Engagement Day! - Gougane Barra, Ireland - October 10th, 2011

*waves* I'm back! Did you miss me?

So maybe the weekly posting thing isn't going to work out....? YA THINK?! It's been a MONTH and a WEEK since I last posted, guys. That's terrible. And if I think that's terrible than you must think it's horrid. Unforgiveable. Unbelievably sad.

I'm so sorry. This year has had far too much busyness for my taste. And not enough alone time. Or simply just being home time.Trying to fit in the things I've been wanting to do lately has been ridiculously challenging. We're almost half-way through October, people! I still haven't even posted what happened in July, August and September. *facepalms* Where does my time go? Seriously.

Anyway, I hope you missed me a little bit, but not so much that you're dying of deprivation. That wouldn't be good! I love you guys, I really, really do. I just don't think my life is going to slow down...and that makes it hard to make time to blog :P *sigh*

Okay, so awhile back, I promised Treskie that I would share pictures from my Ireland trip and seeing that the trip happend Oct. 6-16 of 2011, I thought this month would be a good time to post them! Today (Oct. 10) is actually the third anniversary of my engagement to Robert. He proposed to me in IRELAND, people! IRELAND. It's still hard to believe. He's just so awesome. I couldn't have planned it better myself :) So I will be sharing those pictures today even though that was our fourth day in Ireland.


October 10, 2011 - Gougane Barra in Ireland

Gougane Barra was in-between the drive from Kinsale to Killarney.



This was my first glimpse of Gougane Barra. I was in the backseat taking pictures on the way to Killarney, when I saw it. I then commenced to excitedly hyperventilate because I had seen it before. Four days ago. On the computer screen at my parent's house!!!! It was just a random picture of Ireland that we had found online and just happened to set that one for our desktop background. We had no idea where it was located or what it was called. AND I FREAKIN' GOT TO GO THERE!!!!!

The wallpaper background back home. Significantly better than mine. *sniffs*

The sign.

The no camping or picnics part just ruined that whole sign.

It was VERY windy.

The Loch. Gougane Barra is almost like an island, but not. It feels like one with all the water surrounding it.

The stone building turned out to be a small chapel! Which was awesome, since I'm Catholic. I love these kinds of places :) The walls were also painted in my favorite colors of course I loved it!

The altar was BEAUTIFUL! I have never seen anything like it. I'm a big fan of Celtic knot work and this was just breathtaking. I tried to convince Robert to agree that this was the church we should get married in, but he didn't go for it. I wonder why? ;) IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO AWESOME.

I forget what this was called, but apparently monks used to live in stone caves like these way back when. These were not the original caves, but similar to what they would have lived in.

The 14th and last Station in the Stations of the Cross. "Jesus was laid in the Sepulcher".

 See how windy it was?

I'm not sure what this was supposed to be, but it looked cool.

This is where I was standing shortly before he proposed.

I took this picture right before I turned around to find Robert on his knee with a ring in is hand! :) If I hadn't been so dumbfounded, it might have occurred to me to take a picture of him like that :P He couldn't have picked a better place or a better time because at that moment there were no people around and his Mom had gone back to the chapel (she knew he was going to propose in Ireland, and so did everyone at home because he had e-mailed my parents to ask their permission. That may sound weird, but it was kind of spur of the moment so he couldn't ask them in person.) I was sixteen at the time, and we waited about 2 years to get married.

My ring! It's a white gold ring with an oval natural sapphire in the middle, with two little diamonds on the sides. I love it :) It felt weird to have a ring on that finger and I was so afraid that one of the gems would somehow fall out and get lost in Ireland and I'd never see it again. I'm ridiculous, I know.

And here were are, a few minutes after the proposal. He was 19 and I was 16. That day will always be one of the most happiest days of my life :)

Autumn Loveliness

Hello September!

I have been so looking forward to autumn. This is the time of year when my love of creativity is renewed and I feel like I can do anything! I have already started three crochet projects :) And if I remember to take pictures of them I'll share them with you, but for now I'll just tell you what they are.

1. A Gryffindor Scarf - Which I actually started last October but never finished. I was Hermione for Halloween and my fiancé (now husband) was Sirius Black. I ended up not needing the scarf so since I had no deadline anymore, I didn't finish it :P I always work better with deadlines.

2. A Civil War Handbag - I also had already begun this, a few years back actually, but that aside I am determined to finish it by the time our local Civil War re-enactment comes around, which is at the end of this month. See? Deadline. (In my defense, I have already completed three of these lovely handbags. This one is for my sister.)

3. Fingerless Gloves - This I started in August, but felt guilty about the scarf and handbag soooo this is being put on hold at the moment. The yarn is scrumptious though! Lion brand Amazing yarn in the  "Glacier Bay" color.

I love being busy with crafty things :)

So as I've been dreaming of autumn and all the loveliness that comes with it I decided that I am going to have a Halloween/Phantom of the Opera party! I'm so psyched :) I haven't had a family get together at my house yet and I've just been itching to have something. *Squeals* And I love throwing parties :) I also have no limits to decorations ( now that I have my own house) so this is going to be so much fun!

Here's a list of my favorite things about Autumn:

1. The colors - Burgundy, Sage, Burnt Orange, Brown, and Yellow, and Black. Ah, me! They set my heart a-flutter.  

2. Leaves -  I happen to like raking leaves and they are so full of color. Especially the red ones :)

3. Long walks on a brisk fall day with someone you love. And a scarf. Don't forget the scarf.

4. Creative-ness -  I feel so much more inspired and inclined to make things during the fall season.

5. Tea and Cider -  I don't like drinking hot things during the summer, so now I have an excuse :) I'm not a big fan of tea, but I'm a bigger fan in the fall and winter months.

6. Pumpkins and mums - The smells, the colors, the look, what's not to like?

7. Halloween - I LOVE to dress up. This year I think I'm going to be Christine from the Phantom of the Opera and have my husband be the phantom. He doesn't mind :) I don't think he would dress up if he didn't have me to give him a nudge, but he draws the line where he
wants it. And hey, at least my costume ideas are cool :D

I'll stop there for now. I could go on and on and on but then we'd be here forever.

What are your favorite things about autumn? Planning a Halloween costume yet? I'd love to know!

As for me, I will be planning away :) BYE!

~Mary~

Fall is in the air!

I'm excited for fall to come! I love the weather changes for this time of year. I DON'T like daylight savings time though, I've never seen the point! You get a lot more done during your day if the sun is up for just a few extra hours. Fall usually puts me in a sewing mood, which might be caused by the weather change. I absolutely hate sewing when it's ridiculously hot out, and since we don't have air conditioning except in one room it's rather difficult to make myself work on any sewing projects. I do have a project I'm going to be working on in the next few days though! Every year I make it my goal to always make my Halloween costume, so this year I've chosen to be Helen of Troy. I just got the fabric for it at Jo-Ann Fabrics about a week ago, but I still need to find 7 and 1/2 yards of cheap trim. I've been searching on Etsy.com for any deals on decorative trims, and though I haven't found any to die for yet, I've found some that could work. The color of my dress is going to be a sea-blue/green color, and there is a wrap that will be the same color, only I'm using sheer fabric for that. It is also what I will be needing the trim for. I want something that has gold in it, but we'll see what happens. One kind of trim that I liked at Jo-Ann Fabrics was $4.99 a yard! EEEEeeeek! Definitely not in my price range.
I need to start working on this soon, so that I can get it done by the 7th of October, preferably. My reason? Oh nothing really, I'm just going to Ireland starting that day for A WHOLE 9 DAYS!!!!!!!!! I still can't believe I really get to go there! It is a dream come true :) I'll try to blog soon, once I get the chance. Life has been crazy, and probably always will be around here :P Well bye for now,

                                                        ~Mary