enJOY it

september : currently.

September 26, 2014

working on a palm tree photo wall(s) in our bathroom. This project has been waiting in the wings for six months and it's finally almost done. I am so thrilled about where it is headed and can't wait for the big reveal.

recording a bunch of podcast episodes for the next few weeks. I am so happy I added this extra project to my plate. Having an excuse to chat with and interview people who inspire me is so rad.

slimming down my closet like a crazy person. I am obsessed with this capsule wardrobe idea. Just 37 articles of clothing, for three whole months. I'm starting next week and I plan to share what made the cut on Tuesday.

feeling shocked at how quickly the MAKE29 clutches flew out the door. They were gone in 85 seconds. It felt over before it started which was really bizarre. The foldover clutch market (and wooden ampersand market) needs to be capitalized on, clearly.

loving this stage Ellerie is in. She is SO FUN right now. This week she learned how to do somersaults and how to climb into the rocking chair by herself it was the coolest. Sometimes I look at her and can't believe this strong little girl used to be my tiny baby.

knowing we made the right decision with daycare. My stress-level is at the lowest it's been in at least three years. What a difference it's made already.

taking Ellerie to the zoo this morning! Paul is off work today so we are headed out to see some animals before it gets too hot.

wishing you a great weekend.
E & e in September.

September 25, 2014

I will be documenting Ellerie's second year by photographing some mama and baby favorites each month.

This is what Elise and Ellerie are doing in September 2014.

WATCHING : the final season of Sons of Anarchy | everything Elmo on Youtube.

READING : The Big Tiny | Alphablock

WORKING : on a new quilt | on teethbrushing

WEARING : new rainbows | chambray sandals

DRINKING : black coffee | from a straw

ps : JUNE, JULY & AUGUST
other various house updates.

September 24, 2014

I have a few big and little things on my running list to "finish" this house up. I am not one of those people that likes to always be in progress on home repairs and updates. I totally get that method (sounds fun, actually) but I think I got used to setting up and moving quickly thanks to the military and so I perfer to just get things "squared away" and get down to the business of just living in the house.

Getting that external sliding door up was a huge item. This month we also completed a few more smaller tasks that I thought I'd share.

First up, we finally switched out our kitchen light. I actually didn't hate the look of the previous one (you can see it in this empty house tour) but it was heavily frosted and because our ceilings are dark there was no light bouncing back into the room. Our kitchen was always pretty dim which isn't such a big deal in the summer, but was already getting sad as we enter fall. I found a great globe pendant at West Elm (it's the smaller of the two) that fit the style of the house and didn't scream "look at me! I'm a new light!" and jumped on it.

Our kitchen is crazy bright now thanks to a 100 watt LED light and I am thrilled about it. (You could probably preform surgery – or at least remove a deep splinter – in our kitchen under that light.)

Next, I accomplished my mission of getting a plant rail hung in the master bath. While in the shower a few months ago I realized we could add a bar from wall to wall and hang a plant on it. Super random. But our bathroom is a small box and it needed "something." This addition doesn't really translate in photos (mostly because the bathroom is too small to get a good angle without renting a better lens), but adding that extra bit of green made a huge difference.

We just bought a dowel, trimmed it to size, stained it and added little caps (that screw into the wall).

And lastly, I found a new console table/cupboard system for the entry way. When we moved in we had a mirrored table there. Then I thrifted that dresser which was rad but the goal was always to move it to our bedroom. I have been on the hunt for something new for awhile. I knew after living with the wood dresser for seven months that the entry could support something "heavy" and I knew that I desperately wanted closed storage up there.

When I saw these at Ikea (it's two units, side by side) I bought them and we stained them up. They are not "perfect" but they do work well in the space. I love the hidden storage and height.

Three minor updates closer to a "complete" home. Three months left of 2014 to finish 'er up.

Next up : my bathroom palm tree frame project (#icannotoverhypeitenough), something to fill the hallway, finishing touches on our bedroom and maybe (hopefully?) a hanging chair.

Today on ELISE GETS CRAFTY I am chatting with business consultant, Tara Gentile, about product pricing. Click here to subscribe or stream the episode from your computer here.
external sliding door in the master bedroom.

September 23, 2014

I feel like this post should begin with a sigh of relief.

It has been my plan to add a sliding door between the bedroom and small master bathroom since day one. On home inspection day, right after we opened escrow, I toured the house and knew immediately we'd be taking the door off the bathroom. It opened in, blocked the toliet and was difficult to maneuver around.

My dad removed the traditional door the weekend the first weekend I moved in. And then we went door-less for 18 months. This is not "new" in Cripe land. The past three spaces we've lived we've removed the door to the master bath. Normally we hang a curtain in the doorway to make it feel like a separate space. But this time, since we owned and had the wall space to do it, I was committed to adding an external sliding door (often called a "sliding barn door" but since we didn't use a "barn door" that feels silly).

So the question became, "when will we have time to do this?"

Answer : never.

But "never" takes too long so we decided to jump in anyway. After too much debate I decided to buy the absurdly cheap (compared to other sources) hardware track from amazon. The reviews were good enough and I liked the look and loved that it came in black. (All the door handles in our house are black.)

(the door looks totally crooked in some of these photos. It's not, I promise.)

We bought the track first (and that sat at the house for a month) before we found a door at Lowe's. Our door opening is narrower than "standard" which meant we were able to get a normal sized door and it still covered the white door frame. I could have taken years to pick the perfect door, but I decided to go with "what's available." Our house is not "shabby chic" or "rustic" so restoring some sort of cool old door didn't make much sense. I didn't want something solid because I like that there is a window in the bathroom and I want to keep as much natural light flowing in this house as possible. Since we've been door-less for over a year, privacy is obviously not that big of a deal and so going with a glass paned door made sense (this wood door was about $100 at Lowe's).

Next I had to decide how I wanted the door to look. It came as a solid naked wood so I had a few options. I could paint it dark like the beams of the house. I could paint it glossy white like the door frames. I could paint it Benjamin Moore Athena like the walls. I could stain it a cool wood stain. But none of those options felt right. I worried the dark and stain would be too heavy. I worried the glossy white would stand out. I worried the Athena would look cheap. So I decided to white wash it which means make it white(ish) but let the the wood grain show through.

We could have just mixed some white paint with water but instead we bought a mix. It's called Olympic Maximum Stain & Sealant in one. It's semi-transparent and has a neutral base. The lady at Lowe's tinted it for me with some white paint.

Two coats of that and I had a door that I really loved. (We added a $4 black handle to the outside, also from Lowe's.)

I wish I could say the install process was straightforward and simple, but it took some finagling. The track had pre-drilled holes every 18 inches and most wall studs are 16 inches apart. We got lucky and found studs for the first two, but we had to drill very close to the door frame to hit wood for the next too. The final hole (on the far right) is not in a stud and we used a very heavy duty drywall screw there (thankfully that side doesn't support the door's weight).

I recognize this is A LOT of information about a hanging door but I'd hate for this project to sound as easy as say, hanging a frame on a wall. It was intense from the planning to (finally) the execution. But seriously? I LOVE IT. LOVE IT. Well worth the 18 month wait.

Thanks Dadio, for your installation help!
this is yet another story about shoes.

September 22, 2014

(If you're new here, this is the original shoe story and here's the second shoe story.)

Once upon a time, the shoe on the left looked like the shoe on the right. And then in just over two years (!) the shoe lived a full life. The shoe became "the main shoe" in the summer of 2012. It walked the beach a lot. Like a lot, a lot. It traveled for a few weddings. It took more than a few trips to Trader Joe's and the farmer's market. It enjoyed a pretty routine shoe life until an October trip to Target to buy a pregnancy test and then an excited trip to the doctor's office to confirm there was indeed baby on board.

The shoe was pretty much the only shoe that mattered during that pregnancy. It was easy to put on, broken in perfectly and so comfortable. It walked and walked and walked. It looked at the sky. It went house hunting. It was there to drop Paul off for a second deployment in just 11 months and learned the meaning of "covered in tears." It walked into the new house for the very first time. It packed up the townhouse in Oxnard. It signed the escrow paperwork and moved into the house in San Diego.

Things happened really quickly after that. There was a gestational diabetes diagnosis (which the shoe was pretty thrilled about because it equaled more walks after meals). There was a rush to get the house ready for baby (again, thrilling because it equaled more walks through Lowe's and various thrift shops). Months passed in minutes but also somehow took years.

The shoe went to the airport to pick up Paul and waited with the same combination of nerves, disbelief and excitment it always feels. Quickly, the shoe noticed the walks pick up. There was job to do now, we had to get this labor started. But nothing happened. So a week post due-date, the shoe + family of two walked into the hospital to be induced.

Four days later, the shoe + family of three walked out. Healthy, exhausted and swollen as can be (the shoe had never worked harder in it's life).

And so began another crazy time. When nothing felt easy, the shoe was grateful it could be a simple constant (and relearned the meaning of "covered in tears slash all the liquids ever"). After a few months things settled down and the one thing everyone looked forward to was the long walk up the hill to the grocery store every afternoon. For the very first time the shoe spent enough time outdoors to cause a real life sandal tan (which, as you know, is the greatest achievement a shoe can hope for).

When the fitbit arrived, the shoe cheered. More walking for sure. And the shoe was right, the steps increased, the movement increased and simultaneously, the brain calmed and the house relaxed – just in time for the baby to start walking and the shoe to start chasing. Life was good. So good, in fact, that retirement came early. The shoe wore down quickly over it's short two year life. It was a good run though, a worthy run. The most remarkable shoe life yet.

And now the shoe on the right will take over. It feels (for the first time) impossible to predict what this shoe will see. Walks, obviously. But outside of that, what? We're at that point. That point where life is settled but we've never done any of it before. We've never raised a 15 month old. We've never had a third person who lives in our house that can hold a conversation. We've never dealt with these exact challenges or celebrated these exact milestones. It's all the same, and it's all new.

Just like the shoe.
weekend links / 36.

September 20, 2014

As part of my word WHOLE this year, I want celebrate the work of others by sharing links to my friends, possible friends and complete strangers who are doing great things on the Internet. This is some of the rad stuff I recently saw online…

I'm excited to be guest hosting the ABM book club next month!

know where you're headed.

it probably goes without saying that I loved every word of this.

16 times Leslie Knope has made the whole world happy.

what a random & rad example of admitting when you need help (and such wonderful results!).

Sacramento area friends, the Goodness is offering family portrait sessions in November.

Ikea has a paper shop.

made me smile.

"My point is: have less, don't worry about the bathroom tile." a gorgeous post.

I'm looking forward to speaking at and attending Craftcation next March. You can learn more and register here.
around here.

September 19, 2014

Sometimes I feel like a broken record. Each podcast episode starts with “I’m really excited about this week’s episode.” and most of my around here posts start with “thank you so much for your sweet comments this week.” (Not to mention what I continually say around the house…”what do you want for dinner?” “feel like another episode of [insert Scandal, Friends, Parks & Rec here]?” “nope we don’t eat that, Ellerie.”)

But I am really excited about each episode and I do really appreciate your comments. Thank you.

Big things this week :

Ellerie started daycare! Two full days, out of the house. I imagine I will have more to say about this as time goes on, but right now the important thing is : she loves it. Like loves it. Loves her teachers, loves her little friends, loves the toys & loves that everything is designed to be climbed on. I cried at drop-off but she did not and when I picked her up after the first day her teacher said “She is so ready for daycare.” and my mama heart burst in the best way. I can’t even believe what a better human being I was these past few days after I had some extra time for myself, the house and my work. We are all happy that the first week went well.

We learned about the real options we will have after Paul finishes residency (in summer 2017). They are different than expected (no super fabulous overseas billets, no staying put in San Diego) but I think we have a plan that we are excited about. I was getting all worked up about it and then realized we have almost three more years here. And I laughed like a maniac. Three years? Generally we move twice in three years. How foolish of me to start over-planning.

We have so much more to do here before we think about what’s next. I mean that literally, but it works figuratively as well.

Have a great weekend.
September MAKE29 : behind the scenes.

September 18, 2014

I'm thrilled to share photos and details about the September edition of MAKE29 today.

On 9/22 at 11AM PST I'll be selling 29 handmade foldover clutches, every bit of which were sewn by me.

This edition was originally scheduled for MARCH. And then there was a fabric shipping hold-up. And then the ampersands sold out in 45 minutes and I thought "hmmmmm, 29? That's not going to work." I tucked the 70% complete clutches into a box and moved on to other ideas.

As I was thinking about the home stretch of MAKE29, I realized it was time to get myself out of the paper print box (literally) and get that box of clutches out and evaluate. And when I saw all that gorgeous fabric and how much work I had already done, I was like "Elise, you're an idiot. Sell these now." (See, I don't even need co-workers to have conversations.)

Here's the deal. If I had known when I started this edition what I know now, I would have made these all the exact same. 29 of the same fabric, same base, same liner. Because that would be WAY easier for me and less confusing for you. But I didn't know. I didn't know that the editions could potentially move that quickly. It didn't cross my mind that listing multiple things would be tricky.

So that said, I am listing and selling them by main fabric (so three options) and the base and the liner will vary and be a surprise on delivery. I can guarantee that every single bag is awesome and the liners and bases were considered carefully to complement each other.

The outside fabric was purchased from Umbrella Prints in Australia and is hand-printed. The imitation leather bases mostly came from an etsy shop that has since closed and a few came from Jo-anns. The zippers are from Jo-anns (I could NOT find them wholesale, but I don't think I looked hard enough). The (gorgeous) liner fabric is from a local quilt shop.

I hand cut every single piece of fabric (six for each bag) and sewed every stitch (including the MAKE29 tag on the inside liner) on my sewing machine (in the odd times that the baby was AWAKE but I had help to care for her).

Clutches are my second favorite thing to make after quilts. I'm super picky about what makes a good clutch. I like an outside that goes with everything. I like an inside that packs a punch. I like a decent size that feels substantial in your hand but isn't so big that it looks ridiculous. I love a heavy-duty gold zipper. Not surprisingly, these bags check every box.

They are designed to fold-over to be carried under an arm, but totally work as more traditional "bags" too. I did a test and though it was not deliberate, an iPad fits inside (though the bags are NOT padded like an iPad case would be).

They comfortably fit the necessities and uncomfortably fit much more.

I really hope you love them. More information here.
thoughts on whole.

September 17, 2014

My "one little word" this year is WHOLE. (read more about olw here.)

And for the most part it doesn't feel as "active" in my life as CHOOSE and BRAVE did the years prior. I think this is because "whole" feels like less of an action word. The definition is broad and I am not exactly sure what it really means for me.

I know what I want it to mean. I want it to mean "balanced, full and all-in." Some days I feel all of those things. Other days I feel like it's a load of crap.

Today's podcast episode features a friend of mine, Jessica O'Brien. She is someone I have known through blogland since college. I have admired her style, her honesty, her candor and her "do what works for you" mentality for a decade. And not surprisingly, I have loved watching her share bits of her pregnancy and motherhood experience while working outside the house for the past few years. When we chatted last week, we were able to catch up a bit before, during and after the show. The whole conversation was incredibly refreshing and inspiring for me.

Jessica said something that hilariously (and sadly!!) felt ground-breaking:

"I'm a great mom. I'm a great employee."

It's not often you hear women online say they are a good mom. We sometimes rattle off a list of faults or mistakes before we feel comfortable sharing the wins. And so often it feels like being great at a career and great at parenthood is not simultaneously possible. Like of course you have to sacrifice one and if not, something will suffer. While obviously there are times when you have to make compromises (I do so every single day) it was so nice to just hear someone say they love both and they're good at both and they're doing it without fuss or over-thinking.

Over the summer I was at a bachelorette party in Austin. Both the bride and I are moms and we loved filling the other (not-pregnant) girls in on the reality of those early weeks. I remember joking about how I was covered in liquid at all times because I was either crying, sweating, bleeding, leaking or (the best one) my c-section incision was weeping. The girls looked at Vern and I like we were from another planet. It felt good to be able laugh about those days. It feels good to have enough road between Elise of summer 2013 and Elise of now so I can really see how far I've come and be able to put things in some perspective.

Later that night, I stayed up with a few of the girls and we talked more about motherhood. I remember saying (and this is paraphrased because it was two in the morning and I forgot) "It's hard, for sure. Sometimes the responsibility of it sucks. But for real? I'm good. I feel better creatively than ever."

And that is the truth. This adjustment from no-kid to one kid has been much more difficult than I expected, because like a complete fool I assumed I could tackle anything with a few well organized to-do lists. That's not true. No to-do list could have gotten me through those first few months.

But I have made progress and the secret is not a to-do list. It's time. It's letting time pass. It's getting good at rolling with it. It's getting great at easing up. It's embracing fiercely the wonderful. It's celebrating the small things (I still feel accomplished every damn time I unload the dishwasher or put away a load of clothes). It's knowing that the only path that matters is yours. It's looking inside your own house instead of outside at others. It's admitting you need help and asking for it as quickly as you can.

It took a really long time. Far longer than those original 28 days for me to feel WHOLE. I am still working on it in some ways. But the best part of being the Elise of now instead of the pre-motherhood Elise is that the WHOLE I am working on is infinitely larger. My love is bigger. My passion is fiercer. My family and heart and life is fuller.

All in.

As I am sure you've guessed, today on ELISE GETS CRAFTY I am chatting with Jessica O'Brien about what I wouldn't call balance but what I would call life. Click here to subscribe or stream the episode from your computer here.
september book report.

September 16, 2014
It hasn't been that long since my last book report, but I have been tearing through the pages lately (figuratively, since Ellerie's got a handle on the literal) and so I wanted to share a few current reads. I get asked a lot when I read and the answer is before bed. Paul has to get up really early so we are generally in bed between 9-9:30. He's out like a light and since I've stopped feeding the monkey mind by scrolling instagram and pinterest, I get a good half hour to an hour of books.

These are a few of the recent ones worth noting :

The One and Only by Emily Griffin | I read a lot of negative reviews of this over the summer, but decided to give it a try because I really like the author and most of the people who didn't like it said there was too much college football (I love college football). It wasn't the best, but it was entertaining, easy-to-read chick lit (if you love college football).

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg | I don't think this is a book that you really love or really hate (mostly because it's written with more fact than emotion – and I mean that in a good way). But I did think it was an interesting read because I am very interested in work and what others have to say about it. There are parts in this book that could truly connect with anyone regardless of gender, age or life path, but if I was going to pick an ideal reader it would be a young(er) woman who wants a corporate job and is considering having a family down the line. I wish I had read this at 22. It wouldn't have changed my path, but parts were inspiring and what I needed to hear then and still need to know now.

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova | I loved Still Alice and was excited to read this by the same author. I liked it but I definitely wasn't hooked. It's not going to stick with me the way Still Alice did and I think that's because while the syndrome is a real medical condition, it's not as prolific and relevant (in my life) as Alzheimer's. I struggled a lot with the main character too. She's the classic "completely frazzled working mother" and I think that cliche image hit a little close to home right after reading Lean In. As I told Paul, this book would never work if the main character was a man (and that annoyed me).

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell | I devoured this in less than 24 hours. It's a quick read that is still layered and witty. It's YA, but I think the themes and language kept it from feeling too young. I loved the back and forth between the characters and found myself smiling and laughing out loud at the subtle, smart humor. Excited to check out Rowell's other books.

In other news, I had to throw in the towel on Code Name Verity, it just didn't have the spark that I need to see in the first half. I am also almost done with Gone Girl (I will be when this post goes live at 5am) and to say I am hooked would be an understatement.

#bookswin.

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