Please keep arms and legs in the cart at all times.

Monday afternoon, we'll land in Springfield (again) and embrace a messy, lovely home and an extended to-do list. I've got big plans for the rest of July so WATCH OUT WORLD!

We left our house a mess on the 2nd of July, got in the car on a whim, and drove to Oklahoma to surprise my parents and grandma who weren't expecting us until the next day. Part of the need to dash was to escape the chaos that our sweet house was in. I had forgotten how out of sorts you can feel when you can't find your drinking glasses, that brown skirt that goes with everything, or the small drill bit that you need to hang anything on your plaster walls. We had packed so well and even remembered to put the bedding, trash bags and interior shower curtain in the same box so we wouldn't have to dig for hours upon arrival. However, the piles and piles and piles of stuff made me terribly anxious. I needed order. I needed it right away.

We weren't able to get into our home until 9 p.m. on the night of July 1st but with the help of some great friends, we cleared enough space out of our bedroom where everything had been stacked and stored for two weeks so that we could climb into bed. That night was Sebastian's first night in his own room and his toddler bed. What should've been a welcome change of pace had me awake with worry most of the night. What if he fell out of bed? What if he woke up and didn't know where to find us? I was a mess.

We all got up at 6:30 the next morning and dragged ourselves through the to do list. Brett ran errands with Sebastian while I unpacked more boxes. We both felt like dropping dead by noon. If ever there was a time to get a babysitter, it was this day.

As cranky as I was on the 2nd, I am thrilled that we have this space to make our own. I'll post pictures of corners of our home as they are put in place this month but first on our to-do list is getting the July kits sent out. After supplies for July are ordered, I've got plans for an online class for the end of the month! (More details to follow.) THEN, another surprise for the first week of August! There will be a lot of action in the working half of our dining room so I'm sure that will be the first space to be sorted out.

Thank you to everyone who is still reading the sporadic posts on this blog. I appreciate each comment and all the well wishes in our new town. I can't wait to bring you a visual representation of our new life in the coming weeks.

Oh, and I'd LOVE to hear your moving stories. How long did it take you to unpack? How long did it take until you loved your space? How many times did you rearrange that first month?

~Rachel

Happy Birthday, Baby!

This man turns two today. He couldn't be any more my favorite small person in the whole world and I'm thankful every day that he's mine.

We're packing the day full of family time and celebrations in Oklahoma. We are officially moved into our unpacked house but we'll save that for another post.

Happy Fourth of July to you all, American and British alike!

(thanks, KT, for this great photo!)

Reattached

We gave up finding the camera cord and bought another one. There's nothing like an empty camera and a full cache of photos unless you are more excited about what is in the photos, which I am. I'm LOVING the flea markets in the Midwest!
If looking at pictures of thrifted items gives you the itch to leave work early and hit up your local second-hand store, don't blame me when your boss asks you to see him in his office tomorrow morning. I'll deny it all.




One of my favorites so far.


I have a few more exciting before/after pictures in the works so once they are all completely finished, I'll show you how I spruced up some old pieces for our new home. If you'd like to see a few more pics from the summer of thrifting, look here.

Today's task list includes finishing two sets of lined curtains and trying not to inhale spray paint while messing with more candlesticks. I spent the better portion of an hour last night going through my flickr favorites to remind myself of some ideas that popped in my head while looking at other people's rooms. I then spent the better portion of another hour lying in bed imagining how I could arrange Sebastian's bed between two bookcases when I should have been sleeping. Too much visual stimulation for Rachel. I do recommend revisiting flickr favorites when you're in a creative rut, though. It never fails to trigger something.

A few other favorites:

*the new Coldplay album.
*woodgrain contact paper
*pink spray paint
*garage sales
*puffy clouds
*tall ceilings
*farmer's markets
*my staple gun
*firework stands
*gas stations
*ice water
*thunderstorms
*sparkly lightning bugs
*wrinkly swim toes
*late night movies
*big ideas

What is making life special right now?

~R

One Week To Go

We've been on a pseudo-vacation since we arrived to Missouri. We've managed to score some incredible flea market finds in our down time and Brett's family have been fabulous to let us take over the corner of their basement and Jamie's room until we'll finally be able to move in to our cute little house in Springfield.

I've been stalking this blog over the last few months for design inspiration for our new home. Along with flickr's many groups and a few other well-managed sites, I've been able to recognize and hone in on my tendency toward mid-century modern design. Throw in some color and a few new pieces and I'm a happy renter.

Brett and I celebrated our sixth year of marriage today (6/22) by getting in the car and driving to a local college town to peruse the flea markets. I love that my husband knows that an afternoon roaming through old stuff tops a fancy dinner for two, etc., etc. We stopped in at this place called 'Itchy's Flea Market' and two hours later came out with two Eames-era chairs and a small trunk full of teal, brown and yellow colored items for the new house. Once that missing camera cord is located, you shall see for yourself. We talked about what we'd done on our past anniversaries, what we'd like to work on in the future and how much we'd changed since we met. It was one of the loveliest summer afternoons we've had together in awhile.

Most of my spare time has been thinking about our house, the move, the details of switching cities and starting over in a new place but now that we're close to 'landing', I'm starting to think about new projects and enterprises for the leftover summer months. I'm ready for my work space to be available again. I think all this home design inspiration has steadily been building a new style that will leak into art journal and scrapbook pages.

I'm ready for fresh paint and old papers and untouched fabric and sketchbook dreams. I'm ready for indoor tents and lemonade story time and movie night with old friends on our couch. (But not until late July because our couch was back ordered!) I'm ready for the steady hum of a new dryer and the rhythm of toddler activities and a chance to light all the candles and turn on the music after he's gone to sleep. Home, sweet and lovely, home.

One more week!

In the meantime, I'd love to hear how you're filling your summer days. Tell me, tell me.

~R

Our Little Detour

Brett, Sebastian and I arrived safely to Missouri on Tuesday after visiting with both sets of my grandparents along the way. We thought we passed our 'pods' along the way but it turns out that this company and others like it have hit a record high this summer as far as business goes so our pods were a little late getting on the road. Oh well. It's been great to let someone else do the dirty work.

My grandma once called us Gypsies. Its never been more true than this week. The post where I shared our status with the original apartment can be found here. Long story short, we found out a few hours later that the apartment wouldn't be ours. With only 24 hours until our pods would arrive to be filled, we gathered ourselves and made new plans. We're thankful for the way things have turned out even better in round two even though we have been through the ringer emotionally with the not knowing and moving forward anyway. We have the most understanding and supportive families that have allowed us to go through this without trying to fix it or tell us we're being ridiculous. Our friends have been fabulous with helping us pick up the pieces and forge ahead. For all of the ways this attempt at a new start have soured, we are learning how fortunate we are to have our people.

We've been staying with family in the Midwest until our place to land is ready for us. It could be any day or the end of the month but we're making the most of the pause. If I was able to upload pictures of my flea market finds, I would show you the old, teal, school chair I found in SoCal, the ornate plastic frame from a junk shop in Seminole, the vintage sheets, blue frames, yellow dishes from Goodwill in Jeff City, the incredible set of metal chairs, vintage quilt, egg basket, flour sifter and etched mirror from an antique store in the same town and finally, the set of molded, plywood chairs that got away in Springfield. Oh, I will keep that story with me for awhile.

We will be back but not this week. I hope Father's Day is a sweet one.

The Night Before the Last Night

The pods came and now they are full.
Everything we own fits into two 8' x 6' x 7' boxes.
My skin is sticky and smells like summertime.
I think Sebastian knows we're leaving. On a totally unrelated note, he managed to take his diaper off after I put him down for his nap and slept in the nude. The boy is a month away from his third year of life starting up and just this week he has shown me how independent he is. He wants to do everything by himself. It took me about three days to realize I needed to nurture that.

I can't wait to put stuff in our new space.
Pictures along the way to tell the tales. Elsie sent me a grown-ups version of those road trip books our parents gave us to keep us quiet in the back seat. Sebastian has a new stash of books himself.
Here's to iced coffee, bathroom breaks, Garrison Keeler audio books, sleepy boys, tired motels, breakfast burritos, distant thunderstorms, catching up, not knowing, finding out, trail mix, bare feet, and a few unnecessary stops at flea markets along the way.


Here we go...

Living In Between Boxes

If our computer crashes for the third time before next February for the same reason as the last two times, Apple will replace it. Am I hoping for another crash? Well...

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law's car was hit by lightning as they were driving in a thunderstorm between Arkansas and Missouri.

I've eaten two bags of M&M's this week.

Most of our belongings are in boxes and the pods are coming in two days but we do not have an official apartment to move into. We like to live dangerously.

The RVKC kits have been added to the Etsy store.

I hope all are well.

~R~

EDITED: Just to take out some of the semblance of irresponsibility in the above information on our move, we have been waiting to hear back for a specific place for over a month but the application has been stalled for a variety of unusual reasons such as: previous landlords MIA, current apartment managers resigning and new ones starting over a week later, and the original application getting lost and not having that communicated until two weeks after having sent it in. Its a cute little place, though, so we are being patient. We have it on good word that its only a waiting game now and that once the background check goes through, we're in. So, we're hoping that will happen this week. We're showing up in Springfield on Tuesday, regardless. Thanks to many lovely friends, we are more than covered if we need a place to stay in the meantime. (THANKS, Katy, Elsie and Jeremy!)
And my in laws made it out unscathed. The car managed to get home, too.

I Hope

this empty space has not brought disappointment. This transition before the transition has proven emotionally draining. I'm not sure where its all coming from but I've not been in the mood to do much but ingest home design inspiration online and take walks with Sebastian. Things are getting done, but very slowly and with much dragging of feet and spirit. I am letting it happen and trying to work it out so it doesn't burst forth in one big, emotional gush. In the meantime, I appreciate that you stop by and sometimes leave comments.

Here are some pictures from our Memorial Day trip to Sequoia National Park. It was one of those leftover winter weekends that shows up at an awkward time but it WAS a nice break from the 100 degree weather the Saturday before.

Be back soon.  

~Rachel

Shop Update

I've made more of the handmade journal kits available in my personal Etsy Shop.

With the move only two weeks away, I am turning my last chunk of 'making' time into de-stashing the craft room and putting goodies together for purchase. This batch is similar to the last batch in the types of papers used but I've added a few new bits and pieces to the embellishment pile. The kit comes with a prompt sheet for journaling ideas and instructions on how to put your journal together.
I think there are at least 50 of these journals floating around in the world so with the addition of this batch, I feel it is time to start a flickr group to share your customization. If you've already got one, feel free to add it HERE.
I also wanted to share two projects I've recently made for our new place.

The Laundry Bag is for hauling our dirties to the 'on sight' unit. In our first Seattle apartment, we learned about taking our wash to the laundromat once a week and spending a whole afternoon catching up on reading to the hum of the machines and the smell of urine. Quarters will have to be a part of our lifestyle again. In many ways it was like college. Our second apartment in Seattle had the 'on sight' amenity but it was a long walk down the stairs and to the basement with a wee baby and a large pile of clothes. This time, we're prepared!

The second is a floor pillow to add some color to the beige room Sebastian will have. He already loves it but he may have to wrestle it away from Brett. I figure I should make two more so they can have something to wrestle/jump/sleep on when they need to.


The boy is awake. Off to enjoy the unusually cool weather.

~R~

Let me introduce you to my brother.

He is a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army National Guard, runs marathons, does triathlons, climbs very large mountains, finished Army AIRBORNE School, spent a month in the woods without a shower, lived in Africa for a summer, ran the Army 10-miler in D.C., and survived falling out of both of the trees in our front yard when he was six. Oh, and he's single. (wink, wink)
Feel free to leave him some love. He'd like that.

~R

I'm In Love!

I have often wandered over to the Hambly blog to add my comment for the giveaway and secretly wished I could be a Guest Designer. When Allison e-mailed me to see if I was interested in May, I started to palpitate. She was generous enough to let me post my gallery mid-month since my April schedule was already packed and has been lovely to work with. I had so much fun with this product because the possibilities are pretty much endless with those overlays and rub-ons. NOT TO MENTION how beautiful the colors of the papers are!
There is a giveaway going on over there so if you haven't been by yet, don't delay!
P.S. If you are curious about some of the how-to's for the projects, check my flickr photo site.

Making Do

My computer had to be shipped off to the Apple Manufacturer to be mended. Life is not the same without her. I am still working to get things posted on the RVKC blog to showcase our new DT and maybe a few pics on Flickr for fun but unless its necessary to fulfill an obligation to another party,its not worth the hassle working from two different borrowed PC's. I shall be back AS SOON as our Mac shows up.

You will be saturated with the backup of pictures.

More fun news this week!

Rachel

The Day After NSD

And the winner is:

Sara

These are so cool! I would love to see more tree and house shapes on tags - and how about swingsets and slides? Thanks so much for the chance!

So, if this is you, send me your full name and mailing address via e-mail (Check profile) and I'll pass that along to Veronica.

Thanks for your patience with the drawing. My computer died about 5 minutes after that last post and had to be taken to the Apple hospital to be fixed. She may be back on Tuesday but in the meantime, I'm borrowing my dad's.

The last of the Etsy orders will be shipped out on Monday! I've got four big projects I'm juggling in the next two weeks. Two will be announced this month and the other two may have to wait awhile. And then there's the move to Missouri! I've been thinking about apartment decorations non-stop and making notes in my planner and ripping out Anthropologie pages for inspiration. If you check my Flickr.com favorites, its mostly beautiful rooms. I'll upload some fun mail pictures that I received yesterday from Elsie when the computer comes home.

What did you end up doing on NSD? I'd love to know...

You KNOW What Day It Is...

...and if you don't, its not your fault.  I couldn't figure out what NSD was last year until finally, FINALLY, someone actually spelled out National Scrapbooking Day.  Then I was like, "They have a day for that?"

In honor of the big day, I've got a give away for you fine folks. This tag set is from Vmilan.etsy.com. Check out their blog for tag ideas and another giveaway! You can see how others have used her tags in their layouts and cards here.  All you have to do is leave a comment describing your favorite tag or an idea you would love to see on a tag and I'll draw a name tonight and post the winner.  (10 p.m. or so, Pacific Time)

We're about to take the majority of our kits to the post office to get sent off.  Its the first month we've been ready to ship these babies early so we're giving ourselves a little pat on the back.  Ha!  I'll be back later to check the comments but I hope you all have a sunny day of enjoyment, whether you're the scrappy type or not.  

Kits Are Up

I'm really happy with how this lovely turned out.  She's a keeper.  I'm going to make a few more for the new place and change them up with the seasons.  The base for the pillow case is 100% natural linen and looks so pretty with the monochromatic pinks spread all over the top.  We've got them available in the Etsy Shop.

If you haven't seen Elsie's Etsy Shop, you're in for a treat! Go check out the new embroidery kits and a few new paintings!  

The burn is feeling fine today.  I've been putting Neosporin and Aloe Vera on it all day which means everyone has to stare at my greasy chin.  Sebastian has been crinkling his nose at it!

I'm out for a few days to catch up on life and take care of a few loose ends from April's big, fabulous, secret project.  We've got about a month left here in Fresno so I'm keeping the calendar in full view to make sure I don't miss anything.  Its way past my bedtime, ya'all.  

Rachel