Dainty Kitty

Quick Update

I'm almost to the point where I can relax, visit with family and friends (including those on the internet - my Google Reader is bursting with unread entries), and wait patiently (okay, not really all that patiently) for my visa to arrive.

I've spent the past week working and sweating (oh, and crying a little, too).  On Tuesday the international movers came and picked up 2,400 pounds of my stuff to ship to the UK.  Our quote was decent but, of course, wrong.  I had more than double the poundage they'd expected but it still ended up costing about what we expected so that worked out okay.  Even choosing a moving company, though, was really stressful.  The internet is full of nightmare stories that make you feel like you have to wave sadly at your things as they are carted away and then spend the next eight weeks with your fingers crossed.  We went with Allied and have been pretty happy with how things have gone so far.  My fingers are still crossed, though. 

Then we got ready for the garage sale I had at my granny's house.  I tell you what, I don't know what I would have done without my parents this week - they've helped me more than I'd thought I'd actually needed.  The garage sale - my first - went really well.  I sold stuff for ridiculously cheap prices but it had to go and I made a few hundred dollars in two days so I'm happy.  Once I had priced things, it was really easy to let it all go - I only had two nostalgic moments which was surprising because I'm sentimental pack rat. 

The best part was spending two days with Granny.  The first night there I had a fried bologna sandwich - something I hadn't had since I was a kid but love.  The next day for lunch we had soup beans.  And of course there were Fig Newtons.  I know it sounds like the best part of it was the food I ate at Granny's but being able to sit with her and talk for two days was precious.  I used to love staying with her and Papaw when I was little.  Anyway, by the end of the second day I let me emotions and the fact that I was hot and tired get the best of me and I cried a lot (and am right now) when I left.  I know I won't get to spend that kind of time with her again and it, to put it simply, makes me sad.  

The apartment still needs to be cleaned out and my suitcase packed but today has been wonderfully loungy.  It's almost one and I'm still in my pajamas - hooray!  I spent most of the morning sitting on the deck, reading You Suck by Christopher Moore (Kim, I think I'm going to take your advice and download Lamb as an audiobook for my flight) and the Michael Jackson issue of People I couldn't resist picking up yesterday.  We're going to donate the last of my garage sale stuff, then to China Cottage for lunch, stopping off at my apartment to feed the girls and then going downtown to the CityFolk festival for some food and music.  Tomorrow I'll worry about cleaning the apartment and packing the last of my things - today I just want to relax and not think about all the little things I still have left to wrap up before I move.

I'm going to give up Dainty Kitty when I move and start a new blog (with - oo la la - a co.uk address) called Viking Tea Party (explanation to come).  I hope to blog a lot more since I'll have a lot more to talk about.  They've finally started a knitting group in Salisbury - I think tomorrow is the first get together) and I'm looking forward to that.  It'll be the perfect way to meet new people.  Without knitting and Ravelry, I wouldn't have had my maid of honor or my photographer.  :)  Also, as a wedding gift to ourselves, Matt and I bought a Sony Webbie camcorder so I might even do a little video blogging - we'll see. 

Anyway, I should jump in the shower and get ready to continue with the much needed Day od Relaxation.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

P.S.  Sorry, Chris, I shipped the crewel picture.  Along with another one I found at the Xenia Goodwill which is evidence that there are more out there!  :)

I'm Married!

As soon as we get the visa application on its way, I'm definitely going to put together a real wedding post but here are a couple of photos.  Lisa, our fantastic photographer, has also posted three little teasers on her blog (with the sweetest title ever). 

And, if I did it correctly, clicking on the images will make them larger.  :)

Pleased

I have two days and nineteen minutes left of work.  Or at least it's the only bit of work I have left as a resident of the United States.  I'm taking off a week to pack (which is really my new job) before Matt gets here, a week before the wedding to, well, do wedding things and then a couple of weeks with family and friends before I head to Salisbury on July 12th.

I am as pleased as a girl drinking good coffee at a little cafe in Rome.

  

(I did start a Rome picture post the other day but the internet freaked out and crashed out on me.  I hope to get back to it this weekend)

The Ring

The final installment in the wedding series - the ring.  :)

 

Growing Our Own Centerpieces

 

 

 

There are two herbs and one plant in each pot.  Technically, my flowers are gerberas but we had two fears concerning using them as centerpieces: one, if we potted Gerberas now they might not be blooming by the big day and two, if we waited until a few days before in order to plant blooming ones, we wouldn't be able to find a Gerbera anywhere.  So, herbs and greenery - still beautiful. 

My Wedding Clutch

The clutch that I won from Red Ruby Rose arrived in the mail yesterday! 

The outer packaging was adorable so I took a few quick photos as I opened it on the front porch.  I love that my address looked like it was printed on a tag but it cracks me up when you ask politely, "please do not bend" but the mail carrier does his best to do just that as he crams it in your mail box.  It must not have been my regular guy because he's really good. 

 

And because I'm a sucker for packaging - I loved the simplicity of this.  A little note was written on the reverse side of the tag.  I have to point out that the button is actually sewn to the ribbon - it's little extra details like that that make me swoon.

 

The clutch - I love it.  I wish it had a tad more pink but green is my favorite color and an accent color in the wedding (our main colors are pink, orange and yellow).  I contemplated several others that were white or off white but I wanted something that I would really want to carry on days other than my wedding day.

 

And the inside.  Even the tag (which I didn't think to photograph) in the corner is cute and I had to smile when I flipped it over and read, "Made in England" - hopefully there were will be some Made in England things from me, too, in the not so distant future.  And I'm not talking about things that are made with fabric or fiber.  :)

 

My Wedding Outfit

 

  

 

I haven't found my shoes yet, though. 

Summer Reading

  

I cannot say enough about this book.  I bought it on a whim for the flight back since I knew I was too near to finishing The New Kings of Non-Fiction (also good - the last few stories are waiting in a drawer in my craft/writing room for my return in July) and I'm so glad I did.  I started it before I left (in a pink bath thanks to a Comforter Lush bath bomb) and could hardly put it down which meant I, unfortunately, didn't leave myself enough to last the entire flight but it was so worth it.  I was a little leary of a book comprised completely of letters but the character development was fantastic and - to overuse an overused phrase - I didn't want it to end.  The ending itself is a little predictable but by the time you get to it you really want the predictable to happen so even that negative is a positive.  I can't wait to read it again and recommend that everyone add it to their summer reading list.  

Before I left I also finished listening to The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.  The title screamed "romance" to me and I'm not fond of romances (that weren't written hundreds of years ago at least) but I heard it mentioned in an interview with a musician who's name I never caught on NPR and then in the forums on Ravelry which I took as a sign so I downloaded it from Audible.  It's a beautiful, fantastic story but I don't know if I would love it as much if I had read it in print.  You're reading accounts from three characters as well as chapters of the History of Love and each are read by a different actor which I didn't think I would like but it kept it interesting and made it easier to follow.  The actor that read Leo Gursky's parts was really fantastic and, half of the time, I found myself anxious to get back to his parts.  It's another book I would definitely suggest for a summer reading list - especially the auidio version if you're into that (I wasn't for a long time but have recently succumbed to the charms of being read to - Fool by Christopher Moore read by Euan Morton is another I've listened to recently and highly recommend). 

This weekend, Italy and gelato and things, I swear. 

Home Again, Home Again

I'm happy and home.  Home as in my future home - Salisbury, England.  I have a few photos from our walk in the New Forest yesterday but we're heading to Matt's mum's here in a few minutes and there are alpacas and a bottle fed baby lamb to take pictures of, too.  The weather has been perfect - sunny and just a little cool.  Knock on wood, not a drop of rain yet!

And, bonus, when I finally checked my email last night I'd found that I won a contest I entered over at Ruby Red Rose's blog.  I haven't picked out my wedding purse yet (and was contemplating knitting one) so the prize of one of her clutches and free shipping is perfect.  Oh - I'm not wearing green anymore!  I felt the pull to feel more bride-like and am wearing a long, eyelet skirt, a lace edged tank top and a light, soft white wrap.  It definitely feels like something you'd get married in but it also feels like something I would wear (whereas a giant puffy gown does not). 

Tomorrow afternoon - my first trip to Heathrow and then Rome!

The Acorn Arrived!

I got a new camera!  Not much to take photos of in my neighborhood on a Friday night but I'm looking forward to going to Cox Arboretum tomorrow afternoon to really try it out.