Last weekend was the first weekend: the weekend after the first week of classes. And rather than relax and unwind whilst simultaneously winding (up for the new semester), I sacrificed my weekend for a retreat.

This retreat was different because I wasn’t a standard participant. It’s a First Year retreat, for freshmen to develop their roots as college Catholics. My First Year retreat was a vivid and transforming experience for me, so I felt the need to give back. That need called me to organize the food for the first years. Of course, I also signed up two months before the retreat’s scheduled date, believing it would be a piece of cake when the time finally came.

Only as I was making my Costco list did I realize what I was in for. I had to plan and purchase food (reimbursed of course) for 20 people?! For a weekend?!

Estimating quantities was so stressful that I wanted to give up, to throw my list at anyone else and say, “You do this. I want my first weekend to myself, not around stupid freshmen.”

My wonderful friends came with me to Costco, and the five of us dominated the self-checkout like pros, scanning and stacking and boxing. And my miracle station wagon managed to hold all the food along with a full load of passengers. Even though Brad now cringes at the word Costco, we made it out alive.

And I made it out to a wonderful world of snow, light, and space.

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, yes, but I also spent a lot of time retreating. Bonding with the freshmen over our shared faith, sharing stories and experiences and beliefs. I cooked and served them lovingly, and they all helped me and nobody complained when food was a few minutes late.

What struck me was that, even with a 3-year age gap, our retreat conversations were so relevant. When we were all speaking from our hearts, the feelings were universal.

Then breaktime would ensue, and the bond was broken as talk turned to dining hall food and freshmen classes. But I still remember those magical moments.

So maybe I did need a retreat. Mine was a retreat of service and reflection, and so much gratitude. Grateful that I had gone on the retreat as a freshman; grateful that I had signed up for kitchen duty on a whim. I lost a weekend, but I gained perspective: that’s enough.

(and i served my “secret recipe”, ultimate overnight french toast, so everyone was happy.)

a weekend filled with gratitude is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

so this is the new year… (clang clang)
… and i don’t feel any different.

Last year, I wholeheartedly agreed with this sentiment. I wrote it in my little moleskine of little thoughts as a sort of mantra, and although my new year’s post was optimistic and goal-focused, I felt 100% the same. I didn’t feel any different.

It was partly due to stubbornness. Sometimes, I think the whole concept of a new year is silly. We’re not supposed to wake up and feel different. But now I realize – we need it. We need this day, this chance for reflection, rebirth, and rejuvenation.

Today I’m looking back on myself a year ago – and I’m way different. I’ve done a heck of a lot of new things in one year, I’ve learned a ton, and I’ve generally matured as an individual. So if you’d care to join me, I’m going to go on a short little retrospective journey.

In February, I got to take a wonderful mini-trip to Rome to visit one of my very best friends, Katie. It was, of course, amazing to visit the Vatican, eat gelato, and stare at that blue, blue sky. But it was also a great opportunity for Katie and I to catch up and go back to being the friends we were in high school, the friends who saw each other daily. Rome trip? Awesome. Rome trip + reconnecting with an old friend? Perfect.

In May, I learned the basics of piloting a small aircraft. It was difficult, and a little bit scary to be behind the wheel, but now I’m itching to get back up there. This was a pretty cool addition to the list of things I’ve done in my life.

Speaking of cool things to add to my life list, in June I bought a glass kiln. I’m still researching, learning, and collecting supplies, but in December I fired my first glass project. Photos will come soon! This is a big one on the 2012 list: I hope to get a lot more firings done in the coming year.

Fourth of July weekend was spent in Roanoke, and my mama and I had wonderful girl time visiting with my cousins and aunt. We went thrifting, drove around the mountains, made good food and ate good ice cream. Another good bonding trip for the year.

In mid-July, my family spent the week following my mom’s birthday in Ireland. It was probably the best vacation we’ve ever had – great food, great beer, lots of snacks (or snooks, as we called them) and lots of laughs together. We drove through the emerald hills and stepped into the frigid ocean, gazing toward our distant home. I also saw HP 7 Part 2 in Dublin, and my life was forever changed. I’ll always be a Harry Potter book nerd, but that movie was unbelievable.

In September, Brad and I made the chalk masterpiece of all chalk masterpieces at the Cleveland Museum of Art Chalk Festival. I will forever be unreasonably proud of this piece of temporary art.

Molly, another of my best friends from high school, got married over Labor Day weekend. I was so glad that Brad and I could make it to her wedding, it was so pretty and so much fun. She’s the first of my close friends to get married, but certainly not the last… a lot of my friends have been getting engaged lately. I am happy for all of them, but I, personally, would like a few more years of unmarried life. I’m only 22!

Which brings to to my birthday. In October, I turned 22. For me, 22 feels like a major turning point. Age 21 is considered to be “adulthood”… but 22 means you’ve made it in. I’m trying to take this ’22 feeling’ and make it a focus on maturity and responsibility. Hopefully this feeling will guide me toward the adult I want to become.

In October, I got to represent my school at a conference called thinkChicago, which was a 2-day event focused on innovation in entrepreneurship and technology. Definitely something I’m interested in! We attended panels with Google, Groupon, and the mayor; and I got to tour the Threadless warehouse! I also had my first taste of real Chicago-style deep dish… and now just looking at that photo makes me feel forlorn and very, very hungry. I also crossed a visit to the iconic Vogue Fabrics off my list- it wasn’t monumental, but it was certainly my kind of fabric store.

I shipped out 14 narwhals for the holiday season – less than half of last year’s tally, but I was grateful because I had lots more schoolwork than last year. I also made a couple awesome custom projects, and I’ll be showing those to you very soon!

2011, a year of planes, was a year of great change for me, and I’m sure I owe a great deal of that change to those planes.
How many planes, you ask? Let’s count the trips…
5 trips from home to Cleveland (3 visits, 1 wedding, 1 fall break)
1 trip to Cincinnati (skiing with Brad!)
1 trip to Italy
1 trip co-piloting the small plane
1 trip to Ireland (+1 for connection through London)
1 trip to Chicago

Planes: 10 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 2 = 22 flights, 22 planes.

22 planes for my 22nd year. I’m okay with that.

2011: a year of planes is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

For my last Halloween weekend as a college student, I couldn’t resist the chance to dress up! I wore my new winter hat as part of my Amelia Earhart costume, and Brad dressed as the 11th (and most recent) Doctor in Doctor Who, complete with bright red fez created by yours truly. In case you haven’t seen the show, here’s a really short clip: “fezzes are cool“. I also learned to tie a bow-tie this weekend, what a useful skill! Brad got lots of compliments, since his outfit was spot-on, and awesome, and we go to a rather nerdy school.

Brad and I carved pumpkins, as you can see below: I picked a warty pumpkin, but I think that meant it was harder in general, because it took some hefty sawing to carve! But it was worth it, because I now have the world’s happiest pumpkin. I wish I could’ve found some vampire fangs; I love what Alice did to make adorable fanged gourds (and the post is a must-read… she’s just so excited!).

Brad and Hannah had a contest to see who could most quickly eat a donut off a string… and I’m going to be in trouble for putting that picture online ;) The three of us then painted baby gourds, and got overly excited about their googley eyes.

It was a low-key, little-kid-ish Halloween – just the way it should be, and just the way I like it. A nice transition out of birthday week… and into November? When did this happen?

I hope you all had a lovely Halloween!

happy halloween! is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

I showed a picture of my peach pie yesterday, and I don’t think I need to make you drool over that any longer… but my family and I are obsessed. There’s one piece left right now, so there might be a bloodbath tomorrow. It’s honestly one of the best pies I’ve ever had in my life. (did i mention i baked it? modest, i know.)

So rather than post more tantalizing pie photos, I thought I’d share how I acquired so many peaches in the first place, starting with two words: Peach Festival.

My friend Arianna and I happened across it when we were driving through western country Virginia, and we knew we couldn’t pass up something so wonderful. If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you might have noticed: I love peaches. They’re almost certainly my favorite fruit, along with blueberries, and peach is my favorite flavor for many things.

We had just stopped for ice cream, so we didn’t sample their peach milkshakes or fresh pies… but they did have pick-your-own peaches. When I see those words, even now, they shimmer with magical brilliance.

For you see, I think I’ve lived my life so far without having ever seen a peach tree. Suddenly, there were rows and rows, and I was invited to explore and select my perfect peaches from their branches. I got to stand under the peach trees, breathing in their delightful scent as they sheltered me from a light rain. What bliss.

I returned from that nirvana with a box full of peaches and eager anticipation of jams and this perfect pie, and I was not disappointed. The pie is a perfect reminder of a glorious experience.

Congratulations to Courtney, the winner of Monday’s Cart Full of Fabric Giveaway! And there’s still half an hour left to enter Tuesday’s Giveaway, so head on over!

This photo is part of oh so lovely’s 30 Day Photo Challenge. Today is Day 16: What I Ate.

what i ate: peach pie is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

A photo of my working hands typically tells more about me than most photos of my whole body. Here they’re working on a necklace, early this morning they were sanding away on Stella the chair, and tomorrow they’ll be cutting out a new dress. I prefer to define myself by what I make & what I do with these working hands.

This photo is part of oh so lovely’s 30 Day Photo Challenge. Today is Day 9: Faceless Self-Portrait.

faceless self-portrait: working hands is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

We flew into Dublin on July 14 at around 4pm. By the time we had waited for our bags, procured our rental car, and driven circles around the airport due to a persnickety GPS, we were tired and hungry.

Within walking distance of our hotel was a pub with a fancy restaurant above it, and it proved to be perfect for our weary traveling souls. I happily ate this mushroom meat pie, which was simply fantastic (i think all food should be served in pie form) along with that legendary first pint of Ireland Guinness.

After dinner, we headed to O’Donoghue’s across the way for a bit of traditional live music. We headed back to the hotel in the rain, and picked up some ice cream bars at the grocery for dessert. All vacations need lots of dessert!

Day 2 started with a glance across the street at these wonderful yellow doors. I just loved them.

We walked to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which sounded really cool online but turned out to be pretty lame – almost all the exhibits were closed when we were there. The museum’s best feature is its building: it resides in a renovated 17th century hospital.

We passed by the Guinness factory, which is always bustling since over 10 Million glasses of Guinness are consumed each day worldwide!

We watched them load kegs onto trucks using the special forklift – it’s got little prongs on the bottom to pick up a whole pallet at a time!

We then headed to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. While the storehouse is not the same as the brewery, the tour was awesome and gave a great explanation of the brewing process, with videos and props. The coolest thing I learned was the trade of cooperage, when men would form the big wooden casks by hand. It was so time-consuming to make even one cask!

Then we learned how to craft the perfect pint of Guinness draught. The perfect pint of Guinness must be filled almost all the way from the tap, and then left to sit for 2 minutes to allow the nitrogen carbonation to settle. After this two-minute wait period, it is topped off and ready for drinking. Above is the picture of my perfect pint, although it is half-finished!

On day 3 we saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2! And I was overjoyed. What a wonderful end to the books and movies of my childhood, even though it makes me so sad that they’re over now. After the movie we headed down to county Cork!

Stay tuned for the next Ireland recap!

ireland photo recap, days 1, 2 & 3: dublin is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

At the start of this story, we had been in Ireland for six days, so I had tried multiple wonderful Irish beers. My favorite (along with Guinness) was Smithwick’s, with its golden red hue, flavorful crispness, and smooth texture. This sixth night of our trip was spent in the town of Ennis, where we ate a delicious dinner in a pub restaurant.

When they brought my brother a pint of Smithwick’s in a beautiful glass, I said to my dad, “I need one of those.” My dad collects beer glasses on trips, and though they are quite fragile, they make wonderful souvenirs. When Ben had finished his pint, I examined the glass: the white, red, and gold printing on the side, the raised glass letters along the base of the glass spelling “SMITHWICK’S” in all caps, and the raised glass castle and “1710″ on the very bottom of the glass as a reward for finishing a pint. I concluded my inspection with a, “that’s the coolest glass ever!” and carried it up to the counter.

I summoned my courage and got the bartender’s attention.
“Excuse me,” I began feebly, holding the beer-laced glass in my hand. “My dad and I collect beer glasses, and this one’s really cool… I was wondering if you could sell me one?”
He took the glass from me and looked it over.
“Well, I can’t sell you one.” He paused, and I nodded and began to turn away when he started, “But I could give you one.”
I looked up, delighted, and he dried off a clean glass and handed it to me. I earnestly thanked him and kept it safe.

I wrapped it in layers of clothing and towels and hand-carried it onto the plane, keeping such a watchful eye on it that I think I made my fellow passengers nervous. But at last, my lovely glass is home safe and sound – my favorite (and least expensive!) souvenir.

This photo is part of oh so lovely’s 30 Day Photo Challenge. Today is Day 7: Something New.

something new: the smithwick’s pint glass is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

This is Loana. She’s a stuffed lion I have had since I was very, very small. I’m sure I got her when I was a baby, but I rediscovered her in the basement when I was 5 or 6 years old, and she’s always been my most cherished stuffed animal. When I was little and thought about what I’d carry out from my house if there was a fire (even though I promised the grownups I’d leave everything behind), I whispered to her that she didn’t have to worry: she’d be the first and only thing I’d rescue. She even comes with me to college, and she lives happily on the windowsill next to my bed.

This picture captures a very distinct memory: Loana’s fateful bath. Since she was my constant playmate, her pale pink fur quickly became dirty. So, at my mother’s insistence, she went for a spin in the washer along with some towels, and after a brief drying she was good as new. Good as new except, as I quickly discovered, lacking her usual squeak. For Loana had been born with a squeaker in her belly, but post-bath the squeaker made a lackluster “click-click” rather than its former lively “eeh-ooh”. My young self was very disappointed, but Loana seemed okay with it. After all, she smelled nice again.

I am jumping into oh so lovely’s 30 Day Photo Challenge… a few days late, but no harm done! Today is Day 6: A Childhood Memory.

a childhood memory: loana’s fateful bath is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog