My Favorite Things

Flower Garden Revisited

It's September!  Can you believe it?!  Where does the time go?  With the first of the month comes the Senior Design Team Challenge at Papertrey Ink.  This month, Nichole has asked us to pull out another golden oldie stamp set -- Flower Garden -- and have a little fun with it!  (Aren't you just loving these challenges where we pull out older sets and play with them again?  I know I am!)

For today's projects, I used several different elements from the set, however there's one adorable little 3-petal flower image that I've used in several different ways!  I'm excited to show you several fun things to do with the flower, which will give you lots of stamping bang for your buck!

First up, I created a larger focal image flower.  Here's how.....

I started out by stamping the 3-petal image with the petals pointing up.

 

Next, I stamped the same image with the petals pointing down.

 

Then I stamped the image two more times with the petals pointing out to either side, to complete my flower.

 

Here's what it looked like after cutting it out and stitching a button to the center.

 

And here it is, on a card.  I layered the flower on a die cut piece of 2009 Bitty Dot Basics paper.  The sweet little "hello" sentiment is also from Flower Garden.

 

I stamped a few leaves from Flower Garden and tucked them behind my flower and finished things off with a few little rhinestones.  I love how that tiny little flower image, can be turned into such a striking focal image!

 

I also took that same little flower and created this pretty background paper, just by stamping it in rows, alternating the flowers on each row -- petals pointing up and then petals pointing down.

 

And here's that background paper (berry sorbet ink stamped on rustic cream card stock) on a card.  The "happy" and "birthday" sentiments are also from Flower Garden.

 

I stamped a larger flower image from Flower Garden in pure poppy ink on rustic cream card stock and cut it out.  I stitched a berry sorbet button to the flower's center and used that as my focal point.  I layered the flower on a bit of pure poppy card stock that I die cut using the Fillable Frames #4 die.  Notice the pretty little petals peeking out from behind the flower?  That's that same little 3-petal flower image that I used on the background.  Doesn't that image make a perfect little accent behind the focal point on the card?

Well, that's it for me today.  Be sure to visit all of the girls on the senior design team......they've each got some Flower Garden inspiration for you so you won't want to miss out!

Nichole Heady

Mish Wooderson
Heather Nichols
Lisa Johnson
Betsy Veldman

I'll chat with you Dearies again soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

{Hello supplies}
Paper: rustic cream, 2009 Bitty Dot Basics
Stamps: Flower Garden
Ink: berry sorbet, ripe avocado
Other: mat stack 3 die, pure poppy button, rustic cream button twine, berry sorbet saddle stitch ribbon, rhinestones

{Happy Birthday supplies}
Paper: berry sorbet, pure poppy, vintage cream
Stamps: Flower Garden
Ink: pure poppy, berry sorbet, versamark
Other: Fillable Frames #4 die, eyelet lace border die, berry sorbet button, rustic cream button twine

 

 

Ella Publishing - Guest Blogger

Hello there!  Happy Tuesday to you!

I'm very excited to share a fun blog post with you today.  I was asked to be the Guest Blogger over at the Ella Publishing blog today and I've put together a little tutorial for you.

Ruffle Trims are soooo popular right now, whether it be in fashion (ruffled tops are everywhere these days!), home decor (have you seen all the cute ruffled shower curtains and pillows out there?) or even paper crafting.  There are countless options for pre-made ruffle trims you can purchase from your favorite crafting companies to use on your cards and layouts but why not create your own?  It's quick and easy, as you'll see in my tutorial, and not only that but you can customize your trims to be any size, length and color you need, for a fraction of the cost of store-bought trims!

I created the felt ruffle trim on this card, inspired by a pretty ruffled dress I saw on the web.  Head on over to the Ella Publishing blog for my complete, quick & easy tutorial on how to create your own Ruffle Trim!

And while you're there, be sure to check out the rest of their website.  I got a couple of their eBooks yesterday and I'm so looking forward to reading them from eCover to eCover.  *wink*  I got the 40 Top Tips For Better Photos eBook and just in browsing thru the first few pages, I've already picked up a few great tips!  I also got Vintage Hip Christmas Crafts by the super sweet Margie Romney Aslett, who I had the pleasure of meeting last month at CHA.  Can't wait to dive into that one as well.  They're gorgeous eBooks and it was so easy to download them and begin reading right away.  Love that!

If you're visiting me from the Ella blog for the first time today, welcome!  I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you'll visit again soon.

Have a GREAT day, sweet friends!  I'll be back tomorrow (technically tonight at midnight, EST) with another fun, crafty post for you!

{Happy Birthday supplies}
Paper: hawaiian shores, rustic cream, green boutique patterned paper
Stamps: Enjoy the Ride (sentiment), Big & Bold Wishes (flourish)
Ink: aqua mist, hawaiian shores
Other: vintage cream felt, mat stack 4 die, new leaf button, sewing machine/thread, tan embroidery thread/needle

Weekend Update ;)

 

Hello there!  It's Monday!  Let's make it a great one, shall we??  I'm looking forward to marking lots of things off my to-do list this week.  How about you?

Before I tackle my giant list, I thought I'd update you on a few other fun things we did over the weekend.  Bart was off work again on Friday, so we headed to the movies to see Despicable Me.  CUTE, cute movie!  We both really liked it.  It was cute enough, I might even buy that one!  Have you seen it?

After the movie, we walked across the street to try a new sushi restaurant, RA.

Just look at these fancy little numbers!  Have you ever seen such fun and pretty sushi?  Ha.  This is called the Viva Las Vegas Roll.  Totally makes sense, right?  Hahaha.

Mmmm....more pretty sushi lined up in a row.

After sushi, we walked right across another little street, for a bit of our fave gelato.  Every vacation day should include gelato, don't you think?  :)

On Saturday, we ran about a million errands and had a late dinner at McCormick & Schmick's.  I think I've told you before, but if you sign up for their "frequent flyer" type card, they give you a free $30 credit towards a birthday dinner.  Score!  So we went for one last "birthday dinner" to celebrate Bart's birthday.  And then......

They gave him a free dessert too!  They have a dessert that they call the Chocolate Bag.  It's literally a bag made out of chocolate and filled with cream and fruit and such.  Well, it's BIG and we were stuffed so we were planning to pass on dessert until they brought Bart a MINI Chocolate Bag for free for his birthday!  How cute is that little choco bag??  And not only that, but they gave him a coupon for a free 'small plate' next time we go!  That's a lot of freebies for one birthday.  Thank you, McCormick & Schmick's!

Sunday was filled with church, a bit of work and lots of resting.  All in all, a great weekend, if you ask me.  :)

Now it's a new week and there's lots to be done.  I've been working on several crafty posts to share with you this week, the first of which will be tomorrow!  I've got a tutorial you might want to see!  *wink!*

See you soon,

Day Trippin'

Hi-ya!

Today, Bartley had the day off work so we jumped in Murray (the Murano) and headed out for a little day trip to Lawrence, Kansas -- just 30 minutes away from us.  It's not far away at all, so I'm not sure why we don't get over there more often, but we sure do enjoy it when we do.  Just look at how charming their little downtown area is.....shops, restaurants, cute!

(Click on any of the photos to view them larger)

We had to have lunch at Free State.  It's our favorite place to eat when we go to Lawrence and what you're about to see is one of the main reasons why.......

 

Onion Rings.  But not just any onion rings.  Great big onion rings, battered and served with whole grain mustard on the side.  Just get a half order though (that's what this is -- about 6 rings)....we learned our lesson on that one last time!  Ha.

They're so good.  Get 'em.  You won't be sorry!

 

Massachusetts Street is where all the downtown action is.  This is just a short little section of Massachusetts Street.  Cute, right?  The thing I LOVE about downtown Lawrence is how they've kept all of these old, old buildings and updated them to house lots of modern shops and restaurants.  These buildings are such a treasure.

 

So pretty!  This is the Douglas County Courthouse (since 1905!).

 

Now, as many times as we've gone to Lawrence for little outings, we've always walked right by this, the Eldridge Hotel.  However, I've always wondered what it's like on the inside because the outside is certainly beautiful and old and lovely.  So today, we decided to just go in and check it out.  Let me show you what we saw...

 

This is the view when you walk into the lobby.  Do you see the front desk over there on the right??  My antique-lovin' heart spotted that gorgeous wall right off the bat and I just HAD to get a closer look.  Come on....

 

Have you ever seen such a PRETTY wall behind the front desk of a hotel??  I know you can't see it well in this picture but if you look over on the left, where it says "Hotel Eldridge" -- that's an old walk-in safe!  Cool.

Just look at all those cubbies and doors and the cool hardware on each door!!  Oh my word, I love this wall so much.  Could I please have this wall of wooden history and storage and mirrored doors and gorgeousness moved into my house, please?  Pretty please?

The guy behind the counter told us that this wall is circa 1920!  They sure knew how to do things right in the 20's.  :)

 

When I could finally pry myself away from the front desk, we continued around the lobby to see this pretty sitting area complete with fireplace.  Oh, I wanted to go and 'sit a spell', but since we weren't exactly paying guests, we kept moving.  Ha.  Look at that pretty ceiling though.....and the light fixtures.

 

Across from the front desk, we got a glimpse into this room that looked like it might be worth investigating.  We weren't disappointed.  Just look at what we found!

 

A gorgeous ballroom!  Oh my word, it sort of reminded me of the ballroom in The Sound of Music!  ....and you KNOW how much I love The Sound of Music!  What an elegant room.  I'd love to host a grand ball in this room, with pretty ladies in fancy dresses.....and music....and ballroom dancing.  Can't you just see it?  Happy sigh.

 

Just look at that chandelier.

 

Next, we went downstairs and found a fun room with this pretty bar area.  I think it might be used as a party room or something now.  Doesn't it remind you of an old time-y saloon?

 

Looking back up the stairs on our way out.  Seriously.....beautiful details everywhere you look.

 

Even the beveled, etched glass on the front doors is beautiful.

So now, as you can imagine, the Eldridge Hotel has made it's way onto the list of places I'd like to stay one day -- just for fun.  Just for a night.  Just because.  :)

 

After we left the Eldridge, we walked around for a bit more.  When we were in GAP, we were laughing about how all the male mannequins are standing with one shoulder higher than the other, sort of in a tough-guy swagger type pose.

 

They looked sort of like this.  Hahaha!  Bart struck a GAP-mannequin-pose for me.  LOL.  He makes me laugh.  I love that about him.

 

More pretty store fronts.  I just love this street.

 

I'd also like to go up and sit on that little terrace and then go up another floor and have a peek at the teensy balcony.  :)

 

One more shot at the Eldridge as we headed back to Murray (the Murano).

All in all, it was a great, relaxing day.  We came home this evening and had Taco Night, here at the McVey Ranch and now we're just hangin' out.  I love these days when we get to soak up just BEing together.  Just spending time together, doing nothing major except enjoying each other.

Bartley's off again tomorrow too.  Hmmm.....wonder what tomorrow will bring???  I'll keep you posted!  *wink*  You can also follow me on Twitter, to see what we're up to.

Sleep tight,

 

More of the Same.....but Different

Hello, Crew.  It's Wednesday!  AND, tonight marks Bart's first official football scrimmage of the season (he's a ref) which means that before we know it, football season will be in full swing around here.  I always have mixed emotions when this time of year rolls around.  I do LOVE fall and all the deliciousness that comes with it.....crisp chilly air, cute boots!, cozy sweaters, hearty soups and stews, fun socks, snuggling up inside with a good book, hot apple cider.....you know, all of that good stuff.  But fall also means that Bart and I will start to have less time together.  He'll be gone to football games and then football season runs right into basketball season and then he's REALLY gone to a lot of games and I'll miss him so.  The good news though, is that I have lots more time to get work done around here when he's not here to distract me with his hotness.  :)  And so.....mixed emotions.  Sad for less time with my hottie hubs but excited for the change of seasons and looking forward to a new routine......and the holidays just around the corner.  :)

Perhaps that's why I got so engrossed in this color combo yesterday.  It's a bit fall-ish, a bit holiday-ish.  I just like it.  Besides using the same colors that I did on yesterday's card, there are quite a few of the same elements here as well, just used in different ways.  More of October Afternoon's pretty doily paper.  More vintage book print paper, this time die cut in the shape of a leaf.  (I used one of the new leaf prints dies)  More kraft card stock with black ink, and another butterfly.  (This time, I used the butterfly die and the Butterfly Dreams stamp set)  Another pure poppy button.  More of the pretty label image from Round and Round.  This time I stamped it on the card base so that the pretty flourishes peek out from behind the mat stack 3 label shape.

The red label was die cut using the mat stack 3 die and then stamped with the coordinating label image from All Booked Up.  The sentiment is another from Round and Round (Papertrey's free anniversary set from this year).  I finished things off with a simple knot of true black grosgrain ribbon.

How are you feeling about things today?  Have your kids started school yet?  Are you gearing up for a new routine at your house too?  Well, however you're feeling about the coming change of seasons, I hope you're enjoying your week!  I've got much to accomplish today so I'd better scoot.

Ta Ta...

 

{Birthday Wishes supplies}
Paper: pure poppy, kraft, rustic cream, vintage book print, October Afternoon -- thrift shop
Stamps: All Booked Up, Butterfly Dreams, Round and Round
Ink: true black, pure poppy, versamark
Other: butterfly die, mat stack 2 die, leaf prints die, true black classic grosgrain ribbon, pure poppy button

Bingo!

Hello there.  How are you doing?  I'm popping in tonight to share a happy little thank you card with you.  I ask you, what's not to love about a bingo card, polka dotted butterflies, a beautiful die cut label, vintage book print, scrolly-dotty-swirls and bit of doily patterned paper???  :)

I couldn't resist die cutting a bit of vintage book print using the mat stack 4 die.  And then, I couldn't resist stamping the lovely label image from Papertrey's free anniversary set this year (called Round and Round) right onto the book print.  The whole card though, started with the fun little bingo card from my It's Official stamp set.  I hadn't used it in a little while and decided that a kraft and black colored bingo card would be so fun!  Then, I stamped it with a gorgeous little flourish from Fancy Flourishes using some Fresh Snow ink.  Love that look!  The sentiment is also from Round and Round, as well as the teensy dotted butterfly which I stamped twice using pure poppy ink and then cut them out.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit with me today.  I'm so glad you did!  Back tomorrow with a birthday card to share.......I kind of got on a roll with this color scheme.  ;)

Until then, enjoy your day, Peeps!

Smooches,

{Thank You supplies}
Paper: pure poppy, kraft, rustic cream, October Afternoon - Thrift Shop
Stamps: It's Official, Fancy Flourishes, Round and Round
Ink: pure poppy, true black, fresh snow
Other: mat stack 4 die, pure poppy topnotch twill, pure poppy button, rustic cream button twine, corner chomper

Remembering.....Sunday School

ETA: Several of you have asked where I bought my Bible.  I got mine (for $5) at Lifeway Christian Store but I think Family Christian Store may have carried it at one time too.  It's the English Standard Version (ESV) and Crossway is the publisher.  Hope that helps, if you're trying to hunt one down!  :)

Good morning!  Happy Monday!

I'm sure it will not likely come as a surprise to you that this pretty little pink number is my Bible.  My husband reminds me from time to time that a Bible isn't meant to be a fashion accessory, however when I saw this little beauty -- the perfect size to tuck into my purse -- AND saw that it was only $5, well I couldn't resist.  I love it.  What can I say?  ;)

This brings me to a story........and a project for you.

When I was about 3 years old, I had a Sunday School teacher named Marilyn.  She was a hip, single gal and she loved kids.  And I loved her.  And my absolute favorite part about when she taught Sunday School was when she'd pull out her Bible.  Not because I was so scholarly at the ripe old age of 3, but because she had the most colorful bookmarks of anyone I knew!  (not that I really knew a LOT of people at age 3, but you know what I mean)

She took brightly colored strips of construction paper and wrote simple scriptures on each one......Bible verses that you learn when you're a kid like, "Rejoice in the Lord always" or "Be ye kind, one to another" or "Serve the Lord with gladness".  You get the idea.  She'd write one of these Bible verses on each strip of card stock and tuck each one into her Bible where you'd find that particular verse.  THEN came the fun part.  She'd let us each pick what COLOR she'd read from.  As you can tell by this story, my love of all things COLORFUL started at a very young age.  So, we'd pick RED maybe and she'd read the verse to us that was written on the red construction paper bookmark and we'd repeat the verse back to her, thus learning the Bible verses as we went along.  And it wouldn't have been any fun at all to leave any of the colors out, so before all was said and done, we just HAD to pick ALL of the colors....and so, we had a great game.  The Bible verse bookmark game.  And at age 3, I thought Miss Marilyn was just about the greatest teacher ever!  :)

I was remembering that story recently and it got me to thinking that perhaps when my niece and nephew come to stay with us next month (yes, the one and two year olds are coming to stay with us for a few days!), perhaps I'll play the Bible verse bookmark game with them.  I'm gonna need lots of fun things to keep them entertained, after all!  It also got me to thinking that perhaps it was time for me to make some pretty bookmarks that I could tuck into my own little bright pink Bible.....color coordinated, of course.  And so......

When we got home from church yesterday, I whipped up these simple little bookmarks using a few basic supplies.  They are SO easy to make.  You could make your own versions for your Bible, or a treasured book you're reading.  You could make a set as a gift for a friend.  You could make some for a teenager or a young reader.  You can stamp whatever you want on them to customize them for whatever you need.

In my case, I pulled out the Everyday Blessings stamp set and stamped some Bible verses on them.  I used Papertrey's bookmark die to cut them out and then used various stamp sets to decorate them up.....from left to right, I used Distressed Stripes, Polka Dot Basics II, Vintage Labels and Fancy Flourishes.

 

I added the little hole reinforcers that are die cut when you cut out each bookmark and then threaded thru 3 strands of Chocolate or Pure Poppy baker's twine on each bookmark.  Don't they look so pretty sticking up out of the top of my Bible?  :)

Then I got to thinking that bookmarks really don't have to be long and skinny.  You can use any shape you like and since I LOVE this new Mat Stack 4 die, I used it to cut out 4 more bookmarks.  I added more Bible verses to these and also used Fancy Flourishes, Embellishments, Distressed Stripes, Polka Dot Basics II and Vintage Labels.  I love how you can just have fun with them and make each one a little different.  These can seriously be whipped up in a very short time!  I used versamark ink and dark chocolate ink on all of them to streamline the process and keep them all somewhat uniform.

Again......don't the mat stack 4 bookmarks look so pretty when peeking out from between the pages?!

Goodness, you could also make these for school teachers or book club friends.  Heck, even Sunday School teachers!  *Hee*

Have a fabulous Monday, dearies.....chat with you again soon!

xo,

{Bookmarks supplies}
Paper: dark chocolate, raspberry fizz, pure poppy, kraft
Stamps: Everyday Blessings, Fancy Flourishes, Embellishments, Distressed Stripes, Polka Dot Basics II, Vintage Labels
Ink: dark chocolate, versamark
Other: bookmark die, mat stack 4 die, Tea For Two Collection die, chocolate baker's twine, pure poppy baker's twine

Bart's Birthday Food Fest

Hiiiiiii, sweet friends!  It feels like I've been gone from here for simply ages, even though it's only been 3 days!  I've missed you!  I'm happy to report that my stitches seem to be healing nicely and I'm feeling great.  Ready to buckle down and check LOTS of stuff off the work to-do list this week, especially since I have doctor's orders not to work out for the next few weeks.  That just means more time each day that I can get some work done.  (Trying to look on the bright side here, and not think too much about the fact that I'm NOT getting my workouts in each day!)  ;)

Anyway, I think it's high time I finally share the piccies I took last weekend.  We celebrated Bart's birthday by having our own little food festival.  Really, it's the perfect "gift" for the guy who's super hard to shop for.  You just go to several different fun restaurants that he's always wanted to go to, or that are new but you just haven't gotten around to trying yet!  "The gift of an experience" is always great for a guy who doesn't really want anything else.  So that's what we did.

 

We started out last weekend at Stroud's -- Home of Pan Fried Chicken.  Stroud's has been in business since 1933 and somehow Bart and I hadn't ever gone there together.  We'd each been there separately, both of us years ago, so it was fun to experience it again only this time, together.  

 

The thing about Stroud's is, they don't mess around.  The portions are huge.  They're completely NOT healthy.  But they taste sooooooooo good!  Like I said...they don't mess around!  The photo above is of my chicken fried steak.  Gigantor.

 

This is Bart's chicken dinner -- a breast, thigh and leg.  And the homestyle serving of mashed potatoes and gravy that they bring for the table.  Ohhhhh, the potatoes.  Have I ever told you how much I love potatoes?  I do.  I really do.  But these?  Well these, were positively exceptional!  Whipped to perfection, with just a few chunks left in for good measure.  Sigh.

 

Now this photo just makes me laugh!!!  THIS was our table of food.  In front of Bart, you can see his chicken as well as a plate of chicken livers (the man likes chicken livers, what can I say?) that he'd already eaten maybe 1/3 of.  That was a "half" order of livers.  I can't even imagine how many they bring you in a full order!  You can also see the bowl of green beans that are automatic with every meal as well as the cinnamon rolls.

 

Yes, I said CINNAMON ROLLS.  For two people, they automatically bring you a basket of 4 cinnamon rolls!  And if you eat those, they're quite happy to bring you more!  You can have them with your meal or after, but seriously if you're asking me, I'll take them now thank you!  And these aren't just any cinnamon rolls.  They're perfect cinnamon rolls.  Perfectly cinnamon-y and roll-y and not covered in icing so you can really taste all of the cinnamon-y roll-y deliciousness.  I can tell you that we were doing good to finish two of the rolls with this huge meal!  I can also tell you that we very much enjoyed eating the other two a few days later....they reheated to ooey-gooey perfection.

 

For dinner that evening, we tried out a new German/Austrian restaurant in town called Grunauer.  Since we've been to both Germany and Austria and had some amazing meals there, we were quite excited to try this one out.  

 

To start things off, we had this DELICIOUS appetizer -- Liptauer Cheese & Pate with Rye Crisps.  Oh my word.  I could have eaten just this for my meal and been completely happy.  Plus, I felt so fancy eating "pate"!  Hahaha.

 

We ordered two entrees and shared them so that we could both try a variety of things.  One of those entrees was Schweinebraten and the other was this Sausage Sampler which consisted of 6 different types of sausage plus mashed potatoes and red cabbage.

 

For dessert, we were so excited to order the classic Sacher Torte.  You see, when we were in Austria, we had a Sacher Torte at an actual Sacher Cafe and it was SO wonderful.  The torte, the coffee, the experience of going out late at night w/some of the friends we'd made on our bus tour for a bit of dessert and chit-chat.....we have such fond memories of that "torte experience".  :)  So it was a no-brainer that we'd try the Sacher Torte at dinner last weekend and I must say, Grunauer didn't disappoint!

 

Not only was the torte just as it should be -- authentic-ly Sacher, but the Melange (Austrian cappuccino) was also just the same as it was in Austria!  LOVE that!  Just look at how fancy it is!  Cute little cup & saucer on a pretty silver platter, complete with a tiny glass of water.  :)

 

Can you tell how much I was enjoying that Melange????  Heeee.

 

The next day, we did a bit of walking around on the Plaza.  Here's a shot of some of the stores and just one of the many fountains here in this City of Fountains.

 

While we walked around the Plaza, we took quite a few shots of our reflections in various store windows.  The above photo is one of them.  Not too shabby for a reflection, huh?  ;)

 

We wound down the food fest last weekend with pizza at Old Chicago, though why they call it that is beyond me.  The pizza was certainly tasty enough, but the deep dish is not at all like actual Chicago deep dish.  Guess we'll just have to keep going to Chicago for that.  *wink*

 

We've had a few more fun meals this weekend including these burgers at SmashBurger.  Have you had them?  They're new here.  I LOVE the burgers.  The fries aren't all that but the burgers.......oh, they're good.  Really good.  

 

See?  Toldjya.  :)

Hope you've had a great weekend.  I also hope that the coming week is a great one for you too.  

I'm off for now.  Time for this foodie to put her feet up and enjoy a bit of time with her handsome husband before we start another work-week.

Much love, Friends,

 

 

Setting the Scene

 

Hi-ya, Sweets....

Just wanted you to know that all is well here at the McVey ranch.  My surgery yesterday went just fine.  In fact, we were just laughing the night before last about how it went the one other time I had surgery.......well, oral surgery.  When we were first married in 2001, I had my wisdom teeth removed -- all 4 of them.  To say that I looked like a caricature of myself is putting it mildly.  VERY mildly.  In fact, my cheeks were SOOOO extremely swollen that I looked like a cartoon character of myself.  Literally.  I'm not exaggerating here!  Bart was working that day, so my little sister, Grace, picked me up from the oral surgeon's office and took me to Target on the way home to pick up the prescriptions they were sending me home with after surgery.  When Gracie pulled up at Target, she told me to wait in the car for her.  I was totally loopy and I looked at her and said, "Grace, whatever you do, don't ever do drugs."  LOL!!!  To this day, I still get teased about that moment.  Apparently I was soooo serious!  Ha.  So this time around, considering I've had anesthesia and am not telling anyone to 'just say no', I'm thinking that I'm doing all right!  Hahaha.

Actually, yesterday I was pretty sore.  As it turns out, Bart got dr's orders to leave his stitches totally alone and in 10 days or so, the tape that's on them will come off on it's own.  I, on the other hand, wasn't so fortunate with the dr's orders.  I got strict instructions to gently clean my stitches and change the dressing twice a day for the next 3 weeks.  Bummer.  Needless to say, we haven't seen Bart's stitches.  And since we were told that I have "just a small incision" (supposedly smaller than Bart's), I wasn't at all prepared for the inch-long incision and 6 icky stitches that feel like they're made out of fishing line.  As I was putting the medicated ointment on the stitches for the first time last night, I got so grossed out that I felt totally queasy for a bit and had to lay down!  Hahahahaha.  My mom and I have had a good laugh over that this morning.  It's sort of like how it's way easier to pick a splinter out of someone else's finger than it is your own.  Does that happen to you too?  I'm sure if I'd had to tend to Bart's stitches, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but since I could feel what I was doing to the stitches........gag.  Ick.  Gross.  Bleckth.  Didn't enjoy that!  LOL.  This morning though, I'm happy to report that I was a big girl and toughened up and changed the dressing without incident.  *smile*

So the above photo pretty much sets the scene around here today.  While I was in a lot of pain yesterday, today is much better.  The pain isn't constant and if one sitting or laying position gets too painful, I can just move to a better position to alleviate the pain.  My plan today, is to sit at the kitchen table in the photo above and do some graphic design work until I need to lay down, at which point, I'll walk about 10 steps right over into the living room and lay down for a bit.  :)

I've got my antibiotics, iPhone, the TV remote and a glass of water handy.  Yes, I'm drinking lots of fluids.  I've also got a bit of coffee in my new Eiffel Tower mug (a gift from a sweet friend), a good book in case I need to lay down and read for a bit, and the sunshine-y flowers that Bartley brought home for me the other day.  I'm in good shape, really.

I'm becoming reacquainted with reruns of I Love Lucy and Who's The Boss.  I might even whip up a chopped salad for lunch.  Veggies sound goooood.  I'm also wishing for a little studio time to play with paper and stamps and ink but I must get my computer work done first.  A little motivation, right?  ;)

Oh, you'll also notice in the photo above that I finally got a new case for my beloved iPhone.....went with a bright pink Speck case.  Can't go wrong with bright pink now, can you?

All right, I really must quit chatting and get some work done.  

Thank you sooooo much for all of your concern and care, your well wishes and hugs, your love and offers to help if you could.  You are all such dears and I'm so grateful for your friendship.  Thank you for taking the time to reach out to me this week.  

Smooches,

  

Crazy Week and then some...

 

Hi-ya Crew......

Not much craftiness to show you today, but I do have a bit of a story for you.  It's the story of last week in all it's craziness, which has now officially carried over to this week a bit.  

If you recall, last week was Papertrey Countdown week.  Countdown week always means lots and lots of paper-crafting going on around here.  Add to that, the fact that I got sick on Monday and was pretty much sick all week long.  Now for those of you that are already speculating as to whether or not it was "morning sickness", you can put that idea out of your minds right now.  (I know how you are - Ha!)  I assure you that it was most definitely not morning sickness, although I will not be getting into the details of said illness.  LOL.  Anyway, did I mention that it was Countdown week......and I was sick?  Sounds like a lot, right.....but that's not all.

On Wednesday, my dear hubsie had a bit of minor surgery to remove a cyst on his back.  Nothing serious at all, but surgery none-the-less and now, due to the few stitches on his back, he's not supposed to do any major movement with his arms.  Again, he's certainly up and around and doing things on his own, but there are a few things that he normally does all the time, that he can't do for about 10 days, including washing his own hair.  (He's not supposed to raise his arms above his head)  So......I was sick......and it was Countdown week.......and I had added a few more things to my to do list, ie: watering the flower beds, all of Riley's care, trash duty, washing (and blow-drying and styling - ha!) Bart's hair before work each morning, etc.  To say that it was an interesting week is putting it mildly.

And that brings me to this week.  It's now my turn for a bit of minor surgery.  Oddly enough, it's almost the same surgery as Bart's -- having a cyst removed.  It's certainly not a big deal at all, and I'll be able to go home just a short while after the surgery.  Not sure exactly what my list of restrictions will be for the few days of my recovery, but we're laughing at what a pair we are this week!  We might have to teach Riley dog how to completely take care of himself!  Haha.

Anyway, I go in bright and early in the morning for surgery and assuming that all goes as planned, I'll be home by lunchtime and resting easy.  :)  Just wanted to give you a head's up though, because I've got a lot of graphic designing to do on the computer, but I'm not sure how quickly I'll be back in the studio.  Might be a few days.  

Until then, I hope that you have a fabulous day.  The above photo is one of our clematis blooms from earlier this summer.  They're all bloomed out now, but I'm so glad I took some photos when they were in full bloom.  They were just gorgeous.

Take care, Dearies......and we'll chat again soon,

P.S.  Several of you have asked about our dishes.  They are a discontinued Mikasa pattern called Plaza Lane.  I think you may still be able to find them if you search online.  Hope that helps!