Made it to Australia

I made it to Australia after way too much time in the air. I watched two movies on the plane- "The Time Traveler's Wife" and "500 Days of Summer." They were both good, the first made me cry. Apparently Curt watched on the plane and also cried, I'd recommend it.

I didn't sleep well on the plane, so I was happy to get a good night's sleep last night at the Messer's. We will be staying here for a few days before heading off to a camp in Adanac.

The weather has been perfect so far, but it's supposed to get hotter in the coming week. Last night we went to a pool party and they invited us back if it gets hot. We may have to take them up on their offer. The camp we are going to has a lake with a giant water slide, so that will be really nice when we get there.

Curt was only here for a day and got a lot of sun. He forgot to put sunscreen on- check out the burn.

ouch.

The Messer's have a beautiful garden with lots of flowers and produce. Dad- check out these watermelons, they look much better than yours ever did. Well, at least the critters haven't gotten to them yet.

Going to get out of the heat and eat lunch now, nothing like fresh fruit on a hot summer day! 

2010

Last month was a whirlwind- I can't believe it is already January, and so much happened in December I don't even know where to start.

Curt has been gearing up with the band to tour Australia again so there was so much to figure out with that. In the meantime, we were planning on moving out of our apartment and into another one across time. Our lease was supposed to be done in the middle of December, so we made plans to move then. However, we got into a little disagreement with our apartment complex and turns out our lease wouldn't be done until January. We still wanted to move before Christmas because after that, Curt would be leaving and I would have to move by myself - aka would not work.

Not too long before our planned move-out date, Curt decided it made more sense for me to travel with the band instead of staying in Nashville, working my buns off to make ends barely meet. He was right- we could just stay in our current apartment until it we left for Australia and put all our stuff in storage. He made all the arrangements and came to me with a well-designed plan. I couldn't say no- he was right, it did make more sense. No rent, internet, TV, electric, water, etc bills to pay and I could spend the time with Curt (they will be gone three months.)

I gave my jobs two weeks notice, and both agreed to put me on a leave of absence until I get back. We started packing up the house and ended up staying home for Christmas, which was a big help to get most everything in boxes. My dad came down last week to help us finish packing and move it into storage. A friend agreed to let us share her huge storage unit, which was wonderful.

Curt spent last Monday at a photo shoot, so my dad and I got what we could packed. Wednesday and Tuesday he had rehearsal and I had to work, so my dad was on his own and worked really hard. There was so much to get done and not enough time to do it, but we finished everything and cleared out of our apartment just in time to ring in the new year.

Curt left with the band just after the stroke of midnight and drove through the night to Michigan to play at a camp for the weekend. My dad and I left the next day and got into Grand Rapids just after midnight.

I had some errands to run on Saturday, then we went out to eat with my family. We decided on a newish Mexican restaurant and it was delicious! They don't really have Mexican food in Australia like we are used to, but Curt and I love, love, love Mexican food so I had to get in one final meal.

Sunday was my grandma's 82nd birthday so the family surprised her by attending her church and made brunch for her house afterwards. It was so fun to surprise her, she had no idea what we were planning, and it was nice to see the whole family before we leave.

Sunday night we headed over to Curt's parents' house for a bon voyage dinner. It was nice to spend that time with our parents and sisters, and dinner was good. So was the blueberry coffee cake we had for dessert- yum!

We packed up all the merchandise and extra luggage and Curt's dad drove us down to Detroit. We spent the night at a hotel there - and by spent the night, I mean took a little nap before waking up at 5 to go to the airport.

In total, the three guys had 10 checked bags and 7 carry-ons. Last year the airlines were really cool about waving the extra baggage fees and they got away without paying outrageous amounts. Not so much this time around- we got the Southwest employee who insisted on each bag weighing not an ounce over 50 lbs and wouldn't wave any fees. One hour and $300 later the guys were through the check-in line and on their way to security. We knew they would have some trouble, mainly because Curt is carrying-on his wireless rack full of nothing but odd looking electronics and cables. I couldn't tell if they made him empty it out, but I know it took them much longer to get through security than everyone else in line.

Curt's dad brought me to another hotel, which is where I am spending my day. I took a much needed nap, caught up on emails, made a few calls, and now I'm debating dinner at the concierge or a bath and my book.

I fly out tomorrow morning- please pray for clear runways and safe flights. The guys arrived in LAX a little while ago, so please also pray for safe travels for them as they leave from there for Australia tonight. Any air travel makes me sick to my stomach, and traveling alone really makes me crazy, especially when it's for a couple days, all by myself. It means leaving here early in the morning, lay-over in Charlotte, arrive in LAX, collect all my luggage, check-in and go through security there, sit around for umpteen hours, leave for Australia late at night, fly all night, and hope someone I recognize is there to pick me up when I arrive in Melbourne.

It's not fun, it gets lonely, but at least this time it will mean I will get to spend all that time with Curt, see more of Australia, and completely avoid the rest of winter. Which, until I got to Michigan this weekend, was really not that bad anyway.

Because I will be having a lot of extra time on my hands, I'm setting a few goals for the new year and my time in Australia.

I would love to attempt a Project 365- taking a photo a day. I know I can do this- it's the blogging about it that will be a challenge.

I will also be handling all the podcasts/video diaries for the band. Last year Curt got really behind on the podcasts, primarily because he didn't always have time to do them. Since I really don't have responsibilities while I'm gone, I told Curt I would take on the videos.

I knew I wouldn't bring my sewing machine, but I needed some kind of creative outlet for the next three months. I decided on watercolors. I bought a tiny little notebook and I hope to paint a few little pictures a week.

I will also be knitting, but I could only bring so much yarn with me. My goal is to work through all the yarn I brought before our return. That way I can justify the suitcase full of yarn I'll be dragging around the airport tomorrow.

So, to kick off my Project 365: Day 1, January 4, 2010.

A Severe Weather Alert for the People of Nashville

The Weather Channel app on my iPhone alerts me when there are severe weather circumstances, such as tornados, floods, storms, etc.

Or tonight, cold weather. Yes, the temperature could get down into the 20's and they feel the need to warn the people of Nashville.

And I quote:

"Unseasonably cold low temperatures expected tonight as a strong surface ridge builds across middle Tennessee tonight. Overnight lows will be 10 to 15 degrees colder than normal. Other than a few passing clouds, skies will be clear enough for temperatures to drop to around 20 degrees in most locations, and into the upper teens across the Cumberland plateau region. Winds are expected to become calm as the night progresses. Wind chill, the apparent temperature felt on exposed skin due to the wind, which in situations where the wind speeds are 5 to 10 MPH or even greater, can make it feel several degrees cooler than the actual air temperature, will not be a major factor tonight.

However, with the coldest temperatures of the season so far expected tonight, the following safety rules still apply if you plan to be outside for any period of time. Dress warmly and stay dry; this includes wearing a hat, a scarf or knit mask to cover face and mouth, sleeves that are snug at the wrist, mittens-they are warmer than gloves, water-resistant coat and boots, and several layers of loose-fitting clothing.

Do not ignore shivering, it is an important first sign that the body is loosing heat. Persistent shivering is a signal to return indoors. By observing the above safety rules, you have a good chance of avoiding the affects [sic] of hypothermia and frostbite.

Hypothermia, the result of an abnormally low body temperature, can happen with prolonged exposure to the cold. It happens when your body beings to lose heat faster than it can be produced, and prolonged exposure to the cold will eventually use up your body's stored energy. What makes hypothermia particularly dangerous is that when the bodies [sic] temperature gets too low, the brain is affected, making the person unable to think clearly or move well, and the person may not know what is happening and will not be able to do anything about it.

Frostbite is an injury to the body that is caused by freezing. Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and color in affected areas. It most often affects the nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers, or toes. Frostbite can permanently damage the body, and severe cases can lead to amputation. The risk of frostbite is increased in people with reduced blood circulation and among people who are not dressed properly for extremely cold temperatures.

When traveling, remember the following safety rules. Check and restock the winter emergency supplies in your car before you leave. Do not rely on a car to provide sufficient heat, the car may break down. Always carry additional warm clothing appropriate for the winter conditions."

I've never seen something so ridiculous, are these warnings really necessary? Last night there was a warning that Nashville may get 1 inch of snow. One inch of snow!? My parents just got 10 inches overnight in West Michigan and no one batted an eye. There are only two states between us, but I can't believe the mystique surrounding snow down here. 

Curt had hoped to get away from the cold weather when we moved down here, but it looks like this winter may be a chilly one for Nashville and we'll just have to suffer the cold temperatures without the joy of a white Christmas.

these are a few of my favorite things

The week before Thanksgiving I spent all my free time making quilts and baby accessories. I had two orders and two sets to make for my family to gift. So I set to work, didn't go to bed for a couple nights, sewed and stitched and quilted until my fingers could take no more. When all was said and done, I decided to make one more quilt for my cousin who is having a baby girl any day now.

So without further ado-

This quilt was made to order for my friend Lyndsie. Her friend is having a baby girl and the nursery will be pink and purple flowers and butterflies. There is also a touch of lime green in the mix, and when I found these fabrics, I just knew it would be perfect.

I went with a disappearing 9-patch design. It's always fun to see the different layouts this pattern will make. With this one, I decided to make all the 9-patches the same, with the purple flowers as the corner pieces and the green in the center.

The back is this cute flannel flower print that I had in my stash. When I looked at the registry, I instantly thought of this flannel and knew it would match perfectly.*

The binding is this perfect stripe fabric. All the right pinks, purples, and lime green, with a little brown that will match the rest of their nursery set.

Along with the quilt I made a whole set of matching accessories. This is my favorite part - burp cloths, bibs, a tag-along blankie, onesies, and fabric cubes.

A closer look at the fabric cubes.. I made these on a whim for my sister's last set, and everyone loves them! I never knew they would catch on, but I have to admit, they really are adorable. I made these a little smaller, somewhere in the range of 1.5" squares, perfect for little girl fingers.

Here are the onesies- the green one is just a circle cut from the fabric, the pink is a cute butterfly. I love how both of these turned out, and I love a cute, simple onesie to throw under a little sweater or zip-up. Or pair them with a little skirt- instant outfit!

I love the way this set turned out and so did Lyndsie, I hope her friends do too!

This quilt I made for my cousin Sarah out of my scrap pile. I knew I had to go all out with the pinks, but I wanted to throw in a little yellow and green for a nice pop of color. Sarah is having her first girl after three boys, so we are all excited for some pink in their lives!

The quilt is a mix of pink and white solids, the pink dots and green are from Lyndsie's quilt, yellow from the quilt below, plus some Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, and some other random pieces. I cute 5.5" squares and then just laid them out randomly. I tried to make sure the colors were evenly spaced, but I love the random nature and freedom in making this quilt. I will definitely be making more of these patchwork square quilts, they are quite classic yet modern with the choice of fabric and colors. And I love the mix of solids and prints.

The binding is an Amy Butler Midwest Modern wavy stripe. Have I ever mentioned how much I love stripes for borders? Well, I do.

The back was another flannel from my stash, and a perfect match- pink and green flowers. I can't wait until there is a little girly bundle of joy to cuddle under this quilt, and I know Sarah is very anxious to finally meet her too!

The next quilt was commissioned by my dad for a co-worker.

They are doing a brightly colored jungle theme nursery, but I didn't want to over-do-it with jungle fabrics so I decided on semi-solid colors. And I've been dying to try a zig zag quilt, so this was the perfect opportunity.

The quilt is made with half-square triangles using a white cotton sateen. The colors have little prints and details- the top blue has tiny flowers, the green is a stripe, the orange is small dots (I think), and the bottom blue has little white and yellow dots. I love these colors together and the zig zag wasn't as hard as I imagined it to be.

I did have to go for a jungle print on the back to keep it a little in theme, and I just love those animals!

The binding is a yellow stripe, same as the green, just in a different color. I love both those fabrics!

The baby's mom also ordered a set of blocks with his name -Arjun- appliqued on them. There are also numbers and shapes on the other sides. I threw in a different blue with white dots to make a different print on each side of the cubes.

I also made two burp cloths, four bibs, and two pairs of shoes for baby Arjun. I love how all of these coordinate but look so cute individually.

They had their baby shower at work today and the mommy-to-be loved everything, but the blocks especially, my dad said. My dad's co-workers also loved the set, so a big shout out to any of you who have found my blog via my dad. HI Meijer corporate employees - now get back to work.

Not featured today is a set I made for my sister's friend, which makes me quite mad. I think she took it back to school with her before I could snap some photos. I'll have to talk her into taking a few so I can post them. It's also a jungle theme, but in totally different colors and I love the way it turned out. Sage greens and yellows with a pop of burnt orange- I wasn't crazy about it at first, but it turned out to be my favorite quilt in the end. I also made some burp cloths, bibs and shoes for her. I hope the mommy likes them all as much as I do.

I have so much fun making custom sets for people, if you are interested, please email me at brittneydanderson [at] gmail [dot] com.

To end- a picture of some of the ladies in my family, after our long day of shopping. My sister and I went early Friday morning to snag deals at Old Navy, Target, and Joann's. Saturday morning started early with breakfast at Cracker Barrel with all these lovely ladies. It's a long-lasting tradition that is followed by all-day shopping and a sleep over. This picture is after shopping, before sleeping, hence the PJs and tired smiles.

*Friday morning I stocked up on flannel from Joann's for $1.50/yd! I like to stock up when it's cheap like that and save it for baby quilts. I was able to use stash flannel on 3 of the 4 quilts I just made, which makes me so happy. When shopping, I look for basic color schemes and patterns, like jungle themes for boys, flowers for girls, or cute dots for gender neutral quilts. The flannel is wide enough to fit most of my baby quilts without piecing and 2 yards generally gives me enough for the quilt back plus bibs, burp cloths, shoes and a tag along blankie.

Thanks

We had a successful Thanksgiving today:

*Slept in

*Ate giant cinnamon rolls for breakfast

*Went to my Aunt Dianne's house for turkey

*Ate two types of turkey, along with Aunt Pam's cucumbers, Uncle Doug's Snickers salad, green beans, stuffing, and at least four kinds of mashed potatoes. Plus a ton of other stuff.

*Found out exciting news that TWO of my cousins are pregnant, while a third was experiencing contractions right there at the dinner table.

*Opened secret pal gifts

*Gifted baby gifts for the baby that is probably being delivered any minute now

*Gifted squirrel mittens to my Grandma

*Went to my Aunt Beth's house for dessert

*Someone forgot pumpkin pie, but we brought a giant peanut butter cup pie that everyone enjoyed along with three other kinds of pie

*Gifted owl mittens to my other Grandma

*Ate a little bit more food and dessert

*Played Scrabble with a cheating 9 year old, then some frog phonics game. I won.. I think.

*Stopped at Redbox on the way home for a free movie (The Proposal - we wanted My Sister's Keeper but it was checked out everywhere)

*Watched the movie with homemade popcorn and the whole family plus my sister's ex (haha)

*Watched UP next

*Planned our shopping for Friday morning

Which brings us to present time- my sister and I are waking up in a couple hours to hit Old Navy, Target, and Joann's. We must be insane. But we have fun.

A quick picture from the day:

I counted 34 people in the picture. These are all the grandkids (minus 2) and all the great-grandkids (I think they are all in there) plus three more great-grandkids in bellies. With our Grandma/Gaga/Nana squeezed in the middle there.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now for some sweet shopping dreams...

Caped Crusader

I've got an urge to make a cape. Not like a superhero cape, more like a capelet or a cloak. Something warm for these fall months (it's still in the 70's here in Nashville, but it's bound to get cooler), fashionable, not too bulky, and a neutral color.

I'm not exactly sure what bit my capelet bug, but I think it started here.

This tutorial from Ruffles & Stuff for a no-sew cape. Disney makes awesome stuff and this little fleece cape is so cute. I started to envision it on a larger scale for myself...

Then Disney made this beauty.

And wrote up a little tutorial .. She was inspired by Blair Waldorf, and I do love me some Gossip Girl fashion. I must have one of my own ...

So I started searching-

Gap is doing it.

Old Navy is doing it.

Burberry is sooo doing it.

This National Geographic clothing distributor(what!?) is kind of doing it.

American Apparel is doing it with fleece, which is probably how I will end up doing it.

Burda is even doing it without pants.. 

if it's cold enough to wear a cape, it's too cold to wear spandex, just saying.

I love everything about the Burberry cape- the neck, the big buttons, the arm slits. How hard can it be to make a cape? Just fold a big piece of fabric in quarters and cut in a circular shape. Cut up to the middle, cut a circle, sew on a neck... right? Right? Please tell me I'm not totally underestimating this project.

In case I am, there are always patterns to fall back on, but I'm not really a pattern kind of girl.

Obviously it looks fabulous in a wool blend, but I'm cheap and not really up to sewing with wool right now, so I will probably make due with fleece. Maybe fleece lined with a nice satin or soft cotton for some contrast? I like that about the Burda one.. that little pink poking out of the pockets is just so cute.

I need to go to the fabric store soon anyway, I think I will peruse the fleece selection and see if there is anything cute enough to make a cape.

Shopping Spree

Have you ever played on Polyvore? It's a fun waste of time but also a great source of inspiration. I wish the controls were more user-friendly and customizable, but beggars can't be choosers.

Here's a couple outfits I threw together. I would love to wear any of these clothes and accessories.

Clearly I have a thing for dark wash jeans and cute flats. And simple outfits with fabulous accessories.

My closet is bursting with flats, but I still feel the need for more. I don't think I will be satisfied until I have a pair in every color. And I do not have flats in either of these lovely yellow or pea green colors. Well, I do have a pair that is grey with yellow polka dots, but I don't think that counts. And would you look at those bows?! I girl can never have too many frilly things.

So... who will loan me their credit cards?