New Month, New Me!

There's something refreshing about ripping off the page of the previous month, to get ready for a new one. There's something healing about it! I did just that this morning. Im ready to move into the fun in September. And this month brings alot of it! I'm going to the Elgin  Historic Homes Tour, September 10th. I went to the Hyde Park Hints Tour, in Austin, TX, and I was bit by the history bug. :). I just knew I had to find more of these tours when I got back home. If you'd like to check it out, here's the link.
http://www.gifford-park-assoc.org/tour11/

Then, that same day, I have to race back home and I'll be attending the family picnic, at my cousin Ella's house.
Sunday, September 11th, brings lots of country fun, because I'll be at the Sandwich Fair  in Sandwich, Illinois. If you're in the state, this is a great place to check out. There will be an antique mall, which I am VERY excited about, and good food, a carnival, and great music.
I love that I can find  that small town
feel so close to such a big, congested, area like Chicago. It's nice to get a way, to say the least. Haha. :)
http://sandwichfair.com/

And who can forget, the Atmosphere concert September 13th, in Madison, Wisconsin. That's the event I'm looking forward to the most. If you like underground hip hop, definitely check them out. They're my favorite band.
http://rhymesayers.com/atmosphere/

This is a two part story <3

Part 1:
When you're scrapbooking with an unknown destination, you never know where your path will take you. For instance, I got a smash book from Kelly about 3 months ago, and put it in a dresser drawer (extra scrapbook supplies space). I left it there there through my uninspiration period, and finally started it- last night. Today is the first time I've actually sat down to put any time into it. The funny part is that I had no intentions of starting it tonight! I sat down thinking that I'd work on a couple 12x12 pages, but I have been carrying my smash book around for a couple days hoping to stamp something into it. Which I did. However, that led me to get out my new Melissa Frances bling that I got from Kelster Jean at the Scrapbook Convention, and put some of it on. :) That's part one...

Part two:
There's something about the Fox Valley, Illinois area, that's beginning to capture my heat. I was off on Wednesday, so on the spur of the moment, I went out to Kelly's, so we could scrapbook. Since I LOVE antiques, I drove to Sandwich, IL, to check out several antique stores, including Prindi's, Maggie's De Ja Vu, and Red Geranium. If I had more time, I would've went to all of them. I mean, there's something about the cute little shops, rows and rows of corn fields, open roads, and big country sky. I can't get enough of it! It was VERY hard for me to leave that area, so I could go back home, and go to work. I knew I'd miss that area as soon as I left it. Slowly, the Fox Valley area is moving in on my heart. And I have to admit, it would be kind of nice living in an area that reminds me alot of some of Texas's areas. Hmmmmmmmmm :)

The photo is of one of my new favorite booth, inside Prindi's. :)

When Kristy Got Her Groove Back

So lately, I've been scrapbooking, which has been rare for me  because I was going through a dead inspiration period. As in, my inspiration was dead.  It was a couple weeks ago, that I began to feel alive again. No, REALLY!! Since I got back in Chicago, I've been completely uninspired. There were times when I'd sit down and want to scrapbook so badly, but couldn't. It was almost as if I'd reverted back to the first year I'd ever scrapbooked. I thought I'd never get it back, and couldn't figure out why I was completely unmotivated to make anything, or how long it would be until I just got over it!!!
Then one night, I went to Heartland Cafe, in Rogers Park, and had an awesome night. I came home, and the spell was broken. I don't know what it was, but I hope I never go through a period of unmotivation for that long again! It's the worst feeling you could ever imagine, as if everything you know and love is gone.
Anyway, I decided to let everyone know that I've  come back to  the inspiration board full force.  These are what I've made since I've been back (as if I went on a trip or something-lol). They're in order from oldest to newest, in the photo with all 6 of them. Enjoy!!!

So as everyone knows, I love going garage saling. I love it, because you never know what you'll find. Last weekend, when when I was supposed to be getting ready for Kelly's wedding, I was out checking out garage sales. I came across a WHOLE set of dishes, from the 70's. I didn't take a picture of them, but they're very floral-y, with lots of green, yellows, and oranges. But my best finds this weekend came from a sad story. My dad and I were driving around and came across an estate sale where a beautiful family was selling their father's belongings. They told us he had a fall, and went to the hospital, and a week later he passed away because of heart troubles. Everything in the house, the daughter-in-law told us, was for sale. And he had some beautiful pieces!!! Poor thing. I would've traded all those items to meet this interesting man. There was love, and care in that house. You could tell that each item was picked with a keen eye. This man...was a collector. May you rest in peace, always.