used books and ghost hunting

Yesterday I found some time to sneak away to a little bookstore, Stone Soup, that I've been wanting to check out since forever. It's a cozy little bookstore and cafe just up the hill from downtown Waynesboro...definitely the best meal I've ever eaten in town. I had butternut squash and pear soup with spinach, red onion, goat cheese and spiced pecan salad. Incredible really! They do this cool half & half thing with their menu where you can chose half-portions of a sandwich, soup or salad. It's a clever way to allow people to try new things without breaking the bank. Says something about their concept of efficiency also. Blake had a ham and swiss sandwich (with extra cheddar of course - being cheese boy requires the addition of MORE cheese) and Sera had a ham and cheddar/mango chutney sandwich. She said it was the perfect balance of salty and sweet. A really nice varied selection of books too in a wonderful vintage 1930's cottage. So there you go! A great lunch, nice atmosphere, very sweet and attentive ladies running the place -- definitely on my fav's list now.

I'm happy to say that today we're just hanging out here at the house. I've been cleaning and starting on my annual new year's reorganization & purgefest. I always get so hyper this time of year. There are a million things that I need to get done before I can really dive into my etsy shop like I want to. And while I spin in my shoes, the kids are ghost hunting with their new crank flashlights. They claim to have seen a critter in the crawlspace with glowing eyes - hrmm, hope they haven't shut the neighbors cat in there! It's nice to be home :-)

Help Save Handmade

Please take the time to educate yourself about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that will take affect on Feb. 10th of 2009. I agree that the lead-paint tainted garbage that's being manufactured in China and sold to children all over the world must stop; but they need to rewrite this before it goes into law. As it's currently written it will effectively shut down thousands of artisans & small businesses all over the U.S.

Please take the time to learn more and do your part.

Happy Christmas!

I hope everyone had a peaceful holiday. It's unseasonably warm here so we went for a walk to burn off some of the extra sweets & treats we've been consuming. It's nice to have some downtime from work and school. Wish we could share some of the snowy wintery-weather that the northwest is getting this Christmas. But hopefully winter will come visit us here in Virginia soon. Happy Christmas and hope you're enjoying your holiday!

Toss-up Tuesday

I'm home today with my bubby who's got this nasty stomach bug that's going around. I'm not feeling real fab myself. But for me to be home and free on a work day is priceless! There's so much that I need to do and even more that I want to do. I'm flying low with only an hours sleep last night...but as many of you know, I am not a napper. So what will it be for today...refashioning a sweater similar to this one on angry chicken or starting the massive holiday cookie baking project? Ugh, I've got a few steampunk & vintage items to add to my etsy page and a design portfolio to build a widget for (sigh). Sleeping is highly overrated ;-)

What a difference a day makes

before


after

Two weeks ago, I snapped these photos of the final stage of our remodeling project. The top pic shows Jeff feverishly working on the family room project. He promised us that it would be done by Christmas and he was determined to make it happen. When I came home later that same day, the garage had completely transformed from a nasty old room to a beautiful new space (bottom pic). And it was done the day before Thanksgiving no less. You rock honey!

A walk in the woods

While I'd love to say that so far 2008 has been a banner year, reality has proven differently. The truth is we've been feeling a little crispy around the edges. We desperately needed some down-time to decompress and clear out our mental cobwebs. I swear this hike was just what the doctor ordered! Six miles at Crabtree Falls - in a word - incredible. Gorgeous scenery, freshly recycled oxygen and that special magic that happens when you step over your dirty laundry and break out of the daily box.

I highly recommend taking the time to step outside your box today.