20% off code for my etsy shop!

Now through Wednesday July 4th, you can use coupon code JULY4 to get 20% off a Lollibag or whatever else you like!  Head on over to Lollipookiesoap and start shopping!  I still have chevron lollibag's in stock....

Hi, do you remember me?

:)  Life has taken over, I have not sewn in a few weeks, or blogged, or been to my facebook page, or checked my etsy shop.....  I did accomplish a lot though!  Portia went to basketball camp, I took a trip to Oregon, I got through my son's graduation party, my daughter got her first job, and my 2 son's are settled in their new home.

I feel like it all happened without my approval, you know?  Life just moved on whether I was ready or not.  I was being carried away by a wild rushing river.... ok, you get the picture. These are all good things, ummm oh and 2 of my kids are now in relationships.

Wait, what happened? 2 of my kids leave the nest and 2 are "falling in love", now it seems there will soon be only 2 at home!  Since my daughter tells me she is moving out when she is 18, that's in a year and a half.   And I still don't feel 40 yet.

I've decided to embrace this new life (I have no choice).....  I already see a difference in my grocery bill, waaaaaay less laundry, less butting heads with all those grown men,  vacations will be cheaper, I am going to make wonderful memories with my daughters. 

You know how I was really missing Oregon?  I am so grateful I was able to go out for just a few days and see my friends, Cindy, the farm and just see the beauty.    I cried so much on my trip.... it was so bittersweet to see my friends, I miss them so much!  I miss them and Oregon, yet I'm so grateful, am I sounding like a broken record???  I am so jumbled up inside!  And all these life changes are hitting me at once, so you understand my instability right??? I knew you would understand.

Here are some photo's.

The first night I flew in, I went to Heidi's house, it was so much fun to hug her, we were crying like a couple of nut cases.  Heidi is in back, Denise is on the right.  So Denise didn't know I was coming out, so Heidi invited her to dinner, and I showed up too, it was the best moment!  She hugged and hugged and hugged me :)  Denise tells me my Minnesota accent is back in full force.

Here is Cindy and I. Doesn't she look great?  She just had surgery to remove 20% of her liver.  I've said before, she is like  a mom to me.  I love her so much, it was terribly hard to leave her, I sobbed in my car in her driveway when I left.  I think she is beautiful.

Isn't this the sweetest picture?  This is Cindy's husband, Skip.  He adores her and was so tenderly taking care of her.  Love.

My second child, graduated...sigh.  Could life please slow down to a scenic train excursion instead of the bullet train?

Love and Lollibags

I love this gray chevron, especially with the pink flower.  I think that is the extent of color choices for chevron.  The gray and yellow are my favorites.

I bought this vintage floral fabric in Oregon.  I love it.  Actually I bought it from a lady who is very dear to me.  She became like a mom.  She now has liver cancer and is having surgery Wednesday to remove part of her liver.  Thank you for any prayers you send out,  I appreciate it.  Recently she gave her life to Jesus Christ, I am so grateful and amazed by God's mercy!

Today I was reading in Romans about Love.

Romans 12:9-21

Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil;  cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God's people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you;  bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice;  mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another.  Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written:  "It is mine to avenge;  I will repay," says the Lord.  On the contrary:  "If your enemy is hungry, feed him;  if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.


Well I have a ways to go, how about you?  I'll start with being joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  And let me clarify, it won't be me, only God can do those things in me. 

Enjoy the rest of May, summer is almost here!!

New Lollibags~Chevron

Well I have long admired Chevron and finally ordered a bunch of Chevron fabric.  My yellow Chevron Lollibags are going quickly, so I just ordered even more.  Here are some of my latest bags.

This is Jessica Swift fabric in Preeti.  Isn't it cute?  Remember I am putting her wallpaper in my 1/2 bath too.  I think I have finally made a decision on which one.  More on that later. 

The yellow is my favorite.  I just made Lauren a bag like this only smaller.  The pink flower is vintage polyester.

We are coming up on a year in Minnesota.  I think I am finally liking it here.  Of course I am so grateful to God for the move and all it entailed and for God providing for us.  But I was just hanging on to Oregon for some reason.  BUT, I just love being able to call up my friend and sister and be able to go to coffee or shopping.  I really appreciate my kids having their Grandpa.

So speaking of Oregon.  I am going out for a quick weekend in June.  It is both happy and sad.  My close friend, who has been like a mom to me, has liver cancer.  I'm really excited to see her.  And of course my friends and the farm.  It will be so wierd seeing the farm!!!

You know how when you go through a huge life change like an out of state move, or your mom dies... after a certian amount of time you begin to question if you really ever did live in that other state or you really did have a mom?  I know wierd, but those of you who have experienced it...KNOW what I'm saying.  So anyway, kinda fun I get to go back to what I still feel like is my home ~ Oregon :)

Do you have any BIG plans for summer?  Or not so big plans?

New Chevron Tote...

My first of many with my new chevron fabric!  I also have this fabric in green and black.  I will list it on etsy soon!  It's going to be 75 and sun today, so I am going to be outside, have a wonderful day!!

Things I love

I have been running into things I absolutely love and I thought I would share them with you!

As you know I am searching for wallpaper for my little bathroom.  One day I stumbled upon Jessica Swift.  I instantly fell in love.  These are the samples I ordered....

Banana-Magnolia

Divya

String-rose

She also has fabric!  I ordered some of that too.  So we'll see which wallpaper I end up choosing.

Another thing I love is printing coupons at Target.com

  I love the fact that you can use a Target coupon WITH a manufacturer coupon on one item.  You hit the jackpot even more if it is on sale and if it's a buy 3 get a gift card deal!!  I also signed up for a Target debit card to get an extra 5% off each time I shop.


Water.  I love water.  What I love more is adding fresh squeezed lemon juice to ice water.  It is so good.

Yesterday my 16 yr old and I had an itching to get out of the house and do some shopping.  We drove down to CoonRapids and try as we may we could not spend one dime.  That is a good thing and I'm glad it happened, but we found two things I am now in love with.

1.  By the register at Caribou Coffee they have little dark chocolate squares with sea salt.  They are a bit spendy for the size ...... .59 cents but oh boy were they good!  So salty and sweet!

2.  We stopped by the healthy food store to pick up some cod liver oil ( that's good too)... they didn't have any so we perused the store and found the most heavenly chocolate bar ever...
 Chocolove xoxox Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate

I'm so in love I may try and find a case of them, the sea salty almond dark chocolate OH YUM!

You know what else I love??  Farm fresh eggs.  I have one every morning.

Do you have anything you just love and want to share?  Let me know!

P.S.   which wallpaper should I choose?

New Lollibag's and Redecorating..

Hello friends,

I know I have been in my home less than a year but I have the itch to redecorate.  I'd love some gaudy, bright, floral wallpaper, huge crystal chandeliers and a bright orange sofa.  Problem is, like my BFF and I always say.......it takes money.  But I am going to tackle one room at a time and my first project is my 3/4 bath.  I'll keep you posted....

Here are some new Lollibags :)

This one sold right away, it was so bright and cheery!  Love Heather Bailey fabric.

I miss home

June 16 will mark one year ago that we drove out of our farm in Oregon.  It was so exciting but also bittersweet.  I love a new adventure but I also like same ole boring.  I am truly grateful for all God has done with this move.  My husband has a wonderful job, my son's have both found work with company's that offer a lifelong career.  My family is here.  We have found a nice little church......
So why do I miss home so much?  It was very hard to leave Oregon, but I was under the impression that since it was a God thing, I would love Minnesota.
But still yet, I know God does not promise us happiness, but he does take care of us, and that he has done.  This verse keeps popping into my mind:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:12-13

I think I am supposed to be learning this, to be content and rely on God's strength.  I am so grateful that we had those years in Oregon, met the people we did and had the experiences we had.  On to the next adventure!  (whatever it is)

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers

New Little Lolli

I just finished this Little Lollibag.  It has vintage chenille ruffles on the front and is made from a Heather Bailey fabric, it is very heavy cotton.  It has a removable hot pink flower pin/clip.  Will be on etsy soon!

Have a glorious Palm Sunday!

My new studio Part 1

Hello!  Well, I went back to that Goodwill and bought the vintage salad cookbook.  Yes I did, it has a whole section on "Molds".  Did any of my followers eat molds growing up?  As in, the gross molds?  Tuna molds?  Avacado molds?  Gelatin molds with sour cream and worcestershire sauce?   I am now obsessed with these creations.....I may even bring one to the next family holiday dinner just as a joke.

Ok, as you know I love Where Women Create magazine.  I would love to have my own space to create like that.  I have always done my creating in my dining room and everyone holds it against me that we don't have dinners at the dining room table because it's full of fabric and buttons.

Well that is going to change, hopefully sooner rather than later.  There is a room above our garage and that is going to be my studio!  Right now the stairs are in the garage.

We have been wracking our brains trying to figure out how to get them in the house.  First we were going to incorporate them into the laundry room which is just right inside the house by the stairs now.  Then we were going to have them come out in the dining room, but the latest which I am loving is having them come out in the house where my pantry is right now by the kitchen.

Going up.

It's a great space.  Very roomy.  I am a bit worried about light, so we are going to add dormers to the wall on the left for two more windows.  That is what will slow this project down, I'm not sure when we'll be ready to do that.

Dormer wall.  There are lots of outlets for all of our sewing machines.

This is the pantry where the stairs will go up, it is right over the stairs going to the basement.  It's a mess isn't it?  We will still make our laundry room bigger, so I can move the pantry storage in there. 

The door in the hallway that is closed is the pantry.  So the plan is to open the wall up on the left side of that door so there will be an open stairway and railing.  I hope we can, I would love that openess.  To the left is the dining room where I now sew.

If you have any bright ideas, I'll take them!