Hooray for Fridays!

I am so glad it is Friday - especially today as my husband and I are headed out of town. We are going to Shenandoah Crossing (yep, again) but this time, my dear husband will be with me - hooray! I can't wait.

I was reading Terri's blog this morning and just had to open my stash drawer and have some chocolate for breakfast - it was decadent! I was at TJ Maxx this week and they had these pretty decorative boxes of Joseph Schmidt chocolate truffles marked down to $4 ($4!). Needless to say, I just couldn't pass them up - actually now I am wishing I had bought another box.

I also buy my shampoo and conditioner at TJ Maxx (I always say, if they would start carrying milk and eggs, it would be a one-stop shopping for me - I love TJ Maxx) and this time I picked up Sexy Hair products (hey,the name sounded appealing). My husband helped me unpack and questioned my paying $5 for a bottle of shampoo (no, he's not a tight wad, he just doesn't know how much things cost as I do most of the shopping). Anyway, I was in Walmart yesterday and they had Sexy Hair on the shelf for.... $16 a bottle. Yep, I pulled out my cell phone and called my hubby to crow at how much money I actually saved us :-)

Speaking of saving money, remember my 'girl's nite out' birthday celebration. Well, several of us chose the chef's special dessert of the nite which was, of course, chocolate - it was absolutely divine. Well, I learned (inadvertently) that the 'special' dessert was $12 - $12 for a dessert??? - I know it was chocolate and really great chocolate at that but $12??? I felt terrible as I had no idea and would never have chosen such an expensive dessert for my friends to treat me to. I think we will probably go back to our 'regular' girl's nite out restaurant for the next birthday dessert.

On Wednesday, my husband and I went to dinner at a new little Italian restaurant. We had our very first date at this restaurant 12 years ago. On our first date, the restaurant had a different name and served American cuisine. On our 9th anniversary it changed names again, and on our 10th, and now our 12th. On that first nite, as we sat outside having dinner, my husband said "one day I'd like to live on this street" and 2.5 years later we were married and purchased our first home... on that street. Every year when we go back to the restaurant, I always marvel at how God has blessed us (Jer 29:11)

Below is a picture of one of my WIP. I haven't filled in the sheep yet as I think I may do those with my punch needle.

By the Bay Needleart

In My Father's House

Recommended Fabric and Thread

I finished this little guy awhile ago and I am going to attempt to frame him myself - this is a first for me. Are there any good sites that give framing instructions for dummies?

Another WIP, I just received more of the NPI silk that I needed so I will be working on this project over the weekend.

Plum Street Sampler
Fruit of the Spirit
Recommended Fabric and Thread

Thank you for stopping by and for all the wonderful comments. I hope you have a wonderful weekend with quiet moments to enjoy some stitching time.

Cari

Boo Club: Almost Finished

Good Morning! We had a "girl's nite" last nite to celebrate my birthday. Everyone was so busy last week with VBS, we decided to postpone it 'til this week. We went to a fancy little restaurant downtown and had amazing desserts and coffee. It was a great evening spent with great friends!

As you can see from the pictures below, I am almost finished with this project. I only have the border left to complete. Sadly, I have run out of the black (Mascara) so I will probably take a break this week and work on a 'me' project and then come back to this.

Well, I need to place an order with Theresa for thread and then get back to unpacking all these boxes in the office.

Enjoy your day!

Cari

Stash Additions

Happy Monday to everyone!

It was a wonderful relaxing weekend. Saturday we went swimming with some friends. I was playing with their little two-year-old in the pool and she grabbed my swimsuit top and said "what's down there?". As I am not a mom, I was completely unprepared for such a question (my first thought was 'not much' but somehow I just knew that was not the appropriate answer) and tried to divert her with the water ball - thankfully it worked :-)

I received some great patterns this week. These two are from Tanya's stash reduction and the third is one I purchased from ebay. Someone suggested starting a SAL for A Sweeter Love, but I can't recall who it was (does anyone else know who it is?). Anyhow, now that I have the chart, I just need material and I will be ready to sign up!

Star Light, Star Bright ~ Little by Little

A Sweeter Love ~ Plum Street Sampler

Scare Crow Wabbit - Sheepish Designs

My Heart's Garden
Shepherd's Bush

This little beauty is from Jolene - I won the mystery prize in her drawing last week. I was so excited to open my mailbox and find this on Saturday! I just wanted to sit down and start stitching it immediately - it is so sweet. Thanks Jolene!

I worked diligently on "Boo" all weekend and only have the border left to do - I'll post pictures soon.

Cari

My Weekend Finds and Giveaways

Hooray for Fridays. Our department, at work, moved this week. Our new offices are 1/4 mile away (but in the same building) from our old offices - needless to say, my poor little feet are so tired from all the walking. Thankfully, we had big, strong men taking care of the move - I just had to supervise the packing and the delivering. Next week I will spend my 40 hours unpacking and organizing (my favorite thing to do, I know, I'm weird).

I am ready to put my feet up, watch a good movie, and do some stitching - but first, I wanted to tell you about a couple of giveaways. I found a wonderful new site today (thanks to Terri) that just fascinated me "Between Naps on the Porch" and, they are having a giveaway! Also, Jan, at Belfonte Notes is having a wonderful giveaway in honor of her precious new granddaughter, Alexandra. Here is a picture of all the wonderful things we have a chance to win.

I also wanted to show you a couple of pictures from my purchases last weekend:

Two vintage shadow portraits. I am hoping my dear husband will hang them tomorrow.

I was going to show you a picture of the civil war bullets I picked up, but I am not sure where Bill put them. (just found out he took them to work - guess there won't be a picture - sorry)

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments - it's always so fun to check my blog and see that I have comments.

That's all for now - I hope to show you a completed Boo after this weekend.

Enjoy your weekend!

Cari

My Birthday Weekend

Good Morning!

I thought I would share some pictures from my weekend. But first, I have to confess that these are pictures from the resorts website BUT, my pictures would have looked like this, if, I had remembered to bring my camera. :-) The name of the resort is Shenandoah Crossing and it is 30 minutes outside of Charlottesville, VA. This was my first visit and I just fell in love. The best part, it was only $69 a nite ($89 if you wanted a room w/2 queen beds) and this gave you full access to everything the resort had to offer (horseback riding was extra). You also had the option of renting a cabin or a condo.

I started every morning with a walk around the resort - it was so peaceful with just the sound of the Canadian geese quacking to each other as they meandered across the fields. And every evening after dinner, I walked along the fence petting the horses and sneaking them carrots. Saturday I drove into town and wandered thru the quaint stores and antique shops. I purchased two little silhouettes in gilded frames that I will hang in the living room close to the fireplace and I bought some civil war bullets for my husband (I'll try to post pictures later). Then I relaxed by the pool with a good book. I was so relaxed, I didn't pay attention and burned my fair skin. Thankfully, the lady lounging on the chair next to me suggested, in her delightful English accent, that I might want to get out of the sun. So after coating myself in Mary Kay Aloe After-Sun Gel (the best on the market!) I drove back to town for dinner. It really was a lovely weekend, I came home Sunday afternoon feeling well rested and rejuvenated!

The Manor House

The Lodge (from the back)

(okay, you know these are horses no caption needed)

The Lodge and Manor House overlook this beautiful lake

The Lodge is in the background

I am so thankful that I had this time of relaxation. I did spend my evenings stitching - I'll post my progress later.

Cari

An Update and Giveaways

Hooray for Friday's! I am especially excited about this weekend as we are going away - a birthday trip for me - to a resort in the mountains. We have never been before, but friends tell us it is just lovely! I admit that I am just as excited about exploring the cute little towns near by and the prospect of finding some great stuff at their antique/thrift stores.


Confession time… Upon completion of a recent blog entry, I realized that Sept 1 is just around the corner and felt pressured to continue working on Lizzie Kate’s Boo. As much as I love my friends and family and can’t wait to send them this piece, I really, really want to work on “my projects” – I know that sounds so selfish but I just can’t help it. I have two or three WIP that I am just itching to stitch on and have several others that I can’t wait to start. I only have 4 blocks on Boo to complete – and of course, the dreaded border!

Lizzie Kate

"Boo Series"

Recommended Fabric and Threads

By the way, Jolene is having a give away - check out her blog! Also, Paulette is having a giveaway on Sunday - yep, you have to wait until Sunday to enter the drawing!

Enjoy your weekend.

Cari

The Weed Eater, Our Foyer, The Lord's Prayer

Good Morning!

I have to share my story from last nite. Our church is preparing for VBS to begin on Monday, July 20th. The theme this year is "Son" Rock Camp. Several ladies gathered at church last nite to decorate the church accordingly. My friend, Alethea (who is an amazing artist), is in charge and she directed us less artistic types into creating amazing scenery. We also decorated the sanctuary balcony - we erected a huge tent and surrounded it with fake trees and other greenery. It looks great - sorry, I didn't think to take pictures. Well we didn't have enough trees so (since I live closest to church) I ran home and pulled several Christmas trees out of the garage. I parked my car in the street, pulled my husband's truck into our driveway, and began loading the trees. In the meantime, my husband finished mowing the lawn, watched me struggling to haul the trees down the stairs and into the truck bed (note, he did not offer to help - but I am sure he was exhausted as mowing the lawn - on a riding mower - can be very tiring!) and then went about finishing whatever he was doing. I hop in the truck and take off only to hear a crunch - I see my husband in the rear view mirror so I don't panic - he on the other hand storms over - yells "back up" and lifts his weed eater out from under the truck - looks at it - and then flings it across the yard. The big question is why would he lay the weed eater in the driveway, in front of the truck that I am loading up to take back to the church???? He still hasn't answered me on that one. He just counters with "you should look where you are driving it could have been a person". What kind of rationale is that, who is going to lay down in our driveway in front of our truck? I think he just wanted a new weed eater.

Below is a picture of our foyer (our house was built in 1895). I took this picture at such an angle that if you look in the fireplace mirror, you can actually see the fireplace in our living room (trust me it was not the act of a great photographer, just purely an accident). To the left of the fireplace is "The Lord's Prayer" by Stoney Creek - a closeup is below.

Walking in the front door and seeing this amazing stairwell and all the gorgeous woodwork and architectural detail is why I fell in love with this house 10 years ago. Wow, it's hard to believe that in November, we will have been in our house for 10 years. Trying to get our furniture up this staircase was so much fun -it's narrow and turns three times!

I finished this piece a couple years ago. It's the biggest piece I have ever done.

The Lord's Prayer
Stoney Creek
Recommended Fabric and Thread

Enjoy your day!

Cari

Recent Acquisitions

I started watching HOUSE two weeks ago – from the beginning. Our local library has them all on dvd. I am almost done with Season 1 and am really enjoying the show – I think I have hooked my husband as well (heehee).

I received some new charts this past week – well new to me.

This one is from Nicole’s blog “Miss Lila’s House”. I just love this pattern! I decided to stitch it on black and ordered the fabric last week. I plan to stitch it over one.

My big purchase was from Katrina:

Included are:

A Most Noble Pursuit – love this!

Drawn Thread

Spot of Spring
Wayward Garden

Heart In Hand
Hearts Sampler
Valentine Bird

Hillside Sampling
Seasonal Sampling

La D Da
Polly Wolly (fun pattern)

Trilogy
Happy Bunny Bunny Day

No stitching this evening, I just walked in the door - it has been a long day.

Enjoy your evening.

Cari

WIP Update

Please forgive the quality of my pictures as I am still learning how to use this "thing" (the digital camera that I don't want, but need for my blog). Speaking of which, here is a picture of it. I love the color!
I am working on Lizzie Kate's Boo Club - it's a gift for a family member 6.5 sections to go before completion - target date September 1st. Which should allow my LNS enough time to frame it and me to ship it. It's been a fun piece so far and very different then my typical samplers.

Lizzie Kate

Boo Club

Recommended Fabric & Fiber

This is my dear sweet Smokie. Once I can figure out how to turn off the flash (don't laugh at me), I will take a better picture of her as she has her eyes closed in all 10 pics - yes, it took me that long to figure out why she was blinking.

Here are updates on my "Fruit of the Spirit" by PSS. I am really enjoying stitching with NPI thread - it feels so luxurious! I am using the recommended fabric and thread. The fabric is not as mottled as it looks (stupid camera).

Well, that's all I have to share for now. I am going to spend my evening watching Season 1 of House and stitching on "Fruit of the Spirit".

Enjoy your evening.

Cari

Charts for Sale

Greetings from Sunny Virginia!

Just thought I would pass the word...

Both Nicole and Katrina are having a sale, lots of great charts! I just received "Miss Lila's House" from Nicole and I have several on the way from Katrina.

Enjoy your day!

Cari

Pillows

I love three day weekends! It was a wonderful, relaxing holiday - but not a lot of stitching.

We watched "Twilight" yesterday and I confess that I found it to be very slow and boring. Sorry, I do not mean to offend the Edward fans. I just feel they could have made the movie in half the time if they had eliminated all the artsy parts. We also watched "The International" which I thought was a great movie that deserved a better ending and "State of Play" which was ok.

As I was collecting completed items to take to my LNS for framing, I found this little treasure in my drawer. I decided that I would make it into a pillow - well, that I would send it to my mom-in-love and ask her nicely if she would work her magic for me. She is an amazing seamstress!

Unknown

Below is a picture of a pillow that my mil made for me. She has made 4 pillows for me (so far) and her work is amazing. She currently has three additional completed cross stitch that she is making into pillows - I can't wait to see them. My birthday is in two weeks and I am hoping she will surprise me with the pillows then!

JBW Designs

Marriage Sampler

Recommended Fabric and Threads

God Bless the U.S.A

So what are your plans for this 4th of July?

We don't have any 'set' plans. We will probably grill out, watch the fireworks, and just enjoy our free time.

Today we traveled to Roanoke and had dinner at Abuelo. If you haven't been, it's a wonderful 'upscale' Mexican restaurant chain. Abuelo's is to Mexican food what P. F. Chang's is to Chinese. After dinner we went to see "Up". If you haven't seen it and didn't plan to because you thought it was a 'kids movie', I challenge you to rethink and give this movie a try - it is truly a delightful film. We saw "Up" at an old, restored theatre called The Grandin - it was our first visit. It's a charming renovated theater - so much character. The best part, this is the first movie we have sat thru in years that we were not distracted by a single cell phone ringing or worse, people texting and the distraction of their bright shiny screens glowing in the dark. Does this drive anyone else crazy? I can't wait to go back to this theater.

As many of you know, I returned to work. Yesterday was the end of my 3rd week and I received my 1st paycheck. The auto deposit had not been processed, so I received a live check. I felt all grown up, going to the bank and depositing my paycheck - it was a great feeling! So, after completing 3 weeks of work, I thought I deserved a 'treat'. My purchase was a ..... digital camera. Don't get too excited, it's an inexpensive, simple thing that will do the job of providing pics for my blog. I am still very attached to my NIKON 35mm!

I received my NPI Silk Threads this week and my fibers for Mary Wigham - all on sale! I also purchased LHN newest design "Love One Another" (also on sale). I love this pattern and plan to make a few for Christmas gifts.

I have two new starts.

Mary Wigham (finally)

The Fruit of the Spirit

Plum Street Sampler

Suggested Fabric & Thread

I hope your 4th of July is full of happy moments with family and friends.

Cari

More Completed Pieces

Thought I would post a few more of my completed pieces. This piece is the first project I ever completed (about 16 years ago). I recently had it re-framed and it hangs in the upstairs hallway. Sorry I don't have any info on this one.

Here's another older project that also hangs in our upstairs hallway. I like the beading on this - it add some elegance to the simplicity of the piece. I think this was the first project I finished after we were married (5/14/99). I loved stitching my new initials CLS instead of CLR.

These two are very recognizable - Lizzie Kate. She does the cutest patterns. I did one for my sweet Banditt (our dalmation that passed away 3 years ago) and the other for my Smokie. In case you're a little slow, yes, our pets are Smokie and the Banditt :-) No, I have never seen the movie. Our dog came with his name and our cat is gray - it just made sense :-) For a short while, we had a black cat - my husband thought I should name it Bear - I guess that's in the movie too? These hang in "The Yellow Room" which is one of our guest rooms. It's too yellow for me - my plans are to stripe it with white to tone it down.

Woof Flip-It

Recommended fabric, thread, & frame

Meow Flip-It

Recommended fabric, thread, & frame

Tomorrow is the end of my work week - hooray! I am so excited about having a 3-day weekend. Lots and lots of cross stitch in my future!

Cari