Jilly’s visit

3 goals for Jilly’s visit:     eat good food, stay busy and relax

Jill arrive on Thursday evening!!!  We took her to Stubbs for dinner.  We had some bbq!  Then we dropped Seth off at school and headed to The Domain to meet up with our aunt Kendra and cousin Lauren, who is stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, TX.  Kendra is in town this week because Lauren is about to have her baby!!  We can’t wait for Aiden Mike Thompson to arrive!!

We enjoyed some coffee while sitting in rocking chairs outside…what a perfect night!!

Friday we did some  shopping in Austin.  We went to Monkey See Monkey Do, Parts & Labour, and New Bohemia.  Then we headed to the Hula Hut for dinner and drinks!  It was great sitting above the lake enjoying the company!!

Saturday we relaxed around the house.  Then i had to go to work for a few hours.   Jill took Max to the river!  Max did some swimming and had fun with the other dogs.

Yes, Max has a life vest!

After I got home from work, we went to  TX Red’s  Steakhouse for dinner with Aunt Pat & Uncle Steve.  This is probably the best steakhouse in San Marcos! Good food, great conversation  with amazing people!

Sunday morning we went to Lake Austin (aka Lady Bird Lake) to do some canoeing!  I was skeptical at first.  But i must admit, i had a blast!

It was such a beautiful day!  It was cool and overcast!

View of Downtown Austin….

Downtown Austin

Jilly taking a break!  lol

Finally, a picture of all 3 of us on the lake!

After canoeing, we went to Chuy’s for lunch.  Chuy’s is yummy tex mex food.  We went to meeting,  then went to Grin’s for dinner with some friends.

Monday morning the news said:

The National Weather Service (NWS) has placed Hays County under a tornado watch until 1 p.m., and a flash flood watch until 4 p.m.

Oh great!  Last time Jilly was here Hurricane Ike was the threat!  Now this!

Jilly got packed up and we headed to Austin.  We stopped by Urban Outfitters, then to the airport.  It was pretty rainy and trafficky.   We got her to the airport in time and there were no delays!  We said our goodbyes.

I think we accomplished our 3 goals for the weekend.

Love ya Jilly!

Maker Faire Recap

I went to Maker Faire on Saturday.   The weather was amazing and crisp.   I was so happy that it wasn’t too hot.  I went solo, so I walked around with my Ipod, jamming to my “cowboy party” playlist.

I headed into the Maker Shed and recognized Jenny Hart from Sublime Stitching.  She was doing an embroidery demo.  I walked up and was asked if I wanted to learn to embroider.  Of course I did and who better to teach me but Jenny Hart herself!!  Super excited to meet Jenny, what a great teacher!

Jenny handed me a embroidery hoop and had me pick a pattern and floss.

Not too bad for my first try!  I plan on finishing it up soon.

Then I headed into the Show Barn.  I walked right in and who do i see? Kathy from Crafty Chica!  I was so excited to meet her!

She asked me if i wanted to make a journal.  I sat right down and started gluing and glittering my journal…

Then I walked around the Barn checking out booth after booth.

I found the Naughty Secretary Club booth and got to meet Jennifer Perkins!  She is so adorable and pregnant!

Jennifer had a demo in the Maker Shed called “make your own fabric jewelry.”  It was great!

Here is what her demo was about:

There is a lot more to jewelry than just beads. Hang out in the Naughty Secretary Club and learn how to use fabric in your jewelry making covered button bracelets, necklaces out of recycled T-shirts and pins from vintage men’s neck ties

While watching the demo, i looked over and saw Rachel from Average Jane Crafter!  After the demo was over I chatted with her awhile.

I met some great people at the Sew Crafty Houston booth.  Very very cool girlies there.

The people at this Knotty Bags booth created purses out of plastic grocery bags….very cool.

At the next booth, something caught my eye! Shrinky Dinks! I love them, but they are very expensive.

This booth had #6 plastic available for us to make items out of.  They had the sharpie markers and since the plastic is clear, you could trace the item onto the plastic, then cook it in the oven it shrinks!

The day was amazing and I cannot wait till next year to go again (October 24 & 25 per Maker Faire).

Besides meeting some of my favorite bloggers and buying some cool stuff, I came home with a bunch of freebies.  Who doesn’t love freebies?

Top left is Naughty Secretary Club Book, Free Magazine i got from Craftstylish, plastic bag of wool and soap water (supposed to turn into felt), Free Organic Bag, my embroidery, a couple patterns i bought from sublime stitching, some seeds, buttons, pens, stickers, etsy swag bag and my crafty chica journal!!!

Good day, good times.

Maker Faire Video…

This is for all of you who cannot go to Maker Faire…..

Maker Faire Video