Alas, as they say…all good things must come to an end.  Back to work tomorrow.  The next few weeks are going to be very hectic–I have my thesis defense, two final papers to write, a final to take, and then I have to get the final version of my thesis done, get it professionally bound, and submit copies to the university library.

Luckily, this weekend was really nice.  On Friday Dan & I spent some time at Mohegan with friends, which is always a good time, especially when balloon hats are involved.  Not to mention I left with more money in my pockets….a whole $6.80! :)  Better than nothing!  Gambling a little is fun, but a wise man named Kenny Rogers once told me, “you gotta know when to fold ‘em.”  Preach it, brother.

Saturday was a great day on three counts:

1: My basil is sprouting!  After only 3 days!  Which is exciting.  I’ve grown basil before so I know it’s usually pretty excited to grow and be eaten by me.  I also found one tiny lavender sprout this morning…now I’m waiting for cilantro & rosemary to hop on board and soon they’ll be planted outside.

[caption id="attachment_113" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="hi there, basil! you're gonna be delicious when you grow up!"][/caption]

2: My cat is a cutie and posed for these pictures.  Usually he’s crafty and either runs away or makes weird faces, but I managed to snap a few cute ones Saturday morning.  His eyes are usually a really bright blue (he’s a cream point siamese), but when it’s dark out he gets what I fondly refer to as his “cocaine eyes.”  I’ve never seen anyone on cocaine (nor to I desire to), but I image this is what it looks like.

[caption id="attachment_114" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="cocaine eye cat!"][/caption]

…at least this one captured his nice eyes. :)

[caption id="attachment_115" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="awww. and yes, those are my bright teal fuzzy pajama pants."][/caption]

3: I went thrift store shopping!  I only do this once in a great while because otherwise, I’d go broke.  Yes, go broke in a thrift store.  That is how much I love it.  I found a cute striped cardigan, 3 great pairs of shorts, a headscarf, and 3 dresses.  When I saw two of the dresses, I head my mother’s voice in my head saying, “These are great for teaching!” Haha.  I wasn’t sure about the third dress, because someone ripped the lining out–but I can wear a slip underneath and it should work.  Plus, it’s pretty cute!

[caption id="attachment_119" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="head scarf! :)"][/caption]

I also found some other random fun stuff, like a cute small hand painted vase and an old bottle with a neat label!  I promise I’m not a hoarder, but I couldn’t resist these two.

[caption id="attachment_118" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="It's hard to see in this picture, but it's a nice deep green color."][/caption]

I’m probably the most excited about some of the fabrics I found.  I love looking in the “linens” section to see if there is anything I can use for a new sewing project.

The blue one was a shower curtain, and the floral pattern ones were short curtains.  I plan on using both to make purses since they are very sturdy fabric and are already lined.

[caption id="attachment_120" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I love this bold pattern."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_121" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="pretty floral pattern!"][/caption]

I’m really psyched about this last fabric–first, it is mustard yellow. Yay!  I’m pretty sure I want to make it into a skirt.  I think it’d be cute, plus I love that color as a skirt.  It’s a lot of fabric, so if I have leftovers, I may try to make a cardigan or something.

[caption id="attachment_122" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="mmm...mustardy."][/caption]

And finally, I found this skirt.  It fits perfectly, but it goes down to my ankles…and I’m way too short to pull of the long skirt look…or maxi dresses.  Which makes me sad, but, y’know.  You do the best with what you have, and my 5 feet and 6 inches works for me most of the time! :)  SO, I am going to hem this skirt to update it.  I’ll be sure to post pictures of the before and after once I get around to it.

[caption id="attachment_123" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="...to be continued, skirt!"][/caption]

So that was basically my weekend!  Last night we made some delicious lentil soup and salmon–brought to us by the queen of cooking, Ina Garten. :)  Tonight we’re trying a spicy pulled chicken in the crockpot…which reminds me that I’d better get to the grocery store if we want to eat this tonight!  I’ll leave y’all with a picture of a pretty house & pretty trees we saw on our afternoon walk yesterday.  We are lucky to live in such a pretty area!