HOW NOT TO PUT AWAY LAUNDRY

I washed and then had this laundry pile on the bed with intentions to put it all away. It didn't happen and they've been on the floor for the last week. Finally got the energy to tackle it and make some sense of the closet - much better! (Except now the hamper is full of dirty clothes again from past week)

WEDDING INSPIRATION: HAIR PIECES

A little Etsy inspiration for my wedding hair piece. I have started collecting little things (buttons, different clips, netting, etc) to start playing around with. Thinking about doing smaller ones for the wedding party, like the little purple and blue ones (but in yellow or a gray). We'll see how it all comes together!

SPLURGE: $10 JEANS

Went window shopping at the mall over the weekend to get out of the tiny apartment and the Charlotte Russe there was closing down. The whole store was EMPTY except that they had racks of jeans for $10!! So happy that I found my size in a style I liked and even in a short length : ) Debated buying a second pair, but hoping to hit our gym now that things have quieted down a little with my crazy work schedule and be needed a new size sooner than later.

SCD: BABY BOY SETS

The perfect baby shower gift!
(3 burp clothes, 2 pacifier clips, 1 tie onesie)
After a little splurge on fabric, I've got myself lots of things to work on. I spent a few evenings ironing out wrinkles, cutting to proper sizes, and am finally getting to the sewing part. It actually makes it all much easier to conquer when making a lot. I really like all the fabric I've picked out locally, but next time I may order some online for more options. I've also worked on some "pee pee tee pees" or "caution cones" for preventing getting showered on when changing your baby boys and have a co-worker testing them for size (I made 2 different sizes) and absorbency.

Vowing to myself to be more prepared for the next craft show and to really set up my Etsy shop with items. I've got a list of things that I think are sellable. Need to make myself a schedule to make sure I don't forget anything.

Also in the process of knitting some hats and making mittens as special orders. Also have a fun Valentines present made up to share later!

12 ON THE 12TH: JANUARY

I'm back! At least I think I am ... I sat down earlier today to try post something and felt a little unfocused. And right now I should be crawling into bed, but I'm only "downstairs tired" (which comes from when we lived in a 2 story place where our room was upstairs. I frequently would be sleepy laying on the couch and drag Chad to bed with me, only to end up wide awake talking Chad's ear off while he out in no time. "upstairs tired" is when I'm tired enough to actually fall asleep once I hit the sheets.)

So I'm downstairs tired and tired of the tv. I'm thinking about the 7 month wedding reminder from The Knot that showed up in my email today and that I need to re-engage myself in planning. I thought I'd catch up on some wedding blogs, but first went through a few others that I like to visit.

I came across "12 on the 12th". From the few I saw I suppose the goal is to take 12 photos of your day each month on the 12th and share. Today is the 13, so this is a day late. And also with made up pictures because it's been awhile since I've taken any. Will get back on track with wedding planning later.

1 - This is Joel Dewberry fabric, which I've yet to get my hands on. Got quite a bit of fabric at JoAnns and Hobby Lobby in recent visits.

2 - I made brownies the other night but haven't eaten any yet. I think all I really wanted was some brownie batter!

3 - My brother will be done with his graduate program this spring. Hope to go to his graduation.

4 - Grey's makes my Thursday nights. It's my "almost the weekend, just get through tomorrow" fix for weeks that just seem long.

5 - I need my chips!! Chad is a chip maniac and I haven't been able to find my favorites since being in TX. Got a suggestion from work on where to find them. I now have a mission for the weekend ...

6 - Our wedding reception will be at the Baxter. At least this much is planned! There's actually more than that planned, so we're not procrastinating too much.

7 - Starting to admit that I miss the snowy Montana mountains. It's not right for TX to be so cold right now and now have anything wintery to look at!

8 - I'm ready for vacation from my vacation. What I mean is that even though we've lived here for almost 4 months now it doesn't always feel like it, and that it's somehow just a vacation, that I'm on hold and time is just passing until we get some railroad news or for the wedding.

9 - We watch a lot of House Hunters and each one makes this apartment feel smaller and smaller. I'm ready for some space!

10 - Excited to see this movie!

11 - I would do just about anything for a day at the spa. One negative thing about working with kids is how it kills my body!

12 - Again ... living in limbo. I go back and forth between being okay and needing answers for what the next year has planned.

BRB

If you've been looking for a new post lately there has been none. The holidays have been kicking my butt with more hours at work, parties, having family in town, etc. All which are very good things and have been thoroughly enjoyed, but has left me a little run down and allowed some kind of icky green snot monster to invade my system.

Will be taking the next couple weeks to...
- manage my way through the last week of 2010 work, visiting, etc
- let my health system reboot -- lots of water and vitamins for this chick!
- hopefully have readjusted work schedules that give Chad and I some weekend time that don't include having to catch up on sleep, we might even make it to a movie past 7 pm!
- pull out the card table and make some more goodies, had have great success with the stores selling for me : )

See you in a few weeks!

(thanks to urban dictionary for brb definitions **slightly edited**)

GUILTY PLEASURES: THE SING OFF

My latest addiction is The Sing Off, which is a reality competition for acappella music groups. The second season just started (I didn't watch the first) and I'm hooked. Ben Folds as a judge is awesome, Shawn Stockman as a judge is awesome, Nicole Scherzinger as a judge is only okay, she's kind of dingy.

These are some of my favorite performances!



The Whiffenpoofs sadly were eliminated after the second show : ( I thought they would have made it farther.



Committed is pretty awesome. I think they'll make it to the top 3.



This last group, Street Corner Symphony, is my favorite! I hope they win : )

The third show was on tonight, so I can't find videos quite yet, but they are equally amazing.

AND THE STOCKINGS WERE HUNG

This is the first year that I'll be waking up Christmas morning in my own bed! The last few years I've spent the night before at my grandparents or been out of town somewhere else. This also means that there was a need for Christmas stockings.

I generally like things to be matching and coordinated, so the idea of picking up stockings this year for 5 (my parents, brother and the two of us) and then possibly needing more in the future was kind of scary. I decided that I would be coordinated by not having anything match. Each sock is made from a patterned sweater. And when the need to have more arises I'll just cut up another old sweater. So, there's a theme and no one ever feel like their Christmas sock doesn't belong because it doesn't look like the rest. Here's the beginning of my collection!

WEEKEND MOMENT 12.12.2010

Unknowingly hit up happy hour at Sonic and got my Strawberry Limeade for $1 ... yum!!

DIGITAL WOES

When it rains, it pours ... so why would what be any different with anything digital?

Shortly after moving to Texas our camera started misbehaving (it may have been dropped once or twice?). It stopped taking pictures and we just finally got our act together to send it in. Luckily it's still under warranty!

Then about 2 weeks ago Chad had battle with a computer virus that had started doing stupid things to our computer. It took a few tries with different things, but it is now bug-free ... as well as free of any of the programs I use. I didn't realize how much I use Photoshop until it was gone! And we've both been coming and going so much nothing has been put back onto the computer. Luckily, again, we've got an external hard drive that we had back up of everything real important -- like wedding plans!

I've gotten a lot of stuff done, but will have to wait just a bit longer to share pictures - stay tuned!

TAKE THAT WEEKEND!

Thanksgiving was a little crazy for me. Not quite the quiet weekend I was expecting. Chad worked a lot of over time last week, including the early hours of Thanksgiving and both Saturday and Sunday after Black Friday. I worked Black Friday and all day Sunday. Between all the coming and going, setting up Christmas stuff and shopping we tried to squeeze in our apartment is a wreck!! I was not ready for Monday ...

Very thankful to have the morning off to get my life back in order! Got laundry done, kitchen cleaned, Christmas decorations that didn't get put up put away, got to the bank and post office. Opened up a new Scentsy bar -- Grapefruit Berry -- and the apartment is starting to smell lovely! I'm ready to come home tonight, take a hot shower, and crash on the couch with some knitting.

Itching to bake Christmas cookies and make caramels, but will wait until it's a little closer to my family getting here -- may have to make some chocolate chip until then.

{SCD} CUSTOM ORDER

So excited to share with you my first order via a facebook fan!

She saw a similar pair of mittens on {scd} on facebook and asked if I could make a pair with a dark grey hat to go with them. Here's the set she'll be getting!

The mittens are super cozy. They're made of coordinating wool sweaters and lined with fleece, so they keep your hands very warm. And the hat is both machine washable and dryable!

If you're interested in a custom order, give me a shout!

{SCD} @ SOBO FASHION LOUNGE

Dropped off my first batch of goodies today at SOBO Fashion Lounge!! Included were some of these super cute burp clothes!!

IN PROGRESS 11.24

I had a mom at preschool pass along the name of a fun little boutique there that she thought would be interested in selling my things. I met with owner and showed her a couple samples of things and she excited to carry my stuff! YAY!

So now I'm sewing, sewing, sewing to get some stuff made and in there for the weekend shoppers. Right now working on burp clothes.

Various things we discussed her taking:
Baby stuff -- burp clothes, bibs, peepee teepees, mini take along blankets ... she already has some organic onesies from another woman ... and diaper wipe case covers

Hair Accessories -- knit hats, bobby pins in all various sizes and sets

Bags -- totes with the scarf handles (she carries a ton of scarves in her store, so hopefully people will wanna mix and match!), little handbags ... hoping along the road when I master zippers a little better some cute makeup bags and once I get my act together to find clutch frames, some clutches ... also some checkbook covers: )

Hoping for a quiet few days to get stuff done!

FINISHED: WIPE OFF BOARD

Found this idea here. Got this frame for a couple bucks and put a piece of paper in rather than a picture. Had dry erase markers from Pictionary. Put in the entry way for Chad and I to write notes as we're both coming and going. Now to just remember to leave and check for messages!