What I've Been Sewing...

December was a busy month for my sewing machine, who I have now nicknamed Lizzie. My biggest project was my first quilt. I was inspired by this design from the Better Homes & Gardens quilting website. You'll notice mine is quite a bit different, but it uses the same pattern. I added some applique crosses to mine. My mom and grandmothers all quilted when I was younger, and it's something I've always wanted to do. Although my first quilt has LOTS of flaws, I'm pretty happy with it. It's currently at Cee Cee's Quilting Cottage being turned into a quilt with batting and backing. Here are a few photos:

The squares after I finished all the applique:

The finished quilt top:

The bottom square with my initials and date:

Other projects I've worked on lately:

Bibs & burp cloths for my friend Alex's little Hutson (they're Georgia Bulldog fans) - check out this link for cute burp cloth ideas:

Denim iPad/Kindle case designed by my mom (made out of an old pair of jeans):

Aromatherapy Heating Pads (made from flannel with rice & peppermint oil) - here is a link to an even better heating pad pattern I will use next time:

Now it's back to school...Josh and I both loved our two weeks off, but we're anxious to get back. May will be here before we know it. Dental school graduation can't get here soon enough for either one of us!

Recent Sewing Projects

To say I'm obsessed with my sewing machine would be an understatement...however, so far Josh isn't complaining as he hardly has time to notice while he gets studied up for the boards in a couple of weeks. Below are some of my most recent projects.

A flannel blanket and pillow I made for my friend Julia's toddler:

Scarves I made for the principals at my school (we're the Bobcats...):

Christmas kitchen towels:

A pajama set I made for my niece Shelby:

And poor little Joe in the Thanksgiving Day jacket I made for him:

That's all for today! Maybe I'll think about doing some school work now... ;-)

"Sew" Fun

Anyone who has been around me over the course of the last week is more than aware of the fact that I have a new sewing machine. It's an early birthday present from my parents and Josh. Although I've done a little sewing in the past, this machine makes it so much easier AND it comes with some basic embroidery functions. I'm totally in love with it...and although Josh has been pretty supportive of our now messy dining room, his love of my new hobby did begin to waver when I asked him how he felt about TV trays. :-)

Below are some pictures of my first creations. I've also included a picture from our trip to see 9 to 5 (the musical) at the Orpheum. Just wanted to prove I have been doing a few things other than sewing...but not much.

My new sewing machine (Brother SE-400):

My sister's apron:

Puppy dog flannel pajama pants with Josh as Vanna:

The beginnings of a fleece shawl (Go Vols!):

Our trip to 9 to 5:

Girls' Trip to Asheville

Josh still promises to create a post with pictures from dental school, but in the meantime I thought I'd share some pictures from my recent trip to Asheville with my mom and aunts.

The girls and I decided to visit Asheville since I often feel slighted by Memphis's quick change of seasons. Growing up in East Tennessee, I'm used to a full month of beautiful fall foliage. And luckily...Asheville in October fulfilled all my expectations. Not only were the mountains gorgeous, we ate a lot of fabulous food. There is a large movement toward locally grown ingredients in Asheville. This includes their expensive restaurants as well as small lunch counters.

First, we ate at an excellent restaurant in Hendersonville called Square One. Here is a picture of Mom savoring every bit of her pumpkin and prosciutto homemade pasta. It was probably the best pasta I've ever tasted...



Then, we visited the apple stands and made our way to Asheville. We knew we had to eat breakfast at the Tupelo Honey Cafe. They had such a neat menu. I had goat cheese grits and a sweet potato pancake. Check out the size of their biscuits...



Finally, we toured The Grove Park Inn and enjoyed our meal while viewing the sun set over the Blue Ridge Mountains. The fireplace inside the hotel is so huge, you can easily stand inside of it. It's easy to see why it's been so popular for nearly a century. Here we all are posing outside the hotel.



Although I've driven through Asheville many times on the way to and from Clemson, I'd never really experienced everything the city had to offer. Next time you are looking for a quick getaway, I highly recommend trying out Asheville.

My Classroom

Josh and I thought our family members might enjoy having a sort of "behind the scenes" tour of what we do everyday. Josh is working on gathering some pictures of his dental work, but this week we'll be sharing some pictures of my classroom.

I've been working really hard preparing for my new students who will arrive on Monday. Josh came to school with me today to help carry a few more items, so we took some photos.


The room sign in the hallway...


My desk, bookcase, and cabinet...



The front of the room which includes all the technology I use every day and my fancy director's chair...



My bulletin board in an AMS Bobcat theme dedicated to writing quotes...



The computer stations...



My back table which is for students who need a "break" - that's middle school language for "timeout"...



The reading nook with bean bags provided by my greatest benefactor, my mom...



Some writing posters and one of my white boards...



This is Josh "helping"...



Desks waiting for my soon-to-be students...


Hope you enjoyed seeing a little of my world. I'm looking forward to a new year and can't wait to see how God will work in the lives of my students as well as my own.

Joe's Venture into the World of Dentistry

Some of you may have heard me say early on in Josh's dental school career that he knew just enough to be annoying. Well, now that he is a bit further down the road, he certainly knows his far share of dental material, but I think Joe would say that his father is still very annoying about our family's oral hygiene. That's because he had to go get his teeth cleaned on Tuesday.

I dropped Joe off at the vet on my way to school. He knew where we were going, and as we got closer the squeals from the back seat just got louder. He went into the vet's front office without too much trouble, but when it was time to get checked in for surgery, he had to be dragged on his stomach to the back room. What was most heart-wrenching was when he looked into my eyes with a sense of utter betrayal.

The cleaning went just fine, and Josh and I were very happy to get the call that he was waking up from anesthesia. However, when I picked him up he was certainly still a little loopy. I knew he wasn't back to 100% when he didn't even notice the two cats in the vet's waiting room. You'll also see from the picture below that Joe kept passing out into a deep slumber wherever he went.



Luckily, today he is back to his normal self...that is a professional table beggar.

Catching the Blogging Bug

"Walkin' in Memphis" may seem a bit outdated since we've been here three years, but we feel like we have lots more of this city to explore before we may possibly move on to new places. For anyone who is out of the loop, we are in Memphis so that Josh can enjoy the thrilling experience of surviving dental school. As he takes on that challenge, I am teaching at Arlington Middle School. Our little family is rounded out by our precious Boston Terrier mix named Joe.

We hope some of our friends and family will enjoy reading about our daily routine; even more so, we hope this little piece of the Internet will serve as a documentary of our lives that we can look back on for years to come.

Tomorrow will be Josh's fourth week back in clinics from the summer and my first day setting up my classroom for a new school year. It's a somewhat stressful time of year for us, but that's why we have each other! Stay tuned for posts to come...