Wedding books

I'm currently working on a set of books for a wedding. The colors of the wedding are black, red, and white. The black book will have white on white floral endpaper and red flowers delicately falling over the cover. This will be the journal where guests can give the newlyweds advice.

The red book will have black flowers on the cover and the same white on white floral endpaper. It will serve as the guest registry.

I'm going to try something new this time with the stitching as well. It's coptic stitch, so the binding will be exposed. To add a little extra something to the books, I'm going to twirl black and white thread together and bind the book. I'll make sure to take a picture and show you before sending them off!

Wrapping

I love wrapping gifts. I don't ever remember feeling that way during the holidays, but I think it's because I feel a bit...limited in my wrapping choices come Christmas time. Overall, though, I like wrapping pretty packages. Next Christmas, I think I'll be a little more free with my wrapping choices. None of this store bought wrapping paper. No sir-ee bob. People are going to get pretty, if not Christmas-y, packages. The above picture is of a current order that was placed in my shop. I hope she enjoys them!

Aaaaah the beach

I got to go to the beach at Plum Island on both Saturday and Sunday a couple weekends ago. It was so nice! I brought snacks:

Reading material:
And my camera (this isn't my chair):
And just hung out for 3 hours or so each day. Very nice and relaxing. :) Too bad the water is so damn cold...

Whale watching 2

I went whale watching today with my colleagues. It was a "team building" activity. I was really nervous, as you might remember, that I was going to get really seasick, but I was actually totally fine! I took 2 Dramamine tablets the night before and then 2 that morning and didn't feel the least bit nauseous. There were some people, however, who were not looking so hot. They had this slight greenish look to their skin. I felt so bad for them! Lord knows I've been there so many times. The key is to have Dramamine in your system since the day before. I've taken it just an hour before activity, as recommended on the bottle, but it does NOT work. At least not for me. I've always gotten seasick, but this time I was determined to not get sick! It worked.

Anyway, here are some pictures I took while we were out. Next time I go, I'm taking my nice Canon to take super close ups! The day was absolutely perfect too. We really lucked out. Check it out:

Manchester by the Sea

Manchester by the Sea is this wonderful little town near the coast on Route 127 in Massachusetts. It's very quaint with this great, great, great, used book store. I could've spent hours in there! It's cleverly called "Manchester by the Book." I loved it! Definitely have to go back. It's also architecturally beautiful. Check out their library:

Isn't it gorgeous? This is the Historical Society, which is just as beautiful:

We walked around the neighborhoods, admiring all the beautiful houses and gardens. We bought lemonade from these little girls who were selling some in front of their house. Very cute! Only 30 cents too!! We finished off the day relaxing on a bench, looking over the water at all the boats and kayaks and admiring the beautiful tricks the light was playing in the sky.

I think I can get used to New England.

Blueberry picking

We were driving through the countryside yesterday and saw a sign for blueberry picking so we stopped. It was a beautiful farm with hundreds of blueberry and raspberry bushes. They also grow blackberries, which I love, but they won't be ready for picking until August. We were given a bucket with a plastic bag in it to fill with wonderfully fresh, juicy blueberries. They are as sweet and tasty as they look!

We also stopped at a farmer's stand, which was selling fruits and vegetables. We got some sweet peas (sorry for that dark photo) and shelled them last night. Can't wait to have these!

Wish I was in Costa Rica

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July! My husband and I spent the day picnicking, hiking, and napping at Bradley Palmer State Park (above). It was a great time. There were curious circular patches of grasses all over, which made for an interesting landscape. The grasses were as soft as pillows! Very beautiful.

While having our picnic, a friend stopped by to visit.

For dinner, we stopped at the Clam Box and had really good calamari, native clams, and haddock. YUM! The great thing about living in New England is all the seafood! I'm loving it.

It started to pour later in the evening, so we skipped the fireworks this year. Boston's fireworks are supposed to be amazing, so we were bummed to have missed them, but we can always watch them next year.

You may be wondering about the title of this entry. Well, my very good friend, Alex, is currently spending the summer in Costa Rica. She's there on an internship, but that's just code for having lots of fun! Here are some spectacular photos she's sent. Doesn't it just make you want to get on the first plane to Costa Rica???

Thanks for letting me post your photos, Alex!! We miss you!

Plum Island

Saturday was absolutely beautiful here! It was in the 80s, sunny, and breezy. Perfect for a day trip! We headed up to Plum Island, which we'd heard nothing but good things about. The picture above is of a section of sand I found on the beach that was completely untouched and perfect. Isn't it serene?This is the beach. There were quite a few people there, but it wasn't crowded. It was nice. The water was making these beautiful ripples in the sand, but my GOSH was it cold! I thought my toes were going to fall off it was so cold! :)
Kurt had no problems with the temperature of the water. Neither did the little girl behind him in the picture. A couple seconds after I snapped the photo she did the splits on the water! Craziness!!Some of the rocks there had cool seaweed and moss growing on them.
Our next adventure? KAYAKING! I can't wait! We're not sure when we're going, but I can't wait to try it. I think it'll be a lot of fun.

Whale watching

My work is going on an outing. Last year they went on a scavenger hunt. I love scavenger hunts, but I wasn't working there last year. This year, for my luck, we're going whale watching. Don't get me wrong, I have always wanted to go whale watching, and I am sort of looking forward to it, but I get horribly seasick. I'm going to start taking Dramamine about 3 days before the actual outing just so it's in my system. I'm also going to take plenty of crystallized ginger with me, which settles the stomach. I really hope I don't puke in front of my colleagues, though! It's not for another month and I'm already nervous about it! Any advice?

Rockport

We went to Rockport, Mass, this past Saturday. It was nice. I liked Newburyport better, but it was still very pretty. The weather was spectacular too! There were tons of people sailing, (although this picture doesn't show it!) kayaking, and taking in the beautiful view. This is by far my favorite picture. The breeze passing through this outdoor hallway between two houses was unbelievable. It's the picture of serenity, isn't it?
Here are some other shots I took. A wrought iron gate at the cemetery.
A brook from these falls that eventually leads to the sea.A gorgeous pond...
next to this gorgeous field.
All in all a fun weekend.

Project-wise, I'm currently working on two books for a wedding. We're in the process of working out the details, but as soon as I start picking out paper and book cloth, you guys will get your first glimpse. :)