In Memory...

My grandma passed away this weekend. She was diagnosed with cancer in December, and her body was too weak to fight off an infection that hit her last week. It's hard to believe that she's really gone. This is the first grandparent I've lost, and it's just so strange to think that someone who has been a part of my life since I was born isn't here anymore. I believe that I will see her again someday, and knowing that this separation isn't forever and that she's been freed from the troubles of this world brings me comfort. My family and I appreciate any prayers - thank you!

Projects I Plan to Finish... Perhaps

I started a few "refashioning" projects a couple of months ago. Then my husband came home on leave, and since then I've just been busy. I have a couple of bridal showers coming up, and a very low budget for new clothes, so if I just had the time to finish these... problem solved. However, this is what it all looks like right now:

What's in the box? (Not cheese, but I do recommend this company!)

Unwearable clothes - yippee!

A soon-to-be cardigan: Old pullover that had just shrunk too much, with hand-crocheted trim and flowers (still not sure about the khaki trim)

An old shirt (already cut apart): I was thinking about using this to make some floppy flower embellishments, then wasn't sure, then I saw Blair's post and I'm back to that idea...

Another old sweater which will become a cardigan - and this one needs hardly any work, just some sewing up the middle. Not too summery, though :(

My tank top! I was ALMOST finished when I hit a bump in the road and stopped...

This is the section that gave me the trouble! There's some hand sewing here and I totally messed up on that. But I got some tips from Amy (thank you!) and I'm ready to finish it up!

So, those are my projects. Maybe someday I can show the completed "new" clothes!

Traveling Turkey

I just had to share these pictures I took on my phone the other day....


If you look closely, you can see the TURKEY sitting in the front seat of this man's car. (I know it's a man's car because he came outside soon after I took these pictures.) Pet turkey? Dinner? Who knows!

New Job!

I've been looking for a new job for a while, and I found out on Friday that I got one! I had an interview at a Chase branch last Monday, and I start work as a teller two weeks from today. I called my husband as soon as I found out, and he must have called the florist right afterwards, because look what showed up on Saturday:

(Sorry for the poor quality, I forgot to take one during daylight hours so this is a quickie from Photo Booth). Isn't that sweet of him? :) We've been apart for a while now, and it was so nice of him to think of sending flowers from the other side of the country.

There were several reasons I was looking for something new. #1: I needed more hours (right now I've been working 2 part-time jobs totaling only about 20-25 hr. a week, plus some subbing off and on when school was in). I thought this one was going to be about 20 hours a week, but they told me they had a 30 hour position also, and they'd like me for that one. #2: One of my current jobs is constantly on-call, where I find out around lunchtime when (or whether) I'll be working that afternoon/evening. It's not ideal to begin with, and I especially didn't want to deal with that once my husband and I are back in the same house.

This is a huge blessing, and such a relief. My husband is leaving the Navy this August, and we'll be relocating back home to Sonoma County. I think I've applied for something like 50 jobs or so (several of which were very vague, Craigslist postings), and this was the first one that I got called in for an interview. The job situation has been stressful, but this opportunity has really helped with that. I'll keep one of my other jobs (which is only about 8-10 hrs) but I gave my notice for the other already. Now we just need to figure out what the boy will do. Yay!

Swallowfield

Over at WiseCraft, Blair has started having monthly sponsors. This month the sponsor is Jen Judd-McGee of Swallowfield. The previews on WiseCraft tempted me to wander into her Etsy store, and now? Well, now I'm trying to decide what I want.

I recently found a gift card from Christmas that I'd thought was long gone (I have a tendency to put things in weird places and find them months later....) so I designated part of it as "Etsy money." The problem with vague "Etsy money" is that there are far too many things I like on Etsy. Swallowfied, though... Like I said, I'm trying to decide what I want. It appeared in the right place at the right time. I'm fond of the collages, such as this one:


However, I think my budget is running more towards prints. (Check out WiseCraft for some special offers!)

Browsing Registries

My (little) brother is getting married this August. I was taking a look at their registry and thought about how interesting it is to look at what people have picked out for themselves. Whenever I hear that someone I know, even slightly, is getting married, I try to find their registry. Does anyone else do this? I feel a little stalkerish, but it's fun. You can see what someone's taste is, how well they put things together (or don't), and sometimes how well tastes or ideas are combined between bride and groom.

In this case, however, I am supposed to look, so yay! And then I start looking for other things, putting my own twist on their style... but that's mostly all daydreaming. I tend to "shop" for things I can't afford. This, though, is cute:


And it's only $28. The brother and fiancee are doing all sorts of bright colors, especially orange in the kitchen. This has that accent of orange that really stands out against the blue, and it doesn't even need flowers! I have several vases that rarely get used, but they're clear. Clear = hard to use as empty accessories. Hmmm...

And on a(nother) side note, looking at their registry makes me miss all my stuff. I've been living with my parents since August, and I can't wait to be back in my own home with my boy and all of our things. I'm super grateful for my parents, and my mom has some stuff that I don't have, but it's hers. It also makes me remember registering and how I would revise some of that if I were to do it over again today. Did I really need to register for a pineapple corer/slicer?!

I Love Free Things!

This morning I got a phone call asking whether I'd like some stuff from an old house that's about to be torn down. Score! I now have a little chest of drawers just crying out for a makeover, and two old doors on hold - one with 10 panes of beveled glass and a fabulous old glass knob, and another solid wood paneled one that may become our 1st headboard (that's right, after 3 1/2 years we still don't have a "real" bed, just a box spring and mattress on the frame that came with them). No picture, since it's now nighttime and it's in the back of the car, but it may reappear as my own before & after another day.

Being on a *very* limited budget, haha, I've been slowly collecting things for our one-day house. I was catching up on some Design*Sponge before & afters and had to share this one. I have chairs that are similar:

This photo is the one from their Craigslist listing, and it doesn't quite do justice to the color... Aren't they a great shape, though?!

I got them for free off of Craigslist, and I want to reupholster them myself (because it sounds fun), but I don't know what I'm doing so I'm afraid to start. I'm also afraid of how much it will cost to have someone else do it, so I'm in a bit of a pickle. But someday, they'll be great! :) I'm glad she used a print on the ones on Design*Sponge, because I've been wondering how a print would look with those backs... The jury is still out. I'm not exactly close to working on that project, though, so I guess the fabric decision can wait.

Tomorrow I'm off to SoCal for my future sister-in-law's college graduation - Hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!