Team Bride

Hey Everyone!

Big news! Katie, my sister-in-law, and I have have started a wedding planning business!

Be sure to 'like' us on Facebook!!

We have been having so much fun. We were a vendor at the Claremont Bridal Show this past weekend and had the opportunity to talk with many brides!

Do you know anyone getting married? Be sure to tell them about us!

Challenge Accepted

Today's refashioning project started with a bed sheet and a persistent sister-in-law.

Katie found this sheet at a thrift store and loved the pattern. She thought it would make a cute maxi dress. Since she is also quite pale she gave me some shreds of an old shirt that matched the blue color and said it would make a nice ruffle at the top to offset the light fabric. Well despite the odd and slightly demanding request, I think it turned out quite nicely. :)

I would also like to point out the amazing necklace that Marshall is safely chewing on in this picture. Similar necklaces can be found in all sorts of colors on my Etsy shop. Stylish and practical, great for that mom on the go!


Disclaimer: Do not try this with me. It worked because she was my sister-in-law. Otherwise, I would have told her to go away. :)

Who says you can't get anything of worth for only 5 cents??

I have been back in the frigid north for almost 3 months now! Time has absolutely flown by!

So, what have I been up to? Well... not much. I've started grad school and I am enjoying it very much. I am excited at what I am going to learn over the next three years, despite being at a hippy school that makes me meditate.

Since class is only one day a week and I have yet to find work, I have a lot of free time. During that free time I watch Netflix and craft. I have expanded my Etsy shop and have even shared a booth at farmer's markets and craft fairs with my sister-in-law, Katie, and our friend, Bethany.

Most of the things I have been making are to sell but a few have been for myself. Usually, I get my inspiration from Pinterest. This time it led me to this blog in which a girl finds ridiculous items at thrift stores and makes them cute. I thought I would give it a try.

I started with this lovely dress from a local thrift store. Their basement items are only 5 cents a piece!! It was clearly hand made and since this is a small town, if you know who made this, send my apologies. :)

What to do? What to do?

Well, first I cut out the shoulder pads and chopped off the sleeves. Then I pinned where I wanted the top of the dress to be.

Then I stitched up the top hem. 

I would like to take this moment to say how much I love my mom's sewing machine!

Then I threaded elastic through the top hem.

And voila!

Sorry for the Myspacesque self portraits but nothing else was working and I have no photographer.

An adorable new dress for only 5 cents! Plus any excuse to wear my pink heals is a bonus!

Stay tuned for more! I found many items during my excursion yesterday, there will be more creations!

Five Iron Frenzy

All of you should know one thing about me. My favorite band is Five Iron Frenzy.

And I got to see them this past weekend as my birthday present from my mom!!!

And I even got to talk with the saxophonist, Leanor "Jeff the Girl" Ortega!!

I would leave it at that but unfortunately most people are confused because it is not the typical kind of music I listen to. You will usually see me listening to mostly country or some acoustic stuff like Jason Mraz but not ska punk. Well here is something I try not to advertise much, I was a wanna be punk rocker in middle/high school. I wore a spiked bracelet and baggy pants. I thought I was cool...

But I digress. During that stage of my life is when I was introduced to Five Iron and bands like them such as the OC Supertones and the W's.

Nine years ago, on Nov 22, 2003, Five Iron called it quits and went on to have real jobs and start families. On Nov. 22, 2011 (a day now known as Five Iron Frenzy Day) they launched a Kickstarter project to raise funds to produce a new album. They never believed that they would not only raise their goal of $30,000 but exceed it in only a few minutes. Over the next month they raised over $200,000 and started making music and touring again.

Five Iron fans are unlike any other band fans. They brought their band back from the dead. We are a dedicated group that did not give up hope 9 years ago.
Here is how one fan shows his love. (I know it may not look like much to most of you but to those who love Five Iron, this is awesome!)

One thing that I always appreciated about the band is that they saw their music as their ministry. They purposefully signed with a secular label despite being a Christian band. They wanted to use their music to share Christ.

Some people would argue that they were not really a Christian band. They had silly songs such as "The Phantom Mullet""Pre-ex Girlfriend" "At lease I'm Not Like All Those Other Old Guys" and may others but when you hear lyrics like the ones below there is no denying that this band loves Jesus and just wants to share that hope and grace with everyone. They may look a little different and act a little weird but who isn't. They have a passion for Christ and music and I am so glad they are back doing what they love!

"Lord search my heart. Create in me something clean. Dandelions, You see flowers in these weeds" - Dandelions

"The farsighted see better things" - Farsighted

"The Author of my hope is writing the greatest story ever told" - The Greatest Story Ever Told

"The struggles go on, the wisdom I lack, the burdens keep pilling up on my back. So hard to breathe, to take the next step. The mountain is high, I wait in the depths. Yearning for grace, and hoping for peace. Dear God increase." - Every New Day

Unplugged

We live in a day and age that is ruled by technology. We are constantly connected. We can have any piece of information we want in an instant. Our world revolves around our iPhones and Andriods, etc. So what would it be like if we disconnected ourselves? Well, not necessarily by choice, that is exactly what I have done this past year.

Due to finances I have not had internet in my apartment. On occasion I was able to use a neighbor's internet by standing on my left leg with my right leg pointed towards the west, my right hand on my nose and my left hand holding my laptop. As you can imagine, this was not the most convenient way to stalk people on facebook... I mean, do meaningful work. :) For the most part I went to Starbucks to get in some world wide web time. As for my "smart" phone, it wasn't so smart. BlackBerry's are being phased out and in doing so less apps are being designed for that platform. In addition, having a wireless provider from the north significantly reduced my service resulting in a slow, not so smart phone.

What has this year of limited connectivity taught me. Well mostly it gave me time. Time to be with friends instead of facebooking them. Time to read books instead of meaningless lol's online. And most importantly, time in the Word. I focused on my relationship with God and it has been an amazing experience.

Although I doubt anyone would willingly try this experiment, I'm glad I was able to. Even if I am able to have consistent internet and a faster phone in the future I hope I still take time for the things that matter.

Swing Dancing

Over the past month or two I have started going swing dancing at the Handlebar with my friend Sharon. It has been so much fun. Basically, it starts out with a lesson in which you learn five or so basic moves then the rest of the time is free dance. What ends up happening is, you dance with someone for a song and once the song ends someone else comes up and so on. You end up meeting so many people and have a lot of fun doing it.

It is obvious that some of the guys have been going for a long time and know what they are doing while I think for others it is a miracle that they have not broken a girl's foot from stepping on it. Some guys spin to much, others not enough. Some can't keep time, and others are making their own time. Some have the ability to carry on a halfway decent conversation, while others need to stare at their feet the entire time.

This was my last night attending swing dancing and all I could think of was the KJ-52 song in which he just wants someone to dance with but is continually rejected by girls who say, "Your pants are straight ugly, you can't dance, and your personality just bugs me" which is how I felt about many of the guys I met. None of the guys I met fit my rhythm.

As KJ so wonderfully points out in the song, it doesn't matter how many people reject you or how many are not the right fit for you. What matters is the one that is the right fit. That's the one that will be your dance partner for life.

Let's Review

The packing has begun. It is finally real that I am leaving in two weeks. It's hard to believe. I have come to call this place home and I can not explain how much I will miss it.

Since this blog started as a way to discover fun things in your area I thought I would give a quick recap of all the things I have found to do in Greenville.

First and foremost, I have found an amazing church family that has taken me in and made me feel so loved. Thank you to all of them. This week is our Sky VBS and it has been a blast so far.

I have become addicted to Zumba and you should all check it out. I also was recently introduced to a venue that does swing dancing every week and I have had so much fun learning it. I have gone to some amazing hiking trails. And along with the active theme, I have spent many enjoyable hours biking on a beautiful trail downtown. I even participated in a fundraising bike ride to support a wonderful local mission.

I have loved going to outdoor concerts, farmers markets, and many other special events downtown.

I have found amazing restaurants, coffee shops, cupcake stores, rooftop bars, and much more that have been wonderful places to be with friends.

I'm hoping to see the local baseball team before I leave. There are many other things that I wish I could have done before I left but the things left undone just give me more reasons to come back and visit often.

Although I have found some amazing places down here, what has meant the most to me is the amazing group of people I have met. Each and every one of you has impacted my life and I will never forget you. I love you all and hope that I can spend some time with all of you before I leave and can not wait to come back and visit.

To all of you in New England, I am so looking forward to seeing you. I have missed you and I can not wait to catch up with all of you.

There's so much more that I feel like I need to say but the words are not coming. For now, I hope that all of you can go out in your community and find some fun local activities but more importantly, find the people that will make those experiences memorable.

Blessings to all.

P.S. For those of you who don't understand this post: All of the things I am talking about are links to web pages with more info so you can check them out on your own. :)