Window shopping spree- A Smorgasboard!

Another Thursday... Hooray!

Before I get to the good stuff (who doesn't love a free for all window shopping spree?!) I just want to touch on a little something.

This morning I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Bleh! I don't like when people say this and put negative energy out there! This happens from time to time though, and I think it's almost necessary so we're forced to sort of take a minute to press our reset button. We often get so caught up in thinking or obsessing over the most random, minuscule  things, we lose sight of the amazing things happening in our present day to day life. I've been counting down to vacation, looking forward to bringing home Bentley, just constantly thinking about what's next, that I wasn't appreciating right now. So I took a deep breath this morning and reminded myself. I'm so blessed to have the life I have and the people in it that I do. I never mean to take it for granted but we all do sometimes. There's no way to be perfect in this and I'm not going to pretend I won't probably get back caught up in the dumb stuff in an hour. But right now, in this moment, I'm grateful for what I've got- and life couldn't be better. :)

Now that the gush is out of the way-

Window Shopping Spree time!!

I'm not gonna lie, I sat down at my computer today and had NO CLUE what I'd want this week. So I just started randomly searching things. I think that's apparent in the random arrangement of this weeks shtuff!

1. A Boatload of awesome quilting fabric- I am OBSESSED with the Fat Quarter Shop and I almost always find exactly what I'm looking for when I stop by their site. Even if I have no clue that I'm looking for it! Right now, I really want to get cracking on a Halloween quilt and some cozy quilts for our furry children!

2. Another Fossil bag?!- Is it that apparent that I love Fossil bags? I was in the store the other day and had to seriously restrain myself while the person bought a watch. This is the Weekender... Yes, I would love to galavant on weekend trips with that on my arm!

3. Cute peeler set- My sole purpose for wanting this set is to make zucchini "pasta"... I think that's reason enough! Italian food with limited carbs? Not an issue when it includes one of my favorite veggies! Bring it on!

4. Bow tie dog collar- EEEEeeeek, Squeeee and all sorts of other "How flipping adorable is that" sounds. Too bad this was vetoed about as soon as the page loaded... P.S. You're no fun anymore! Bentley would ROCK a bow tie. And I wouldn't make him wear it all the time! Only when he needs to be fancy. Duh! At least I'm not trying to put sweaters or bling on him!! (No offense meant to those of you that may regularly dress your pets... whoops...)

5. Ball Mason Jars- Random, you say? Have you been on pinterest lately?!? There's probably a zillion different projects begging to be made that call for mason jars. I have none, therefore buying some would only be logical!

6. Martha Stewart Craft Hutch- I LOVE craft storage. Stick Martha Stewart's name on it and I love it even more! Put a chalkboard on the door- my goodness, could it get any better?!? Amazing!

There you have it my lovelies! This weeks ever so random objects of my affection. Any of them strike your fancy?

You should know, I did do a fair amount of actual shopping this week- solely vacation based! I'm saving it all for the trip but next week there may be a special Window Shopping Spree- vacation edition in preparation to gear up!

Until next time!

Things I've made in the past few months...

This post should also be titled- "things where I didn't have the foresight to take pictures of the process to be able to turn into complete blog posts." Whoops!

I had so much fun working on these 3 projects but I think I was also so concerned they would come out terrible and wouldn't make it onto the blog. The pictures of these projects are heinous, I will give you that. I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking when I snapped the sole photographs I have of these things. In fact, I'm not sure I was thinking at all. Despite that, these are 3 little projects that still deserved their time in the lime light so I am determined to give that to them- ugly pictures and all.

1. Ugly Couch Pillow Make-Over

This was seriously the simplest of the simples. I had, for whatever reason, grown to absolutely detest my couch pillows. I went to Home Goods a few weeks in a row (have I ever mentioned my complete obsession with Home Goods? I can assure you this isn't the last you'll hear of it!) because I was determined to find a good deal on new pillows. When I came to accept that I wouldn't find pillows I wanted at the price I was willing to pay, I switched my search to Jo-Ann's. Coupons in tow, I picked out 2 home decor fabrics I liked and asked for a couple yards of each. I can still remember the woman working there asking me what I planned to do with the fabric and me feeling the need to express to her my hatred for these pillows and my desire to change their lives with a make-over. She looked at me like I was insane, cut my fabric, and I cheerfully went on my way. Is it really so strange to dislike your couch pillows so much? 

I found the project in my Singer Simple Sewing book... It's probably one of my favorite go-to's for everything sewing machine related. Check it out!

2. Big Fancy Pants Scrapbook Paper Covered Letters

The title really says it all. I went to Jo-Ann's (yes you are sensing a theme here! I put that coupon app to good use people!) and I bought a couple of those big paper mache letters they sell. In hindsight, I could've bought the next size up. Maybe next time! Any hoot- I picked a scrapbook paper pack I felt was appropriate to my living room, grabbed a couple sticker packs... maybe a few extra that I didn't need..., a tea dye colored Distress Ink ink pad, and a new bottle of Mod Podge. In essence, all I really did was throw all these things at the letters and cross my fingers. Luckily they stuck! 

They now sit on opposite towers of my entertainment center and they couldn't make me happier.

3. Chalkboard Calendar for All My Comings and Goings

It came to my attention that an over-sized calendar that I could fill in regularly needed to find it's way into my life. Because I'm obnoxious and a little bit of a brat, I didn't want the typical dry erase board. I thought it was lame. Apologies to all dry erase board enthusiasts out there, including myself for the one in my kitchen that keeps track of my needed groceries. I decided to go with a chalk board, but chalk is messy. I don't care too much for chalk dust. Enter Chalk Ink! This is the stuff Starbucks and other grocery stores and restaurants use for their fancy chalk boards. Of course it makes sense for me to want these in my house! I got the artista pro line (the markers that only come off with products like windex) to draw all the outlines that I wouldn't want to retouch every month. Those were things like the actual outline of the calendar, the days of the week, and the notes section on the bottom. I also bought a few of the regular line (wipes off with water) to write in the month, the days, and our actual schedules! This came out so much better than I expected it to! I bought the chalk board at *shocker* Jo-Ann's and framed it in a big poster frame from Target. It's doing very nicely here and keeps me where I should be at all times!

 

I should also point out, next to the month name, I write the month in Spanish and Italian as a mini language lesson... Take that Rosetta Stone!

There they are- the forgotten and poorly photographed labors of my last few months! Here's hoping I remember to document the process of my next adventure in crafting!

Have a lovely weekend, all!

A quilting accomplishment...

A short and sweet post just to celebrate my finishing my first quilt! :) As I've expressed before- this project is far from perfect. In fact, if perfect were a place, this quilt would be the opposite side of the world. But I adore it and I put so much love, time, and energy into it. I cannot wait to cuddle up under this bad boy and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Here's hoping each next quilt is a little better than the last!!


The finished quilt on it's temporary home...

Little stitched initials...

The brilliant book the project came from... Buy it!!

The author of this book, Anna Maria Horner, has a fabulous blog with much more happiness and quilting goodness. Check it out! I just came across it recently but I am loving everything about it.

I can't get enough of all of these little accomplishments in life right now. Regardless of how difficult things in life may seem at times, I can always take comfort in celebrating the small happinesses of day to day life. I love it and I can't wait for the next little celebration. Until then- cheers!

Loving the imperfections...

Happy February, world! It's an exciting month all around including Valentine's Day, my birthday, my first half marathon, and the revamping of my show at work. A busy but exciting month.

That being said- I've been finding it difficult to blog lately because I have it in my head that I can only make a new post when I've completed something. This is a ridiculous habit. Especially when life is a giant "mid-project" situation. It's time to make an effort to change this up. I'm not saying it will adjust overnight but the attempt to be better about it is a step in the right direction.

Since I last blogged, I've been hard at work on my very first quilt. I write this as I've finally finished making all 42 of my quilt blocks... yeah, 42. Why I decided my first quilt should be on such a grand scale is beyond me. I guess I wanted a challenge. I cannot tell you how fun and therapeutic this challenge has been so far. Growing up I've always had trouble enjoying activities I couldn't do perfectly but that's something I quickly had to get over. From the first slice I made into the fabric I learned I had to love the imperfections in this project in order to enjoy making it. Especially once I got to the blocks that involved circles, I found that perfection was certainly not the goal with this. I think this is something most of us overlook in life too. It's not going to be perfect, by any means. But it's these bumps in the road, these imperfections, that make our lives. I was having a conversation just the other day where someone said they planned to ask God someday why we had to experience losing people in our lives. And my response was that without the bad, we'd never notice the good. On a much smaller level, while a lot of my blocks have a whole lot of character, I was so proud when I'd get one just right. I want to go ahead and acknowledge this simile is ridiculously cheesy but when you're going through things and you spend a few hours alone at a sewing machine, these things are bound to go through your head.

It would be silly of me to have a blog dedicated to things that make you happy if I didn't point out how they pertain to balancing out the negative. Not every day is perfect. In fact, some days are down right crappy. But I hold on to the idea that absolutely no day is completely lacking of some shred of happiness. Silver lining, blah blah blah- but I'm being completely serious. If you're open to it, no matter how much something may hurt or how much you owe on your taxes (grrrrrrr) you can always find something to smile about it. So get on it! Look for the happy and celebrate the imperfections!

I now present- my completed blocks! Also known as my "something happy" on many a pensive day. There are so many mistakes and as I start connecting them, there will be more. But that's ok. :) This quilt will always makes me smile regardless of how crappy it may turn out. Some might say, the kids will fight over this quilt one day. Silly how a bunch of random fabric can mean so much. I love it. I love it more for all of it's imperfections. In my eyes, that alone will make it the most perfect quilt.

Blog botox...

It's a big day in the world of happy. I haven't posted in a while and I probably should've spread this one out amongst a few posts, but- I hardly ever do what I "probably should do." I feel I should point out the most obvious first- Cup a Hot Chocolate got a facelift! Yes, after a whole year of not being used with the same logo and occasional background change (courtesy of random template makers out there in cyberspace), it was time for a renovation. A clean, fresh start. I designed it all on photoshop last night when I couldn't sleep (which I will get to in a second) and now it's up for everyone's viewing pleasure. I hope it makes you all smile as much as it does for me.

2nd dose of happy- I ran 10 miles for the first time in my life.

Now, I'm well aware that some very hardcore (and let's face it, slightly scary) people run a lot more than 10 miles. But 10 miles to the girl that used to have to stay behind after the rest of her class was done with PE just so she could finish 1 mile- yes, this is HUGE!! Every day I seem to prove to myself a little more that I am more capable then I ever imagined. I highly recommend this running thing. Now, this will sound crazy, but go with me on this- anyone can do it. Start walking, speed up a little, if you get tired go back to walking, and repeat this until your mind is clear and you feel accomplished. If you've never done this before, a single mile is a great victory and you'll want to keep it up. So go outside or jump on a treadmill and get to it! But finish reading this post first.

As fantastic as this is, my finishing a 10 mile run at nearly 9 pm leads me to the final dose of happiness for the day- the up all night craft party! Granted, the only people in attendance were me and my 2 very loving cats, but 3 is company too. I had so much energy I was actually a little out of sorts because I had no clue what to do with it. You should know, Santa Claus gave me a sewing machine for Christmas but I was determined not to blog about it until I had finished my first 3 projects. At that point, I could blog and post pictures to my heart's content. Well- I did it! Thank you insane and mildly uncomfortable amounts of adrenaline that didn't die down until 5 am! My matching set includes a tabletop ironing board cover, a sewing machine cozy, and a craft apron. I'm not going to sugar coat this- they came out fantastic!! :) There's a bunch of little mess ups and some very crooked seams and I could not love these 3 mini projects any more than I do. What would you expect after a few years away from machine sewing? I used this great book for all 3 of these projects, One Yard Wonders, that makes making cute things fantastically cheap because I only have to buy 1 yard at a time when I work from it. Pinching pennies now so I can afford to start quilting soon! Without further ado... my little gems! As seen in my sewing nook- the artist formerly known as abandoned armoire.



No really, buy this book!
Hobbies are healthy for the soul and I highly recommend picking up as many as possible. Of course I do my fair share of leisurely couch time, but I can't help but smile when I spend my free time indulging in some of my favorite past times. Whether I'm making strides in my training for the Princess 1/2 or spending an hour making magic with a piece of fabric, hobbies that exercise you, be it physically or creatively, make my heart smile. So, hobby-on good people! Here's to a lot more smiling hearts out there.