Dresser Update

I'm making slow progress on the dresser. In fact, the kitty has been helping. See?

She did not like it when I had to wash her little feet.

Feeling Moody

It's time for the blog to go in the blender. I'm anxious to introduce a whole new look and feel! Some changes are already in place: New colors, separate pages for the about me page, the Etsy shop and my tutorials. Other changes are still in the works.

I just posted a request on Alchemy for someone to "rebrand" the blog and the shop. This is a relatively small rebranding effort, as it goes. My goal is to get a couple shiny new banners and coordinating business cards to make me seem more legit.

In an effort to communicate the look I'm going for, I put together this mood board.

Since I've been making purses, I've started thinking in fabrics, so that's where I went for inspiration. As I was putting this together, it spawned several new purse ideas. :-)

To make the mood board, I surfed Fabric.com and saved the ones that communicate the image I want. Because I have limited access to awesome photo editing programs, I resized and cropped the images in Paint, compiled them in PowerPoint, pasted a screenshot back into Paint and saved it as a jpeg. Good lord, I need PhotoShop.

Non sequitur alert! Someone nearby is eating something garlicky. Can't wait for lunchtime.

Grundy: Part Two

When last I posted, I was in fear that we'd be staying at the YMCA in Grundy, VA. Dear reader, you'll be relieved to know that we slept comfortably at a motel. You see, the information for the motel on Google Maps was lacking, and thus we were routed to the center of the town. Thankfully, we got the actual address on the way and made it there without incident.

I'm afraid I didn't get many pictures while we were there. It was difficult to take pics from the car while clutching for my dear life on the windy mountain roads. But here are a few...

a glittery rose

an SUV hearse

mountainy goodness

Of course, I didn't have my camera on me for the amazing view of the steam coming off the mountains after a torrential rain. Close your eyes and picture it. I'll wait...

All in all, it was a good trip. Aside from the funeral, that is. Grundy is a pretty little town full of character and I met tons of family I didn't know that I had. It was an interesting experience to feel so incredibly welcome by a group of "strangers." And it was a good opportunity to work through some personal baggage.

Somehow, we screwed up getting Chick Fil' A on the way back. I'm still kicking myself for that.

Grundy

Long lapse in posting, huh? I promise I have a good reason. Last week, we were unexpectedly called out of town due to a death in the family. Promptly upon returning, I contracted the kind of flu that makes you want to give up on life.

The funeral we attended was in Grundy, VA. Ever heard of it? I would be surprised if you have. You see, I'm descended from a long line of crazy mountain people. Grundy is an old coal mining town that is so far west into Virginia that it's almost in Kentucky. I haven't been to Grundy since I was a wee Mel P. Growing up with so many stories about the antics my family were up to "back in the day," I was anxious to see the place.

Prior to leaving, we booked our room at the motel. I was a little concerned when Google maps showed the location as being in the same spot as the YMCA.

For now, I will leave you with that teaser. I'll be back soon with a few Grundy pics and a post about The Hub's birthday party!