Incoherent Scribblings

So Friday was my birthday and this year I decided to celebrate by going to San Antonio. While I stayed in an awesome hotel downtown near the Riverwalk called the Fairmount Hotel and I ate, drank, and drank some more, the main reason I decided to go to San Antonio for my birthday this year was to visit two LNSs there that I had seen advertised in Cross-Stitch and Needlework.

The first shop is called Stitches from the Heart and I dropped by late Thursday afternoon as soon as I got into town. It had been a long time since I had been in an LNS of such caliber and I was in heaven! As soon as I walked in I noticed a long table with four or five ladies stitching and I practically drooled as I looked at all the charts, beads, buttons, threads, frames, fabric, etc., etc.

Part of the reason I stopped at this shop first was because it is open until 7:30 on Thursday nights. Well, it didn’t take long for me to realize that the reason that they are open late on Thursdays is because it is their stitch-in. I started chatting with the ladies and before you can say cross stitch I had gone out to my car and retrieved “Fairy Flora,” “Celtic Spring,” “Passing Admirers,” and “Catch the Wind” and was showing them off! (I had brought those pieces with me to inquire about framing.) The ladies “oohed and ahhed” over all my pieces and made funny little comments like “Oh, I see we have a novice stitcher on our hands.”

I also just so happened to have “Castle Sampler” with me and they invited me to sit and stitch a while. As much as I wanted to, I ended up not stitching because I started talking with their framer and spent most of the time I was there deciding on a frame for Flo. I wanted to frame all four, but the lady encouraged me to just do one piece and if I am happy with her work to bring the rest back later. The shop is even going to ship Flo to me (insured of course) when she is ready.

I also bought some stash (of course!) and the ladies invited me to their fall retreat (the summer one is full). I had such a nice time visiting that shop that I definitely foresee more trips to San Antonio in the future to shop, stitch, and bitch. If you are ever in San Antonio, I definitely recommend a visit to Stitches from the Heart! (By the way, Stitches from the Heart’s website is still under construction, but they told me they will ship things. All I need to do is contact them with what I want.)

But wait, there’s more!

On Friday around noon, I visited the second shop, Cross Stitch Plus. It was a very nice shop as well. In fact, I think they had a better selection of fabric… which would be great if I didn’t already have Silkweaver FOM coming out the wazoo! The ladies there were very nice too, but they weren’t having a stitch-in (theirs is on Friday night) so it was a much quieter experience. I bought plenty of stash there and will go back next time I am San Antonio.

However, in all honesty, the best thing about Cross Stitch Plus was that it is in a shopping center that just so happens to have an Indian restaurant next door. So, I went there and had my birthday lunch. I didn’t have super high hopes for the restaurant because I didn’t remember coming across it when I was scoping out Indian restaurants in San Antonio online, but I was pleasantly surprised with a nice meal and dining experience.

On Saturday, I went to the San Antonio Zoo and got rained on, but was there long enough that it made me tired. After I ate dinner on the Riverwalk, I went back to my hotel room and tried to stitch, but the light in my room was terrible so I cursed the fact that I didn’t buy the portable Ott light that I looked at on Friday at Cross Stitch Plus and just watched a movie.

* Stash Report – Back Row: The Best of Teresa Wentzler Fantasy Collection Volume 2, Witchy-Washy (Raise the Roof), Halloween Eve (The Cricket Collection); Middle Row: Sew Many Memories (Sue Hillis Designs), Jack in the Patch (Cherry Wood Design Studios), Yesteryear (LHN), Summer Retreats (CCN); Front Row: Ladybug, Ladybug (LHN), French Country III – Apple (JBW Designs), Curiosity and Washing Up (Serendipity Designs); Not Pictured: Piecemakers, size 26; 4 packs Mill Hill Magnifica beads. *

New Bedding
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian

Well, I think I can say that my birthday is officially over.

Today I got the last birthday cards in the mail that I was expecting and the rest of the presents I bought myself arrived. (Can you believe it? I bought myself NO cross stitch stash for my birthday this year!) It’s been a good birthday if I do say so myself. If the rest of the year is half as enjoyable as the past two weeks have been, it will be a hell of a year.

Of course, one of the highlights of my birthday weekend was going to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with Him yesterday. (I have decided to drop the He-Who-Must-Not-Yet-Be-Named for something shorter… albeit much less creative.) I am not going to write a movie review, but I will say this: I liked and didn’t like the movie. As a stand-alone action movie with Harrison Ford it was fun. As an addition to the Indiana Jones franchise, it wasn’t really what I was hoping for and frankly I was a little disappointed.

However, after the movie yesterday He and I went shopping for bedding for my new bed. (Yes! He went shopping with me! Could He be a keeper?) As usual, I wanted something nice, but was feeling too cheap to pay the big bucks for what I wanted so I hit the sale rack. And I wasn’t disappointed either. There was a “bed in a bag” set that I liked, but I found a comforter/sham set that I was partial to as well.

The “bed in a bag” was a very pretty set with purple flowers on it, but when I showed it to Him and asked his opinion he did that man-stutter thing that means he didn’t want to disagree but he clearly didn’t have too high of an opinion of what was being presented to him. Lucky for Him, I agreed: The “bed in a bag” was kind of girly!

In the end, I decided on the comforter/sham set in a pattern called “Summer Rain” and bought some 350 count Pima cotton sheets in a bluish-green-gray to match.

He must not have minded that set too much: After all, he did help me make the bed when I got home!

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I have to be honest: Due in large part to He-Who-Must-Not-Yet-Be-Named, this year’s birthday was one of the best I have had in many years. And we aren’t finished celebrating yet! The birthday activities will conclude on Monday with a trip to the theatre to see the long-awaited return of Indiana Jones.

And now… on to the stitching report!

This week I have been working on Margaret Sherry’s “Cool Cats” and managed to finish up Summer this evening. I don’t really have much to say regarding Summer because in typical Margaret Sherry fashion it is a fun and smooth stitch. I really like Summer’s sunglasses and her ice cream cone. The only thing that would make her more stereotypical summer would be if she were wearing flip flops!

Well, because of the Kreinik situation, Dawn and I weren’t able to finish “Harvest Witch” by my birthday. However, since they finally arrived tomorrow we will be heading back to our SAL… Of course, I am not sure how much I will get done since I am attending a wedding reception with He-Who-Must-Not-Yet-Be-Named (Boy that is getting to be a pain to spell out! I either need to name him or abbreviate him, huh?) tomorrow evening, but I am sure I can at least get a few stitches in.

Today is my birthday.

For quite a few years now I have stopped caring how old I am on this day and just enjoy it as my day. I make myself a cake (usually German chocolate with coconut pecan frosting) and if I don’t eat anything else besides cake on this day I don’t care. If I am working I take the day off and do something special… even if that means nothing more than lazing around in bed all day in my pjs.

However, my special event today was the delivery of the new queen-sized bed that I bought with my tax stimulus check. (Yes, I am doing my part for the economy by using that check for one of those “big ticket” items! ) In order to make room in my tiny apartment for my new bed I had to spend most of last evening and this morning rearranging and cleaning, but now that my new bed is made and calling me to it, I couldn’t be happier. I have been waiting almost 2 years to make this, my first “grown-up” purchase, and I can’t wait to go shopping for new bedding soon.

Nevertheless, my new bed will have to wait on me for a few hours because I am off to celebrate at the local watering hole with a few friends now. Cheers!

Prada Marfa
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian

This past weekend, He-Who-Must-Not-Yet- Be-Named and I went on a road trip to New Mexico to celebrate my birthday. We are still planning on seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this weekend (actually not until Monday), but since he had prior commitments for most of this up-coming weekend we decided to do the whole birthday shebang a week early.

On our way to Mesilla, New Mexico we stopped along Highway 90 outside of Valentine, Texas to visit the (in)famous Prada Marfa. Now, before you get too excited and think that we actually have a Prada store out here in the middle of nowhere, I must warn you that not only is the collection from 2005, it isn’t an actual retail store. Marfa has become fairly well-known for its artist community and Prada Marfa is actually a work of art. However, it is one of those places, along with the Marfa Ghost Lights that everyone around here has to experience at least once.

The trip to Mesilla was first and foremost a margarita tour of West Texas and Southern New Mexico. We stopped in El Paso for the first margarita of the day; a traditional margarita on the rocks with a salt-rimmed glass. This margarita was quite tasty, but what set it apart was its sheer size. It was, as they say, a Texas-sized margarita! (I wish had a picture of it, but wouldn’t you know it, my camera batteries died at Prada Marfa and I didn’t have my spares!)

We then continued on and once we arrived in Mesilla we inquired where the best margaritas in town were. The verdict was a toss up of two places: Either at La Posta or the Double Eagle Restaurant. We had fantastic mango margaritas at the Double Eagle and awesome “La Patronas” (made with “the top of the line 100% Blue Agave, Patron Anejo Tequila, Cointreau and freshly squeezed lime juice”) at La Posta.

Honestly, I am not sure how to cast my vote for the best margarita that I had all weekend. I have learned a lot about margaritas and tequila since moving to Texas and I must say that the “La Patronas” were good in a way that cocktails are when you use the best liquors available as opposed to the bar stuff. However, I think I am probably a little more partial to the mango margaritas because as much as I enjoy a good margarita on the rocks, I have a fondness for that extra bit of sweetness that fruit margaritas offer.