Coffee and Cross Stitch

Halloween Eve | Cross Stitch

I know I keep saying it, but I just can't believe it's fall already.  Yesterday was the official first day of autumn, and I celebrated by burning my Autumn Wreath candle all day (yes, all day. i'm obsessed with that candle.), and finally, finally finishing the framing for one of my favorite Halloween pieces: Halloween Eve.

Pretty cool, right????  OMG.  I'm serious - this was one of my favorite pieces to stitch, a close second to my Quaker Christmas II.  The patchwork pumpkin is pretty damn cool.

The frame is by Priscilla's Pocket - each one of their frames is hand finished, which is perfect for this piece to give it that rustic feel.

Here's the bottom corner detail ~~

I mean, you can see the brushstrokes and everything.  LOVE.

I just lovelovelove this frame.  It's so unique and fits this piece perfectly.

If you have this graph in your stash, you probably noticed something different about the entire top of this piece - I cut out the sampler portion of it, and used the letters to stitch my initials instead.  I talked about all the changes I made and other fun stuff in this post here, and you can find the info on my fabric choice on my Fabric & Floss page. 

Now I just gotta find a place to hang this.  Decisions, decisions.....

Happy Monday!  Create something beautiful today!! 

 

Birthday Brunch

For my birthday (which was two months ago now), my mom wanted all of us (me, my mom, and my sister) to go out to lunch to celebrate, and since it was my birthday I got to choose where to go.

For some reason, this was an exceptionally difficult task for me.  I kept finding all these cool places I wanted to go, but just couldn't make up my mind.  I had almost resorted to going back to a place I'd been before, simply because I was tired of driving myself insane about a friggin restaurant, when I remembered one of my friends had posted pics on Instagram of this place called National Mechanics.

And so we went.  What sold me, you ask?  After weeks of pulling my hair out trying to pick a place?

This is what sold me ~~

Dear God.

You pick the salt that goes around the rim of your glass, then you make your drink with whatever you want from the fixin's bar.

All the glasses had famous Philadelphians on the front.  I think all three of us got Frank Rizzo...but my sis might've gotten someone different.  I can't remember. 

So, so good.

After a beyond delicious brunch, we walked around Center City and did a little shopping.  No trip to the city is complete without going to the Anthropologie in Rittenhouse Square.  It's an old corner house that has the most amazing architecture inside.  I can only imagine what is hiding behind some of their fixtures.

The bottom floor is what was the kitchen, and still has a sink on the side by the fireplace. 

When you're in these old buildings, you always have to look up - you never know what you're gonna see --

If you're ever in Philly on the weekend, you must visit National Mechanics if you're a Bloody Mary fan so you can partake in the make-your-own Bloody Mary bar.  If you're not, go there anyway.  The atmosphere is really cool (visit their website to get the history of the building - it dates back to pre-Civil War and has been numerous things including a bank and a church) and the food is very good.  I highly recommend it.

 

I Heart NYC | Travel

I love New York City.  I love it. 

I love walking through the streets in the Fashion District, staring at all the bolts of fabric in the windows, and wandering aimlessly through mood. 

Seriously.  These rolls of fabric just go on for miles.....

And going into places like M&J Trimming and Tinsel Trading Company and just drooling over the unique trims and vintage embellishments you can use in your creative endeavors. 

Kinda makes me want to pretend I could actually make a living doing stuff with all that fabric. 

Oh, to dream.  But that's what NYC is all about, right?  So you can be a dreamer of dreams?

{sigh}

I do so much love going up there, though.  Being in Philly, it's a short train ride from Trenton to Penn Station, and I'm ready to take on the streets.  I went up to NYC one day over Labor Day weekend, and decided this trip that I wanted to wander around SoHo.  More specifically, I wanted to find this particular bakery ~

Gluten free.  Refined sugar free.  Vegan.  TO.DIE.FOR.  I got a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with mint filling, a pumpkin cupcake, a lemon cupcake, a samoa donut (YAH. SAMOA.), and a container filled with chocolate filled brownie bites.

Words cannot describe how good these were.

There's nothing like walking through Little Italy ~

And getting to see the Flatiron building for the first time was pretty awesome --

I love New York, and I can't wait to go back.

 

Witch Hazel | Cross Stitch

Hello, my friends.

It's been far too long, so let's get to it.

I've been doing some pretty crazy amounts of creating lately, including this fun cross stitch number, named "Witch Hazel" by With Thy Needle and Thread.

Wicked cute, right??  I love the 'fraidy cat ;-)

This I stiched as a model for the shop - it was such a fun stitch, and really got me in the fall/Halloween mode.  

As it's 90 degrees today in Philly.  Go figure.

Happy Thursday, my friends!  I hope you have a wonderfully creative day!! 

Much love ~~