Has it really been 22 years?

I don't feel 22. 

I know I've only been 22 for a day..  

but I still feel 18, and lets face it, I still look and act 18.

Yesterday was my birthday. I was real grumpy to start with. 

First off I did not want to be 22. 

Second I wasn't with my family. 

Third I stepped in poop. 

First thing in the morning. On the floor right when I got out of bed.. Mowgli tried to be nice and not wake me when he needed to go potty. How thoughtful.
Upset, I just turned 22 and stepped in poo.
Taylor came home and asked if I was ready to go. We didn't have any real plans.

I stopped being grumpy. Flowers and balloons will do that to me.

Warning: There will be lots and lots of pictures. I promised my mom.

We headed out to a cafe for smoothies and Taylor asked, " What do you want to do? It's your day."

I love thrift stores and antique stores and I could stay in them forever. That's what I wanted to do.
All Day.
I talked to my mom several times throughout the day, wishing she was with me. I told her I would take tons and tons of pictures so it would be like she was with me.
My mom sent me some knitting books. Taylor bought me some wool yarn from an antique store.
I am real excited. They are such good supporters.

Taylor and I got back in the car. Taylor asked me, "Now what?"
I looked at the sky. The weather forecast said it would rain all day. I only saw one little rain cloud.

Can you spot Mr. Rain Cloud?

I told Taylor I want to take Mowgli on a walk.

After all a birthday isn't a birthday without your best pal.

Nature is my favorite.

I'm so lucky to have been born in Spring.

Mowgli and I love walks.
So much to see, so much to smell...
So much to make our own.
I take pictures of things I want to call mine.
Mowgli... well Mowgli pees on everything.

I am going to miss this place.

We headed home and I read the card from my mom.
It made me miss her way too much.

She listed 10 things she would do if we were together.
 Including,
Going out to lunch,
Going Shopping,
Have a tea party,
Take pictures of us together,
Spend all day saying how much she loved me.

Raincheck?

She also gave me gift cards.
She knows where I like to shop.

Taylor and I decided to go to the mall. I just love getting new clothes. 

I normally spend the whole time at the sales rack looking though clearance items. This time I decided to get myself a new dress. Not a sale dress.

What do you think of the dress you bought me Mom? I think I might need to add another ruffle.. 

Still a bit short for me..

Okay so all the dresses ended up being a bit shorter than I expected.. I can fix it.. don't worry.

Dear Mom, Thanks for buying the outfit on the right and the cream dress. I think the one on the right makes me look very professional.
H&M Just opened in the mall. This was a very exciting occurrence.

Taylor bought me the other dresses. 

He also took me out to dinner.

I took one look at the prices and started to leave.
They were astonishing.
Taylor was very set on spoiling me.. so we stayed.

We probably could have gotten another puppy for the price of this meal though....

We came home to notice that I was featured on the front page.
(4th time this month!)

 
And there you have it. 

My birthday. 

I was super spoiled.. and it felt pretty awesome.

A full day of doing what I want and getting what I want.

Now... our house looks like this.

We are moving soon and the packing process has just begun. 

Taylor's family is coming to visit for a week and we will be going to the coast and to Washington DC.

After we get back.. we move! 

We are going to be very stressed and busy for the next week or so. 

We have so much to do..

I feel guilty blogging.

Thank you all so much for entering the giveaway! If you didn't get a chance there is still plenty of time! Enter Here.

Surprise!

That's right!! 

Talk2thetrees and Paola Loves To Shop are teaming up for a giveaway!

First off what are we giving away?

 And 

I had a hard time decided what to give so...

I'm leaving it up to the winner!

(excluding paintings over $30 please)

The giveaway starts right now (March 29th) and will close on April 16th.

The winner will be chosen using Random.org

and I will announce/contact them the following day!

You will receive the sunglasses from Paola Loves To Shop,

your "Item Of Choice" from Talk2thetrees, 

and some other goodies and surprises just cause I like you.

All in one box. Free shipping.

You can increase your chances of winning.

To enter:

 You can do just one, or you can do all 4.

1. Leave a comment on Talk2thetrees, tell me your favorite color! (please leave a good way to contact you if you win.)

2. Leave a comment at Paola Loves To Shop, then come back here and leave another comment telling me you've done so.

3. Become a follower of both Talk2thetrees and Paola Loves To Shop, Leave another comment here letting me know. (if you already are a follower then just write a comment saying so! ) 

4. Blog or tweet about this giveaway! Then leave me yet another comment telling me about it.

Why do I need separate comments? So Random.org picks em up!

4 comments equal 4 chances to win! 

If you leave one comment saying you did all these things it may as well count as one entry!

That is it! If you have any questions... please let me know! 

talk2thetrees@gmail.com

Dear Readers,

Dear Readers/Friends/Family/Followers,

     This blog has been going for quite some time. It was never really updated and the posts were never well thought out. I didn't even post about my own wedding! (I did have another personal blog at the time.) But this blog has been with me for a few years. Don't go back too far the posts get really boring and most likely embarrassing.

I really started putting my heart into it last summer, and even more so in November.

I've been moving around for the last year and I'm not very good at making friends.  

(I promised myself I would try harder this April)  

So this blog has been very good for me.

First it was a way for me to express myself artistically, you know record the things I make.

Then it was a good way to show our parents that we are indeed alive and having fun.

Then I started getting readers, and my blog has become so much more.

My Dad called me a few days ago, he was worried about me. I told him I was fine, I wasn't sick or anything. He said he felt like I was lonely. I teared up a bit. (My dad is so intuitive.)
I feel like most of my friends back home have forgotten me.
The only time I use my phone is to talk to my Mom.
(Which doesn't really bother me because my Mom is my best friend.)
I have become quite the hermit, since I tend to put up walls.

I told my dad that I had been feeling lonely, but it's okay because I have my blog.
It sounds silly, I know.

My dad told me to be careful of online predators and I giggled a little as we said good bye.

The truth is, this blog is my friend. Sometimes this is the only place I can express myself.
It's really helped me.

So...

I wanted to say thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for your comments and your emails.

Thank you for being so nice to me.

The thing is... most of you are complete strangers. People I've never met. You don't have to be nice, but you are, and it means so much to me.  

Thank you.

And thank you to those who do know me. Thanks for your support and for totally not making fun of me when I probably deserve it.

You've all made my life a lot brighter! 

Newest painting.. posted in the shop.

So before I say goodbye I want to leave you with a little cliff hanger. 

Come back on Monday... 

I have a surprise for you. 

Thanks again and love always,

Rachael

 

Sew... what do you think?

When I was little I remember my mom showing me that you could sew two pieces of fabric together to make a bag. I was amazed at how simple it was. Just three straight lines.. then you turn it inside out and it's a bag. Easy. I am sure I made tons of these little bags just by hand.

A few years later my mom showed me how to use a sewing machine. She taught me how to thread it and work the pedal. (It made those simple bags a lot easier.)

When I was in high school I remember sewing late at night.. I loved to alter shirts back then. My Mom or Dad would stand at the top of the stairs and whisper/yell down, "Rachael! WHAT are you doing? Go to sleep!" Sorry Mom and Dad.. I don't think I did.. I just sewed slower, it makes the machine softer. (I couldn't sleep if I was in the middle of a project!  ...still can't...)

When I was a senior, (I think) my Mom gave me my very own sewing machine. I used it for years and years.  Unfortunately wasn't able to bring it when we moved.

And I remember last year when Taylor brought home a big box. A brand new sewing machine. Just for me. For no reason.. other than he loved to see me happy.


All that history you would think I would be a master seamstress, huh?
I'm not. I don't know how to use patterns and I have no patience. I just see something I want and I make it. But I'm thankful for my mom who showed me the basics when I was young.

I love having the ability to make my own clothes. A box of scrap fabric is such a beautiful possibility.
I hope to get better someday. Someday I'll sit down with a pattern and I'll do the measurements and I'll take my time... Someday.
Here are a few of my recent projects.

This is my Super-Mega-Ruffle-Skirt. 

It's girly but not pink. 

I don't look too good in pink...

This is my Ruffle-Hiding-A-Hole-On-The-Sleeve-But-You-Will-Never-Find-It-Shirt.

aka new favorite shirt.

This is my Lime Green Skirt, it's wrinkly... Sorry!

Isn't that brooch cute!?

It's from thelittleprints. 

Check out her shop.. she has the cutest stuff.

Anyways.. I've got a few more skirts I'm working on... 

Skirts are just so easy and perfect for summer!

I just promised my mother I would show her some of them!

In other news.. Mowgli has forgotten how to be potty trained.... 

I'm not sure what is going on.

But I'm so sick of cleaning it up... and punishing him.

He was doing so well! 

For the past few days it's been a nightmare! 

Happy Little Things

I was looking online for some new pendant settings when I came across the cutest website. Ornamentea.  I bookmarked it and had tons of item's urls sent to myself in an email. (I'm weird... I know) I was so excited about this little website. I scrolled to the bottom and noticed something weird... "visit our Raleigh store." I was beyond stoked. Their store is 15 minutes away from my house!

 So we went. Naturally. 

It was full of little odds and ends, beads and all sorts of wonderful trinkets. I stayed way longer than I planned to. I'm so fascinated with cute little things, like buttons and tiny boxes.

These pictures were pulled from their website. I was too shy to bring in my own camera.

 I'm silly. When I find places I like I want souvenirs, little keepsakes to remind me of why I like it. 

We are leaving my very favorite city soon and I have been collecting little things to remind me of it. 

Why I like it here.. 

I want to come back! 

So I bought myself a ring. 

Seeing this ring made me oh so happy to be where I was, I couldn't pass up such a small memento to remind me of happiness. After all it was only 1.75.. why not?

I've been painting lately.

It doesn't seem right to knit when it is 80 degrees out. 

At least not yet...

I'm not too sure how much I like Little Narwhal here...
I'm not much of a painter so until I am no longer scratching my head
wondering what is wrong with this guy he won't be in the shop.

But these are in the shop.

Oh, and one more thing....

It happened again and I was so very happy! 

I just realized...

In a little over two weeks I will be moving. This means I should start packing... I should start cleaning.. I should start going through the things I've acquired in these last 8 months. I should be deciding which stuff is junk, which stuff I should bring and which stuff I want to keep, but probably won't have room for.

When we moved here back in September we barely fit everything into our little Toyota.
Right now I can look around the room and see all the things we've purchased since then..

A gargoyle to guard out mantle,
My newest tea set to make it feel more like home,
Taylor's newest TV screen, so he can play xbox and watch movies at the same time.
The box of yarn to keep me busy,
Our printer,
My books,
Our new shoes,
Our wine glasses, so we can drink Dr. Pepper like fancy people,
My box of buttons,
Mowgli's newest toys.

My button collection has literally doubled since this picture was taken!

I really don't know if this will all fit.

When we first moved here we didn't have room for dishes, how silly of me to buy a whole tea set.

It's not that I have a spending problem. I just like to fill my house.. er.. apartment with things that remind me of home, things that make me feel like I'm not living in a hotel.
Things that make me feel like I belong.

I'm not looking forward to these next few weeks.
I hate packing.
I hate throwing out things.
I hate leaving things behind.

Someday we will move into a big house, where we will stay for years and years and I can fill it with gargoyles and tea sets and buttons and books.

Until then I guess I can always mail my stuff to my new address.

P.S. I changed my blog back... I felt closed in.  I like a lot of space. I feel like I can breath again... phew!

This Must Be Part 2

It's time to take off our shoes,

Time to enjoy the sun,

Forget about the thorns...

Through the woods we shall run. 

 I know you think I'm silly,

You always tell me so,

It's just that I'm a dreamer...

And I want you to follow.

 I wandered on ahead,

 And left you far behind,

You know I didn't mean to...

Six new headbands added to the shop.

Holy Headbands! Part 1

Today's weather: 78°F

Sunny and Perfect

14 new headbands have been waiting to be photographed.

We were only able to photograph 8.

The world was very crowded today.

People were everywhere!

My favorite photo spots were covered with people...

 I'm so lucky to have a forest in my backyard.

Tomorrow's weather: 78°F
Sunny and Perfect
Again.

Good thing too... we have 6 more headbands to photograph!

These 8 headbands are in the shop.
 I have completely redone my headbands, check em out!