HAPPY HALL(HOO)WEEN

LIST 4: THINGS TO DO IN TEXAS

For the last 5-6 weeks we've been pretty confined to our apartment. Mostly because we didn't want to spend much money until we got paychecks coming in and felt that we had a little extra to use on fun stuff. I'm sure there's even more than this to explore, but here's a few things I've heard about or want to do!

1 - Fort Worth Zoo ... we've yet to see a tiger in a zoo, maybe we'll get lucky here

2 - Fort Worth Botanical Gardens ... DONE! It's free to walk the main gardens and a couple bucks to check out the Japanese Gardens

3 - Six Flags Over Texas ... we skipped out on the state fair, we thought this would be more fun

4 - Go see a Texas Rangers game ... Someone had mentioned to us tickets were inexpensive, we'll see how that goes next year now that they'll play in the World Series!

5 - Burgers Lake ... 30 acre park with beaches, slides, picnic area, etc!

Museums
6 - Amon Carter Museum of American Art

7 - Kimbell Art Museum

8 - Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

The Stockyards
9 - Fort Worth Herd ... cattle drive that runs every day

10 - Billy Bob's ... the world's largest honky tonk. They get really great artists to play on the weekends, you can get a general admission ticket for $15. LeeAnn Womack in November!

BOOK PROJECTS: FELT FORWARD

I don't personally have this book, but I bought it for my mom before I knew how to knit and had her copy me some patterns from it. Finishing up another Jane Hat, and then am going to start on these felted boots!

FINISHED: BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR "MISS A"

One of the few jobs I have is watching an adorable nearly 1 year old and her very silly 2.5 year old brother a couple mornings a week. Little "Miss A" has a birthday coming up in November and here's what I came up with for a gift.

Got the onesies at Walmart for $2/piece and spent an evening sewing on some fun images! Hoping I can find some more solid colored onesies, didn't want to stop sewing these!

I WANT IT: BOLERO

I'm thinking one of these could be really wonderful
with my wedding gown. Found it at this Etsy store.

FINISHED: FRENCH PRESS SLIPPERS

Discovered on luvinthemommyhood
Pattern by French Press Knits
Yarn by I Love This Wool Yarn in Antique Teal
Silver Buttons

CAUTION - CREATIVITY AHEAD

Luckily the card table fits in this little space behind the couch. Rather than getting out an uncomfortable folding chair it works out alright to sit in the comfy leather one : ) The ironing board does stick out just a little into walking space, but not bad enough to put it away. I'll just have to be creative in spurts, crank out lots of stuff and not worry too much about the mess, then clean it all up until the next time.

Right now I'm working on:
- Owl costume for Halloween (it's nearly done, just need to add a trim to the neckline of my dress and put some armbands on my wings)
- Birthday present for the little girl I've been watching
- Hemming some pants for work ... or maybe not, sewing other stuff is more fun
- Beginnings of a knit hat so I'll have something to bring to the knit meet up tomorrow!
- Waiting for Chad to decide what he needs me to make for his Halloween costume

Happy to be sewing again!

ON THE LIST: YARN WREATH

from Shutterly Lovely

OWL SHOPPING TRIP

Went on a little shopping excursion to find pieces for my owl outfit. There's not a Michael's or JoAnn's real nearby, but there's Hobby Lobby - which was kind of slim for fabric options but has great selection for all kinds of other crafts (and for some reason, lots of home decor).

Here's what I got:
- 5 different fabrics, 1/4 each (5.91 total)
- Various felt (2.80)
- Felt glue (3.99)
- Elastic (1.29)
- Pillowcase (1.50 ... from Ross)

Total Costume: $15.49!! Plus my time : )

ON THE LIST: BILLY CARDI

I've just started reading luvinthemommyhood and at just the right time, this month she's posting on comfy sews vs cozy knits! I relate to her dilemma, which to use for which project, like on slippers. I've been working on a felted pair to post about soon, but a pair of sewn kimono slippers look like they'll be easy to whip up too!

She's featuring this cardigan from no big dill. It looks so comfortable and I can't wait to make one! I'm forever cold in our apartment or going to eat or a movie, this will be the perfect thing to grab to keep the chill away.

It's still hot yet here, like 85, and I'm ready for fall - for lots of baking, knitting on the couch, warm drinks, scarves and sweaters!

OWL COSTUME INSPIRATION

lady bird | owl mask | wings | owl kiddo
We thought with moving to a new place that we would not have Halloween plans or the need for costumes, but we've been invited to a co-workers Halloween party and for the last week I've been racking my mind for what I can make and not spend a lot on.

Spirit Halloween opens in Bozeman a month or so before, and of course there's costumes at Target and Walmart too. Here there are all kinds of Halloween stores, but a lot of them have the same expensive stuff that doesn't always fit the right way.

I narrowed my list down to:
- a sunflower (my original idea from months ago)
- a lady bug
- 20's flapper

And then while I was blog surfing this morning, I came across this lady bird costume and from there did a couple other searches for some ideas to be an owl. I'm so excited to have a project to work on and a costume that will be original!

THEY'RE GR-R-REAT!

Chad gives me a hard time about buying the "big" box of Frosted Flakes, but it's my favorite cereal was cheaper to buy one big box instead of 2 little ones.

Something else great? I can buy a gallon of milk for 99 cents!

SONIC ANYONE??

Chad and I were out shopping yesterday and got a little hungry at the mall. The joke of the moment is "wonder if there's a Sonic?" because they are EVERYWHERE!

I was hoping to come up with a better figure than this, but using their "find a Sonic" feature it only brings up the nearest 5. The nearest 5 to where we live are all within a 5.5 mile area! The area we were at when discussing lunch brings up the nearest 5 all within 3 miles. Sonic much?

The only thing I really can try compare it to is McDonald's. Where can you go that there aren't a ton of them? Really, Bozeman has 3. The closest one to our place now is 6 miles, and the next one after shows up as 12. And it's not just McDonald's, it's also Taco Bell, Burger King, Arby's, etc . . . and hardly any Dairy Queens!

I've not yet actually been to a Sonic but I'm sure someday we'll decide to try it and when we do there will be no worry with trying to find one.

IN PROGRESS: FRENCH PRESS SLIPPERS - PART 2

I think I had a successful time felting despite forgetting to take my project out before the washer went to rinse and spin mode! Now to let them air dry -- hoping it doesn't take more than a couple days so I can finish attaching the straps and buttons!

Also found a knitting group to join that meets twice a month -- the FW Knit Stitch Bunch -- excited to meet some people here!

AVEENO LOVE

It's so hard to decide on facial and body care products that are affordable and all work together. So I just have a lot of stuff in my bathroom. I've talked about Bath and Body Works Lavender Chamomile and LUSH Dream Cream (also lavender!). And my third love is Aveeno.

I've used their Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser for years but have discovered a few new favorites. I switched to their moisturizer over the summer and love how lightweight it is.

And then in the pages of Real Simple, I saw a "great finds under $10" kind of page and discovered the new line of body wash - my favorite is the Pomegranate/Rice. I'd hope to get a matching body lotion, but the fragrances are not all the same, so I've been using Vanilla Chamomile, which is so perfect and is not overpowering.

But my favorite is their lip treatments -- I've even got Chad and a few other friends to switch from regular chapstick to Aveeno. They're a little bit more money, but they work so well that you don't use as much, which I think is worth it.

IN PROGRESS: FRENCH PRESS FELTED SLIPPERS

This doesn't look like much yet. Right now I've got all my pieces knit and need to work next on seaming them together, then felting them in the wash to make myself some cozy slippers. Hooray for Hobby Lobby for being nearby and carrying a decent selection of yarn!

"HIPPIE BAG"

I made this for myself back in Montana a few months ago and obviously slacked a bit on getting a picture up. It's the same pattern as another bag I made but I shrunk the bottom of the bag down a little and also added some darker fabric to the bottom in thinking the patterned fabric would look more worn on the bottom after setting it down all the time. Also had a great orange button to add some for flair and found my yellow scarf/handle at Target.

Chad and I were out shopping the other day at Kohl's and the woman at the cash register said to me "oh! I love your hippie bag!". I'm not sure if that's how most people would describe my bag. Chad said it must have been the way I'd dressed (brown gouchos, olive tank top, red flip flops) and that if I'd been in jeans and a nice shirt that she would have made a different comment.

However you want to describe my bag, it's now referred to as "my hippie bag" and the next one will definitely have a more modern look!

"stuck" - stranded, perplexed, frozen

I still feel a little disorganized from moving/unpacking. There is not a lot of space in a one bedroom apartment for storage (or our large living room furniture - it extends into what is meant to be a dining area, glad we sold our table!).

So, my craft room is now a packed up craft closet in our entry. You can't see the sides of the closet, but there's about 15 apple boxes with various types of projects in each - paper, yarn, paint, scrapbook albums, kid crafts, etc. I kept out things that I'll use all the time and my favorite books, but when I get the itch to make something I'll have to haul out the appropriate box and card table and set up somewhere!

I also like to craft when I feel like everything else is done, so I don't have to stop once I start. Even though things are unpacked, I feel "undone" in not having a routine with things here yet. I've been working at a preschool and will start another seasonal job and some extra babysitting but it'll be another week or so until I feel like I'll have a better grasp on what I have going on every day.

Ready to feel unstuck and work on fun things like these!

felted slippers | little dress | wool animals

WEDDING: INSPIRATION BOARD

I've known for quite awhile what I wanted for wedding colors - citrus and slate - and have been keeping clippings of anything I've come across for ideas. Although there's 300+ days until our wedding I have quite a bit planned already (layout, centerpieces, bridesmaids dresses, plus some!). So . . . here's a little sneak peek, some of actual things I've picked out and a few other inspiration ideas : )

PS -- the big day is set for August 13, 2011 in Montana!