Our nautical Christmas 2012

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Enchanted Seashells, Confessions of a Tugboat Captain's Wife

My tugboat man brought back some treasures and cool marlinspike seamanship projects he worked on while he ~~abandoned me~~ was away for two months.

What do you think of the captain’s welcome home signs?

This picture frame is huge–2 ft. x 3ft.

This is a close-up view of his masterful work.

My mariner found a float in the harbor and crafted a delicate netting in black.

And then we worked together to make it into a lamp! The base is a piece of driftwood. The captain’s making some fancy knotwork to embellish the shade.

Princess Rosebud was spoiled with a necklace from a craft fair somewhere near where Santa lives.

Sparkly! Shiny!

He fashioned a pretty little handmade tray with copper tubing sides and handles and filled it with shells and driftwood!

We had welcome home festive cocktails of cranberry juice and vodka with a fresh cranberry in our antique champagne glasses.

And yummy ginger cookies…

Our Downton Abbey-inspired dinner table.

His mess, which has since been cleaned up!

Now he has a new project–when he’s not surfing– refinishing a rowboat and making it seaworthy.

Such is the life of a tugboat captain’s wife! I’m a happy girl, that’s for sure!

Merry Christmas 2012 (justrestingup.wordpress.com)
Holidaze 2012: December 18: Christmas At The Driftwood Inn (stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com)
23 Recycled Wood Furnishings – From Driftwood-Designed Furniture to Salvaged Scrap Closets (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)
Finally…Christmas Elf (crampedwriting.com)
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake with Cranberry Raspberry Compote (goingbackwards.wordpress.com)

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Deja vu?

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Enchanted Seashells, Confessions of a Tugboat Captain's Wife

It’s time to begin preparations for another marathon of mom shuttling, cooking, baking, and honing my special stain removal skill set.

El Capitan is due back next Thursday, my son (Angel Boy, AB in future) flies in the next day, DIL comes in for one day on Sunday, and AB flies back out on Monday because he has a class to teach on Tuesday. Have I mentioned that he’s a Professor at Yale? I am trying to take the mom pride thing down a notch; however, in my defense, that’s kind of impossible. As a Jewish mom, it’s in my DNA. I’m loud and proud! Sorry, Angel Boy, that’s just the mom you have. Deal with it!

Maybe between the two of their Ph.d.s, DIL and AB can teach me how to work Facebook. It has become my adversary, no, my nemesis, which I WILL master if it is the last thing I do.

Nietzsche said, “Man is something that shall be overcome…” Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Replace man with Facebook (and iPhoto) and you get the picture. I resisted FB and Twitter as long as possible, but I have officially capitulated and need to catch up fast.

The box sits on one of my seashell tables, soon to be on Etsy!

I finished my new project; I collected some of my favorite polished rocks and seashells and an unusual piece of driftwood with a hole in the center (from the Bering Sea), and glued them on the top of a wooden box the captain made for me a few months ago. He crafted a frame of rope work and I left the edges raw and threaded faux pearls through some of them in a random fashion to look like a tassel. I really love it. What do you think?

Welcome to Casa de Enchanted Seashells..come on in!

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Enchanted Seashells, Confessions of a Tugboat Captain's Wife

To follow up on yesterday’s blog, I did not go surfing today. First of all, there was no decent surf this morning for the captain and he just now left for an afternoon surf sesh and anyway I have a project to complete. While he was away on his last assignment, I decided our front door was crying out for an addition of seashells to welcome everyone. Here’s what it looked like before I started. I thought the window embedded in the door was a perfect location for embellishment.

I made a template of the window and arranged the seashells, artistically, I hope!

It was necessary to use the trusty glue gun because the other type of glue wouldn’t work vertically.

A French Sennet

Once it was done, I was really pleased, but thought that some rope work would add the final touch. I commissioned the captain to work on a long piece to surround the window. I measured it, and it was about 50 inches. I glued it down and it’s done. I love it!

What do you think?

Welcome to Casa de Enchanted Seashells!

Instead of flowers, how about a seashell bouquet? (enchantedseashells.com)
My favorite seashell (enchantedseashells.com)
DIY – Seashell wreath “the remembrance of beach vacation” (biadecoration.wordpress.com)
Ropework and Nautical Charts (enchantedseashells.com)

Enchanted Seashells Confessions of a Tugboat Captain

Enchanted Seashells, Confessions of a Tugboat Captain's Wife

Sometimes he's here, sometimes he's not. What. Ever. I'm married to a tug boat captain who travels the world while I stay home, scrub the tile with rubber gloves and a toothbrush, then shop 'til I drop. My proudest accomplishment is being the mom of a wonderful son who has his Ph.D. from Yale. In the real world, I have a background in education, marketing, advertising, and public relations. I've been in a few films, helped my surfer/captain husband with a surf-related radio show, owned a couple small businesses, and co-directed a non-profit organization. Right now, I'm building a copy editing and proofreading career. I love seashells and rocks, gardening and baking, Chanel, Hello Kitty, Gossip Girl, and anything sparkly or leopard print. And NO, I am NOT a mermaid. I've never seen a mermaid with genitals, and since I've given birth, I couldn't be a mermaid. Any questions?