Vacation Getaway

AKA "Women's Weekend" was a lot of fun! There was much laughter and conversation and great food and shopping...it's no wonder I'm already looking forward to next year! We could see IKEA from our hotel room so it made sense for us to begin there. Sensory overload and some fabulous purchases!

The weather was delightful and a nice break from the stifling temperatures we left in KC. A trip to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden was a lovely way to enjoy it too.

I often found myself thinking there was an "Alice in Wonderland" feel to several of the sculptures/gardens.

We also did some local shopping in St. Paul. I loved the mix of restaurants, apartments, older homes and shops all on one avenue...especially the older houses that are now shops!

And of course, Mall of America.....

And whatever the reason, on this trip, I seemed to have a fascination with lighting fixtures and other ceiling decor, so I'll leave you now with a couple of them.....
 

Marilyn

Gotta Have a Tote Bag

Women's Weekend is coming soon. It's our annual getaway--my two daughters and me, just the three of us--and we always have a wonderful time! This year, we're taking a shopping trip, specifically to IKEA, but we're open to other spots that grab our attention too!

So I say tote bags for all, and thanks to this tutorial, we're set.

I wonder how many times we can fill them...

Marilyn

Weekend Pleasures

Really, where does the time go? Not the "where does the time go?" and a shake of the head when you see how much someone's child has grown...but the "how-did-I-JUST-post-last-Wednesday-and-now-it's-this-Wednesday-where-does-the-time-go?"!

Answers? Anyone? And don't give me that "the older you get...blah, blah, blah".

Anyway, weekend pleasures (last weekend, not this coming up weekend, yet)...

Actually, I could stop with this picture of Grandpa (Rick) holding Cole--it just doesn't get any better!

Hi, cutie!
The weather in Kansas City last weekend was gorgeous--perfect spring days--so nice to be out and about!

I did manage to do some sewing. These blocks are for Tine in the Sew Connected 2 quilting bee group.

I loved working with her fabrics. The colors were so inspiring.


While I was sewing Tine's blocks, I got to thinking about the blocks I've received so far. I hadn't laid them out altogether yet and was anxious to see what it would look like.


I love it already! Everyone is making such beautiful blocks with my fabric...more to come...yippee!

Marilyn

Holiday Weekend

Yahoo! I got a chance to play with paper and glue today!

Due to the "I think I'll paint the craft room" project and a few other events (Thanksgiving), crafting just hasn't been happening around here. I was beginning to feel some withdrawal setting in, but fortunately, I had taken on leading a couple of ornament making sessions for the Christmas tree at church.

This morning, a dozen or so adults and I folded these stars using pages from art magazines...

and made some peace doves...

I would agree that they are somewhat elementary...I wasn't sure what the skill levels were going to be and it turned out even these were a bit tricky for a couple of the folks:) I was just glad to be cutting and using glue, at any level.

I did finish painting the craft room--purple on one wall, tan on the other three...

and moved all of my stuff back into the room, but this shelf is all that got organized...

so on Wednesday night, I closed the door and looked forward to a nice long weekend.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving Day...I hope that you and your family/friends did too.


And yesterday, all of our kids were here for KU/MU Border War football. Not everyone was supporting the same team but it stayed friendly and fun. I didn't really care who won (football doesn't interest me much) so I picked KU because my KU t-shirt looks nicer than my raggedy MU t-shirt, hehee. Everyone brought a snack and I think we ate as much as we did on Thanksgiving--after just two days of turkey, it was nice to have something different.

It was exactly the nice long weekend I looked forward to!

Any guesses what I'll be getting back to tomorrow?

Marilyn

Family Fun

It was the relaxing weekend that I had hoped for and we ended it Sunday evening with some family-and-friends-FUN. We had delayed celebrating hubby's Father's Day by a week so that we could attend this Kansas City T-Bones baseball game. It can be tricky for our family of eight to get together and we missed our son-in-law this time due to work. But, with seven of us and a couple of the kids' friends, off we went!



The weather really cooperated--sunshine, comfortable temperatures--and seats in the shade made it even nicer. The game was great, complete with entertainment between innings. And you can be sure, even on his special day, that Rick planned extra family fun for every inning (musical chairs, guessing games i.e. number of strikes/inning, etc). He brought prizes (dollar store items, gum, mints, etc.) and provided us with more than just a few good laughs. Sometimes we like to pretend that we're humoring him, but we love it all and we love him! Can't think of a better reason to celebrate!

Marilyn

What are you doing this weekend?

I didn't need to ask about Emma's plans...she's a 17 year old prima donna who does whatever she pleases and at this point in her life, that means a lot of sleeping!

As for me, I'm looking forward to a fairly relaxing weekend. It seems that our recent weekends have been very full. I really enjoy being with family and friends and I don't mind a lot of activity but sometimes and I need to just BE.

I need to sit on a bench...hum a tune...
I need to be spontaneous and squirrel-eeeee...
I need to ignore responsibility...
and find joy in the little things! Have you seen these?! My darlin' babe brought them home--Skittles and CHOCOLATE, why didn't I think of that?!
I'm also looking forward to starting a new project. I signed up for a doll quilt swap,

and this is the fabric I'll be using. I bought it last weekend when we were in Lawrence...Sarah's Fabrics is an incredible store!
I figured out my pattern last night while we were watching TV, so now I'm ready to get out the ruler and the rotary cutter and go at it!

What are your plans for the weekend? I hope it's an enjoyable one!

Marilyn