Archives for June 2011

Prepare to drool…

Posted by on June 26, 2011

Last Saturday I drove down to Opp, AL to spend a few hours at TJ’s Fabrics. We planned it so that my visit coincided with our family beach trip to Seagrove, FL so this was my 3 hour “pit stop”. If you’re going to the beach this summer, or fall, or winter, or anytime, or even if you are not going to the beach anytime soon and live in the area, or don’t live in the area, PLAN A VISIT TO TJ’S!! Mapquest it, GPS it, whatever! (While I was there a couple of girls came in from Montgomery who had made the trip the Saturday before, and loved it so much they came back). I mention the beach because it IS on your way to the beach if you’re traveling to the Destin area and if you travel Hwy 331. Find it!!

Not only do they have a store full of B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L fabric, it was just a fun time in general! Granted they had called in the troops for this special Saturday (not just for me, but they also had a big fabric sale). Everyone was so fun, everyone knew everyone, everyone knew what everyone else was working on (these shirts, that project…) and it was just a fun time spent there meeting people, looking at all the fabric and appreciating a small town and all it has to offer (great service and a fun shopping experience). A lot of the ladies there I felt like I had known for ages! I met a couple of first cousins and they get together and sew with their grandmother! How sweet is that!! They showed me how they used tulle on some of their raggy designs underneath the fabric (idea!!).

Here are the pictures I took and most speak for themselves…

CHRISTMAS:

ORGANIZED AND COLOR COORDINATED!

IS THIS NOT A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT????

LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE!

WHO DOESN’T LOVE PINK & GREEN?

I BELIEVE SOME OF THESE ON THE RIGHT ARE TY PENNINGTON FABRICS (and I got to see a picture of Teresa (aka TJ) and Ty at a Fabric Show!)

THIS WAS MY FAVORITE ROUNDER – THE STRIPE ON THE LEFT IS A MUST HAVE!! I love the pink & green Michael Miller Picnic “gingham” too!

THEY ALSO HAD AMY BUTLER ITEMS ON DISPLAY FOR YOU TO GET IDEAS! BEAUTIFUL BAGS AND THINGS for those of you who sew!

On the other side of TJ’s Fabrics is T & C Pharmacy (which is a real pharmacy). Teresa told me years ago she had the idea of maybe getting in to selling a little fabric. Not long after that (while she prayed about it), she got a postcard in the mail about a Fabric Show. A few bolts turned in to a few more, and as you can see now she has 1/2 the store! They also have tons of gift items, sewing supplies, embroidery supplies, vinyl, ribbon, trim and everything else you’d need!

They also have an excellent system of cutting your fabric while you shop! They put it in a little basket with your name on it while you shop some more!

CHRISTMAS AGAIN ~ IT’LL BE HERE SOON!

Thank you Teresa for inviting me to come spend some time in your store! I had a great time and will come again SOON! P.S. her cute apron came home with me!!

Here were the YUMMY cookies and I also left with a big bag of these. They didn’t last long at the beach! I believe they were made by “Sister Schubert’s” daughter who lives in Andalusia. They also came in hot pink and a pretty turquoise blue color.

I had to take a picture of the sign out front!

We had a great time at the beach! We got home yesterday and we move Wednesday and I have not packed the first thing! Operation cleaning is in motion later today and tomorrow so that the house will be ready to move in to. We have a hectic week ahead! I’m also sampling some new designs today to list. BTW, Patriotic designs are still 50% off and the rest are 30% off ~ stock up at Applique Cafe!

Have a great week! If you have any questions about TJ’s or how to get there, let me know! THEY ALSO SELL THE MAJORITY OF THEIR FABRIC ONLINE IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT DOWN TO OPP!!

Filed Under: Applique Cafe, Fabric, Shopping | Tagged: Tagged With:

House Befores

Posted by on June 17, 2011

This is a picture of how it’s been around here the past week or so (this is our rental “summer” home). Do you notice the 5 pairs of shoes on the COUNTER? We’ve been going 90 to nothing all week after closing on our new house on Monday. Painters started today painting several (not all) of the rooms, so it was stressville yesterday trying to pick the colors (I had a noon deadline but got an extension til 2:00 and gave my last color selection closer to 2:30)! Thanks to my friend Amie for taking time out of her morning to walk around the house with me and give me her input, AND, go to the fabric store with me to try to figure out Mallory fabrics so I could pick out wall color. I pretty much went with everything she suggested, so if it doesn’t turn out good it’s all her fault! Hee Hee ~ JUST KIDDING!!!! 🙂

One thing I WILL NOT MISS in this house is the kitchen sink that is literally 5″ deep. Get out your measuring tapes people. 5 inches!! What?? I will also not miss the dishwasher that a) doesn’t dry dishes and b) sounds like a heavy piece of farm equipment when it’s running. Less than 2 weeks!!

Here are a few “before” peeks from our new home. This is the Master, and we’re painting it, our bathroom (ceiling included) a light smokey blueish green color. I will post “after” pics when the painting is done.

Here is my future (long awaited) sewing room. It’s a very basic (boring) room with these 2 windows. No closet or anything, BUT, it has a pocket door. This, my friends, means that I can shut the door and “get away” from work whenever I want to! After much consideration of painting it some fun funky color, we decided to paint it WHITE! I’m going to have fun with my fabric, thread, valances maybe, recover my chairs, etc. I’m pinning tons of ideas on my newest addiction, Pinterest!

Here is one of the kids rooms upstairs, which will most likely house one or both boys. It’ll be painted a very basic “Elephant Tusk” khaki neutral color.

Here is our kitchen. This is definitely a BEFORE, as we’re in the process of planning our renovation of the kitchen. Luckily we know someone who works for a cabinet company! We’re going to “make due” with this for a couple of months while we finalize our plans, pick out what we want and then start the process of the renovation. Luckily the appliances are new and we’re keeping the floor, so it’s a matter of new cabinets, hood, countertops, backsplash and we’re also hopefully going to remove part of a wall! Good times ahead! The cabinets with the XXXXX will GO!

This is our laundry room (before). We’ll also be replacing all of the cabinets in here too (as well as all bathrooms). I am most excited about cubbies that we’ll be adding in here for all the kids stuff!

This sink is nasty, but believe it or not it works! Maybe I should learn to cut hair??

I will be sure to post AFTER pics when the painting is done, and we’ll be moving in 2 weeks from yesterday! Lots of work ahead but we’re very excited!!

Don’t forget, I’ll be at TJ’s Fabric on Saturday from 10-1!

I’ve listed a few new designs this week ~ all on the home page at Applique Cafe. I still have one more to re-sew and list tomorrow. You can see previews of 5 more designs coming soon on our Facebook page!

Filed Under: Family | Tagged:

Chocolate the Bear

Posted by on June 13, 2011

Friday after VBS I decided to take the kids to Costco for lunch (where else can you feed 4 people for $7?). The kids quickly spotted this gigantic stuffed Bear (after we ate and decided to meander through the store in search of dessert  ~ aka some sort of sweet sample). Price tag was $30 and I convinced Browder that I was NOT buying this huge bear, and he quickly asked if we could come back to Costco later so he could get his own money and pay for it. I agreed, and Friday evening we did indeed go back to Costco and purchased “the Bear” now known as Chocolate. Do you see the pure joy on all 3 faces?? While Browder paid for the bear, he had to agree to share it with the other 2, as our summer home just isn’t big enough for 3 of these! LOVE the big feet!!

Among the sampling at Costco were these ~ YUMMY! You pop them in the oven or toaster oven for 2-3 minutes and SERVE! No syrup is even needed! My kids love pancakes and frozen waffles and I HATE SYRUP!! Perfect solution!

Jeff brought these (below) home the other day. We had our “walk through” tonight at the new house and we close tomorrow at 2. We will be homeowners again (YIKES) and frankly I am overwhelmed, to say the least. A) If we want to paint anything before we move in, then I need to pick out paint colors in the next day or two. B) What to paint? Mallory’s room and the boys room for sure (which is now PINK). THEN I got on Pinterest and decided that I needed to paint our future office/sewing room a fun color. I’m torn between painting it a fun color, or going with good ole WHITE and letting my fabric and thread (and other things in my head) accessorize. We are also planning to replace all of the cabinets in the entire house, but that is another stress in itself and furthermore, I’ve been told that ain’t happening anytime soon! Furniture arrangement, what goes where, what to do with the mystery room by the kitchen, etc. My head is spinning, and that’s why it’s 11:02 and I’m blogging.

Back to Chocolate, this was the scene Friday night and I could barely take this picture I was laughing so hard! Where is G? you might ask. G is on the floor on a sleeping bag. Chocolate appears to be snoring and is 6 times as big as Browder! Other than the few squabbles because the little ones were slobbering a little on Chocolate, this bear has been highly entertaining and well worth the 30 bucks (out of Browder’s pocket)!!

Have a great week! I have 4 cute new AC designs to sample and will try to get them done first thing in the morning!

Filed Under: Family, Shopping | Tagged:
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