Look who came for dinner (or.....Evan makes a hoagie for the governor!)

Good evening Blogland Neighborhood . We have a MBIAJ exclusive report. Today, on his 3 PM --> 9 PM shift at the Jim Thorpe, Pa "Subway" Evan noticed " a guy in a suit" walking in , followed by a couple of other guys in suits. It only took Evan a couple of seconds to realize "the guy" was Ed Rendell .... the GOVERNOR of Pennsylvania!!! Evan, not one to be shy, asked one of the other guys in suits (who Evan states were secret service guys because one of them seemed to be talking into the sleeve of his jacket....) to take a picture of him, his co worker Jean and Governor Rendell with his cell phone. Governor Rendell also gave Evan his autograph .... (so between the picture AND the autograph, Evan is counting on some pretty hefty extra credit points tomorrow in his history class!)

Anyway , back to our exclusive report of the details that you will only find here at MBIAJ ..... what kind of hoagies (that's "subs" to those of you not from this part of Pa) did Governor Rendell and his "secret service guys" order? (and just to be perfectly clear on the facts here .... Governor Rendell's hoagie was made by Evan's co worker Jean .... whose first day of work at Subway was today .... not bad to make a hoagie for the governor on your very first day of work!!) ..... Evan made the other guys' hoagies ..... they all had meatball hoagies AND they ate them WITH A FORK !!! Yes ... that's right .... you heard it here first ..... Governor Rendell and his "guys in suits" ate their meatball hoagies with forks ....(our guess is that they didn't want to drip sauce on their ties ....).

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Drowning in magazines !!!

Happy Wednesday Blogland Neighborhood! Here at MBIAJ Headquarters we are trying to sift through/ sort out/ weed out / and throw out/recycle some of the gazillions of magazines that seem to multiply by the thousands when we're not looking . How did we end up with so many? Well, actually we know .... those sly magazines lure you in with their pretty covers (they had us with "hello") .... then they seal the deal with all the wonderful things between their covers ....and before you know it you're needing to reinforce the floors of your house due to the extra weight of all those magazines! So, to avoid that costly little renovation, we're forced to spend time (and lots of it) slogging through all of those magazines.... and you know you're gonna get completely distracted by all the pretty stuff in there that you forgot was in there because it's been such a long time since you looked through those magazines because you have so many other magazines to look through .... and they keep coming in the mail , or you keep buying them at the store .... and now , of course, some of the very favorite magazines are gone .... Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion & Country Home, for example ... so you definately hate to part with those ......but, really something has to give ......because there are magazines .....


....on the red bench in the kitchen and....

...in this basket in the living room and....

....here are gardening magazines overflowing in this basket in the kitchen and...


....cooking magazines in this basket by the door and...


...this basket of magazines in my sewing room that I've already gone through and want to keep and...

.....these 2 overflowing baskets of magazines (also in my sewing room) that I want to keep ....






So, once again, the "De Cluttering Dept" here at MBIAJ finds itself submerged in magazines and the tediously slow process of going through each one (because we already don't waste enough time piddling around on Facebook , etc...) Anyhow, this is our current system of magazine de cluttering .....



....we get our handy dandy stapler, post it notes and a pen.....and we follow this little rule as we page through a magazine ..... if there are 3 or more projects or articles or whatever in there that we LOVE and want to keep, we mark each one with a labeled post it note and keep that magazine. If there are only 1 or 2 projects, or articles or whatever in the magazine, we tear out those pages and staple them together , then that magazine gets the ol' heave ho. Now don't ask where those torn out pages will be going other than in some sort of a folder that will be stored somewhere (and we'll probably forget where we put it)...

Anyhow, as for the magazines that haven't made the cut and are getting the boot out the door .... DON'T throw them in the trash!!! Drag them out to your car (where they'll probably stay for at least 6 months til you remember to stop at the recycling center to toss them in the magazine bin) OR take them to a nursing home. I sometimes take a bunch of magazines to the nursing home where I used to work and I give them to the Activities Director. She uses the craft magazines for ideas for the residents' activities or for them just to look through. And don't forget about the men that live there .... drop off hunting and fishing magazines and Sports Illustrated (especially the swim suit issue ..... I'm pretty sure Playboy would be frowned upon, but give those guys a little eye candy .... after all, what is it they say is the last thing to go ? I'm pretty sure it's not memory!)

OK ...back to the magazine pile (you realize of course, that stopping to blog was just another procrastination tactic!)

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Kids vs Jeans

Good Friday morning Blogland Neighborhood ! Here at MBIAJ Headquarters there is a constant battle between my teenage boys and their jeans ..... it's a jungle out there and it's survival of the fittest .... score....

Evan 1 / Jeans 0


Matt 1 / Jeans 0













...and this is not an isolated incident .... I can't tell you how many times Matt and Evan have split their baggy britches like this......now my question is are they just not making jeans to stand up to the antics of wild maniac teenage boys OR does this have anything to do with logistics (i.e. pants that are slung half way down their butts/ worn at half mast combined with being wild maniac teenage boys?).

I don't know , however I do know that there will be no attempts to revive these two pair of jeans .....

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

An old pattern, a new book, a new movie, some new fabric , &......A NEW DRIVER ?!?!?!!! YIKES !!!

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood ! Have you all recovered from your Valentine festivities? Kitty has made a brief appearance and has shared limited info on her big date .... I'm afraid Goofy wasn't quite the dreamboat she had hoped for .....Kitty has some pretty high standards and apparantly Goofy's attire for the evening wasn't quite up to snuff......oh, she says she may go out with him again, if she can tell him what to wear.....that may not go over too well ... but we'll let her find that out for herself!

Anyhow .... a few of you have asked me what pattern I use for the chef hats .....



....it's this old McCall's pattern that I happened to come across when I was shuffling through some stuff (and there's lots of it) in my sewing room ..... I'm not sure how old this pattern is .... at least 10 years old if not older (does that look like it's from the '90's or the '80's?)







....now for the new stuff .....




....how about this new book!!! it's from those Aussie girls, Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke from Material Obsession . I've been a fan of their fun and bright quilts for awhile now and was tap dancing when I saw they had a book coming out (which I preordered from Amazon last fall ..... and it's finally here!!!)

...and then there's this new (to me ) movie.....




"The Secret Life of Bees" ..... I read the book a few years ago and LOVED it to pieces !!! I was thrilled when the movie came out, but never got a chance to go see it .... so now that it's out on DVD I'm gonna watch this if it has to be at 2 AM !! (which is pretty much the only time that the tv isn't blaring a dirtbike race or CNN news .... neither of which are my choices!) .... anyhow, I'm hoping the movie is as good as the book.

Next on the agenda ..... new fabric !!!(because the MBIAJ Sewing Dept stash hasn't quite started to fall out of the windows and into the yard ....not yet anyway)



....isn't this stuff PRETTY !!!! I had 2 gift certificates (one from my mother-in-law and one from Kid #2 , Evan) burning a hole in my pocket .... my original plan was to hold out for at least 6 months before using them but ..... well, you know how it is ..... anyhow, I bought these at my friend Kelly's quilt shop The Quiltery.

....and speaking of Evan and NEW DRIVER ..... and YIKES ! ..... (or, Evan + New Driver = YIKES ).....




....yes ... that's Evan behind the wheel .... and yes the car was moving ....(he got his learner's permit about 3 weeks ago ) .... he does pretty well, except he forgets that he's not racing a dirtbike .... therefore the collective nerves of the MBIAJ Driver's Ed Dept are SHOT ..... he sort of zones out during crucial /key bits of info that I might be droning on and on about ....for example "check to see if anybody is coming before you pull out of that parking space" , etc ..... which is quickly followed by the threat that his drivers' license can easily be put off until he's about 30 !!!

Yes, it's all fun and games here at MBIAJ !!!! ....we've taken to alot of muttering under our breath and talking to ourselves......hmmmm? what? ....oh sorry, I was talking to myself ......

Anyhow, be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Happy Valentine's Day & the winner is .......

Happy Valentine's Day Blogland Neighborhood!! ....or, shall we say ...


.....happy hearts and...



....flowers day !! both lovely gifts from Mr. Moonbeams.








OK .... so I'm stalling .... we're running a bit late with our Valentine Giveaway drawing here at MBIAJ Headquarters because we've been waiting for her majesty, The Queen of Hearts herself to get her royal self back from her day of beauty at the spa .....still waiting ......and STILL WAITING ......oh, here she comes .....what? oh, she says can I put all the names in "the hat" because her nails aren't quite dry .....(sigh) uh, sure.....




.......hmmmmmm, that fabric looks familiar .... could this "hat" be the Valentine Giveaway Mystery project? ......we'll see... (I have to stall again while Kitty finishes blowing on her nails ....(sigh)...oh, she says she's ready ....



......Kitty says "O.K. I'm going in .... I'll be back in a minute with the winning name....if I'm not back in a minute, send help..."

......hmmm, what the heck is taking her so long .... Kitty? Kitty? how's it going in there? oh, here she comes ...



...looks like she had a rough time in there, but she is holding a winning name ....it's Kathie / Mamabug !!!! CONGRATULATIONS Kathie Mamabug!!!! (email me your address so we can mail out your prize!!) .....what? oh, Kitty says sorry she has to run but she's got to finish sprucing up for her big date tonight with her Mystery Man ..... OK, while she does that, we'll show Kathie Mamabug what she has won .....



......the Valentine Mystery Project is a Chef Hat made out of the "I Love Lucy" fabric, a little "I Love Lucy" bank for your chocolate fund, and some heart shaped chocolates in that heart shaped box (or you could keep them in your chef hat like Lucy and Ethel did in the Candy Factory episode!)(if you click on the picture it should enlarge so you can see the loot better) .....oh, wait, let me show you how the chef hat looks on somebody ....



.....(sorry, this guy was the only one available to model on short notice ...)







....Ding Dong (doorbell)......Kitty ... your date is here!!! .... oh, she wants me to take their picture before they go out on the town .....




.....(drum roll...) so.... this is the Mystery Man !!! .....well, .... have a good time ! (I'm not quite sure what she sees in him ....I think her other offers for tonight were Peppi LePue and the Travelocity Gnome .... in which case I think she made the best choice ....)

ANYHOW.....Thank you everybody for playing along and for your great comments! and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !!!

Be back soon!
xoxoxo,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Kitty's mystery man & our mystery Valentine Giveaway project ....

Hello Blogland Neighborhood! Where oh where has this week gone? I for one really couldn't tell ya .... except last weekend plus Monday was spent blowing all of our collective noses here at MBIAJ Headquarters. Made me think we should buy stock in the toilet paper hat featured on Sharon's blog.

Anyhow, when the nose dripping slowed down, our Sewing Dept did get some sewing done. Here's one finished ..... yes, I said FINISHED project (in fact it was mailed out and received by the 3 year old birthday girl already ..... sometimes our occasional efficiency is mind boggling! .... mostly because it doesn't happen too often!) ......anyway, here it is.....


...the crayon roll (unrolled) and....



...the crayon roll (rolled up).

I found the directions for this very cute project in the Fall 2008 Quilts and More magazine ....and it was designed by Linda Lum Debono.

.......BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MYSTERY PROJECT AND KITTY'S MYSTERY MAN you're wondering.... well, here's a little peek of the Mystery Valentine Giveaway Project.....


....hmmmm what the heck is it ?
















...and here's a peek of Kitty's Mystery Man/ Valentine's Day date.....




.....she says he's tall, dark and handsome .... a real dreamboat....and a snappy dresser with sophisticated taste ....


....OK, anyway ..... don't forget to leave a comment on our previous post by this Saturday, Valentine's Day to be entered into our Valentine's Day Giveaway ..... the drawing will be (around) 4 PM EST (because, as you know, Kitty "The Queen of Hearts" has a date with her new mystery man and she needs time to primp before he picks her up at 7.....)

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

The (self proclaimed) Queen of Hearts has an announcement.....

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood! As you can see, the self proclaimed Queen of Hearts has announced that we here at MBIAJ Headquarters thought it's about time we had another Giveaway !!! Now the Giveaway is not only in honor of "Amore'"(imagine that spoken with an Italian accent all of you Bella Bambinos) Valentine's Day, but also in honor of National Wear Red Day for women. (Kitty and I did our CPR recertification yesterday and everytime we do, we're reminded that we NEVER, EVER want to be on the other end of that CPR !!! and we certainly don't want any of our family or friends or Blogland Neighbors to end up on the recipient end of CPR either ! ) ....so, Kitty is wearing her heart on her head to remind you all to WEAR RED today and then to go strut your stuff (i.e. take a walk) and show off your red duds!!

.....oh, wait .... Kitty wants her close up now ....





....she wants to make sure you notice she has more BLING on this hat than Aretha had on her boring old Inauguration hat ...... (sigh.... whatever ....)

....anyhow ... back to our Giveaway ..... I think the prize should be something fun made out of .......



.....some of this "I Love Lucy" fabric !!!! PERFECT for Valentine's Day !!!


....and I think we'll have the drawing on Valentine's Day (that'll give me time to actually make the mystery project .... cause it's still a mystery to me!!! just kidding....) Anyhow, we'll do the drawing by Valentine's Day afternoon (late) because I'm sure Kitty will have a date that night and won't be available for the drawing otherwise.

...and one more fun thing to show you all ..... speaking of pretty and sweet ... Matt's girlfriend (who is pretty and sweet) made me a pretty and sweet little Valentine giftie ....



.....she painted this little flower pot, added hearts and glitter, and filled it with the sweetest smelling potpourri !!!














Well, time for me to put on my RED sweater and go take a walk before hauling myself off to work ......oh! I almost forgot to tell you to make sure you leave a comment on this post to be entered into our Valentine's Day/ National Wear Red Day Giveaway !

Be back soon (now, go take a walk!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

The NERVE of some people !!!!

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood ! We here at MBIAJ Headquarters pride ourselves in getting the scoop that even the tabloids have missed . Seems our own Kitty was at the Inauguration last month AND it seems Aretha wasn't the only one wearing "The Hat" .....





.....AND Kitty is all in a huff and wants her public to know that she had that hat FIRST and Aretha stole it from her !!! Kitty said "The NERVE of some people !! You'd think that Aretha would have her people check with my people before selecting her hat !!!"


Oh brother ..... be back soon...

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Lookie how PRETTY !!!!!!!!

Happy Groundhog Day Blogland Neighborhood !! Well, even though Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning and we'll have to slog through 6 more weeks of winter (and it's snowing ....again ....here in Pa right this very minute ... yippee....) we here at MBIAJ Headquarters try to be cheerful .... and nothing helps cheer us up more than getting pretty stuff in the mail !!!! Just look what came on Saturday !!!!



......from Rachel of p.s.i quilt fame this adorably pretty mini quilt and fabric basket filled with ..... FABRIC and TEA and CHOCOLATE !!!!! What a perfectly PERFECT combination!!!! She sent me these wondrous goodies because I won one of her giveaway contests back in November (and poor silly girl has been stressing over trying to finish it and send it out to me by Christmas .... last Christmas ....sigh..... Rachel, Rachel, Rachel .... if you knew me better , as my family and college pals and local quilt shop cronies know me .... I am the absolute LAST person you should be stressing about/over re: getting a sewing project finished and in the hands of the recipient even remotely close to the time promised !!! ..... I'm on the 4 ---> 8 year I.O.U. Plan with all of my gift recipients ! ) See! No need for all that stress you sweet silly girl!!

OK ... here's a close up ....


















....and here's where these pretty things are gonna live in my house .....


.....on the tables in my foyer so everybody can see how pretty they are the second they walk in the front door !


....pretty darn pretty, huh!!! That stuff sure does jazz up the foyer!








Thanks again Rachel !!!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)