Coffee and Cross Stitch

Winter Blahs.

I can't do it anymore.  I just can't.  This winter has been absolutely brutal.  The amount of snow and bitter cold has me at my breaking point.  I don't know how the people in the MidWest are surviving - they have just piles upon piles of snow on the ground.

I am thankful that these next couple of days will be warm enough (and by warm, I mean in the 40's, although tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50's!!) with rain to melt some of this crap.

Do NOT get me started on the pothole situation in Philadelphia. 

Having phenomenal foresight (or just already sick of winter on 2 Jan since Christmas was over) I called up one of my dear friends from college who moved to FL last year for her husband's job, and asked if she was up for a visitor in February.  She was, and we settled on a long weekend when I could come down, which would also be around her birthday and her son's birthday.  Bonus!

When I tell you I couldn't have planned it better if I tried, I really couldn't have.  I left last Wednesday morning, and a Nor'easter blew in that night.  So, instead of seeing snow for 4 days, I saw this --

I took this on my run - I haven't been able to run outside in months, so when I was on my way back, I ran up to the beach and took a few shots.

(sigh) Heaven.

I almost stayed down there.  It was soooo difficult for me to come back to a "feels like" temperature of 17 degrees, when I left it was 68.  

I also want this to be my Starbucks, since in my mind, they have these pretty purple flowers all year long.

One day, we went to Universal Studios, which has a Margaritaville outside the park at the City Walk.  Natch, I had to take a pic of something at Margaritaville, so I settled on this, which was a tiki bar outside the restaurant ~~

"There was this one particular harbor...."

And, of course, the nerd that I am, I HADDDDDD to visit Harry Potter world....

If seeing Hogwarts Castle doesn't make you want to be a freaking witch/wizard, I don't know what will.

"Something wicked this way comes......"

Looking back through these pics is keeping me somewhat grounded this week, as I hope for warmer weather STAT, but know that we have a loooong way to go yet.....

How are you all keeping sane this winter??  Are you stitching?  Are you scrapping??  Drinking????  ;-)

Day Trippin'

This past weekend, the temps were actually above freezing, so I decided to take a little drive up to Princeton.  Across from the campus, they have a nice outdoor shopping area, so, for a change of scenery (especially since I've hardly been out of the house this winter because of the bitter, bitter cold and all the snow), I took the trip.

I went into a few stores, then decided to wander onto the campus to see what it looked like.  

The buildings on this campus are absolutely stunning.  I have no idea what most of the buildings are, but I just started taking pics.

These are the archways over the entrance to the library.  

This is the church on campus.  Absolutely beautiful.

This is the front of the big building you can see from Nassau Street, which goes in front of the campus.  I caught it just as the sun was setting between buildings ~~

Seriously.  Gorgeous architecture. And lions.

This building really captured my attention -- do you see that giant sundial on the tower???  How friggin cool is THAT?!

And I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a pic of these gorgeous wood doors ~~

Shopping and seeing these beautiful buildings was well worth getting out of the house on a chilly January day.  Once it stops snowing (which at this rate might not be till June), I want to go back and see more of the campus and its astounding architecture.

(PS - I took all these pics with my iPhone 5.  No filters were used.)

 

Six More Weeks of Winter. Thanks, Phil. | Cross Stitch

Well, our buddy, Phil, out in Punxsutawney, PA predicted six more weeks of winter yesterday, and I'm not happy about it.  We've had plenty of snow already, thankyouverymuch, so I'm done.  I'm ready for spring.

Oh, but funny thing.  Today's another day with snow in the forecast.  A winter storm warning was issued.  This one's coming with ICE.  

Yay.

Moving on from that wretched topic.

Friday, I stopped by my LNS to pick up my Quaker Christmas II.  I am not even kidding you --- I may be slightly biased since I stitched this, but dear God --- this piece is STUNNING framed.

I apologize - this is not the greatest lighting - the only place I can get decent pics is in my dining room, with the piece laying on my table.  The red is "Current" and the green is "Blue Spruce", both from Crescent Colours (which is now Classic Colorworks), and are the colors called for in the graph.  They're both much deeper, richer Christmas colors than this picture can demonstrate.  

When I brought the piece in to pick a frame, I was going back and forth with red frames, not really considering black.  Then, we asked the framer for her opinion, and she suggested black to really bring out both the red and the green, and viola!  This also happens to be one of my favorite frames - I got the same frame, just a different finish, for my Cricket Collection "Sleepy Hollow".

I mean, really.  This frame.  Perfect.

A close-up of the top portion of the piece ~ the "We Three Kings" motif is one of my favs ~~

 And the "I Saw Three Ships" motif is also a fav ~~

Like the shop owner said, every time you look at it, you see something different!  

This piece was SO fun to stitch (even though it took a LONG time, it's well worth the effort!!), so I encourage you all to put this in your "to stitch" pile!  

Special thank you to Lise for framing this for me, since she wasn't in the shop when I picked it up so I could thank her in person!  It's stunning!  Thank you!

Stay warm, my friends, especially those of you out in the MidWest!!