Goodbye 2010

2010 has been a good year. Wait, who am I kidding, it has been  a GREAT year! Two friends have gotten married, another two had/are expecting their first baby and both my sister and I got engaged. There has been plenty of meeting new friends and saying goodbye to best ones. I could not have asked for a better year nor could I have imagined all that would come about with it. A big step for me (minus my engagement) was the opening of my Etsy shop, Kacia's Premo Crochet. Friends had always encouraged me to give it a try but I admit I was a bit timid. One day it finally clicked and I jumped in feet first. What a great idea that was! I now only smack myself for not joining earlier. If you are considering to do something of the like, whether it be move, open a new shop, change jobs or go back to school, I have two words; DO IT. That just might be my motto for next year.

Cheers!

                                                      {Hooray for Kacia'S Premo Crochet}

                     { A t-shirt blanket I started in 2010 but will just have to wait until 2011 to get finished}

                                                          {My soon to be nephew was born}

                                       {First trip to a tree farm to cut a fresh pine for Christmas}

                                                                     {First trip to Vegas}

                                                                 {Where I got engaged!}

Goodbye 2010 and Hello 2011!!

LoveLight

Since my boyfriend has proposed we have been slowly but surly started to get his house ready for me to live in. We started a little bit a couple months ago with some updates to his kitchen which went exceedingly well. This time around we are focusing on a small spare bedroom on the second floor that will be my office/work space.  A place all my own and totally girly. First off, I had no idea how many shades of pink there actually really were. But after staring for what seemed hours I finally chose the perfect one. His office is already green so I figured, why not go with a sweet, simple girly color. And even if we have kids one day the rooms will already be painted. I went with a shade of picnk called "Lovelight" , by Behr. Two coats are on and drying and I can not wait to start moving all my stuff in and making it my own.

                                                                    {Before}

                                                               {After}

More to come as the room gets done.

Beef and Pumpkin Stew

Christmas has come and now it is gone. I loved spending time with family and having my parents house filled to the brim with relatives. Another favorite thing of mine that holidays bring is all the food that seems to come along with it. No question Christmas is no time to skimp on food. But what about the day after Christmas? And teh day after that? With all the festive holiday baking it seems like the only thing left in the fridge is leftovers, and not very appealing, some what picked at, left overs. Here is a recipe to bring you out of that left over rut and spice up the rest of week until New Years and all the food that brings with it. I made this a few weeks ago and it simply has everything you need in a stew. Hearty, filling, and delicious. I substituted butternut squash for the pumpkin becuase I could not find cubed pumpkin anywhere. (And I don't exactly have the muscles to cube a pumpkin by myself). It turned out just as good and has definitely become a winter time favorite.

Merry Chrsitmas

Last Minute Gift Guide 2010

One last official shopping day before Christmas Eve. Some families follow tradition and open gifts on the eve of Christmas. (My family used to) Other wait until Christmas morning. Whatever your tradition today is the last full day before the holidays. Hope you enjoy every moment with family seen (and not seen) and may these gifts bring a little less stress and help ease you into your holiday celebrations.

1. Gia Millani Quited Wallet- Target- $14.99
2. LC Lauren Conrad Cable-Knit Cardigan - Kohl's- $42.99
3. In Bloom Pillow Case Set- dEliah's- $34.50
4. Rhinestone Metal Heart Sunglasses- Urban Outfitters- $19.00
5. This is Not A Pipe Tea Light- Jonathan Adler- $28.00
6. Snow Floral Skirt- TopShop- £32.00
7. Saturated Speckles Vase-Anthropologie- $198.00
8. Basic in Braids Brown Skinny Belt- Ruche-$12.99

Oh the Joys of Owning Your Own Business

The holidays seem to be sucking up all y free time, which means other things that would normally get accomplished, like posting on my blog, seem to get thrown to the way side. But, I will persist. This is one place where I can focus and get a little organized so as much as all the things that need to get done keep tugging at me I'm making up my mind to squeeze this in. Last week while on holiday a customer of mine sent me an email saying she had not received her hat she ordered from me. This was a little stressing since I was 2,000 miles away from home. Also, two wonderful people placed orders before I could put my shop on vacation mode leaving me scrambling to get them what they ordered before I left for my trip. As much as I love to crochet I can't say I love taking work with me on vacation. But all things turned out for the better. I was able to get two hats done and shipped from Las Vegas with ease. My hotel had its own post office to send packages through. What a God send considering I would have been wandering around the strip aimlessly looking for USPS building. my boyfriend was a good sport though and didn't put up much of a fuss. I am in no way complaining about these two orders because I am grateful for each and every one of my customers, without them I wouldn't exist. But it was definitely a learning experience. After the holidays I am looking forward to updating my shop with new products that I have been waiting for forever to start working on. It always seems like there's something else to work on so I never get to them, but this time, after the new year, I WILL get them done. They are all I can think about and can't wait to share them with everyone. They will mostly be focused on home goods but a few new scarves wouldn't hurt either:) I have been doing lots of brainstorming and keeping many pictures in mind. Inspiration is key!

Vegas, baby!

Last week was spent in Las Vegas for the first long vacation that my boyfriend and I shared. It started out at an early 4 a.m. with half the day spent in airports and in the air. That night we both passed out and slept 14 hours. Woops:) Not to worry though, Vegas kept us on our toes for the whooooole week. We were pretty much out from sunrise to sunset and still didn't see and do everything, but it was definitely worth it. Highlights, include the awesome breakfast buffet at our hotel Paris. I have never had baked oatmeal before but theirs was the best I have ever had. I will be making that soon and sharing with you all. Also, their eggs Benedict were to die for. Probably my newest favorite way to eat eggs. My boyfriend got to be apart of the Blue Man group show. He was pretty stoked on that for a while. The fountains at the Belaggio were gorgeous. Just like how they looked on the travel channel, and the Venetian was the most exquisite hotel yet. Indoor gondolas, a town square and endless shopping. Truly, a village in a building. The highlight of the trip though would have to be when my boyfriend proposed. I was honestly not expecting it and was in shock for at least 15 minutes and everything felt new again.  If nothing else, that was worth the whole trip.

                                         {Always make sure you have proper travel necessities}

                                         {Sitting front row at Blue Man Group requires protection}

                                 {Our hotel, Paris. Love the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower}

                                                               {My engagement ring!}