So Close!!!

I really can't believe we only have just a few days left before we move back to Jersey! I kind of don't feel the panic anymore which is a good thing... I guess. Friday was my last day at work. They threw me a going away party which was so nice of them.

I'm going to miss that crazy bunch! :'(

Justin and I are in pack mode now which consists of us putting a few things in a box and then sitting on the couch for 30 minutes or longer. We pick up the moving truck on Wednesday. At this rate I'll have the panic back in no time. But we've done so much already! Look see!

Its not pretty but in the end it all just has to get in the truck and make it 1000 miles. Which in the grand scheme on things is not as daunting at it sounds. Were pro packers!!! I am more worried about the cat. Though she seems right at home in the litter box. So that's good.

T-Minus 3 Weeks and Counting

Welp, we're in the home stretch people! Things are winding down around here. I am finally getting around to scheduling utility shutoffs, organizing a bit and packing up some things. You know all the good adulting stuff. Unfortunately though, I am starting to feel the surge of stress moving brings. Sort of in grumpy moods most of the time as I obsess over the many things that still need to happen all in a short amount of time. Not to mention the logistics of getting Justin, Penny(our kitty), myself, and all of our crap 1000 miles north.

And then there's the separation anxiety. I guess we should be used to it by now considering this will be the third BIG move in three years. But it always gets to me no matter how good we have it down. I also always feel a little sad when we leave a place. There is actually a quote that best describes this feeling:

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your 

heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the 

richness of loving and knowing people in more then one place."

                                                                                       - Miriam Adeney

I get sad about leaving the place as it holds wonderful memories and experiences but it is more of the people I miss most. It is much easier to leave a place if you don't really know anyone there. But being the social person I am one of the first things I need to do when moving to a new place is meet awesome people! I have met and made friends with so many AMAZING people over the last couple of years. And I am so thankful and grateful to have them in my life. Though I have remained in touch with most of them(some more then others) the physical disconnect puts a strain on the relationship that no amount of letters, emails or phone calls can keep whole. Though the correspondence helps it is just the unfortunate reality of being thousands of miles apart. I can't just call them to hang out or grab a bite to eat. But there is an upside to this though! I get to look forward to reuniting with my friends in the future. The potential to one day share a cup of coffee and chat with them once again almost makes up for all the time spent away.

I guess I shouldn't spend time dwelling on the sad parts of this transition but rather looking forward to the future. Only good things can come our way! That's not to say there won't be trying times. But for the first time in my life I can say that this is the most confident I have ever felt about a decision. Sure I am going to miss Florida and everyone here that I made a connection with but if we never came here I would have never had the opportunities and experiences this past year gave me. So no regrets and no looking back.

Now if only the house would pack itself........ :P

A Flowchart for Everything!

Has a month really gone by already!?! With Justin and I still working and living in Florida things are pretty much exactly as they were. Counting down the weeks/days though!!! We have begun packing and selling some of our larger furniture off. Hopefully, this will get things a bit more organized and lighten our load for the journey back to NJ. Funny that it seems I am having an easier time letting everything go then I thought I would. Though my cleaning method has always gone as follows:

(Btw I totally just found out you can make flowcharts in Word and I'm doing it for everything now! I'm such a nerd!)

But it's pretty simple and all together liberating. It feels amazing not being tied down by stuff. And it's even better when Craigslist people give you money for it! Though that's more of Justin's thing. I really have no problem donating or throwing away things. But because of his lucrative way of giving them up we have paid for our moving truck two or three times over now which is fantastic! I'm really quite shocked. Road trip snacks will be had I tell you!!

I really can't wait to get this all going. The camper is just waiting for us in NJ and I'm so excited to customize it and really make it our own. We are freaking home owners you guys!!!! Just so cool. I really never thought I would be able to afford  a home and here I am getting ready to move into it and then see the country with it! A dream come true!

Well that's it for now. Stay tuned for more exciting posts ahead (sorry it is so boring now I promise it will get better!)

Have an awesome week!!!!!!

Full Cirlce

I just want to get something straight. When I started this blog I had all the best intentions. I wanted to travel, sew and just love life. My now finance and I had bought an RV back in 2013 and I wanted to go on the road and share my love of sewing and crafting alongside our adventures to new and exciting places. Hence the Sew Nomadic name! Then for whatever reason we hit a wall. It turned out we just wanted out of New Jersey. We sold the RV and took off for Utah in a more conventional manner. Granted this was still a very extreme move. Quite the culture shock. The change was nice.

But the feeling never went away. That feeling of wanderlust. Wanting to be free, to travel and explore and see new things. To live life to its fullest. Every time I watch one of those movies, you know, like Wild or The Way or Into the Wild, I just want to sell everything quit my job and go. Maybe buying the RV was some desperate attempt at a hail Mary that we thought would save us. Were we crazy? stupid? irresponsible? Or brilliant? I could almost kick our past selves for not sticking with it because honestly it would have been great.

I always say to my mother there has to be another way. I don't want cookie cutter, I never did. I was never one that fit the mold and every time I find myself squeezing into it I lose a little more of myself. Why is it that life seems so scripted. You go to school, to get a good job, to get married, to get a house, to have babies and fall further and further into debt and self loathing. Maybe some people really love this kind of thing but none of that seems attractive to me. Life doesn't have to play out like that. And I understand that even if you do follow the more conventional path that your life wouldn't be bad its just not what I want. So this leads me back to the beginning.

We still talk about it constantly.

Here we are almost 4 years later and we are still talking about selling everything, buying an RV/camper and just taking off. Its what we wanted all along and it feels right in my bones. I can't get over just how logical this seems, for us anyway. So here's to a re-beginning. Our mulligan if you will. I would love it if you'd join me on this now familiar adventure just one more time. There's just one catch, no more script, no more tireless editing and no more BS. You're getting it all good, bad and ugly. Its going to be a blast!

New York Getaway

I know its been a while since I last posted, but that's because I've been on vacation!

Kind of funny that my sewing bag is just as big as my duffel bag!

I finally took some time off from work and just got away for a bit.

We stayed at Watkins Glen State Park which is near the Finger Lakes in up state NY. We always seem to have great luck at state parks. The facilities are well kept and the staff is very friendly and helpful. They even have security patrolling so its very safe.

The first day we walked down to The Gorge, which is one of the main features of the park. It was really beautiful.

We then took a stroll down to Seneca Lake.

 
When we travel I always look for local quilt shops and I found the most darling shop right down the street from the park!

O'Sushannah's Quilts and Gifts, nestled right in downtown Watkins Glen, is what I dream a quilt shop to be. Don't get me wrong I love my shops at home. But something about this place made it so much more.

For starters the place was huge! Everywhere I turned there was more amazing fabric!

Do you see the Swoon!

They also have retreats and classes in the upstairs portion of the shop.

I loved all the adorable samples!

 

The owner, Sue, was telling me that they will be featured in the Fall issue of Quilt Sampler Magazine with this quilt. And they were also voted a top 10 shop! Way to go girls!

And I couldn't leave without some goodies. After two trips to the shop I had a happy bag full of these beauties.

I can't wait to cut into these!

The next day we made a quick trip to the Corning Glass Museum.

This quilt like mosaic is all glass! Amazing!

And then since we knew we wouldn't be this close again in the near future we decided to go to Niagara Falls.....in the rain.

But the 2+ hour drive gave me some time to stitch some hexies!

Even in the rain it is still so amazing.

We got completely soaked. But I did manage to get a delicious local treat!

And since we were sooooo close we skipped on over to Buffalo for some authentic Buffalo at Nine Eleven Tavern. I normally don't eat chicken, but I kind of had to. It was seriously the best buffalo I've ever eaten.

And on our last day we made our way back to the harbor for a delicious meal at the Village Marina.

Tired, but happy camper!

The Sea Serpent! So yummy!

All in all we had an amazing trip and I especially had a good time de-stressing.  Although roughing it camping can be a little work, especially in the rain, its better then any day at work. I can't wait to get out there again!

Status Report

I can't believe its February!

Things have been super busy around here lately and I thought a mini vaca was in order. We just needed a breather from the stress of work and fighting the winter blues. Luckily, we have a friend who owns a home in the Poconos and is more then willing to share. So off we went this weekend for some mountainy goodness. It was so refreshing. Sorry for the lack of pictures...I didn't take the camera out once.

I was just so happy to have some time to kick back and relax. I started on a Honey Cowl a little while back and this weekend was the perfect opportunity to get knitty gritty....derp....craft humor.

I'm hoping to finish it soon. As mentioned here, I figured out how to hold the yarn in my right hand and knitting has been going swimmingly ever since! I really have to restart the Herringbone Cowl asap!

O and before we left, I also managed to whip up screw up some piping for my latest project.

Big waste of time, remind me to never try this again. Piping is the devil. I've decided I'm just going to bind it like a normal human being. Same effect less mayhem.

Well guess its back to work for me. Hope you all have a wonderful start to your week!

O what fun......

I was even productive on the plane!

So didn't think later in the week would mean the following week...sheesh...Anyway, here is a recap of our stupendous trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. We had loads of fun visiting our friend and got into plenty of shenanigans while he was at work.  Hehehehe!

So on the first day we got there we were pretty beat but decided we should make the most of the little time we had. Our first stop was In and Out Burger....of course. We discovered them on our expedition west this summer. What a delicious find.

Insert Homer, Mmmmmm......grilled cheese....*lippy smacky noises*

Next stop: Temple

Mind you I am not a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints but by all means was I seeing that enormous church. Interestingly enough all the roads in SLC lead to Temple. The Church of Latter Day Saints is located at the very heart of the city and all streets are named, rather numbered, by its proximity to Temple. If you live on 2700 South that means you are 27 blocks south of Temple. This made the city extremely easy to navigate.

Saturday we went skiing. Best snow on earth. I tried snowboarding for the first time....fun but hurt. Alot.

Sunday.....we went to the public library and to our surprise there was a craft show !!!! Some of Utah's finest were exhibiting their wears and accoutrements at the appropriately named Craft Sabbath. I of course bought some really neat swag.

 
From left to right counter-clockwise:

The Emperor's Tea booth was great! They gave free samples and smiles all day long! What wonderful people! Wish I got their names :/ The tea was super delicious especially the Raspy Raspberry, Black Christmas and Pepperminty! They pride themselves on being super local and super all natural. You can check out their story and products here and here.

My next stop was bykali. Kali makes wonderful wearable and hanging artwork from all sorts of found objects. She had some very beautiful earrings and necklaces containing things like aspen leaves, nails, bolts and interesting graphics. I could have spent a fortune here, simply wonderful and super creative! You can own one of your very own by visiting her etsy site here.

Last but not least there was Spotted Hippo Soap. I actually went to this booth first. The wonderful smell of the handmade soaps drew me in. I was sniffing everything! Finally settled on the Beer Soap, she uses actual beer in the process! Think mine is a lager but I'm not a drinker so who knows, either way it smells amazing can't wait to use it. You can follow Spotted Hippo Soap here and here.

Shop local first! Support your local artists!

And finally the grand finale .......Piper' Quilts & Comforts. As a quilter traveling to quilt mecca, ie Utah, it was only customary that I find, gawk, and buy something from a local quilt shop. Luckily there was one very close to our friends and off I went with 3 men to a quilting/knitting shop. In the midst of fabric overload my boyfriend's friend came up with a brilliant plan. I should collect fabric from all the states I travel too and make a "states" quilt from all the findings! This is my first from Utah.

It was a really adorable shop. They had all sorts of wonderful things on the walls. They specialized in children's wears and had a ton of really cute knitted hats and clothes. They have great tutorials on their blog and fabric selection here. I definitely want to try this soon. I bought an awl today just in case I get the urge to try it. Unfortunately, there aren't a ton of pictures since in the same moment we went to Piper's I conveniently "lost" my camera. It was in my luggage :/ So enjoy the pictures my boyfriend so begrudgingly happily let me take with his phone.

All in all it was an amazing trip and I need to get back west ASAP. My heart belongs in the mountains.

SLC

Sorry for the lapse in posts. I was traveling....to beautiful Utah!  My boyfriend, his buddy and I went out for a four day weekend getaway to see a friend. Was nice to get away from the stress of work and New Jersey for a while.

Things are much more laid back out there, a lot slower which is great. And I seriously can't get enough of the mountains! God how I love those mountains..... I'm pretty sure I'm meant to live on the western end of the states.

I will post later on in the week regaling you with all the fun things we got into!