Engagement Pictures

Here they are!  I am extremely excited by how these turned out!  Erin Rene Photography was our photographer and she did a fantastic time!  I can't wait to have her shoot my bridal portraits in March or April!!!  

Now...onto our next task of picking one of these for our Save The Date! :)

8 Years Ago Today...

Well, yesterday actually.  Yesterday was busy busy busy and I didn't get a chance to blog, but I want to get this post up! 

8 years ago, I met Thomas.  I was 14 and he was 16.  I has a tiny crush on his friend mainly because he was a junior and I wanted to go to the prom and couldn't as a freshman.  Everyday I would get to school really early to talk to him in the hallway, but I realized after about 2 days that the only person in that group that got to school early was a guy named Thomas.  So, for the first few days I got to school early hoping to see his friend and talked to him instead.  Thomas was nice and cute and so fun to talk to and after about 2 days, I didn't care to talk to his his friend at all.  For a week or two, Thomas and I would talk every morning in the hall and I developed a major crush on him.  Around mid-October, our hometown had the annual Seafood Festival and I was scheduled to perform early Saturday morning with my cheerleading team.  That Friday afternoon, Thomas caught up to me in the hall and asked what time I was performing.  I told him not thinking anything of it since it was pretty early.  Imagine my surprise when Thomas showed up just to watch me perform!  After my performance, we spent the whole day together at the festival.  We rode rides (which I now know made him so sick and he hated them...but didn't want me to think he was chicken) and that night he asked me if I would go to the Homecoming Dance with him the next weekend.  That whole week, Thomas and I would spend hours talking on the phone together.  I couldn't understand why he wouldn't make a decision on what time we were going, where we would eat, etc.  I now know that he didn't want to make any definite plans on the phone because he wanted an excuse to call me everyday! :)  That Friday, Thomas came to the football game to watch me cheer and afterwards we went to the Homecoming Dance. I remember it being a fun time, and him dancing the whole night...another thing I have learned is unlike him.  That night he walked me to the door and asked me if I would be his girlfriend.  I said yes and the rest if history.  It was truly a high school romance.  Who would have thought that we would be where we are now!  I could not be happier or more excited for Thomas to become my husband.  The Lord truly blessed me with my soul mate!   

I had to put a couple more teaser pictures in for y'all!  Can't wait for the full post to go up! :)

What Did I Do This Weekend?

This weekend was really low key.  Friday night, Thomas and I went out with our friends Trey, Ashton, and Jonathan to eat at Jalapenos.  We love going to get Mexican on Fridays!  Before we went to eat though, I ran to Homegoods by myself while the guys hung out.  I had about an hour to kill before we met everyone at the restaurant, so I wanted to take my time to peruse the store.  Well, after being in Homegoods for like 30 minutes, this older man came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder.  He asked me if my mother's name was Barbara and I said no.  Simple case of mistaking the person for someone else, right? Wrong, this man proceeds to pull his wife over and say, "Doesn't she look like Barbara's daughter?" His wife had no idea who Barbara was by the way, but this man went on and on about her until his wife nodded in agreement.  At one point, he said I looked like her daughter Jennie, and why I spoke up I will never know, but I said, "Well isn't that funny, my name is Jennie but my mom's name is not Barbara."  I should never had said that because this man thought it was funny for the rest of my time in the store to talk to me every time we ran into each other...which seemed to be often.  "What do you think about this item, Jennie?...Where do you find such and such, Jennie?...Did you see these deals, Jennie?"  It was so funny, and the man was extremely nice and not in the creepy way.  He was just one of those genuine funny people that enjoy life where ever they go.  It was just strange.  Then wouldn't you know that he was ready to check out when I was and we ended up in line together.  He said, "What deals did you find, Jennie?"  I showed him my coffee mug and Yankee Candle air fresheners (Whooo, exciting! ha!), and then he showed me his stuff...RED HOT CHILI PEPPER LIGHTS and you know where he found them? The bathroom area! ha!  His grown children were with him and his wife and they kept laughing at him and apologizing to me.  It was funny, but really weird. 

Nothing else funny like that happened, but Saturday my mom and I went shopping and to do a few wedding related things.  I had to pick up my gorgeous veil, and then we went to the high-end wedding boutique that Savannah has, Bleu Belle Bridal.  I didn't go try on dresses there because I knew Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, and Priscilla of Boston were out of my budget, but I really wanted to go see the accessories that they had.  Mom and I went to look for shoes, and oh my goodness! They seemed to only really carry Oscar De La Renta shoes, but I tried some on for fun and because I had no idea of the price.  I thought they might be a possibility...but should have known better!  I liked this one pair I tried on a lot, but they were way to tall for me to be comfortable for a long time.  I asked the lady for the price, and she came back and told us they were...$595! ha!  Like that's gonna happen!  I will ooh and aw over them though! :) The store associates were so nice and were genuinely excited to hear about my wedding!  They had this one dress in the center of the boutique on display and we were oohing and awing over it and the sales associate commented that it was gorgeous and hand beaded and made out of the finest fabrics and all that...then she quietly said to us that you could buy a car for the price of the dress! She told us it was $14,000! WOW! 

{The Dress} Source

After doing those wedding activities, Mom and I went to lunch and went shopping.  We went to Ulta, Michael's, and TJ Maxx (where I found some Marc by Marc Jacobs sunglasses for $35 and two Kate Spade bags for $130 each...didn't buy any of it, but was tempted!) 

Sunday was spent doing homework with Thomas and watching tv.  It was a good weekend!  I heard y'all loud and clear that you would like a clipboard tutorial...so on Saturday when we went to Michael's I got the stuff to make two more for me and my mama, but they were out of the actual clipboards and they won't get more until Wednesday.  I will only use the Michael's clipboards because they are the nicest I have found in town.  I will get the tutorial together this upcoming weekend and post it Monday or Tuesday of the next week.  It is an easy project!  Also, I know a couple of you asked, but my engagement pictures should be posted this week.  I took forever picking out favorites for my photographer to edit, so they just got put in the mail last week.  I should have them any day now and will do a full post!  They turned out so good!  I am planning to get 2 or 3 of them made into canvases to put around the room at our reception.  I am also getting bridal portraits in March/April and going to do the same with them.  So, I am thinking we will have about 4-6 canvases around the reception for the guests to look at.  I have so much to fill y'all in on wedding wise too! I better catch y'all up this week!

Clipboards

Recently, I decided to try my hand on something other than sewing.  I have always loved to do all types of crafts and figured that a quick one night project might be fun.  I originally made 2 clipboards to make...one for me that would be the guinea pig and one for Ashton since she uses a clipboard at her job and her birthday was coming up.  I loved how they turned out, but of course gifted the clipboard without taking a picture and am too lazy to go out to my car right now and get mine...one day readers, I promise.  I have been trying to get some use out of my clipboard at school and a lady in my evening class commented that it was cute.  She inquired where I bought it and I told her I made it.  Well, she asked if I would make one for her daughter.  It is a less time consuming craft than sewing and figured I would have the time, so I said yes.    

Didn't it turn out so cute! She requested pink, red, and white...which ended up looking so cute together!  I am really excited about it!  I am thinking that once I get married and out of school, I will reopen my Etsy shop and incorporate my sewn things and clipboards and all types of things I make other than just jewelry!  I wish I had time for it now, but right now is just way too hectic!  I hope everyone is having a great Friday!  We always do dinner out with friends on Fridays, and usually get mexican and margaritas...so I am anxious for this weekend to begin!  

Rosie the Unicorn!

My sweet little neice Autumn will be celebrating her 5th birthday soon!  It feels like just yesterday that sweet baby was born!  Autumn is the most girly little girl you could ever meet, so it was no surprise that she wanted a stuffed unicorn for her birthday present.  However, not just any stuffed unicorn would fit the bill.  When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she proceeded to tell me that she wanted, and I quote, "A stuffed unicorn that is not from a store and has button eyes."  How precious is that!  She knew her Aunt Jennie would follow through on that request, and I mean honestly...how can you say no to that!  

So, how in the world will I make a stuffed unicorn?  After talking to my mom about her request, and getting some idea of where in the world this baby got this idea, I set off on a hunt to find a pattern.  I originally wanted to try to keep it simple like her inspiration stuffed gingerbread man from her other grandma's house.  Apparently, and I am just guessing here since I haven't seen it, but it looked kinda like one of those kits you can buy kids to sew together themselves with large tapestry needles...but I think it was a little more advanced than that.  Well, as the majority my ideas seem to, it went in a different and more difficult direction.  Every time I make something, I end up thinking about how can I take the cuteness level up a notch!  This unicorn went to a new level, and it turned out so cute in my opinion.  I bought the pattern at Funky Friends Factory.   The pattern was good, but I have never made a stuffed animal before and my fuzzy fabric choice made this extremely hard to sew up (couldn't rip out a stitch, stretched like crazy, shed like crazy...major pain!)  It took me a while, and I ended up having to cut out some parts and start over like 3-4 times!  

Mom and I thought she needed a name and decided Rosie fit the bill.  She is made from the softest fabrics and has heat-sealed ribbons for her mane and tail.  Her gold brocade horn just makes her look so perfect!  Oh, and of course, I had to make sure Miss Autumn got her special request button eyes.  Isn't she pretty!  :)

It was a fun project that involved a lot more hand sewing than I am used to doing.  Now I have to get to work on Christmas presents!  I also really liked making a stuffed animal and might think about something like that the next time I have a shower or birthday party to attend.  

Also, thank y'all so so much for all the sweet words, thoughts, and prayers that y'all are sending my way.        The outpouring made me feel so much better and I honestly have such a peace about it right now.  I will keep y'all updated on any new stuff going on in that regard.  Thank you so much!  Y'all are the best!

Elephant in the Room

There is a reason I haven't blogged in about a week.  I feel like there is an elephant in the room that I need to address.  I have written this post twice in the last week, and every time end up deleting it because I feel like I shared too much, sound whiny, will bring everyone down, etc.  I still need to address it though before I can put my heart into any other posts.  It's not the biggest thing, but it is really effecting Thomas and I and our financial future.  You see Thomas cannot find a job.  He has a job currently that is contingent on him being in school, but he graduated in May.  So, he has been taking classes just to keep his job while he looks for another.  It's been over 6 months, no job, no leads, nothing.  Every time he thinks something is going to work out, the rug gets pulled out from under him.  Now, this semester is coming to an end and he has to make a decision about what to do for next semester.  Take classes and at least have a job while looking?  Quit and just look full-time?  It is extremely stressful, but not dire at the moment.  He has a very supportive family and is currently living with them.  I don't get too stressed about the here and now...it's 7 and a half months down that line that I start to worry.  If he has already been looking for 6 months, it isn't impossible to think that he still may not have a job by the time we are married.  That scares me A LOT!  I am very scared to think that I might have to support us on my own.  He says he will find anything if it comes to that...working in restaurants or whatnot if need be.  He will not let me be in that position.  Still, it's scary and I really just want him to find a job in his field that makes him feel happy and fulfilled.  Without a doubt, I know the Lord will provide for our needs and that eventually that perfect job will come into Thomas life.  The timing will be perfect too...still I look at MY timeline and think what would be perfect and know that may not really be the perfect timing and only God knows that.  All of last week, I was a ball of nerves and stress and couldn't think straight to blog or do much of anything other than the major responsibilities.  I prayed about it a lot and now have peace about the situation.  I know it will all work out in God's time.  I don't know what that is, but I know that he is working it out.  I decided in a moment of prayer that instead of spending my time focusing on worrying about what may or may not happen 7 and a half months down the road, I will spend that time praising God, reading my Bible, or just trying to be a better Christian and a good Samaritan in general for the glory of God.  He's got this, why worry about it?  It really is in his hands no matter what I do.  It doesn't matter if I worry non-stop about it, he is working it out in the same way no matter what.  So, I officially and really and truly turned it to him.  I will work on getting closer to him and he will work on all of my problems. 

So, that's whats been going on.  That's why I have been distant from the interwebs.  I felt like this was all I could think about and until I addressed it, it wasn't going to leave my mind.  I would try to write other posts, and every time I did I ended up trashing it and thinking about this stuff.  I know it will work out, but I am still praying hard about it.  I was hoping that maybe some of you might find the time to add us to your prayer list or just send a quick prayer up to God.  Thank you so much!  I will get back into happy blogging tomorrow. 

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him" - Psalm 37:7
"Now to him who is about to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." - Ephesians 3:20

Fabric-palooza!

I love to go online and look around for cute fabrics!  I have my normal haunts that I know I can usually find good stuff from, but Hawthorne Threads is driving me crazy right now with all their cute fabrics!!!  Quilting cottons are so fun!  I know that most apparel sewing should be done with good quality fibers, but quilting cottons have their time and place too in my opinion.  For fun tops and dresses and of course children's clothes, I think they are so nice!  My one caveat is that they MUST MUST MUST be of a good quality.  Your run of the mill chain fabric store can be hit or miss when it comes to the quality of a quilting cotton.  I like to stick with the "designer" cottons that in my opinion get softer and nicer with washes as opposed to wearing out quickly.  Here are some of the things I wish I could load my cart up with right now!  (Thomas would kill me if I bought anymore fabric right now! Ha!)

 Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Urban Zoologie Whales in Garden and Bright - perfectly preppy and cute!

Robert Kaufman Metro Kitchen Mixers in White - the other colors are so cute too and would be perfect for an apron...hummm wheels are turning! :)

Michael Miller Tweet Tweet in White

Pillow and Maxfield Pretty Bird Twirling Tendrils in Lime

Pillow and Maxfield Pretty Bird Meandering Vines in Spa

Paula Prass for Michael Miller Summer Soiree Chevron in Yellow - ON SALE and love it!

Alexander Henry 2D Zoo in Natural - Christmas Zoo Animals...oh my! How cute for a child!!!

Timeless Treasures Paris Eiffel Tower in White - Don't have a clue what I would make with this, but I MUST own it!  I love all things Paris related and how heartedly would pick up and move there if the opportunity presented itself.  Sit at little cafes and eat yummy food and people watch in the lovely parks and go to museums and look at art all day...that's my type of wonderful!  I keep begging Thomas to take me there as soon as we possibly can!

Don't you just love cute and whimsical cotton prints!  :)

Weekend Plans

Midterms are DONE!  YAY!  I am so happy and feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders!  I think I did pretty well on everything and now it is just time to let the chips fall where they may.  I am not thinking about it anymore and moving on.  Busy time is over for now and it is now FALL BREAK!  This weekend is sure to be fun because my brother is bringing up my nieces for all of us to spend some time together and to pick up his wife and his baby that have been staying with us to help with my mom's broken foot.  I hope that made sense! ha!  We are having crab legs and shrimp for dinner tonight and spending lots of good time with the family!  Those are the best times! :)  They have to go home tomorrow, so it is a short visit, but we will have lots of fun! 

I have 4 days off work and school, so the rest of my weekend is going to be spend working on sewing projects.  I have to finish up some alteration work for myself, my mom, and Ashton...but after that I have some ideas lined up for projects.  I am hoping to get as much progress on my projects as possible, but I am just going to enjoy my time and see what gets done.  I haven't had much time for leisure sewing lately, so I am going to enjoy it.  I really need to cut out some time every week to work on projects because it really grounds me and helps me keep my stress down.  So, here is the one project I really want to get accomplished this weekend. 

I recently bought these two quilting cottons from Fabricka in Downtown Savannah. 

Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow Collection
Sunflower in Sunglow

Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow Collection
Herringbone in Pond
(By the way, I have bought from the store I linked to and would give them an A+.  They are one of my favorite online fabric stores.  They didn't ask me to say that, they don't even know I exist! :)  I just thought y'all might like a fun link!)

I am thinking I might use those fabrics to make this pattern which I recently bought.  Cute, right! 

Bought here from The Scientific Seamstress Etsy Shop.  Her link is on my sidebar too under "Creating With..."  I have learned a lot from her website!!!  I am thinkign that I will make it into a tunic-ish top with the herringbone on top and floral on bottom similar to the green striped dress.  I don't have a ton of yardage, so a dress is a no-go. :(  Although...wheels are turning! ha!  You will see how it turns out! 

I have lots more in my stack of things to do by my sewing table and I also need to get started on some special Christmas gifts for family and friends, so it is sure to be a busy (in a fun way) weekend!!!  Happy Friday!

Just a Quick Minute

I just wanted to pop in for a quick minute to tell y'all about something I am totally loving right now!  As everyone knows, I am in midterm misery and getting through it the only ways I know how...which includes junk food, wine, and music.  As awesome as it would be to do an entire post on my love of wine and/or junk food, we are going to talk about music.  I love to make play lists on Grooveshark and a lot of times if I can't decide if I want to buy a CD, I find the songs on there and listen to them on a play list for a while and then decide.  Well, I have both the Twilight soundtrack and the New Moon soundtrack because, let's face it, I went through ahem still going through a teeny bopper girl fan moment and had to buy them.  AND you know what...the music is awesome!  LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  I have been contemplating buying the Eclipse soundtrack, so I went over and made a play list with all the songs on it and oh my word, the songs on it are even better than the other two CDs.  Being the totally with it hip girl that I am, NOT, I had no idea who most of the bands were.  Now, I am tracking down more music by each of the bands I really like!  Don't you love when a soundtrack is a really good stand alone CD too! 

My favorite song on the CD is My Love by Sia, and a quick Wikipedia search told me she a Australian pop singer and one of her songs is going to be in that new movie with Christina Auguliara, Burlesque.  Anyway, back to studying and listening to music.  Happy Wednesday!  Midterms will be done by 1 tomorrow, so wish me luck!

Midterm Day Numero Uno DONE!

Midterm Numero Uno is done.  This was the one I was really worried about...it's worth 40% of our grade!  I think I did pretty good, but we will have to see what my actual numerical grade is when we get them back.  Now the back end of this semester I have to get my project finished and my 8-12 page paper for another class written.  It sure is a lot of work right now, but I am getting through pretty well.

In other news, I am seriously ecstatic with how my neice's Halloween shirts are coming out!  I am planning to make them coordinating outfits for Christmas with a princess theme, but needed to get some practice in on my embroidery machine!  It could not be easier!  One day when I have tons of money (ha!) I really want to get a machine that will do a HUGE area!  I am limited to a fairly small space, but have been playing around with a trial download of a software to make my designs larger.  I am thinking of purchasing it, but I will need to purchase some things to go with it if I do...so it will be a few hundred dollars and I am not ready to make that purchase right now when I should be putting everything to A) wedding B) savings C) debt reduction.  Oh life...how annoying it is to be "responsible!"  Oh, and don't worry...I will take pictures of the shirts when I get the finishing touches on them!

I am off to relax a tiny bit before I hit the hay and have to start the second day from you know where...aka midterm day numero dos.  Seriously, how is it that I have been in college for ummm....4 and a half cough cough years (5 year plan...holla!) and never had all my midterms in one week until the semester that truly matters more than any of the others because it basically determines when I graduate.  GOODNESS!  I am planning to reward myself with lots of wine and delicious food this weekend...and of course a fun outing with Ashton for her birthday!

By the way, sorry if this post is totally rambling, but I am barely even awake right now and only have one thing on the brain right now...studying for these midterms!  Goodnight!

Monday Mash-up

Well, I made it through the busy season at my job!  WHOOOO-HOOOO!  These two weeks (last week and this one) are busy busy busy! Are you sensing a theme! Ha!  I made it through the busy work week, but I have midterms in all of my classes this week, so I am almost there!  Today during my lunch break of Friday, I walked over to the Junior League Thrift Sale to see what I could find.  I wasn't really looking for anything specific, but I have always heard great things in the past about the sale and thought it would be fun for a lunchtime break.  It was a madhouse and packed FULL of stuff!  I could have bought so much if I had had more cash on me and a large truck at my disposal.  I ended up walking out with a really nice gilded mirror, a couple picture frames, and a chair that has a lot of potential!  It is a slipcovered parson chair that looks a lot like this one. 

Source

The cover is disgusting and stained all over and old...but I am envisioning a brown silk-like fabric with my new initial monogramed on it that of course will be made by me.  It will look like it came out of a Pottery Barn catalog!  I am pretty excited about it!  I need to get going with these projects of mine, but right now I am way too busy making all the Christmas gifts for the upcoming season!  They will get done soon, and if they aren't done by the wedding day, then I will do them when I get home from the honeymoon!  I should have infinitely more time then!  I have also pretty much decided against the yellow fabric I bought to make our duvet cover.  I am still going to put it to good use since we have two bedroom sets that need bedding, so the yellow will go in there and our bedroom is most likely going to be in blue and brown.  I found a stunning blue and brown silk/cotton blend at Hancock this past weekend, and feel in love!  It is quite expensive, so I am waiting for it to go on sale so that I can use a coupon and get it for a good price.  That is now 2 duvets to make this year!  HOLY MOLY!  I will get it done as I have time though, and not stress myself out with projects.  I like to have projects to turn to when I have time, so it's a good thing! 

This past weekend had its ups and downs.  On the positive side, Ashton, Thomas, our friend Jonathan, and myself went to the Weiner Dog Races at Octoberfest this past weekend!  It was a great time!  Ashton signed her dog Chloe up to be in it.  I put her in the gate and Ashton was at the finish line with her toy calling her.  She got distracted by all the people though, and ran halfway, then back towards me and then hopped the gate and ran into the stands!  Ha!  She ran straight to Thomas and Jonathan!  It was too funny!  We all had a great time hanging out and spending time together.  After the races, we went to eat at Mellow Mushroom and it was great!  All and all, it was a fantastic day! 

On the not so positive side, my battery in my car died on Friday afternoon and Thomas and I got stranded at work!  I had no jumper cables and we ended up having to call someone we work with and wait for him to come jump us.  We were stranded for close to an hour!  I learned my lesson and bought some cables when we went to get a new battery.   What a way to kickstart a weekend!  Then on Saturday afternoon, my mom called me to tell me some bad news.  She was visiting my brother, SIL, and their kids this past weekend and they went to a Greek Festival, and mom stepped off the curb into a pothole that she couldn't see and fell and broke her foot!  Can you believe all that happened in one weekend!!!  Now my mom is back home with my SIL and her baby taking care of my mom since I can't miss my midterms this week!  I am so thankful for her offering to do so.  It isn't easy when you have 3 kids and a husband at home, especially when one of the kids is 5 months!!! 

I hope everyone is having a great start to their weeks...mine is fueled with Vanilla Steamers from Starbucks and the soundtracks to all the Twilight movies.  It's the only thing getting me through work and studying!