I WON!

I hardly ever win anything, but I love to enter contests. Well, lately I have won several, but last night takes the cake so far!

I support United Way and am a fan of a local chapter on Facebook. Well, yesterday afternoon they did a contest for concert tickets to see The Band Perry at The Tennessee Valley Fair. So, on a whim, I entered thinking there was no way I would win...WRONG! I did win...then the mess started...

How hard can it be to find someone to go to a FREE concert with you?!? Well, apparently very hard, especially when the concert starts 5 hours after you win the tickets!!! I posted on Facebook that I won and needed someone to go with me...and waited...and waited... I couldn't wait any longer so I started calling/texting people to see if they could go...no one could go. This went on for a while and ended with me bummed out, crying in the shower because I wasn't gonna get to go...yes, I am pathetic, I know!

Finally, the first person I called texted me and said she could go but would have to take her little girl...WOOT!!! So, at 7:00 pm - 1 hour before concert start time - we are loading a 1 year old, a 4 year old, two strollers, and all our junk in my van to head to Knoxville :) We had to drive to the United Way office, where my tickets were taped to the front door, then back to the fair grounds for the concert...off we went and I was stoked!

Well, we made it to United Way and then to the fair grounds. We walked into the concert at 8:05...man we are good :) The concert was great and both kids LOVED it. I was so proud of my little man for actually hanging out through the entire concert!

I must say, if you ever get the chance to see The Band Perry, go...they were great!

And, since my little guy was so great during the concert, he of course got to enjoy the fair as well...

Knitting

As I shared in a previous post, my knitting has become an addiction! Well, I have decided to try a business venture with it and would like to introduce you to my new business name...

I started with a different name, but found it was too close to several already in use. So, the search began and it took a lot of time for me to come up with just the right name. But, the name I settled on seems to fit me very well :) The logo was another task...it was created by Tatorbug Creations and I think it is perfect for me! Stephanie is also a saint to put up with my particular ways but she is wonderful to work with ;)

I have an abundance of baby hats and am working on a couple of new projects now...I hope to share them early next week! I have opened up my Etsy Shop and plan to post items in it this weekend. You can also visit my fan page on Facebook - Hip Knits.

Let me know if there is an item you would like and if I don't have it, I will make it. If I have never made it, I will try it! I hope to learn many new projects in the coming weeks and be able to offer a large variety for all ages. 

Craziness!

I am a bad, bad blogger...especially when life gets crazy busy! That has been exactly the case the past two weeks...and it isn't slowing down anytime soon! Man, I am ready for a vacation :)

As most of you know, I run a small shop in the heart of downtown Dandridge, TN. I love it and have a lot of "sweat equity" in the place! I decided to have a big sale because I want to order some new items for the shop. So, I have been busy working on sorting and stickering everything in my shop for that sale...now it is in full swing and I am kinda settling for a bit.

I am also in the midst of putting the finishing touches on my stepson's wedding, which will take place September 18. I have loved working with Siara to plan this wedding, but I will be so glad when it is over. Shew, it has been some work...but it gonna be beautiful!

I am also trying to get my house organized...this is the biggest job of all, believe it or not! My ADHD kicks in and I just sit and stare. It isn't exactly how I would like it to go, but sometimes it just happens that way. Luckily, my aunt/bff is wonderful and loves me! She came up yesterday and helped me jumpstart my cleaning escapade. We knocked out quite a bit, and I now LOVE how my living room is set up. I have had an amazing canvas picture - that she gave me - sitting in my bedroom floor for 2 years, just waiting for that perfect spot on the wall. Well, as of yesterday, Audrey Hepburn dressed in her "Breakfast at Tiffany's" attire, found her spot...and I must say, she looks gorgeous!

I also sent me husband off to Chicago yesterday morning; he will be there until next Monday. It has been one day and I am ready for him to be home...I do not like it when he is gone :( But, I have a wonderful (soon-to-be) daughter-in-law, who is staying with me this week so I am not alone at night...I love her :)

This was just a quick update, as I have a million other things I have to get done today. But, hopefully in the next couple of weeks, I can blog regularly. I hope you are all enjoying the "cooler" weather that seems to be slowly making it's way in...I know I am ready for fall!

All I can say is - HURRY UP OCTOBER 15!!! That is the day I head to Myrtle Beach for a couple of relaxing days...so ready :)

Knitting...my new addiction!

June 20, 2010: My 28th birthday. Why is this significant you ask? Well, on this day, I decided I needed a new hobby. I love hand knitted items, especially for babies, so I decided knitting it would be! I had my husband take me Wal-Mart where I purchased the "I Taught Myself Knitting" kit and 2 skeins of yarn. Then, I went home and started learning!

Now, my husband, being the skeptic that he is (because he knows me), swore I would put it down within a week and never pick it back up. Well, even if I had wanted to do that, I couldn't now because he would then be right...not gonna let that happen!

But, much to his surprise (and mine), I love it! It has now been roughly 6 weeks since I decided this would be my new hobby and I am going full force. I was strictly needle knitting to begin with until a friend suggested I try looms. She said it is much easier to use and doesn't make your hands hurt as bad. So, I went out to Hobby Lobby and bought the Knifty Knitter round loom set...well, now I am completely addicted!

I knit all the time now. At home, at work (I run my own shop), in the car (when hubby is driving, of course), and anywhere I can find the time. If I go a full day without knitting, I feel like I haven't done anything that day! I still needle knit some but mostly I use the loom. I now have the Flower Loom and I am enjoying making embellishments for my baby hats. But, I plan to get the long looms in a couple of weeks and then I can make so much more!

My problem lately is finding patterns for the round looms. I can find thousands of patterns for needle knitting, but I really want to use my larger looms. So far I have only used the small blue loom to make the baby hats. If I don't learn to make something else soon, I am going to have to build a room onto the house just for the baby hats, ha! If you know of any good loom pattern sites, please pass them along to me :)

Here are three of the hats I have made...I have plenty more! My Etsy Shop is open and I will add items soon; be sure to visit - Hip Knits.

Baby Boy - Variegated Brown/Green/Blue/Tan

Baby Girl - Variegated Pink/Brown/Beige

Preemie Girl - Variegated Pink/Black/White

These two are my first order! They are for a friend who is just beginning her photography business :)

Please visit her site: Shatera Marshall Photography

Baby Girl - Pink

Baby Boy - Blue

Makin' Memories

Yesterday was such a great day and a wonderful blessing! I have a great friend who is a wonderful wife and mother. Like everyone else, they have been having a hard time lately. She has two awesome kids and wants nothing more than to make them happy. I decided she and the kids needed a day trip.

I had tickets to Dollywood, a local theme park, and decided we should go. It was awesome to be able to take her and do this for her and the kids. They had never been and she hadn't been in many years...we had a BLAST!

Sometimes you don't realize what something means to a person. As we were leaving the park, Steph told me "thank you" for about the 1 millionth time...but this time it was different. She told me thank you because I helped her make memories with her kids, something that is priceless but she could not have afforded to do herself. While I did not do this for the "thank you", it was nice to hear. It hurt my heart a little to know how appreciative she was but that she couldn't do it without someone's help.

While memories are made with your children every day, it is something special to be able to share with them memories from your own childhood. I know Steph was so grateful for this opportunity and will cherish these memories for a lifetime.

My prayer is that all families have the opportunity to make the memories they want. I pray that people who have the resources to help others will do so, whatever that may be. I also pray the people helping will do it, not for the "thank you" or the recognition, but for the knowledge that they were able to help someone who wasn't able to do it themselves!

My "Heart Sister"

God has blessed me with a wonderful friend...she is my "heart sister." Monika and I met about 7 years ago when I got a job where she was working. We didn't hit it off right away; I thought she was snob and she thought I was a little out there because I am very outspoken. But, as time went on, and we worked together a lot more, we found out we had a lot to talk about. It was the beginning of a great friendship!

I quit working at the store about 2 years after I started. I had gotten married and was pregnant with my first child. I wanted to stay home with him for a while so I quit working. After I quit, Monika and I lost touch for a while. I would still see her at the bookstore, but the she got another job. There was a long gap in our communication at this point.

I am really not sure what exactly brought us back together. I think a lot of it was her getting married. When she got married I was the only friend she had who was also married, so it was easy for us to relate. We began talking more, and the friendship blossomed.

Fast forward...

We are now great friends and she is expecting her first baby...a precious baby girl they will name Sophia Belle. Today, I had the pleasure of hosting her first baby shower. I decided to theme the shower based on Monika's personality and love of animal print and pink :) So, here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!

I think I moved...

...and someone forgot to tell me! It is H-O-T! I live in Tennessee where the weather is usually average and life is good with the A/C on 74...notice I said usually :) This is NOT normal!!!

The past few weeks have been sweltering and this week "takes the cake", so to speak. At 11:30 am this morning, it was 94 degrees outside...94!!! That is what it would normally be on a hot day at the very hottest point in the day :/ But, with the heat index included, we have hit up to 105 this week; today we could make it to 108...geez!

At this point, it is too hot to even go to the pool/lake and try to cool off. Lawson has been begging me to go to the splash pad lately and I hate telling him no, but it is too hot for him or me to be out.

I must say this weather is not great for the business either. Because I am right in a historic district where shop access is from the street, people are just not out. I pray the weather will give us relief soon and people can enjoy some time outdoors before the cold weather decides to grace us with its presence :)