Living in my Fairytale

The most lovely post over at design*sponge, posted the very day I left.

We had a lovely trip, and I saw some beautiful things right out of a postcard. Or a fairytale. Or an Austen novel. In fact, I saw Elliot Cowan as Macbeth at the Globe, and I can confirm in all seriousness that in person, he's every bit as inspring as Mr. Firth.

Pictures posted soon, I promise!

Storytime

Today I shall tell you a story about a girl who went on a magical vacation. She hoped and dreamed and read and planned.

Then she packed a small bag.

Then she said goodbye to her little blue house and pink rosebush and her family and friends.

She traveled very far, and came down in a fairyland which was vaguely familiar, but very different and special too. (It helped that there was ice cream and other tasty things to eat.) She ate some scones, some pastries, and quite a few cheese and onions.

And drank lots of tea.

And explored.

And took hundreds of photos so that she'd remember the wonderful place.

And she wrote letters to home telling everyone how beautiful it was there.

And then, sadly, it was time to go. So she packed her things up again, carefully putting in some lovely newfound treasures.

When she arrived back home, she found that even though the magical place she'd been was enchanting, she'd missed her friends and family and little blue house and pink rosebush.

And she was glad to be home.

I hope you enjoyed my story.

And I hope that you'll excuse my absence here for a couple of weeks while I'm having adventures in a magical fairyland.

(All images by Cassia Beck, pulled from the Lola's Room Etsy shop.)

A Different Kind of Giveaway

As I mentioned yesterday, friends, I thought I might give you a more detailed picture of the fabulous adventures we're planning for our Great English Adventure next week. I also realized yesterday that I've just posted my 300th blog post, and wanted to find a means of celebrating. So, I came up with an idea for a different kind of giveaway: leave a comment on this post before Sunday, May 16th at 10:00pm, and I'll draw a name. The lucky winner will receive a small souvenir from our trip, and if you like, you can even choose which of the five wonderful cities we're visiting you'd like your memento to come from!

Here are the details.
Destination One: Bath
On our Agenda: the Roman Baths and Pump Room, the Royal Crescent, and a Cotswolds tour

Destination Two: Stratford-on-Avon
On our Agenda: Romeo and Juliet at the RSC Courtyard Theatre, a stroll along the river, and a visit to Shakespeare's Birthplace

Destination Three: Chipping Campden
On our Agenda: a sunny room in a beautiful little Bed and Breakfast, bicycling around the countryside, the charms of an old market village

Destination Four: Oxford
On our Agenda: Blenheim Palace, The Eagle and Child, views of the city from a 13th century church tower

Destination Five: London
On our Agenda: Macbeth at the Globe, dozens of museums, and the Chelsea Flower Show

My giveaway offer has some runner-up winners as well: I'll send postcards to the first three people to a leave comment on this post!

Etsy Treasure Tuesday: My Paper Garden

Guess what, people! A week from today, we leave on our fabulous English vacation! I've been busy sorting out the details of the itinerary, booking tickets for some of the many plays we're going to see, and trying to plan so that we make the most of our few days in one of my favorite places in the world. More details on where we're going and what we'll be doing tomorrow.

But for now, I have an exceptionally appropriate shop to share with you for our Etsy Treasure Tuesday post. My Paper Garden takes maps, vintage papers and stamps, and a bit of artful stitching and turns them into wonderful, practical little works of art. {I saw a spread in Martha Stewart Living several years ago where an entire wall of a little boy's room had been papered with old maps, and I've been drawn to their functional coolness ever since.} Wouldn't it be fabulous to have a passport cover or a "dream vacation" file made out of maps of the places you've been or want to go? Just have a look at some of the fantasticness.

I love the wonderful paper flower details, and I think I'm going to have to order a set of those amazing nesting baskets to use in my new workroom.

(All images pulled from MyPaperGarden's Etsy shop.)

One more thing: what is your dream vacation destination?

You Can Call Me the Cowardly Lion

I have a confession to make: I chickened out. When I realized last week how little time there is left before we leave for England, and how busy I'm going to be until that time with finishing up work things and putting the house in some kind of order, I forced myself to admit that making a travel bag of my own is probably not going to happen. So I did some searching on Etsy, and found this beauty.

Adjustable strap. Check.

Spacious inside. Check.

Custom zipper closure. Check.

No outside pockets from which things can be picked. Check.

Bright yellow color so Nathan can make sure he's holding hands with the correct American tourista. Check.

Large bow and pleats. Double check.

Being able to cross one more thing off of my to-do list. Priceless.

And thank you, Etsy. Yet again, you save the day.

I Need A Vacation Really Really Badly

Exactly one month from today, I'll be getting off of an English bus and heading straight to the nearest street stall to buy postcards of this beautiful city. I'm so jealous of one-month-from-now me.

 

Project

In two months and one day hub and I will be off on our brilliant English vacation! Hooray! Our new passports have arrived, all of our lodgings are booked, activities are planned, and all that remains is for me to get to work on the bag I've planned to make which shall accompany us on all outings and innings and sight-seeings and explorations. I have several larger bags which would do, but I want this one to be a little more versatile; I'd like the strap to be adjustable so that I can make it longer when I want to wear it cross-shoulder, then shorter again when I want to do the typical single-shoulder thing. It also has to go with everything, so it will most likely be a solid natural linen or something of that sort. The style is what I haven't fully decided on yet. Here are some lovely bags I've been admiring on Etsy lately, beginning with the first, Array Corrente handbag from coriehumble, which was my initial inspiration.

Next up, this great ruched leather bag by iragrant, whose large totes I've been a fan of for a long time.

This pretty pink one by ZhenUNleathers also caught my eye (obviously) and has some details that I like.

While we're on the subject of pretty pink bags, I had to include this one from CindyMars7. I love the contrasting placket on the top, accented with a doily, lace, and a button. I also really like the pleats. I think this is a shape and style I might try and replicate if only I can get those pleats right!

But if I were going to add a color accent to a neutral bag, it would be yellow. I'm currently smitten with yellow, and it probably has a lot to do with the fact that it seems to announce summer and warmth and lightness, and I don't think I could be any more tired of winter and cold and cloudiness. Ugh. So this charming bag by CalviRee is perfect, plus the fun burlap ticking straps (which I already have in my fabric stock, actually).

But even those ticking straps can be beat by a whacking great bow. If the pleats don't work out, I'm pretty sure I can manage a huge bow -- and on it goes! to mask all technical deficiencies and make the world right again! (Yellow Harris bag by breagha.)

So there you are. My bag may be a strange combination of all of the above, or it may look like none of them in particular. I make no boasts about my proficiency as a seamstress. Single stitch in straight lines is about the extent of my expertise. So wish me luck!

Oh, and send me photos or links to other bags you think I might like to see; I never get tired of bags!

I Have An Announcement to Make

I'll give you five hints.

Yep, you guessed right. In May. We haven't taken a substantial vacation since our honeymoon. (Crossing my fingers that I won't get sick this time.) Anyway, so I'm working on making some of our arrangements, and I may be a little absent here for a few days. Be back soon!

I Got My Wish

According to my Grandma-in-law, it's only the 4th time on record it's ever happened here in Lubbock, TX, but we had a white Christmas this year: a beautiful blanket of snow descended upon the South Plains during the night of the 23rd, and on Christmas Eve morning, we woke up to two feet of sparkly snow. It was gorgeous. It did make getting out to my parents' vineyard that afternoon much more difficult, but we made it, and spent a lovely, relaxed evening in front of the fireplace and the Christmas tree. It was so nice to have a break, but I'm ready to be done with the holiday craziness, and hoping to put my house back into some kind of normal order tonight. Other happy highlights of the break:

-- Christmas breakfast with ma famille, featuring Aunt Sherry's incomparable blueberry muffins, Grammy's delicious sausage balls and egg casserole, piggies in a blanket, and some lovely fruit kabobs. Mmmmm.

-- Spending lots of time with my husband, who's getting a much-needed extended break from school until his classes start up for the spring next week.

-- My wonderful husband surprised me with a Christmas vacation! We left on the 28th for three days in Grapevine. We ate leisurely, delicious meals at Main Street Bakery, Maggiano's, Buca di Beppo, and Panera, saw three fantastic movies (Sherlock Holmes, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Up In The Air), and went to IKEA (!), where I was allowed to buy anything my heart desired (with saved up Christmas and jewelry funds). I bought a pine shelving unit, and this desktop and these trestle legs, plus lots of other inexpensive organizational wonders. I hope to have photos for you of my clean new workspace soon!

-- The Sanfords' annual New Year's Eve party, which was so much fun this year. We didn't get home until 2:30, and that's the latest I've stayed out in a very long time. (Yes, we're kind of lame.)

-- Spending some time with our adorable nephew Sam, for whom I made a spiffy Superhero cape.

-- A girls' day baking extravaganza this past weekend: we made the most delicious homemade cinnamon rolls while enjoying Sangria and great conversation.

By the way, I just wanted to say thanks to all of you, new and old, for following my blog. It's lovely to think I have something to say that you enjoy reading, and I hope that you'll continue to join me this year to enjoy all that 2010 has for us. Happy New Year, friends!

(Image credit: photo collage pulled from here, by Ez at Creature Comforts; see the post for individual image sources.)