One Huge Thank-You & Other Little Notes

I was overwhelmed by the comments you all left on the tea/coffee set for the junk party, and I just want to say a big thank you to all of you, and to Kennesha for hosting such a nice event! This has, by far, been the most fun event I have participated in Blogland, and it really made me feel like starting a blog is a great and rewarding experience. Once again, thank you!

I would have loved to reply to every single comment you guys left, but  unfortunately some of the comments get e-mailed to me without an e-mail address. Some of you asked if I was planning on selling the set, and the answer is yes. I am planning on opening my Etsy store very soon, and I’m currently working on acquiring a nice stash of napkins to do custom orders. Of course, I’m not selling that particular one, because it was more of an exercise, but all sets would look similar to what you saw. So, stay tuned and I will make sure to let you know when the shop opens!

On the home front, my Echinacea is in full bloom and it looks so perfect!

Also, I am now the proud owner of a cute little Ageratum, fondly called Blue Puffy in Bulgaria.

In the background you can see the tiny Rosemary plant I started from seed. I have to say it’s developing very well, and I hope it continues to grow that way. In addition, I now have a baby lavender, too, for which I am extremely excited!

I’m also still working on the mystery project and I am hoping I can have some more time tomorrow to take detailed pictures and finally get it completed. In the meantime, here’s what happens when I’m not looking:

Poor little thing was so terrified when we took the picture. On top of it, I now have blue paw-prints on the carpet that I have no clue how to clean up. Fun, fun!

I hope you’ve all had a great weekend, and wishing you a great week!

Wish I Had One Of Those…

One bad thing about living in an apartment (among many other bad things) is that there isn’t enough room to go crazy with decoration ideas and set up special rooms for hobbies, crafts, etc. I have seen pictures of craft rooms, in particular, that really draw my attention and make me really wish I had some space to make one of my own – especially with my stash of materials growing!

Oh well, I guess that’s something to aspire for – getting a house where I can have a room to call my own craft room! In the meantime, here’s some eye-candy:

  

 

 

You should really check the last link, there’s some gorgeous craft room photos there!

Here’s hoping!

[Click on images to go to sources]

Ah that tin…

I guess I am looking for some inspiration with all the photos I’ve posted lately. Yet, that being said, I have so many projects shaping in my mind that I find myself wanting to start a crafter’s journal just to keep them all organized. My real problem right now is that because of finals I took 3 weeks off of work and that really limits our income. Plus we’re having our AC fixed, so I really have to watch my spending and this puts all my crafty projects on hold.

In the meantime, however, I really have found some great inspirations and have added a ton of little things to my projects. I’m just waiting to go back to work so I can afford all the little things I so desperately want to get.

I haven’t decided what will be the first thing I make, but I have some vague idea – either a tin can planter/lantern or a jar lantern. Maybe. I hope. Who knows what will spike my interest next? Hah, I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

To keep the inspiration flowing our way, here’s some photos I found to support future projects. Enjoy!

So much color! Imagine the cans wrapped in deco paper, adorned using the serviette technique or decoupage, with added felt or buttons, or simple paint. I have so many ideas that I don’t know where to start!

For now, thought, I think I will go for a set of three different-looking cans to hang on the empty wall of my balcony. What do you think?

[Click on images to go to their sources]

Light

Well, now that it’s been two eventless nights (other than paranoid), I want to share with you my love for lanterns. All kinds of lanterns!

Don’t you just love them? I really wish I could place some lanterns in my house, but I really can’t think of where to put them! Maybe on the balcony? What do you think?

Hope you have enjoyed the photos!

[Click on image to go to source]

My Knees Are Shakin’

Three earthquakes in less than 4 hours in more than enough for me, thank you very much.

I was quietly sitting at my desk today at around 7:20 p.m. when all of a sudden everything started shaking around me. I looked at Tim, with my eyes (and his) as big as saucers, and felt my knees shake. Panic was written on both our faces, but because it lasted only about 5 seconds, we continued doing what we were doing. But 5 minutes later I about peed myself again. Another one, at which point I put my shoes on, grabbed my cell, and out the door we went… 6 stories down… in my nightie.

Now, it wouldn’t be so bad if we lived in a house. But when you live 6 stories off the ground, things change a little – none of that stand-under-the-door-frame mumbo-jumbo would work, because if the building decides to come down, you go with it. Damn scary, I tell ya! I couldn’t even walk down the stairs properly because my legs felt like they were not mine.

But, everybody seemed calm and we went back upstairs. I checked the news, the earthquake epicenter was about 100 miles south-west from Sofia at the Macedonian-Greek-Bulgarian border, with magnitude of about 5.0 on the Richter scale , so reason to panic (I send my prayers to those people who live near that area).

At 10:37 p.m., however, we go again! That one was short and not so strong, but oh my, my nerves had already flared up. Out the door we went again.

We haven’t felt anything since that last one (other than the fact I keep thinking everything is shaking). News reported it’s been over 100 micro-earthquakes since the first one we felt, and that there’s been seismic activity in the area since yesterday. Oh, and that we can expect this to continue for the next couple of weeks. Hello? Are you serious? I have a feeling I will die of heart-attack any time soon.

It’s time for me to go to bed, but oh my, how I am so afraid to do so. It’s all dark and creepy. But oh well, we have to sleep, don’t we? I seriously think it’s nothing to be afraid of, but my heart skips a beat when I even think about it, and leaps from my chest when the ‘quakes actually happens.

But to make this post a wee bit more cheerful, here’s a few photos to make me (and hopefully, you) feel better!

Here’s hoping for a tremorless night.

[Click on images for sources.]

Kitty Time

Meet the Guard Cat, Hope.

She’s a 6 year-old mix that Tim bought for me for 10 buck from the pet store. I have to say, that was the best 10 bucks ever spent! She’s warmed my heart for almost 6 years now, and I hope she keeps doing that for many more to come.

She’s very easily frightened. If the doorbell rings, she’s off to hide in my closet for the next hour, looking all petrified. My grandma tells me funny stories (when we go on vacation, my Granny comes over to feed Hope), namely, she comes in, there is no cat to be seen, but there’s no food either! My grandma calls Hope the Ghost kitty.

She must have some black-furred ancestors, because she has black freckles on her nose, gums, butt (yes, that’s right), a couple of black whiskers, and maybe 10 black hairs total on her tummy.

She’s also a very playful kitty! She loves to hide under the couch and wait for someone (especially Tim) to go to the bathroom so she can attack your feet. Then she waits for you to make a funny face and goes to hide, waiting to attack again. She pats your legs gently, and runs off again. She also loves pens, coins, and one particular stuffed toy I received a few weeks ago.

When she’s cuddly she likes to get in your lap, drape herself over your arm and purr. Oh, and her nose drips! Yes, her nose gets all wet and starts dripping on your arm. She also likes to bury her head in your elbow.

Custom is when I snuggle in bed at night to read, Hope comes over and plops herself on my chest, purring. She doesn’t move until I go to turn the light off, at which point she re-positions herself on my feet.

She also has a fat tummy, as is evident by the above picture (that’s her back paw hidden under all that).

I love my kitty.

I Miss Good Ol' "Made in the US"

Ahem, let me start over.

Do you remember our new bed? And do you remember the oopsie? Well, guess what...

Yes, we ordered a mattress - one that actually fits. It got delivered today. Sort of.

They were supposed to be here at 4 p.m. Five hours later it was finally in - I was particularly happy about that especially after having a day at work where I just wanted to strangle everyone, figuratively speaking.

Only, when the mattress gets here it turns out it's not a mattress. It's a box spring. Yes, that's right, your eyes are not deceiving you. A box spring. Technically, it's a box spring/mattress because it has padding on top but a wooden frame beneath. A wooden frame that's over 1/2" out of square and doesn't fit the bed frame at all. In times like this I let a mental curse out and really miss the good old American craftsmanship where things actually work and are built with attention to detail.

Good thing I have a hubby who grew up in the construction industry, knows what he's doing and has some serious muscle going on, because if it were up to me I'd be drowning in my own tears by now. After some extensive pushing and pulling, prodding and tweaking, and some scary screeching and cracking noises that our poor little bed frame made to let us know it didn't really appreciate all that attention, the thing is finally in. What a sigh of relief!

On the plus side I have 6 days off of work starting tomorrow so that will give me time to focus on my crafting and gardening. I am really looking forward to that!

Don't forget, I'll be posting about my giveaway tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Such an Oopsie…

Remember our new bed? Well, after all that excitement we discovered that we had made a huge mistake with certain measurements….

When we bought the bed, I went with my mother. She had just bought a new mattress a few weeks before, and so we decided it would be wise to just buy the bed frame and a topper and use her old mattress. I trusted she knew the measurements on her old one, since she had just ordered a new one, so we all went home merrily.

But yesterday the bed gets delivered, along with mom’s old mattress (which we had shipped to my grandma’s house for storage) and lo and behold – the mattress is 8 inches narrower and 5 inches shorter than the new bed!

We assembled everything and put the mattress and topper on, since we need to sleep somewhere, but now we’re looking at spending more money to get a brand new mattress that fits the bed. Thankfully, we only need a cheap-o one, since the topper is what makes the whole bed what it is (did I mention I love memory foam?

See, I’m not blaming my mom for not remembering, I think the whole thing is funny, and we should have measured before buying such a major thing, but oh well… Lesson learned.

On the plus side, this new bed is so much bigger than our old one, I feel like I’m swimming! Timmy liked it too, other than the fact he was sliding off the bed the whole night!

Of course, this new piece of furniture inspired me to do some constructive re-decorating in the bedroom. Here’s some inspirational photos I found. Hope you enjoy them!

 

Source

Source

Source

 

Source

 Source

Source

Source

The last picture is part of Laura Ashley’s collection. Have you heard of Laura Ashley? I adore her style! I wish I could decorate our whole new house with her design, but due to some hubby disagreement and pricing issues, that will not happen…

Here’s the official website.

Hope you all have a great day! More updates coming soon.