364 Shopping Days Left!

I have done a terrible job keeping this blog up to date. Terrible!! I had a bunch of projects that I did during the month of December and I hope to post them over the next few days along with photos of our wonderful holiday season.
We are just wrapping up Christmas. The tree will be up for a few more days, maybe until the New Year but it's dropping needles like crazy and I think I have already filled a whole vacuum bag with them. The house lights will stay up until we get a break in the weather and can go out to remove them without getting soaked in the rain. And even though Christmas is officially over we woke up this morning and watched Christmas Vacation but honestly I could watch that movie any month of the year. Regan is also a fan and she will sit through the entire movie, which is unheard of.
I have been busy sewing and appliqueing gifts and commissioned projects. It's been a lot of fun but exhausting work. I try to only sew once Regan has gone to bed so I end up sewing until the wee hours of the morning and wake up exhausted. I took on a few too many projects and while I got them done in plenty of time I paid for it dearly with an aching back and a nervous tick. Just kidding about the tick.
Hopefully I will be all caught up on my posts so I can start fresh at the New Year with a resolution to try to post something, anything, everyday.

Turkey Talk

Today is the big prep for Thanksgiving tomorrow. As usual we are doing our annual dinner at the firehouse. Todd volunteered to work so that another guy who lives out of the area could spend Thanksgiving with his son. My husband is such a sweetheart. Being that it's a group dinner I am only in charge of a few items... stuffing, green bean casserole, homemade dinner rolls, and a dessert. I am actually making two desserts. Todd LOVES candied yams with brown sugar and marshmallows. Hopefully he's not disappointed but I decided to try to make a sweet potato pie instead. I have never made one before but I found an easy recipe. I also made bite-size pumpkin pies in a mini muffin pan and then I baked them inside of a regular size cupcake. I topped them off with a cream cheese buttercream that I spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a bit of ginger. Words cannot describe!! Todd wanted to try one tonight so he and his partner made the trek over to the house from work in the freezing cold to pick up a few.

Cupcake Provocateur Giveaway!

Haven't had much time to update lately. Regan has been sick with croup which has not been fun at all. Work has also been crazy busy and I just haven't had  much of a chance to post lately. I have a few updates that I hope to post soon. I've been working on some applique projects and also started on my apron for the Flirty Apron Swap, Frosted Flurries swap. It's very traditional, which I hope my partner will like it. She mentioned traditional several times so that's the route I took. I found an adorable pattern that was similar to the pattern that she picked out.

I do want to mention one important thing today since tomorrow is the last day to enter. Check out this awesome giveaway sponsored by one of my favorite apron makers. Cupcake Provocateur designs are fantastic and some are super sexy!!

The Beez Kneez!

Just a quick entry but I'm very excited so I had to take a moment to post this...
The Beez Kneez is finally getting off the ground! I just made it a page on Facebook and it already has a few "likes". Most are friends of my personal page but not all of them. I'm hoping to start taking orders soon so that I can get out items for Christmas. I just added two galleries of designs for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Woo hoo!!

The Beez Kneez

Oh the shopping I have planned!

Thursday evening we are off to Oregon to visit the familia. I'm super excited because we haven't been there since March. At that time Regan was just starting to stand but not taking any steps yet. Now, she's running, and climbing, and into everything. I'm sure her grandparents and aunts are going to go nutso over her. She's has such a fun and quirky personality. We decided to make it a night drive in an attempt to keep it as peaceful as possible. Ten hours in the car with a toddler does not sound like fun to me. We are hoping she sleeps the majority of the trip. Keeping our fingers crossed! If it doesn't go as we have planned then I at least hope that God gives me more than my daily dose of patience that day because He knows I am going to need it.
While in the Portland area I have my sights set on Fabric Depot!! I have never been and only read about it online. I have heard that it's one of the largest fabric stores in the whole country. There is a pretty good chance I am going to need a few hours there. Todd has promised me some time alone there, since he certainly isn't interested in spending any more time in a fabric store than absolutely necessary. While checking out their website I found so many Christmas fabrics that have inspired many projects in my head, including a few aprons. I am certain I can find a few options for the Frosted Flurries apron swap that I will need to get started on as soon as we return. I will probably pick up fabrics for a few different designs since I won't really know what would suit my partner until after I return.
Also, this evening I ordered a new embroidery machine online. It will arrive on Thursday. I have so many ideas for it. I know so many people who have paid a lot of money for custom embroidered children's items, including myself. Oh the potential!!! I hope to get it mastered before the holidays get into full swing so I can make up some custom Christmas gifts.
One more project in the works... scented hot pads!! Delicious.

Frosted Flurries Apron Swap

Registration is now open for Frosted Flurries a Flirty Apron Swap. I can't wait to get started. A little challenge has been added to the tuck-ins for this swap. Each tuck-in should represent one letter to spell out a holiday word. How fun!! Registration is open until 11/8 so there is still plenty of time to join.

In other news...

A few links from today's local news. We went to a strucure fire last night and had a vehicle accident yesterday afternoon, both of which made the news.
Structure Fire with photos
Vehicle rollover

Little Lady Bug!

I finished Regan's costume this morning at about 9:30, just in time for a trick or treating event on Main Street at 11:00. Her costume was pretty last minute because I could not decide on just the right costume for her. I think she makes an adorable lady bug... with butterfly wings.
It must be instictual because Regan picked up on the whole trick or treating thing right away. She would hold up her little bucket and wait for her treat. When given the option to choose a piece of candy should would choose just one and put it straight into her bucket. I was so impressed with how well she did. We got so many compliments on how adorable she is and how cute her costume was. We had such a good time.

Working at the day job (and night job too).

I haven't had any exciting updates for the blog the past few days because I have been busy at the job that brings home the bacon. One third of my life is spent being a firefighter and paramedic for a local government fire department. Second best job in the world, topped only be my primary job of being a mommy.
These days are tiring and complicated because I have a paramedic intern. You would think having an intern would make life cushy and easy since I'm in more of a sit-back-and-watch position but it's stressful making sure that my intern learns all the skills that she needs and doesn't kill anyone. Ha! So far, so good.
Tomorrow starts the Halloween weekend and I am excited. Regan, my toddler, is going to be a ladybug for Halloween. There isn't much happening locally but we will find something fun and exciting to do together. Todd, my husband and her oh-so-wonderful daddy, will be working so it will just be the two of us all weekend. Todd is also a firefighter and paramedic. He works for the same department as I do. We have been married for 13 years as of last August!! Just to clear the air, we were married long before we started working together. We actually were married for about 5 years before we decided to go through and EMT class together and it completely changed our career paths. We loved it and went on to go through the fire academy together and then paramedic school. Surprisingly we made it through all of that together without killing each other. That's a feat! We both love our career choice and can't imagine doing anything else. I guess you could call us both adrenaline junkies who love the adventure of the unknown. Everyday is completely different at work and we have learned to expect the unexpected.
Our department website.

Country Cottage Christmas!

I have so many Christmas crafting ideas swirling around in my head. I know it's still October but time is a rare commodity these days.
Each year we tend to pick a theme for Christmas. A few years ago we did a very tropical theme complete with flamingos with Santa hats. It was festive and had a certain charm that made us smile every day. Most years we just pick a color theme and decorate the tree and house using those colors. Previous years have included a patriotic red, white, and blue, an earthy theme of red, orange, brown, and gold. I remember we one year we even decorated our tree all in purple of varying shades.
The theme for this year... country cottage. Simple, cozy, and homemade. My first "Country Cottage Christmas" project will be stockings. I'm on a mission to find thrift store sweaters to recycle into gorgeous new stocking for all three of us. I have been scouring the internet for ideas and have found some amazing ideas. I plan to line each and embellish them with fun trim. I can't wait to get started!! Now I just need to find the right knit sweaters for each of us. Keeping my fingers crossed for a successful shopping trip.
I also plan to hit a thrift store next time I am in the area that is touted to have tons of fabric, fabric scraps, trim, and patterns. Even vintage patterns!!! I'll also have my eye out for some vintage pillowcases that I can recycle into pillowcase dresses for Regan. I'm hoping to find some that were lovingly embroidered by hand.

Welcome!

This is my first ever post in my brand new blog! I have been wanting to start blogging for a long time now but hesitated because "who really wants to read what I have to say?" I have gotten so much entertainment, insight, inspiration, and enjoyment out of reading a variety of blogs lately. I figured that many of those women had the same feelings that I felt when they first started so I decided to give this blogging this a whirl.
So... Love, Grace, and Gratitude. It took me days and days to come up with a name for this blog. I wanted a name that described what I hope to portray in my writing. I recently read a quote by Denis Waitley that struck a spark in my heart. "Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude." How humbling is that? I was inspired. You'll hear more from me about each of those things, hopefully very soon.
For now I have marked my spot, made my dent, left behind a fingerprint in this virtual blogging world. I have big plans for this place! More on that very soon too...