Note to Self...

Don't buy cheap stamps and expect them to be of good quality.  I purchased some 1$ mini alphabet stamps last week and decided to use them tonight - about 4 of them fell apart on me - the rubber with the letter on it fell off the wooden handle.  Luckily I had a hot glue gun to fix it with.

This morning I picked up my final bag of items purchased at the expo (See What else I got at the Expo):

Then, I headed out trying to find the North Raleigh Farmer's Market.  A whole two vendors were there - I didn't even get out of my car. I did, however, see this beautiful tree:

 My picture does not do it justice - it was so very red - somewhat shocking to me, very pretty.

Then I went to Wakefield High School's Mistletoe Market.  That was fun - way more vendors than expected.  I got 3 teas to try... including this one:

"White Christmas" which I just tried. Very interesting.  Just a hint to cinnamon (at least that's what I think) - enough to give flavor but not overpower.  This tea can be ordered at http://twotealadies.com/  I thought their prices were good too.

I also got one of those cloth bags to microwave potatoes in.  I eat way too many sweet potatoes lately to not have a reliable method to quickly cook them.  I got one other thing, but its for mom so I cant show or tell you guys about it!

Then I kinda roamed around Raleigh.  I had lunch at Panera - my first time eating there:

Turkey Avocado Panini and Tomato Soup - I did not eat all of that bread

Next I ended up going to a Target where I got some black pants - in case I need a dressy outfit - and a Christmas Tree Bag since my box is not going to survive much longer. 


I started on my way home, but my leg was killing me so I stopped at a fast food place and changed from my jeans to my yoga pants.  Then I was much much better!  Yeah for stretchy clothes ; )  

I stopped right outside of town at the Cracker Barrel (of course!) because I needed veggies!

Went to Walmart once I was back in town for groceries and started cooking as soon as I got home.  I cooked turkey, chicken, cabbage, broccoli and sweet potatoes.  Now I am mostly good to go for the upcoming week!  I am certainly going to try and detox myself after this weekend.  I really need veggies and I also need to stay away from dairy ( I think I have a food sensitivity) and sugar.

The other day during the workshop, Bob told us that we should journal every day!  And we should ALWAYS decorate our journal so that no one else will pick it up thinking it is theirs.  So, today I took his advice and decorated my art journal.  I started off with a Moleskin Sketch Book...its just plain black... but now it looks like this:

 I have never glued anything  to this type of material (leather?) before so I am not sure if the glue will hold, but whatever.  If the letters fall off, I will attach them with a different type of glue.  Those paint spots were not intentional - they just found their way there as I have been occasionally painting inside the journal.

Then I worked on a journal I got at the Expo...

 Its hard to tell by the photo but this is 3.5" x 5" - its a Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal.
I got this small sized one because I thought it would fit well into my purse or whatever bag I happen to be carrying around.  It now looks like this:

The words at the bottom say "notes to self..." because typically I write down things I don't want to forget. 

Ok, well I guess I should get going.  I have an early morning tomorrow.  This has been a fun weekend, but truthfully I am wishing I had more time to relax before going back to work on Monday.