a few of my favorite websites:

www.knowem.com
-tells you the availability of your site's name on all the important sites

www.pinterest.com
-beauty. creativity. truths.

www.pandora.com
-most know of this site. tune into "french cafe radio" so soothing!

www.thepioneerwoman.com
-the woman I wish I were. hilarious and touching. five stars!

Wednesday Nights:

"I can feel my heartbeat in my eye balls."

Oh, and go see The King's Speech . Just go. Its incredible. Nominated for an Oscar and such. I love Colin Firth.

Debt

I'm in a lot of debt. I've gotten out of a lot of debt, but I still have a lot to get through. I was pretty stupid right out of high school, got a lot of credit cards, a lot of student loans, and ignored them all. Hence, the $40,000 of debt i accrued as a 21 year old.

On the bright side, the last payment of my debt consolidation loan is February 11th. This has been 5 years in the making, and I made it. I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to be so happy about it, and I guess I am, but I am also reserved, as I know there is still more to pay off. I have one large card to still work on, and student loans, but after that, (approx. 2 years from now) I will be done. DONE!!! I have learned so much these last 6 years, and I know I will still learn much more in regards to finance.

I have this to say to young people: Dont bite off more than you can chew, dont live beyond your means. Save. Save. Save. Dont charge it. I know its so much easier said than done, but just be smart (which is what I thought I was doing) and dont go into debt too fast. Its not worth it. I promise :)

***if anyone wants the link for my debt management program : Genesis Financial they were incredible and so helpful time and time again.

first show results

I made a profit today!

Last year at my first show of the season, I only made $1. So comparatively, the results of this first show are stellar! :) I didnt sell all my product by any means, but a little success should be celebrated right?

Thank you everyone for your encouragement, support, and feedback. Its all very much appreciated! Here are some pics from the show:






Come see me at one of these upcoming shows!:
Nov. 13th - Tallmadge Alliance Church, Tallmadge, OH
Nov. 20th - Candy Cane Junction Show, Akron, OH
Dec. 4th - Woodridge High School Bazaar, Peninsula, OH



Didnt get to use the credit card app yet, but there are still 3 to go!!!

busy busy busy!

Upcoming Shows:

Nov. 6th - Stow United Methodist Church in Stow, OH
Nov. 13th - Tallmadge Alliance Church, Tallmadge, OH
Nov. 20th - Candy Cane Junction Show, Akron, OH
Dec. 4th - Woodridge High School Bazaar, Peninsula, OH (HS Alma mater!)

I'm pumped!!!!! Stop by and say hey....

OH and also HUGE news: I can now accept ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS at my show, thanks to my iphone and the NEW SQUARE DEVICE, its all instant, with a receipt emailed right to you!

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I've been getting ready for craft show season, and sewing so much I'm afraid my sewing machine might explode and start smoking or something!

Items recently sewn/made:
Cloth boxes/bins
Cloth fold-over bags
Crochet pouches
Pillows, pillows, and more pillows
Crocheted scarves/hats
Up-cycled necklaces (new hardware, antique pendents)

I'll post pics sometime when I'm not needing to go to sleep before working a 14 hr day... :)

cake baking

I made my first wedding cake this summer. I've never gone to school for baking or anything, but I watch Ace of Cakes religiously, and am pretty good at looking at something, and re-creating it, so I thought I would give it a try!

Here is the creating process in pictures:

Thin coating of buttercream frosting.

Next, rolling out the fondant.

One with fondant, one without.

One with fondant, one without.

Covered in fondant, wrapped, and ready for transport!

Final result:


What do you think? Not bad for a first try I'd say!

I want to write a book. I have wanted to for years, but I have so many ideas for so many different kinds of books, that its hard to organize my thoughts, and I don't have a clue on how to begin.

I really enjoy reading the "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" on the Pioneer Woman website, so maybe that's a good way to begin. To write little vignettes, or chapters in the beginning. Then allow things to grow. But the voices of my high school English teachers says to write an outline, and character analysis's, and the intro and conclusion paragraph first.

What to do! What to do!

So, help me! Any suggestion, ideas, words of wisdom? I'll take it all.

a love for blogging...

I love blogging. I promise, I really do. You may then ask "Why have you not blogged for quite sometime?". My answer would be "part laziness, part working 2-3 jobs at any one time can be a bit time consuming". :)

Finally now, life has slowed down a bit, and I long to continue blogging. Thank you to those who keep coming back and reading, I appreciate it! :)

Here is my summer in pictures:



My mother's favorite gift for her 50th bday

Grad Cake for a co-worker

Bday cake for a 4 year old who couldn't decide what theme he wanted

Flower basket, ring pillow, flower decor for wedding I planned

Lake Erie, Put-n-Bay on South Bass Island

Put-n-Bay Lighthouse Tower

Centerpieces for July wedding I did

English Garden at Stan Hywett

Lauryn and Kurt on their wedding day :)

Flower in English Garden

Birchwood Alley at Stan Hywett

Docking area in Put-n-Bay

Fountain by terrace at Stan Hywett

Simple, Summer Wedding

Here are some ideas for things in a wedding I am planning for this summer...
fun, simple, earthy, unique!

Cant get enough of it!

Getting Things Done!

Today I did:
Research with Allison on B&B's
Sewed a little hand clutch
Got all the fabric cut for 2 bags (with the help of Al)
Set 3 dates to be at the Heartville Fleamarket
Cleaned out and re-organized my closet
Vacuumed
Cleaned up everything from the cake making adventure last weekend
Threw out bunches of trash, and recycled plastic bags
Drank LOTS of diet coke!

Feeling good.... nothing beats the feeling of a clean, organized space!

Pic of the cake I made this weekend:

currents:

Just finished: Blink by Malcom Gladwell... SO thought provoking and entertaining! A must read for everyone!

Just started: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks... so, its a Sparks book... I think that says it all!

Listening to: Bethesda (of course... what kind of manager would I be if I didnt know all their songs!) Listen to them HERE

Watching: Modern Family. Each week gets funnier and funnier!

Creative Picture

Fount a great picture today while browsing photographers in the Akron area. This one is from Visualizations Photography, located on Portage Trail in Cuyahoga Falls. I have seen there work ever since high school, and have been repeatedly impressed with it!

You could also do a wedding twist to it... would be so creative!

currents:

Reading: Prairie Tales, by Melissa Gilbert.... cant put it down!

Watching: The Proposal... cant go wrong with Sandra!

Sewing: Laptop bag for Allison, and "Business Suit Quilt" (more on that to come later!)

Flowers and Pillows

Some gorgeous flowers from my boyfriend:



Some vintage lace applique and/or vintage fabric, re-purposed into pillows:







Its fun to see what can be made from things that already exist!

crafts and grandparents

my dad made some digital copies of pictures of my grandparents. i dont know why we didnt do this earlier, but here is one of my favorites..... they started dating, got engaged, and were married all in one month. they have been married for 50 years. old navy sweethearts :)

and here is a shabby chic pillow i recently made, i really liked crocheting the little circles. easy and quick!







over and out.

Modern Family

Watch it. You'll love it.