Honeymooning...

In September, my oldest son married his high school sweetheart.

They had a beautiful garden style wedding at our local city park. We could not have asked for a more perfect day.

The bride wanted a beach wedding, but since that was NOT going to be possible, they decided to take a cruise for their honeymoon. The groom's mother's parents already had booked a cruise to the Bahamas, as did the groom's parents. The bride and groom decided...what the heck, and so booked the same cruise.

We all had a blast!

The day before we boarded the ship, I took them out to the beach and we did a wedding photo shoot. It was a bit on the windy side, and a little bright, but I did manage to get some cool shots.

The first day of our cruise started out at a snail's pace, as we were about four hours late leaving port, but that was ok, we were in not hurry to go anywhere.

We went to Freeport; Half Moon Cay; and Nassau, Bahamas. I do believe everyone's favorite place was Half Moon. We could have stayed the entire five days of cruise there.

But, alas, it was time to say our thank yous to the crew and be on our way.

I do have to mention, though, that Thirty One made this trip easier for all of us in the group. Boarding the ship, I took the gray purse and purple bag shown in the photo above. Both are cross body, so I was hands free! One bag was to my left and the other to my right, lol

 As you see here, four of us took our Cinch Sacs. Two of the patterns you see in this picture are not available, but there are a lot of new cool patterns they come in. A couple of the bags you see in this picture have been on a couple of cruises and other trips, and still look brand new.

 I also took this great collection...again in an old pattern, but they have been on many trips and look brand new. The big bag I put my shampoo, lotion, etc in it, the turquoise bag had all my makeup, and then the long bags I had my flat iron.

We all had a great time, and talk of the time we will do this again.

Maybe next October...?

If you are interested in any of these or other bags from Thirtyone Gifts, let me know. My Facebook is Wonderful World of Bags, etc... My email is wonderfulworldofbags@yahoo.com, and you can see my website at mythirtyone.com/terryjeanettecarter

FUN IN THE SUN!

Less than nine days from right now I will be on a cruise ship with some of my family. Since the last time I cruised, I have become an independent consultant for a company that has some very nice bags. I have accumulated quite the collection and people have asked me if I plan to use any of them on our trip.  Well of course I am...and here is what I plan to take.

When you first board the ship, you will need your purse and some sort of carry on. I am bringing my Organizing Shoulder Bag in gray. I've added a pop of color by tying a pink scarf from Thirty One onto my purse. The pretty purple bag is one of the newest called the Retro Metro Fold Over in Plum Awesome Blossom. I just got it and am excited to use it. I can use both these as a crossbody, so I will be hands free! There is plenty of room for all our basic needs in the Retro Metro Fold Over. Since I can carry my husband's AND my stuff, he can just carry my camera which is in a backpack...both of us will be hands free !!! 

I love my Timeless Memory Pouches (Pink Pop Medallion and Best Buds prints). I use the larger bag to put my shoes in. They each hold two pair of shoes. I won't need the smaller pouches that come with the set for this trip. By the way, these have been used quite a bit, and have held up nicely...they still look new!

This next set was a hostess exclusive at one time. You can't get the Island Demask pattern anymore, but you can still get the Cosmetic Bag Set and the Flat Iron Case separately in other nice prints. I have used the heck out of these and they still look brand new. The biggest bag in the Cosmetic Bag Set has all my hair care stuff, lotions, soap, razor, etc. The smaller bag has all my makeup in it and fits right in the bigger bag, along with all the other stuff in it. They are both a very nice size.

Here is another bag I have used A LOT!!!!! It is the Retro Metro Weekender. Again, it is in the Island Demask, which they don't have. But they have some nice prints available. I love this bag. We will be in Florida a few days before we get on the boat, so I plan to put all the stuff I need (clothes, etc) in this bag. I will probably empty it out and fold it up for later use on the cruise. One does have to do some shopping while on the islands...right? And this bag would be great to put all my excess stuff in it that I accumulate on this trip.

The Large Utility Tote is another great bag! Again, in Island Demask, which they don't carry...can't you tell, I really liked that print, lol.  Anyway, I am taking some Christmas gifts for the family with me, and they will ride in this guy. 

While on the ship, I really don't like to carry a purse, so the Cinch Sac is going to come in very handy. We have a day at the ship's private Island, and I plan to carry this bag along with the Medium Thermal Zipper in Plum Awesome Blossom. I can carry a water bottle and maybe a protein bar. Probably won't need the bar, but since I do have hypoglycemia, I need to have something...just in case.  The thermal bag will keep my water cold and my protein bar from melting while on the beach. The Cinch Sac is in the old Flip Flop pattern which they no longer carry. 

Oh, I just about forgot about my wallet. I love this wallet. It's like a little file cabinet. It has two areas for your cards and money, and in the middle is a zipper coin area, and it all zips up nicely together. 

Maybe this time, I can mark something off my bucket list and go horseback riding on the beach. Doctor wouldn't let me do it last time, since I had just gotten out of the hospital.

Or maybe I'll just be lazy like last time. Lazy is nice...

If you are interested any of these bags or other bags that this great company has, check out my website at

mythirtyone.com/TerryJeanetteCarter

facebook at Wonderful World of Bags, etc...

or emal at wonderfulworldofbags@yahoo.com

Ordered My Dulcimer!

I went to my dulcimer group last night...

When I was about 10, I took guitar lessons, other than that....I'm not very musical; except...I can dance.

Some of my friends and I have been attending this group for several weeks.

We've also shopped around for dulcimers and have learned A LOT!!! One...they can be very expensive...and two, you don't want to go too inexpensive, because they are just not fun to play on.

Last night I played on one that I really liked, so I found out where the lady got it, and today...I ordered me one! 

It is from the same company as this one pictured above, and is made of quartersawn sycamore and will have butterflies with morning glories on it.

I should be getting it mid next week! I can't wait!!!

Only Four More Days!!!

We are at four days and counting, yep, only four more days until the wedding!

Starting to pack up the bags and boxes...decorating day is in three days...YIKES!

Sure glad I've got my Thirty One bags, they hold A LOT!!! I have some bags with old patterns, and some new patterns too...in fact...you see that owl pattern? Well, it's not even out yet. I am thinking it will be coming out in November.  All you owl fans, I know you will love this bag.

Anyway, as you can see we have A LOT of stuff. This is just a fraction of it all. Decorating is going to be fun, and I really do mean that. I am grateful though for all my friends that are coming to help. There is no way I could do it without them!

Well, stay tuned for more pictures and updates of the wedding....

Boil Them Cabbage Down!

Do you know what this is?

http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Kentucky/instrument_dulcimer.html

Well, it is the state of Kentucky's musical instrument, and I learned to play it last night; well, I took a lesson.

It is called a dulcimer.

I love music, but when it comes to learning to play an instrument...well, I just have never had much luck. Growing up, I remember visiting my grandparents in Southern Colorado. Grandma had an old antique piano that I loved to bang on (as my dad would refer to it as). I never learned to play, but I did pick some songs out. The highlight of our visit was to get Grandma to play chopsticks. She would only play it once; it was the only thing she knew how to play. She would put everything into it, all 5 feet of her, and it sounded great!

Here is what it sounded like...minus the chopsticks...

When I was 12, I took guitar lessons...I was not very successful; I did learn a few songs, but was never good enough to perform.

When my kids started taking piano lessons, I tried to learn right along with them, with zero success. The boys lost interest once they started high school. My daughter, well, she is actually pretty good...she plays at church.

Last night when my friends and I went to dulcimer lessons, I really didn't know what to expect. It was actually quite easy. One does not need to know how to read music. If you can count to 12, well, you can play the dulcimer. I was able to pick up one song pretty well. It was called Boil Them Cabbage Down. 

Here is what it sounds like. Of course this is a much more advanced rendition of the song.

I think because of my dance background, I could actually learn to play this instrument. You need to be able to hear and feel the rhythm which I can, and you don't need to be able to ready music, which I cannot.

I guess I'll go back next week and try it again.

Hillbilly Wine Glasses

We are at 17 days 'til the wedding! I think we are pretty much done, except the food and little things here and there. 

Since the colors are pink and green and mason jars are being used in the decor, the bride decided to also use burlap and lace. She also saw some cool looking "wine" glasses. We figured we could make them. So we got a couple of medium size mason jars, and couple of candle sticks. You can usually get these at the dollar store, but I had a some on hand that I've had for over thirty years. Probably used them once; I decided to donate them to the cause.

We bought some burlap ribbon and found this cute flower trimming...perfect!

The bride found this cute key chain with "Two Peas In A Pod" that I dangled off the candle stick after I wrapped the stem in hemp.

And this is what the "wine" glass turned out to look like. Now I had to do something for the groom that wasn't so feminine.

I changed the hemp up a bit.

Found some rick rack and added some white and pink buttons I had on hand, and went to gluing. After everything dries, I need to clean up the glue mess a bit.

And there ya have it....two "Hillbilly Wine Glasses..." Now all I got to do is get some sparklin' cider. 

More Fun Wedding Stuff

So, what do you think I did with these?

I made a hillbilly wine glass out of them. This one is Anna's. Tomorrow, I will make Miles'.

Guess what I'm going to do with these?

Stay tuned to find out!