Woot!

I am finally 21 today! Seemed like such a long time coming. :)

ETSY UPDATE!

I just updated my Etsy store with new stuff! Check out the great prices here!

The Beach!!!

Ryan, James and I went to the most amazing place in North Carolina! Corolla on the Outer Banks was so wonderful. There were so many gigantic beach houses that cost a few thousand to rent just for a week!

For those of you who watch (or watched before all the drama, lol) Jon and Kate Plus 8; this is the beach where they climbed the lighthouse, bought hermit crabs, and drove all over the beach finding wild horses.

We didn't climb the lighthouse or buy hermit crabs, but we did search for horses! We figured it would be way more fun to do it ourselves rather than pay $47 per person...! This was my view most of the trip...lol.

So worth it because then I was rewarded with these:




While on our horse adventure we encountered some "water holes" that were pretty hard to determine the depth of. On our way out in one direction we had to stop and get out to judge the water before figuring out how to cross it. We went around the furthest right side possible so it would be safe. Well, on the way back the boys decided it would be more fun to just roll up the windows and go right through the middle of that same, mysterious water hole at 30 mph. Not the best idea...



The water was about 3 feet deep and the bottom was this thick, black, nasty mucky mud. We had to climb out the sunroof and jump to the land. Wasn't an easy feat for my short legs. Thankfully, James flagged down some silly couple from Tennessee that just happened to have a Jeep that could pull us out! Such fun times! I can't wait to go back because I had a really great day with these two crazy guys. :)

Oh and we also spent a few hours in the ocean since the water was 77 DEGREES. I have never been in water that warm, and let me tell you, it was so great. No more 40 degree New England ocean water for me! Lol.

We're Going to the Zoo!

Hello! I got back from my wonderful trip to see Ryan on Saturday. I was there for over a week and we did so much amazing stuff in that time.

We went to the Virginia Zoological Park in Norfolk. It was the greatest little zoo because it we so spread out over a ton of land that it didn't feel crowded at all. They had an awesome load of animals! :)

I fed this huge goat with big marble-like eyes! She was so gentle; she only used her tongue and lips to grab the food, never her teeth. :)

Loved this little prairie dog! The exhibit had those plastic domes where you could stand up in and looking into the prairie dog world. Pretty cool!

This elephant looked so perfect that it was hard to believe it was real!

We heard that there were baby lions born in May but we didn't get to see them. This must have been their dad; he was the only lion we saw.

Okay, this is kinda gross looking. It seemed like her legs were gonna snap at any second! Lol.

This little spider monkey was probably the best animal we saw all day! He was just chilling there and let us pose with him. He kept looking into our eyes like he was talking to us. Lol. So darling! Ryan wants one as a pet! Ummm, noooo....

More later today!

Finally...

After what seems like a million hours the quilt that I was making for Ryan is DONE! I am so relieved, excited, and frustrated all at the same time over this event. It's great that it is done and I can move back to other crafts. I enjoyed making it, well at the time I kinda hated it for awhile, but I am happy to see it complete.



This all started about 2 months ago, when I was repairing some small holes in a cute quilt I purchased at the Brimfield Antique Show, and Ryan decided to ask me if I would make him a quilt. Being the crazy chick that I am I said "yes" even though I never really had made one before or anything. Eeeekkk.
A few mistakes, some ripped out seams, and following the wrong measurements later, I cranked out what I would call a quilt. Lol.

To the experienced quilter, this thing looks like crap.
To anyone standing within 1 foot, this thing looks like crap.
To me, it's decent, sort of, and will have to suffice.
To Ryan, it better look darn awesome! I am delivering it to him when I get there on Thursday.



I swore up and down while making this that I would never, ever make another one ever again. Now, I'm not so sure; granted it won't be for a good, long while though.

Here is the major issue with the quilt that I didn't really catch on to until it was 99% done...it's too small. I used the "recommended size" as suggested on a website, only to realize that that was actually the measurement of a twin mattress rather than the size needed for said mattress. Honestly, the moment I stuck it on my bed to see how it looked I bawled my eyes out for a good 5 minutes. I was so angry at myself for not taking the time to check this source and to not notice for so long. Oh well, Ryan said he loves it regardless...I guess that should be all that matters.



It's far from perfect but I tried really hard. I am okay with this attempt and will just have to redeem myself in the future.

Preview

Here is a tiny preview of what I will be posting about tonight... See you then!

Hmmm...What's Up Next?

Ooooohhh, it's the Majestic Feathers Tag Swap hosted by Jenny! Really wonderfully talented ladies got together for this and we cranked out some fab tags for each other. Here it is in all it's glory:

This one is mine!

Here is Dawn's!


This is Marian's!

This one was made by Sherry!

Angela made this!

This one is by Leslie!

Mary Ann made this!

This one was created by Jessica!

Wendy made this!

This one is Kimberly's!

Molly made this one!

And last, but not least, Jenny's!

Boston Bound

I downloaded all the pictures off my camera and found so many that I forgot I ever took! I figure the easiest way to post all this is to go in the order they would have gone in had I been posting regularly. Lol.

Let's start with all the way back at the end of April; Ryan flew up here to Massachusetts to visit.

Oh wait, considering I don't blog enough many of you are wondering "Who is she talking about?" Ryan is my boyfriend that I have been with for the past 6 months. I used to go to high school with him when I lived in Virginia 5 years ago. I knew him kinda well back then but wasn't really all that interested in him as someone I wanted to date. Granted that was 5 years ago! Lol. Well, we reconnected back in January over Facebook and here we are now. He lives in Virginia still because he is a career firefighter with the city of Portsmouth. Yay for long distance relationships!

Ok, now that's out of the way I can move on. :) Ryan flew up for 6 days and we jam packed them with as much stuff as we could.

The only day we took pictures though was the day we went into Boston. The weather was amazing so we had lots of fun stuff to choose from.

Right Now...

Saw this on Holly's blog and I just couldn't resist. I know everyone's been doing this lately!

Outside My Window: at work is a lady on her 3rd floor balcony watering her plants with a pink watering can.

I Am Thinking About: my final exam in my Summer class- Oceanography- what a waste of time!

I Am Thankful: for my boyfriend and my family.

From The Kitchen: nothing, really. I had a bunch of pasta dishes while my family was out of town though. A bit sick of them...lol. I mean the pasta, not my family!

I Am Wearing: black jeans from PacSun (the only brand my silly,sensitive self can tolerate), a bright blue tank from Forever 21 that only cost like $3.50 (love that store!), and a pink short sleeved American Eagle hoodie that I got on sale a year ago.

I Am Creating: Happy Mail presents and FRIENDS swaps. I just finished Ryan's firefighter quilt (pics soon, I swear!)

I Am Going: TO VIRGINIA NEXT THURSDAY FOR A WEEK TO SEE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, RYAN!!! WOOT!

Around The House: cat hair, fabric scraps, and empty juice boxes (I'm addicted to the Juicy Juice Strawberry Banana ones, lol)

One of My Favorite Things: the beach and I haven't been yet this year. Hopefully going to the Outer Banks in North Carolina when I go visit Ryan.

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week: crafting of course, no yard sales though b/c I need to save my $ for once, and heading down to my Grandmother's house in Connecticut to show her the quilt and spend some time together.

Woohoo!

In case you can't tell (which I highly doubt, lol), I have a new blog design, thanks to the amazing Jenny Fowler! She is such a sweetie! Thanks girly!

Sorry, I haven't posted in awhile but since I have a pretty blog now I feel a lot more motivated to post more often. Once the rain finally stops I will take pictures of all my newest finds- including loads of vintage fabric, books, and the like. I also have swap pictures to post too! It's hard to take decent pics in such ucky weather though.

Revamp

I really am in need of a blog renovation. The format I have currently is bothering me seriously beause it looks so amatuer-ish.

Anyone have any suggestions on who could do it for me??? I know there are so many great artists and web designers out there.

Help! :)

Reposting this!!! Free Gift!

I signed up to do the Pay It Forward swap on Wanda's blog awhile back.

Here are the rules in case you haven't seen this:The first 3 people who leave me a comment on this post only saying you want to play by "paying it forward" will receive a handmade item from me sometime in the next 3 months. Just one day, out of the blue, at no cost to you, a special something will arrive in your mailbox. Won't this be a great way to make your day?!!FOR FREE!!!The catch is that you must choose to participate in this round robin of giving... by giving yourself and posting the "Pay It Forward Challenge" on your blog. (But, make sure to leave some type of contact info-email so I can get a hold of you for the address...)

COME ON AND SIGN UP PLEASE!!! I still have no one who wants to do this. Honestly, if it comes down to it I am just going to have to pick 3 people who I have addresses from already from before. LOL.

I just can't stop

Oy, I joined another swap!!! :)

Majestic Feathers Tag Swap

How could I resist getting involved in another tag swap, especially one that Jenny Fowler is hosting. Easy... I can't!!! Lol.

I got started on the tags backgrounds for these tags and the Sweet Sentiments one. I think I was doing it just to procrastinate since I have 4 papers and a project to do within these last 8 days of classes...