Week in Review: October 13-19

Ooh! My Week-in-Review is so warm & cozy this week! I LOVE it.

I haven't blogged my W.I.R. in a while now. So, if you're sippin' a cup of coffee or hot cocoa or tea or some other delicious fall-inspired drink, just sit back. Relax. And read. Because this is where I blabber about my week & whatever else I feel like chatting about. Writing is my therapy. And I appreciate you stopping by!

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This weekend a friend invited me to go to her church's women's retreat. It was in Spokane, WA at Bozarth Mansion. What an absolutely beautiful home! I practically skipped around the property with my camera, snapping random things, snapping all the things. It was built in 1911, & full of old details that I just couldn't get enough of. My friend, Julie, & I stayed in the bridal suite. haha! 

The whole weekend I was surrounded by women I didn't know. But they were so kind & lovely. Which meant I followed Julie around like a scared puppy only half the time. The speaker was really good—I got lots of tasty nuggets for my soul. And worshiping in a setting like that with all of our soft pretty voices was a special sound.

The Mr. was a champ for watching the girls at home. He fed them donuts for breakfast & frozen meals for dinner. They stayed up late all weekend, ate piles of frozen yogurt, skipped rocks, played with friends, went to the park, & walked along the river.

Apparently all the fun stuff happens when I'm gone. 

It WAS hard to leave the mansion. And the atmosphere of not needing to be needed all the time, of duty & responsibility. Escaping reality for a brief moment is a good thing. A necessary thing. Sometimes you don't realize you need something until you receive it. This weekend was just that for me.

And just so you know: Waking up on a foggy fall morning in a mansion is magical.

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I love mustard. As in: the color. I treated myself to a mustard-colored cardigan from Target a few months ago. I actually gasped when I saw it. (I have a friend who says when she sees anything colored "mustard" pop up on her Pinterest wall, she knows it's me that pinned it. And she's right.) Now that the autumn is upon us, I can wear that warm, cozy cardigan. And I do. Like, all the time. I should have bought 3 or 4 or 12 of those sweaters. I want to be like those TV or movie characters that open their closets & have the same outfit draping from each hanger. My repetitive outfit of choice would be jeans + random t-shirt + mustard cardigan. 

Last week my mother had this brilliant idea to paint all 4 outside doors of her house. 

She asked, "What color should I paint them?"

Mustard.

Of course.

So we went to Home Depot & color-matched my sweater to the perfect shade. The color we actually chose is "Rice Curry". But I renamed it "Nikki's Cardigan". 

Her doors look AMAZING.

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My sister & mother & I continue to get together every month for breakfast & tea. We had a little cry this time. Which seems a customary happening since grandmother passed away four months ago. Grandmother is missed so much. And the ache in my heart continues because she is gone. I'm trying to think of little things to do to honor her. Even little seemingly insignificant things. Like, the knitted piece I'm working on, (to yarn bomb a tree), was made casting on 92 stitches—to represent the 92 years my grandmother lived on this earth. I'm thinking of attaching it to a tree near the benches she used to rest on when she walked at the park by the river.

I am anxious for more chilly weather to arrive, so I can wear the cat sweatshirt & plaid flannel she always wore. 

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Have you seen the 15-second stop-motion video I made? It was a fun little "just because" project I did as a promotional tool for my blog. A mini commercial, if you will. Picking songs to go with videos is so much fun. Take a peek HERE. Hope you like it! And please share it, if you do!

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In case you haven't heard on my WhiMSy love facebook page, I am working on a D.I.Y. Christmas Crafty Countdown Blog Extravaganza. Or just D.I.Y.C.C.C.B.E. for short. Haha! Not really. I don't know what I'll call it.

 EVERY SINGLE DAY, starting Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) & running through Christmas Eve, I will post an original do-it-yourself tutorial on the blog! 

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. 

That's TWENTY-SEVEN projects! 

Who's ready for a month of crafty fun with this girl?

And, phew! There's a lot of work going on in the background here: Brainstorming, crafting, snapping photos of each step, editing photos, scheduling blog posts, cleaning up one mess so I can make another mess, etc. Trying to get a head start on everything means I HAVE to craft. I HAVE to. (hee! hee!) I am loving my days, scattered with craftiness in-between all the mom & wife stuff.

But it is KILLING ME to keep all these projects secret. I am seriously dying at all the cuteness that I can't share. Yet. And what has always happened in the past is that I get a cool idea in my head, but then I forget about it, or don't share it fast enough---&, before I know it, someone else has the SAME idea! And so then my cool idea becomes NOT my cool idea. I'm freaking out, hoping my ideas will still be original by the time they post. Is that weird? I know I'm not the only one this happens to.

Though there is still much work to be done, thirty-nine days is an awful long time to still have to wait. 

Dear Thanksgiving: Hurry up & get here!!!

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Well, here's to a grand week!

Happy Monday!

For a photo play-by-play, click HERE.

♥