Summer Projects

I've been working on a lot of different projects all summer. Some for weddings, some for bridal showers, some for my house, and some just for me. I really enjoy having projects to work on, and something to do to keep busy. If you know me at all, you know I'm not good at doing nothing.

Below are a few completed crafts, and a few teasers of project yet-to-be-completed.

First up, I was recently the Matron of Honor in my friend's wedding. The couple, John and Retha, got married on August 6 at the Burritt on the Mountain (the same place Hubtastic and I got married!). I had a few different tasks for her wedding, including the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids, their guest "book," and assorted other decorations.

Hand-wrapped those bad boys.

Their guest book was actually a matted framed picture from the

day they got engaged. We decided a real book would be too much

since it was a super small wedding- only 30 people invited,

and only 25 people attended.

"M" for Mecikalski.

Retha and John.

Next up is a bunch of decorations I completed for my sister's bridal shower, which is finally coming up next weekend, September 6, in south Florida.

First things first- the GORGEOUS invitations my 

friend Amanda put together for me. My sister loved them.

54 addressed, stuffed, sealed, and stamped invitations.

"Gifts" and "sweets" - two important things at any party.

And yes, I know I look fabulous in these photos.

"H" for Holguin.

In an appropriate Tiffany-blue yarn.

A Breakfast at Tiffany's party isn't complete without a few pearls.

Again, instead of a traditional guest book, I opted for creativity and

dipped big popsicle sticks in [appropriate-colored] paint, for guests

to write date ideas for my sister and her future husband. I'm more

proud of my little chalkboard sign than I should be.

I also bought my sister a tiara and a pack of pearl necklaces she can wear to her party, so she's the star of the show.

Next up- what I've been calling our Country Boxes. I'd been wanting to get some small wooden storage boxes from a craft store, doctor them up, and then use them to store our ticket stubs from tours, plane tickets, pictures, and other odds and ends from our Mediterranean trip. This way, if anyone wants to see our trip pictures, we don't have to make them sit on our couch and flip through 900+ pictures (sorry, In-Laws..). I found exactly what I was looking for, for way cheaper than I was expecting! Aside from $3.99 for each box, everything else I used to pretty them up was stuff I already had (paints, stencils, markers), or stuff I borrowed (sand paper, varnish).

Painted, stenciled. Ready for varnish.

Varnished and looking good.

Filling the Turkey box with our tour handouts, our

tickets to St. John's Basilica, our leftover Euros, and pictures.

Sanded, painted, stenciled, varnished, filled, and ready to be put out.

Not the final location, but the final location from today.

Alright, now a few teasers.

I've been redoing our master bedroom, and bought/made some matching touches for our bathroom as well.

Check out that wonderful dark gray with that vibrant yellow. 

Homemade decorations are the best. The mirror is new, too.

And lastly, a blanket in the works:

This blanket has gone through several iterations, including one that was more than half done. But I didn't like how it was turning out, and I certainly wasn't going to spend anymore time on a blanket I already knew I disliked. So I took it apart and started over, with a new idea.

This happened three times,

Sweet Summertime.

The summer months were fun and exciting. A quick recap below.

The month of May started with our Third Annual 20-30s Group Beach Trip to Destin- always a great time:

(Dewey Destin's!)

(Minus Wade)

(Minus Amanda)

(The Year of the Pirate Selfie)

A few weeks later, Hubtastic and I went to Nashville to see English comedian and transvestite Eddie Izzard:

Lots more where these came from, and yet not one of Eddie Izzard.

And May ended with me going to Atlanta for my now-sister-in-law's bachelorette party. A day spent riding the rides and getting rained on at Six Flags and the evening spent dancing and avoiding weirdos at a club called Opera.

Fanny pack watch 2014. Me, Haley C, the bachelorette Sydney, Amber, and Haley P.

June started with a seersucker bang, thanks for Hubs' new suit.

Check out that sweet bowtie action.

Then on June 4th, I finally certified as a Data Management Coordinator flight controller for the International Space Station! (And got my new car)

If you look closely, you'll see it's not a real car.

The evening (and to be honest, much of the morning and afternoon) of June 6 was spent on/at Ben and Sydney's wedding rehearsal and dinner!

Sisters-in-law: Sarah, Sydney, Faiza, me

Bride and Groom!

Amber and I were sharing a moment, clearly.

Almost all of the wedding party.

My in-laws, the Perrins

Hubs and I!

The next day was spent at Ben and Sydney's beautiful wedding!

A few days later I met my 10th astronaut- Shame Kimbrough. He graduated from West Point in 1989, and spent almost 16 days in space, and almost 13 hours doing EVAs.

Astronaut Shane Kimbrough and I standing outside my work building.

I think the building makes an excellent backdrop for the photo.

Then from June 22- July 5, we enjoyed a trip to the Mediterranean. Details can be found here. Bonus photo:

Enjoying our last breakfast at our hotel in Venice, Italy.

After we got home from our trip, we went to the see the Beach Boys with special guest John Stamos at the VBC!

Hubs and Mike Love

Mike Love and I!

Bruce Johnston and I!

Have mercy.

Oh, hello, Stamos. :)

On July 19, Ben and Sydney invited us out on her parents' boat. I was in the middle of a set of 4 midnight shifts, so I was definitely extremely tired for my shift later that night, but it was so worth it.

A couple weeks later, Hubtastic and I went to the US Space and Rocket Center to celebrate Apollo 11's 45th anniversary! We also happened to meet Astronaut Don Thomas. And a few days after that, I had two crew members visit my work, Astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio.

I skipped a lot of the details because I posted so many pictures, but just know that overall, the summer of 2014 was good to us.