If you don't know what it is about, it is about the life of the "Wicked Witch of the West" from The Wizard of Oz. The story of her life, how she came to be called the wicked witch. Her and Glinda were friends, she was a good person, there are some other great twists, definitely some "Ah hah!" moments, like how the tin man and scarecrow came to be, where she got her cool Witchy hat, etc.
I LOVED this play!! The best I've been to so far. A 2 1/2 hour play has been known to lull me to sleep. Not this one! I loved the story line, the music, the set was outstanding, and the costumes, all of it! The lead singer, Carmen Cusack gave me chills on several of her numbers. I loved the songs "For Good", "I'm not that girl", pretty much anything that "Elphaba" sang.
KC was good enough to invite me to go with (she can do killer impressions of Glinda :)). An experience of a life time for sure, it's sooo hard to get tickets. Thanks for the invite KC! My rating? 5 stars of course, go see it if you can.
I wish that I had time to do multiple degrees, and do all the things that intrest me. A degree I would LOVE to have is graphic design. I'm always so impressed with the creativity expressed in many graphic design projects. I thought the following were clever~
What shall I name this little guy? I was thinking Goucho. Any suggestions?
I joke with my girlfriend, that next time she comes to see me I'll have my own petting zoo. I now have a puppy and a turtle. This is as far reptile as I go, and he's only cute cause he is only the size of a silver dollar. He's tiny! and low maitenance. He just swims in a bowl of watter and climbs on the shells. I can't help it, I have a special place in my heart for animals. No worries hubby, I'll stop here. It was purely an impulse buy. Hubby was shocked, but is trying to supportive of my habit of buying things that are "cute and little".
Interesting fact: like fish, they grow as big as the container you put them in. I am going to keep him in a small container so he stays small.
Yes, I've been MIA for a week. My best girlfriend flew in for a week from across the country (oh how I've missed her). We had such a blast! No matter how much you love your hubby, girlfriends are just different and neccessary. Nothing quite like girl talk!
10 things I've been up to this week with my best bud:
1. shopping
2. Girls night-Dinner out, Fashion show, Italian Ice for dessert
3. Weekend at the Beach-Lots of sun, relaxation and catching up, a new pet turtle
4. Painting toenails-I can paint a mean design on toenails- hidden talent
5. First go around with the personal trainer-More on that to come
6. Introducing her to my favorite local eats-Crispers, Bubbalou's, Jeremiah's, Ferris and Fosters, Hollianna's
7. Feeding baby alligators
8. Packing
9. Wet n' Wild
10Lots and Lots and Lots of laughing
A peek at the fashion show we went to-Ally, Me, KC it was a blast, much needed girls night Thanks for coming girls!
Ahhh.. a little bit of twinklebee at the beach! I got a new pet turtle. You'll hear more about him later. No I did not steal him off the beach illegally, much to hubby's dismay I bought him from a store by the beach :)
Chatting at a restaurant- Please don't mind the non-make up wearing vacation days :)
While choosing out paint, I'd like to find a color for the master bedroom. The logical choice is yellow to accent the bedspread, but I'm not a pastel kind of girl, and Bright yellow would be too much. I'm not a yellow person in general, I don't own a single peice of yellow clothing. But if you all think Yellow would be the logical choice, then I'll look into the yellow department. I threw in the red pillows to pull out color from the painting.
This is my Bedroom, it will be set up similar in the new place.
This is the professional Picture of my bedset (better lighting for sure). Even though I'm not a yellow person, I LOVE this for some reason. Especially the twiggy pattern. 
This painting hangs above the bed. the yellows and tans match the bedding perfectly.
One of my all time favorite paintings!
by Jack Vetriano called "The Singing Butler"
(check out "waltzers" and "mad dogs"-my other two favs of his.)
Pale yellow for the Accent wall?
Man this photo made me giggle. What a tough little dude! Hey, you have to take risks to reap a reward. I'll be the first to admit: It's easy to dream, but hard to carry them out.
pic first seen on nibs
More on the redecor of the "new place". I'm picking out colors of paint for the living room. I need opinions!
The dynamics:
I have a couch and ottomon to match this chair. The throw pillows are the other colors in the room. The curtains are the purple color. 
This is a flower arrangement I made to bring together the colors in the living room. I would like to use this piece in the living room as well.
Using Behr.com I put together Paint swatches. (By the way, they have the COOLEST system for putting colors together for a room on their website. You can even download your own pictures of the rooms of your house and try paint colors on the"walls".)
Breaking down the colors:
Sagey Green: Couch Chair and Ottomon (already have)
Deep Purple: Curtains and Throw pillows, Flower arrangement (already have)
Greyish white color: Throw pillows, Flower arrangement (already have)
Greyish Tan: Possible wall color?
Lighter Purple: Possible Wall color?
Any other Color suggestions? Remember. The couch will be right against the color on the wall. The wrong shade of brown blends makes the couch blend into the wall. I Can change the Purple curtain aspect, but am kind of stuck with the Sage couches. I'm trying to use things I already have where possible. I'm finding Purple is a hard palette to work with. What I don't want to do is leave the walls white or cream. I want something different. Ideas are totally welcome!!
I hate moving, but one thing that makes up for it is the chance to redecorate. I'll be sure to post before and after pics after I get going in the new place. We did however go furniture shopping this weekend. Just to "look". Right.... several hundered later we are the proud owners of two new peices of furniture :) It is so hard for me
to decide because I have such eclectic taste, I like the Elegant look, the retro/mod look, so deciding can be tough. I know what I like once it's all put together, but putting it together peice by peice is tough!! They look better in person. The first peice is what we are going to put our TV on. I wanted something flatter against the wall not short, wide and squatty. What do you think? Honesty please! 
This is our table that will go in the eating nook of our apartment. Can you tell I'm a dark wood lover? Getting new furniture will help me get over the "pain" of packing and unpacking. 
(my machine pictured above)
A little over a year ago I bought this amazing Machine. It's the Scandanavia 200 from Husqvarna Viking. It is computerized, but basic. It is considered a "work horse" because it was handmade in Sweden, with high quality parts, but doesn't have all the extra buttons and things I didn't think I would use. I've never had a problem with it and it's always sewn like a dream! It was a long process, deciding what to get. Here are some tips I learned: (I might be biased cause I LOVE the machine I got! Taking time to decide paid off!)
Some Things to remember when choosing your sewing machine:
Do your homework!
1. Where was the machine made?
Made in China usually means poor quality. Every brand has a lower end machines which =lower quality. One step up from that usually ensures better quality. For example, Bernina is made in Switzerland and Husqvarna have lowerend lines of machines that are made in China, and higher end lines that are made by little old men in Sweden. Higher quality parts= longer lasting machine. You need to do your homework to determine which line in the brand bumps the machines to higher quality.
2. Where can you take it if it breaks or you have a problem?
Buying your machine from a dealer located near buy eliminates headache. I can drop my machine off and they take care of everything, and I pick it up- that simple! It is worth eliminating the headache of finding a repair shop and finding someone that knows your brand of machine.
3. Ask people who sew if they like their machine.
If you ask an older, more seasoned seamstress, what kind of machine they have and if they like it, You'll get a more honest answer then from a salesman at the shop that is trying to push their product, and what's even better- chances are they've had more then one machine to compare brands and quality. Which worked best for them, what would they recommend? I got great advice from these ladies!
4. What do you want from your machine?
Are you expecting to sew clothes? quilt on it? I wouldn't use the embroidry much, so I opted out. I would however use lots of decorative stitches. I do more quilting and home decor then clothes, so it was important to me to have a quality stitch with out much hastle. A lot of machines come with bells and whistles to make them look exciting. Often times you have to choose which bells and whistles you want and would use most. Cutting out the things you won't often use can cut down greatly on the cost.
5. How much are you willing to spend?
Go in with a budget in mind. Determine the highest amount you are willing to pay and stick to it. There is always the "one step up will do these extra features". You can one step up it $7,000 worth of a machine, so be prepared to be strong. To get a good quality machine these days be prepared to spend at least $500-$800. That is for a good quality machine, that will last you for many many years. When you buy a machine for a couple hundered, it will last a few years, the quality of stitch and product turn out won't be as good, and you will have ALOT more frusteration. I've known people that learned to sew on a crappy machine, and in turn hated sewing. When placed on a basic, good quality machine, learned that sewing can be easy and LOADS of fun! Bottom line: It's worth it to pay more for good quality, you'll be a million times happier with your machine and every time you sew. p.s. A lot of dealers will set up a payment plan for you so you can get the machine you want and make payments to slowly pay it off.
6. A good deal
A good deal includes extras. Extra sewing feet or kits. After buying my machine I went in a few months later to buy a "walking foot" for quilting, and about had a heart attack. It was $120!! Ask about free sewing classes. At Husqvarna Viking free sewing classes are included. They teach you how to use all the features on your machine. Very cool!
7. Try it out!
Be wary of a place that won't let you try the machine. Most places who are confident in their machines will happily give you a demo of what the machine can do, and even let you set down and give it a whirl. Do just that! Try it out, does it feel right? Is it easy to use? Watch them thread the machine too(I picked up some good tips by doing that).
8. Take your time!
Do a little research on the internet reading the history of companies and reviews from users, visit multiple sewing studios. You'll be happier that you did, and in the end, go home with a machine you love and will last a long time!
Hope these tips help! It was a huge learning process for me to go through these steps!
I scored the best job. Probably my dream job. I went to JoAnns Fabric (which I have mentioned before I could spend all day every day in there), to visit the Husqvarna Viking Sewing Studio, to help my sister find her "dream machine". I was enquisitive about different models, spouting off as much info as she was, and the store manager was so impressed she offered me a job right on the spot. I kind of laughed and kept looking, and she brought me a clip board with an application and told me She'd like me to start soon. I told her I could only work an afternoon on the weekend and MAYBE one week night, and that I was moving so couldn't start for another month. She said she didn't care, they'd love to have me. If only the times I'm searching for a job on a need basis this happened... I am working full time and working on my masters for another year, and quit my part time job in the curtain department at JC Penney's, to concentrate on school. I have no business getting another job, but how can I pass up getting paid to talk sewing machines, teach classes, and sit around and sew when business is slow. We'll see how it goes! 
The Dream Machine! This machine does everything! I wouldn't be surprised if it got up and made you breakfast in bed. $7,000 is a little steep for my pocket book, but one can dream right?
Pics via husqvarnaviking.com
Please go watch this video, it has a sweet message and will make you very thankful for each of your children. I watched it first on my friend Sharon's blog and it touched me, then I watched it a second time when I showed the girls at work, and bawled my eyes out (and I'm not one to easily cry), the second time through hits you harder I think. You can feel the love and happiness just radiating from the parents in the pictures.
I LOVE, love, luv before and after pics of a great room re-do! What a difference white makes in the kitchen and bathroom before and afters from Domino Mag. I love me some pretty wood, but
Photo via National Geographic
Watermelon Season!! I know, it's not quite here yet, but boy I can't wait. I'm not 100% sure, but probably 99.8% sure it's my favorite all time food. Nothing is better then a good juicy, sweet, crisp watermelon. I could eat it all day every day. I have to control my jaw from dropping and giving a look of disgust when I hear someone say they don't like watermelon. I just can't comprehend!
Look at the cool things you can do with it!
Yes, these are real! Go Japan!
