Our Wedding Day

Our anniversary is on Apr 24. I don't think I will be around much this weekend so I wanted to go ahead and share a couple of wedding pictures with you today. Hope you enjoy! And if you don't hear from me - have a great Easter!

On our wedding day the weather was overcast and a bit chilly. Temperatures had been in the 80's the week before and cooled down into the 50's. But no rain!

My husband Thomas, was serving in the Marine Corps. He had served a tour in Iraq and returned home in February. We had gotten engaged in October when he was able to come home on leave for 2 weeks. We had been together for almost 4 years when we got married. Yep, we were young!

We went to Charleston, SC on our honeymoon and then promptly moved to San Diego, CA - 2,400 miles away from where I had grown up! We lived in CA for just over 2 years and then we returned home when Thomas's service was over. Thomas served another tour in Iraq while I was in CA. I guess you could say - to be continued - on our story. I'm sure I will be sharing more. =)

xoxo
~Amber

Wednesday

I actually like Wednesdays and especially this Wednesday since I am off on Friday.

This is a big weekend with it being Easter and what Easter represents. He is Risen!

Easter also falls on my anniversary. I will have been married 6 years! My husband and I have been together almost 10 years. So hard to believe but so exciting too.

Last week on Wednesday I had a breakdown (ok, so maybe Wednesday wasn't so great last week). I just felt so overwhelmed looking at all the things to be done. You see, I work from home. Working from home is great but if you have a mess then you are sitting in the middle of it all day. By Thursday I had recovered somewhat and demanded that my husband help me clean on Saturday. Lucky for me he is a great guy and didn't need my demands - yes I need to learn self-control when I'm having a breakdown - and was more than willing to help. We got a lot done in our closet and drawers and a little done in my sewing room/office. But there's still much to be done in my work space.

Earlier this year, I decided to turn our home office in to my sewing room/office. This is the room I do my sewing in and also the room I do my day-job in. We moved things back and forth between two rooms and what was left was an unorganized mess. Slowly things are getting put where they belong. I can't wait to have organization again. It is so hard for me to focus in clutter.

I suspect though, that my breakdown represented something a little deeper last week. God has been doing big things in my life over the last few months. He needed me to hit a low-point so he could lift me back up and that he did. I began reading "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge on Wednesday in the middle of my weakness. I have just a few pages left to read - I'm almost sad that there isn't more. It has been an amazing book. So much of the struggles the book describes are right on with me. I highly recommend this book for women.

Also, check out this post from a friend. This is just one of many inspiring posts:
Peaceful Divas






~Amber

the weather

You may or may not be aware that I love the weather or better yet weather coverage. This goes way back for me as far as I can remember.

On Saturday, in the middle of spring cleaning, I was watching the weather. Some severe storms were moving through our area. Our area was spared but the death and destruction that the storms sparked over other parts of our state (NC) are heart-breaking. We weren't the only state affected. A few pictures of the damage:









source for all 3 images

It is so hard to believe that kind of destruction can happen in only seconds.

The following pictures are of tornado damage sustained in an area only a handful of miles from my home. This occurred on Sunday, March 28, 2010.

A group from my church volunteered on Friday and Saturday to help with cleanup and we saw firsthand how devastating the weather can be. Please ignore the dates in the pictures. I am truly an amateur camera-woman. And the pics were taken from inside my car when we were driving through. =)

I do love weather coverage. But I respect the weather and how powerful it is. I don't wish any of this to happen to anyone. It is almost hard to believe that you can pick up from this and move on. But they can and they will. Please join me in praying for those that lost family members, homes, businesses, and irreplaceable family memories (pictures, etc).

xoxo
~Amber

I'm back

So sorry, I've been absent!

Our internet was finally restored yesterday. I spent the evening catching up.

I have another makeup bag to share with you:

New fabric:

A sneak peek at my quilt top:

I'm just kidding, you can see the whole thing:

The quilt top is still not done - have to add a couple of borders.

TGIF!
~Amber

what I'm working on...

Hi! Just stopping by to post a quick update on the sewing I'm doing. I'm SEW excited!

New zippered pouches:

And another makeup bag:

These are to show the size differences:

Going to do some quick blog hopping and then back to enjoying a cloudy Sunday - I do wish the sun would come out! =)
Have an awesome Sunday!



~Amber

Hey

We still have limited internet access. =( Things wont be back to normal until Thursday! But my awesome neighbors have so graciously allowed us to use theirs - I'm just trying to be respectful and not use it all day long! Thanks neighbs!

I just wanted to write a quick post to let you know I'm sewing today - not sure what yet. It is cloudy and nasty looking outside and that just doesn't do much for inspiration, unfortunately.

What's going on with you?

I've been watching The Kennedys and really enjoying it. And I finished a baby blanket I had been working on for months! *hangs head in shame* I think I just did too much crocheting all at once and by the time I got to this blanket I was croceted out. If I can call it that - I'm probably making up crochet words here but you know what I mean. That's what I tell my husband all the time when I say crazy stuff. And of course, he always knows what I mean. =)

Well that's it for now. If I sew something really cute I will be sure to share!

Have a great weekend!
~Amber

CVS'ing

I wanted to share a little about couponing with you.

I've tried couponing but I found it to be a little too time consuming and I found myself buying things that I really had no plans of using when it came to grocery shopping. I admire those that make this work. I'm not taking any digs at those that do it and do it well. =)

What I did find myself to be successful at was "robbing CVS" - that's what I like to call it. Now, let me say I have never actually robbed CVS nor would I ever. It is just how I feel when they pay me to walk out with goodies.

I "robbed CVS" quite often last summer/fall but once I was well stocked up I quit for several months.

We haven't actually had to pay for toothpaste, body wash, shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, face wash, or razors (really nice ones at that) in several months. If only I could have gotten this worked out with groceries. But that's ok - maybe one day.

I gave it another go this past Sunday and I think it was a great trip.

These are the products I purchased:

And this is what my receipt looked like:

Let me break the purchases down a little further.

Had the products been full price, the total would have been $36.84 before tax.

On sale, before coupons, the price would have been $26.63 before tax.

After using coupons my total after tax was $13.43. I used $14.88 worth of coupons. The breakdown follows:

$4 off $20 coupon I received by email from CVS.
$2 off John Frieda
$2 off John Frieda
$2 off Oral B toothbrush
Buy 1 get 1 free coupon for RightGuard body wash - value $3.88
$1 ebuck

I received $9.99 back in CVS E-bucs. These are equivalent to real money at CVS. They can be spent on nearly anything at CVS (I do not believe you can pay for prescriptions with them).

Deducting the $9.99 CVS paid me my total was $3.44.

The benefit is that I now have my first week out of the way. Next week I will be able to pay my bill with ebucks and I wont have to spend nearly as much out of pocket up front.

Hope all of this makes sense. =)

**We are having some internet issues this week so if I'm not around for a while that is the reason why.**



Thanks for visiting!
~Amber xoxo

makeup bag

I want to introduce a makeup bag - she's beautiful!

She has a flat bottom so she knows how to stand up (I just learned how to do this while making the tote). Yes, she's a smart makeup bag! =)

She will be for sale very soon, along with some other prints in the same size in the Etsy shop.

Also, what do you do when you don't have any twine, it's extremely windy, and your rose tree looks like it is going to blow away?

You use fabric scraps to tie it up, of course!

I don't know that my husband will be very impressed with this but he's not home to take care of it so it is what it is. I can't wait til we can plant some pretty flowers here. =)

Poor kitty can't go outside.

But puppy knows how to soak up some sun.

~Amber

Sunday verse

You have circled this mountain long enough.
Now go north.
Deut 2:3

I read this verse in a devotion earlier this week and it made so much sense.

Happy Sunday!
~Amber

Hola! Just a few random things on a sunny Saturday...

I won a blog award - first one. Thanks Anna!



It has been a busy Saturday and I haven't done any sewing. :(

I just got home from visiting the fabric store and I purchased some exciting fabric. Yay!

Now I'm off to church and then I'm going to spend some time with family for dinner. I plan on doing some sewing tomorrow! Stay tuned for that!

Also, I'm working on getting my Etsy shop set up!

Alright, I believe that is all for now.

Hope you are all having a great Saturday!

~Amber