RST: A Catch-All

  

        

It's Tuesday, which means, time again for another Random Shit Tuesday! 

My randomness...

After

Before

A while back, I think in August, when I was severely bummed out and kind of (okay, a lot) depressed, I made a personal goal to spend an hour every day doing something creative. I'd been holding on to this "pearl" necklace for years (I'm not sure what I wore it to. A prom? A wedding?) that I decided needed a makeover. I'd seen some really cool ribbon necklaces on some blogs and wanted to try making one. So I headed over to one of my favorite stores, Michaels, and picked up some embroidery thread and ribbon. I didn't use a "How-to" or anything and just chose to wing-it. I was fairly happy with the results, but I didn't really get into the rhythm of the process until about halfway through the necklace, so I think I might redo it at some point in time. I have a ton of "pearls" left-over as well as some lime green ribbon, so I might try out one of my other necklace ideas (assuming I ever find the time). Feel free to click on the pics to enlarge the view. Please ignore my tired eyes in the After pic. It was late.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The book

The goodies

A couple of months ago, Becky Kanaza, from The Fab Miss B, offered a book giveaway for a gently used copy of one of her favorite books, 84, Charing Cross Road. In order to enter, you had to "leave me a comment describing a memorable book, a favorite reading experience or even your favorite local book shop and what made it so special." I left a comment relaying the joy I was having with one of my summer reads, and I ended up winning the giveaway, yay! You can read about it, and my winning comment, here. Becky was quick to send me the book and to my wonderful surprise, she included a few bonus goodie items well, which I love! If you get a moment, check out her Etsy shop, Becky Kanaza. Becky has the cutest wedding cake toppers and Before & After projects.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been working on a post for months that just doesn't seem like it's going to come together. I wanted to start featuring Etsy artists on some of my Saturday posts, but after getting my job and trying to adjust to the craziness of it, that ambition quickly fizzled. My first artist was going to be my sister, Shelley. I had typed up a list of interview questions for her, which she very thoroughly filled out. Unfortunately, I just can't find the time to pull it all together. That being said, I still wanted to do a little mini-feature of her work, especially since she just had a very disappointing experience of having a couple of her pieces stolen from a shop carrying her work. So...

Shelley has a Facebook page, a blog (Shelley creates...), and an Etsy shop (SMWArtworks). Shelley currently lives in Pembroke Maine where she and her boyfriend and their two dogs reside in an old farmhouse that they are slowly sprucing up. She collects sea glass from the ocean shores around her home and designs and makes gorgeous sea glass jewelry. She also offers custom charcoal and graphite portraits. Please take the time to check out her blog and Etsy shop. She works very hard and I can't even imagine how heartbreaking it must have been for her to have her work stolen. 

(In case you're wondering... left to right: yours truly, Shelley and our grandfather, Twin)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hmmm... what else? My driver's license finally arrived from NY so now I can finally hit the bars legally drive again. I can also start working on getting a Virginia State driver's license (moving sucks, but moving to a new state sucks royally). I'm all set up for health insurance, retirement and life insurance. Oh, and I got my first paycheck! Can't tell you how exciting it was to open that up. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not the actual kitchen, but similar

I'm moving. I know what you're thinking, "Again?", right? Yeah, again. By the end of October I'll be in a new home, assuming the applications get accepted. It's going to drastically cut down on my commute 4 out of 5 of my work days. We're talking from a 40-90 minute one-way commute to a 5-20 minute commute. I can't wait. Plus, the kitchen's white, and if you recall, I'm dying for a white kitchen. I can't wait to fill it with my ceramic work and give it some other retro styling. The counters aren't ideal, but they're granite, and the house is only temporary (what else is new?) so it will have to do for now.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I received a letter in the mail this week from my graduate school Alma Mater informing me that a book had been donated in my name to the campus bookstore because of my "Outstanding Graduate" status. The book will have a permanent bookplate affixed to it with my name on it (they sent me a copy of it). It might not seem like a big deal, but I think it's super cool and am very excited. It feels good to have my hard work pay off, even if it is in small ways.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did I tell you I'm finally permanently certified to teach in New York State now? Yup. My certification finally went through, and I can go back there and teach whenever I want. For life. Now to work on this Virginia State one.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I suppose that's enough for my randomness this week. I hope to start posting regularly again now that I'm learning to let go of some control at work and am working on quieting the perfectionist inside me. Hope you're all having a great fall!