Disappearing act...

Sorry I have been absent for so long I just can't seem to pull it together...

This month is our 2 year anniversary since my husband passed away.  Things are just so hard.  I think that I have unintentionally set myself up for disaster but I figure if only 1 whole month a year I am a total wreck I am doing ok.  This grieving thing is just so hard.  It is hit or miss and sometimes things come at me out of left field.... The unexpected waves of intense sadness are so hard.

For example we were at the circus with friends Saturday night and I remembered how Shane used to do some kind of ear popping thing and in the midst of ALL OF THE FUN, I broke out in tears.  Those are the times that make everything seem real and those are the hardest times for me.  It also doesn't help that these brief moments in time scare the hell out of my children. I try to hide it - but more than not I usually am not that good at it.

 Hopefully I will be back with a reflective post soon.  Until then....

African Flower Hexagon Baby Blanket Complete

PHEW!!!!!!!!!!  That was insane!!  I worked on this project for a long few months and never thought I would finish.  Thank goodness I did finish just in time, ( like just a few hours) before the baby shower this past Sunday.  Momma loved it and I liked being the only person there giving a handmade item.  Seriously I spent months on this blanket and with every stitch I prayed and wished amazing things for this sweet little girl that we haven't even met yet.  Other than time spent, with every stitch there is love, hope and happiness woven into that blanket that you can't get when you hurriedly run into a store to grab items last minute for a baby shower.  I am so proud to have actually completed my first actual gift and can't wait to get busy on the rest.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product!!!

Congrats and good luck friends on your precious baby girl's arrival in late October!!!


I find out in about an hour and a half what my best friend will be having in the early spring so here we go again!!!!  So EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

Fall is in the air...

I bought a mum the size of a shrub yesterday.  I was puttering around a local nursery here in St. Louis looking at the regular sized mums and honestly was somewhat disappointed.  As I turned and walked back to my car, I thought my eyes were deceiving me.  I saw a mum that would eventually FILL the back of my Expedition completely!  It is amazing...

Don't believe me - take a look.

And, little guy is in there purely for reference... As you can see he is none to excited to be standing barefoot in our barren wasteland of a front flower bed...

I am so excited for it to bloom into an amazing purple hue!!  Seriously I am so lame.  But this is as exciting as it gets around here...

WELCOME FALL!!!!!!!!!

All aboard the craft train to crafty town...

I have to admit - I am not one to ride the train to crafty town very often... Although I aspire to be a great crafter.... Alas, I am too lazy!!  TV, internet, kids suck me into the vortex and I look up and suddenly realize it is 4PM and I haven't gotten anything accomplished... Oh look, it is 10 til 4 right now.... Oh well, another day down the drain...

So anyway, I saw this great tutorial(ish) over at Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss blog and decided I needed to untangle my necklaces and make one of these suckers... I found this great frame, nasty picture inside at the thrift the other day for 3 buckaroos!!!  It was a great frame with lots of cool ridges and a neat border of burlap!!  Gorgeous!!  I had some Anna Maria Horner fabric laying around and wanted to look at it all the time.  I figured if I use it for this project it would be on permanent display in my bathroom, so take that!  BAM!!  Now don't get me wrong there are TONS OF THINGS I would do differently next time, but for the first go around I am pretty proud if I do say so myself!!!  

Take a little look see...

Ummmmm, so tragic...

Great ridges and burlap detail....

Voila!!!  I like it!!!  Don't you??

Fabric is fantastic... Love it too!!

Two of my favorites... Vintage necklaces and owls!!!

In it's permanent home, the master bath take one..

All loaded up!!!  YAY!!!  And still room for more!!

Love this feather necklace...

This gorgeous crystal skeleton key necklace was a gift from a great friend and designer... Who, you ask?  Why visit Allyson @ Buffalo Blue Designs or her Etsy shop .  I love, love, loveeee her and her designs!!

Oh and you wonder where I got this super cute crochet flower pin... Why my girls over @ Muggy Tuesday . They are awesome too!!  Such super sweet girls!!  You might even notice the cute maroon flower necklace in there - it is from them too!!!  YAY!!

So there it is... My first pain staking ride to craft town, it was fun and I actually love it... Thanks to   Julie @ Less Than Perfect Life of Blissfor the inspiration and showing little ole me how to make it!! Head on over there and see her great tutorial!!  

GO BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!

All of the proceeds will benefit  Smith Magenis Syndrome research...  This is a "kid-jam" CD and it is awesome!!  My kids love it already, and so do I ... And it benefits such a great cause... Please check out Pacing The Panic Room's blog to read more about it... Such a great, fantastic, worth while cause... Enjoy!!  

Hit or miss?

I crocheted this today and think it is pretty cute... Just curious what you guys think?  Let me have it... 

Hit or Miss?

I think it would be super cute with a plain white t and jeans.... What do you think?

I heart my mom...

She is awesome!!  I remember being little and her dragging me all over to garage sales, flea markets, etc...  Unfortunately, I hated every minute of it.  But now that I love thrifting and finding treasures I cherish those memories as tragic as they were.  Now, every time we get together we are first in line when the doors open to our favorite thrift stores or garage sales.  It is a great time that we can share doing something we both love...  It is so fun to find things together and discuss what their original purpose was, wonder what the story of each item is... I love it. 

 Recently, on a trip to TN to visit my parents I confided in her how much I wanted, pined for, drooled over vintage pull down style school maps.  I told her how I loved them as a child in school - the colors, hearing them slap against the ceiling as they were put away after lessons.  Anywho, mom has been substitute teaching as of late, since she was let-go from her job of 25 years a couple years ago.  I told her to snoop around and see if she could find any.  

Guess what, today she came through for me.  Good old mom, they always do come through in the end, don't they?  Here are a few pics I was excited to find in my inbox this afternoon... And mind you, these were with the mops in the janitor's closet waiting to be trashed, all 3 of them... LOVE.THEM.AND.LOVE.HER.MORE!!!!!!  YAY!!!!!

I can't wait to see these hanging in my basement where the kids have a play area!!!!!  So exited!!!

Thanks mom!!!!  You are awesome!!!