4.28.2012

heart you!


 I see you... peek-a-boo!!  Heartfelt thanks to all the lovely ladies that have been popping by my blog. Being new to the blogging world, I get super excited when I see people visiting and commenting. Thank you so much for taking the time to say "hello" and now you can follow me on bloglovin... spread the word because I have a basket full of awesome goodies planned for a giveaway. Thanks for looking. Hugs, kisses and lots of love, Ms. Kate

4.25.2012

one step, two


Things are changing. My job is ending and I am starting a new one, the seasons are changing, my  thesis is changing (and developing). It is a wonderfully, terrifying time and I am (trying) to embrace the highs and lows of this little adventure. This year we are doing lots of scary things and it can only pay off. Keep your head up.... I know I am. Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate

4.24.2012

haunted anniversary

Getting away is always wonderful. For some reason, Pat and I tend to vacation at strange and unique locations. For our first anniversary (as a married couple) we decided to brave the haunted hotel where The Innkeepers was filmed.


When placing the reservation we actually asked for "the most haunted room" and the clerk quickly responded "oh that is room 353" so...that is where we stayed. I have to say, the Yankee Pedlar Inn does not advertise themselves as being haunted but they do admit to their association with the movie and there is something less hokey and touristy about this subtle difference.

The Yankee Pedlar Inn was originally built in 1891 and you can tell! Walking through the doors was like stepping back in time. Nothing from the fixtures to the wallpaper has been updated (seemingly) in fifty years. As soon as we entered we were taken away by how quiet the place was, we began whispering like two children sneaking into an abandoned building. The building was amazingly insulated and we couldn't even hear the street outside.


We checked in, got out room key (an actual key) and climbed the stairs towards the third floor. Every board creaked under our feet.


We were giddy as we began exploring the maze of hallways on the third floor. Seriously, it was like something out of The Shining. There were two wings that were completely dark.


 We finally found room 353 at the end of a long hallway.
 

The room definitely had its quirks. We were expecting our room to be a bit peculiar and we were not disappointed! The walls were cracked, the head board was slanted, and the bathroom was a foot higher than the rest of the room!!


Yet, everything was clean. There was something wonderful in the modesty of the room. It wasn't trying to be kitsch or camp. This room was genuinely old and oddly furnished and it was wonderful!


We expected a night of boos and screams but we didn't get that. Maybe it was all the champagne (we were celebrating after all) or maybe the ghost's were taking the night off. The room was freezing but then when we turned the radiator on it was so loud that we had to shut it off! The only really strange thing that happened was the next morning I was in the shower and I said "we should visit again" and just as I said these words the water got really, really cold. Strange right? then again, this could just be old plumbing. All and all it was a great visit. Here's to 50 more years of adventures!
Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate.



4.21.2012

our diy wedding (photo heavy)

A year ago we got married. While we are sneaking away (exploring a very old, very haunted hotel) I thought I would share a bit about our special day.

Before we tied the knot, we bought our cottage. We had decided that we wanted to spend the majority of our money on a home and not on a wedding. With a limited budget, we decided to have a very casual affair. More of a party than a fancy pants wedding. Creating a more casual atmosphere reflected our style (Hubby will never wear a suit) and it relieved some of the pressure associated with trying to create the "perfect wedding." Not to say that there wasn't pressure...more on that in a minute.

First was the location. We wanted a place that was casual, a bit rustic and where we could cater ourselves. This proved way more challenging than we anticipated. Turns out a lot of really neat places don't let you bring in your own caterer. However we ended up finding a beautiful old barn that was part of a historical museum.





Once the location was out of the way it became much easier to figure out the theme and atmosphere. We wanted our wedding to be whimsical and reflect our personalities. With the barn as our backdrop we started brainstorming. We began thinking up inexpensive ways to spruce up the barn and add pops of color. We decided to make cloth pennants and my sister thought up the amazing idea of paper pinwheels. We had pinwheels everywhere! They lined the isles, the walls, and guests took them home. My friend Rachel even gave a pinwheel to a lady she met on the train!






 I wanted my colors to be yellow and gray. I chose these colors because I LOVE daffodils and since we got married in April I knew the forsythia would be in bloom. My mom, sister, a couple of friends and I arranged all the flowers. It was so much fun and since we got married on Easter weekend they were all on sale! Oh and all the flowers went into mason jars that my mom found at the dump! We didn't pay for a single vase!

At home the day before the wedding.

Me and my crew: Mama, Sister, MOH

We also knew that during the wedding we wanted some sort of activity. We wanted a game or something that would keep our guests entertained because we knew not many people would dance.

One night I had this genius idea to have a book swap table at our wedding. We asked all of our guests to bring a book to our wedding and trade with someone else! Since we are avid readers, it seemed like a great way to include our personality and give our guests something fun to do. Of course, we ran with the book theme and used books as our centerpieces too. Also, (thanks again to my amazing sis) she found a web site that sold reprints of old postcards. She bought loads of postcards that had reading themes and we lined the barn walls with them.




The best part of the day was the ceremony. We had our family members walk down the aisle before us (our song was "Rainbow Connection" sung by Kermit the Frog) which was a lot of fun and really sweet. They all waited to sit down until I entered with my dad and they all waved at me before I walked down the aisle. This was a really special moment for me and I loved walking into the barn to all the smiling faces.



We had Husband-Pant's grandmother read us an old Irish blessing and my baby brother wrote a special prayer for us. We had written our own vows (which were funny!)  It seemed appropriate to write our own vows because we put in a lot of jokes and unique promises. Our vows were lighthearted and sweet. It was amazing that everyone was laughing and crying at the same time.





The most difficult aspect of our wedding was the food. We knew that we had to feed everyone but since we were on such a tight budget we couldn't go for all the options you usually find at a wedding.

We decided that since it was going to be such a casual wedding we should just have a barbecue! As luck would have it, we had a connection to an organic beef farmer so we ordered a ton of hamburger and hot dogs. The meat alone wasn't enough because I have "vegetarian tendencies" and a lot of vegan friends. We decided on a super elaborate, "everything you could ever want" salad bar. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!! Plus, since we were catering the wedding ourselves we simply prepped all the food ahead of time (storage was a bit of a problem I will admit.)

Yes! I ate at my wedding! You can sorta see the salad bar behind me...
We served all of our food on compostable plates and used organic bamboo utensils so when the wedding was over we composted all our waste.
Oh and we served pie instead of cake. Apple, pumpkin, mixed berry and chocolate maple pecan...YUM!




Yes, it was a bit stressful doing EVERYTHING ourselves but we hired a friend for the day of. That way, anything that happened during the actual day was her responsibility and that took stress off of us and we were able to talk to people and celebrate. We had tons of help from some dear friends too which was a godsend. We hired some of hubby's clients to grill, cut up pie, run the ipod etc. and that helped too. We were very lucky to have lots of help and support. Thanks guys! We love you!

Our servers all wore tuxedo t-shirts.








 Looking back, it was a wonderful day. We had a great time celebrating simply and I am so glad that we stayed within our budget. There were many things that I wanted to do but when it came to the $$ we just couldn't afford it. I am glad we didn't use our credit cards. Our simple celebration was great and many people say it was the best wedding they had ever been to. Would I do it all again? Yes, but I probably would have shelled out the money and just hired a caterer and clean up crew. Yes, we had to clean up everything when we were done. My maid of honor made my husband and I matching yellow and gray aprons but sweeping in my wedding dress (a little drunk) still sucked.
But it was OUR day and it was wonderful. I am glad we stayed within our budget and guest list and our priorities...it was an awesome way to start our life as husband and wife.
All professional photos were done by my fabulous brother.
Thanks for looking. Lots and lots of LOVE, Ms. Kate.




4.17.2012

Tutorial: earrings

I have been designing and building jewelry for the past ten years and one thing that really bothers me is poor execution. There have been numerous times at art fairs, gallery openings, artisan websites and even jewelry stores where the idea is amazing but the craftsmanship is a little rough.

Today, I thought I would share a few secrets to making earrings. Recently, I have been helping a lot of people improve their earrings to look more professional and all it takes is a few simple steps.

You will need: 
needle nose pliers
cutter tool
chain nose pliers
beads
headpins 
ear wires 


Headpins look like a piece of wire with a flat bottom... sort of like a sewing pin. 
A headpin is what you string the beads onto.


Using your needle nose pliers, you are going to bend the wire (right above the beads) at a right angle.



The next part is a little tricky and is where people often mess up!
In order to make a perfect loop you have to bring the wire back towards the beads. 
The best way to do this is to take your pinky finger and measure out a nails width of space and move your plier to that line.




Now that you have figured out where your plier should start. 
You are going to hold your pliers with your fingers pointing up towards you
This is very important!
If you hold your pliers with your fingers in towards your body you will not get the rotating motion needed to make a perfect loop.


Blurry but you get the point. Make sure you can see your fingers!

another pic with fingers up!

Then simply rotate your wrist: bringing your thumb towards you and exposing the backside of your hand. This turn of the wrist will pivot the wire back on itself. 
This will form half the loop.




Holding your wire as shown above, you will take the "tail" of your wire (or straight part) and curve it around the plier so that it forms a full loop. Using a needle nose plier is essential for this step because the wire forms to the curve of the plier.




Take the leftover straight wire and wrap it around directly above the beads. 
This is way more secure than simply cutting off the excess wire.




If you find that your wire is wrapping loosely you can squeeze it with your chain nose pliers.




Keep twisting until it is all secure. If necessary, cut off any leftover bits.




Using your chain nose pliers open the loop on your earwire. 



 Carefully close!


 Practice makes perfect but rotating that wrist will make all the difference in the world. 
I am uploading some of the earrings I've made on my Etsy shop right now. Come visit!
Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate

4.16.2012

makeover

Hello! I can't believe it has been over a week. Things are still up in the air with work and there have been a few restless nights but I know things are going to get better. I am trying to stay positive.

Pat and I have been taking long walks and enjoying this beautiful weather. I have been trying to find little ways to keep my spirits up. Besides our walks, I have been journaling a lot and have made many wonderful lists of things to blog about. Jewelry tutorial tomorrow so check back for that!

Meanwhile here are a few pics of me with my new hair color. I wanted something totally different so I went BLACK. This color really makes my eyes pop and looks great with my new Clinique lipstick in "Shy."  Sometimes you have to take the plunge whether with a serious life change or a hair color. It is terrifying but I know in the end it will make me a stronger person.




I have been noticing that this blog is getting more hits and I have to say thank you. I would love for you to follow me. As soon as I get a few more followers I am going to do a super awesome giveaway.
Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate

4.12.2012

low down

So things have taken a turn. My job went from being incredibly awesome to kinda sorta awful in a matter of months. This of course, has brought on a slue of feelings of guilt and remorse towards the places I have been and the people I have trusted. When you give a company six years of your life it is difficult to accept and embrace  such a change of events but here we go... I am trying to stay positive, look on the bright side and try to see the good in an overall crappy situation. Maybe this will allow me to focus on my blog and artsy projects. Who knows what the future will bring.

I haven't been taking many pictures but the other day I woke up to a friend in my bed. She must have sensed my general stress and worry because she just snuggled right in with me. Rescuing Cookie was one of the best things I ever did and she is 90 pounds of pure love.






In this last picture she looks like a giant and it makes me smile. Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate


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