A Giveaway! Hop To It!

Haha, my attempt at being funny and leading into my giveaway. We have dramatically downsized and I need to edit my possessions, so I am going to give away a flower frog.

I have quite a few of these little gems and so I am going to share the wealth. If you are a stitcher, they are great to hold embroidery scissors. If you are a knitter, they hold needles and if you are neither, then they are great for their intended use - arranging flowers in a vase! To enter, you must do the following - 

1) Share on your blog so I can build my reader base, please

2) Make a comment on this post only to let me know what you would use it for

3) Please be in the US, only

Thanks and good luck! I will draw the evening of June 15 and I will post right before I draw. 

My Vintage Sewing Table

Early in our relationship (as in last year), Sweetie and I frequented many fine antique establishments in the Nashville area. This was my distraction while visiting my Dad, who was in Hospice care. One of the visits, we saw this beautiful table and I knew it was perfect for organizing my stitching. I tend to "scatter". We will just leave it at that. Anyhoo, Sweetie saw the light in my eyes and disregarding the price tag (and I think secretly hoping to contain my stitching mess), he bought it for me. It's from Norway and has a cool sliding tray and dividers that can be moved in the tray.

It's a beautiful piece. I use it every day and it was a very thoughtful gift from Sweetie. Now, as far as containing my mess, hmmmmmmm.......... I will have to work harder on that.

Contest Alert!!

Hey, stitching friends - Brenda at http://time2xstitch.blogspot.com/ is having a great contest for a stitching organized pack that is so cute and useful, too! Go over and enter to win!!

Stitching Is Great Stress Relief

I always have a project or ten on the go at all times,  Cross stitch or knitting is my go-to for stress relief. If I have a project close at hand, then it makes me feel better. Anyone else like this? I even carry a little bag in my purse. I guess I feel that if I get stuck somewhere, then I will have something to do. I don't like to just sit. Here's some stitching pictures I found in my files. Some are old and some are new. It just makes me happy to see the work that I have gotten done!

Did I Say Friday?

Well, things are going slower than I thought, but that's ok. There's no rush. I am not starting work right away and I really want to get things in the right place and not just shoved away in a drawer. But, there is some progress. Here's some pictures of what's been taking place!

Right off, we wanted to add some curb appeal. Here's a before shot -

 

And here's after

 

                                                            

 

The side yard before

 

 

Adding a little Patriotic touch

                                                              This is a bump out area we didn't even know existed when we bought the house. We just thought there was a second bedroom back there. This is a wonderful space for my needlework studio and I am just thrilled to pieces to have it. What a nice surprise!!
                                                                        
                                                             This is the before picture

                                                                     And after - but still in progress

The framed pieces on either side of the window were my grandmother's hankies. My Dad had them framed for me years ago. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received. I love hankies and my obsession started with her always having pretty ones at the ready.

 

The little quilts over my computer were made by my Mom and Sweetie had the idea to hang those vintage towel bars that I have been carting all over the country.

The framed piece is my first cross stitch I ever did - my Mom had it framed and it is one of my most precious possessions.

 

I love what we've done and the stitching room is so wonderful. There are a few things I still need to add to this room and right now I have about 5 places in the house to stitch. I am getting lots of stitching done because it is my stress relief from all these boxes!!!! But, for the most part, the boxes are gone and it's now the organizing part. So, more pictures to come. I'll leave you with this one - where we like to spend most of our down time.

Finally!!

Finally here - finally found the power cord to the computer (I thought I packed everything so well) and finally getting to the last of the boxes. The goal is to have all the boxes unpacked by this Friday and post pictures and a little video maybe. Not all the projects around the house will be done, but enough so I can show friends and family what we have been up to!! I can tell you that there have been a few surprises along the way, but we are beyond thrilled with the house, the community and the move in general. Now, we can't believe we are here and it feels like we are on vacation! So, stick with me. Lots of stitching pictures coming up to - I am attempting my first biscornu!!Until then,

The Deed Is Done

As in, the resignation letter is turned in and the moving truck is reserved and all the little loose ends are (hopefully) getting tied up. The plan is that we are going to go visit really quick and then the move will be on April 30. So it's happening. And I am so excited!!! I will take lots of pictures and I know that there will be lots of moving of furniture and hard work ahead, but I am really looking forward to it. Of course, for me the most important thing is to get a little stitching area set up. I am really making a lot of progress with several small designs and I am starting on Prairie schooler santas now. I am going to make the first one that they published and go from there. I have made several so I hope I don't overlap. Maybe as we are unpacking, I will make a list of the ones that I have made. I haven't made a lot, so I am hoping that I can remember them. I need to have a finishing day. Also, I have started to collect the series from Hands on Designs, " A Year in Chalk". I am buying the months are they come out. I bought a frame at Micheals to display them on and I will start on them soon. I like to have a project or 20 started. So, here's hoping the next two weeks are full of productive times and packing craziness. I'm ready!!! I'm ready!!!

Some Progress!!

Well. Yesterday was an exciting day. I was going to blog last night and I had a really good day, energy-wise, but at the end of the evening, I just lost all my steam. Did I mention that I have fibromyalgia? I was just diagnosed with it and I am still learning to cope with it. I have had 2 really good days and I hope it lasts, but the weather this weekend is supposed to turn colder and that really affects me. ANYWAY, yesterday we got the contract on the house for our approval and signature and a check we had been waiting on to pay for the house. Yipee! Everything looks great and we signed and will be sending it off probably tomorrow. We have to call the house people and ask a few little questions (nothing that will derail the sale) and then off goes the check and the contract!! It's a little nerve wrecking, since we haven't seen the house in person, but we have really good pictures and we have lots of plans to change things anyway. It's a shell and we will make it our home.

This will be home sweet home in a few months. More pictures later. I am looking forward to decorating, landscaping and enjoying the beautiful Florida weather. Already donating a lot of my heavy sweaters with great joy!!!

Still In Progress

We are still in the process of finalizing all the details on the move. Our lease on the current apartment isn't up until the end of May, so that is the target date. Basically, the longer it takes, the more money we will save but if we have to start paying on the Florida house before we can move there, we will. Once it is all final, I will post pictures. Right now, I am starting to go through all our stuff and cull out the things we won't need. There are a few pieces of furniture that won't go and I need to go through all the clothes and stuff that I have. I was planning to start on that tonight, but I have Fibromyalgia and I have been really tired today. So, I will start tomorrow and hopefully I will feel better. I am just really worried about the job situation down there, but I have some decent skills and I think it will be ok. I am just really so excited about the whole thing. Consistent weather will help me feel better and it's a new start for the sweetie and I. A new adventure while we still can and an economical way to live. Win, win!!

Some Exciting News

Well, Sweetie and I got approved for the park that we wanted to get into and the house deal is almost done!! We are really down-sizing and that's just fine with me. In the former life, I had a big house. This one will be a cozy nest for us and the 2 puggles. I will start posting pictures next week after I'm sure all the i's are dotted and the t's crossed. I've been looking on Pinterest for decorating ideas and I am really excited about this!! Of course, it is very nerve-wrecking but I am going to look at the positives. I love it here in Chattanooga, but my time here served it's purpose (I came down here to be with my Dad, who was sick) and the reason for me to be here is gone. My Dad passed away in October, so it's time to move on. The down side is that I really love my job and I really hope I can find a job there that I like as much. I'll start looking closer to the move which will be at the end of May. Right now I need to focus on uncluttering and organizing. Since I like to do crafts, I have a lot of crafty things. Finding a crafting spot and being organized in the new house is very important to me. I hope to have a space that is dedicated to all my "supplies" but I may have to improvise. I have been doing a lot of stitching lately, since last week I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It's just something I have to cope with and there are days that I can't be as active as I want to be, but I am looking at that positively and that is my stitching time. I'll post pics of my stitching tomorrow. I really love to cross stitch. It's my calming time. I try to stitch every day. Eventually I will have a stash for sale tab and I would love to have a giveaway. I had another blog and loved it and I posted a lot of stitching pictures on it, but it was from when I was married and I have moved on. So, new blog! I am so excited about this new journey!!!

In The Beginning

There was a girl and a boy. They were happy together, but in a cold city. Not too cold, mind you but cold enough. So, the girl (that's me!) and the boy (hereafter known as Sweetie) decided to look for a little retirement house in Florida. So, I hope that it's not too premature but we found one. Hopefully it will be ours by the end of next week. I wanted to start this to show how we make our nest our own. I hope  you will follow along. There will be cross stitch, some basic knitting, lots of decorating and some adventures of two over-fifty people. Should be fun!