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Fat Tuesday Re-Cap

For some reason I woke VERY early yesterday and rambled around for a bit before starting a blog post that sounded like this:

"It's Mardi Gras day around here and I've shrugged off all plans to partake in Fat Tuesday. In fact, this is the first year I can remember not going to ANY parades all season long. Somehow it just worked out that way. Between the weather, my mom in the hospital, and Valentine's plans (both on the day and this past weekend at the beach), I just couldn't figure out a way to go. I feel a bit like an old fuddy duddy. I guess I could change my mind now and head out with my mom and nieces, but. . ."

And I couldn't finish it. I couldn't think of a really great viable reason to not go down there. I knew the house was a mess, unpacking needed to be done, bead challenges to need to be finished, and a whole variety of other EXCUSES not to go. However, none of them really felt solid. So, I threw on some clothes, called my mom and headed to Mobile. It was a long day, but so very nice.

Here's just a sample of the sights (and sounds) from yesterday.

Maskers during the first parade

The nieces decorated the barricade with serpentine while waiting

Nieces waiting patiently

Back of some motor trikes (loved the one with the bug back end)

Just SOME of the mess post parades!

I even captured a video to share with y'all. It's a little shaky, but it was the best I could do in the crowd.

In the end, I'm glad I went to share the day with my mom and nieces. Now I'm playing catch up. Of course, it is the first day of Lent, so I'm supposed to be good anyway!

I've got pictures from the beach and some other bits I'd love to share (including Bead Table Wednesday) but we'll see how my day progresses with all the chores I've got to get done first.

Did you do any celebrating of President's Day, Valentine's, or Mardi Gras this past weekend? How did you do it?

I Heart Macro from the Kitchen

We're just having a lazy Sunday at home, but somehow all my macro pictures ended up being taken in front of the sink!

Mojito ingredients

Very Yummy Mojitos

Kabobs for the grill

Check out what else is going on with Studio Waterstone's I Heart Macro

Before I head out to enjoy my Sunday Supper . . .I found a GIVEAWAY from Copper Diem!! GOOOOOOO Check it out!!

I hope you enjoy the rest of YOUR weekend also!!

I Heart Macro

This is me jumping on the bandwagon for Studio Waterstone's "I Heart Macro" Sunday post.

Since I celebrated Mother's Day with my mom and grandmother yesterday, I decided to escape the internet's profusion of mother's day well wishes and gushing about children while I wallowed in my childless state. Pat and I packed up and headed to the beach!

After some time with my toes in the sand, I'm feeling much better now!

Join in or just check out the fun at Studio Waterstone today!

An Outside Weekend - Arts & Crafts and the Beach

Before I break out a post that is all about the business of Monday, let me first regale you with the awesomeness that was my weekend. (I promised pictures after all. . .)

I spent two afternoons (Friday and Saturday) at the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival. Pat and I even rode our bikes the 4.25 miles down to the festival and then 4.25 miles back home. It was really nice. I took a bunch of pictures. Let me go ahead and say that I only got one shot looking into booths because many of the artists are kind of funny about booth pictures being taken.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Every corner and some of the sides of the sidewalk in downtown Fairhope are filled with flowers. And, this isn't just during the festival, Fairhope has flowers in them all year round. In addition, check out the Police lifeguard stations. . .these were new this year.

The three pictures above show you just some of the crowd that attends. I took these pictures LATE in the day when the crowds were winding down. Apparently it was CRAZY in the middle of the day!

This is the booth picture of which I spoke. There were artists of ALL KINDS. It amazes me each year the sheer variety of artists that come from all over the country to our little town for the festival.

I particularly liked one polymer clay artist. It was the first time I'd seen him here. I explored his booth on Friday while they were doing the judging, and I found out on Saturday that he'd won Best in Show! I made sure to get one of his cards. His name is Wiwat Kamolpornwijit and he was just the nicest guy!

These last three pictures are just a few others I snapped of the festival poster, a mural downtown, and the main corner in town where the Dogwood Trail girls (the ones in the antebellum dresses) were getting pictures taken.

I did find a couple of sources that have some other pictures and more exact information. Local News station WKRG 5 has a short article and a video that includes some of the booths and Al.com has a longer article and a picture gallery.

In all, it was a really great show. Pat and I wore ourselves out biking there and back home on Saturday, but we were really happy to get the exercise and be out on such a lovely weekend.

On Sunday, were were going to continue the exercise theme and break out the kayaks. However, the soreness prevented THAT excursion. Instead, we headed down to the beach for some relaxation. Let me share a few more pictures and a video.

Now, it's time for me to get my head back in the game and get some work done. I'm hoping to work on a meal plan to share with you later in the day. We'll see!!

Year in Review - 2010 Edition

With today being the last day of 2010, let's just review my year in the blogosphere.

JANUARY 2010: Well, the first month of 2010 was a blogging FAIL for me. I had too much to do for our Mardi Gras Ball. I did have some fun though!

FEBRUARY 2010: There wasn't much to February, but I do love the post about Our Valentine Weekend. We may have spent it at the beach, but there was plenty of craftiness going on.

MARCH 2010: With only 5 posts in March, there wasn’t much to choose from. However, this first post on re-organizing the craft room (an ever-ongoing chore) was probably my fave for the month.

APRIL 2010: Apparently, in the spring I kept myself pretty busy. The TWO (count them) blog posts from April were both on cleaning and organizing the craft room closet. I prefer this second one though. . .it’s the AFTER!!

MAY 2010: Oh May, with your ONE blog post entitled Busy, Busy Me which explains some of why there was only the one post that month (and NO pictures.)

JUNE 2010: The Beginning of a New Crafty Lifestyle - This was my first blog post after getting laid off and my first step on this new adventure. It's weird even reading it again and re-feeling those emotions. Definitely the best one that month.

JULY 2010: It’s not odd that the number of blog posts started going up this month (but not by much!!) It was HARD to choose between the six posts in July since they almost all focused on me trying to get the shop set up and understanding what I needed to do before I opened it on the last day of the month. Eventually, I decided on Getting Back into the Swing of that Jewelry Thing because of the beautiful pictures of our trip to Aruba.

AUGUST 2010: It was a long month of me attempting to find balance (which I’ve still yet to find) but my favorite post was the last one when I used the Pantone Fall Color report as an attempt in Branching Out My Color Repertoire to make some soldered pendants.

SEPTEMBER 2010: I couldn’t seem to pick just ONE of the many posts I made in September. So, I’ve picked two. The first was my first (and so far only) attempt in making a video. If you still haven't seen My Mixed Media Crystal Bracelet Video and Instructions, you should totally watch it just for a laugh! Secondly, was the button bonanza and giveaway post, mostly because of the button p0rn.

OCTOBER 2010: October was filled with all kinds of craziness - my anniversary, blogiversary, birthday, and some illnesses. For some reason in the mist of all that chaos, I really like this simple list (with pictures) of some of the tasks I should have been doing simply entitled What I Really Should Be Doing.

NOVEMBER 2010: Most of my posts in this month seemed to have been meal plans. . .but maybe that was just me. Some of the posts seemed to be rambling or complaining. However, the last post of the month rejoiced in appreciating the little things. I like that, I need to remember that Everyday is Awesome.

DECEMBER 2010: Wow! I think December was my favorite month for blog posts, so I’m going to share a few of my faves. First, is Keys to the Past where I showed off the beautiful tin of keys my grandmother passed to me. Secondly, was my little tutorial on making a quick and easy Christmas Card Display. And lastly was my post on Organizing My Jewelry for Sale.

Just by looking at this last month, I can totally see how much more craft-centered my life has become. That makes the whole year of floundering to get to this point really worth it.

Stick with me as we barrel into 2011. Here's hoping it can only get better!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

The Weather is Here, and It's Beautiful

OH BOY! What a weekend that was.
Friday night - Margarita Friday with Pat and some close friends
Saturday - a beautiful wedding and one heck of an Alabama football game (Roll Tide, by the way)
Sunday - a wonderful day with my sweet husband

As the weather is becoming cooler, I'm so excited to be spending a little more time outside.
Yesterday was one of those "I MUST play outside" days.

Pat and I went back and forth about what we wanted to do: head to the beach, take a walk, ride our bikes, fly a kite, etc. In the end, we headed for the disc golf course here in town. The day was beautiful and the temperature divine. I had to snap a few pictures.

We weren't out there long since everyone else seemed to have the same idea, and we had to wait a while to start the first tee.We did leave with a bit of low blood sugar. So, I talked Pat into taking me to Mr Gene's for a Fairhope Float.

FYI - that's coffee, frozen yogurt, and whipped cream (with cinnamon sprinkles)

After actually getting some exercise, I know it was bad to suggest it, but it was OH SO GOOD!!

Anyway,I promised some Halloween links. Here you go!

jack-o-lantern candy dish
For a grown-up Halloween party, how about some Halloween cocktails?
I've actually bought the supplies for this floating ghost and plan on making it because it's so awesomely cool.
8 Pumpkin ideas

Lastly, I posted a new pair of earrings tonight.


The Writing on the Wall Earrings

Later y'all!

My Day in Pictures

It's been a mixed-bag of a day. Some highs and some lows.
Beads were made
Pieces were sealed
Meals were planned (and shopped for)

Toaster oven was a spaz (as usual)
Sealer faded my pictures (while giving them an almost distressed look)
Glitter didn't sparkle
I'll let you have a peek. Let me know what you think!

I also met up with one of my best friends and her husband over the weekend for dinner (for her birthday that was a month ago.) While dinner was really her gift, I just had to throw together a pair of earrings for her. Here they are.

I've Been Crafty Once Again (FGF)

Guess what!!
Crafty Hope (me) was actually CRAFTY this week!!
Now, I don't have any pictures to share. . .yet!
But, on Sunday I finished up some jewelry for a silent auction that's tomorrow. Three distinctly different 'sets'. One is a set of soldered earrings and a pendant necklace; one is a beaded set of earrings, bracelet, and necklace; and the last is a multi-strand chain and seed bead necklace. I'm pretty proud of all three.

In addition (YES - there's MORE!), the function at which these are being auctioned is a dance, with a theme. The theme is Bandstand (ranging from the 50's to the 80's; but we're leaning toward the 50's.) Since we take snacks for the dance, I decided to make some album bowls by melting them. I used both large and small albums for chip/cracker and dip containers. And, they turned out GREAT!

Yesterday was another crafty day for me. I made a brooch for my cardigan (that goes with the poodle skirt my mom made me) out of felt and buttons. It was so simple and is so fun! THEN after dinner with friends, I broke out the glue gun! I had decided that I needed some way to display my jewelry for the auction. So I found some netting, frames, and fabric samples at the thrift store. I glued in the netting, placed the fabric behind it, and slid the frame back into place. The earrings hang fine, I just need to find some small hooks now to get the necklaces and bracelet to hang. They're not the 'prettiest' things in the world - but I think they'll work!!

It's strange how much more like me I feel when I actually get to fit in some time to be creative!! Now to get through this dance and onto Sunday when I can RELAX!! Whew!

Read all the way to the bottom to find out more about this picture***

How about some "Feel Good Friday"

What love means to a kid. Some of these are REALLY moving. I can't imagine what my answer would have been at some of their ages.
Check out this papercraft castle. Seriously, it's a castle, made of PAPER!!
What happens when a 71 year old ex-boxer defends his life, his wife, and his home. See for yourself. I love these stories of the unexpected victor - the David and Goliath-esqe tales.
This is from May 2008, but how come it's the first time I've heard of this? In any case it's good news, a way to decompose plastic bags.

So that's it. Now go on, enjoy your Friday and the rest of the weekend. I'm sure as heck gonna try. I might even sneak in some more crafting if I'm lucky!!

***That picture up there was taken a few weeks ago at the beach. Those are just the bottoms of someone's shoes. LOML and I call this picture "The Beach of Lost Soles" :)
We think it's funny!!

Full Weekend (MMSM)

I'm so excited to be posting today from my new computer - I waited all day to do it so I could play with some photos I took over the weekend. As such, this post is a bit picture heavy.

Let's start with a short weekend review.
Friday was a typical Margarita Friday except on the way out the door I decided to try my hand at the claw game. I was aiming for some sort of blue teddy bear, and instead ended up with this.

LOML immediately claimed it as his own as he's a Taurus. He was just as excited as a five-year-old about the dang thing. I thought it was hilarious. (Oh, pardon the mess in the picture - he's keeping it in his office and it's not quite clean in there yet.)

Saturday was a fun afternoon with friends at the Gulf. We took a boat ride, hung out at the beach house they rented for Spring Break, and grilled some burgers before heading home.

Sunday was Easter, of course. While my mom cooked dinner, the nieces and I explored outside and I played with the new (several weeks old) camera. They got into the honeysuckle and I got a few good shots.

I got to hide the Easter eggs for the kids at my mom's. It's my favorite part of the day. It makes me feel special to be able to do that for them. I was even a little stingy about letting anyone else do it. I think that comes from not having kids of my own. Getting the opportunity to participate in special holiday activities makes me feel more a part of their lives and the holiday. And, in true Hope-fashion, I sustained an egg-hiding injury. I dropped and egg and bent down to pick it up without noticing the bamboo shoot sticking up. I leaned right into it and just about took out my eye on it. There was no serious damage just several scrapes on my eyelid and below my eye. Leave it to me to get hurt while hiding eggs.

During all the running around we did, LOML and I were relieved that we had a clean house and yard to come home to. Instead of feeling like we were running away or escaping from some kind of responsibility, we were able to actually enjoy ourselves with a clean conscience. Take a look at what we were dealing with outside before.