Preparing for Gustav...

Hello friends and family~

As most of you are enjoying a wonderful long Labor Day weekend, possibly heading to the beach for that one last dip or hiking in the mountains or just being a couch potato...I just wanted to let you know that I am jealous!

Louisiana is watching this hurricane very closely, so am I.

      

Not that I am nervous, but I like to be prepared and be as comfortable as possible without electricity and the comforts of everyday living. We do not evacuate. I know that sounds a little crazy or ignorant. (Somehow CNN seems to pick the most ignorant and stupid people to do a disaster aftermath interview and makes us Southern folk look like total idiots...the majority of us really do speak well and we really do have our front teeth!)  We really feel we need to stay for our personal & our business property. We have been fortunate throughout the previous storms in a way that we were able to repair and fix minor damages during and immediately after the storm which prevented major water damage, unnecessary insurance claims and of course, the dreaded looting. 

Anyhow, this will probably be my last post until after the storm. I hope I don't miss any fun swaps with Silver Bella; I hope I don't miss the birth of my niece/nephew in Texas; I will miss my daily blog reads; and I WILL miss my computer. Okay, I am depressed now after thinking of all the things I might miss, but I have to finish tightening things up around the house such as putting away all of the outside patio furniture, pot plants, gas grill & BBQ pit...now the house looks empty!

        

       

       

       

I'm on 6 acres with no trees in close vicinity so the only thing I really have to worry about is shingles and debris. The house is raised on a hill almost 5 feet so flooding shouldn't be a problem. If I flood, then it's really bad! This is our shed above & now it's full of patio furniture,  extra vehicles and everything that we don't want to leave outside. During Hurricane Lilly in 2002, we lost the rear 1/4 of the roof but was able to patch it in between squalls to prevent further water damage of the contents. After the storm was over, we repaired it to it's former state. (I hope this all looks like this after Gustav!) :0

I'm going to miss all of you...I'll be back online after Gustav is finish with his little visit to the coast...provided we have electricity and internet!

Diaper Cake Girly-Girl Style...

Just a few quick peeks of the  latest diaper cake I made and delivered to the new owner last night...I love them and hate to see them go!

             

Close ups...

 

A Romantic Surprise...

I was patiently waiting for a little romance from my mailman today...

Well, not exactly from him of course but from the box which he was delivering! Today I received my very first swap gift!

Envision this picture if you will...I am at work, I am sitting at my desk, I am nervously looking at the priority box in front of me in fear of opening it...exactly why I am in fear at this moment I am not sure but I will tell you what was running through my head at that time...

1.) Will my little tag that I sent to her live up to this wonderful romantic creation in this box that I am about to open?

2.) Will she actually like my little tag that I sent her and not just throw it in a drawer?

3.) Is the tag I sent to her her style, her colors, or is it romantic enough for her?

Then I got over all that and tore into the box...And when I did, I felt like it was my birthday! She had me at the beautiful little muslin bag embellished with pom poms and stamped with vintage Paris!

              

I peeked inside and not only was it the most beautiful romantic tag I have ever seen,

             

She added all kinds of little extra surprises!

Okay, I was definitely feeling the Romance here!

I had everything laid all over my desk...then a customer comes in for an estimate. (Remember now, I own and work at a vehicle collision center...there is nothing pretty or romantic anywhere in sight) I greet him with only a corner of a smile and regretfully put my romantic goodies away. As soon as he leaves, I am turning off the lights & I'm out the door to hurry home & take pictures so I can share this with you!

Tiffany @ Shabby Scraps was so sweet to ask me to do a "Romance" tag swap with her...

Thanks Tiffany, I love, love, love, love, it!!!! All of it!!!!

It was a lovely surprise...I love her style and if you haven't read her blog or shopped through her store...you must take the time to do so. She is awesome. I cannot wait to meet her at Silver Bella in November. I just hope that by the end of the week when her mailman brings her some romance, she will feel the same way I did today!

Happy Birthday Mom...

Today would have been Mom's 69th birthday...she left us suddenly and unexpectedly almost five years ago. I took my Dad out today for a ride to the cemetery. He is in an assisted living home about a mile from where I live. I visit him almost daily, try to take him out as often as I can and take care of all his affairs. So today, we put a fresh new bundle of crisp Fall flowers for her birthday.

She loved the Fall season, the cooler weather, the changing of the leaves. I think it was her favorite followed by the Spring season of a fresh new burst of color and flowers. She loved to watch the birds and loved to "play" in her flower garden that she tended to daily...she said it was "her therapy".

She was the love of Dad's life...

the love of my life & my best friend...

I miss her terribly.

Happy Birthday in Heaven Mom...I miss you!

Waiting for the Arrival...

Yep, my new little nephew/niece should be arriving any day now...we are on standby. This is what I made (with the help of Photoshop) and sent to them just to let them know that I am patiently waiting for the arrival of Baby Rougeau...It's a cute little vintage ephemera postcard...

Front                                                Back

I am traveling to Texas to visit for the weekend so you won't hear from me until next week!

Have a good weekend...I'll post later~

Early Rise with the Blind Man...

Well friends and family, Thad's eye surgery went fine this morning. He is all bandaged up and blind for the next 24 hours so both of us took advantage of the gloomy weather and slept most of the afternoon. He's being a great patient and doesn't complain at all. Tomorrow morning, we go back to the office to remove the patches and he should have 20/20 vision. (I hope he still loves me since he will see things he may have not seen before!)

             

Birthday Inspiration...

I have a good friend who has the most awesome scrapbook studio. Her husband built it for her a couple of years ago and it is the cutest little 'doll house' behind her lovely home. Somehow she is not inspired in there...hmm. I don't understand that either but anyway, it's her 37th birthday so I surprised her with a girl's night at my home for dinner and drinks.

I invited some of her family and friends with a birthday theme of Inspiration in hopes of her receiving items to get her excited about working in her cute little studio.

My Inspiration gift to her was:

4 spools of tulle (wrap presents & make flowers)

cut crystal drops (add some bling to any project)

vintage stickers (always a must for collage)

vintage sheet music (layer, wrap, collage, stamp, etc.)

some tickets (see all of the above!)

a copper & turquoise bracelet and earrings set I made (a girl has to look pretty while creating!)

a handmade/stamped beaded birthday postcard I made(to hang in her studio to remember me!)

And all this inspiration was packaged in a pretty little decorative storage box wrapped in tulle.

I set the place settings with plastic (I didn't want to do dishes, so what?) I printed vintage place cards and placed them under the plates and wrapped the utensils in little sewn envelopes with their glittery chipboard initials...these were keepsakes for the guests to take home. Everyone left with a little something & the birthday girl left with a lot! A lot of inspiration!

It was a nice night, we laughed, ate, and celebrated another year! Just us girls...Happy Birthday Donna!

Romantic Inspiration Coming My Way...

My first swap ever...I am so excited. An awesomely talented gal (whom I will meet in person @ Silver Bella) and I are doing a 'one on one' tag swap! I have never done this before and looking at the beauties of previous and on going swaps throughout blogland, I hope I don't disappoint! Augh! The stress! haha The theme is Romance and I think that is right up my alley so I have been putting some things together...I'll post more with pictures after September 1st. I don't want to give away the surprise! I am so excited and honored that she wanted to do this with Me! She's so great...I can't wait to meet her!

Running out of gas...

Do you ever feel like you just need to slow down? That there's just not enough gas to make it around to the corner store? Good, because I thought I was the only one! I am looking forward to next week, next Wednesday to be exact. Hubby is having laser corrective surgery on both of his eyes so he won't have to wear his glasses anymore. He'll be able to show off his baby blues! So, we will be closed for almost a week while he recuperates! Yeah! Some well needed, well deserved R&R...Yeah!

Scrap!

I've been picking up scrap material in bargain bins here and there for the past month or so...

(in preparation for Silver Bella in November!) 

I just washed them and they are ready for me to iron...(I hate to iron). I am getting ready for any and all Silver Bella swaps I can get my hands on! I want to be prepared since this is my first year and I don't know what to expect! I have my thinking cap on and I am ready!

Bring it on!

Hmm...I really need an apron for Silver Bella too...

I really need to get busy!

This cute little face...

How can you resist it? Well that wasn't the case 2 days ago when my son said "Mom, I have a small problem"...  I thought, how bad can it be right? "Mom, my white hamster is missing, but don't be mad." Mad? Me? Ha! I was however just a little grossed out knowing there was a loose mouse in my house! And the worse part about it was that he was leaving to go back to his college apartment yesterday leaving ME to look for this little thing! So, to make a long story short, I was cleaning his room (on my lunch hour)  today and there she was...waiting for me in his closet like a good little girl. Hubby went to the convenience store and picked her up a bag of sunflower seeds to hold her until "her daddy" comes to pick her up tonight. He's got a lot to learn about parenting! Oh how I can't wait to be a grandmother! But not for a mouse!

Recuperation Agenda:

Got home from wedding at 1:00a Saturday morning

Actually fell asleep at 2:00a

Received phone call at 7:22a - "Let's go shopping"

7:23a - I accepted the offer with only 5 hours of sleep (those who know love me know that I require at least 8 hours of sleep...)

On the road at 8:10a and traveled 1 hour

Ate a sausage, egg & cheese biscuit @ Barnes & Nobles

                  

Water Massage @ Great Escape (loved it! 1st time ever)

Lunch @ Raisin' Canes

Shopped two scrapbook stores, one old & one new

  

And hit Hobby Lobby and Michael's

Who could ask for a better day?

ps...I slept til 9:30 this morning! :)

The Last Wedding

Of the season, for me that is! I have one more wedding to decorate for on Friday night (08-08-08). This one is special...it is for my Aunt Jean. Below are some pictures from a wedding I did in May for a friend's daughter with the same colors and theme.  It will give you an idea of what Friday night will look like...

Her colors are Black, Ivory, & White with a touch of Silver

I beaded the wedding party glasses...

Greetings at the sign in table...

I printed the wedding invitations, book mark favors, the reception buffet menu, food cards, & the thank you cards for each table.

I folded the utensils & napkins with the fleur de lis wrap, & the Harley Davidson (for the grooms cake table) & made all of the flower arrangements, table centerpieces and door cones.

Aunt Jean's wedding will be very similar to this one. So if you don't hear from me in a couple of days...this is what I will be up to.

Have a great week and I will catch up soon!

I'm so stupid...

I waited...and she (my 'birthday' sister) received her package today that I have been so anticipating for her to receive...  (the earlier post).

Here's how it went this evening before I got home:

Answering machine: Hey Jodie, I just received my package and I love it! The jewelry you made me is so beautiful, I love the bracelet but I am not sure what to do with the earrings as my ears are not pierced. I wish they were so I could wear them...but unfortunately they are not, so what would you like me to do with them? Just give me a call and let me know...Love & Miss Ya'll, Karen"

(she's 48) Why didn't I know that? I have been her sister for 37 years...how the heck did I miss that? Augh, I made earrings for someone who has NO holes in her ears and she's my sister????? Geez I'm a looser!

And more bad news...are you ready? I stopped by at Barbara's (my jewelry loot lady & BFF) this evening...but stupid me drove the Corvette, again! I forgot and couldn't take the loot home again today. Is it the heat here in Louisiana or is Tropical Edouard sucking up all the oxygen in the air?

Thank goodness I can get on Silver Bella Yahoo and get cheered up again when reading all the exciting and funny comments and stuff...I can't wait until November!

Tomorrow will be a better day! (I am closing my eyes and trying to believe that it will)

I'm waiting...

When you surprise someone with a gift or small gesture through the mail, don't you just love anticipating the reaction of the recipient? Well, I am still waiting on my sister's reaction to the cute little birthday package I mailed to Texas for her last Friday...

It contains the bracelet and earrings that I made and  posted about on July 30th. (I'd link it for you but I'm not that good yet so scroll down and take a look if you haven't done so already.)

I think the earrings are a little long to what she is used to wearing, but nevertheless, they will look awesome on her!

She should be getting it today or Tuesday...

Jewelry Jackpot!!!

Yep, I won the  jewelry lottery again! You girls know how expensive it is to get your hands on that perfect vintage brooch, that gypsy pair of earrings, or that shabby chic necklace you can wear dressed up or down right? Or, better yet, if you are into re-purposing unwanted aka: "junk" jewelry (like me), you'll really understand my jackpot story! Well, about two months or so ago, my SNL's neighbor was moving (into a nursing home) and everything was going to the road! She called me at work and said "Girl, I think you better come over now...you're gonna love this." So not knowing what to expect, I told the hubby I needed to run an errand and off I went to see what was the big deal. We dug under old tattered tarps and in some dusty old dresser drawers and this is what I came home with...for FREE! FREE! FREE!

If you notice closely, my blog heading is taken from this photo!

Then today, I rode out to my BFF Barbara's house and she had the best surprise waiting for me! Some scrumptious vintage-shabby-chic bling for ME!

And as an added bonus, she gave me (my first ever) two vintage hats from her husband's mother! They are my favorite color...Black! Also two beautiful hand fans, some little shoes, a pretty black beaded box, a vintage pair of eyeglasses and the case,  and the jewelry box itself...everything in the pictures!

I think she loves me! :)

She sat with me and told me how much she wore this one, and how much she loved that one, and she came across a precious little pin that belonged to her mother. She asked me to make her something with it! My gosh! That's the least I had in mind to do for her~

You know what the coolest part of all this is? There is still some more I didn't bring home! I drove my Corvette there today and didn't have the place to put the "jewelry hanger" full of more jewelry lotto! It's the cutest pink hanger full of little compartments that hold little pairs of earrings and such! (I'll take pictures of that too and show you) So I left it and will pick it up tomorrow when I go back in my "grocery getter" Dodge.  (Besides, it'll be another reason to sit and visit with her and thank her again and again and again!) Can you tell how excited I am??? I really really am!

To some it may be junk jewelry and some may toss it out. I say no jewelry is junk jewelry! It's has sooo much potential! For example, I love to clip an earring in the middle of a bow (tied with ribbon or lace) on a beautifully wrapped present, especially those earrings whom have lost their life partner, you know, those single beauties! (It just kills me to break a perfect pair) Or use one to clip a scarf together, as a curtain tie back, or even if you really want to be sassy, use it as a paper clip! I love to add old beads with new funky beads and give them a fresh and updated look, but still keep the vintage feel.

Did I tell you that I think she loves me?

Thanks Again Barbara! I really appreciate it!

And thank you for stopping by, I'll show you the rest of the loot when I get back tomorrow!