Pocket Letters, Planners, and More

When I started this blog, I had such a hard time picking a title for it.  I don't just do one or two crafts, I do almost everything.  Seriously, I will try anything once.  While it would drive some people crazy, I love that I can go from project to project very happily.  I feel like I get to experience even more of everything life has to offer this way.

So my current obsessions, in no particular order...

• Letter writing with pen pals I met from Instagram
• Pocket Letters
• my new Erin Condren Life planner
• redoing furniture I find second-hand

Here is my first pocket letter.  The premise is really an interesting one! You take a trading card sleeve and fill each pocket with different stuff, goodies, paper, whatever.  I just joined a group on Facebook where people make so many beautiful and intricate pocket letters.  Something to aspire to for sure.  

This is my new Erin Condren Life Planner.  I've been wanting one for months but just could not justify spending $50 on a planner.  So I bought a really cute Lily Pulizter planner from Amazon that I've been using since January.  I like that one a lot but it's huge and I don't care for the layout of the weeks.

I've already started decorating my new ECLP.  It starts in July, and while I don't want the summer to go by any faster than it needs to, I'm excited to start using it for reals, ya know?

Hobby Lobby just started letting spouses of employees use the employee discount without their employee spouse present so I can go into Hobby Lobby and buy stuff whenever I want and get even more of a discount.  So far I've been pretty restrained with my spending, which I'm sure my husband is very grateful for since we only have his one income.  Just one more year and I'll be making bank as an RN and can really feed my crafting addictions.

Since it's Friday, I'm off to my weekly Knitters meeting!

love & coffee,

Lulu

All the Places to Go

I have a serious travel itch right now.  Thinking about all the places I want to go, the stuff I want to see...

• Hershey, PA including the theme park and the Chocolate Spa
• Denver Mint (yes, even though I've lived in Colorado all my life)
• Seattle, WA
• Portland, OR
• Glacier National Park
• Yellowstone and the Old Faithful geyser
• Disneyworld, specifically with my husband who has never been
• an Alaskan cruise
• A Disney cruise
• Jamaica
• one of those all-inclusive resorts
• Salt Lake City for more than just an overnight stay
• Wisconsin to eat cheese
• New Orleans
• and a whole bunch of other states I haven't been to yet including Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, Idaho, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, and more.

This list doesn't even really include everywhere I want to go across the world.  I am itching to get out of here and see the world and meet new people!

Where do you want to go?  How do you afford traveling?

Well hi there...

I hardly ever post on this blog anymore.  Not that I was ever much a regular blogger to begin with, but this page has been pretty much silent for a while now.  Like I've written less than five posts in the last two years.  I'd like that to change.

So I'm not saying to expect daily updates or even weekly updates, although that would be nice.  My life has changed a lot in the year since I last posted and of course, I'm super busy with it.  But this entry is me trying to reclaim my little corner of the interwebs.

The biggest change is that I am now in nursing school!  And I left my job at the mental hospital to be a full time student! I'm currently in my second semester of four.  I'm constantly amazed at how much I'm learning, how much there is to know about the human body and people in general.  And don't worry, the hand in that picture is fake.  I'm now IV certified!

Hubby has been great through this big change.  He puts up with all my nursing school friends (who are super amazing!) constantly being at my house.  He's even friends with some of them on facebook.  Go Hubby for being great!

Now this blog started off as a craft/knitting blog.  While creativity is still a huge part of my life, it's no longer my main thing.  Nursing school is pretty much my life right now.  Thankfully I still get to squeeze in the occasional project, a few stitches here and there between reading assignments, lab hours, class, and clinical days at the two medical hospitals in town.

So if you're still reading, thank you.  I hope you continue to check back occasionally as I really do want to update more.  If there's something you'd like to see, lemme know!

love and coffee,
Lulu

Texas Travels

The beginning of February my mom and I took a two day drive to Austin, TX to help my grandmother go through her garage.  We had a blast throughout the week and lots of adventures. On the way to Austin, we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch.  It was really chilly and windy that day!

 We celebrated my grandmother's 80th birthday a week early by going to a seafood place she liked.  We ate avocados stuffed with crab meat and then the server surprised her with really yummy creme brulee.

Look at that smile! Adorable!!

 One afternoon we spent in downtown Austin in an eclectic neighborhood that is quintessential "Keep Austin Weird".  We found a food truck that served only fancy cupcakes, for $3 a piece at that but delicious and worth it.

Then one of the highlights was an amazing costume and vintage shop called "Lucy in Disguise" that was huge and full of treasures.

Of course no trip would be complete without some great before and after shots.  Here is what my grandmother's garage looked like when we started working.

And after! We went through all but a couple boxes and threw away over 8 boxes of paper trash!

We came home with our SUV packed full of memories, photographs, and housewares.   We put all the seats down to fit everything and had things placed just so.  I haven't even photographed all the beautiful things I brought home.

It was fascinating to sift through 85 plus years of family history.  Whether you like it or not, you are like your family members.  The more I dug through old boxes, I realized how much I am like my mother and how much she is like her mother, even if nobody wants to admit it.  It really is quite fascinating I think.

The best part of the whole trip was spending time with my mom.  We had lots of time to chat, bond, and laugh.  I'm so lucky to have become such good friends with my mom.

Who knows what future adventures we will embark upon.

Loving My Life

2014 got off to a very interesting start...

For a couple weeks, we thought I was pregnant.  That was exhilarating and terrifying all at once.  A couple different blood tests confirmed that I'm just me with crazy hormones.  This made us realize that we totally do want a baby, and probably sooner than later.

My work schedule changed from working five eight-hour shifts to three 13.5 hour shifts.  I only have worked one day of my new schedule since I am getting over a wicked sinus infection.  I have Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays off now and am loving getting more time at home.  Let's see how I feel Thursday night though about working 40 hours in three days!

  

Yesterday was an awesome day.  I made hot wings and nachos for my family to munch on while we watched the Bronco game!  I love watching football games with my dad; he always has a running commentary which is so funny.  Plus, Denver is going to the Superbowl this year!!  Hubby, the dog, and I all had our Bronco shirts on so we looked stylin'.

Speaking of my awesome husband... He took such great care of me when I was sick this last week.  Our marriage is ten times better than it was just 3-4 months ago and I'm so grateful for that.  His depression is getting better and you can really tell.  I hope we can keep hanging on to the good feelings we have right now.  I know it will get hard again but I hope that's not for a while.

Lots of different projects are in the works.  Lately, our biggest project is getting organized in the new year.  I own a LOT of stuff and most of it is probably worthless.  I would rather have fewer things but have really wonderful things than lots of stuff I'm only feeling half-hearted about.  Let's see how that goes for us.

Love and coffee,
Lulu

A New Blog

I know I hardly ever...ok pretty much never...blog on this anymore.  It's amazing how busy adult life is!

My husband and I are starting a new blog of our very own and this is your official invitation to check it out!

Mental Illness in Marriage

The title is a work in progress.  My goal for this new blog is a safe place for us to explore how our depression impacts us and our marriage.  I hope you take some time to check it out and leave some feedback.

As always...

Love and coffee,
Lulu

Planes, trains, and automobiles...and a big boat

My husband and I recently came back from our honeymoon, during which we went on our first cruise!  The entire trip was a real adventure.

We drove to Denver to stay the night before flying to Atlanta.  We rented the smallest car I've ever driven, a Ford Focus, and drove to Charleston, SC where we would be meeting our cruise ship.

We stayed the night in Charleston and ate breakfast at the Waffle House.  We have a Waffle House an hour north of us, but I think they are so much better in the South!  As my friend Rosemary puts it, they really know how to use grease!

Next we got on our cruse ship!  We took a cruise on the Carnival Fantasy.  Hubby thought it was really big, but we realized when we saw other cruise ships docked in the Bahamas that it was a pretty small ship.

   

We spent Valentine's Day on the ship.  They had a fancy dinner and we ate delicious lobster.  I think one of my favorite parts of the cruise was trying so much different food!!  I love the shirt Hubby is wearing in this picture.  I picked it out for him from Kohls and thinks he looks sooo good in blue.

I would really recommend a cruise.  I think in the end it was a great deal, especially since we tried to watch where our money was going.  The most expensive thing we did was our shore excursion in Freeport, which was $90 per person and totally worth it, but more about that in another post.

love and coffee,

Lulu

Adventures at Disney California Adventure

Last week, my sister Gina and our friend Chaeli (pronounced Shelley) went to California with my dad for the 2012 National Compassionate Friends conference.  I flew out on Wednesday night and dad and the girls came early Thursday morning.  Then we went to Disney California Adventure for the day and had a blast!

Me and Gina in front of the entrance to the new Cars Land

The new Cars Land was amazing.  It looked like we stepped inside the Cars movie!!  There were several rides including Luigi's Flying Tires, which was NOT worth the 1.5 hour wait.  The Radiator Springs Racers sounded amazing but was closed after a break down.  A cast member working in a gift shop said that ride breaks down almost every day.

New Little Mermaid ride!

When I was little, I watched The Little Mermaid almost every day, so I was stoked when we were able to go to Ariel's Undersea Adventure.  It was a cute ride and thankfully there was hardly any wait.

Me & Chaeli trying on ears

Because I'm getting married this year, I decided that I needed to buy some mouse ears!  So i picked out the sparkly white ones with the veil!!  I love them so much and am planning to wear them to my bridal shower next month.

It was an amazing day.  I'm glad we chose to do California Adventure instead of Disneyland, since I feel like it wasn't as crowded as Disneyland gets but with all the same amazing Disney magic!

love and coffee,

Lulu

Dakotas Trip: Mt Rushmore & Rapid City

After visiting the Crazy Horse Memorial, we drove to the "big heads" (as my dad calls it), Mount Rushmore.  Thanks to my mom and sister having been there in January, we didn't have to pay the $11 for parking and used their parking pass.  

There wasn't as much to look at compared to Crazy Horse, but it was still enjoyable.  It was great to be able to check this item off my bucket list!  Plus the weather was absolutely beautiful; a little windy but sunny and not too cold or too hot.  We had fun wandering through the gift shop and trying to figure out what we wanted to take home to remember our trip.

In front of Mount Rushmore

For lunch, we continued driving to Rapid City to dine at Beaujo's Colorado Style Pizza.  This is a restaurant that started in Colorado, famous for its whole wheat pizza crust eaten at the end of the meal with honey.  I remember going here as a little kid for their lunchtime buffet.  I was stoked when I found out that we could eat there on our trip! I recommend joining their birthday club; I got $10 off my purchase which was basically half off lunch for two.  The service was great and very attentive and the food was very yummy.  The only bummer is that their salad bar doesn't include different types of lettuce, just iceberg lettuce and spinach.  If you're ever in the area, I suggest you check out Beaujo's!

Coming soon....North Dakota adventures...

love and coffee,
Lulu

Crazy about Crazy Horse

Jared and I just got back from a wonderful road trip to the Dakotas.  The first thing we saw was the Crazy Horse memorial.  It is located south of Rapid City, South Dakota in the beautiful Black Hills.

It cost us $20 for the two of us, but before you say "That's too expensive to see a big rock" remember that this project is entirely privately funded.  The memorial does not accept government funding and relies on admissions and donations.  

The first thing we did upon arrival was watch a short film about the history of the memorial, which I found very informative and inspiring. We walked around the museum which showcases a lot of Native American history. The gift shop is huge and we had fun looking around to find the perfect thing to take home.  We settled on a few postcards, a pen for me to use at work, and a wooden Christmas tree ornament.  

Jared & I in front of the model

It was rather windy when we went but still really enjoyed it.  I liked seeing the models for the finished product.  Jared was there about ten years ago and was amazed how much work they've done since then.  Maybe in ten or fifteen years we'll bring our kids there...

More soon on our Dakotas trip!

love and coffee,

Lulu

I'm Getting Married!!

Me and my fiancee

Yup, I'm ENGAGED!  My lovely boyfriend Jared asked me to marry him last week.  We kept it a secret for a few days and then told our families and now I'm telling YOU!  We are so excited.  We are planning a wedding for the end of December 2012.

The actual proposal was very simple.  We were sitting on the couch talking about something completely different and he looks at me and just says, "Will you marry me?"  Of course I said yes.  We kissed and the rest is history.

Since I am a crafter, I am seriously debating doing some knitting for this wedding, maybe a lace shawl?  Hmm....the possibilities....

Lots of love,
Luci

A Use for Postcards

I've been collecting postcards for over a decade now and I have an entire shoebox of postcards from all over the world.  Sometimes I use them in my scrapbooking but generally they just sit in the box on the shelf.  Looking through them brings back lots of good memories from various trips I've taken or the people who have given them to me.

A couple weeks ago, I was looking through my box of postcards and thought, some of these would look really cool on my wall and started exploring options to use them in decorating.  My boyfriend, who used to be a framer at Hobby Lobby, was helpful in what would be really expensive and what wouldn't be.

Then I found a collage frame from Hobby Lobby, normally priced at $24.99 which I purchased for half price.  It took me a while to find the right collection of postcards that looked enough alike but still cohsive.

From left to right, top to bottom: New York City; Crested Butte, CO; Long's Peak, CO; Mt Hood, OR; Den Haag (Holland); Grand Canyon; Navy Pier, Chicago; Paris.

Got it hung up the other day in the dining room and I like the touch of color it adds to the space!

love and coffee,
Lulu

Start of a New Adventure

Most of you readers know that I don't stick to just one or two crafts but fancy several.  Quilting has yet to be one of them, but it has always fascinated me.  My great aunt Nancy is an amazing quilter who made me a gorgeous quilt for my high school graduation.  She has been super supportive via Facebook.  Hi Aunt Nancy! 

Last week, I took a plunge and bought a quilting book from the local quilt shop Stitcher's Garden.

I've really enjoyed flipping through the book and looking at all the projects and reading the how-to sections.  I think I will start taking a beginning quilter's class at the shop.

Then yesterday, I decided to take the plunge and purchase some fabric!  JoAnn's was having a Labor Day sale.

Today I washed it and pressed it.  I will try my hand at cutting with scraps leftover from other sewing projects.  I will keep you readers posted!

love and coffee,

Lulu

Laundry Quandry

This is my laundry room.  It is small but functional.  I love my tankless hot water heater and my snazzy energy-efficient washer and dryer.  However, I want my little laundry room to look pretty...

Painting is out of the question for a while and I think it would be way too troublesome to paint anyway.  I really do want to hang up my ironing board somehow, and I've been looking around at things to hang it it up with.  I think I found something I want at Target.

Maybe some colored bins on the shelf above the washer and dryer would be nice... Not to mention keeping it clean would probably do wonders!

Hmm, so many ideas.... What are yours?

love and coffe,
Lulu

The Beauty of Onions

Onions are so versatile.  You can use them in tons of cooking dishes.  They can be savory or sweet.  The other night I decided to caramelize some onions to top some beef I made for dinner.  I started with a frying pan with melted butter heated over medium-heat.  I thinly sliced a white onion.

Mmmm... Some kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper... Stir them around to get them nice and covered in the melted butter.  Oooh my kitchen smelled so good!  I tossed in a spoonful of brown sugar, a trick I learned from America's Test Kitchen.

After a while, the onions start to get nice and brown but a little translucent. Soft with the most subtle crunch... A few minutes later I added a couple tablespoons of red wine.

Yummy! And they were so good too. I ate several spoonfuls of these onions just plain.

Aren't onions amazing?

New Acquisitions Thanks to Mom

My mom is a bargain-hunting queen.  She was the one who found my china cabinet and buffet table at a garage sale for dirt cheap.  After unpacking my grandmother's good china, I realized I didn't have a teapot.  Or a gravy boat for that matter... My mom texted me Saturday that she found me a teapot at a garage sale.  It doesn't match my china set, which is blue and gold, but it's pretty!

The other nifty thing she found for me were two groovy picture frames on clearance at Target.  Winning price? Only $1.98 each!

I love the color green.  I have a black bookshelf a friend gave me that sits in my living room.  I plan to put these on the top shelf once I find pictures to put in them.

 

Too bad these pictures don't really do them justice!  Hopefully once I get that shelf more settled, I will take more pictures.

What great finds have you taken home lately?

Trying Something New

I have always enjoyed reading blogs that have cool graphics.  One of my friends made my banner for me, which I love, but now I'm itching to be able to do it myself.  So I downloaded a trial of Corel's Paint Shop Pro.  After messing around with it a little bit, I made this...

Yeah, I know it isn't fancy at all.  I need some help to learn how to use this program before I commit to buying it.  Is there another program out there that would suit my needs better?  I want to be able to edit digital photographs for the blog, my etsy shop, and eventually to use in my scrapbooking.

Also, what about Flikr?  I know a lot of bloggers use it to store photos.  Is it worth getting the pro membership?

What I'm Into Right Now

I have ADD.  Seriously, I do.  I go through phases where I am really into something and then it will just kind of fade away from my life.  There are certain things I will always love, but the intensity of my devotion will ebb and flow.

That being said, here is what I am really into right now!

The Young House Love blog and making my own house a home
I found it while Googling how to repaint furniture and fell in love.  It is written by this couple who are slowly fixing up their old house.  All their projects are so inspiring and makes me want to really get into decorating mode around my own house.  I've been going through boxes of stuff in the garage, reorganizing and purging my stuff.  My boyfriend and I have started talking about him moving in with me sometime next year and I want there to be room for his massive comic book collection.

Watching Mad Men on Netflix
Both my roommate and my boyfriend have watched the first season already, so I need to catch up!  I've watched the first five episodes so far and am enjoying a new series.  I have mixed feelings, but I think I will stick with it for a while.  It is an interesting look at the social climate of the early 1960's.

Sewing
Specifically sewing curtains for my roommate's bedroom and our kitchen window.  I'm also currently working on a baby blanket for a coworker which is super simple, just two pieces of flannel with a satin binding.  I think I want to get back into sewing clothes again.  The Boyfriend is kind of hinting that he would like a robe to wear around my house, and I do have a pattern... It's just a matter of finding the right fabric for the job and then finding the time to sew something so big.

Of course there are a million other things I'm into right now, but those are probably the top three.  What are you into right now?

Love and coffee,
Lulu

A New Idea...

Photo from Indy Total Construction

I think I want to start showcasing Etsy sellers and their shops once a week or so.  Maybe interview the seller themselves... What do you think?

Hopefully it will give me some more inspiration to make more stuff to sell in my Etsy shop.

love and coffee,
Lulu

 

The Housework is Never Done

Today I realized I haven't completely explained my housing situation.  In March, on St. Patty's day to be exact, I moved into my very own house.  I have a roommate too, my friend Josh from high school.

This picture I took with my cell phone before I moved in, which is why there is still a touch of snow on the ground.  Not much of the exterior of the house has changed yet.  We are trying to plan the landscaping now, but it is taking a long time

Meanwhile, I've been in the house for almost three months and am still not completely unpacked.  It has been a slow and steady process to make this house a home.  Today is my first day off in seven days of working full time, and I am not relaxing.  Since this morning, I have been cleaning and trying to put stuff away, catch up on laundry, and enjoying some really yummy iced coffee.

There is still a lot to do but I'm slowly chipping away at that To-Do list!

love and coffee,

Lulu