardio before and after my workout! I am so proud of myself. My weight goal isn't a number (I refuse to use a scale) but I picked up my prom dress and I want to be able to fit into it again!

I was going to post a picture but I am not willing to admit that is me hahaha.

time to clean the house!

xoxo,
Kirk

week of 2/8/10 JUMPSTART

2010-02-08T21:18:00.000-05:00

ah yay for a new week! Time is flying by wayyyy to fast this year. I don't have time to sort it all out. Here's some stuff I am currently in love with!

1) The fact I get darling pictures like this almost every day from my best :)

2) Alkaline Trio. One of my favorite bands since I was 16.. can't get enough. Wait... it gets better? Alkaline trio doing a Tegan and Sara song with Tegan?! Yes!

and of course...

3) oh yeah.... lookkkk what I found!

The American Mustache Institute!

4) Andrew Bird. I listen to him alot when I am sewing.

http://www.andrewbird.net/

5) I am currently reading The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. It's amazing. All about how to harness creativity and grow it. I so recommend it.

find it here!

6) I am embroidering the bike from this right now as part of Mike's Valentines Day present! The art work is by Carson Ellis.

7) I just found this website! It has tons of crochet help and artsy swaps! I am so excited!

Let's hope this week is better than last week! Fingers crossed!

Live long and prosper,

Casey Kirkland

last weeks rundown

2010-02-08T12:36:00.002-05:00

What a weird week. The majority of it I felt horrible. Almost like I was coming down with the flu. That's generally how I feel when I am so overtired from work my body can't stand it anymore.

But that's ok I still had fun!

Mikey and I went to lunch one day when it was sooo sunny out. But freezing cold! I hate that, it's like nature is trying to play a trick on you.

I made cookies for Emily's 27th birthday! They are chunky peanut butter cookies with dark chocolate chips and a milk chocolate glaze. So bad for you but so worth it!

This week I am going to try to find some recipes for muffins that aren't bad for you. I'm thinking whole wheat blueberry or something. Anyone know any good ones? I need to satisfy my love of sweets without giving Mikey and I diabetes at the same time.

This is the first year I am excited for Valentines day. I have two cute homemade gifts lined up for Mikey that I am going to make this week, along with some yummy cookies that he loves. It's hard having a picky boyfriend when you are a baker.

Time to get a million errands done! I'll be back later with a jumpstart to get me going.

xoxo,

Casey