Now

This year May seemed longer than normal around SuzerSpace. I think it’s because I broke it near the middle with a trip to see family for Mother’s Day. So there’s “May before” and “May after” that weekend. And then Memorial Day ended up nearly a week before the end of the month, so there were a couple of odd days there where it was too late in the month to start something new, but too soon to start June project.

The weather this year was decidedly wet – record breaking, in fact. Keeping in mind we haven’t found a good solution for clearing out the gutters, and the fact that parts of our basement are just about always damp, we’ve survived quite well.

But it did interfere with our bike riding. I planted marigolds, but I’m holding off on moving my basil, oregano and garlic outdoors, for fear of them getting drowned.

June is looking interesting, though – we have some company coming, which usually forces us to actually do some of the items on our to-do lists, instead of just staring at them. Unfortunately, they are super ugly tasks, like pressure washing the porch and sanding and painting a bathroom ceiling.

And if the past is a predictor of the future, it’s going to get hot and humid soon, so we’ll need to bust out the blender and start working on frozen drink recipes. I’m also going to try my hand at some boozy sorbet – I’ll be sure to report my findings, but I imagine I’ll have to try it several times just to be sure I’ve got it right. For science 🙂 .

Spring in Kansas City is my second favorite season (Fall is my very favorite).

The days are long and bright, the flowers and trees bloom -the pollen is terrible but I’m trying a new allergy med so we’ll see how that goes. But it’s time for Hello May – my look back at the past month and a look forward at what’s coming next at SuzerSpace!

Three things I really enjoyed in April:

1. Hewitt Avenue’s Print Lettering Guide and her ProCreate Brush. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I’m super into learning how to do brush lettering. Most of my time has been spent on the cursive version, and I’m really liking Sarah’s take on the print.
2. The Stanley Cup Playoffs. I’m a hockey fan, even though I came to the sport late in life (growing up in West Texas kind of limits your exposure to winter sports). This year has been super interesting with some wild big upsets in the first round. It’s almost worth staying up past my earlybird bedtime to watch.
3. A new tradition. I have my annual physical in April, and I spend much of the end of March and most of April dreading it. This year, we tried something new – I took the entire morning off from work (so no guilt) and after the appointment Mr. SuzerSpace and I went to our favorite breakfast place for brunch. This was selfish in that it was a reward for getting through the appointment and gave me something to look forward to. It was also selfless, in that for the blood work I had to skip breakfast, so I did everyone at work a favor by stopping for food so as not to work hangry all morning.

Coming up in May –

1. Spring planing season in Kansas City officially kicks off Mother’s Day weekends (no real threat of frost after that). Marigolds were a huge hit last year, I’m planning on going overboard on them this year.
2. May is a month of racing fun – Monaco, Indy 500 and the Memorial Day Nascar race.
3. Don’t forget Mother’s Day. If you missed it, last week I posted a freebie printable Mother’s Day card with a tutorial on making an envelope liner.

The winter weather hung on until right at the edge of the Spring Equinox – it was bitterly cold the week before, and then boom, out came the sun and the 50 degree afternoons. It’s been so nice opening the front door during the day and not having to run in from the car after work because of the bitter cold.

Of course, it snowed on Saturday just to mess with everyone’s state of mind, but it was too warm to stick so it ended up being kind of pretty.

I’ve seen the tips of the daffodils poking through the leaves I didn’t rake up last year, and that’s a sure sign spring is coming, and they have survived April and even May snowstorms before.

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February is often an ugly one in Kansas City. This one was unusually cold, unusually snowy, and to top it off, I served on jury duty for an entire week. Let me tell you – the wheels of justice move very, very, very slowly.

Two things that helped move February along:

I’ve mentioned before how much I like Skillshare, and this month I’ve totally been consumed with Bonnie Christine‘s classes on Surface Pattern Design. I’ve been using Adobe Illustrator since 1988, and I felt pretty confident in my skill set, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said “Oh wow, didn’t know that” during these classes. If you don’t have a Skillshare subscription (it’s like Netflix for tutorials – one fee covers all you want to consume), this link will get you two free months to try it out.

For years I’ve wanted to color up my kitchen with Fiesta, it also turns out that we have the largest independent retailer of Fiesta in the Midwest just 15 minutes from the house. We went “just to see what they had”, but I predictably caved and bought two mugs right on the spot. Which led to us going back and buying two bowls. I’m sure I’m going to go back in March and get two plates. I can’t justify just tossing out our current dishes, but I feel like if I add in the new ones slowly, it will be a treat, and not just spending money.

Coming up in March:

Joanne Hawker’s Meet the Maker series was super interesting on Instagram last year, and seeing that community was big in helping me push through the scary parts of starting my own Etsy shop. Looking forward to reading all the #meetthemakerposts this year, and seeing how many I can complete as well.

St. Patrick’s day is a big deal in Kansas City – we skip the parade (and it’s unfortunately associated gun fights), but we like to celebrate with Reuben sandwiches. Mr. SuzerSpace goes for the traditional, but last year I made my own vegetarian version and this one looks similar.

Really looking forward to Spring. Maybe the sun will come out? It’s been a bit since I’ve seen that yellow ball in the sky!

January can be a long, dragged out affair of gray weather in Kansas City, and the sudden halt to all the holiday fun coupled with those dreary skies can be a definite mood killer.

I set up myself up for success this year by taking all the Monday’s off from my day job. I have been there long enough to earn an extra week of vacation, and setting up 5 three day weekends sounded much more fun than a week off with no real plan.

I also was super nice to myself and made a hard and fast rule to NOT schedule any adult tasks for those Mondays off – so no doctor appointments!

Three things we’ve really been into in January at SuzerSpace:

1. This recipe . I’ve linked it before, but every time I make it, I cannot believe how great it tastes compared to the simple, inexpensive ingredients and easy steps. I sub standard white beans for the gigantic ones listed in the recipe.

2. This knife . A Christmas present to ourselves, this has turned out to be the perfect kitchen knife for someone who has never had good knives. Also handy – this series of videos for improving your knife skills.

3. This sewing hack . I’m short, so I hem a lot. And I’ve thought about buying those pre-made hem gauges, but I never do. If you’ve read this blog, you know I love cardboard and have lots of access to it, so this has been a game changer.

Coming up in February:

1. A new cardboard door decoration, with a twist! This one will span more than one holiday/event/season.

2. Racing season starts (well, actually it started last weekend with the 24 hours at Rolex, but NASCAR kicks of their season at Daytona, and then it’s 43 weekends of  Mr. SuzerSpace being glued to the TV on Sundays, which means more crafting time for me!

3. I hear there is some sort of football game on this weekend? I’m not all that into the Super Bowl this weekend, partly because I’m really tired of the Patriots, and even more so because the KC Chiefs got themselves so close to getting in that I wore myself out. But here’s a pro-tip if you are crafting for the event – NFL footballs do NOT have that white stripe on the edges. That’s for college only.