The Great Adjustment: day one

the movers showed up at 7:55am. come on, we were up past one trying to purge our stuff. and purge we did, bags and bags of purge. i'm so tired i can't even think. haven't eaten anything yet {unless you count the fig newmans}, trying to avoid getting in the way. did a little work this morning and as soon as they're gone i'll be off to the post office to mail the last etsy order for a while and grab some food before i gnaw my fingers off. still have to make a couple of goodwill trips.

they're about done, but seeing all these boxes makes me think, for the millionth time this week, that we have too much stuff...it's a chilly and gray day, seems appropriate to me.

we've got a full car load of stuff to take with us tomorrow. i need a nap, moving stinks. i can't wait to get to brooklyn and settle in. the sun just came out, things are looking up, maybe i should order a pizza...

the shop is down

which means one thing: we ARE, in actuality, moving.

the movers arrive tomorrow. we're off to connecticut wednesday and then checking in to our temporary place in the city on sunday.

i'll abreast you all of our new address as soon as it's safe to send us mail.

late night drive-by blogging

I loved this house since the day i saw it. It has taken five years to make every surface and nook and cranny completely ours. I'm going to miss my red bedroom that fits all my furniture perfectly. my new dishwasher with the adjustable top rack. the new kitchen island. my poo-brown {husbands words} bathroom!

but most of all i'll miss the people. our people. and my church. and the busy weeknights full of plans. the weekends where friends just crash on the couches and in the guest rooms. i'll miss guest rooms! the emptier the house gets the more it seems to sink in. i know God had us here for a reason and i know in His infinate wisdom He's moving us to nyc.

it's just hard to say goodbye to a life you love.

maybe i shouldn't blog when i'm coming off a late night sugar rush.

i'm talking to you

pillowcasetop.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

so i may have gotten a little sidetracked while packing up my studio. i like to say my studio because when i say my crafty room i think of embroidered kittens, tacky quilts or hot glue guns. ok, so i have a hot glue gun but that's beside the point. oh yes, back to being sidetracked.

so here's a pillowcase top i whipped up in about 15 minutes. because i won't have my sewing machine for a whole month, that's why. i didn't follow a pattern or instructions or anything. shocker i know, i just hate directions, i'm more of a free spirit. so i cut two arm holes and figured the rest out on my own. and i'm no genius, so i'm guessing no one would have an issue doing this. anywho, i have to make more of these...

free shipping!

on all your etsy products, good only until April 28th, at which point i'll be pulling the shop until at least after june 1st when we move into our apartment....

also, a couple of new cafe press shops, see sidebar images for links -->

did i mention i'm starting to freak out?! the movers will be here on tuesday. tuesday! as in 5 days from today!!

and another...

offer coming in on the house! things are gonna change, i can feel it.

all is not lost

so we did it. as of june 1st we will be official new yorkers. actually, we're living in brooklyn, so does that make us brooklynites? brooklynites living in a very tiny apartment with a roof deck! we'll need to make a huge IKEA trip once we get there so solve the lack of closets and the wee little bedroom problem...

thanks everyone for the encouragement. and the power of prayer. it's so amazing how God can protect and guide when nothing seems to be going well. if you don't rely on Him for your strength and direction, i highly advise you to. it may not seem like a miracle to everyone else, but it sure does to the person involved.

AND more good news: there seems to be another offer coming in today on the house! so all that sprucing up seemed to help, and the best part is the buyer is willing to purchase some furniture from us, which would solve the 'what do we do with all our human-size furniture?' situation.

so all is not lost, it was just misplaced for a bit...

well, it just keeps getting harder

this is a struggle. i'll admit it. finally. sure i'm excited. but in the words of a very old-looking jack nicholson, something's gotta give.

the buyers of our house backed out of the contract. so regardless of the missing couches and craigs-listed furniture, we need to show it to realtors and potential buyers. regardless of all the 'storage' piles and 'sell' piles. regardless of the fact that the movers are coming on the 29th. regardless = word of the day.

so yesterday in brooklyn was a complete bust. basically the real estate agent had nothing in our price range and nothing in the neighborhood we wanted. he walked us 30 minutes in the wrong direction to show us an apartment out of our price range in an area we didn't belong. which was very clear by all the looks we were getting. and the smashed out car windows. so we jumped in a cab when we could finally find one and went back to the neighborhood we preferred, to start over. and we said goodbye to that agent. and made sure we still had all our wallets and belongings.

day two in brooklyn is looking up. we're meeting this morning with a realtor who is showing us apartments in our price range and in the neighborhood we want. who knows. we have high hopes for today. more later...

PS: it could always be worse, no?

oops, here it is:

daisygirlfam.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

ok, so sometimes i take more pictures than i can handle and forget to post something that i was meaning to. like this.

my meeting with carly, aka daisygirl, and her kick awesome family some two weeks ago {gimme a break, i've had a lot going on...}. lela {spelling?} was so adorable and entertaining! and not the least bit shy...

oh and i am totally in awe of carly's makeup-applying abilities. the women woke up at 5am {or was it 4?}, got three kids awake and into a van and yet had time to look gorgeous. i, on the other hand, rolled out of bed at 9, ate a fig bar for breakfast and hardly had time to apply chapstick before running out the door.

this is how it works, you cry until you laugh

you know how you're floating along in life, and you're aware something big is about to happen but your mind hasn't really accepted it yet? you're not thinking of the future...just here and now, and the good times, and the friends and the security you have in your situation.

and then something happens. something that makes your subconscious wake up. something that makes you stop in the middle of whatever nonsense you're keeping yourself busy with. and then it hits you. this IS going to happen.

it seems rediculous, but this is what happened to me lastnight. something as simple as selling our couches made me realize that we ARE indeed selling everything, saying goodbye to everyone and everything we've called home for the past 5 years and leaving. we're leaving....and now there's an empty room to remind me every day for the next 15 days.

heading to...

brooklyn_dusk.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

brooklyn again on thursday to look for a place to live. cause you know, that's only slightly important.

gifted

sherry_gift.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

for a friend's shower...i've been wanting to try the little onesie appliques and they are SO simple. i recommend everyone try to make some....

so much to say

newtoy_mac.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

so many things to write about, NO time.

ok, first off, i'm really starting to FREAK OUT about this move. seeing that it's in three wks, we still don't have a date the movers are showing up, no exact day we're going to BE there and no place to live when we get there. oh and i don't have a job there either. ugh. can we just stay here?

some good news in the midst of all this is that we officially SOLD our house! which means YAY: i can finally tear it all apart and make nice big 'goodwill', 'give to friends', 'sell', and 'pack' piles without having to put it all back again.

i've been playing with this new toy, and i LUFF it.

i got a call-out and some nice things said about me here: puffluna's blog

my phone is on it's last leg and hung up tonight on my cousin whom i can never quite finish a conversation with lately.

so if you're the believing and praying type, please pray for me to make it through the next couple of weeks. seriously. i'm freaking out. did i mention i'm freaking out? cause i am. i know God will get me through, i just wouldn't mind him sending a few angels to help me with all the little stuff.

it's a trailer

preview.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

which makes no sense, they're at the beginning of the movie people.

so anyway, here's a preview of some super swell shop items that i'll be listing most likely tomorrow....they remind me of block island!

and i'm way into navy and kelly green lately. i'm not sure why but my wardrobe is blossoming with these two colors...i just bought a kelly green jacket from the goodwill a couple of days ago and everything i've been picking up from stores lately is navy. hmm....

shop updating 101

shopupdate0406.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

• always put cute things in your store.

• always announce to everyone that you put cute things in your store.

• annoyingly relay to your loyal blog readers that you have once again updated your shop.

{MB and Cherry, your custom listings will be up tomorrow, and MB, i am naming a pendant after you, what what?}

now go buy stuff!

and the oscar goes to...

melissa!

congrats melissa, you guessed right, it's a new macbook pro laptop! and so far i love it. i'm sitting in bed, eating cookies, sipping milk and posting on my blog. i think laziness has just hit an all time high in my house.

honestly though, with all the traveling we've been doing and the freelance opportunities i wanted to be a part of, it was a no brainer for me. so after three years of wishing and wishing and waiting and waiting good old jobs introduced a newer macbook and i jumped on an older one and save lots o' bucks. plus the husband gets a discount at the apple store, who knew? anyway, when it's not one in the morning i'll post some pics of my new baby. in the meantime i need to get a carrying case....

so melissa, email me your address at tinkerellenATyahoo.com, and congrats again. thanks everyone for playing along!

and another contest...

for those in the winning free stuff mood:

rules:
previous winners can't win again. i just want to make sure everyone has a chance to get cute free stuff. is that so wrong?
if you know the answer because i already told you about it, don't give it away please!

question: guess what's coming in the mail today?

hints:
one a day....
we're mobile now baby!
weighs five pounds
feeds my addiction to...

how lucky we are

and our winner is:

amber!

hey, let me know if you prefer blues or pinks....

thanks to everyone for participating! i really appreciate the comments. i think if you've purchased the old version pendant and plan on purchasing the new version, you will be quite impressed. i know i am! i wore one of mine all day yesterday and i kept rubbing my fingers on the super smooth surface. i might be OCD.

i will more than likely put these pendants in the shop this weekend {granted i just realized the baby shower is THIS sunday and i have yet to make a thing...}. if you want to be included on an email announcing shop updates, contact me at tinkerellenATyahoo.com and put UPDATES EMAIL in the message header. i did sell a bunch of stuff yesterday to some coworker gals, so if things got pulled from the site, that's where they went....including the east side gretta. thanks for all the shop/blog love people....there will be ANOTHER contest tomorrow!

diaper bag, baby

diaperbag.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

so here it is, now that it's in the loving, adoring and appreciative hands of it's new owner, i give you: the diaper bag. THE diaper bag.

it's not that the making of this thing kicked my butt, it was the IDEA of the making of this thing. i loved the end product, but picking up all these pieces and trying to make them into one cohesive, working {pretty} product is daunting. especially when you're me, and you hate to follow directions/patterns/instructions so you make everything up out of your head. {which is why it arrived two months late...}

it all came together eventually though, the two big inside pockets for diapers and wipes, the stretchy side pockets for bottles, the hidden keyring clip, the magnetic-snap closure....

i used 30's reproduction-style fabrics {because i know jen, and vintage is way higher on her list than cutesy} some tan corduroy and white ribbon for the handles. i interfaced the crap out of it, but luckily it's still pretty light.

next up: a messenger bag for me to prevent nyc pickpockets from reaching in and stealing my goodies AND some boy-themed {yay finally} baby gifts for an upcoming shower.

CONTEST: i'll close the comments tonight {4/2} at midnight and tomorrow i'll pick a random winner. good luck!