Tales of a Raincoat Not Gotten

Friday, December 4, 2009


I'm going to keep this short. I fell in love yesterday. I fell in love with a Lands End raincoat. It was a very intense relationship, though brief. I found her, fell in love, called George and had him typing in the credit card info on my way home. However, by the time I got home he informed me that my size was sold out. SOLD OUT. In the 15 minutes that it took me to get home. I called customer service to find out when it would be back in and was told that they aren't going to carry it again this season AT ALL. So now, I will share my grief with all of you. My search for the perfect trench coat continues, though I think I found and lost it all at once. Le sigh. Betty (because how could you not look like a total Betty in this coat?!), you will never be forgotten.



(Image via Land's End)

Fun with Knits

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Today the in-laws left. I loved having them visit. We had a good time and did a lot of eating. When they got here on Thursday, we put together our new table and immediately sat down to eat. We didn't do a turkey, but went with a leg of lamb, collards and a host of other yummy treats.

Friday we went out to dinner to Savoy, the restaurant where George works a few nights a week. Its fine dining and was super good as always. They really enjoyed themselves which was nice. This morning we hit up IHOP (I had the pumpkin pancakes... SO GOOD!) and then sent them on their way back to New Jersey. It was perfect timing because George and I were just reaching our limit for company. Our house is perfect for the two of us, but when we have company it can get a little cramped and we both like having our space. Anyway, it was a good visit. Here they are at dinner at Savoy.


Today after all of that hooplah, I just wanted to do some mindless crafting. I just got an order of knits in the mail the other day and was excited to play with them. I've never really worked with knits and have always been a little scared, but I'm so glad I did it! The fabric I ordered is a cotton/bamboo blend so its SUPER soft. I also wanted to play around with elastic thread so I started out to make a scarf but was just kind of going along and ended up doubling it up, putting a button hole in and making it an elizabethian/scarflette/ ruffle thing! I think I'll play with it some more (like sew straight so the sides are ruffled even for instance!) but these may be fun to attach my flower brooches to! Who knows!

Hot and Not

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

I'm joining the bandwagon over at Lobbylu...


HOT:

Best Friends!- How amazing is my best friend, Jasmine? Amazing. I asked her to help me design something for my mini business cards I want to make and look what she came up with! I LOVE it!(The side with the words is the back)



BUYING HANDMADE!- I'm so excited to be making as much as I possibly can for my friends and family for Christmas. Each year as my crafting confidence grows, the list of people I make for gets longer and longer. I have some good ideas in the works... and even though they're just ideas at this point (well, I've purchased materials!) I'm excited.

Etsy black friday/cyber monday sales!- I'm having one! (If you use the word "blog" in the message to seller I'll give you an extra 10% off any item in my store! Most items are already 15% off so that's llike 25% off! Woohoo!) If there is something I don't think I can make or something I'm just not going to get to in time, I'll be searching black friday sales on etsy for them! I'm excited!

Starting Traditions!- This year is the first year we're doing our own little Thanksgiving. George's parents are driving down from NJ to spend it with us! I don't eat turkey, and they're Greek, so we're doing a leg of lamb. It's not going to be all Greek though, I have to throw some of my southern flair in there so we're also having my famous collard greens! I don't know if they technically go together, but its going to be yummy! I'm all about the sides, so there will be lots of other goodies too. His parents are also bringing us a kitchen table from Ikea which leads me to my next HOT thing...

Ikea!- I'm so excited about my table! It'll be nice to be able to eat like normal people!


NOT:

Grocery Stores- The day before Thanksgiving.... yuck. How come I ALWAYS forget something? ugh.

New Project

Monday, November 23, 2009

So tonight I came home from work and got started on my latest project, a light tent. I found some great tutorials online on how to make cheap versions of them and thought I'd give it a go. I've been trying to come up with some studio options for photographing my hair clips since going outside to shoot won't work because of the crappy weather we've had lately. Here are some before and after pictures. I'm really happy with how it turned out! I still have some tweaking to do, like putting some white paper draping from the top down (think of the backdrop you sit on when you go to glamour shots!) to cover that sloppy seam I ripped at the bottom, but as for the lighting results I'm happy! I cut out the top too so that I could put downward light in if I needed it. These shots are only with two side lights. Oh! Here is a link to the tutorial I used LINK


Before: (With the same two lights pointed at the sides as in the after picture)



After:


My Lightbox


The pictures are a little foggy because my lens was dirty. Oops. It was just a practice shoot anyway!

The Holidays - The Horror

Sunday, November 15, 2009

I am a procrastinator by nature. I put everything off for as long as possible, unless its something I really, really want to do... and then it has to happen NOW. I hate the holidays for this reason. It gives me a stress filled deadline. I am trying to work on new pieces for my etsy store, but that is taking away the little time I have for crafting for friends and family. Ugh. Its a tough call. As you can imagine, its the busiest time of the year on etsy and I've been slacking. I haven't sold anything in over a month and since I'm still racking up relisting dues, that just won't...well... do.
All of this leads me to the photos below. These are a few sneak peeks at my new brooches I've been working on! I've cut them all from fabric myself and assembled them. They are super cute and fun and I've got tons of ideas for more.

Also, if you, like me, are a procrastinator, then I HIGHLY suggest you check out Jodi's Big Cartel site. She takes amazing photos and I'm lucky enough to call her a friend. She lives in Wisconsin and loves winter and gardening and roasting vegetables. You can also find her over at The Women's Colony where she writes. She is also nice enough to give out a discount code through November (WOMENSCOLONY11) that will get you 10% off any print! Now go shop!







Super Hero 5K

Sunday, November 8, 2009

I was so happy to be (on the sidelines!) at the Super Hero 5K this year, cheering on one of my best friends, Natalie and her husband Sutton. This is an annual race put on by the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company where the racers run around downtown in super hero costumes! How fun! The race is followed by free pizza and beer. I had the pleasure of watching Lydia as her mommy and daddy raced. A good time was had by all (just look at Natalie's face in that group shot!)





Recent Creation: Where the Wild Things Are Costume!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Just a quick update. I made Julian's Halloween costume this year... well, part of it. I suggested he go as Max from Where the Wild Things Are and thus earned myself a project. The white onesie was purchased as was the crown and tail (from etsy). I created the hood (which he didn't wear... they were in LA and it was too hot!), sewed on the (crooked- very handmade!) buttons and the tail and made and sewed on the claws onto the hands and feet. I think he looked super cute and really wished he had gotten to wear the hood. It took a LONG time to make. Oh well. I've thrown in a picture of Sara as a 'pretty princess' because, well, she's cute.


Meet JoJack

Saturday, October 31, 2009


This is JoJack. George named him (as part of my attempt to keep these names from being bestowed on possible future children!). We found him in the street near our house. We weren't sure if he was a wild turtle at first, and he had what appeared to be scrapes on his shell. I wasn't sure if he had been run over and gotten scraped on the underside of a car or what, but when I looked closer I could see that they weren't scrapes at all but sticker residue! Some kid had put stickers all over his shell. So, that answered the question of if he was wild or not. George and I took him home and my endless research on box turtles began. We had a reptile tank from a short stint with a snake (that I made George take back! It wasn't so much the snake that bothered me (though it did) but the thought of live rats in my house waiting to be eaten! EEEEEW!) but I soon found out that box turtles don't do well in glass cages. They need room to dig and walk around.... so I created his 'habitat' out of a 53 gallon storage container! I need to get him some plants, but he seems pretty happy. He has feasted on night crawlers from the bait shop and even has his own swimming pool!


Juxtaposition

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I hate this time of year. I read probably 60 blogs a day in my Google Reader and over half of them are jumping for joy that its fall (or spring for my Australian friends!) and I just hate it. The beginning of fall isn't so bad because its a nice change from the scorching heat, but I hate this end part... when everything starts dying and getting cold! Examples:




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Yes, that garden in the last picture is the same garden that started like the first picture. Amazing, eh? That's what three weeks of straight rain, being in school and working full time will get you... a garden over run with morning glories! Those things are INSANE! They tangle EVERYTHING together. And the mosquitoes....horrendous. I did get quite a bounty of herbs for this late in the year before I winterized though:

Cravings

Sunday, October 25, 2009


First, let me start by saying NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT. I feel I need to get that out there for friends and family who may stumble upon my blog. I do eat like I'm pregnant though... all of the time. That's not really true, but I do get really strong cravings that can last for weeks, even months! Lately, I have been craving Baldinos. Baldinos is a sub shop that is a very small chain through Georgia and parts of North Carolina (though not near where I live). They make THE BEST subs. I grew up on these subs. My mom and I would eat there usually once a week and I always got the same thing. I graduated proudly through the years from their kids meal mini sub to a full fledged 'regular' sub. I always had the choice though of getting a regular sized sub (which is HUGE) or a half sized and a big deli pickle. I almost always chose option B.( That's another constant for me, my love of salty, brine-y,vinegar-y anything!) There is something about the smell of a Baldino's sub that I just love. I've been craving it for MONTHS now and have been trying to replace it with Jersey Mike's which we have here in town. They are good... I've had two this past week, but its just not the same. First off, the subs are like half the girth of a baldino's sub. I'm not sure that's a bad thing, but its just not quenching my craving! Hopefully I can get the next person to drive up from Savannah and visit me to bring me a sub!

ps. I can't believe I just posted a whole blog about subs! It is true though that subs, sushi and Indian food are things I could eat every meal for the rest of my life and be happy.

Orange in Ten Minutes

Saturday, October 17, 2009

I decided to take Jodi's challenge over at The Women's Colony this week. I thought finding orange things that weren't just leaves would be hard, particularly because I'm not very fond of orange so I don't decorate with it, but I found all of these pictures in about ten minutes. Now I feel accomplished. =)







ps. No hate comments, please! I did put all of the recycling into the appropriate bin! -)

An Open Letter To The Man I've Been With For EIGHT Years.

Dear George-

Today marks eight years together. I sincerely want to thank you for constantly loving me even though I can be a psycho emotional, indecisive woman. I also think that it would be a good time to thank you for making it these eight years without killing anyone. I know there have been times where you have really struggled with this, but, you did it for 'us'. Visiting prison would take away my time at the fabric store and conjugal visits just aren't on my five year plan. Lets keep this streak alive!


Love,
Katie

Hair Update

Friday, October 9, 2009

I posted a while ago that I was going to get my hair cut like Zooey (click here for a refresher!) but I never shared the results of said haircut. The thing that was really changed was my bangs. The rest of my hair is pretty much the same, just cleaned up, so This picture just really shows my bangs since my hair is up in pig buns (did I just make that up?!) and I'll throw in a picture of one of my pups to ensure proper cuteness content. = ) Have a good weekend!




ps. Here is Zooey wearing some Thimble Kiss-esq flowers in her hair... Love it!



Craft Show and Birthday Fun!

Monday, October 5, 2009


booth 3, originally uploaded by KatieBelle003.

The craft show Saturday was a success! I had so much fun and made a little money too. George took me out for sushi and a group of friends joined us. So far being a quarter of a century old has been great!

Getting Prepared

Saturday, September 26, 2009

I'm getting excited and nervous. Next weekend is my very first dabble into the craft show world. (It also happens to be my birthday!) I've been working on this for a long time so I can't tell you the satisfaction I got today when I finally did the mock ups for my table. I'm sharing a tent with my boss' mother, and I wanted my table to be full, so I chose a small table instead of a larger one. I'm worried it's TOO full though... is there such a thing? Would you feel comfortable picking up and looking at everything on the table? I actually have even more product I didn't have room for... which is okay by me. I'm off to finish sewing my table cloth!

ps. That random hair clip and those little speck things (from where I tore the moss in the flower pots) won't be there!



15% Off EVERYTHING this weekend!

Friday, September 25, 2009

CLICK HERE! This is my big feature in The Storque's Weekend Deals! Hurry and get 15% off this weekend!

Weekend Deals

Thursday, September 24, 2009

I got a handy dandy email today that told me that I was chosen to be featured in this weekend's edition of Etsy's Weekend Deals! The 'deals' should be posted tomorrow. I'm having 15% off my entire shop in honor of my birthday which is next weekend! I'll be doing a craft show on my actual birthday at Biltmore Lake, so if you're in the Asheville area, come say hi and buy some discounted hair accessories! (You can also get the discount in my etsy store by putting "Weekend Deals" in the message to seller section at check out! )
Now I thought I'd post some fun pictures from a few weekends ago when I took Thimble Kiss to new extremes: Whitewater kayaking! Okay, so my kayak was only inflatable, but it was still important to look stylish on the river! The wet suits made that kind of hard.



The Touch, The Feel of Cotton...

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Okay, so I'm sure everyone has seen this cotton commercial staring Zooey Deschanel. I LOVE it. I love her. She can sing, she can act and she is engaged to the lead singer of my favorite band. If you haven't seen the commercial, here it is!


I am going to get my hair cut Friday and I'm thinking about stealing her look. Its not so far or a stretch from where I am right now, just some more shaping, but I love it. I'll actually have to curl my hair to get the waves, but its worth it! How cute is she?!
Her retro pics are my favorite, and even though I'm not going short, these are still great looks!



 
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