If you are in the Northwest Arkansas area and like to sew or quilt, you should go to the newest fabric store, just outside Elkins! I went this weekend with momma and Janice and we got some great bargains!

Their website is: www.lonesomepinequilts.com

Wednesday-Friday I am traveling to the great city of Raleigh, North Carolina to visit some other IB schools (and to do a bit of sight-seeing). Exciting!

This afternoon I had a new adventure! We went out to the farm (I had on about 39483 layers) and of course the pond(s) are frozen so this is me walking on the frozen pond! neat :)
I'm holding the sledge hammer because Brett was hitting the ice (it was about 5 inches thick) to break it up so the cows could get water.

I'm proud of my small contribution! I did this hole by myself :).

Last night I made some soup that turned out delicious! It's called "Italian Sausage Soup", and in addition to the italian sausage, had onion, garlic, whatever spices you like, lots of carrots, zucinni, stewed tomatoes, beef broth (or bouillon cubes and water, like I used). Anyhow, it turned out great! Brett and I both had it for dinner last night, lunch today, and I took some to our neighbor (and there's still some left over!)

For the recipe, go to http://www.allrecipes.com/ and type in "Italian Sausage Soup".....read the comments left on the recipe for variations also.
With a whole week of snow days, whats a girl to do?
Sew, of course! :) I realize what a privilege it is to have a quiet house to sew in (as Becca reminded me). I know I won't always have time for projects on a daily basis, but for now it's either be grumpy about being stuck inside, or get happy and sew!

I made these placemats today! They are a tad "wrinkly", and the corners a bit high, but those are things I can improve the next time I make some! I think these would be a great gift idea.

So, let's pray away two things-1.) the white bumps on the back of my throat that have been there for quite some time (they're getting better, praise Jesus!)
2.) No more snowdays this winter! See, I'm sure everyone thinks it's all fun and cozy to be off for three weeks straight (and certain parts of it are, I admit!) BUT, we will basically be going to school into the summer until the cows come home.
we're talkin' a looong time.
:)

New wreath! This is made from burlap, and red material I already had. I wrapped the wreath form in burlap first, then cut out random circles and started gluing them on. Total cost-about $1.75! :) (The wreath form was from Dollar Tree, and the burlap was less than $2.00, plus I still have some left over)

I am thinking of hanging the wreath from a scrap of material or burlap,but for now I like it :).

Happy snow day! The picture below (although far away) is of the lamp before I tore it up :)
ta-da!! New shade :), and I painted part of the base also.
There are definitely things I would change or keep in mind if I ever recover a lampshade again, but overall I was pleased with the finished product!

The material is from Hobby Lobby and is new for spring. And yes, I purchased extra :). Neat birds nest from farm (it was buried in a cedar bush...hopefully I haven't caused some birds to go homeless!)

pretty dear at the farm yesterday :)

Date night at Harp's :) (we are obviously easily entertained!)

hahaha :) Fun in the parking lot (no worries, the cart battery was already dead)

There is a story about this lamp shade. Today, Becca was over at the condo and we were working on some sewing projects. Suddenly I looked at the lampshade I really dislike in our living room and decided I would cut it up. :) So, the picture above is the lamp shade before any harm was done!

This is the lamp shade after I cut all the dark material off. I decided to quickly sew a form for the shade, using material from a cheap bedsheet I purchased at Target a while back. I mainly wanted to sew a form for the shade to see if it was even worth my time to try and recover the shade myself. I took about 15 minutes to make the form for the shade, slipped it over the top, and thats what you see in the picture below!! Great fit! I am going to buy some inexpensive material at the Springdale Wal-mart tomorrow and sew another form for the lampshade. I will then glue the top and bottom of the shade under and will have a new shade!! Yeah!

I made a red polka dot pillow today when Becca came over. I have never made a pillow before and was pleased with how it turned out. :)

It turned out rather small (as it looks here on the couch) so I ended up sitting it in the recliner to add some color!

Yum-breakfast! I probably haven't made breakfast for Brett and I in about a year or so...we usually just do a hard-boiled egg, cereal, or granola bar. So, today I made waffles! :)

"cuties" - We eat these for a snack at home. They are delicious!
goodnight!

Happy New Year! Ready for 2010? I am :). :) my new messenger style bag
New frame (from wedding)I decided to go ahead and set out....
Organized closet. Yes, this currently acts as our bookshelf as well :).

Fabric hearts I made.....they didn't turn out how I pictured in my mind, yet I'm remaining positive about them (soon enough I won't be able to blame my projects on the fact that I'm still a "beginner") :)

Embroidery!!! My machine does this :)

A big thanks to everyone who has given their input about our house! We have started taking notes, we've gotten so many suggestions from our families. Change is coming :)