Miss Lewis from St. Louis

I've known Emily for over a decade.  That's only a third of my life, but closer to half of hers.  She's one of those rare finds, completely full of color.  She just oozes it.  

In the journalistic sense, color writing is adding another level of depth and interest through the use of adjectives.  That's exactly what Emily does in real life.  She's quick with an opinion about everything from Taylor Swift's new album to Mitt Romney's religious views to creating a sense of community within the church.  I absolutely savor my time with her.

The only problem is that my friend lives all the way over in St. Louis.  I've tried to convince her subtly and not so subtly that she needs to come back "home."  But to no avail.  Alas, what's a friend to do but hop a plane and enter into her world.

And her world is gorgeous isn't it?  This is her adorable little apartment she fixed up, painted and curated into this beautiful little collection of cozy whimsy.  I didn't want to leave!

I flew in Friday night and we went to the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastic Champions.  It was hilarious really!  Part Cirque du Soleil and part light show with a little bit of Dancing with the Stars mixed in.  Average age? 12.  We tapped into our inner giggly little girl selves and loved every minute of it!

(Side note: this is Emily's desk, it fits her personality perfectly... note the ukulele in the stained glass window.  Does she play?  No, it's just something beautiful she found at the toy store where she works.  She works at a toy store!  Can I tell you how many times I've told her that when I grow up I want to be just like her?)

This picture above her desk is the photographer's daughter with a candy cigarette.  Part irreverence, part beauty, totally Emily!

Em also loves making.  With a student's tight budget she has outfitted her home in lots of handmade goodness.

So as a thank you for opening up her world to me for the weekend I left her a little handmade goodness of my own.

Saturday morning she and her adorable roommie, Katherine, made me breakfast.

Which consisted of Em snipping a few fresh herbs from her rooftop garden and whipping up something from their CSA box.  Cuteness overload!

All I had to do was sit back and sip some tea while they worked away on this masterpiece.  A breakfast veggie hash.  You can find the recipe on their blog, it has single handedly (if hash's had hands) made me a brussels sprout fan!

Then we did a little exploring around the city... Em's seminary, her toy store, her favorite lunch spot (with juicy burgers, homemade ketchup and homemade ice cream... be still my pregnant heart!), oh yeah, and one of St. Louis' only touristy things... the arch!

We also toured the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis with it's towering mosaics.  I think the space is the largest use of mosaics in the world.

We began our friendship because I was Emily's Bible study leader while she was in high school.  She gave me the excuse to build forts, dress up like Mary Kate and Ashley for our Bible study theme nights, watch Anne of Green Gables and color in coloring books.  Now she's the one who has challenged and inspired a new group of high school girls to love Jesus.  I love that He brought us together right after I started dating Kyle and now she has walked right beside me through a marriage, two (and a half) kids and yet another eventful pregnancy.  I am so thankful for you, Em!

I didn't want to leave St. Louis because for a weekend I kicked off my shoes and went back in time with my friend.  I left the cares and concerns of looming doctors appointments and ultrasounds and I had the opportunity to relax and refresh.  I was inspired and renewed.  I love that God gives us friends who can do that... point us back to Him and remind us of His promises!

And so with a great visit under my belt,  I'll tie my shoes, pack a lunch and remember, we're all in this together!  Thanks Emily.  I love being in this together with you!

Gimme Some Sugar!

It's no secret that I love cupcakes.  I went on a quest a while back to make the perfect cupcake recipes.  Adding a little almond extract here and a little more powdered sugar there, after lots of tests and tweaking I thought I had perfected the white almond cake with vanilla butter cream.  Mine are good, but they don't hold a candle to the Sugar Bakeshop in Charleston!!  (Grammar gurus beware, there are waaay too many exclamation points in this post!) 

It's not the first time I've been here, whenever we are in town I try to squeeze in a quick trip.  I have to show you the inside of this little gem!  How much would you love to work here?!  There are just enough vintage touches, cokes in glass bottles, an entire wall painted my favorite color, and paint is peeling in all the right places.  Not to mention you'd be baking all. day. long. 

Their logo makes me smile every time I look at it, so I've had it up on my inspiration board in my Studio for over a year.  Isn't it happy?!  Gosh, I'm such a Sugar groupie!

Lemon, Pistachio, German Chocolate, Red Velvet, Almond... there are even Ginger Molasses Dog Treats!

Just off of the bakery door is this adorable little courtyard where we should have eaten, but we decided to hold off and head for the water instead... just as we got down the street the flood gates opened up and we were hit by an afternoon Charleston rain storm... boo.

The consensus was that we liked the almond with vanilla frosting the best, the pistachio was a close second.  Sugar, the Tucker family will be back!

In other news, I'm planning a birthday party for my little Trey... Roar!  Let's hope the pregnant ickies hold off long enough to get some cupcakes of my own whipped up.

My Day at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo

The Original Sewing and Quilt Expo came to Raleigh for the first time last week.  This is the Raleigh Convention Center where it was held.  I couldn't be more proud of my city! The oak tree is made of thousands of tiny aluminum tiles that shimmer and seem to change shape when the wind blows.  It's really gorgeous.  Here's a video.

There were tons of exhibitors, stage presentations, make and take projects, classes and some pretty well-stocked studios where you could try out the latest sewing machines, tools and notions that may not have even hit the stores yet.

I was more than a little bit giddy to be there!  I may have even laid out my outfit the night before and made that necklace just for the occasion.

There were fabrics in designs I had never seen.  Like those from H & W Fabrics.  The shop owner, Robert, is a seasoned expo expert so he gave me tons of great tips and things to think about for my show.  (If you follow me on Pinterest this is no surprise, but I'm going to do my first real craft show in November!)

One of my favorite booths was Some Art Fabric.  Colleen Casey and her hilarious brother ran the booth.  I wish I had taken a picture of the two of them, they were quite the dynamic duo.  He is a burly man's man wearing a homemade shirt covered in sewing scissors (homemade by himself!) and she's a bubbly class instructor (I will definitely be taking a class from her next year!)  Their booth was stocked with ultra unique fabric (think, Day of the Dead stuff), patterns and handmade things.  They made these journals out of Golden Books together:

 And Owl kits out of recycled felted sweaters!

Another thing I really liked about them, aside from the way Colleen's brother spoke so highly of her, was that they didn't sell a pattern they hadn't made themselves with samples right there in their booth.  Check out this Melly and Me pink flamingo.  Awesome!

And I love this children's garment bag! 

Believe it or not, there were actual quilts at the Quilt Expo... shocker, right!?  I just sorta stood there and stared at this one for a while.  It's called "Dare to Live Your Dreams" by Lynn Dell Swapp from Utah. (Is it just me or have you noticed that all amazing crafters are from Utah?)

Need a close up of that detail?  Look at those shingles.  I would probably have a hissy fit getting each of those just right.  My goodness!  And the "turned" banisters... that's amazing!  Lynn, I want to give you a high five!

Here's another one that caused me to gawk.... err, hoot.  It's called "Hoodies Owl on Green Tree" by Hoodie Crescent from New Jersey.

 People, I couldn't have said it any better myself...

After seeing all of that amazingness I needed to put my hands on some fabric.  Perfect timing... as I turned the corner there was the booth for my most favorite fabric store in Raleigh... Wish Upon a Quilt.  I need to head over there one day and do a whole blog post about them.  I have to suppress a squeal every time I walk in there and you all NEED to see a picture of what I'm talking about.

I met the cutest lady who works at Wish Upon a Quilt.  She and her 92 year-old Uncle Bob make these miniature ironing boards together, the Lil Buddy Pressing Board.  He cuts the wood and she sews the reversible covers.  Great for a small craft room!

Wish Upon a Quilt never disappoints with their selection of fabric.  Cathy had just returned from Quilt Market (By the way, that's on my bucket list... Quilt Market and Gift Market and I want to see a whale, I digress...) and she had tons of great new things.

I loved how eager everyone was to share their skills and techniques.  Quilting requires so much patience and time.  It could quickly become a lost art if someone isn't willing to take the time to teach.

I came away from the Expo learning a lot about some things I wasn't expecting.  I wore my necklace and carried my camera, which made me stand out a bit.  I was given the opportunity multiple times to speak to what I write about on my blog and what I make... things I'd usually much rather type about than talk about.  Armed with a back pocket full of business cards I would hand them out to anyone who asked about my camera and my necklace.  At the end of the day I'd almost given away every one of them!  Funny, I gained so much confidence realizing that my blog is legitimate and the things I make are both admired and desired by others.  I like moving my online passions in to "real life" conversations and interactions.  It gets me so excited for November!  Yippee!!

Thanks for coming to Raleigh, Original Sewing and Quilt Expo!

 I'll be the first one in line again next year!