School is out and P is excited for summer break. We have camps planned most weeks and an epic vacation. Woohoo!
P will start Kindergarten this fall. I want this summer to be magical and full of fun. I asked him for a Bucket List of what he wants to do. It’s amazing what he thinks of. See his list below.
Seriously? Try skateboarding kid? This momma is worried but with the right gear I would feel more comfortable. Most of this bucket list is on the agenda for the summer already.
I got the idea from a podcast I listen to, Shailey & Katie. Katie did this with her daughter to save sanity and make sure they have time to do everything. Rob and I also made a list of things we want to do. It’s a summer of adventure, family, and fun.
Can’t wait to share our adventures with you as we travel across the country. We are hitting Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Atlantic City, and New York City. Scheduling everything was like playing planes, trains, and automobiles.
Fall is here! Fall is here! Seriously, I’m so giddy about fall. September has been an amazing month. Time with family and friends, but mostly full of laughter. More memories to come as we enjoy the fall weather and festivities.
Girl’s Weekend
A couple of weekends ago my friends and I snuck off to Madison, Indiana for the weekend. We stopped at wineries and shopped. More importantly we had time together. At a bar on Friday night we met two adorable Kentucky girls complete with accents. They noted they were 22 and thought we were 27. Can they just follow us around for a while? Too sweet, just like their tea. They are towards the back of this picture.
We roamed around a new city and learned a few things along the way. Canaan, Indiana hosted their Fall Festival while we where there. They host a special Pony Express run of the mail. You guys, I love the mail so when I overheard someone talking about a special postcard, I knew I needed more information. At the post office we got all the details. The Pony Express will be in Madison by 1ish if we wanted to see the ride. Done!
We anxiously waited to see a man on a horse deliver these postcards. It was much later than we were told, but I had beer, so things were good. I shared the thrilling event on InstaStories. People in town were not nearly excited as I was. “It’s just a guy on a horse.” Well those party poopers did not deter me. So glad we got to see it.
Then we noticed the building we had been waiting by. It looks like a castle. It’s an old Knights of Pythia lodge. Interesting. Now it’s just apartments. Imagine all the social events that happened there?
This was the view from our hotel room. We stayed in the second night and enjoyed some of the wine we had purchased. We laughed more, ate cookies, and wore sheet masks to make our skin look glorious. I won’t share those pictures, but they still make me giggle.
Having a getaway was refreshing. P had a boy’s weekend and loved the time with Rob. If you haven’t one in a while, make the time with your friends.
Sewing & Quilting
Blogger’s Quilt Festival is currently happening. Pop over and see the amazing work in this collection.
Since people know I sew, they ask if I can hem their pants. My typical answer is, “Yes, but terribly.” Pay someone else to do it. I bookmarked this article for future reference if I want to tackle hemming my own pants. Oh, I hope I can stop laughing at that thought.
Speaking of sewing clothes, Rachel talks about her garment sewing baggage here. She is braver than I am. Sewing clothes for myself is a to do, but it’s scary. What if I fail? With quilting failures can usually be ripped out or covered up in some way.
That’s it for now. I have a few things I’m working on for next week to share. New posts and possibly a video.
How is it already September? School has been in session for over a month, the weather is cooling down, and football is on.
Chicago
We snuck off to Chicago for Labor Day weekend. The weather was gorgeous and we explored the city. P did a wonderful job walking around for two days. We ate, drank, and caught up with friends.
We are in trouble with that face
In our adventures, we visited the Lincoln Park Zoo for a bit. The Lion House has stunning architecture. Look at this ceiling. Quilty inspiration.
Sewing and Quilting
It always amazes when quilters pull together for a cause. #bluerkblocks was organized to help support families of fallen officers. Here is one quilter’s finished quilt and experience. They received enough blocks to make 50 quilts. That is awesome.
In an effort to declutter and fund some household projects, I’m going to be offering a destash in the next couple of weeks. I will have some bundles and yardage that use new homes. Also, my Etsy shop will be filled with items I used to sell. Did you know I used to make 100’s of potholders to help fund my fabric and quilting? There are lots leftover and I’m going to be working on making those up. Check social media for updates and go live times.
Speaking of declutterring…
Apartment Therapy is talking about tackling one area at a time. I have some spots in mind in my house. Specifically, our bathroom closet. While packing for Chicago I realized this has become a hodge podge of bathroom items just randomly placed on shelves. Below is closet inspiration! Rather than go buy baskets I plan to whip up some One Hour Baskets and start organizing. You can find the tutorial here. I should probably ask my friend for her label maker too or use her Silhouette printer for labels. What would you do?
Amy Garro of 13 Spools discusses using non quilting cottons in her projects. She picked up a fun shower curtain that I happen to have just bought for my bathroom. Can’t wait to read her feedback on using it as backing.
The change to more fall like temperatures has made my afternoon runs more enjoyable. It’s cooler, crisper, and my speed is coming down. After some reflection my Sub 2 Half goal is getting pushed to the spring. I can do the mileage right now, but don’t feel like my speed is anywhere close to where I want it. This fall and winter will be about speed improvement and avoiding shin splints. If you’ve ever had shin splints, you may enjoy this article.
This post contains sponsored content, but all opinions are my own.
Traveling to Europe has been high on the list of things my husband and I want to do. We discussed going there for our honeymoon in 2010, but it didn’t work out. You can see about our honeymoon here. Maybe for our 10 year anniversary.
With Europe’s size we have narrowed down our spots to two locations:
Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland
Germany or Austria
As we started researching and planning, I decided I really wanted to stay at least one night in a castle. There are many to choose from.
Lucky for me and you, HomeAway is giving away a stay at Dun’s Castle in Scotland to celebrate the release of Beauty & The Beast in theaters March 17th.
I call dibs on this room.
Take a video tour below.
The giveaway is for you and 20 guests. If you win, you’ll take me right? Just kidding. If you don’t win the grand prize, runners up are eligible for a week vacation at any HomeAway location.
