Look at these lovely fabrics that I found at Hawthorne Threads last week.  I am excited to turn them into wine bags for the holiday season.

Which one is your favorite?

In December, when my mom came for a visit, we happened upon Sunset Hills Vineyard for a tasting.  It was such a wonderful experience that I signed up for a yearly membership.  Although I have picked up three of the bi-monthly wine selections, I had not yet been back for a complementary wine tasting.

This past Saturday was the day!  My friend Katy and I set out to browse a local antique shop Ekster Antiques, which I am sure will be the subject of a future post (seriously, look how beautiful their house is on the site!).  After I helped Katy spend some money on a beautiful console table, we set out for Sunset Hills Vineyard.  We thoroughly enjoyed our tasting.  After sampling six wines, we decided to enjoy a glass of their Sunset White, a blend of Traminette grapes.  It was wonderful and a bit sweet and perfect for a hot summer day.  We also enjoyed a bite to eat – a basket of amazing french bread, Amish Weisse Kase cheese, salami and a tasty balsamic onion tampenade.  Heaven!

It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  One of five wineries – check!

Do you have any wineries in your area?  I would love to hear about them!

Unfortunately, wintertime in Virginia is not the ideal season for getting a new bike, so it stood nearly-unused in my office until a few weeks ago.  I should say that it leaned against the bookshelves in the office, not stood.  The kickstand came just recently, too.

When J got a new bike last month, we spent time practicing her two-wheeled skills on sidewalks and paths around our house.  When she was finally ready to hit the streets of our neighborhood, we all hopped on our bikes and took the 2-ish mile trek to the Potomac River.  We had to do a little off-roading and a few very steep hills, and the family returned happy and unscathed.  Unfortunately, my husband’s rear bike tire refused to hold air, even after a new tube was replaced.  It seemed as if the entire family was destined for new wheels in 2013!  Soon a new blue bike for D made it home, along with a bike rack for our SUV.  We were ready!

Our area is chock-full of beautiful trails like the Washington and Old Dominion and Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal.  These trails are built on old railroad lines, and for the most part lack very steep hills that may be tough on little legs.

On Sunday, we set out for our first trek.  Success!  10.61 miles in just shy of 2 hours.  The weather was phenomenal – mid 60′s with a bit of a breeze and clear blue skies.  We could not have asked for better.

Admittedly, there were a few whining moments from J.  She was pedaling almost the whole time, and because her bike does not have gears she didn’t get quite the relief on the uphill sections that her dad and I did.  Still, she was a trooper and was very pleased with herself when we made it to the end.  And I am pretty happy too – the first item crossed off my Project 37 list!

We are already talking about our next ride!

Presenting Three Wine Bags and a Canvas Tote:

Cheers! Hot Pink and Black Wine Bag

Black and White Wine Bag

Cream, Red, Black and Gray Wine Bag

Yellow and White Canvas Tote

Which one is your favorite?

]]> http://peetswea.com/2013/05/new-listings-three-wine-bags-and-a-canvas-tote/feed/ 2 http://peetswea.com/2013/05/new-listings-three-wine-bags-and-a-canvas-tote/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/peetswea/IrMG/~3/BFwho-6jFGk/ http://peetswea.com/2013/05/treasury-time-butter-yellow/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 12:32:17 +0000 Kristi http://peetswea.com/?p=1218 Read more →]]> A collection of beautiful items that I found while browsing Etsy – each in a lovely butter color.

Which one is your favorite?

Vintage 1970s Dress Pal… ShuuShuubyLulu $39.99	Pale yellow flower neck… BridalStore $9.5	SALE Yellow Silk Scarf,… KMSilks $20.4	Pale yellow carved porc… robertapolfus $38
Paper Straw Striped – B… BacktoZero $4	Shea Butter Soap, Unsce… CheshireFields $4.6	Paper Twine – Pale Yell… BacktoZero $2	Spring Time Soft Yellow… TheDesignersGe… $1.75
Unscented Lotion Bar Sh… TheBathtubBake… $6	1000 Silk Rose Petals L… yourperfectgif… $11.98	SWEET SOPHISTICATE – Ch… flowerbucketbo… $6.5	Vintage Yellow Daisy Ea… ThePookiesJewe… $6
Yellow Leather Journal … peaseblossomst… $33	Pastel necklace in yell… WoodenTreeHous… $9	Crochet Cotton Wash Clo… Putkela $5.5	Apron Dress / Pale Yell… needsgoodhome $32

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

My first trip to our local Farmers Market was a big success!

Shopping for the comfy reading chair for our new small library

Sewing up a custom order – one of my favorite things to do!

A surprise Mother’s Day breakfast!


Embroidered fabric bookmarks for J’s Religious Ed teachers


Chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting – recipe from Georgetown Cupcake. Delicious!


A mojito to accompany the beautiful afternoon sun

Watching J being completely engrossed in a book. Oh, how I love that beautiful girl!

Such a perfect weekend!

First step:  obtain bookshelves!  I was surprised at how difficult it was to find a true corner bookshelf.  We didn’t want to just place two bookshelves together at the corner, with a big square hole left behind.  Finally, after much looking we bit the financial bullet and ordered from Ballard Designs.

I spent some time putting books on the shelves and Voila! progress on the library of my dreams has been made!  They arrived a few weeks ago and are absolutely gorgeous.  Unfortunately, I noticed (after the delivery folks left, of course) that the drill holes for one of the shelves were missing from the right bookcase.  Kudos to Ballard for excellent customer service – they set up an exchange and swapped out the bookcase this week.

Next up:  A comfy chair for reading.  And maybe a few new book purchases – do you see all of that extra space?!

What do you think?  Do you have a special reading nook or library in your home?  I’d love to hear about it!

Today is my 37th birthday.  Thirty Seven.  It seems unreal to me.

I know that it was just yesterday that I was fresh out of college and eager to tackle the world.  I was the baby in the office for a long time – sharing college experiences as if they were relevant to the business world, wearing the “youngest employee” badge with honor.  Wow, has that changed.  I’m now a veteran employee, with the growing veteran cynicism and outlook to go along with it.

I also know that it was a few days ago that I got married.  Living in a small apartment for a year, before purchasing our first home.  Enjoying the freedom that the dual-income-no-kids lifestyle allowed – painting walls, taking trips, being in young love.  And then came J – that was just a week ago, right?  Having a whole new person in our lives, who filled us with happiness that we didn’t know that we were missing.

And now, D and I have been married for 12 1/2 years, J is almost 8, and we’re in our second new home, which is 1,000 miles from where we started. So much has happened in that short few days between 21 and 37!

I know that 37 isn’t commonly known as a milestone year, but I’ve been dreading it.  I’m no longer in my mid-thirties and I’m no longer the baby of the bunch.  But I’m also still young – many years ahead of me to make goals, wishes and dreams come true.

So this year, I will be working on Project 37 – a list of things to achieve, to make me smile, and to have a frequent reminder that I am just as young as I feel.  I hope that you’ll follow along.

Project 37 – The List:

1. Run a 5K race without stopping
2. Take a romantic weekend getaway with D
3. Meet up with a faraway friend in person
4. Reach 150 Sales in the PeetSwea Shop
5. Take my mom on a trip to Pittsburgh for her genealogy research
6. Bike on the W&OD Trail with D and J
7. Learn to make Prime Rib (D’s favorite)
8. Make my sewing room the studio of my dreams
9. Take a class
10. Research work-from-home motivation techniques and write about it
11. Share a project management skill with the handmade community
12. Try another Craft Show
13. Spend hours alone in the National Gallery of Art
14. Have a spontaneous coffee or happy hour “date” with a neighbor friend
15. Finish a big craft project with J – her choice
16. Have tastings at five local wineries
17. Buy an antique piece of furniture
18. Fit into a Size 10 pair of jeans
19. Let J paint my toenails
20. Learn to French braid hair
21. Read three classic novels
22. Plant a tree
23. Finish our home library
24. Frame the pictures that my dad drew
25. Find a way to support a small business
26. Have family portraits taken
27. Try a yoga or Pilates class
28. Go for a mountain hike
29. Attend a professional project management networking event
30. Have the PeetSwea website redesigned
31. Try cuisine from a new country
32. Send more mail to family and friends
33. Learn a new sewing technique
34. Spend more time spoiling my nieces and nephews
35. Collaborate with another handmade business owner on a joint creative project
36. Host a dinner party
37. Lighten up!

Tell me what you think.  Do you have a favorite?  Is there any item on the list that you’d like to help me cross off?

African Black Soap- All… SherisSoapOper… $4.5	Fire Orange Earrings EssexGlass $20	Nature Photography, Aut… LauLola $20	Vintage Smoke Grey Glas… vintagesolo $35
Crossover handbag // Ho… cindymars7 $52	Watercolor Painting – F… RiverLuna $40	SALE – Original Abstrac… EbiEmporium $48	Spiky Coffee Mug: Made … symmetricalpot… $30
Orange, Gray & White Ci… FabulouslyHome… $10	70mm x 45mm Artisan Mad… DesigningSiste… $8	SALE, One of a kind Smo… talesofcamelot $50	Fire Orange Rondelles i… gypsyspiritstu… $5.75
Smoke Grey Burlap Ribbo… cherrycheckers $4	Shell Pearl Beads 10mm … BeadFrenZ $3	Fire Peacock original o… cynthiahaven $350	Vintage Style Seam Bind… inkscissors $3.9

Treasury tool supported by the dog house