Officially Across the Pond

This is me standing outside of my house in Birmingham!  While I'm in England I won't be posting to this blog anymore, I'll just be posting on A Tale of Two Feet: England Edition.  If you aren't following that one yet, click here, and then fill in your email address on the right hand side, above were it says subscribe.

Little Geo's Last Ride

The afternoon before I left for England I ran a few last minute errands and I realized it would be the last time I drive my car because we're going to sell it while I'm gone.  Even though the car is falling apart and has caused me lots of grief over the years, it was a bittersweet moment.  This was the car I got when I was 16, it's the only car I've ever had!  Even though the thought of having a much nicer car when I return is exciting, I will miss my little Geo.

You know you're over the snow when you go out in your Toms.

Last time in little Geo, droopy ceiling upholstery and all :)

Leaving On A Jet Plane...

This will be the last post I write from the States because tomorrow morning I am leaving for England!  The day has finally arrived!!!  I am so ready to begin the next part of this experience, actually being in Birmingham!  Even though I am arriving much later than I wanted to, and with all of the delays, unknowns, and frustrations of the past five weeks, I trust that I am arriving exactly when I need to.  I am not the only person in this story; the friends and family I’ve spent time with while I’ve been in Virginia, the people I will encounter while I travel, and the Canvas team and students in Birmingham are all a part of this as well.  The timing isn’t all about me, but I am glad it is time for me to get there!

For those of you interested in travel details, my flight schedule is as follows:

Depart from Roanoke, Virginia at 10:16am
Arrive in Chicago at 11:15am
...7 hour layover...
Depart Chicago at  6:05pm
Arrive in Brussels at 9:20am (That's actually just an 8 hour and 15 minute flight)
...2 hour layover...
Depart Brussels at 11:20am
Arrive in Birmingham at 11:40am
(I'll actually be in the air for an hour and 20 minutes between Brussels and Birmingham, more time change stuff going on there)

I covet your prayers over the next few days, and here are some specific ways you can be praying:

Travel – For safety in the air, that there won’t be any cancellations or major delays, and that all of my luggage will arrive with me!

Adjustment – Not only will I be tired after 24+ hours of traveling, but there is a five hour time difference, so I will be dealing with jet lag too.  Please pray that my body will adjust quickly and that I will have a smooth transition into English life.

I enjoy traveling, and I am obviously excited about getting settled in England, but I don’t want to get so caught up in everything that I’m not in tune to the Spirit.  Please pray that I will be aware of those around me and all of the things the Lord might want to teach me even in these first few days. 

I will make a post again within a day or so of arriving to let you know how it all went.  For all of you who have partnered financially, prayed, and offered words of encouragement, thank you!!!  I really can’t say it enough!

Regular Scarf to Infinity Scarf: Three Ways

Over the weekend, on a whim, I decided that I wanted to turn some of my regular scarves into infinity scarves, and I ended up doing it three different ways.

1) No-Sew Hem Adhesive
We were at JoAnn's so I picked up a roll of Heat N Bond for $2.99.  It's easy enough to use and I had no problem understanding the directions.  To get a "seamless" look, I made sure to attach the edges face to face, not overlapping.  While the directions were simple, I did have to turn the heat on the iron up higher than it said, and hold it on for much longer, to get a secure hold.
Verdict: I got frustrated that it wasn't working initially and I had to mess with it longer, but in the end it worked and would be a option for someone who didn't want to sew.

Beamer was on the couch and got to model the finished product.

2) Tying
The scarf that I used the no-sew adhesive on didn't have any tassels, but my other two scarves did.  My mom actually had the idea to just tie all of the tassels together.  It was tedious and took a little while, but I really like the end result.  I had thought I would just put the tied together part at the back, but I liked the "fringe."  I usually don't like fringe, but this was just enough to give it some visual interest.
Verdict:  Not the easiest or quickest, but it requires no other supplies and provides extra detail.

3) Sewing
I'm not a big sewer.  I take that back, I'm not a sewer at all.  That's why I bought the no-sew adhesive; my original plan was to do all of this needle and thread free.  After the frustrations with the adhesive though my mom suggested sewing it, and then she offered to do it :)  Not long after, scarf number three was all done!
Verdict:  Quick and easy if you've got the supplies and know how.

Snow Day!

Like most of Southwest and Central Virginia, I went to bed Tuesday night with a few inches of snow already covering the ground, and with no plans for the following day, I was excited to see what I would wake up to.  I dreamt that it snowed several feet of snow, and while that wasn't the case, the 8 1/2 inches of snow that we did get wasn't disappointing!  I hadn't gone out and played in the snow in years, so I got on Pinterest to get some fun snowman ideas.  Instead of a snowman, I got the idea for a snow cat.  It was easy to make and I even managed to get a picture with the snow cat and my real cat.  After coming in from the snow I ate lunch and then planted myself on the couch.  I Skyped with some friends, and then got on Pinterest and Facebook, read, napped, and repeated that cycle until dinner.  After dinner there was a game of Scrabble and now I'm watching the Olympics.  A perfect snow day if you ask me!

"Connected At The Heart" Gift

This post is long overdue, but I've been slightly preoccupied lately, what with the whole moving to another country in a few weeks thing happening.  But for Christmas this year I wanted all of my gifts to have an England theme to them.  Coming up with something for my mom, dad, and brother-in-law was  pretty easy but I had no idea what to get my sister.  Their spare bedroom has a travel theme to it and has a big map in it, and had been pinning lots of gifts idea that had to do with traveling, so I decided to go that route.

These pins were my inspiration:

via

And this was my final product:

I started by finding a map of Virginia in an atlas and tearing it out.  Then I printed off a map of Virginia from the computer, cut it out, and used it as a template to cut out Virginia from the map.  I made sure that Blacksburg was in a relatively accurate place on the map.

Next I found a picture of a map of England, one that had a similar look to the atlas map.  Then I printed it off and cut it out.  It wasn't until then that I realized I should have done that for Virginia too.  It would have been proportionate and would have saved a step of cutting.  Oh well, you live and learn!

I laid the two maps out on a piece of card stock, and then I started looking for a quote I wanted to use.  I found the one I used on Pinterest, and then I practiced writing it several different ways until I came up with an arrangement I liked.  I wrote it in pencil first and then went over it in Sharpie.

The final step was drawing red hearts around the cities of Blacksburg and Birmingham, and then connecting the two with a dotted line that formed a heart.

Thrifty Thursday

I debated running by Goodwill the other day, but I am glad I did!  I might have found my best deal yet: size 7 purple corduroy Toms in perfect condition - for $4.50!  I saw them from far away and thought, "Those look like Toms."  I got close enough to see that they were real Toms, and then I saw that they were 7's.  Score!  I'd been wanting a new pair but decided to put my money toward something I'd get more wear out of in England.  Patience paid off, I couldn't have gotten a better deal that that!