Craft Challenge Time - Pantone Fall Colors 2013!

~*~

The colors are here!!!  The Pantone Fall 2013 colors are here!!!  Who is up for another "creation challenge"?   It's easy enough- just choose 3 or more of the colors above and make something.  Anything!  Let's do this!  I think one month until "show off" time is sufficient, don't you? 

~*~

If you'd like to participate, leave a comment here.  Entries will be due by the end of September, and all will be showcased here on my blog in a big reveal.  This is not a contest- anyone who participates is a winner.  The more people we have, the more exciting it will be, so please share with your friends and family.  Who's with me???!!!!

Thursday's Treasure: 8/29

~*~

The talented Becky from SewBarefoot purchased a good amount of this beautiful pale pink rose fabric from sosovintage a few days ago.

 

~*~

Today I received a lovely thank you message from her.  She included this picture showing the adorable scarf that she already whipped up with that fabric!  So cute, and so thoughtful of her to share.  Keep up the amazing creations, Becky!

Wednesday's Works

I've done it!  As of  just a few minutes ago, I'm down to just one room that needs a lot of work, and that's my bedroom.  I've saved it for last for many reasons- some unselfish (I wanted the rest of the house that others would enjoy to be ready for others to enjoy), and some selfish (I want to take my time with my personal sanctuary). 

~*~

In any case, the loft was the project that I finished today, and I love the way it came together.  There are still a few things that need to be hung on the walls, but you can get the idea. 

~*~

Here is what the loft area looked like when the other tenants lived here.  To be fair, they were in the process of moving. 

~*~

And now, thanks to lots of moving help, lots of assembling help, and lots of decision making about what to put where, (and what needed to go live somewhere else), here is Sophie's and my work space:

~*~

 

~*~

All of the shipping supplies are close at hand.  All of the craft supplies are organized and ready to use.  There are two skylights here which make the room super bright and cozy.  I do believe this will be one of my favorite spaces in the house!  I am kind of partial to all of them, though ;)

Makeover Monday: 8/26

~*~

Blah, blah, blah wall over the couch.  Blah!

~*~

~*~

More decal magic and voila!  No more blah!

 ~*~

~*~

The colors in these leaves are perfect for this room.  Yes, I am a huge fan of decals, and am going to have to keep myself from going craaaaaaazy with them. 

Bright Sunshiny Day

Our outing to Yellow Hill Farm today could not have been more perfect!  The day dawned sunny and warm, and the 20 minute drive was beautiful.  Though we were not the only people with the idea to go berry picking today, there was plenty of room and crops for everyone!

 ~*~

~*~

When we arrived we saw rows of berries on our right and rows of flowers on our left!

~*~

The colors and sheer beauty of the blooms made me swoon a little.

~*~

There were bees and butterflies EVERYWHERE.  They were in heaven!

 

~*~

Being "first time pickers", the very nice owner explained the process to us and gave us our white buckets.  The thornless blackberry bushes were laden with fruit in all stages of ripeness.

~*~

The buckets come with a strap so that you can pick with both hands!  Or pick with one and eat with the other.

~*~

The raspberries were extra sweet but not as prevalent.  There should be another wave of them ready to pick in a couple of weeks.  We may have to go back!

~*~

After we paid our $10 for over 3 pounds of berries, we headed over to the flowers.  For $7 you can pick as many flowers as you can fit in your big Styrofoam cup.  They give you special clippers to borrow- even child-friendly ones for Sophie.  This was about a third of the flowers we ended up bringing home- you can fit a lot in a cup!!!

~*~

Here is Sophie's vase for her room.

~*~

And the vase for the dining room table.  We also have two little sunflowers in the kitchen and a few cosmos in the downstairs bathroom.

~*~

We stopped on the way home for a delicious brunch at Pomona's Bakery, then topped the day off with a couple of lazy hours spent at the pool.  The best Saturday I've had in ages!!!!!  I hope yours was just as great :)

Friday's Favorite Fabric Finds

Happy Friday, friends!  I have concluded that I have FAR too many pillowcases to list them individually.  So, I shall be offering them in sets of 3 based on color family or style.  Enjoy the trios... these will be in sosovintage shortly!

~*~

~*~

~*~

~*~

Do you have any fun weekend events lined up?  We do!  We're planning to go to Yellow Hill Farm to pick our own blackberries, raspberries and flowers!  You can check out their website right HERE... fingers crossed for a fruitful day.  Hehe, couldn't resist ;)

Thursday's Treasure

~*~

We had our new student orientation last night at Sophie's new school.  She was given a school t-shirt and a tour of the school from the principal.  There were refreshments served, and kids and parents were encouraged to ask any questions they could think of.  We left feeling very comfortable with how to get around, and we even got to sneak in a "hello" to Sophie's teacher who was busily putting the finishing touches on her classroom set up.

~*~

My girl awoke this morning at 6:22, and was making her bed before I could even get up the stairs to greet her.  She was breakfasted, dressed and ready a full 45 minutes before it was time to leave for the bus stop!  The bus finally arrived- it seemed to take forever since we were there 14 minutes early and it was 6 minutes late. 

~*~

So, aaaaah.  The treasure of the first day of school.  I can't wait to hear all about it this afternoon, but until then, I will savor every moment of peace and quiet :)

Saturday's Surprise

~*~

*sniff*  Today my little girl became a slightly bigger little girl.  She decided today was the day she would get her ears pierced.  She has been talking about it off and on for months, but I could tell she was serious this time. 

~*~

We made an appointment with a highly recommended piercer at a jewelry store in Hanover, PA.  Eric, father of 5 little girls himself, was amazing with her!  He told her what he would do, let her pick out her earrings, explained how to mark her calendar for when she could change earrings, measured more carefully than you could imagine, then changed his dot placement based on all of our opinions.  He counted to 3 very quickly and did the first one.  Sophie was in shock, and I think if we had waited more than 10 seconds, she wouldn't have done the 2nd one. 

~*~

She wanted me, my mom, and my dad to come for moral support, but she didn't want anyone to hold her hand.  She let me hold it between ear #1 and ear #2, though. 

~*~

Eric gave her cleaning instructions and demonstrated how she should turn the earrings each day.  We went out for ice cream afterwards to celebrate, and Sophie got a scoop for each earring!  I see she has a little ice cream mustache in this photo...still my little girl, just a bit *blingier*.

Friday's Favorite Fabric Finds

~*~

There is a nip in the air these days- especially in the evenings and mornings.  Fall comes earlier here than in Virginia, and as you can probably guess, I couldn't be more excited to start a new season.  I am ready to put summer 2013 behind me! 

~*~

I've been holding on to these beautiful sheets, waiting for the perfect time to introduce them.  That time is now!  Look for these in sosovintage this weekend... if someone doesn't snatch them up from facebook first :)

Well, Dang

~*~

I've been getting on my mom's case for not leaving blog comments lately.  I mean, c'mon!  I don't get many comments in general, so I should be able to count on my mom, am I right?  Well, tonight over dinner, she informed me that she tried to leave me a comment recently and it didn't "take".  And then she tried again today with the same problem.  I'll admit, I chalked it up to technical difficulties of the senior kind, but I told her I would check to see if they had been sent to my blog's "awaiting moderation" area.

~*~

Boy am I a ding dong!  Not only did I find several comments from Mom in that Blogger twilight zone, I also found some beautiful sentiments from several other people.  26 lovely comments, to be exact, that I did not see until tonight. Arghhh!

~*~

So, Jessi, Donna, Cher, Victoria, Puss-Daddy, Gillyflower, Mom, Van and anyone else this may have happened to- please accept my sincere apologies.  All 26 of those comments have now been published, and I am obviously going to have to be better at checking that moderation box.  My settings changed recently, and with the move, I really hadn't noticed.  I appreciate the love, kindness, humor and encouragement you have all shared more than you will ever know.  xoxoxo

Special Day

Today is Mom's birthday!  We spent it looking for shells at the beach, trying somewhere new for lunch, and having a blast at the arcade in the evening.  It's always a little weird to have your birthday when you're away from home, but it makes it kind of extra exciting, too.  Here are a few shots from our day at the beach

~*~

~*~

Tomorrow is our last day of vacation.  We have a full day planned- beach in the morning and a dolphin cruise in the evening.  Here's hoping we get some cute dolphin photos to share- I know a special someone who really loves them :)

Sunshine State

We are on a well earned but short family holiday in Florida- where my parents used to live before moving to Gettysburg.  After a 1000 mile car trip, we were so happy to see the beautiful white sand!! 

~*~

It always takes some time to get "set up" in vacation routine, doesn't it? Like what time you'll all get up, what we need to bring, where we will go, how we'll organize the day.  I think we made some good progress along those lines today, though. 

~*~

We're having an excellent time so far considering that many in our little group are battling injuries, aches and stomach issues.   Here's hoping that everyone feels great tomorrow, and that we have another glorious day in the sun!  Here are a few photos from our trip so far...

~*~

 ~*~

 ~*~

 ~*~

 ~*~

 ~*~

 ~*~

 ~*~

~*~

That's all for this installment!  I hope to be back with more photos in the next day or so, and a clean bill of health for everyone.  Here's hoping your last days of summer are great ones :)

Tuesday's Treat

~*~

The rain cleared up just in time for Sophie and her friend to have dinner al fresco!  First playdate in the new place was a great success ;)

Makeover Monday: 8/5

Sophie has her very own bathroom now, and it is larger and more private than mine!  The previous tenants left it looking like this:

~*~

~*~

With the addition of higher wattage lightbulbs and bright textiles, we put together the bold, cheerful look Sophia was hoping for.

~*~

 ~*~

The shower curtain, towels and rug were Homegoods purchases.  The toilet seat rug came from Target, and the wall decals are from Wal*Mart.

~*~

~*~

This was my first experience with wall decals, and I have to say that these are amazing.  They look so smooth and went on so easily.  Best of all, these can be removed and reused/repositioned with no harm to the walls.  Price: $10 for eight huge flowers with stems and extra petals.  LOVE them!!!

What does your happy look like?

Apparently, when it comes to kitchens, my happy is color, color and more color!  My new kitchen is on the petite side, and boasts the most *interesting* mauve-ish rust countertop I've ever seen.  I decided to embrace it and put some "BAM" and smiles in every nook and cranny.  My kitchen is my Thomas's English muffin, I tell you. 

~*~

Here are a few of my favorite things...

~*~

 

~*~

I've graduated from a cutting board to a cutting mat.  I should have purchased more than one of these, because when it wears out I will be so sad!

~*~

~*~

My adorable garlic keeper was an eBay purchase a decade ago.  He is on the job now, and looks to be enjoying himself.

~*~

~*~

Do I make fresh OJ for breakfast?  Uh, no.  But I do use this juicer to hold my coffee spoon, and the combination of these two items and colors makes my heart smile.  That is useful!

~*~

~*~

This thrifted handmade strippy quilted placemat sits under my toaster to catch any stray crumbs.

~*~

~*~

I found these adorable placemats at Ikea yesterday- 4 for $2.99!!  Sophie is going to love them!

~*~

~*~

My old dish drainer was white with a white liner underneath.  The new space gets a red drainer and one of these handy dandy drying pads in bold turquoise!

~*~

~*~

Rag rug from Target in front of the sink looks right at home with the dish rack ensemble.

~*~

~*~

The garage door is off of the kitchen, and this sits in front of that door.  This little antique oval rug is so soft, and her red and purple colors equal a contented little sigh.

~*~

So, back to the original question...  What does your happy look like?  Anything like mine?  Please leave a comment and share your thoughts!