Something that always cheers me up....

It's been a long time....... but I thought that I'd post a little something before I get back to sewing.

Here's something that always cheers me up. Enjoy!



If you haven't seen Wristcutters, it's a must see (especially if you're a Tom Waits fan!).

Books

I love books. When I say love, I mean LOVE!!! We have so many in our house that we're running out of room to put them.... they're everywhere. I've always been an avid reader- my mother used to always scold me for reading at the dinner table (and everywhere else you can think of)- I'll read basically anything that you recommend or set in front of me. And I'll always finish a book, no matter how awful it is. Because you never know, it might get better.

Anyhow..... the point of this particular blog is to share with you one of my prized possessions.



I am a HUGE Kurt Vonnegut fan. As in, I would have left my husband for him (though poor Kurt is dead now, and he would have been older than the hills, I still would have ran off with him). As in, I cried the day I found out he died. As in, I own every single book that he has ever written. LOVE!!!

So, I know that a lot of people have summer reading lists and they like the share the good, the bad, and the very very horribly written. Here we go..... (although I might leave some out due to my dark secret of reading fluff- okay, it's not so much a secret now.).....



Magical Thinking by Augustin Burroughs: I've read this multiple times before and I just keep going back to it. It's filled with short memoir stories that are hilarious, shocking, crass, and snarky. This is the guy that wrote Running with Scissors, in which someone turned into a horrible movie. This book is not for the faint hearted.



Spooky Little Girl by Laurie Notaro: Now, I love Laurie Notaro. A lot. The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Guide changed my life (thank you Emily!). I then went on to read all of her other books- look them up- I seriously almost peed my pants reading them. So when I picked up this book I knew that it was a fiction (unlike her other books, except for There's a Slight Chance I Might Be Going To Hell- equally hilarious!), and thought, this is for sure going to be a winner. I've got to tell you, I was a bit disappointed, but it has a pretty funny storyline. And you still get your Laurie Notaro humor.



Shit My Dad Says by Justin Halpern: I stumbled across a mention of this book on Facebook of all places. Basically, this is what it is. A 29 year old man loses his apt due to circumstances I will not mention and has to move back in with his 74 year old dad. He writes down what his dad says. That is the entire premises of the book, and I've got to tell you that I've NEVER, and I mean NEVER, laughed so hard in my entire life. All you have to do is google the title of this book to get a preview and then you will immediately have to run out and buy it.



Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen: I actually picked this one out just because I liked the cover of the book. I do this sometimes..... yeah, it's risky, but I usually luck out. I would have to say that this is by far the best book that I've read all summer. I read it in about 2 hours. I could NOT put it down. It is that good. Do you like the circus, the 1930's, trains, animals, love, disaster, and flashbacks in books? Then this one is for you. Also, it includes old photos of the circus in the past (mostly Ringling stuff, but some other shots that are interesting). LOVE THIS BOOK. Apparently, they are making a movie about it- which I will not see.



I Drink For a Reason by David Cross: I love Arrested Development. I love David Cross. But I have to tell you that this book is a piece of crap and a waste of money.


So, I think that this is by far the most substantial post I've written- my children are now screaming in the background, so I should probably bow out now.....

Can you believe all these kids???

My two little girls went down to Florida earlier this month (for a whole two weeks!) to visit Grandma. We took that time to renovate their bathroom (for the most part... there's still little things to fix up) and slack off. Like sleep until 3pm just because we could (when I say we, I mean me!).

Anyhow, my husband and I drove down there to pick them up and my sister brought over her brood of kids. There are six of them- I know when I tell my friends this, they do a double take. But it's completely different actually seeing it.

Here they are, all the grandkids....



So, there we have it.... in order from left to right.....Layla (my oldest at 7 years old) holding Ariana (my sister's youngest at 6 months), Jaden (my sister's oldest at 4 years old), Preston (my sister's oldest boy at 3 years old), Braylen (my sister's again.... he's standing in the back- he's about 13 months old..... I can't really keep track), Avery- wearing all the anti-drowning swimwear (my sister's other boy at 2 years old), Mattie (my youngest at 3 years old), and Jordan (my sister's other girl at 3 years old).

Can you believe it? I can't. Swimming with eight kids was stressful. Especially since most of them cannot swim and my husband kept trying to get pictures of me in a swimsuit (sorry, buddy- it's just not happening.).

The money pit

All of my friends know that my husband and I bought a house last year..... and it seems that we have bought the dreaded money pit. I KNEW we should have bought that other house that was only 10 grand more and didn't need any work! :)

So for the last year we've been fixing this poor old house up. Honestly, I can't believe what a fresh coat of paint can do! But the bathrooms, oh you poor bathrooms.... I didn't mean to yell at you, I swear that I didn't mean to hurt your feelings when I started crying when the wallpaper wouldn't come off. But we're almost there. The end is in sight. We've finished with the bedrooms:


(Layla's room)




(Mattie's room)


(my bedroom)

We ripped up the carpeting from the living room and hallways and put in hardwood. Let's just say that I really really don't miss all that vacuuming!



And the front yard was scary. Talk about overgrown plants (which were all mismatched and evil!!! evil evil scary plants)......... a plumbing leak, and a barren front porch....



We are almost finished with the front bathroom- I just need to caulk, put up one more coat of paint, and hang some pictures. (Then I can show you how pretty it turned out!). Also, grouting sucks and I'm never attempting that again. :)

Make way....

for some new sale items in my shop- I must be on a roll this week because I simply cannot stop sewing!

Newest clutch (which I'm hoping will get snapped up soon before I'm forced to send it to my best friend who is obsessed by anything pink):



And two new wallets that I think are just adorable (and totally affordable at only 15 bucks a piece!):



And a throwback wallet (reminds me of the sixties):



I think that my sale is going to last until the end of June!

Introducing......

two new wallets!



All of you know how much I love cupcakes and I simply could not resist! You can find it right here.

The next is made from a secret stash that I've been holding onto for a very very long time....


Oh, Amy Butler..... how I love you!!!! You can also find this one in my shop here.

SUMMER SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm having a huge summer sale in my shop right now- all the items are already made, ready to ship, and on a HUGE discount!!!!

Most ruffle clutches are marked down to 18.00:



And ruffle zipper pouches are WAY marked down to 10 bucks!!!



As always, during the summer months my scarves are marked half off- 15.00 only!