The Annistyn Scarf

This week I am in Williamsburg, visiting Lillie, my sisters, and my brother-in-law (but mostly just Lillie!). Our activities have involved a lot of sweatpants and t-shirts, which are suitable for toting the little princess around, but not so much for photo ops. Even Lilliebell has been a bit bedraggled looking this week-maybe Jenni and I are rubbing off on her. We have watched a lot of Barbie movies, overfed a few ducks at the pond down in Colonial Williamsburg, and become familiar with the Dunkin Donuts drive-through cashier, but none of this is particularly exciting to read about, so I'll just leave you with a picture of my newest item, the Annistyn Scarf. I am wearing the adult version, and Lillie is wearing the toddler size. Go to Jenni's blog to see more pictures!

Estella Clutch Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Estella Clutch Giveaway is.....number 116, Leserlee!

Email me at penny.candy@hotmail.com to claim your clutch and send me your shipping info! Congratulations!

Mums and Last Day to Enter Estella Clutch Giveaway

Decorating for fall is surprisingly hard to do when you haven't finished building your house, and you are about as decisive as a two-year-old in a toy store. (Or at least the two-year-old I know...when Josh and I took Lillie to Target this summer to buy her a toy, she put every single ball she could manage to snag in the bottom of our cart, and I do believe she expected us to purchase them all. That day I found out that Target has an unusual amount of small bouncy balls within reach of a toddler's arm, and that I was delusional in thinking that Lillie would understand the concept of picking out A TOY [note: singular] and head straight to the Barbie aisle where I could show her all the ones I wish I was not too old to want.) Anyway, about all I have done is pick up some mums for my kitchen windowsill, because I was intending on taking some pictures of the kitchen the other day. Unfortunately, it was quite cloudy, except for about 2.5 seconds when the sun decided to peep out. The pictures of the actual kitchen--the whole purpose of taking photos--were unusable, and all I got where these pictures of the mums while the sun made its brief appearance.

Sorry this is such a bad picture, but the hood is done!:

Also, just a reminder: Today is the last day to enter the Estella Clutch Giveaway! Scroll down or click here to enter. The winner will be announced tomorrow!

Day Dates

I don't pretend to be newsworthy; I have no delusions that my life is actually worth reading about. The highlight of my week is usually found in the candy aisle at the grocery store. I often go days without leaving the house--on purpose. My not-quite-two-year-old niece leads a more adventurous life than I do. However, I feel that a post is due and I have nothing else to share.

As a result of house-building burnout (two years and a still incomplete house will do that to you) and complaints about lack of quality time spent together filed by yours truly (despite spending every moment that Josh is not at work in each other's company) we have decided to spend one day a week doing something together that does not involve a hammer, a screwdriver, or a paintbrush. Since we are the type of people to turn hanging a mirror into an afternoon event, the break is much needed, even if our week of "working on the house" has only consisted of painting some trim and debating over where to put a lamp. (Somehow we managed to spend two hours instead of 10 minutes hanging a few frames this afternoon.)

Last week, we went to the outlets in Manchester. We decided to take a detour on the way so that Josh could show me a new development called Battenkill Meadows, and were pleasantly surprised to find two of the completed homes were having an open house. Putting the shopping off for a while was not a problem, as finding clothes to fit our disproportionate limbs is usually more a chore than a delight. Just to give you an idea, my wingspan is frighteningly close to Josh's--and he is 6'4" (I said that for his sake since he wants to believe it; I still hold that he's actually 6'3"). I can lay my palms flat on the floor while bending at a nearly 45 degree angle. I once devoted a whole scrapbook page to a comparison of myself to an ape. If there were anything that could tempt me to believe in evolution, my arms would be it.

Apish arms aside, here are the two houses that we looked at last week on our "Day Date", as I have been calling them. I love how the garages look like barns! There are so many things I wish we'd seen before we'd starting building our house. (Unfortunately, we were in such a hurry to begin the building process that we put less thought into the floor plans and elevations than Jenni does into what Lillie is going to wear for the day. Wait, she puts a considerable amount of thought into that...About as much as she puts into her own attire, then? ;)).

[Photos taken from Battenkill Meadows website]

This week, we decided to take our Day Date on Saturday. We drove up to Walpole, NH, a quaint little town where my mom grew up and where all the girls in our family have gotten married so far. We picked up our iced coffees at DD and brought them into town, where we sat on a bench on the common across from the church we married in. We puzzled over a crossword...we sipped our iced coffee...and we wondered if the average octogenarian spent a more lively Saturday afternoon than we did. After we got our blood pumping (how did we get seventeen across?!), we left the common and drove up to Alyson's Orchard to go apple-picking. Upon arrival, we began our quest for the restrooms. (Turns out it doesn't matter whether you sip or guzzle after all, we both were doing the potty dance). As it turned out, there were only port-a-pots available. Having a long and turbulent history with the port-a-pot, beginning at a craft fair when I was nine and discovered there were no sinks inside, I avoid them at all costs. So, we turned around and drove a few miles back to my uncle's farmstand, where I used the facilities. The second time we arrived at Alyson's, we got out of the car and wandered around trying to figure out where to pay and get our bags. They were celebrating their 30th anniversary, having an apple pie contest, and hosting wine and cheese tastings. Commotion reigned and people swarmed about, leaving me about ready to take my apple-picking to Hannaford. (I nearly left Josh at the alter because of my enochlophobia). However, Josh sorted out which line we were supposed to be in, paid for a bag that would hold 10 lbs, and even had the foresight to ask which type of apple was best for pies. (Yes, I am going to endeavor to make a pie. Unless, Mom, you happen to read this and want to make me a French Apple Pie in return for the leftover apples..?)

The heat was a bit unbearable for this temperature-sensitive pair (Josh complains about the heat when the thermometer breaks out of the 60s, and I burn up at night and "get a chill" nearly every day. High maintenance? Not a bit.), as we were both wearing pants and it was in the mid-eighties during the afternoon. Also, we decided to pick from the row third-closest to the stand and quickly realized that most of Alyson's patrons were every bit as lazy as we. The row was picked clean from the ground to about 7 feet high. Those ape arms came into play again, though, allowing us to snatch a few that the average Homo Sapien was unable to snag.

After we tired of that (about 8 apples in), we decided to walk down to the spot where we took some of our "Rock the Dress" session photos with Pizzuti Studios. Then we returned to the main stand where we selected the rest of our apples from a barrel and bought some apple cider and a slice of apple pie (because there was no way I was going to attempt a pie that night after the exhausting day we had just had..). We made it home for the end of the Notre Dame game, during which we had our pie and ate it too.

 
Don't forget to enter in the Estella Clutch Giveaway below!

New Giveaway: The Estella Clutch in Pewter

Lately, I've been loving the color gray. Gray and purple, in particular, is a color combo that draws me like a magnet. Yesterday, when Josh and I went to the outlets in Manchester, we found ourselves with handfuls of lilac, plum, and charcoal as we headed towards the dressing room in J.Crew. (Josh hasn't taken to wearing purple himself; he was carrying my excess. Much to his delight, I ended up dismissing almost everything we brought in, and left with only two clearance tops and one pair of pants at 50% off which I was quite pleased with--I NEVER find pants that I like, being that our mother, through no fault of her own, blessed me with low hips in addition to a bad back, spider veins, and an unfailing ability to navigate my foot into my mouth.) I love purple so much that I was truly distressed last winter when I found out that Jenni had not heard the news that purple was a leading contender in the Favorite Color category, right up there with pink. Gray, of course, perfectly compliments each of these two contesting colors, making it the perfect backdrop for me.

In short, since the color has recently taken a leading role in my wardrobe and on the walls of my home (I painted my sewing room in Stormy Monday, after falling in love with it via pictures of Jenni's master bathroom), I thought I'd give gray its due, in this dark charcoal shade featured on the Estella clutch:

How to Enter:
1) Simply make a comment on the post - 1 Entry (1 comment per day)
2) Become a follower - 2 Entries (Just write "follower" and enter it twice, as two separate comments. If you are already a follower, you can do the same thing.)

3) Mention this giveaway on your own blog and include a link to our giveaway - 2 Entries (Again, as two separate comments. The total number of comments are entered into a random generator, which is why the comments need to be made separately.)

Good luck! The winner will be announced on Saturday, September 18th!

Pink or Blue Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Pink or Blue Giveaway is...Shanna! Email me at penny.candy@hotmail.com to let me know which color you would like!

Check back later this weekend for the next giveaway!

Two New Chandeliers

It is 2 am EST, so this will be short and sweet. I am just posting a preview of some house pictures....a very early preview. As no single room is finished, I am not ready to photograph any parts of the house. However, we finally got two chandeliers that we ordered from Ballard Designs, and with the help of Josh's cousin (who is an electrician) and his dad, both chandeliers are now hung and lit! One is in the entryway, the other is in the dining room. Unfortunately, I got the wrong bulbs for the Genevieve 12-Light in the entryway (I came home with 60s even though I went in to get 40s, and then found out I was supposed to be getting 25s!), so we only put six in just to see what it would look like. I am pretty excited about both chandeliers, because not only do I like they way they look, but both were inexpensive! The Mariestad was only $199, and I ordered the Genevieve back in April when it was on sale!
So, Jenni, here you (finally) go...

[Genevieve 12 Light Chandelier - Ballard Designs ; Mariestad 6 Light Chandelier - Ballard Designs]