We are on the way!

Mom and Larry picked us up bright and early this morning to take us to the airport for our big Alaska vacation.



We just had breakfast at the airport and are waiting to board the plane for Seattle now! I'm so excited and looking forward to a fun day at Pikes Place and the original Starbucks!

Posted using BlogPress from Chea's iPhone

Yikes! Stripes!

So I'm kind of on a roll with the B0ppy cover making, well actually my mom is loving it! She brought me one last night that she whipped up that is for me to use one day. The fabric she used is from my favorite team- the Dallas Mavericks! Can't wait to use that!
Last week, with mom's help, we created this cute cover..

You can't tell from the picture but the fabric is plush and the ruffle along the edge is satin. It is so soft!
I actually created this one as a sample piece but I am going to be working on another one to go in a gift basket I'm donating for a charity gala auction. Along with the cover, I'm going to make a burp cloth, onesie, lovie blanket and bib to match. Now I just need to work on a matching boy's set!

Pedis, Primping and Preparing

Jane and I are preparing to leave on Friday on our vacation to Alaska. We decided to go get pedicures although I'm not sure why because we are not going to be in our sandals much I'm sure.

Then we had lunch and went our separate ways. I made a stop at U!ta to pick up a few things I needed for our trip! Doesn't everyone need nail polish and liters of shampoo and conditioner for a 10 day vacation? Just kidding. But I am going to put the shampoo and conditioner in a smaller bottle to take with me.

I stopped off at a sporting goods place and found a cute lightweight rain jacket to take along as well. I was told that you need a rain jacket in Alaska because they get light showers every day. I love this hot pink one I found!

We are leaving Friday morning. I guess my next goal is to do a little laundry and pack some more necessary things! If you have been to Alaska, what types of things do you think I will really need and what can I leave home?

Boo!!!

I'm sure with just a few days left until I leave for vacation there are many things that I should be doing however, I had a little thought about something new I could create and I came up with this...

I love the witches' shoes and I actually have a little necklace that I got last year that says "if the shoe fits" and has a pair of witches shoes on it. Maybe I should be making this same shirt for myself! ha!!!

Shopping Love!

My Mom and I have been so busy sewing every day that we treated ourselves to a little shopping break. Anytime I go shopping with my Mom she talks me into purchasing lots of items. She gives me compliments on how great I look in something or how tiny it makes my waist looks and minimizes my hips (that's my insecurity) which ultimately makes me buy whatever it is. Well, I caved and bought a few items which unfortunately were high dollar items but very worth it!
A cute purple and green printed dress. I love the ruffle collar!

Maxi dress with crocheted top

Fun Sweater- check out all those ruffles!

It's so fun shopping with my Mom- even though my bank account didn't love it too much!

Don't Forget

Enter the Christmas in July giveaway at A Piece of Pope is hosting!

How Do You Fire Someone?

I had a hair appointment last week that ended up being a wreck! I went in for color and came out with a streak of red running down the center of my head along with a huge chunk of my hair being cut when I was only getting a trim. I've been going to the same stylist for at least 5 years. She and my husband went to high school together and her parents live down the street from my in laws. Recently, she was diagnosed with cancer and is currently taking chemo treatments. I am not sure if I just caught her on an off day or what but my hair was in no shape for me to meet my new principal the next morning! I called my friend who called her girl and she said she could fit me in but it wouldn't be until after my meet and greet with my new principal. Oh well, I threw my hair in a ponytail and sported my classic sunglasses on top of the head look. When I got to Kelsie's shop, she said, it didn't look too bad then I pulled off the glasses and the took the ponytail down. It was then "that bad". I got the look of "what did she do to your hair" from Kelsie. Then magic was created. Kelsie listened to what I wanted my hair to look like and added in her advice. My hair is now great, wonderful and according to my mom, the best my hair has ever looked! So here is my question, how do I break up with my former hair stylist when my husband is still going to her? HELP!!!

Excitement!

Tuesday started off with a day of sewing. Mom and I decided that we would work on a few projects together. She brought her machine over and we sat up our shop in the breakfast room and worked just about all day- with the exception of a quick lunch break for CFA salads! Yum! We had so much fun together and created some cute things.





Wednesday, I spent the entire day at my BFF's house. We did lots of baking and laughing! Lisa is so much fun to hang out with! We made some yummy french bread and cheesecake brownies!


Lisa was using a very interesting tape measure to make sure the bread was evenly rolled out!

I also got to hang out and play with these cuties!


Tom and I went to my other BFF's house last night to book excursions for our upcoming Alaskan cruise! We ended up booking the helicopter tour and dog sled adventure on Mendenhall Glacier. I am so excited as this is one of the only things I really wanted to do on our trip! It's another thing to cross off my bucket list! I also got to spend some quality time with some little friends! They are so adorable!

As if booking our excursions wasn't enough excitement, I got a message that one of Lisa's friends wanted one of my newest projects that Mom and I worked on. I am so excited to be getting my products out there! I'm actually headed to HL in a bit to pick up some trim for this next creation! Can't wait to show you what I make!

Christmas in July

This weekend, my mom finally returned from visiting friends and family in South Carolina and Tennessee. I'm so happy that she is finally back home because I missed her! On Saturday, I went to her house and we drove over to the Third Monday McKinney Trade Days. It's basically like Canton (a big arts and crafts fair) but on a fairly smaller scale. We didn't really purchase anything but it was fun to look and get some ideas. It was so hot so we didn't stay long at all. We decided to head on over to the outlet mall and a few little boutique shops we love. I was on the hunt for Tom a birthday gift and Mom was buying Christmas gifts! We ended up finding lots of things. I completed my shopping list and got a couple of Christmas gifts too. It feels really good to have my Christmas shopping list started.

Speaking of Christmas in July, A Piece of Pope has a giveaway going for a Christmas card design. Head on over for your chance to win!

Friendship

Recently there has been lots of talk about friendship and adulthood. Developing friendships is a skill that we learn at an early age. We make friends throughout our lives and some are friends for a season or a moment in time and then they are gone but some friendships withstand the test of time. True friends accept you for who you are. True friends challenge you to be your best and are there to pick up the pieces when you fall. I've had my share of fairweathered friends and I also have friends who are lifelong. Recently, I have dealt with my share of fairweathered friends. Those who are there for the good but can't take the bad. Those who rather smile at you and then stab you in the back. I am sad that I have had to endure these bumps in the road but I know these are the things that make you appreciate your true friends.

Recently, I received a note from a long lost friend. The card made me smile, cry and wish for those carefree days again. It also made me realize that having quality friends is much better than the quantity of friends.

I have friends from all facets of my life, childhood, high school, college and adult. I am thankful for my true friends and am counting my blessings tonight and each day for every single one of you.

What's Been Going On

I have been in total redecorate mode around my house lately. It started with the spare bedroom and now it's turned to, well every single room in the house. I'm a redecorating machine! Actually I'm not sure you can call it redecorating when it never has been decorated in the first place.
We moved in our house 4 years ago, on our 1 year anniversary to be exact. I had furniture, he had furniture and then we bought furniture. Our house, like many newlyweds was a hodge podge of design and taste. Well, last summer we totally revitalized our family room. New furniture, new rug and new tv. It's one of my favorite rooms in the house!



This summer started with recovering the chairs in our breakfast room. This was easier than I thought and Tom helped me out!

Yesterday I started working on the office. It's in the front of our house and although you don't immediately see it when you walk in, it comes a close second. I've always wanted to make it look professional yet functional. We don't really utilize that office but I would like to. Here are a few clips of things that have been added to the office. It's not 100 percent complete so I'll wait and give you the full tour then.


And finally, the things that have kept me the most busy this summer...
Hairbow making

Outfit making



And fabric shopping

Now I'm off to pickup some things for more redesigning! Happy Tuesday!

Frosting, Fixing and Fun

I can't believe I didn't blog about this but I woke up in a panic last night and remembered that I tweeted about it but never blogged so lets back up a few weeks right now.
I'll take you back to Friday, June 18 for a minute. I woke up early that day with lots of emotion and lots of things on my mind. One was this sweet girl...

Maggie was having surgery to repair the torn ACL in her back leg. We noticed her beginning to limp a while back and took her to the vet so many times about it. I was constantly looking up signs of hip dysplacia and we started her on this fish cartilage vitamin that was extremely expensive. However, none of that was working and ultimately, we decided the only way to have our old dog back was to bite the bullet and have the surgery.
This is Maggie on Thursday at my mom's house. My nephew loves to play with her. He will love on her and she will love him back! I am so glad she is so good with children.


I took her in for surgery at 7:00 on Friday morning and got the call around noonish that she was out of surgery and feeling sleepy. I was very glad that Halee was with me or I would have been a mess!
While Maggie was recovering, Halee and I went to Highland Park to do a little shopping. We visited a cute fabric store (City Craft) and stopped for cupcakes at Sprinkles! I had a key lime cupcake and she had chocolate. I know I have pictures somewhere of those cupcakes, when I find them, I will post them!
We then went and picked up Maggie around 5:00. She was bandaged up and feeling so bad. She had lots of pain meds and things to help her stay as comfortable as possible.


Friday night was horrible. She couldn't get comfortable at all. I ended up sleeping maybe 30 minutes total and that was on the floor next to Maggie. I spent the night petting her, talking to her and being extremely careful that she not walk or pull her bandages.
Sunday we had Father's Day lunch at our house and after everyone left, I took a quick shower. Well, it didn't take long for Maggie to come limping in the bathroom with her bandages hanging off her leg and the incision bleeding. She had pulled no less than 8 staples out! We called our old vet (he took a better job not in the clinic anymore or we would still be with him) and he explained that it was due in part to the bandage being too tightly wrapped. We took her back in the next day and they cleaned up the wound and gave her the newest accessory for the summer.

It's been a few weeks now and her leg is healing up nicely. She is still wearing the cone because she likes to lick the incision site and it needs to heal a bit more. All in all, it was a successful, interesting day.

Out On A Limb

I've been doing lots of praying about going public again. I decided to protect my family and ultimately, my feelings, I've changed my blog address. If you are still following my old blog, I will no longer be updating it and will now be using this blog. I have imported all posts to this blog. Thanks to all of you who supported me in my absence. It feels good to be back!

Blog Day of Silence