My weekend....

....has been amazing.  I was so nervous about meeting Camille, but I had no need to worry!  She really is an amazing friend that I'm so blessed to have in my life.

I drove into Jersey on Friday.  The drive was amazing minus almost hitting a deer....less than an hour from home!  I chose to drive through West Virginia and Maryland and Delaware instead of going allllll the way through Pennsylvania.  The mountains scared the bee-jezus out of me!  You were literally driving like 70-80 miles per hour down grades that were steep enough that they had signs up to warn truck drivers.  Seriously.  It is the closest this motion-sickness-prone girl will get to a roller coaster!

From dinner on Friday through thrifting and tattooing today, Camille has been an amaze-balls host!  I always go somewhere for my birthday (with the exception of last year) so this was my little birthday trip for this year.  I couldn't have picked a better spot to come to.  I love visiting new places and I was able to cross a lot of states off my list with this trip.  I hope she had as much fun running around as I did!

I absolutely fell in love with Philly.  Head over heels in love.  The history.  The art.  The people.  I could live there forever.  The Art Museum was all kinds of awesome.

Hey!

I'm in Jersey/Philly with my ldb, Camille!  I will post a longer post when I get back to Ohio sometime next week, but for now, enjoy this....

Bookworm Wednesday!

Hiiiiiiii!  Sorry I've been quiet, work took over my life for a few days and I'm now sorely behind in the Jersey trip preparations.  I could have made up some time today when I was off and, shockingly, not called in, but, well I took a four hour nap instead.  Hey, sometimes a girl just has to sleep! 

I must make a confession.  I "pick" books from People Magazine.  A lot.  Like, I have an app on my phone for notes and I have three or four notes dedicated to book lists.  One such list is that of my People magazine books....and it may be longer than any other list.  Maybe. 

With that said, I read a review for Tatiana & Alexander by Paullina Simons (hint....I read Tully first because that is the only book of hers that my library had).  Well, I had the book ordered and started reading it, but a few pages in I realized that it was  sequel.  I just HAD to find the first book!  I hate hate hate reading books out of order!  Instead of ordering it (I knew I would love them from the short section I read of Tatiana & Alexander....) I picked up all *three* books from Barnes & Noble when I went to Dayton the other day. 

The first book is The Bronze Horseman and I'm so so so so so so in love with it!   It is definitely a big, epic, sweeping love story!  I literally lost my breath when she described the first time Tatiana and Alexander meet!  This book starts as Hitler attacks Russia...literally that same day.  The family is in a rush to get their only son out of the city and away so he doesn't get enlisted in the army and they send one of their daughters, Tatiana, out to buy as much food as she can.  Only she gets frustrated, doesn't understand why she's looking for food, and suddenly a striking soldier shows up and....well, she falls in love and it goes from there.  I can not wait to read the rest of the books!  CAN NOT WAIT I tell you!  haha

JERSEY!!!!

In less than two weeks I will be in Jersey with my ldb!  I can not wait to get the hell out of Ohio for a bit!  I'm excited for a few *guaranteed* days off from work since it seems I'm getting called in all the time.  While I love being able to pick up hours, and I'm grateful for this job, I would love to actually get stuff done around the house or for Scarlett Key.  In fact, I should be getting ready for work right now since I got called in to close tonight. 

Speaking of Scarlett Key, I'm re-doing the headbands so if you have a baby/toddler/child could you measure their head and leave a comment with the info?  I'm really excited for the new design, it should be easier on me to make and much much much prettier and "cleaner" in design! 

I've also got some new ideas on what to do with the tons of fabric covered buttons I've been obsessed with making lately.  Oh, and I got tons of new fabric for key fobs and such.

Also, does anyone ship to Canada?  Europe?  I'm curious what the process and charges are like...any info would be greatly appreciated!!

Lastly, go ahead and die from the cuteness.  He's the best.

Dear Mommys & Daddys of The World....

I wish I could just hit some parents.  Seriously.  Most of them need to be reminded that their children are SPONGES!  They will soak up everything you put out in the world.  They will see how you speak to other people, they will see how you treat animals, they will see everything!  EVERYTHING!  With that said, I almost started crying today when I saw a little girl, probably about 4 or so, tell her mother that she had a "big butt" and that she "weighed too much".  Those are the words that a baby used!  A little girl that will probably grow up with these thoughts in her head unless someone changes her way of thinking, which certainly didn't happen today.  Her mother *agreed* with her!  I was appalled to say the least.

I just wish parents would remember that their children are going to grow up to be the person that they are shaped to be.  And I wish they would remember that someday when they come in contact with a person that is mean to them, they will teach their child to not be like that. 


/end rant.....

Another totally random, and unrelated note, last night at work I helped a Mennonite woman who was chatting on a cell phone.  Only in Frankfort..... 

Bookworm Wednesday!

Hi guys!  Sorry this Bookworm Wednesday is on a Thursday...again....oops!  :)

I remembered it was Wednesday about 1130 last night so it was already almost too late!

I checked out the book Drood from my local library the other day and I'm loving it so far!  Charles Dickens was in a horrific train accident just five years before he died, he was one of only a few survivors....another survivor?  His mistress!  Well, this book is "written" by his "friend" about the five years between the accident and his death when he may or may not have been driven crazy by the train accident and how it affected his life.  It is really rather fascinating!  But, that could be because I love reading about people and how their personalities change due to events in their lives.  Plus, I'm a huge Dickens fan so it is neat to read something from this perspective. 

Soooooo I need help

I took some beautiful pictures with the Rebel on Sunday but the files saved so large that they are taking forever to load on to Blogger!  How do I get them small, like in file size not actual size....?  Any one?   If you know, could you shoot me an email at prajaline(at)gmail(dot)com so that I can share them with you all?  Thanks bunches!!

My Birthday Wish List!

I meant to write this out yesterday since it started my countdown to my birthday in my head!  Yesterday was 4 weeks, so today is 27 days!!!  That means that in about 20 days I will be Jersey with my ldb!!!

Since I bought my Canon yesterday (I opened and played with it last night, def going to have a learning curve with it!) I thought I would share my dream birthday list...I'm not expecting a single thing off of this list as I will not be sharing it with my family.  Even if I did, birthdays are not a big thing in my family - I don't get gifts or cake or anything, it just isn't something that we do I guess.

I would like Aaron Rodgers.  Not a toy.  Not an action figure.  I would like him.  :)

I would love love love one of the Instax Minis with loads of film!  I've found that Amazon is the cheapest for the camera and like half the price for the film compared to other places! 

I love Holga cameras even though I don't own one, but since I bough the Canon I've found this Holga lens for the Rebel!  I'm in love, and it is such a great price! 

I want a bike so very badly!!!!  This Schwinn Admiral is my favorite and not a bad price! 

I love initial jewelry!  LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  I would love a little "a" ring for my thumb! 

Antique cameos hold a very special place in my heart.  This one is beautifully done and is also from one of my dream Etsy shops! 

I've been wanting to try the makeup from this store for a while, and I think that this eye shadow collection would be perfect to try first!

Quite simply, Ohio will always be home. 

My Passion

I know that I love crochet and knitting and quilting and sewing and so much more but my passion, what I lust after, what I wish I was better at?  That would be photography.  I follow photography blogs, photo people on Twitter, everything!  When my dad gave me his Canon from the early 90's?  I was in HEAVEN!  I mentioned before that we used to have a darkroom in our garage.  There is a picture of my dad taking a picture hanging in mom & dad's room.  He used to go off on weekend trips with his friend Mark to take pictures all around.  He gave me my first little point & shoot camera well before I was 10.  My uncle is a professional photographer.  He has worked in a hospital setting taking the absolute cooooolest pictures! 

Now, me?  I just like taking pictures.  I would so much rather be behind the camera than in front of it.  I love playing with focus and things.  I just love it. 

That is probably the current favorite of mine.  I took it with my cell phone...you might remember it from one of my walk posts, just a little switch to black and white. 

I have albums full of pictures of us kids that my dad took and I can't wait to take the same kind of pictures of my kids!  I'm taking Amanda's baby bump pictures soon, and I loved taking her wedding pictures!  This is definitely not something that will become a job or a career, but something that keeps my hands busy when I'm not doing other things :) 

Now this....well, this is my camera.  It still takes film.  You remember film?  Yeah, that stuff ;)

And, now my new baby!  I've been watching my money.  I've been waiting for a good price.  I finally found my new love today.  I haven't even taken it out of the box yet.  :)

Oh, and how cute is this picture of B and my brother?  I love it so so so so much!

Blog-o-versary!

Hey guys!  I missed my ONE YEAR BLOG BIRTHDAY!  I knew it was sometime around now but tonight when I went hunting for all my Bookworm Wednesdays I went all the way back to the beginning just to see what day it actually was and it was APRIL 3rd!  Two days ago!  haha, oops!  I feel like things have changed so much but at the same time, it doesn't feel like they've changed at all.

So, with that said, THANK YOU to everyone that reads!  I'm super blessed to have made one of my best friends via blogging (hi, Camille!) and I'm constantly thrilled and blown away by the love that is out there!  :)

Bookworm Wednesday! (on a thursday...sorry!)

Sorry this is late (again!) but work kicked my ass yesterday and I'm still recovering!

In honor of Titanic hitting theaters again I thought it would be fun to do a theme week!  haha, So this week I'm going to tell you about A Night To Remember.

It is one of the few books that really goes into what happened on that night many years ago that was able to keep my interest.  I picked up my copy years ago when I was in Florida with my mom and sister - at the Tampa Museum they had the traveling Titanic exhibit and the book was one of the many things that we grabbed up to remember the occasion.  It is such a tragic story in general but this book makes it even more tragic because the whole time I was reading it, I felt like I was there.  I felt the fear and deep sadness that those people must have felt.  I highly recommend it for anyone that loves the movie!!

Just a couple of quick little notes...

I got everything uploaded to Scarlett Key that I have done -- if you click on the Etsy section over there to the right you can go look!  This took forever because work happened...but it is all there now.  I have a few more new ideas to play with and more to create so I will work on this for a while before I add more new pieces. 

Oh, yeah, work!  I got a job, y'all!  I'm the local grocery store's newest cashier!  haha  I LOVE it!  It is exactly what I wanted so I'm super pumped and thankful that things happened the way they did.  Maybe now I can finish my degree.  That psych degree isn't going to just show at up at my door, right? 

Hope everyone is having a blast this week so far!  I'm working 8-5 tomorrow so Bookworm Wednesday will be posted in the evening after I get home :)

Second Chances

Well, that could be a loaded title....but it really is simple as just continuing to go back into the thrift store.  I'm determined to find some great finds!  I've recently found some good pieces that I'm going to use the fabric from for Scarlett Key products. 

Another good way to pick up fabric for cheap is to scope out the remnants bins at the craft stores.  I always always always hit these up when I go into Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's!  Both stores mark their remnants 50% off!

This remnant is clothing-quality herringbone!  Thick and luscious and just the best!

The fun prints that I use for my key fobs and fabric flowers in Scarlett Key usually come from Southern Charm Quilts on Etsy.  She has some great deals on scrap bundles and when I find something I love, I usually grab it up pretty quick!