Engaged!

It sure has been a while since I last wrote a post. A lot has been going on. This post is dedicated to getting engaged to my best friend.

This past November we went to our college alma mater for homecoming. After a long day of reminiscing and visiting with college friends, we decided to end the night at the President’s lawn before heading back home. While The Bearded Guy and I were in college we spent a lot of time on the President’s lawn. The President’s lawn was just a huge field on campus with a driveway that led to the President’s house. Most college students would take picnics there, the rugby team would practice and have matches there, and there was one night that I learned that thunderstorms were not bad after all.

One night we were watching movies at The Bearded Guy’s home and it started thundering and lightening extremely bad. I told him that I was quite scared of the storms and he said that I had never seen the storms like he had. So we drove out to the President’s lawn, put out a blanket and watched the lightening spider-web it’s way through the sky. It was the neatest thing I had ever seen.

So that crisp fall night in November a thunder storm happen to roll in. We thought how great would it be to relax on President’s lawn before our long drive home. After a while, it began to rain and it was time to go home. As I stood up to get the blanket, I turned around and The Bearded Guy was on one knee asking me to marry him! I of course said yes!

It has been 2 months now and we are planning a wedding in May. I am so excited to be marrying my best friend. I am one lucky gal.

Fall!

First pumpkin roll made to kick-off the autumn season!

I haven’t posted in a while because I have been busy opening my Etsy shop! I have also started back to working full-time at the marketing agency.

I do have a post I am working on right now about a dresser that The Bearded Guy and I repurposed. I will post before and after pictures of it. We are so proud of this project!

Here is the link to my Etsy shop: Honeysuckle Musings

I am working on more knitted scarves and coffee cup sleeves. I haven’t been able to post as much because I have been selling them directly to people at work.

Bohemian chic

With the summer days dwindling down I thought I add a bohemian vibe to my day. This is the outfit I wore to work. Being that it is a digital agency we are allowed to freely express our personality through our clothes.

Great thing about this outfit was that it was freezing in my office area today and all I had to do is curl up in all of the fabric I was wearing.

Goin’ Junkin’ Part Two

As mentioned in my previous post, this past weekend was the Highway 127 yard sale that is held the first Thursday to Sunday in the month of August.

This year The Bearded Guy and I decided to go treasure hunting just the two of us. We were looking for items for our new apartment and would later meet up with his family in his hometown. The items on our list included: Fiesta dishes in the colors medium green and yellow, antique silver plated flatware in the Grenoble pattern and other small things.

As we made our way bumper to bumper down the road, we developed a strategy. We would only stop at the places that had multiple booths and we would not stop at any houses or garages. We figured that the fields with a ton of booths had a larger chance at being sellers who were collectors or owned antique shops. We didn’t want to stop at a house that had only one table because the chances of them having what we were looking for was slim. Of course this is all speculation but this was our strategy for that day.

Here are some pictures of some of the places we stopped at:

At one of these places we stumbled across a few pieces of yellow Fiesta dinnerware. We found one saucer that did not have a crack in it or any scratches and was able to get it for $2.00. We saw from certain notions on the dish that it was actually antique Fiesta and not from the new product line. We knew we had found a good bargain. See below for the picture. I couldn’t help myself but document our first piece to our collection (as I like to call it our “couple’s dinnerware”)

By the end of the day we were able buy two Fiesta dinner plates, one fruit bowl and a pitcher which all happen to be from the new product line. We are hoping to have a collection of new and antique pieces.

As for the Grenoble silverware, we were not too lucky in finding any pieces. However, The Bearded Guy’s parents gave us what they had found. They knew were we’re wanting that for our “couple’s silverware.” I became so overwhelmed and got teary eyed when they gave us an entire set. We now have majority of the collection. It was such a nice gesture of them. We are truly thankful. Here is a picture of the pattern:

We can’t wait for next year. Who knows what goodies we might find! Even if you are not looking for something specific, I highly recommend you take part in the yard sale (where ever it may be on the highway). It is so much fun meeting different people and seeing how one person’s junk is another one’s treasure.

Going Junkin’ Part 1

This past weekend was the world’s largest yard sale on Highway 127 that runs from Michigan to Alabama.

Fun fact: the yard sale’s headquartered in The Bearded Guy’s hometown of Jamestown, TN and his family has been junkin’ ever since the yard sale originated. So naturally it has become a tradition for us to take part in this fun experience whether it is setting up a booth and selling or going on a treasure hunt to find unique items.

My first time participating in the yard sale was three years ago. The Bearded Guy and I had been dating for a few months and I had never experienced the four day yard sale. That particular year the men of the family were selling and the women were shopping. So while The Bearded Guy and his dad sold at a booth, I embarked on the adventure with his mom, sister and two cousins. Now these women were pros. Each one had specific items they collected and were looking for a good bargain. The items included: antique purses, cookie jars, dishes and planters. That year I didn’t have a specific item I was looking to buy but rather just go with everyone to see all the booths.

After watching the women of his family wheelin’ and dealin’, I decided it was my time to show them my skills of bargaining. I found a vase I liked and it was priced at $15.00 and I was able to get the vase for $8.00. I also bought an old picnic basket for a few dollars. After a long day of treasure hunting, snow cones and lots of giggles I truly bonded with the women. It was so much fun to learn why each one collected the certain items, how much they bought it for compared to the actual value and to watch how happy they were to getting a step closer to completing their collection.

The next year I took my family on the yard sale trip and they too had just as much fun. We found so many neat items and since I was a second year veteran I had started my own list of things to look for. That year resulted in a few antique broaches, an antique camera and a flower vase. It was so nice to see The Bearded Guy’s family share their family tradition with my family.

Stay tuned for part two of this adventure…

Who Moved My Cheese?

On Monday, I gave y’all a quote from the book “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson. Today I would like to share what I thought about the book.

The book is roughly 100 pages and has three parts to it. One is telling a story about some former classmates meeting up for lunch after their class reunion. The second part is the story about the cheese. The third part is the classmates’ opinion about the fable.

In summary, the middle section of the book tells how there is a giant maze and there are two mice and two little people. The cheese represents success,money, happiness, material things, etc. The mice, Sniff and Scurry, react differently when the cheese supply diminishes in one section of the maze (per se when change occurs). The little people who are just called that because they are able to move around in the maze with the mice are named Hem and Haw. They too react differently when the cheese supply vanishes in one section of the maze. The fable goes on to tell how Sniff is aware of his surroundings and is prepared in case change happens. Scurry may not be as prepared but immediately embraces change. Hem doesn’t like change and would rather stay in his comfort zone than adapt. Lastly, Haw is at first reluctant to change but eventually overcomes his fear and embraces change.

Throughout the fable the author provides little words of advice relating to the story and our lives. He also expresses some who read his book don’t read the last section when the classmates are giving their opinion. Instead the reader develops his/her own opinion about the fable and how it relates to his/herself.

Overall I enjoyed the fable about the mice and little people seeking the cheese. It reminded me of a story my parents would tell me growing up. After reading it I can definitely relate to two of the characters, Haw and Scurry. When it comes to change at first I am reluctant and my fear cripples me but once I get over that I run full force.

I definitely recommend this book. You can find out more information at Who Moved My Cheese?

Monday Musings: Positive Outlook

I am starting this book called “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson. It is an inspirational book that a friend of mine let me borrow to read. A book review will follow when I finish the book. Today I just wanted to share with you a quote that was featured in the book:

“Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us.” –A.J. Cronin

Hope your Monday is marvelous!

Monday Musings: Recap of Latest Happenings

Phew!!! I am exhausted. This past week and weekend have been crazy busy and so much fun! So for today’s weekly Monday post I am going to share my latest happenings and lessons learned.

Let’s start with last week:
Wednesday was my 24th birthday and I was glad to celebrate it by relaxing and listening to the much needed rain. I am not one to have big parties or go all out for birthdays. So with it raining all day it was right up my alley. The Bearded Guy bought me a cookie cake that had cute penguins on it and unfortunately I don’t have a photo of it because we devoured it when he brought it home. I just love cookie cakes. My momma used to buy me one every year for my birthday.

Friday was great because I got to have dinner with my parents and some of their friends I hadn’t seen in a while. Mom and Dad got me an enormous book about crafts. So stay tuned for future posts on the different crafts I try out. They also got me a Sandra Lee cookbook. I am super excited because she is my favorite Food Network chef and this week The Bearded Guy and I are going to try out some of her recipes.

Saturday was The Bearded Guy and my first trip to Ikea! We desperately need furniture in our quaint apartment and Ikea is the perfect place to get quaint furniture. So we waded through the large crowd and picked out our furniture. We decided to buy the items online little bit by little so I will post pictures when it all comes together. We also got to eat at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner! It was soooo good! The Bearded Guy had an Oreo Cheesecake and I had the Reese’s peanut butter, chocolate fudge, and carmel cheesecake.

Sunday was a day in the sun for sure! Ever so often The Bearded Guy’s work has people come over from the sister companies. This week a few guys came from the sister company in England. We found out that they had never really been on a boat. So The Bearded Guy’s boss invited the British guys and us out on his boat. It was so much fun watching the guys jump off cliffs, water ski, tube and knee board. Through out the day I picked up a few phrases from the guys. For instance “up and out” means you are ready to do anything and everything. Another phrase I liked was “kick about with the lads” which means you are playing (futball) soccer with the boys. We really enjoyed telling them all about our town and how they should come back with their families for a holiday. Maybe The Bearded Guy and I could go over there!

Lessons Learned:
1. Everyone should visit Ikea at least once! When looking on the website (ikea.com) some of the sofas look extremely comfortable but when you actually sit on them at the store they aren’t. Also they have awesome display rooms! You can walk through a set up of a 375 sq. feet apartment and see how to live simply and fabulous. The Bearded Guy and I determined that we could definitely downsize to a 375 sq. feet apartment if we weren’t living in our 700 sq. feet apartment.

2. Always wear sunscreen!! I don’t think The Bearded Guy and I put on enough sunscreen because we are extremely burnt from Sunday’s boat adventure. I highly, highly suggest you soak yourselves in sunscreen and always reapply when getting out of the water.

Well that is all for now. Here are a couple photos:
Dad, Mom and me at my birthday dinner

The Bearded Guy and me at Ikea

The Bearded Guy and me on the lake ( this was before we got super sunburned)

Shout out to The Bearded Guy’s momma! Happy Birthday!!!

Monday Musings: My First Sewing Class!!

Hi everyone!

Yesterday was a great day for sure! Yesterday afternoon I took my first sewing class at Joann Fabrics. I bought my sewing machine a couple months back and I have been teaching myself via YouTube. However, I want to perfect my techniques because when I start making things to sell I want it to be the best quality it can be. So I am starting from the beginning. The class taught me all about my machine and basic techniques. I walked away with so much knowledge about sewing and I learned how to make a cute tissue holder. I plan on taking more sewing classes so I can be well rounded in the hobby.

I also got to see a friend last night that I haven’t seen in forever! She is a Marine and is stationed far away so whenever she comes to town we always try to catch up. She happened to come in town this week. Luckily I was able to round up most of my girl friends from high school and we went to dinner at a local favorite restaurant. It was so nice to see all the girls and catch up!

Well yesterday was an extremely busy but fabulous day.

Hope your Monday was marvelous!

Monday Musings: Penguin Sandwich

One random fact about me is that I LOVE penguins! An item on my bucket list is to travel to a place where I can observe hundreds and hundreds of penguins in their natural habitat.

You are probably wondering how does loving penguins relate to making the dreaded Mondays so much better? Well last night The Bearded Guy and I were making some peanut butter sandwiches and he suggested cutting the sandwiches using my penguin cookie cutter. He shared that when he was growing up his momma would cut his sandwiches into a giant star for lunch or use other cookie cutters she had laying around the kitchen. I shared that my momma and I always ate the heels of the loaf of bread because my Dad and sister didn’t like it. She and I would each get one heel, fold it over and enjoy.

He and I simply smiled reminiscing about the precious moments of our childhood and I realized that we had actually fixed a kid-themed dinner. You can’t go wrong with penguin shaped peanut butter sandwiches and macaroni and cheese!!

So this brings me to today. Being that I am on a mission to make Mondays more enjoyable. I decided to have another penguin shaped sandwich for lunch. I don’t know what it is about making your sandwiches different shapes but it sure does brighten my Monday.

I hope you find something as simple as cutting your sandwiches differently, taking a morning stroll, or picking windflowers that will make your Monday not so dreadful.

May your Monday be marvelous!