Our Featured Guest Star- At Second Street

Today we are welcoming Kalleen from At Second Street.  Kalleen’s blog is what my blog wants to be one day when it grows up.  It is a great place for inspiration, color and design.  I don’t believe she has made a project yet that I don’t want to run off and try.

I asked my buddy Tom Selleck and his mustache to pick her up at the airport and unfortunately they’ve had a little car trouble.  Tom thinks it’s the alternator, but who knows.  Tom is a handsome guy, a wonderful actor, the most talented mustache sporter I ever met.  But one thing Tom isn’t is a mechanic.  

Fortunately, they  broke down right in front of the Waffle House, so while Tom waits on AAA, he is treating Kalleen to some great waffles with a side of hashbrowns, smothered, covered, topped and chunked.  And I’m sure our waitress, Jilly Bean has put in her good set of teeth (she has a crush on Tom), and Rastus the cook has changed into his clean wife-beater t-shirt.  It never hurts to make a good impression.

I was going to hurry up and finish my latest craft project while I was waiting on them, but apparently Oprah’s Green Room is overfull again and she sent over the cast of Fashion Police to wait in mine.  So I’m currently housing Joan Rivers, Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne and George Kotsiopoulos.  Not that I’m intimidated or anything, but I’m not really sure my Harley Davidson T-shirt and Ducky pajama bottoms are up to their standards.  You should have seen the looks on their faces when they saw me.  Well, actually, I’m not sure if Joan was appalled or not.  Her face hasn’t moved in at least 15 years. 

They immediately started taking notes about my outfit, shaking their heads and clicking their tongues.   George asked me if I  got my tennis shoes from 1979.  Ummm… I think that was an insult.  And they all totally enjoyed insulting my hair scrunchie.  But true to my southern upbringing, I smiled sweetly, brought them all some sweet tea and said, “Bless your little heart” (the southern terminology for “up yours”) a bunch of times. 

Oh look, here is Tom and Kalleen!  Tom, why don’t you go say hi to Joan and her friends, bless their little hearts, while Kalleen and I go sit down for an interview!

Suzy: So tell me a little about yourself, your family, your other hobbies … 
Kalleen: I come from a very creative family.  I grew up with my parents creating things around our home. My dad can make anything. Whether it’s a new bathroom, an amazing treehouse or the best meal I ever ate. My mom is an artist and amazing seamstress.  She made all our clothes growing up and would take us to the mall to draw sketches of the clothes we wanted, which she would later make. 



Kalleen: Now, I’m a mother of four doing what I always dreamed of.  I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people I know. It can be overwhelming to find time to create with small children but it’s my therapy. Pathetically I don’t really have any other hobbies, but I am very competitive and love to play games.  


Suzy:  When and why did you start blogging, and where would you like your blogging to lead? 

Kalleen: A year and a half ago I could barely sew and had never seen a craft blog or even knew they existed.  Then one day I found The Nester, which led to other blogs and more and more blogs and I was hooked.  I’m embarrassed to admit I spent countless hours staring at this computer screen.  I was so inspired that I started making stuff. Then I thought, why not share my stuff too? I hope that I can stay focused on why I started a blog. I love creating and want to focus on that and not get carried away with blogging. 


Suzy: Can you tell us a few things that most folks don’t know about you?

Kalleen: I love to travel. My mother works for Delta and I could fly for free for many years. I’m always reminding my husband what a sacrifice it was to marry him and lose my flight privileges. In addition to lots of little trips, I spent a summer in Italy during high school and a summer in Russia during College. The funny thing is now that I have kids I’m kinda scared about traveling outside of the US. It’s so lame. My husband makes fun of me all the time. I hope I grow out of it as my kids get older, there is still so much I want to see.

Suzy: Since I’m kinda a crafty blog, I have to ask. Are there any particular crafts that you enjoy the most? 


Kalleen: I love sewing because there are so many things you can do with it. I love sewing crafts, bags and clothes. The craft that I really enjoy the most though is painting. I find it very relaxing. I’m not that good and have a lot to learn but I find it so enjoyable. I can paint for hours and hours and never tire of it. 

  

Suzy: I know you have a very busy life.  I also know first hand how time-consuming a good blog is.  How do you schedule it all in? 

Kalleen: Well, I’ve had to slow things down a bit lately on the blog. I’m trying to focus more time on creating and less time online. Luckily my two kids that are at home during the day are big nappers. My best tool is goal setting. If I write down what I hope to accomplish in a day somehow I usually can squeeze it all in. 



Suzy: Since I’m also kinda a sitcom blog, my buddy Tom wants to know if you have a favorite celebrity.  Other than him of course.

Kalleen: Well Tom is fabulous and has a great sense of humor. I’ve enjoyed meeting him very much. I don’t really watch much TV, but my kids and I do enjoy Buddy from Cake Boss. He has a fun personality and makes the greatest cakes. I would love to visit his bakery someday. 

Suzy: This crafty blog community is full of wonderful folks.  Can you tell me what blogs inspire you?

Kalleen: Every time I come across a new crafty blog I am amazed at how talented people are. I generally like blogs that share real projects that a busy mom can accomplish. I want to see stuff that I could actually see myself copying. Some of my favorite reads are: Craftiness is not optional, Delia Creates,  I am momma Hear me Roar,  KoJo Designs,  Bee in our Bonnet,  a new favorite, Icandy handmade.




Suzy: Can you tell us a little about what you are promoting right now? Anything coming up that you want us to know about?  

Kalleen: I just finished up “Tie one on me” a week of apron inspiration and now I’m taking it easy for a bit.


Suzy: Kalleen, thank you so much for coming down for the interview!  It is such a great pleasure to meet you!  Please be sure to take a few moments and head over to Kalleen’s blog, At Second Street.  Auditions for the next 1 Month to Win it will be held until April 20th.  Stop by and show off your best stuff.  I bet you come away with tons of great ideas.  It’s a fun place to gather. 
Now we probably better head into the Green Room and rescue Tom.  Apparently the Fashion Police also have issue with his Hawaiian shirt and his cowboy hat.  George had the nerve to tell him that mustaches are not the current style, that he might want to look into a goatee.  Tom is very upset because they have no appreciation for relics from his great movies.  That cowboy hat has seen many a great day as a costar along with his mustache in the movie Quigley Down Under.  And the Hawaiian shirts, well Tom will have you know that before he made Magnum PI, Hawaii was just an island in the Pacific.  So there! 
As for the mustache, well we won’t delve into the dark years when it was just Tom Selleck and no ‘stache.  We all know who the star is.
Joan made an effort to raise her eyebrows at that last comment and when it didn’t happen, she summoned Kelly and Guiliana to do it for her.  Bless their little hearts…