Well I know it's and absolutely cliche thing to say...but time really does fly. I can't believe there are only 10 days until Christmas, 9 until Jared's birthday! I remember when December 1 came around and I was all geared up to do some sort of grand Christmas countdown. I thought maybe some sort of advent adventure, with a little piece of Christmas cheer for each day or a fun holiday idea was in order. But then the 4th came and went, and then the 7th, and now the 10th, and I must admit I think I missed my chance. I really had great intentions to come up with some cute holiday title images and such, but I guess my Halloween blogger cheer trumps my Christmas cheer this year. I'll try to do better 12 months ( minus 10 days) from now.

By this time next week, Jared and I will have said our final goodbyes to Kalamazoo. I'm wrapping up all the loose ends at my job, training my replacement and emptying out my desk drawer. It's kind of a bittersweet experience actually. My folder in our student drive here looks strangely lonely now that it's been mostly emptied, and I can't help but feel a little bit sad that someone else will now be doing the jobs I so nitpickingly did for 4 years. Only in training someone to do my job have I realized how much I really like things done a certain way. I have to admit that I felt somewhat reluctant as I handed over control of one project to another person. The project involves using and maintaining a spreadsheet that I painstakingly created, an amazingly complete tool of ultimate organization, if I do say so myself. Over 600 entries divided into 5 sub categories...oh how I'll miss it. And how I worry that it'll soon be neglected by someone who cares less about organization than I do. Oh well, I guess it's out of my hands now. Goodbye sweet Michigan Serials Project. *sigh*.

Ok, and enough of that. It may not look like I've been up to many things lately, since I haven't posted any cool projects or even mentioned them recently. But in truth, I've been very busy, but my projects just happen to be mostly Christmas gifts, so naturally I can't post them until after the holiday. So all of you should be looking forward to after Christmas, when you'll see a full display of all my artistic creations. It'll be awesome :)
But I will give you a preview of some projects I hope to work on after we move.

First off are these floor cushion ottomans. 

 

This first one was posted somewhere by Martha Stewart. 

And heaven help me, I found this image months ago, and have been trying to find it again ever since. The basic idea of these ottomans is taking a platform, and stacking some square floor cushions on it. The cushions can then be removed at any time for extra seating.  Jared's new job involves a lot of entertaining, and we may at times have big groups of high schoolers at our place.  If any of you have hosted a group of high schoolers, you know that they'll sit pretty much anywhere, and squeeze themselves into pretty small spaces if necessary. But I think it might be nice to make our place a little more comfortable, especially since we...well...don't have any living room furniture quite yet :) Plus I love that I can mix and match designs and patterns with these cushions. Any chance to use some pretty fabric, right?

I have been searching for a sewing machine for months, and was generously given one by a friend a couple weeks ago. I'm itching to test it out for these cushions, but I'm also a little nervous about making them. I've found basic patterns and instructions for making a floor cushion, but I also want them to have a little extra detail. For example, I like how the top one has buttons on it, it ads a little dimension, but I have no idea how to do that. Plus, upholstery fabric is really expensive, so I'm just nervous about buying it and then potentially ruining it. Any words of advice? I'm also tempted to just buy a couple of these from Urban Outfitters and save myself some time.

They're pretty much the perfect colors. Unfortunately, they're sold out of the green. *sigh*. Oh well. I guess it's the perfect excuse to get sewing again :)

The next thing on my to-do list involves something on my Christmas list. Jared and I were out shopping recently, and I found, and immediately fell in love with, this calendar at Barnes and Noble.

It's a collection of poster art from the WPA advertising the National parks. It is awesome! I'm crossing my fingers that Santa will check it off my Christmas List so I can frame the illustrations and hang them around the living room.

Merry 10 days before Christmas everyone!

Two weekends ago, Jared and I celebrated the last wedding of the season. We've been to eight this year, including our own, and if you've ever glanced through the photos of me on Facebook you'd think that's all I ever do. It was kind of a wedding bliss whirlwind, but we've had a great time at each one! It was so much fun to see how each couple made their wedding unique. Here's a photo tour of our weddings this year, in reverse order:

Manda VandeKopple and all of us girls freezing a the Rockford Dam

At Holly and Corey Osbeck's wedding, they had a photo booth that was tons of fun to play with!

My old roomie Heather and dear friend Kristin at Heather's wedding

Ben and Jeannie got married at an old dairy farm, it was beautiful!

Audrey made a beautiful bride!

  

A very cramped group hug for Chelsi and Jaime's wedding

My cousin Erin and all her girls

Me and Jared!! Not to brag, but I love this picture. (is that even considered bragging?)

All these weddings have made me infinitely more grateful for my own. It was such a beautiful day, and so many people put in work and time to make it great! If you want to see more pictures from our big day, check them out here. Jared and I are approaching the half year mark. All I can say about these past 6 months---I love being married!!! Congrats to all you new brides out there!

I can't believe we're already into December, the ground is covered with snow and we leave in less than a month! Lately it seems like Jared and I are graduating from high school again. I keep having that feeling that "oh, this is the last ... before we leave". And just like it was in high school, it can sometimes feel a little bit overwhelming. When we tell people we're moving in January, I've been shocked at how many people think that's such a long time from now. Looking back, we have been preparing for this move since August, but now that it's a month away, time seems to have flown. It seems like there's still so much we want to do, so many people we want to see, so many things we need to do. But for now, we'll take it day by day, and enjoy our month of "lasts".

Tonight, we're attending Art Hop. It's a monthly event downtown Kalamazoo when shops open their doors to the public, display local art, and serve free wine and hors d'oeuvres.. Jared and I have been enjoying Art Hop for over three years now, we started going back when wine was still forbidden, and we giggle shamefully every time a shopkeeper accidentally served us this forbidden drink instead of sparkling juice. When we first started going, Jared and I always substituted the free snacks for a Friday dinner, until I started growing too crabby by the end of the evening. Snack foods are just not a suitable dinner. But perhaps tonight, in honor of tradition and it being our last art hop, maybe I'll forgo eating ahead of time and enjoy an Art Hop dinner :) I'm especially excited for tonight because the December Art Hop is always huge, with most stores participating, lots of live entertainment and Christmas cheer, and the Jolly Trolly traveling around downtown, playing Christmas tunes and offering free rides around the area

 Happy Christmas everyone!