Glorious Staycation

Today, I took the day off.  Just to be.  To rest.  To spend time in the Word.  To get organized.  To love on my pup.  He enjoyed napping in the sun.

I have been on the road so much this year that I can't even tell you how many miles I've put on my car.  Every weekend it's something.  A friend's wedding, an engagement party, a family gathering, a visit to a friend that I haven't seen in a while.  All wonderful, blessed events. 

But, I'm tired.  Exhausted, really.  My car is falling a part.  It needs to rest, too. :-)

So, today I stayed home, and I have had the most excellent day so far.  I have been organizing my guest bedroom closet that houses all my crafty things, and I even pulled out some things so that I could be creative today. 

This morning, I was praying and just asking God for answers about some decisions I need to make in the near future.  And, over and over, He spoke to my heart and said, "Seek!" I read Jeremiah 29:13 several times and let it sink into my heart.  "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."

I wanted to create myself a little reminder of what God spoke to me this morning to take and put on my desk at work.  I got out the paints and canvases and paint pens.  Here is the final product: 

The rest of the day promises more productivity, rest, chips and salsa for dinner and the What Not to Wear season premier.  I love the occasional day off!

Great Grapevine

Grapevine wreaths are so versatile, and craft stores like Michael's sell them for fairly cheap.  Late in the summer, I bought two with plans to make a fall wreath and, perhaps, a Halloween wreath.

My fall wreath turned out great! I got the metal insert that says "Autumn Blessings" from Hobby Lobby as well as the garland of acorns and pine cones that I wrapped around the wreath.  I found the garland of fall leaves at the dollar store.  I love it!

For Halloween, I really like what I came up with.  I just thought of the idea to do a wreath this way randomly one day, and I am so proud of it.  I took a black feather boa that has silver "tinsel" in it and wrapped it around the grapevine.  I secured it with black pipe cleaners.  Then in the dollar section at Target, I found the glittery spiders and the glittery wooden word "Boo!"  I used fishing wire to secure them into the wreath, allowing one to dangle.  The final touch (that I hadn't done yet when I took this photo) was to put store-bought spider web on across the wreath.  It turned out super cute!

What do your fall and Halloween wreaths look like? Post your link in the comments section, if you like!

When I'm bored, I sew.

Since I am still on the lookout for a job (any ideas?!?...seriously), I am finding myself to be a bit bored lately. It's not that I am not enjoying every minute of being home with family and friends. I most certainly am! But, during the day when everyone is at school or work, I find myself cleaning a lot and being an obsessive organizer (can my closet be cleaned out one more time?).

So...I got the old sewing machine out and bought some cute fabric to do some sewing. I learned to sew in India and was able to sew some totebags and even a dress for my sweet little friend Lyla Joy. Now that I am home and have the accessibility to some amazing and helpful sewing products, I decided to expand my repertoire and try applique. I used this tutorial from Sew,Mama, Sew!. Here are some pics of my first adventure in applique!

I used Steam-A-Seam2 fusible webbing because it is two-sided and makes doing letters easier.

It's for Halloween!

Ironing the webbing on

Cute letters

Here is the finished product. The seams on the zig-zag are a bit janky, but keep in mind that this was my first applique and pretty much my first time sewing something that wasn't a straight line. I think I did pretty good for my first try!


Don't worry, Kacie. I made Lyla Joy one (or a few)!

So I sewed a dress...

for this little cutie...


This is my first attempt at sewing clothing since I learned to sew last year. I'll admit this was an easy pattern, and there are some janky seams here and there. But, it was so fun and looks so cute on Little Joy.

Last week I was able to visit my dear friends in another city, meet that precious baby and attend a ladies retreat held by these women. I even ran into an old friend from college unexpectedly!





It was an amazing time of teaching, encouragement, fellowship and fun! What a great break.