busy busy

This is my last full week at home before school starts. (I leave for San Diego on Sunday!) As you can imagine, my to do list is a mile long. 

Here's what I'm up to:

1. Getting new specs.

Ralphie hid my glasses from me in February and I am just now getting tired of my blurry vision.

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2. Getting my hair cut like this.

My hair grows so slowly, that I can usually manage cutting it only twice a year. Because I was growing it out for the wedding and willing to have whatever split ends would get me there, I haven't had my hair cut since last September. I'm a little over due :).

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3. Back to School shopping.

My shoe wardrobe is in desperate need of refreshment.

4. Setting up my classroom.

(Sorry for the poor pic quality. I found this picture while hunting for pictures of my classroom. This is from fall 2008. A student snapped this when Cory wasn't paying attention. We had only been dating for a few months at this point. We both look so "teacher-ish" lol.)

I'll be in San Diego all next week, so this is my last shot at a little peace and quiet in my classroom before teachers and students return!

5. Changing my name.

I have loads of paperwork to fill out so I can legally change my last name. So, so much!

Have a great day!

We're back!

I'm back!

Wow, what a vacation! We finally made it back from our 2 week honeymoon late, late Friday evening. We decided to stay in North Carolina for one last afternoon at the beach. I just couldn't stand the idea of having to go home, to be perfectly honest. Yesterday we were very busy running errands and getting our house in order before we gorged ourselves with crabs at a local mom & pop seafood place.


Today will be spent crocheting in the car while we head to a cousin's 11th birthday party (luau themed, yay), and a sleepover at the inlaws. Why am I sleeping over at the inlaws just 2 days after the honeymoon, you ask? Well, it's quite simple.
They have cable and this:

Mad Men Season 4 premieres tonight on AMC and Cory and I are SO excited. In January, Cory and I decided to eliminate cable and internet from our house, and while it has been a struggle for me, I find ways of making it work.

I am so excited for this premiere tonight, I can't stay seated! I'm excited to see all the mod clothing and new set designs. Oh my, my. I am so excited. If you haven't gotten bit by the Mad Men bug, it's completely worth your time.

Giveaway Update:
Are you following this blog yet? Go here to see what you have to do to enter! I will be back tomorrow/Tuesday with a run-down of all the little goodies you're able to get from the giveaway! I will choose the giveaway winner soon, because I leave for San Diego on Sunday for a week. So busy!


Have a lovely Sunday!

xo Liz

I miss you..

I know I'm supposed to be relaxing and taking in this wonderful two week vacation. Trust me, I'm milking it for all it's worth. This is what I really miss about home though:

I am SO excited to get home and start on new projects that will be perfect for late summer/early fall and back to school!

Check out these pretty things:

And this makes me feel the creative "itch" more than anything!

(P.S. I do not have photo credit for these pictures..if you know their source, please let me know!)

Reception photo...

Here's a photo that our event planner at the Delaplaine caught before our receptionn began. Once I have more of Pang's pictures, I will post them. It was an absolutely lovely evening!

A sneak peak...

Pang, our amazing friend and wedding photographer, posted a sneak peak of a few wedding photos tonight. I literally jumped up and down when I saw them (even though we were waiting in line at a restaurant in North Carolina...)! I thought you might like to see how we looked on our big day!

I have a different picture from our wedding reception taken by a friend that I will share later!

One of these days..

One of these days I will wake up, pour myself a cup of coffee, and walk outside to this:

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What do you dream to wake up to?

P.S. I just realized I've been posting an awful lot about picnics! Have you been on any great picnics lately? Maybe we should do a picnic challenge/swap! What do you think!?

P.P.S. Just a few more days until I'm home from our honeymoon! Are you following my blog yet? Check here for more details!

30 Day Project Update

So, I have to admit, I have really been slacking when it comes to Janel's 30 Day Journal Project. There has just not been enough time in my day outside of wedding planning for this little gem. Although, when I do have the time, I really really love it! I have big big dreams of finishing it while in the Outer Banks later this month...a girl can hope. Anyway--here are a few of my pages that I haven't posted yet (from 3 weeks ago, I think):

My favorite blogs:

It's time for:

I feel...

Home Ec

So for all my craftiness, I am pretty afraid of my sewing machine. Now, I know it won't attack me in my sleep, but I get crazy anxiety just thinking about a project I might crochet that needs lining or anything like that.

Those of you who are visiting from Smile and Wave, and those of you who should go visit Rachel's blog ASAP (bc it's adorable in every way), let's talk about the new class she's hosting (with others): Home Ec.

Is anyone else interested in taking this class? Deep down, I really want to enroll and have it be the most wonderful experience possible (obviously). But, I'm nervous for a few reasons, so I need some people to talk me into it!

Nervous reason #1: The class starts August 10th. In any other world, this just a date, but to me, it's just 2 days before school starts for teachers. This is a really crazy time of year for me as I'll be setting up my classroom, attending meetings, and getting Homecoming details prepared with my Student Government students.

Nervous reason #2: I need support to keep truckin' through the class. The more people I "know" taking the class, the more peer pressure you can put on me to finish the projects! I know I can make up excuses in a hurry, so I would like to set up a suppor system so we can keep everyone going!

Nervous reason #3: The Muse needs a pretty solid inventory of Donna's December's merchandise for the fall/winter. So does my etsy shop, so I had planned on using August and September to work on inventory and new patterns. However, (here's the flip side) this class might help me improve items I already make and sell!

Ok, ok...now what do you think?

Are you in? Should we do it?

Beach Week Reading Competition

Every year, my family enjoys a lazy week at North Carolina's Outer Banks. While we're sure to take in a lot of sun and sand, we also challenge ourselves with loads of reading material. We all have giant stacks we hope to accomplish by the time we leave (sometimes we get through them all, sometimes we do not). Here's a glimpse of what we're reading.

At the end of the week, I'll fill you in on what I read and little reviews of each!

(P.S. Thanks to Amazon for letting me use their book cover grapics!)

I'm reading:

Cory's reading:

Mom's reading:

There a few others floating around...but I can't think of them right now!

Happy reading!

Let's go shopping!

Here are some pretty fashions I am in awe of from Anthropologie:

I love the textile used for these (especially for fall):

Tie it all together with a pair of:

Yum! These make me want to clean out my closet and start from scratch!

P.S. Don't forget: as soon as I return from our honeymoon, I'll be hosting a great end-of-summer giveaway! Don't forget you have to follow my blog in order to be put in the drawing--so get a move on and half the work will be over!

Hi!

Long time, no see, folks!

We're officially back from Jamaica, but are currently in North Carolina (Outer Banks area) for another week of vacay! I plan on stopping in a bit more frequently to update with pictures and so forth, but there are still a few scheduled posts coming your way. This afternoon, I'm taking you on a shopping tour through Anthropologie to check out some summer into fall looks.

As you know, Cory and I have been married for a week (eek!), yay! I have a few pictures posted on facebook from friends, but I am DYING to see pictures from our photographer, Pang. She posted a little taste on her blog that I wanted to share with you. Go on over and visit her blog to share the love, too!

This makes me so excited to see the rest.

Have a lovely Sunday funday!

Pretty Picnics

Who wants to set up a pretty picnic with me?

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Donna's Decembers

Question: What is Donna's Decembers? What does that mean?

Good question! I realized I have never fully explained the name behind this blog and my shop.

I was taught how to crochet by my Grandmother, Donna when I was just 7 years old. She was such a fun, crafty, patient grandmother. She really was the best. We would spend summers together baking and playing around with big ideas that eventually led to projects! I really was inspired by how artistic she always seemed to be (although she really couldn't draw...haha).

My grandmother was diagnosed (for the second time) with lung cancer on December 15, 2008. This was two days before her 69th birthday and 15 years (almost to the day) since she had been diagnosed before. We were devestated. She continuously made the joke, "I should just change my birthday to June 7th! I am so tired of bad news in December!" As the only other person in the family with a December birthday, I felt a certain heart string being pulled everytime she made this casual joke. As we pushed through the next year of treatment and ups and downs, I would find crochet patterns that I thought she would enjoy. I would make her little pouches for her glasses (but she used it for her inhaler instead, ha), and anything else that I thought might put a smile on her face. She was always so happy when she saw what I was working on, and didn't understand how the internet had so many crochet patterns to offer (this still makes me laugh)!

Although my grandmother did not survive this attack of cancer, her energy really inspired me to take my passion of arts and crafting to the extreme.

I have named my blog and business Donna's Decembers in tribute to my grandmother and her incredible strength.

P.S. Don't forget to be a follower of my blog! This way as soon as I return from our honeymoon you can enter the giveaway!

Time Management.

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 I have been trying to focus my energy into positive activities and people that make me feel energized. Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to do what I really want to do.

My entire outlook recently has been evolving around one central question:

How do you find time to do what you love to do?

While I know some people are very fortunate to take a leap of faith and trust in their true passions, I find that is not the case for everyone. I have never had an opportunity arise where I could place every other daily obstacle on the back burner to focus on a true passion.

So, for those of you who juggle the demands of work, family, etc., how do you do it?

Do you work on a schedule?

I think this seems to be a struggle for most people, as we are constantly exploring new artistic avenues and passions, but it is a topic for a healthy conversation (in my eyes at least)!

We're getting married today!

On our way to be Mr. and Mrs!

See you soon!

This time tomorrow...

....we will be married! Amazing!

I have a TON of scheduled posts for you!

hugs,

Liz

phone photos

Here are the photos on my camera from the last week:

Cory and I in Baker Park for the weekly free Sunday concert (one of my FAVORITE things to do in the summer and one of my favorite qualities of Frederick)!

My helmet of icecream from the O's game...yum yum!

My favorite summer evening treat: lemonade and mini cheesecake!

And baby Sloane trying out a raft in the pool:

What's on your phone camera?

Wow! So excited!

Just 2 days until wedding day!

Things are really crazy and time intensive. I'm getting ready to go to the Delaplaine to check out what the reception looks like! Don't worry--I'm going to grab my camera before we go... but sorry, you won't get pics until the whole shindig is over!

Just wanted to say hi and happy Thrusday to you!

Have a lovely summer day!

Liz

Crochet Today

Believe it or not... I'm starting to tackle my Christmas list. No, no, not what I am asking for this year, but what would like to make family and friends for Christmas.  I know many of you crafters also need to get a head start so you can actualy enjoy the holiday season without being sleep deprived! Last year I was really struggling to find unique crochet patterns that would hit up all the personalities I wanted to crochet for until I found a copy of Crochet Today at my local box bookstore.

The magazine (supported by Red Heart yarn) has been such a HUGE source of inspiration for me. It offers hip, stylish, and young patterns that are great for kids, adults, and the home! Here are a few of their magazine covers and projects to pique your interest!

On newstands now:

Check out this bag! Perfect for summer months leading into the fall!

And did I mention the adorable home decor?

Zoo animals from the April/May issue:

(I made the panda in the upper right corner in a day! Quickest project ever!)

Anyway--I just wanted to spread the love. Their patterns are super awesome and I love each and every one of them. In fact, my co-worker Karla and I both subscribe. We carefully page through each issue and talk about how much we're drooling over the patterns.

It's a must have (or a great gift to write down on YOUR wishlist)!

P.S. Don't forget about the GIVEAWAY when I return from our honeymoon! Make sure you're a follower of my blog and the rest will be cake!