Bells will Ring

    

     In case you don't follow along with my other social medias, I'd like to take a minute to shout it from the roof tops (again) that this gal is getting married!!!  After almost four years of dating (and 23 years of messing around *wink*wink*), this crazy guy and I have decided that it's about time to make it official. 

Here's a flash back to 4 summers ago when we first started dating.  If you'd have told me then that I would eventually marry this man, I would have never believed it.  In fact, I'm still can't quite believe it's real.

    

If you're not down for a post with a ton of pictures, you may want to click away right now.  

     As much as I love this man, thank goodness he grew his goatee back.  I still curse that crappy job that he shaved his face for.  

We may have very different interests and hobbies but, somehow, it is the perfect blend for us.  I'm just as happy in his leather-clad world as he is in my vintage world.

 

      Especially if it involves a photo bomb!!

      If he's not taking the picture, he's being silly behind me.  Not a day goes by that he doesn't make me laugh and smile.  Even with all my health problems over the last few years, he has never stopped, for a second, supporting, comforting, and entertaining me.

We may both me only children and therefor always think that we are right and that we own the spotlight but we have found a balance.  He's the only person I have ever been with who shares the light with me and who I want to share with.  

You all know that Cupcake is the light of my life and my official She Knits in Pearls mascot but she is also the center of Daddy's attention too.  Our favorite moments of the day are the 3 of us in bed snuggling together.  I'm so happy I found a partner who is just as obsessed with her as I am.

     Here's to the next stage of our life together.  We're not running out to the Justice of the Peace any time soon.  So you can expect, over the next year to see a few more posts about planning and the big day it's self. 

For you married gals out there, what do you wish you would have known during your wedding planning?  What did you love about your day?  Did you make any mistakes? 

XOXO,
Cherry

It's a Disney Halloween

     

     I'm not sure if I was the fairest in the land, but I sure felt the enchantment on this year's Halloween.  In all honesty, I was really doubting that this would all pull together in the end.  I had all the pieces, mind you, however, I was severely lacking in the health department.  

     You'd never know (hopefully) by the photos that I had spent the entire week prior to Halloween in bed sick with a flu.  It is now 4 days after the big day and I am just starting to feel like a real human again.  No matter how sick I was, I wasn't about to miss out on the festivities and the opportunity to put together all the pieces of my hand made costume.  Check out those brooches!!  Snow White needs her woodland creatures with her wherever she goes.  I love making hand made brooches out of Shrinky Dinks  and thought this was a great opportunity to have a bit of fun with it.

   

   I'd love to say that the entire outfit is "Me Made", but that wouldn't be accurate.  My Mom is the fabulous seamstress who made the lovely peasant top.  She already had a great pattern in her arsenal so she kindly agreed to help me out (isn't she the greatest?)

     In order to make the skirt extra full, I added 2 extra panels to it (usually my skirts are 4 panels).  This definitely make it a lot more full but I had a heck of a time getting all that fabric to fit in the elastic waist band.  To help with this, I added some pleats to it as well.  All in all, it worked but I don't think I'll be using that technique in the future. 

 

 

 

     

     Check out these cute earrings I got from White Rabbit Clothing (check her out on Instagram).  I couldn't decide if I loved the Bashful Dwarf or the Evil Queen more, so I bought both and wore one of each.  Not the best photo's, I know, but I hope you get the idea.

     This is the first year that I can remember not having a sinister vibe to my costume and playing this innocent role was quite different for me.  I liked it, no, I LOVED it.  What little girl doesn't want to be a Disney princess when they grow up.  Maybe it was just for one night, but the little girl in me was ecstatic.  Me, the grown-up was pretty happy as well.

     I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween season and are looking forward to Thanksgiving and the rest of the Holiday's.  I know I have a lot to be thankful for and I look forward to sharing that with you soon.

XOXO,

Cherry 

Reno Reunion and New Plans

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging lately, as you may have noticed.  It was never my intent to take such a break, but it was much needed and I hope to be back in full swing here soon.  I got a bit bogged down with school and finals, health issues (including the depression that hits every fall) and various other uncontrollable life issues.  All of which left me with no time, strength or mood to blog.  Blogging is something that I enjoy and I'd like to keep it that way.  So, when I just can't even, I don't.  Then, just in the nick of time, I got to go on a much needed vacation.



This is what 94* looks like.  Me in the lightest dress I own, cursing under my breath that I forgot my parasol in the hotel room.

That's right, I got to have another reunion with my mom in Reno.  I've been 2 times before and on my last visit I started thinking about moving there to be closer to her.  Both previous trips have been in December/January so we thought I'd better take a trip during the summer months to see if this Alaskan girl could handle the heat.  My conclusion to that, "Not without my parasol".  Thank goodness for air conditioning, and finding a great antique/vintage shop only a few blocks from where this picture was taken.

Call Me

Awe, that's so much better!  I may not have too much need for parasols here in Alaska, but since I'm planning on making the move, a "new" parasol isn't a frivolous purchase.  Not that I have a problem with frivolous purchases, goodness knows I made quite a few while I was there.  I could spread all of my purchases out over many blog posts and still not have listed them all.  I have a feeling they will sneak in to my "Five Favorite" posts when the time comes.

The most 'touristy' drink ever and it's on fire.

Unlike my other visits to see Mom, this time I was able to bring my man with me.  As you can see, we took part in all of the touristy goodness that the Reno casino scene had to offer.  Including getting our portrait drawn by a street artist.

I've always wanted to get a drawing like this done, but never had the opportunity.  Money and time well spent in my book.  We also spent quite a bit of time trying out all the wonderful little artisan bars and their specialty cocktails.

It's Martini Time

Cheers!
 

Thankfully, each bartender we encountered had no problems taking out picture.  We didn't just drink our way through Reno it just happened that bartenders are more accommodating for pictures than strangers on the streets. 

 

Ian and I were together for only a week before he had to return home to work.  As far as our first ever vacation together goes, I think it was a great success and I look forward to many more.  We are currently discussing the idea of him making the move with me.  We'll see.......

 

 

The rest of my vacation was spent with the most amazing woman ever, MY MOM!!!  We spent the most of our time gabbing like little school girls, knitting, sewing and brainstorming.  Yes, BRAINSTORMING.  We've thrown around the idea of opening our own Etsy shop for a few years now and we have finally decided to take the plunge.  Let the insanity begin. 

 

 

We did a bit of shopping, "What do you mean, I can't buy all the vintage-reproduction fabric?"

 

 

And a ton of sewing, working on patterns and ideas for the shop.  So far, I am working on making some great reversible headbands and lovely vintage-inspired turbans. 

Here's one of the headbands I've made (along with a me-made skirt).

 

Mom will be working on kitchen accessories and offering her services as a long-arm quilter.  We're not quite up and running at full speed yet, but we are working at a steady pace.  At the moment, you can follow us on Instagram as @laceyrosecreations.  After much discussion, we decided to be called Lacey Rose Creations after my mom and I's dog Lacey and my mom's family name is Rose.  You can also find us on ETSY.  There's not much on there yet, but stay tuned in the next few weeks.  There is a lot going on behind the scenes.  I plan on doing another blog post about Lacey Rose Creations when we have more going on.

 

In other news, while I was on my vacation I got to meet a lovely new friend via Instagram.  I never thought I was the type of person to meet a stranger from the big scary internet.  Mariela and I "met" on Instagram a while ago and through our feeds I realized that she lives in Nevada just about an hour away from where my mom lives.  Both of us have feeds full of thrifted vintage goodness and all things yarn related so I thought it might be fun to meet.  Going against all the horror stories I heard growing up about meeting 'strange internet people' I asked her if she'd like to get together. 

 

 

We were both relieved that the other one was not a serial killer and we had a great day spent exploring all the best thrift shops in the area.  It's nice to know that when I do move down there next year, I've already made a friend.

 

 

At last, mom and I had to say our goodbyes.  It's always so hard to say goodbye.  Each time I get on the plane I shed a few tears.  This time, however, was a tiny bit easier knowing that in just one more year, I'll be closer to her.  Until then, we will keep planning and sewing and putting our new business together.  Before you know it, we will be together again.

 

XOXO,

Cherry

 

 

 



July's 5 Favorites

It seems as though it has been forever since I have done one of these posts.  Actually, it's only been 4 months since the last one in March. In blogging (and internet) time that is a life time.  My summer has been quite busy with Summer classes, crafting, and doing my best to enjoy each moment possible before the weather quickly turns back into the frozen ice and snow of winter.  I've also had a pretty hefty set back with my back injury.  The  injections I was getting, every 3 months, have stopped working and we are now contemplating another surgery or finding another therapy to help.  Needless to say, that has really taken it's toll on my activities.  Anyways, I have done a bit of retail therapy to help with the effects it has had on me, and I'm happy to be able to share some of my findings with you. 

1.  Younique 3D Fiberlash Mascara

 Ok, I have to that I didn't actually buy this product.  It was gifted to me by a friend who sells it.  I met her during the Memorial day weekend and at the end of the weekend she says to me "You are a diva, you need to have this"  Well, how could I say no to that.  I think I immediately fell in love with her. 

This is that mascara that has a tube of gel and a tube of fibers.  I had seen this stuff at the state fair last year but I have a VERY hard time trying new products that promise this or that for 3 times what I usually pay for a product.  This stuff isn't cheap at $29 a pop.  I would have never bought it on my own.  But now that I've tried it, I'm singing a completely different tune.

 

Have you ever actually tried to get a good picture of your eyelashes?  It's a lot harder that it seems!!  Well, I've never really focused my attention on my lashes.  They are really sparse and I usually just focus on a little wing in my eyeliner and a good red lip.  My eyes are always covered by glasses so It just wasn't something I put much thought into.  Now, I totally love my lashes.  I give them a little curl, put on my regular cover girl mascara then do the gel, fibers, and gel again.  You can't really tell from the pic but in person, it looks like I'm wearing falsies.  I'm totally hooked.  Now I'm willing to shell out $29 when this set runs out.  Oh, and I've been wearing it almost everyday since memorial day weekend and I'm no where near the bottom of the tubes.  I highly recommend this stuff.

 

2.  Tiny Tasty Treats from Kitchen Vixen

 

 

Aren't these just the cutest???  I found Kitchen Vixen at a local street fair selling the most amazing cookies and other treats.  As I had already had my fill of decadent street fair food, I almost walked right by the most adorable little ear rings and necklaces I've ever seen.  First I spotted the little cupcake necklace.  You all know I love anything cupcake related (Hell, my dog's name is Cupcake).  Then I found the little cups of Hot Coco and the Tiny Cake Pieces.  I absolutely had to scoop them all up and take them home with me.  Unfortunately, they didn't have the little red Kitchen Aide at the fair and I only discovered that on their website.  It was just to cute not to share it with you.  You can be that I will be looking for it the next time I stumble across them in person.  For now, my budget is too tight to order it online. 

 

3.  Floral Purse from The Bag Ladies of Fairbanks.

Something about summer time makes me gaga over floral prints.  That, coupled with a pretty serious purse addiction and need for retail therapy and there was no way that I couldn't buy this wonderful bag.  It's an added bonus that this purse and the many others made by The Bag Ladies of Fairbanks were made right here in my home town by some wonderful ladies. 

 

If anyone one wants to buy me the polka dot's and poppies one, I sure would appreciate it.  Unfortunately, I've already gone way over my budget as it is.  Damn, I can't wait till I can be working again!!!

 

4.  Vintage (80's does 50's) shirt dress.

 

Not only have I been swooning over floral's these days, but I have also been drawn to pink lately.  This is an unusual one for me.  I have always been more of a red girl and always felt that pink was just too dainty for me.  I guess things are always changing and so am I.  Not only does this lovely dress have pink in it but I don't think I've worn a white dress since I was a VERY little girl.  I will have to check with my mother on that one as I don't remember ever wearing one.  How could I pass up this adorable frock?  At 50% off of $12.99 I just couldn't, even if I was already in the red for the month......oops!

 

5.  Brooches made by yours truly

 

It all started with this little lady, a cute little polka dot dress made from a scrap of fabric left over from a skirt I made.  A few people had shown some interest in it so I decided to make a few more and try to sell them.  Here are some of the others I've made....

 

I've been asking $10 each with shipping included (U.S. only) and I take PayPal.  If you'd like to help a girl out head on over to My Instagram  and leave me a comment.  Or leave me a comment here.  After last months over spending and an unexpected trip to Reno next month, every penny is a big help.  I am not in a position to work extra hours or pick up shifts in order to make extra money as I no longer have a job and am unable to work at the moment.  So, this is what I can do.  I'm also thinking about setting up an etsy shop.  What do you guys think??  I've got to find some way to bring in extra moneys.

 

XOXO,

Cherry





Sisterhood of the Traveling Hat

I recently had the extreme honor of participating in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Hat.  What is that, you ask?  This is a project created by the creative and talented Tanith Rowan who hails from the opposite end of the world, Australia.  She is an extremely gifted maker of hats.  From vintage inspired, to costume, to modern styles and everything in between, her hats are fun, whimsical and charming.  Recently, she came up with the idea to make a hat and have it travel around the world and document all the adventures it partakes in.

When I read about the project on Tanith's Blog I excitedly emailed her immediately telling her how happy I would be to participate.  Allowing her hat to make it all the way to Alaska. 

I received the hat in the mail a little over a week ago and have finally had the chance to wear her and take some pictures.  I was really hoping to get some good pictures sooner.  However, I live in Alaska and we are experiencing an extremely smokey summer.  Our state is on fire!!!  Leaving the clear and beautiful days more rare than we all would like.  

  I took this picture the day after I took all the pictures of me wearing this darling hat.  That's not fog or smog, that is thick smoke making it very hard to breathe outside.

 

So, on our first sunny and clear day I jumped at the chance to take the hat for a spin.  I paired her with my black vintage, sateen, shirt-waist dress a navy blue belt and vintage pearl brooch and earrings.  Although this outfit came together beautifully, it proved to be very uncomfortable.  Anything made of thick black fabric worn in the blistering 90 degree evening sun would be though. Thankfully, I found a few shaded places on the boat to pose.  Us Alaskans just aren't used to these tropical temperatures.

The stairs leading to the upper deck of the ship was one of the shaded, and therefor cooler places.  As soon as I sat down to pose Cupcake jumped on my lap to cuddle (and pose).

This little girl sure knows how to steal the show.  I'm sorry Tanith.  I wanted to focus solely on your lovely hat but Cupcake clearly had other plans.

 Although Cupcake would have preferred me to be holding her, I didn't allow her to be in EVERY shot.  It was a heck of a lot of fun to run around on the boat finding good spots for pictures.  Even if I was a bit embarrassed to be doing so with a few of the crew downstairs wondering what the heck I was doing and why. 

If you are a hat person (who isn't?) I highly suggest you check out all of the amazing creations Tanith has made in her Etsy Shop.  If you aren't a hat person (shame on you) I'll happily accept anything in her shop as a gift.  She even does custom orders!!! If you have an idea, she can create it.

Thank you again, Tanith, for allowing me to participate in the adventures of the traveling hat and accepting me in to the sisterhood.  It has been an honor and a wonderful experience I will carry with me for many, many years.  And now the journey continues for this hat.  It was a bit painful to pack her back into her box to send her on to the next lucky sister.  I would have happily kept her with me.

XOXO,
Cherry

Vodka Lemonade and the Gun Range?

Yep, but it's not what you are thinking.  I would never in a million years drink and shoot.  However, I will wear my Vodka Lemonade Cardigan to the range.  See, that's the name of this sweater pattern.  With a name like Vodka Lemonade, how could I not want to knit this darling up? 

Just because I was wearing a skirt doesn't mean I'll give up the opportunity to take a trip to the range.  As you may have guessed, I was the fanciest gal there and stuck out like a sore thumb.  Not that that has ever bothered me one bit.

After the range, we took a stroll through a local car show.  Oh my how I loved each one of these classic babies.

I think this Studebaker was my favorite.  Just look at the propeller on the front.  That is seriously awesome!

Oh, don't mind me, I'm just checking my lipstick.

And pretending that I know what the hell I'm looking at under the hood.

But hey, let's talk about this sweater.  Like I mentioned earlier, it's the Vodka Lemonade cardigan by Thea Colman.  My mom had the idea of knitting this sweater together as our own little knit a long.  We both started it in December while I was visiting her in Nevada.  I finished it in February, but wasn't loving it all that much which is why it has taken so long to make it on the blog. 

It is clearly a spring/summer cardigan which may be why I wasn't in love with it in February.  Also, the pattern description says it has a "vintage feel" and I'm not really feeling that.  Maybe it's a bit early 60's but it doesn't have that 40's or 50's feel that I usually like.  I changed up the pattern a bit.  The lace panel in the back wasn't part of the original pattern, it was supposed to be just around the bottom but I thought I would get bored without it.

I also prefer that my sweaters have some sort of closure and this pattern doesn't have any.  I improvised with this little poodle and heart pin.  Super cute, but kind of a pain in my ass.

Although this may not be my favorite sweater that I've ever made, it was a nice pattern and it goes very well with many of the skirts in my wardrobe.  Including this skirt I made last summer.  If I were to make this sweater again, I would alter it to have buttons and also use a yarn with more stretch to it.  The cotton yarn I used from Jimmy Bean's is awesome but I don't think it was the right choice for this pattern.  I just loved the color so much and knew it would fit in to the mix well.  

I'm glad I got to wear it once before we started hitting the high 70's and low 80's.  I can't believe what a nice, hot summer we are having here in Alaska.  Now, I'm going to go dip my toes in the water with Cupcake and a real Vodka and Lemonade (don't worry Mom, all my homework is done).

XOXO,

Cherry