Final Words From FL

Final greetings from time-out. If you would have told me 51 days ago how fast our stay here in Florida would be, I wouldn't have believed you. But here I am with the car packed ready to move on to our next adventure in Memphis. Also known as the regular season. I find that ironic because there is really going to be nothing regular about this season, at least not to me.


A few things I learned while in Florida.

• I am NO chef when only equipped with just a toaster, crock pot, and griddler. I just couldn't arise to the challenge. Mr. Crockpot may have been used more if soup sounded good on an 80 degree day but it never did.
• I love Shake 'N Pour pancakes. So easy. I even got smart and added blueberries. Genius I tell you.

• We do get on each others nerves. Not a lot, but it happened once and we made it through it. We are normal after all.
• I can survive without Wifi. I didn't like it. But the first time I can post from my couch or bed I will be thrilled and will probably tell you about it.
• I can also survive without doing laundry. For three weeks. Hate to admit it but it's true. Then it turns into a fun day date. 

• I love palm trees and taking pictures of them.

• Although I hated not having a Hobby Lobby close, I decided Jo Anns has a better fabric selection. Don't worry, I didn't wear out my welcome. They didn't know my name but I think they were on to me. 
• We are still fasting sweets/candy/desserts but I know two places I am going first thing next year when we come back. Rita's and It's Sugar. You will be missed until I can return to you. Rita's is basically a flavored icee + custard. When we can again, I will do a DIY on this. You're welcome. So good.  It's Sugar is this dream come true candy store. Sigh. 

• And finally the coolest thing about living in Florida in a studio apartment with my man and spending lots and lots of time together while I leave bobby pins, fabric, clothes, and everything else a mess - our faith and our marriage have grown stronger. We had so many wonderful opportunities, that we took advantage of in full force, the past month and a half to learn and expand our faith and know that this was in preparation for the upcoming season. We appreciate any and all prayers from our friends and family during this crazy journey. It doesn't get said enough how thankful we are. Can't wait to keep sharing with you all.

So long beautiful Florida. Looking forward to seeing you again next February!

Last Week In Florida

I can't believe our time here in Florida is down to days. It seems like we just got here. We have not gone to the beach or pool near enough. I will be making up for that in the next few days.

The seven weeks prior I've kept myself busy learning to sew, watching baseball, and hosting visitors. Wow. It's so crazy thinking that most of the new things I've sewn have been while we were here. It's awesome. I am going to be SO sad leaving. I have grown to LOVE Florida. If I hadn't married a country boy I would think maybe I could talk him into moving here. Not going to happen. Moving on.

Do you love my new 44oz cup? I do. I enjoyed the movie as well. I was giddy the entire time. It's almost exactly how I imagined it. So did my Mr. because he started reading the first book. He usually doesn't read so this is sort of a big deal.

I was blessed with this beautiful view one morning this week when I dropped BD off at the field. Sometimes I HATE waking up early but this was so breathtaking it was worth it.

One of the other wives had a baby shower this week so I busted out some really adorable rosette headbands for the new baby coming in May. I love making headbands. Unfortunately so do 200 other bloggers and shop owners. Oh well, I can spoil my friends and family "fo free."

And finally this week I leave you with a project I am pumped to announce I completed in under 24 hours. In a post coming soon you will understand that actually finishing a project is a huge deal. I have seen this skirt from Lil Blue Boo on numerous occasions when looking for easy patterns to try and sew. I had some red jersey laying around and I was saving it for this skirt. Let me tell you sewing with jersey knit is not that easy. But I continued on to see if this was going to work like I planned. Luckily with the gathering and ruffles it's very forgiving. Maybe I like sewing with jersey knit after all.

As soon as I get back home and get to see my little lady I will show you just how cute this skirt is! I think I should make one in my size next. It feels so comfortable and is perfect for spring and summer. Plus jersey comes in so many bright fun colors. Yes, I think I'll be making my own.

Now it's time for me to go relax by the pool and enjoy our final few days in the sun. Later gators.

Visitors & More

Wow! For the last ten days straight we have had family here. It's been so nice and as of this afternoon its just the two of us again.  Yes we are going to the movies tonight. Hehe.


When his family was here the rain was our biggest enemy. For both the games we went to there was a rain delay. The first game resumed after almost a two hour delay. The second they called early. Making plans with family always seems to be a challenge, especially with mine. Trying to coordinate eight people with three vehicles in three different hotels gets tricky. Golf, beach, Brandons hectic schedule, Mizzou game,spring training, meals, -- I'm exhausted rethinking all of it. My parent's rental car was a Cube and everytime that little blue box whizzed around the corner we couldn't help but laugh. It was like a circus car. We love our families so much and we are lucky they came to visit. Now that they are gone it seems lonely. We didn't get a single pic while Brandon's family was here. This is my family at dinner this weekend. For once we were all happy at the same time.

On top of having visitors we had some pretty significant changes take place as far as baseball and the upcoming season. If you need some background on that process read back over this to get caught up. Thursday we found out BD will be starting the season in Memphis. He is no longer training or playing with the big club. It's very hard news to take even when you know it's coming. Hearing him say the words, "I got sent down," never gets easy and I'm sure he hates saying them more than I hate hearing them. It's only a shock for the next day or so until we figure out that it's going to be fine! No matter where we are this year we get to be together so that makes it easier. 


Now I get to start setting up housing in Memphis and we have NO clue how long we will be there. It could be days, weeks, months, and maybe not even all consecutive. I believe we will be making several moves from STL to Memphis and back throughout the 2012 season. And I finally get to meet Alyssa from Ten Feet Off Beale and I'm super excited about that. She can show me all the awesome things to do while we are there.


On a totally different note we are currently fasting sweets,desserts, and candy!  The church we go to here is doing 21 days of prayer and fasting leading up to Easter and we decided to partake. Today is the third day and I never realized how much I think about and crave candy. If you need any prayers let me know... we have 19 more days to go. It's an awesome challenge, sacrifice, and learning experience and we are loving every minute of it, minus the twitching from lack of sugar.


Finally, I made my sister and brother's girlfriend awesome messenger bags with pockets (yay me) and totally forgot to take pictures. As soon as they take some for me I'll show you. I almost couldn't part with them, but I love making things for the people I love! I'm also making Brandon's mom and sister bags with fabric they picked out while they were here. They get the family discount - free. I will take custom orders, if you're interested email me for details - laurendarlings@gmail.com. I'm also thinking of adding a simple reversable beach tote to the shop, but I haven't commited yet. 


Needless to say its been a busy ten days. 

Our Valentines Day

I have a few minutes here on the patio before it starts raining. 

Valentine's Day was Tuesday. Monday Brandon brought home a beautiful arrangement of flowers. It threw me off because that would have been fine if there was nothing else. Tuesday he surprised me with a new lens for my camera and a sweet card. He got a home cooked meal from me. 

We had pancakes. Nothing fancy. The add water kind. Umm... they were really good actually if you ever get in a bind with limited supplies. We brought along a crock pot, a griddle, and a toaster. I may have already told you this but so far I haven't gotten creative using just these three pieces of cooking equipment. A challenge I've yet to conquer. 

Tiny kitchenette. 

This is what happens when you don't have a spatula.

Not to shabby.

We visited our friends newborn baby.

Visited the beach.

But more importantly our day was spent together full of love and laughter.

I learned the right and wrong ways to write in the sand. He lost his camera privileges after this.

Then we laughed at these guys picking up some last minute flowers before heading home after work.

The greatest gift of all though is his love.

Dear Valentine - I love you so much. You are the best husband a girl could ask for. You work so hard for our family and I apppreciate that even if I forget to tell you. I love sharing this crazy life with you. We may not know what the future holds for us but that it's going to be good because it's together. I love how you come with me to shop for fabric and get in line for me to have it cut before I'm done shopping.  I also love all your crazy accents that you talk in all day long and I'm not sure why.  Looking forward to many more years to celebrate our love. Xoxo.

Houston We Have Internet {and products for sale}!

So sorry I have been MIA. We recently discovered we have internet on our patio! Now I can post and keep you up to date from here in sunny Florida more frequently than once a week. 

But for now I just want you to know I have LIMITED items in the shop and more great color combos coming as soon as I can get them sewn. Please go now and check them out.... HERE. I have the best husband I asked him to take the pictures for me. Thankfully he said yes and didn't get annoyed at me (at least that I know of).

I hope you all had a great valentines day.

For my family back home in the snow you will be happy to hear that I haven't been to the pool yet once. That will probably change soon though :).

Florida Home

We made it to Florida! It was a very long drive but luckily, we get stir crazy and entertain each other. Lets just say our dance moves are even better in the car. I am proud to say I didn't nap at all because I know how much it bothers BD and because it makes me feel crappy taking three naps in one day. Win win for both.

Our studio is almost perfect. The size is great. We have a  comfy queen size bed, a love seat, and a couch. We set up a table in the corner for me to sew and work. There is no closet, but we have a rolling rack that our clothes fit [snugly] on. We also have a dresser that is pretty packed. We have a full bathroom and half kitchen. It has a tiny bar sink, that one bowl can fit in, and a half refrigerator. Here is a few pictures before we moved all of our junk in.

We brought along our toaster, crock pot, and griddler hoping that every meal doesn't have to be served to us at a restaurant. So if you have any easy recipes that require nothing more than that... send them this way please!!

Yesterday we stocked up on some grocery basics; bread, cereal, milk, etc. We also were going to go to Target and pick up some other necessities but when I searched on my phone there was none in the area. After church last night I spotted Target and was SUPER pumped. I really really like Target. I do have other sad news. There is NO Hobby Lobby within 45 minutes. I was really bummed. There are some other quilt shops and a JoAnns so I should be able to get my supplies from there. Otherwise I'll be calling on other to creatives to send me some goods.

Our apartment also doesn't have WiFi. This should increase my productivity because I often get sidetracked easily with internet. Since we live in the city, I only have to hop in the car a few minutes to find a Panera or somewhere with free Wifi. Hopefully each morning after I take Brandon to work I'll stop,catch up, and fill you in.

So besides the no Wifi and no HobLob near by, I don't have any other complaints. Not that I'm here to complain. We rented this place with out meeting our 'landlord' or seeing any pictures so we were very pleased when we got here.

I guess we will call it home for the next seven weeks.

Also if you're last minute decorating for Valentines or a baby shower or any get together I have an easy garland tutorial up at Design, Dining, and Diapers today! Please check it out.