So it's getting closer......less than 24 hours and Miss Catherine Middleton will be Mrs. Catherine "?" Still not sure what will be her official surname. (How mysterious) But we will soon find out! As I get giddy and decide which of the 4 networks I will watch (No worries, I am DVRing 3 of them) I have found myself laughing at all the fun memorabilia that keeps popping up on the Internet. Some of these I may be crazy enough to buy,..
From the QUIRKY,.....
Cute idea!
Tea anyone?
Love it!!
Such an interesting story behind these tea towels. Read it: here Originally the Royal Palace banned the making and selling of tea towels but reconsidered. Read about it: here. So bummed that they are sold out.
To WEIRD,........
To down right WRONG,.......
Seriously?
Umm,... yeah, creepy!
Classy ::rolls eyes::
Ok, look closely at this tea cup....notice something? They made a mistake,...it has Prince Harry's picture not William. Ok, ok,...so I broke down a bought this one! It arrived in a package from the UK this past week. I just loved the idea of having something weird/quirky (that is somewhat rare) in my china cabinet to add to my Royal collection. Don't judge! ha ha
I am amazed at all the craziness!! Everyone is just soo excited about this wedding! Love it!! As Frankie Heck says "This is the super bowl, times a million, plus crowns." (If you haven't seen last week's episode of The Middle, you need to look it up.)
One last thing,...I read THIS article this morning and it literally made me laugh out loud. I will be forwarding this to my husband. I am sure he is ready for Friday to be over and done with.
Until then,...make sure get to bed early, set your alarm,....3am is coming soon!
With the wedding slowly approaching,...I have been making out my party plans. DVR set (check), alarm to go off at 3am (check), British flag (check), English tea (check), bunting (check), fancy hat (check), tea cups (check), tea dress (check), tissues (check).....
When searching for something to serve with the tea, I found this great little RECIPE that just so happens to be one of Prince Will's favorites! Easy to make, yet sounds delish! If I was brave, I would even attempt to try Marmite again. (My first experience was a bit ummm interesting) Here is a simple way of eating it on toast. Who said that English food is boring? What will you be serving on the big day?
So we are back! We had an amazing time in Texas. We ventured from Dallas, to Austin to San Antonio. We stopped in some amazing little places and saw some amazing things. Of course I took loads of photos, and will eventually share some of them. (I have many exciting things to share!) But ever since we have arrived back home, I can't stay away from the Royal watching. My husband thought I was a bit nuts when I decided to make a video sharing why I loved the Royal family to enter into a "Fly to London for the Wedding" contest via the TODAY show. He rolls his eyes whenever I want to buy yet another newspaper or magazine article....he even laughed at me when I bought a tea cup (that was flawed and even more collectible than the normal tea cups) from London and how giddy I was to open it up and put it inside my china cabinet to admire. But at the end of the day,..he can appreciate my love for the Royals (I think). I found out last year that somewhere in his family line, he is related to the Spencer family,..which then makes him related to the late Princess Diana! I married him,...so that practically makes me related to the royals right? (In a round about way) So sad that the mailman lost my wedding invite. Tragic, just tragic. :(
I am getting excited about the BIG DAY! The day that Prince William will marry Catherine Middleton. The day when the whole world will be glued to their TV sets to see history in the making. Yes,...I will be up at 3am watching. Who knows, I may even wear a hat!
Cheers to the happy couple!
This photo was taken a few summers ago when Tom and I took a trip (along with some friends) to the UK. Tom and I went for a tour of the church next to Westminster Abbey and met a very lovely man who gave us a private tour of the church, and took us up to a secret "private" balcony to take photos of the Abbey. This is one of my favorite shots! What a beautiful place to get married.
I am heading out to yet another adventure with my dear husband and little Liam. I am hoping to capture it all {on my camera} as we drive through the lovely state of Texas once again. We hope to spend some quality time just being together. Something that we don't get to do all that much of these days, due to Tom's work schedule. I will be taking a bit of a break this week (although I may peek in to say hello)from blogging,...but don't worry, I hope to come back and be even more refreshed and excited to share with you. :) If I come back with a southern draw, don't say you weren't warned! Maybe I will start wearing cowgirl boots!! You never know! ::Shrug:: Until then, xx
I am loving this new stage,...full of discovery and love for music and dancing. If only I could freeze time, so we can live these moments forever. Being a momma is by far the best job in the world.
This weekend I had some dear friends come out to visit. My girlfriend wanted to make it out for a PTA Sale. Of course we not only made it to one, but to two!! If you're a mom and you haven't heard of PTA Sales,...oh my,...you are missing out! These sales are put on by the Parent Teacher Association. People set up tables of used baby/children items. From clothes, shoes, to toys and cribs. It saves a ton of money on the basics as well. I have bought about 80% of Liam's wardrobe at these sales. Clothes that still have tags on them, and other gently used items. I thought I would show you (some of) my treasures that I picked up this weekend.
I love thin form fitting PJ's. I love Baby Gap, Gymboree & Children's Place. They wash and wear well. Because Liam wears a (reshaping) helmet, it is nice for him not to be too hot at night. I was so excited to find a woman who loved these PJ's as much as I do. I bought out (most of) her table. ha ha She didn't mind. 18 months to 24 & 2t's for next year! Hooray!
1.00 x 12 = $12.00 (When normally they are around $12.00 each at the store!) SCORE!
This is one of my favorite outfits that I bought for Liam this fall. The lady who sold me this told me that her son actually only wore this outfit once for a photo. The shoes however were never worn and still had the tags attached. (Children's Place)
Shirt, Light Sweater & White Pants = $5.00 Shoes= $4.00 Outfit all together = $9.00
Here are some fun toys I picked up! Liam is REALLY into Yo Gabba Gabba. We watch it at least once a day. I scored with the Plex doll that talks ($1.00) and a mini YGG activity laptop ($6.00 with batteries included). He is now obsessed with that toy. I picked up the classic block square for $1.00 and toy tool box for $1.00. Liam loves puzzles and this is helping him learn his shapes. (I am all for the educational toys) One of our friends has this farm magnetic set on her fridge. Liam always plays with it when he is over for a playdate. ($3.00). Way in the back, you can see a little monkey back pack/leash. ($3.00) I actually broke down and bought this. I always said I would never get one,...but seeing that anytime we are out now, Liam has a need to run. So a little help keeping him close (he almost ran across the parking lot today at MOPS) and safe, I will try it out. Still can't believe my baby is growing up so fast yikes!
All together toy total = $15.00
So happy with my treasures!! Hope to hit a few more for some winter clothes! :) I would do anything for this little smile.
Woke up this morning to the sound of rain. I love it when that happens. Nothing like a morning cuddling under the blankets with a good book and a cup of coffee. Ahh,..dreamy. Why not head over to The Ardent Sparrow today and enter her Spring Giveaway to win one of my lovely aprons from Trendy Meg! I am so excited to be featured. Rebecca's blog has been an inspiration to me in my journey with blogging. I love giveaways!! Hope you win!
As I am joyfully sewing this week, I find that I am more productive if I listen/sing to music while I work. I find that this is also true when I cook. Anyone out there sing and dance in the kitchen while working? I love it! It makes things more fun. I thought I would share this hidden jewel I discovered a little while ago. They are a group of talented musicians who call themselves "The Lower Lights." Out of the great state of Utah. They have collaborated together to sing and play hymns that are not well known and have given their own spin on those that are. It shows that hymns are relevant and timeless. I have purchased a CD for myself and have given one to my mom as a Christmas gift this year. If you like, you can always buy the downloads on their site. Trust me, their music is amazing. Brings back many memories of my grandparents church as a little girl. Singing these songs along side them. Those were happy times. If you get a chance check out their blog/website: The Lower Lights
Here is a little taste of what they sound like:
Hope this brings many happy memories to you as well. Happy sewing my friends!
A few weekends ago, I had the privilege of visiting the traveling Quilting & Sewing Expo in Cleveland. My husband was over joyed to go with me,to say the least . ha ha But all in all, he said that he was glad to go and see me in my "eliminate" as he calls it. It was a great experience! The show was mostly targeting quilters. Seeing that I have not really branched off to do quilts, I still was able to appreciate all the hard work that goes into them. They had some amazing quilts on display. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take photos of them, but trust me, they were beautiful. I spent some time chatting with a few ladies in the shops. Found a few new fabric businesses in the area, which was nice. Of course I picked up a few yards and fat quarters of fabric. How could I resist? It was a sewing expo!! It would have been a sin to leave, without purchasing at least a little fabric. (Well that's the story I told my husband) ::wink::
I went to get some inspiration. I find that when I am around other people who love to sew, knit, create,..I feed off of them. Sometimes I feel like a lone ranger in my craft. This little trip gave me more than I expected! That day, Valerie Mayen was a guest speaker!!!
If you are a Project Runway fan, you will recognize this name. She was the cute, dark haired, funny girl on season 8. Unfortunately she ended up getting 7th place, but I still think she was good enough to make it further. She shared with all of us her experience on the show, behind the scene secrets, her view on designing, and her love for making beautiful well made items. She is originally from Texas, but moved to Cleveland to go to design school, and fell in love with the city. She spoke about where she started in her career and how she ended up becoming a fashion designer. What surprised me the most, is that she has only been sewing for 5 years!!!!!! Still can't believe that! WOW! The girl is brilliant. I am amazed at how far she has come with her business. What an inspiration. Not only working on her own designs, but her passion to support other designers/seamstresses in the Cleveland area. She shared that when she was finished with design school, there were no resources outside of the school. She needed to find a larger space, with good quality machines to work with, and there was literally nothing. So she decided to open up her own place to do just that. In a campaign called "Buzz & Growl" which she describes as being a place to encourage people to launch their own businesses by having that little "buzz" to start off with, to the large "growl" out in the world. Starting local, and then ultimately sharing your work global (like she has done). The "buzz" represents the sound of the small sewing machine at work, to the "growl" of the industrial machines you use later on. What a wonderful way to give back to the community! Here is a video describing Buzz & Growl by none other than Val herself:
Not only was her story encouraging to me, she was also very sweet in person. I had the privilege of meeting her!! I have heard that she is super nice, but after meeting her myself, I believe it to be true. Such a humble, sweet individual, that is just oozing with talent. She was kind enough to allow me to get a picture with her. Yes I admit, I was a bit nervous to ask.(I think I need a tan after seeing this picture! yikes!) ha ha
I bought a few little fabric flowers at her booth (which I love) and drooled over some of her beautifully tailored coats she had on display. The name of her company is called: Yellowcake!. She also has an etsy shop: Etsy
What an inspiration to me as I start off my own little company. Who knows where it will take me. ::smile:: I am so excited!
