Great Giveaway at The Plaid Barn!

Great Giveaway at The Plaid Barn today!! Check it out! :)

Catching Up!

Ok, the lazy blogger is back today! :) haha I thought I'd catch up on the past few weeks so here goes! :)

To start with, I haven't eat meat (except for a few shrimp and some fish) since January 6. :)  We watched some documentaries on Netflix (Forks over Knives, Food Inc., Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead to name a few).  I was utterly grossed out by not only they way animals are treated in food production (which I knew before, just decided to ignore I guess), but also I was grossed out by how our food is processed.  Ammonia washed chicken anyone? UGH! Watch them, and I'm sure it will make you think about changing your eating habits as well.  Plus, recently Adam showed me what chicken nugget paste looks like. GAG!! haha I won't be eating chicken nuggets ever again.

A couple of Adam's co-workers had seen Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, and were going on juice fasts at the beginning of January.  So Adam decided he wanted a juicer, which meant I researched and researched and researched about them.  I found out a lot of interesting facts that I didn't know before, and in the end we decided on a Cuisinart from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  The price was good (with my 20% off coupon, it was only $1 more than amazon's price) and they have a great return policy.  :)  (If you've ready anything about juicers, they like to break.  So I knew I didn't want to have the hassle of shipping it back to someplace if I need to return or exchange it.)  We bought it 3 weeks ago and it's still going strong. :)

I am not a fan of freshly juiced fruits and veggies.  So I have opted to drink Naked drinks a couple times a day, and try to eat clean otherwise.  (If you haven't tried the Naked smoothies, OMG, you are missing out! They are GOOD!)  I was good for about a week with the whole eating clean thing, but have since reverted a little. :)  It takes more work to make meals vegetarian, so I'm lazy and eat the same things over and over.  Homemade fresco bean burritos, salads, chips (haha), cheese and crackers, lots of bread, eggs....  blah blah :)

However, this Friday marks a month of not eating any meat, so I'm going to spend some time today getting my act together and planning out some recipes that are healthy, vegetarian, and yummy. :)  Maybe Adam will even eat them. We'll see!

Another exciting thing we did 2 weekends ago was take a Concealed Weapons class put on by a local gun glub, The Escambia River Muzzleloaders.  I've never shot a gun (besides a bb gun) in my life, so it was a really fun and interesting/informative day for me. :)  The morning consisted of going over general gun knowledge, safety, laws and legal stuff, etc.  Then after we had a lunch break, we met at the range and went shooting! :)  It was SO FUN! :) haha  Here's one of my targets from the day. 

I did pretty well I think for my first time ever shooting!

Ok now here are my photos from the January Photo a Day up until January 20! I'll add the others in my next post! :)

Day 8 - My Sky

Day 9 - My Daily Routine (can't live without my Chi)

Day 10 - Childhood

Day 11 - Where we Sleep (bed made especially for the picture) :)

Day 12 - Close-up

Day 13 - Inside my Bag

Day 14 - What I'm Reading

Day 15 - Happiness (GO IRISH!)

Day 16 - Morning

Day 17 - Water (Pensacola Beach is so pretty!)

Day 18 - Something I bought (YUM!)

Day 18 - Sweet!

Day 19 - I love this guy! :)

Day 7 - Favourite

I have A LOT of favorite things, but for today I thought I'd keep it simple and share an etsy find from yesterday morning.  I was searching for "owl pins," because I'd like to find a vintage pin that I can use to make a necklace or bracelet out of.  While searching, I can across this CUTE Owl Pincushion.  It just so happens to have the same owls on it as these cute sale and pepper shakers I've been hunting for. 

They owls on the pin cushion are faded, but I just couldn't pass it up.  Plus, I'd much rather have this cute pin cushion to sit in my sewing room rather than have the shakers that I'd be terrified of breaking. :)

On another note, I stopped by Franklin's Antiques and Flea Market last night on my way home from work.  I just LOVE this wall! :) And isn't that Bisquik Tulip tin ADORABLE! I just wish it wasn't so rusty! BOO!

Another section had hardback books for $1 and paperbacks for just 50 cents.  Well I saw a few that I might want, but decided since they were closing in 5 minutes that I'd just come back today and grab them.  You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now, because most of them were GONE today! UGH!  I can only blame myself. sigh I wanted Eldest the most, but didn't get it! :(

But all was not lost, because I did manage to score this pile of vintage books for just $4. WOO! :)  Hey are SO CUTE!

I also scored 2 vintage pyrex milk glass mixing bowls for just $7.99.  That made me feel a little better. :)

We also stopped by an estate sale this morning and I snagged this little gem for only $2.  It seems to go quite well with my set of green bowls and Corelle dishes with the Spring Blossom Pattern! :)

We finished the day up with a trip to Philly's! YUM!! :)

Hope y'all are having a wonderful weekend so far!

Something That Makes Me Smile! :)

Even though my sewing/craft room is a MAJOR work in progress and is full of PhD's (Projects Half Done) :), it still makes me smile.  Just before Christmas I went to Home Depot and grabbed this new shelf unit to get eveything out of floor piles and up where I could actually see it and use it.  (You can't see the top shelf, but it's got enough room to house my sewing machine case, a full bag of fiberfill, and a stack of vintage tins full of sewing notions!  I'm eventually going to get some storage bins and label everything nicely. (Like I said, work in progress, right?) 

The other side of the room is a whole other story. UGH! Maybe I will be brave and show it one of these days.  That side most definitely does not make me smile. It makes me gag. haha :)

At least I had enough space and time to be able to create these lovelies over my Christmas break for Mom and Adam's Mom.

First up, this cute pin cushion caddy for my Mom! :)

I used a pattern from Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing!  Let me just say, I need some practice blind stitching. ;)

This next project is still not finished. HAHA :)  It's going to become a coupon organizer, and it's made using laminated cotton fabric.  After sewing this, I decided I HATED laminated cotton. HA But thanks to Mom, I've learned some tips and tricks and might try using it again.  We'll see.  I will need nerves of steel people, and lots of coffee. :)  The pattern for this came from the New Fabric-by-Fabric One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Projects Using Cottons, Knits, Voiles, Corduroy, Fleece, Flannel, Home Dec, Oilcloth, Wool, and Beyond book.  This book is FULL of fun projects, but not everything is for a beginner sewer, and I had to youtube a lot of things!

These were pretty easy to make, just a little time consuming.  They were also made using the New Fabric-by-Fabric One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Projects Using Cottons, Knits, Voiles, Corduroy, Fleece, Flannel, Home Dec, Oilcloth, Wool, and Beyond book.  :) It's a sunglasses/cellphone holder, passport cover, and luggage tag.  The sunglasses case turned out a little small both times (I made 2), but they ended up being the perfect size for a smaller cell phone or iPhone.

Last I put together this wristlet/makeup bag clutch.  It also came from the same book as the set above. :)  The zipper was a little wonky, but not too bad since it's only the 2nd zipper I've ever sewn in!

I can't wait to get back into my sewing room and start working on some new projects and finishing up all my to do list!! :)

Oh, one more thing!! Adam surprised me tonight and came home early WITH Starbucks for me!! :) Yet another reason to smile today! WOO! :)

Day 5 - Something I Wore

This one was really hard for me to pick today. haha :)  I didn't really want to do a whole outfit, because my work clothes are usually borning, haha, and my comfy at home outfit is usually just AE sweatpants and one of Adam's t-shirts! :)  Plus I waited til it was dark out and couldn't really get a good shot of anything.  So I just decided on the scarf I wore that day.  Today was one of the last "cold" days for awhile, so I took advantage of it.

Mom and I actually made 2 of these, and ended up each keeping one because we both liked the colors so much! :)

I'll have to get a better shot of it when it's daytime!! :)  Happy Thursday all!!

Letterbox??

Let me be honest, when I saw letterbox on the list for Day 4, I had to google it. bahaha :)  I kind of figured it had something to do with mail, but we don't really have those fancy, cute ones that go on the sides of houses here in Pensacola (unless you're downtown).  So anyways, here is a photo of our lovely mailbox. :) tee hee

It's got lots of character with it's poor rusty hinges, broken flag and green/black stuff growing on the side of it.  Pressure wash much? Eh, not really. ;) **Adam get on that!**

So since our mailbox isn't exactly inspirational, I thought I'd share a collection of interesting letterboxes that I found through Pinterest!  Enjoy!

Source: theartofthers.blogspot.com via Danielle on Pinterest

Source: youwillneverwastemytime.tumblr.com via Kim on Pinterest

Source: giverslog.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Georgia on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Brett on Pinterest

Source: tasmaniaforums.com.au via Kylee on Pinterest

Source: retro-vintage-photography.blogspot.com via Kay on Pinterest

 

Day 3 - What I Adore...

I was really excited when I saw that today, January 3 was "Something You Adore" Day on the Photo A Day Challenge.  Today happens to be Adam and I's 7 1/2 year anniversary. :)  We actually started dating May 24, 2004, but it wasn't official until July 3, 2004 (if you really want to get technical). haha

So today, what I adore most is this guy right here...

I couldn't imagine my life without him! :)  He's supportive of my wild ambitions, a ton of fun to be around, always making me laugh, and always there for me when I need him. :)  Sometimes I think he's deaf because of me though.  (Or he pretends not to listen quite often.) ;)  Ya see, I like to talk... A LOT... and usually (ok, always!) it's very fast and very loud. ha :)  But that' ok because he loves me anyways, fast talkin' or not!

Anyways, hope y'all are joining along for the challenge.  And if not, make sure to link up with Fat Mum Slim using hashtag #JANphotoaday on Twitter or Instagram.  And Shelley from The House of Smith's found this great app for all you iPhone and Android users out there.  It's called my365! Check it out and keep track of your daily photos with the cool calendar feature!  Find me on there and follow me, I just downloaded it yesterday!

Here is mine as of yesterday! :)

Day 2 - Breakfast! And some antiquing too!

So I'm not much of a breakfast fan, not necessarily the food, just the time it's usually eaten.  I'm not a morning person. :)  Anyone who really knows me, completely understands that.  I'm not fully awake before 10am, sometimes later. ;) haha

Oh well, here's pic #2!  A quick breakfast before we got started taking Christmas decorations down (more on this in a minute), and then did a little antiquing/shopping later in the day.

So, we were planning to leave the tree up for a few more days since we got it decorated so late this year.  However, I heard Adam say, "Oh don't come out of the bedroom yet."  Of course, I flew right out.  I listen really well. ;) "...when, what to my wandering eyes should appear...", but a lovely Christmas tree knocked over on the tile floor.  Yeah, I was not happy.  The tree was down, ornaments packed up, lights wrapped up in the next 30 minutes.  My cats know how to motivate me to get something done quickly. :)  haha As far as I could tell, nothing got broken.  This is the 2nd time they've knocked our small tree over.  From now on, the big tree is going up!

One last view of the mantle last night while watching The Green Lantern.

(Can you see Barnaby?  He's our Elf on the Shelf that needs to go back to his box/home.)

A few more photos from today....

Adam wouldn't let me have this at Mixon Antique Mall.

It's a "Cat in Sundress" from Primitives by Kathy. SO FUNNY! ha :) 

We found these fun treasures at Oooodles of Everything Past and Present.

The 2 mice are ornaments (or were).  I'm going to repair their string and hang them on the tree next year!  They are so fun!  The tin will hold sewing notions and the book was just plain cute. :)

Next stop was Barnes and Noble to check out Forks over Knives.  We watched the movie on Netflix last night, and it was pretty eye-opening.  I have read A LOT on the Whole 30 diet, and we can't wait to get started cutting out meat and dairy and moving toward a more plant-based diet.  It's going to take some time getting used to it, and lots of discipline. :)  Let's hope we can do well!  The book has lots of good recipes in it, so I might have to order it from Amazon!

Right now I'm on the hunt for a new planner.  None of the one's I've found so far have been just right.  I'm really tempted to get one of these pretty little 2012 Simplified Planner from Emily Ley! :)  Her 20% off sale ends tonight, so I need to hurry up and make my decision!!

It's back to work tomorrow for me!  I've been off for 11 days!! YIKES!  I'm afraid I won't know what to do tomorrow. haha :)

Now I'm off to start a mini Harry Potter marathon with Adam!!  We got this in the mail last week, and are just now sitting down to start watching all of them!