Monday, November 23, 2009

(Florida) home sweet home!

So I'm incredibly excited to be in central Florida this week visiting my family. I love my Georgia home but I miss my family so much sometimes that it hurts. It's tough being a grown-up and having to live so far away. Beau and I have spent some serious time relaxing which has been so wonderful. The only thing I'm sad about is that I didn't bring anything fun and crafty to work on while I've been here.

I also forgot to bring my camera cord so I won't have any picture uploads for at least the next week. However I do have a fun cartoon that my little bro Sean made for me.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Just discovered...really cool website

Have you ever found yourself watching a show and dying to know where the character's bag, outfit, shoes can be found in real life? Well check out Seenon.com to answer any of these major life questions :-)

This site is great! It not only tells you the item's brand and style, it also tells you where the item can be purchased. (Though I really suggest googling the item because online you can almost always find items cheaper by just doing a little Internet research.)

So what was I trying to find? This awesome Lucky Brand Abbey Road Messenger Bag which they suggested purchasing from Piperlime.com but I found cheaper at Zappos.com.

Happy Monday!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sunday adventuring pt. 1 or Understanding how the fairy godmother turned Cinderella's pumpkin to a carriage

Beau and I had a great time up in Dawsonville today. We set out on a journey to Amicalola Falls but were lucky enough to happen upon this amazing pumpkin patch called Burt's Pumpkin Farm! I've never seen such giant pumpkins, it was awesome!

And as fate would have it they were selling dried gourds so Beau bought a couple for me to paint in our likenesses! What a wonderful day, and that was only the morning!

Pt. 2 coming soon or I love Amicalola Falls!








Saturday, November 14, 2009

Pondering gourds

I'm curious if anyone has ever attempted any gourd project? Not just using the squash in cooking though Butternut Squash Lasagna does sound very appealing, but I'm more curious about craft projects. I get a daily update from this really cool website called Care 2. Random aside: Care 2 is a website committed to making a difference. No matter what your cause you'll find something about it on this site. It's amazing!

In any case, today's update had a link to this article on 10 ways to use Gourds. They had ideas ranging from bird houses to body scrubs to candles. I'd love to try some gourd projects!

In addition to the gourd projects listed in the article, I think it would be hilarious to paint gourds to look like Beau and I similar to the ones in this post (pictured below) over at one of my new favorite blogs "A Beautiful Mess".

Monday, November 9, 2009

Some adventures lead you right back home...

Beau and I had a great time enjoying this beautiful, fall weekend. On Saturday we had our last wedding of the year. Our friends Elizabeth and Adam were married and they really celebrated the wonder of the fall season through their use of autumn color and foliage. It was a beautiful celebration of their love, I only wish we had been able to stay longer.

Sunday morning, despite or best efforts to sleep in, we got up at 7:30 and made some loose plans for the day. We knew we wanted to do some adventuring but couldn't decide exactly what that would mean so we decided to set out for breakfast and make our big decisions of the day over a few cups of coffee. We ended up at a great little place only a few miles down the train tracks from our house called Trackside Grill. Now I've heard mixed reviews about this place but all I saw, tasted and experienced was delightful. In fact my only beef with the whole place was a lack of grits on a breakfast menu that boasted "new south flavor, old south charm". I'm sorry but South to me always means grits. But Beau and I loved every last bite of our meal. I definitely suggest it to anyone that's ever in the area.

We decided to set out in the Cartersville direction. This is a quaint, little town that we always pass on our way to go camping. While we weren't sure where we would go when we got there we knew we'd make the most of it. Not to mention that the drive alone makes this trip worth it. The leaves are mid-change and everywhere you look there is color. Unfortunately the thing we forgot about quaint, little towns is that they are often without much to do on a Sunday.

Literally everything we tried to do was closed from the coffee shops to the outfitters to our original idea which was to go visit the Etowah Indian Mounds. After several failed attempts to do something we decided that this adventure was to lead us right back home.

Back home we scooped up little Frankie and headed out to Beau's favorite neighborhood coffee spot called Cool Beans. We sat out on the back veranda where we were able to listen to the sounds of the band that was playing just a few shop fronts down. This is where we were meant to spend the gorgeous, autumn afternoon.

Later on I went in to super homemaker mode and got a little crafty. I made these cute little fabric Christmas trees from this great tutorial.



Finally we finished out the day with some (LOW CHOLESTEROL)Shepherd's pie. I didn't take a picture of the finished product but I has to take a least one shot of the ingredients all simmering on the stove. The autumn colors are everywhere these days even in the foods we eat.

Happy Monday everyone!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Things I'm doing these days...

So I just recently found a cool blogging group called Red Velvet Art and I'm currently a tad bit obsessed with all their cool projects and ideas. These ladies run a shop in Missouri of the same name. Missouri has never really been on my list of places to visit but I have to tell you it's creeping up there. Not only because of Red Velvet Art but they are definitely moving it up the list.

In any case, and this is a bit embarrassing to speak of, but I've always had issues with knitting. I would think I knew how but nothing I worked on ever turned out...until now. Inspired by a project I found on Red Velvet's site I decided I would try again and before I knew it, I was knitting (and purling)!

I found some great videos on the web that helped me along the way and this was one of the most helpful.

In any case,here is the end result:



I'm super happy with them and have since made a second pair for a lucky friend.

So what's next? Back to crochet, I want to make a Granny Square Afghan! And imagine my delight when this tutorial from Craft Stylish showed up in my inbox yesterday!



Hopefully I'll have an afghan by the end of the year!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Just for fun...

1. Where is your cell phone:
Next to the computer

2. Your hair:
Is growing to it's natural shade which people are digging which makes me happy!

3. Your Mother:
Lives too far away but luckily always has time to talk to me on the phone. I love her to pieces!

4. Your Father:
Lives equally far away. He's my hero and always makes me smile!

5. Your favorite food:
Hmm...I think it's soup in a bread bowl! I love that!

(This one is from Quizno's, never tried their's but it sure looks good)

6. Your dream from last night:
Too weird to discuss.

7. Your favorite drink:
Coca-cola classic and Shirley temples.

8. Your dream/goal:
I feel like I'm living my dream. I'm married to the man of my dreams, I have a great family and a wonderful job. My loftier dream: to one day own my own coffee, sweet and craft shop!

9. The room you are in:
Living room

10. What is your hobby?
Running (though not as much as I should), crafting and really anything outdoorsy with Beauseph!

11. What is your fear:
My fear is that people are losing their humanity. Does anyone care about their fellow man anymore?

12. Where were you last night:
Right here chilling with my pup Frankie!

13. Something you are not:
An artist, oh how I wish I could draw!

14. Muffins:
Are quite delicious, I should make some more of these soon!

15. Wish list items:




All these fun things and Biggest Loser for Wii (sorry I can't remember where all these pictures came from, I saved them because I thought I would add them to a Christmas list and now I don't know where to send people to get them)


16. Where did you grow up:
Mostly in Florida

17. Last thing you did:
Gave Frankie a good cuddle.

18. What are you wearing:
Lots of black and gray-black boots and stockings, gray skirt, black, white and gray top and black cardigan.

19. Your TV:
Tuned to the news.

20. Your pets:
Just one a sweet, little lady named Frankie!

21. Your friends:
Rock!

22. Your life:
is good!

23. Your mood:
content.

24. Missing someone:
My Florida family...always!

25. Vehicle:
Red Liberty.

26. Something you're not wearing:
A scarf, a scarf would have been nice today.

27. Your favorite store:
Any craft store.

28. Your favorite color:
Well that varies day to day.

29. When's the last time you laughed:
When I was on the phone with Rebecca earlier.

30. When's the last time you cried:
Hmmm...I'm sure I've cried recently but I don't really recall.

31. Your best friend:
One met me for lunch today and the other is on his way home to me.

32. One place you go over and over:
Taco Mac, we love chicken wings!

33. Favorite place to eat:
See previous answer.

34. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
I'd love for us to have a nice little home of our own and maybe have a baby or two if God blesses us with children. Basically just an extension of the life I already have, but then who wouldn't be happy with this?