nanandbags

Must have Monday -TIME

Sorry folks - I am on a mission to finish my Halloween quilt(sneak peak pictured) within 4 days & I have 4 more panels to stitch& I am not even talking about the quilting part! So my must have Monday item is TIME. Lol. I look at 'time' as a double edged sword. On one side I want 40 more hours in a 24 hour day & on the other hand i can't stop time. Having "time" to hang with friends/family, finish a quilt, have more time with your Hubby is something so precious. Not to get all sappy on ya but i need to misalign a Ferris Bueller quote-'make sure you stop and look around once & a while or time will just pass u by'! And yes I am writing this at 12:15 AM. So the moral of this MHM? Make time! Hugs xo nan

PPP

Pugs, pumpkins & Pink. Best weekend EVER!!! Hugs- Nan

Quess what?

I AM GOING TO SEE PINK IN CONCERT THIS WEEKEND! OMG! OMG! Dudes. this is the first REAL concert I have ever BEEN TOO. How SAD is that. ENJOY!

FULL SCREEN hosted by playlive.fm

Must have Monday - Flip Video

Best digi Video ever. FLip

I mean -where else can you hold this in your pocket and capture funny stuff like this?

Also you can design your own cases. SWEET.

 Also I highly recommend the gorilla tripod

Or the Gorilla Mobile

Or the Gorilla Torch..

PS CONGRATS TO JULIE!  Tell me which  Tshirt you want woman! :) Thanks for sharing my link!

Btw - look for Aine's Picture on Rotary Club of Palatine Oktoberfest 2009 by this Thursday.  I was told she was going to be in the Daily Harald newspaper. She was such the hit! It was so funny because people were posing with her,posing with me -it was just way to fun!

*gobsmocked*

Because this is in going to be in PHILLY and I AM GOING IN NOVEMBER!!!

From October 2 through December 31, 2009, the National Constitution Center will host Diana: A Celebration

. This international blockbuster comes to Philadelphia for the first time, showcasing the life and work of the Princess of Wales.

Nine galleries showcase the life and legacy of Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales. This award-winning exhibition offers an intimate glimpse into her childhood, her engagement to HRH Prince Charles, their fairytale royal wedding, their children and Diana's tireless charity work.

OMG OMGOMGOMG OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

I have seen the gowns that she sold but I was never able to get to Althrop her anscestoral home.

But really you know what the icing on the CUPCAKE IS? 

I GET TO SEE  MY BESTIE T!!!!  Treena I can't wait to see you!!  

Okay I am off to have celebretory icecream. :) Hugs! Nan

Meet Eddie Jack and RAK

New to The Portobello Road Etsy Shoppe! 

Meet Eddie Jack, your vampire sewing pumpkin. He is friendly, he is funny, he fits in the palm of your hand. He comes from a town called Forks via Chicago. Don't worry, you wont hurt him with any pin or needles, nor can you tear his head off. He is needle felted baby, that means he is made of 100% wool roving.

Unfortunately, he doesn't glitter like diamonds in the sun. Sorry. 

Eddie can be purchased any where in the world, in order to equip his Volvo correctly, please contact me if you need to purchase this overseas. 

He is approximately 1.5 inches high x 2.5 inches wide, with black eyes and very sharp teeth like fangs. 

Are you his Bella?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

To celebrate Eddie's creation, I am giving away one of the XL tshirts I got at Renegade. 

Please link my blog/etsy shop to your blog in either  a post and comment back and I will have the randomly generated thingy pick a winner!  Heck, if I get more than 15 - 20 mentions/comments? I will throw in another Tshirt. :)   The two tshirts I am giving away are the purple/grey with birds on them.  Sorry the sewing one is staying. :)  BTW folks that IOU the material RAK -  they are packed up and ready to GO with some extra goodies. :)

Thanks in advance for supporting me!  Hugs! Nan and Aine.

20 things to get before your 40 and 20 things I learned before 40...

I can't get to sleep... even though I have to be up in 5 hours...So I thought this would be fun. :) 

20 Things To Get Before You're 40

(stolen from Hey Jen Renee  my comments in (parenthesis))

1) A DEAD-SERIOUS PIECE OF TIMELESS CLOTHING  (I wouldn't mind a custom Chanel suit...)
Marie Claire recommends: The YSL tux for women. yes, at $3560, it costs the equivalent of 350 pairs of leggings, but it will outlive them by several decades.

2) A LOOK (This is an interesting thought -I have two *looks* one for work (all black -it is slimming!) that makes me look *you must take me seriously* type of look. The other, crafty look. It is a cross between Anglophile and Anthro. Unfortunately, I want the british body of all legs and no boobs. *sigh* dunno if this will happen. 
You're not Madonna; enough already with the bimonthly reinventions. Are you a Dietrich throwback? A reconstructed punk? Figure it out and shop accordingly.

3) A PIECE OF ART (check  - My hubby got it for us when we were dating.)
Yes, the birch trees in that framed Ansel Adams poster are v. v. haunting, but consider an investment piece with which to start an actual art collection. Living artists cost less; how about a Cecily Brown print or a limited-edition Tom Sachs multiple?

4) A FIRST EDITION . . .(check)
of To The Lighthouse, the ur-Woolf.

5) FANCY LUGGAGE (A MATCHED SET, PLEASE) (hmmm i doubt I will make this one)
No more schlepping through airports with midcentury Samsonite. MC recommends: Gucci¹s new Guccissima line, which makes the goofball trolley look like a major style statement ($3350).

6) ENLIGHTENED ( I wouldn't mind meeting him!)
Go see the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. For his schedule, visit www.dalailama.com.

7) A FINANCIAL ADVISOR (check and than booted because I couldn't deal with the fees!)
No, the hedge-fund dude one stool over doesn't count.

8) A MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP (check)
Whether it's the Met, the Getty, or the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia, it's time to earn some culture cred. take your place on the gala circuit - perfect for that YSL tux.

9) A MAMMOGRAM(check)
Enough said.

10) A GOOD CAUSE (check)
Stop considering yourself your own favorite charity. Amnesty International? Oxfam? Amfar? Then get your new financial advisor to determine what chunk of every paycheck you can commit.

11) A REAL WATCH (check - but my ESQ is on its last legs I fear)
No, you can't wear rubber on your wrist with the YSL tux. MC recommends: the Cartier roadster ($3,950). Mechanical movement with automatic winding that works off the heat from your skin. Kinky...

12) A BIG-ASS TV (check - but big for me is 36 inch. lol)
MC recommends: Philips 50-inch ambilight, $3999. Hello, size queen.

13) A SMARTY-PANTS SUBSCRIPTION (check -  vanity fair I believe is readable as well as fanned-out-worth for said coffee table)
Foreign Affairs, The American Scholar, The Economist. To be read, not fanned out on the coffee table.

14) A SERIOUS RIDE (unless I win the lotto this will never happen - I think my grandpa car saved me from a neighborhood thief -hand to GOD. I just found out about this - seriously loads of people got busted this past weekend. However - if i COULD afford one? I guess a range rover, or an MG or a really nice jag... or a smart car OR a Mini... can you see a theme? Cute and British.)
Adieu, Budget! MC recommends: the Cadillac XLR roadster, $78,495. Not your daddy's Caddy, trust us.

15) AWAY (hmm dunno about this. My neice is currently in South Africa and oh the stories she tells)
Forget the brocade cushiness of the European capitals. Whether it's overnighting in a ger in Mongolia or experiencing Vietnam before Mcdonald's takes over, enjoy a soul-expanding, life-changing Third World vacation.

16) SOME CLASSIC CDs (check)
Verve just released the to go series featuring discs of Coltrane, Ella, Billie, and seven others. Buy all 10.

17) SOME CLASSIC DVDs (check - I think Ferris Bueller counts ;))
Try MGM's Billy Wilder Collection: everything from The Apartment to Some Like It Hot. In terms of classy wit, makes The Devil Wears Prada look like Loony tunes.

18) A DECENT CUP OF COFFEE (I think this would be way fun - but I am still hoping for a Kitchen Aide Mixer. :) Or a copper pan. Or a french casserole dish thingy. 
Wake up and smell it. MC recommends: the Illy X1 Francis Francis! Espresso Machine ($800)


19) A DESTINATION HAIRCUT  (unless it is serious extensions - not gonna happen)
Whether it's Leonor Greyl in Paris, or Chris McMillan in L.A., spend serious bank, at least once, on something crazy-chic.

20) OTHER THINGS TO GET?   Let's change this to 20 things I learned before I was 40. 

1. I believe you should travel to a place you really love *check*
   
2. I believe you should do what you love. *check*
   
3. I believe that supporting yourself, a family and a hubby is something that is so hard to comprehend, especially when you are doing the supporting * check*
   
4. I believe Caregivers have the hardest ever job in the world. 
   
5. I believe education is something you didn't know, you didn't know.
   
6. I believe that sometimes you need to tell your family to go pound sand and sometimes you have to tell them that a 1,000 times before they get it. Be patient, Change is slow - especially with your family. :)
7. I believe that sometimes, people just have to be mean because they don't know any better.
8. I believe that even though I am a big girl size and I may be hitting 40 in the next 2 years, I am a 20 year old at heart and in mind.
9. I believe that one should never lie. It is hard to track the lies you say, hence be truthful. 
10. I believe Cameron Frye summed up the following perfectly:  Cameron: I am not going to sit on my ass as the events that affect me unfold to determine the course of my life. I'm going to take a stand. I'm going to defend it. Right or wrong, I'm going to defend it. 
11. And I believe that sometimes you shouldn't be a Cameron : Ferris: [describing Cameron's house] The place is like a museum. It's very beautiful and very cold, and you're not allowed to touch anything.  - hence my home is warm and inviting.
12. or  Pardon my French, but Cameron is so tight that if you stuck a lump of coal up his ass, in two weeks you'd have a diamond. -hence you should always be generous.
13. You be with the one you love
14. I believe that picking the battles to fight is sometimes the hardest thing to figure out, but once you do, it is the easiest battle to fight because you know your goals.
15. You should vote for what you believe in, not what people want you to believe in
16. You should always think of the bigger picture.
17. A job is just a job, even if you love it. *check*
18. Hence you should do your best at your job every day but also focus on your LIFE outside of your job as well. Basically life and work has to be balanced in order to have a sane life. 
19. Know your limits and stick to them.
20. And Finally I believe that (to steal a phrase from my favorite movie :) ) 

 Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. 

What do you believe in?  Hugs Nan

Must Have Monday - excitement

I am very excited about these two areas - Fall movies - especially New Moon and PINK. I love Pink and would love to see her in concert. I just have to figure out if she is coming to chi-town. Of course confession time here - I have only been to one concern in my life - and that was pretty lame. I know! Scarry ain't it? What are you excited about?! Nan

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

and I am fastly becoming a Pink fan

Renegade 2009

Was crowded and vast

With beautiful animals to see (Maude from The Paper Doll)

and I spent way to much  on

stuff for me

and stuff for Aine...

  

and I finally got to meet Elsie!  I look like hell - it was a wee hot out - but she looked gorgeous as per usual!  Very very fun meeting her and running into some of the Fgirls at SIStv!

Thank you so much Cricket for coming with me! It was wayyyy to much fun. We need to get back to Small Bar very very soon so we can continue to solve the worlds problems. :)

I am now going to tuck into a cupcake from Spirtz.  Hugs - Nan and Aine.

Please winter, come very very soon

Happy mail to the extreme! Sock dreams uber package of arm warmers & over the knee socks of goodness! I love these fingerless gloves- they so help my tuckered fingers so much- I am just gobsmocked. Never ever would have thought it at all. Thank you Victorians for the best invention in fashion. I also bought two more woolie sleeves but may have to buy some more! I wonder if I could wear these during work? Hmmm Next up KNEE HIGH BOOTS THAT FIT ME !!!!! *flails* Yea for happy day of goodies!!!