Wonderful Weekend in Cherry Grove

So I had a blast this weekend!  13 of us from our Sunday School Class packed up and headed to Cherry Grove beach.  I actually never set foot on the beach.  I actually never even wore short sleeves all weekend.  It was cloudy and "cold" considering how hot it's been lately.  But we had fun.  The great thing about going on a trip with a couples' class is that there are lots of kind of sketchy things said, but since we're married, it's ok.  The only odd woman out was one of Hubs and my best friends.  She's engaged and her significant other works crazy hours.  We ended up sharing a room with her.  That led to some other sketchy comments about Hubs staying in a room with two women, but it was all in good fun and we all know where our hearts are. 

On the other hand, I thought I was going to have to fight a hoochie drunk woman in the Japanese restaurant.  We think that she and her hubs were swingers and she was sitting beside MY Hubs.  I don't get mad when Hubs says that another woman is pretty.  I don't get mad at him when a woman tries to flirt with him.  I get mad at the woman doing the flirting and our group saw a side of me that I don't think they knew I had.  Luckily, they left when she finally determined that I wasn't going to let her at my Hubs. 

As always when I go on vacation, I ate waaaaay to much.  Japanese, Italian, Burgers from Johnny Rocket's, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, the list keeps going.  Speaking of eating, our first stop on the way to Myrtle Beach was Redbone Alley in Florence, SC.  This restaurant is a place that had we not heard was good, Hubs and I would have never stopped there.  It's in an old department store building and backs up to a Piggly Wiggly.  It honestly looks old and out of date from the outside. 

But on the inside...

It really looks like you're eating outside in a well decorated alley.  The balcony in the second picture has tables and chairs that you can eat at when the restaurant gets crowded enough.  And the food was amazing!  It's a little on the gourmet side, so don't go there expecting a cheeseburger, but it was soooo good!  It's totally worth stopping at if you're going to be in Florence.

For the rest of the trip we went outlet shopping and went to the Bass Pro Shops in Myrtle Beach (I love Bass Pro!).  Hopefully I'll have some outfit updates tomorrow from the trip and I'll show you my prizes from the Loft outlet.  I have determined that I love that store, but I don't need to go in it because of prices. 

It was a quick trip, but a much needed one.  Now I'm couting down to the trip to Pigeon Forge that Hubs and I (just us two) are going to take in October.  Only 6 more weeks!

It's Friday Y'all!

Wait...what's that...oh yeah...it's only Thursday.  Well it's my Friday.  I'm off tomorrow!  I feel justified in gloating a bit because while all of y'all were talking about Labor Day plans and posting pictures of days at the lake and beach and what not, I was working. 

There.  Got my little bit of meaness out. 

I'm excited to be going to the beach this weekend with Hubs and my Sunday School class.  We've rented a rather large condo at Cherry Grove (North Myrtle Beach) and are going to be on our way come 9 AM tomorrow.  It's only about a 4.5 hour drive from here in the Upstate, and we're planning on eating at  restaraunt in Florence.  I'll get a chance to use my new duffel bag and hopefully wear some of my new clothes.

I wasn't originally planning on wearing my new clothes since they are all fallish, but my last check of the weather says that the high for the weekend is 75, and since it's been around 95 here this week, I'm calling that fall.  I've decided to share my fashion choices for the weekend and hopefully there will be pictures to follow next week.

This Shirt...

with these jeans...

And I would love to have some of these to go with it.  I'll have to look for some at the Crocs outlet.

Shirt:  Old Navy Women's Camp Shirt in Brown Plaid $24.94 
Jeans:  Old Navy Women's Wide Leg Trouser Jeans in Rinse $34.50 
Shoes:  Crocs Wrapped Loafer in Espresso/Espresso $69.99

This shirt with an almost olive green cami...

With these jeans in Dark Fade (not the color shown here)

With these sandals in Brown

Shirt: Old Navy Women's Rib Knit Henley in Lemon Decadence $14.00 

Jeans: Old Navy Women's The Flirt Bootcut Jeans $29.50

Sandas:  Old Navy Women's Double Buckle T-Strap Sandals $18.99

I'll probably also take my neon Old Navy Performance Fleece pullover and a few of their Perfect T's.  I promise Old Navy didn't reimburse me for anything I've said here, though I wish they had.  I love Old Navy clothes because 1) they are cheap.  No use in spending a fortune on a highly trendy piece that won't be in style next year 2) their clothes are made for women.  You know with curves and all, yet most of their X Smalls fit me.  3) they sell petite sizes online and have a great return policy.  I can buy a petite size online, and if it doesn't fit, I take it back to the store.  4) Their stuff is just too darn cute!

I might take a bathing suit.  Just because we are going to the beach.  But I can't promise I'll put it on...

You Know that Duffel Bag I Keep Talking About...

Well here it is. I finally got the motivation to finish it. Well, I got frustrated at another project and didn't have anywhere else to turn. I actually did want to have it finished before this weekend so I can take it to the beach with me. Hubs and I are going to Cherry Grove with our Sunday School class and found that it's easier to pack separate for little weekend trips like this. So it's finished. And I'm rather proud of it.   

As always, I know the picture is crappy, but it's 1AM, and I don't feel like waking Hubs up so he can take one of me in the cutesy clothes that you know I always wear in the beautiful daylight on our back porch. 

(The above was said because I don't ever wear cutesy clothes, Hubs and I never see each other, and come on, is it ever daylight in SC at 1AM?  I work at a hospital.  I wear scrubs.  Hubs and I really only sleep in the same bed.  I feel like when I start my new job we'll have to have another wedding ceremony because I sometimes I feel like I only see him as much as when we were dating.  That was a long bit to put in parentheses.)

Seriously though, I don't know how so many of you bloggers have such beautiful blogs and pictures.  If I had them, it would make my life a lie.

ANYWAY...

Onto the bag...

My Grand Idea was to put D rings on the top so you can hook various other matching bags to it with carabiners, clasps, whatever.  I always run out of room in the main part of my bag.  Therefore I am forced to put makeup and other things in Hubs's bag.  Not any more!  I also have plans to make a few other small bags to hook around the outside.

There's a nice little pleated pocket on both ends so I can cram any last minute things in there.

And it zips up with a molded plastic zipper.

Here's a better look at that makeup bag.  I might have to start selling these in my shop.  It's fully interfaced with fusible fleece like the duffel bag.  That should help to keep your makeup a little cooler in a hot car.  It's also lined with PUL so if anything leaks, I can just wipe it out.

The Grand Plan was to sell these Duffel Bag sets in my shop, but since it was a rather pain-in-the-butt to make, it doesn't look like that's going to happen.  Unless someone messages me and says they're willing to pay a butt load of money for it, in which case, I might oblige.  The makeup bag is definitely a keeper for the shop though.

Now...on to the beach so I can test this baby out! 

Linking up here!

Back to Reality

So...I'm celebrating Independence Day by working for a hospital that I'm indentured to. 

But I had a good vacation, though it did make me realize how mundane the rest of my life is.  And I got some good pictures with our nice new camera.  So here you go!

Me and my Birthday Present

Hubs looks good with his farmer's tan

Supermodel pout pose

Here's where we stayed 710 Carolina Ave, Isle of Palms, SC

My In-Laws

Me and Hubs

Isle of Palms...

Here I come!

Finally getting to go on vacation!  I have to admit that this has been one of the most stressful vacations to plan.  At first I wasn't sure if I was going to get time off.  Then when I finally did get my time off, a month after I requested it, the original house we were looking at was booked.  Hubs has been  out of town for the past 3 weeks and I've been sewing like mad trying to get ready.  I'll be glad when we're on the road because that means I can leave everything here behind me.

My vacation means that I won't be around much next week.  I'll try to find a wifi hotspot at Starbucks or somewhere of the like.  But I'm going to be enjoying sandy beaches, salty breezes and the new books that I downloaded to my Kindle. 

So I'll see y'all later.  Have a good week!

We Did It Wednesday!

So most of you who religiously follow my blog (how many can that really be?) may think that after a solid week of new and good information, I fell off the Earth yesterday.  Truth is, I had a day off from work, so I went shopping and got my nails done for the first time.  Fingers and toes.  It was lovely.  I really wish I could paint my nails that well.  I really wish I knew what kind of voodoo they worked on my nails. 

Anyway, onto the real meat of this post.  I've been busy, and have almost finished my beach gifts.  And I found the Sew Much Ado blog somewhere in my blog wanderings and decided to participate in the We Did It Wednesday. 

Here's my entry:

These are the appliqued tote bags that I kept talking about for my nieces.  It's hot pink canvas, with lime green polka dot cotton appliques, sewed on with bright blue thread and bright blue cotton webbing handles.

The above are closeups of the appliques.  Complete with a crazy shadow formed from the lens of the camera blocking the flash.  I would normall make better quality pictures, but since we're leaving for the beach on Saturday and I still have one skirt and two Towel Rolls to make before we go, you're lucky to get a blog post!

I'm really proud of how these turned out.  Especially since this is my first attempt at applique. 

This is what you get when Hubs is away on business, I have two days off completely to myself, a few glasses of sweet tea and several midnight mini Moon Pies. 

Beach Gifts for my Nieces

As I've stated before in other To-Do List posts, beach gifts for my nieces are top priority right now.  I kind of started this tradition last year when I was so excited to just be able to go to the beach and spend time with my family that I put together little gift bags for them.  They had beach balls and other little beachy trinkets in them and crochet top tank tops that I made especially for them, OOAK (one of a kind).  Both of them are crafty too and really appreciated the tank tops.  Emma even begged for us to match when I told her I had a black tank top and khaki shorts too.  She was also pleased when I handed my flip flops down to her when I couldn't wear them anymore.

So this year, since I've started sewing, I decided they were going to get good beach gifts.  And not that I have entirely ulterior motives, but making gifts for nieces is always a good way to practice new techniques. 

So I have some hot pink canvas that I'm making the gift bags from with this to applique their initials with:

I think I'm gonna do the zig zagging around the letters in bright blue too. 

Then I'm going to make the Towel Roll using some black and blue kind of Hawaiian fabric that I found at Hancock.  I was actually at a loss as to what to do with this fabric.  When I bought it, I had never sewn anything before and thought that it would be OK if I ruined it.  I bought it on the clearance table for about $1 a yard.  But then I found that sewing was easier that I thought it might be and just kind of shoved this stuff to the bottom of my stash because I didn't think it was the most beautiful fabric in the world.  It's too much dark color, but too much floral happiness to make something entirely out of it.  But then the Towel Roll came along and I paired with a white towel, it's going to look great!  Sorry, I don't have a picture of this fabric.

Then lastly (that is if I don't come up with any other ideas), are the skirts.  Thanks to April Baylor at Sewing Novice, I found out how to make a full skirt for a kid.  I was going to make it reversible like mine, but had some issues.  Sewing at 2 AM when already tired is not recommended.  But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that the lining was too thin to be seen on the outside anyway.  So I ended up with a full gathered skirt with a built in slip.  This one here is for Lila. 

And I put my label in it, down near the bottom of the slip so it won't itch.  I was going to make a tutorial about it, I even started taking pictures, but I got tired and frustrated and didn't feel like doing it anymore.  So maybe I'll make a tutorial when I make Emma's.  It's really super easy, as long as you cut the fabric the right length, which I didn't the first time.  Now to make another trip to Hancock to get more elastic and more lining fabric.  When I bought the fabric, I had no idea that for a skirt this full you had to double the waist measurements.  So I ran short on lining.  Oh, well.  You know how much I hate making trips to Hancock!  

Tuesday To-Do, June 14, 2011

For alliteration's sake, I'm making my To-Do List posts on Tuesday now. 

The SS cookout was great!  My house was clean, the food was good (we are all very good Baptists), and the kids had fun.  Our neighbor has pecan trees and one of the kids found a pecan.  It was from that point on a coconut.  But we won't be having company again for a while, so I'm completely nixing the "prep the house" To-Do list.  But my crafting To-Do list keeps growing.

Hubs is gone on business again.  I don't like it.  He'll be gone until late Friday night, so I'll have to find things to amuse myself until then.  My problem is prioritizing things.  There are a bazillion and one things I'd like to have done by tomorrow morning.  The reason I'd like to have them done by then is because my Tools4Etsy ad goes live tomorrow morning!  When I signed up for the ad, I really thought it would be months before it appeared since it's free and the featured advertisers are chosen lottery style.  But nope, it's tomorrow.  So here's my attempt at prioritizing my To-Do list:

~Make the graduation gift wallets

~Make a couple more wallets to put for sale in my shop and list them.  Due: tonight

~Newest project:  Beach Roll--I've bought two large bath towels that I'm going to attatch a printed roll pillow to (handmade pillow, of course).  I'm also going to sew a strap on the back of the towel so that when it's rolled around the pillow you can tie it up.  Due: tonight

~Finish cutting out shapes for our Church Youth Card Ministry.  The kids were supposed to make cards last week, but someone only put out the cheesy boxed cards for them to sign.  This is no good.  I'm using the trusty Cricut to make some stuff for them to glue on.  This means that you will get free SVG files soon!  Due: tonight

~Sew the ribbons on the luggage for my Mother-in-law

~Sew beach gifts for my nieces (This is one of those things that keeps growing.  There is the Reversible Skirt, the Appliqued Tote Bag, and now the Beach Roll) Due: June 24

~Make the tutorial for the Reversible Skirt while I'm making one

~Finish the duffel bag and matching makeup/tote/toiletries bags that I started months ago and intended to carry to the beach Due: June 24

~Make the tutorial for the Crochet Zinnia.  Due: whenever it gets done

~Redo my shop banner, avatar, and some other things to finish rebranding my shop. Though I do have my outfit picked out, just gotta take the picture.  The picture will probably be made at the beach.  Due: whenever it gets done

~Make the concealed carry handbag I've been dreaming up for the past few months I have decided on the fabric and mostly the design for this.  I'm using the primary birdie fabric.  So there will be this cutesy little bag with a .38 revolver hidden inside.  I like the irony.  Due: whenever I can get it done

Look for pictures and posts in the next few days.  I'm hoping that even though I'm not happy with the fact that Hubs isn't home, his absence will make me get stuff done.  I'm in serious need of a fire under my hiney to get things done.