Happy New Year!

I always look forward to a new year. I mean, who doesn't? I rang in 2012 with my sweetie (and for those of you who missed it, MY FIANCE!), my future brother-in-law (whoa!) and his GF. We spent the day on the National Mall. With spring-like temps, it didn't feel like December 31st but definitely a great way to round out one of the craziest year's I've ever had. One of the highlights from yesterday was visiting the new MLK Jr. Memorial. It's gorgeous! A few pics from the day - it was fun to play tourist, as now that I've lived in DC for a sum total of 2.5 years (split), I realized I don't have that many pictures of this place. Sad, considering who my neighbors are!...

No explanation needed - though it's usual occupants are in Hawaii right now!

Washington Monument

Part of the Korean War Memorial

The MLK Jr. Memorial

Check out my Flickr stream for some more pics of a few of the quotes from the memorial.

I feel like I have so much to say about this year. At the start 2011, I was feeling very unsure of where I was going. I had been underemployed for a year and was heading down to DC to explore job opportunities. Fast forward to today and I'm happily employed in a job I enjoy, living with my sweetie (and Louie!), planning for a busy exciting year including a wedding! I made new friends, read interesting books, continued to grow as a quilter, and started working on living a healthier lifestyle (which, let's be honest, took a backseat for the past 2 weeks but is getting full attention again starting tomorrow). I definitely like to set goals in a new year (call them resolutions or whatever) but this year I'm keeping it simple: stay healthy, stay happy, spend time with loved ones, and keep life in perspective. Last year I proved to myself that I'm strong, can persevere through difficult times, and am creative beyond my own expectations. I hope to have yet another year filled with fun, surprises, and progress. I finished 12 quilts this year and read 24 books. Below is a mosaic of all my quilts from 2011.This year:
- Make more quilts!
- Learn to sew clothes
- Get back into knitting more frequently
- Run a 10K
- GET HITCHED!

Happy 2012 everyone! I plan to try to be in this space more often. Hope to see you around here. :-)

Finally

Well, hello there! Yes, I'm still here. Are any of you?

As you can tell from the silence around here, things have been BUSY. Work is good, DC is hot (hottest on record - total insanity), and so many exciting things lie ahead.

After months of working hard, planning, waiting, and all other difficult tests of patience and perseverance, I have big news: my sweetie will be moving down here! He has a job (within the same company, just transferring to the DC office) and we will be back to our glorious cohabitation around Labor Day. Apartment details coming soon...

I am beyond happy. This giddy girl is ESPECIALLY happy because today I'm leaving for a week-long vacation to beautiful, relaxing Maine. There will be long beach days, plenty of reading and games, and a long-awaited face-to-face with Brooke (we've been blogging buddies for a year now!). The serene pic below is of my two favorite boys strolling the beach last summer.

I'll be back real soon. :)

Wow

It's been almost 2 years since I started this blog. A LOT has happened since Post #1 and I'm sort of in shock that it's been that long. If you had asked me where I'd be 2 years from starting this, I don't think I would have even come close to describing the crazy path that led me to where I am today. But that's how this whole "life" thing goes, right?! ;-)

I've now officially been in DC for more than a month. Summer is in full swing (yes, I know I said that last time but now I'm serious - not to mention we're approaching the longest day of the year) but every now and then we get a respite from the truly sweltering temps. On those days, we turn off the the AC, open the windows and turn on the ceiling fans. I'm sitting here in my pj's enjoying the breeze right now, in fact. My sleeping has been erratic here so I'm up early (and have been waking up throughout the nights) - I blame it on the small bed and lack of snuggle buddy. Oh well.

I'm learning more and more each day at work and loving getting to know my colleagues. Our office is just outside the District in a cute neighborhood with lots of shops, restaurants, etc. so it's nice to take a break away from my desk and have yummy food and cute places to pop into just around the corner.

I'm missing my sewing machine more and more. Now that I'm feeling more settled, I'm definitely craving some semblance of familiarity of life before which includes crafty time. One of my roommates actually has a sewing machine which she kindly offered for me to use but you know me - none of my own scissors, fabric, thread, etc. is here. I may just take her up on the offer anyway... I have a few cuts of fabric so we'll see. I'm trying to figure out a way to get my machine/stuff here. Not an easy taks considering its weight and the fact that I usually go back and forth to NYC by bus. Hm, we'll see.

Not much planned for the weekend. Some of you cat-lovers have been asking for pics of my roommate's cats so I'll oblige you. I'm not really a cat person but these rascals are a constant source of entertainment (except when Fitch whines for breakfast really in the morning when my roommate is out of town...). Example: Rigby (named for Eleanor Rigby) is not very good at being a cat - last night we were watching a movie and she suddenly just slid off the ottoman! My roommate and I couldn't stop laughing. Like I said, very entertaining.

I took some other pics since this space has been feeling kind of empty. Happy weekend, all!

Playing with fun nail polish!

Crazy, whiny Fitch

Rigby, the princess (and clumsy cat)

Skylight in the bathroom

Bowl

Awesome vintage cabinet (belong to roommate's grandma!)

In the kitchen

Coasters

One of the best seats in the house

Front door

In the dining room

One pj-clad DC girl

The big day

I can't believe it's finally here: tomorrow I'm moving down to DC! So many emotions but certainly excitement is at the top of the list.

After a whirlwind few weeks, I'm taking the day to pack up and get organized. Yesterday, I got my haircut - a pretty big change since my hair was down to the middle of my back. It was waaaaay to long (and big!!!) and now that I have a real grown up job, I wanted to a new look to go with it. :) I've had my hair a million different lengths, from pixie cut to long curls, but this look is so perfect! I really love it and think it'll be especially perfect for the steamy DC summer.

No crafty news to report as my sewing machine is currently sitting in my NYC apartment (I'm Upstate at my folks' house). Ah well.

Will report back soon once I'm settled. Wish me luck - my new job starts Monday!!!

Creativity

So I started another quilt. I know, I know. How many projects can one person undertake at once? I felt inspired. It happens. Maybe it's because I've been reading Patti Smith's book and it's filled with creative juiciness. She writes beautifully! Not to mention I love reading about NYC back in the day. She still lives here apparently. I bet if I hung out at the Strand or MoMA, I'd spot her - $10 says she lives down there.

Anyway, this new quilt top is awesome and huge. Well, it's not huge yet but it will be. Current calculations put it at about 90" square. I know, I'm crazy. But I have so many awesome fabrics that I wanted to use, and after the huge success of my last big quilt, I can't imagine making another small one right now. I'm also thinking that if I really keep it moving, it'll be done before I leave for DC and I can use it on my bed (I think that I'm almost set for housing - it's with a friend which is nice and super cheap but I'll have to get a twin bed. Good thing I'm little!). The only problem will be backing. I'd really like to not purchase any but I'm not sure I have the patience (or the right fabrics) for the back. Anyone want to give away some fabric? Preferably just big pieces of solids or really modern prints? Figured I'd throw it out there... I'm too lazy right to take pictures but I'll get around to it. It's using mostly Habitat and Innocent Crush fabrics in various sized squares. Yum!

Anyway, I have exactly 10 work shifts left (hurrah!) and about 3 weeks (I think...still finalizing the travel plans) left in NYC. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. I'm really looking forward to this job but it's a huge life change - back to DC when I thought I'd be here in NYC for a while, starting without my sweetie after living together for a year and a half, and so many other little things. But I know it will all be OK eventually. If there's one thing I've learned this past year and half, it's patience.

It will probably be quieter around these parts once I move. If I move into the room I think that I'm moving into, I won't be taking my sewing machine, at least initially. Since *my* space will be small (and temporary) I won't really have room for it and all the associated items. I'm actually OK with that as I know it'll only be a quick bus ride away here in NYC. I plan on taking some embroidery stuff with me and armed with my Kindle, I'll have plenty of non-work related ways to relax. I know that the first few weeks will mostly consist of work, eat, sleep as I get used to a new job, life back in DC, etc. so I know I'll be OK. Not to mention, I have lots of people to catch up with, new restaurants to try, fabric stores to scope out...

It's my sweetie's birthday on Sunday and we're heading to one of our favorite bar-b-que places (there's one back where we grew up too) for dinner.

Have a great, fun, creative weekend everyone!

Mid-week musings

It's a rainy, spring day here in NYC (as I assume it is in many parts of the Northern hemisphere) and I'm happy to be home from a morning at work, just now lounging around. As I get closer to my departure date, I'm taking care of little things here and there: clothes sorting (which I try to do every season anyway), file clearing (always feels so good), and all the other associated tasks that come with relocating. Fortunately, I've lived in DC before (for grad school) so it's not unfamiliar territory though working there will certainly be different than student life. Also, I was lucky enough to avoid DC summers so I'm certainly trying to brace myself for the insane humidity that blankets the area - and working on keeping a light wardrobe!

As I will be going and my sweetie will not be, Louie will be heading Upstate to hang out with Winston and with his grandparents for a bit while I settle in. The next few weeks will be quite hectic as I leave NYC (with Louie), head to Atlanta (for my sister's college graduation), and then back Upstate for a few days THEN down to DC. Phew, makes me tired just thinking about it. I just found out that I still have one little stubborn kidney stone hanging out in my right kidney so I want to be extra mindful of managing my stress, anxiety and diet as the more those all spiral out of control, the higher the chance is for the stone to try to pass. Ugh, trying not to think about. (Sorry if all that was TMI - here's my post from the original ordeal a few months back.)

In between all my tasks, I'm enjoying dreaming of a few new things for a new space. And this doesn't even include any of the many Etsy things I'm lusting after.

(Click on each picture to be taken to the source.)

And not to mention, some new fabric from my favorite designer! Certainly saving up for a FQ bundle of the new collection falls within StashPact11 since she's my all time fave.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Shop bonanza!

I promised you all that I'd be doing a big shop update and I've been working hard at filling it up! I've gotten a whole bunch of goodies listed so go check it out!

And before you think that maybe I'm some kind of superwoman and made tons of bags in a ridiculously short amount of time, I must confess that these have all been either living in a big box here or at my parents' house for a while now. I attempted to list some of them months ago but needed to really develop my brand more before trying again. I think that I've really connected to a lot of awesome people and groups through the sewing/quilting communities and now am going to break out all my handmade goodies again. Not to mention, make some new ones. Check out this yummy bunch of fabrics, all decorator weight, just begging to be made into bags:Here's the deal: I'm so excited to finally be working in a job that allows me to use all my skills and knowledge from graduate school but am a little nervous about the transition (moving, full work days, etc.) sooo not only do I want to get this stuff out because 1) the warming weather is perfect for cotton bags and 2) I need all the space I can get (and have fewer boxes to pack!) but 3) I also need some serious funds for moving! So help support this little peacemaker and buy some awesome handmade goodies. :)

Inspiration

As I get closer to my DC trip (leaving tomorrow - take THAT, snowstorm!), I find myself getting nervous. I am typically someone who doesn't get intimidated by meeting new people, going to new places, interviewing, etc. but still...the anxiety is creeping in, I think because I'm so ready to jump back into what I'm passionate about. After what seems like never-ending searching, I finally feel like this week I could make serious progress in my journey to find a job that allows me to use my master's degree and start my true professional path.

One of the ways that I calm the crazy monkeys in my head (besides sewing/quilting/knitting) is to peruse some of my favorite books. Heroes, true pioneers, and others who write about things that interest and stimulate me remind me that this is what I want to do.


I'll be back blogging next weekend... 'Til then, cross your fingers and toes for me!

(And don't forget about the giveaway!)