Miss you...

Today I've been thinking a lot about my friend Heidi. (if your reading this...don't kill me for the photos please) I miss her loads. It's been far too long since I've seen her.
I first met her when I moved in next door to her house on a farm in Coburg. She was seven, I was eleven. We were inseparable and had many adventures together. Everything from being prairie girls to stealing green beans and having cabbage fights on the farm. We rode our bikes everywhere and I wish I had a 1/4 of the energy now that I did then.
So many books could be written about those days. But right now I just want to send a hug out to you, love. It's amazing how long we've stuck together even through long distances. Let's be friends forever okay? Love you. :)

Look forward to a chat and coffee date with you one day in the hopefully not to far off future.

xxxxAnna

*all photos in this post taken by Heidi :)

Happiness....

...is this amazing hand dyed wool....

Happiness is what I feel from the name of this hand dyed wool:

Happiness is me staring at the wool...and touching the wool....

Happiness is what I'm going to make out of the hand dyed wool:

Happiness is also drawing eyes. :) I've been practicing eyes like mad and I think I might be getting a little better, but still not spot on.

But right now...happiness is a cup of tea. So if you will excuse me, I'll go brew some. ;)

I would like to live here please :)

Christmas gifts so far...

Yesterday our sewing group had a gift exchange. I had drawn Daisy's name so I made her this basket/bag out of some stiff yarn:
And this little owly cuff:

I was trying to be Christmasy with the green and the red eyes. I hope the owls don't look too evil. ;)

Then last night I went to Wal-Mart with Becks and we wandered around looking for something we "needed". I got this:

I know, it's BLACK. heehee It was only 97 cents though and I always wanted to wear black nail polish. Besides, it's not so emo anymore...it's becoming quite classy. (at least I think it can be) So I will have fun with it. :) I think it would be fun to use in a black and white photo shoot.

Now I'm off to get some laundry done and finish up the rest of my Christmas gifts....

In which I meet my first male Twi-Hard and get over caring what people think

Yesterday I got off work 2 1/2 hours after I was supposed to and so I was in a very deserving mood when I entered Target. In other words, I felt I deserve a special present for me because I was tired and had a long day.

So when I happened across the colored fine point markers and the score to New Moon...there was no hope left for my piggy bank. They were coming home with me.

The only awkward thing was taking my purchases to the cash register. The only available one was a guy..."oh great...here comes the ribbing," I thought. But I decided who the heck cares anyway? I like Twilight...why be embarrassed? I'm not a crazy fanatic fan, I just enjoy it. So I put my items on the conveyor belt and hurried over to the debit card machine, thinking maybe if I acted like I didn't know I was buying the New Moon soundtrack, he wouldn't notice either. But oh no. This is where it gets better.

"You like the music in New Moon too?" My head jerked up and I eyed him suspiciously. Was this a trick question?

"Um...yeah. I do actually." I replied, debating how to defend myself...lying and saying it was a Christmas present for the 13 year old sister I don't have was the first thing that came to mind.

"Me to!" He gushed. "I love the music in both movies. Especially Robert Pattinson's piano playing in the first movie."

"Um...yeah...me too. I was kind of disappointed he didn't play in the second movie." (Seriously...what guy knows Robert Pattinson plays the piano??)

"Yeah...I'm sure he has something in his mind for the upcoming movies. He's so talented he shouldn't stick to just acting."

"Yeah...he's really good." I'm saying all this in shock response, wondering if this guy is for real. He just kept talking.

"Yeah...I'm like the only guy Twilight fan I know...I even named my cat Esme. I was like the oldest male at the midnight showing." I just laughed and said something like..."Good for you," as he handed me my bag.

"Well, have a great day."

"Yeah you too."

I hurried off to where my mom was waiting by the front door and laughed all the way to the car. And I'm still laughing today. And I've decided...there's crazier people than me out there who don't care what people think of them...so I'm going to try not to care either.

the end

ps: this is why sometimes good old fashioned cd's are better than iTunes:

Quote of the Day

Joel: What's the point of being a writer or an artist anyway? Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick, he was so poor and forgot by the time he died that in his obituary they called him Henry Melville. You know, like why bother? They're just going to forget our names anyway.
James Brennan: Your Herman Melville story that - that's bull.
Joel: It's true, they called him Henry.
James Brennan: No, I mean, he wrote a seven-hundred page allegorical novel about the whaling industry. I think he was a pretty passionate guy, Joel. I hope they call me Henry when I die, too.
Joel: One can only hope

~Adventureland

Give Me Your Eyes

Brandon Heath is one of my favorite Christian artists and this is my favorite song of his at the moment. Every time I listen to it I'm reminded of how little I pay attention to the people in the world. I get so easily caught up with myself and my schedule. My annoyances and my struggles. If only I could see the world in God's eyes. This song is a great reminder of that.

Sunshine I <3 you

The sunshine came out today and somehow that always gives me energy and optimism. I completely cleaned my room...even that annoying stack of random papers on my desk now has a home and is neatly tucked away.
My ipod Hollander shed his winter coat and decided to brighten my day further with his blue-ness and lovely tunes. (yes I'm still listening to Owl City)
My favorite Bible and Donald Miller's latest book...love reading. :)

And...I rescued this awesome magazine rack from outside. It was filthy and horrid so I gave it a cold soapy bath with the hose and now it holds my catalogues which were otherwise falling all over the place. This makes me happy. :)

I also finished knitting one Alice Cullen fingerless glove. Yes...this is me knitting on 3 needles. Tricky, but I did it. :)

I didn't get a picture of the glove finished but I will soon.

But for now I must go to bed.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Unnecessaries

I tell you the Goodwill is a bad place for me to go. Stop in to check for one thing and you come out with an armload of stuff your determined you need. A file box (which I actually do need), a drawer box, a hardcover copy of Eclipse, a paperback copy of Donald Miller's 'Searching for God knows What' and a book that looked cool called 'A Writer's Reader'.
Did I need all this? Who knows. But at least I made it out of there spending about what I would have spent if I bought the file box brand new. So I guess I'm good. I need to stay away from that place though. It sucks me in.

Pomplamoose

My new favorite. :)

Today

Listening to Owl City on my ipod and sewing in the sun room. If only the sun would shine...

Hair Inspiration

Awhile back Kelsie asked if I used any pictures to inspire my hair cut...I finally found a few of the ones I took in when I got my hair cut. Sorry it took me so long to get these on here!

Kirsten Dunst as Claire in Elizabethtown:

Katie Holmes:

Vanessa Hudgens:

And somehow we ended up with:
My sister cut it about 4" shorter than I wanted it...but I'm actually glad she did. I like it and it all needs to come off anyway because I need to get rid of my growing out highlights.

But I am looking forward to when the highlights are gone so I can grow my hair out. There's so many hairstyles I'm in love with that are long and wavy. But in the meantime I'm just enjoying my hair as it is. :)

Award :)

The Kincell Family awarded me with the "Honest Scrap" award last week and I'm finally getting around to posting about it...Thanks so much you guys! :)

Here are the rules for the "Honest Scrap" Award:

1. Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award
2. Share "ten honest things" about yourself.
3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.
4. Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded the "Honest Scrap" and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

Ten Honest Things About me

1. I like to stay up late. I get really inspired late at night and that's usually when I get the most done.

2. I don't like it when people don't tell me things and I end up finding out through some one else. I'd rather the person just told me in the first place.

3. I have serious mood swings...one minute I'll be in love with sewing....the next I never want to see a piece of fabric again.

4. I have a bad habit of telling people everything about myself. I don't keep many secrets that have to do with me. I'm working on that. I need to have some mystery I think. ;)

5. I used to be really good at making pie. I might still be...but the last time I made a pie I was living in England and it was a flop. I blame all the cooks in the kitchen telling me how to do it. They didn't trust my cooking skills. :)

6. I'm somewhat of a piano snob. I never play my piano (old upright) but I love playing my friend's upright grand...or any grand piano for that matter. It's hard to keep me away from it. But my poor piano is in constant neglect.

7. I love reading and writing more than sewing. But I can only write when no one is awake.

8. It's really hard for me to think of ten honest things about myself.

9. I like having adventures by myself. I love discovering new places and meeting new people.

10. I really want to learn to play the guitar and cello...and get over my fear of singing in front of people.

~~~

I'm just going to pass this award on to my friend Becks for her blog Stories about Me. She is always such an encouragement and blessing to me. Love her so much.

So Beckah, this award is for you!

If anyone else wants an award...go ahead and take it. :) I award you!

*sniffles*

Yes, I have a cold. Which is really quite annoying. But such is life.

So today my plans are to get comfy cozy and watch movies, drink some tea, and make as many fingerless gloves as I can. I'm going to try to get them into a shop in town so I want to have a few made to take in and show them this week. Scary! I always feel so vulnerable in such situations. What if they don't like them? I'll feel like they don't like a part of me. BUT...I need to get over it and not let it bother me. Right? Right.

I've been hunting all morning for the perfect yarn to make these gloves Alice wears:

*sigh* I haven't found the perfect dye lot...but I did find some pretty close so I might order it or wait until I can get into JoAnn's to see if they have it. Have any of you seen yarn like this? I think it's divine. :)

Hmm...what movie does one watch to get inspired to crochet fingerless gloves? If I had Inkheart, that would be nice. Have any of you seen this movie? I loved it. It had some of the cutest costumes and sets. I love the buttons on this coat collar:

Well, I guess I should go get started. Hope you all are having a splendid day and keeping away from the sniffles!

~Anna Kristine

Lazy Busy Bee

I finally took the scary plunge and cut into my vintage replica fabrics to start my flower garden quilt. This is my...third? Flower Garden Quilt. :) I'm still working on another one but I couldn't wait any longer to start this pretty one. I'm doing the pattern a bit differently so it's going to be fun!
Last week I took action and bought a planner so now my life is organized and it feels so good. :)

So why can't I be motivated today? There's a pile of sewing to be finished, my sewing room to tidy, and yet I just want to sit bundled in a blanket and read. I blame the fake snow. It's spitting snow and hale and rain and can't make up it's mind...I think that's making it hard for me to make up my mind. Yes...that's it. ;)

I hope you all are having a good Tuesday. Blazer season starts tonight so I'm of to my big brother's in a few hours to watch the game and eat pizza. :)

~Anna Kristine

A Grand Day In...

Consists of:

-tea with cream and sugar

-cheese and crackers

-wallace and grommit marathon

-beckah

New Favorite

I'm in love with this beautiful piano theme, 'The Meadow' from The Twilight Saga: New Moon which is coming out next month. It reminds me of a Dickens or Bronte novel with a touch of Claire De Lune, which is just what I imagine Edward would compose. I can't wait to see how this fits into the film. And I dearly hope some sheet music will be released. But I guess I should finish learning Bella's Lullaby first...

Anyway...I hope you enjoy...:)

~Anna Kristine

I'm not being funny but...show some love...

To the birthday boy.

Favorite. :)

I just happened to notice his birthday was October 7 the other day on IMDB so I thought he was in great need of a post. Tell me what your favorite Allan a Dale moment is!

I can't pick a favorite because he's pretty much always my favorite. He's so funny!

~Anna Kristine

hair cut and a bad day

Alright...FINALLY here is a pic of my hair cut which I had done weeks ago.

This was my hair before....NASTY. :P
After:

Yay. I love it. <3

Yesterday I had a really bad day. One of those days where you think your in a different year than you are, you hide your cell phone so well you can't find it...and spend every hour at work on the phone trying to fix problems on computers you know nothing about.

Let's just say...I was happy to get home. But I did stop by the Goodwill on the way home and picked up these lovelies:

I also got some really neat glass jars and an old vintage thread sorter to furthur help my Sewing Room organization. Which...believe it or not...IS coming along! I'm almost ready to show pictures. I'm debating eather or not to show the before pictures. I'm not sure I'm that vulnerable. It was pretty unbelievably bad.

When I finally made it home yesterday, I found two brand new TOAST catologues waiting for me to pour thorugh.

I spent the rest of the evening swooning over these, which are truly works of art. My goodness I want a better camera. Oh, and maybe be able to fly to england and do some photo shoots?

Then tucked into bed and read some beatiful poetry by John Keats. I wanted to be able to say I've read his work before going to see the movie, Bright Star, which is about him. I'm going to see it today. I'm so excited! He is amazing. I can't believe I hadn't read his work before now. New favorite. :)

Summertime

Movies in the park have come to an end. But my Summer is not over yet. Oh no...

Quote of the day:

"This is the day of the Motorist, and anyone who walks is viewed with suspicion. You see a man coming down the road now, just meditating, and you figure he's either mad or out of gas. It's such a rarity that dogs bark as if they'd seen a ghost."

~Vance Havner

Wednesday

Visited Belle today and:

Admired all the baby hats she's been making.

Wound my big mob of yarn into balls.

Made one fingerless glove for my Etsy shop.

Listened to Marty Robbins on casset tape.

Drank tea and ate fig newtons.

Talked about Revelation.

Came home with a bag full of yarn to figure out what to do with.

Tomorrow it's back to work.

My "New" Room

My sister moved and so we inherited some of her furniture and such so I snatched this table that my dad made and it now serves as a desk in my room. I now have a place to write and study. :) But in order to fit it into my room I had to do some rearranging.

My room is basically set up the same as before except I slid my bed to the opposite wall:
And now my overcrowded bookcase is beside my bed instead of at the foot. I think I need to put a shelf up in my room...my books are so crammed and my sister just gave me a ton more.

My night stand is now a plant stand at the foot of my bed.

And I finally found my little knight in shining armor...he now guards and protects my room from the top of my dresser. :)

I like my room set up this way. It's quite snug. :)

Life

Life's been so busy and full lately with work, last minute get togethers with friends before they zip off to college, a camping trip, and various other things that pop up and keep one busy. :) And can you believe it? I forgot my camera at every one of these.


But now everyone is gone, and I have 5 whole days off. What is to be done with me? I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm hoping to get my rooms in order and get some sewing done and hopefully get a hair cut. I'm in desperate need of one! My hair has gone all wimpy. Bleh...not a nice look. My sister is a hair dresser so I just have to arrange a sister date. So lovely. Oh and pick the actual hair cut I want. Hmmm...what are some options?


The hair I'm loving most right now would be...

Kirsten Dunst

...in Elizabethtown. I just love her layers and side swept bangs:

Kristen Stewart

I love her beachy layered look as well. I guess I'm all about layers right now. :)

Those are my two favorite looks at the moment...maybe I get get a mix of both. :) We shall see...alright, I'm off to do some tidying up. Will post pictures of my newly arranged room soon! (Yes, I did it again...I think it's a seasonal thing for me.) ;)