in which she further breaks her 'no faces' rule...

sort of.

a few weeks ago i took a photo of my brand new, very own, yet-to-be-named laptop. had i known the reflective quality of her screen, i would have made sure to clean the room behind me, & get my be-jammied self out of the shot.

oh well, it's not like i hadn't told you how messy the belfry has become since the arrival of a certain teeny person. the messy reflection is proof that i wasn't exaggerating. & now you all have what you've been longing for lo these past few years: to see my face.

sort of.


but which is more glorious? more beautiful? more stunning to behold? sigh. i know. the laptop is.

you could lie to me though; tell me that the yet-to-be-named laptop doesn't hold a candle to my beauty. lie to me. i won't mind. i'll even believe you. um, you know, as a favor to you. so you can feel good that you were kind to me. i'm nice that way.

~peace.

*note ::no, i did not fail the challenge. the yet-to-be-named laptop was my xmas prezzie from manlyman & my mother-in-law. oh ye of little faith.

a challenge of challenging proportions

it's quite easy to stick to the rules of the challenge when i'm not out, visiting my favorite shops. i did get a few yearnings when doing my online holiday ordering for the menfolk, but i stayed the course.

what nearly did me in was a trip to my beloved japanese dollar store!!!!!! they were so sweet to stock their shelves with all the things i love. being there was wonderful! it also was horrid, evil, painful agony.

i don't know how, but i did it. i kept from buying things for myself, & let me tell you: it nearly brought me to tears the entire time we were there a few times.

why kat? you're saying to your computer screen, why did you torture yourself by going there? well my dearest one & only reader, thehobbit wanted to get holiday prezzies for his bestest friends, & he insisted that was the place he needed to go.

he wanted special things, cause they're special. how could i have not taken him there after hearing that? so the belfry clan piled into bella, & spent a few hours shopping for special prezzies.

thehobbit bought them all notebooks & sketch pads; choosing styles & patterns he thought each friend would best like. i'm not sure why, but the japanese store has the best notebooks & pads. i know i've chatted about them before. i'll try to get a photo of the ones he chose - you'll like them.

so you don't feel too terribly sorry for me: manlyman bought me a few things i was fondling. new tongs, linen oven mitts, & a teapot that matches these - though he not only won't let me have them until xmas morn, i'm not even allowed to photograph them.

what are you getting for the holidays this year?
~peace.

sorry for the lack of photos, i'm stranded beneath a sleeping bebe.

in which tongs are evil

i popped online to search for a new pair of tongs. mine were freakyold & finally bit the dust yesterday whilst cooking lunch.

now before you get your proverbials in a bunch, i was not going to cheat on the challenge. my plan was to ask santa for a new pair. or 2.

i went to amazon, then sur la table, then ebay. the next thing i knew i was drooling over things of a non-tongy nature. it's as though i wasn't in control of what my fingers were typing! i blame the tongs. clearly they are evil.

in my imaginary world i bought these boots:

i have a pair similar, but they don't go nearly as high up the leg. the heel is low enough for everyday outings. i want them. hmmm. i wonder if santa will get them for me?

this coat is gorgeous! if it weren't yellow, i'd definitely have put in a bid straight away. i'm just not a yellow gal. well i was literally a yellow gal for a few months as a child, but that's a whole other tale.



i love how the coat goes in at the waist. & check out the neat pockets, & the big buttons! perfect, but for the yellow.


now this frock coat i simply adore. it's my favorite taupey color, has funky embroidery here & there, & is velvet!



so pretty. so not something one can wear when one's wee bairn is still spitting-up. sigh.


i never did find a new pair of tongs.
~peace.

images :: property of individual sellers on ebay.

blogger is messing with my spacing again.

ummmm, oops?

i may have strayed from the challenge a wee bit. it wasn't a purposeful stray, i merely forgot. those of you new to the belfry will think i'm lying; but i am not. ask any of the oldies, they'll confirm my swiss-cheese-brain. well maybe not now that i've referred to them as oldies...

so what did i buy that was neither handmade, nor used? a subscription to this magazine. it was a buy one, get one type of dealio, so i had the gift subscription sent to a friend who also has a new drooler.

hmm. i wonder if i didn't stray were i to pretend i bought the subscription for her, & it came with a freebie subscription for me? no?

anyway, i promise to feel dreadful about straying each & every time i read my fabulous new magazine. i also promise to pay better attention to my spending, so i don't fail the challenge.

***

unrelated, but equally fabulous (sans guilt) is today's thrifting haul. oh my dearest one & only reader!!!!! the treasures - gorgeous vintagey tops that i can nurse in!! i get all swoony just thinking about it. sigh.

i have no pictures to share, as my treasures are in the wash, getting the stinky chemicals removed. do your thrift shops spray their fabric items with chemicals? i shall take photos tomorrow, & post them, so you can ooh & ahh along with me.

~peace.

challenge katified (real word)

i gave it some thought, & figured out how strictly i'll be adhering to tif's rules for the challenge. i truly wish to succeed at this, so i've had to tweak things here & there.

* gift cards - i have a few gift cards, & didn't know if i would be able to use them during the challenge. it came to me that since the cards were gifts, i wouldn't be buying anything when using them; merely using my gifts. yup. that works for me.

* xmas - there is no way i can make things; what with the new bebe; there just isn't time. & whilst thehobbit would be happy, manlyman just doesn't love the world of vintage/used/antiques as i. there may be some things on etsy i can get them, but as thehobbit asked santa for legos, i'll need to shop amazon as well.

* underpinnings - i think we all agree on this exception.

* bebe items - i cannot think of anything we'll need (that we cannot get from a thrift or resale shop) but as a year is quite a long time, it's best to be safe. a bigger car seat! see? i have already realized a future need. clever me :-)

that about does it. i don't think i've tweaked too far from the original. now i just need to make sure i don't forget. or cheat. of course i could go insane from lack of shopping, & spend much too much money on something used.

photo :: found on ebay (lost the link to the owner's posting)

bebe does need a bath tub. i'm just sayin'.

~peace.

a show, a challenge, & a month

just a few things to chat about:

* a show -- ocean charter's annual winter faire is nearly here. come see me (& the rest of the dragonfly artisans) on saturday, the 12th of december. i haven't a flyer to share with you yet, but until i do, you can find some of the details over there --->

* a challenge -- the utterly charming tif of dottie angel has decided to purchase nothing new for neither herself, nor her home for an entire year! so as not to embark on this journey of madness alone, she's asking others to join her. madness? a challenge i'm sure to fail? sign me up! i have to figure out details for my own version of the challenge still. such as: am i allowed to use my gift cards? what about items for the bebe? & so on. i'll let you know when i have.


* a month -- sew mama sew is running their annual handmade holidays through the month of november. i kept meaning to write about it, then promptly kept forgetting. i poked through the days already posted, & like the past 2 years, the entries are fabulous. i just hope i can find the time to make some of them. hahahaha. no wait. no hahahahahahaha. ok, how about this? i just hope i can find the time to save some of them in my files to make next year.



& that brings this post to an end. it's been lovely chatting with you, but it's time to make dinner. for the menfolk. i am still on the dreadful elimination diet from hell, so shall be eating air. yum indeed.

~peace.