~ 8 Things ~

So I know I said I was going to take a bloggy break, but Rhonda at Down Memory Lane tagged all of us with this fun little questionnaire and I just have to do it! I really should be packing, but taking 15 minutes to do this shouldn't set me back too much. :o)

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:

1. Going to Vegas next week.
2. Moving into our adorable new house.
3. Getting my new puppy! I talked to the breeder this week and she's expecting the mama to deliver very soon. I can't wait to bring my Daisy home!
4. Getting the Zumba DVDs I just bought on ebay in the mail. I love doing aerobics at home and am looking forward to trying something new.
5. Taking dance classes again with my sweetie. We need to get him all caught up with me so we can start going out dancing more. (I used to compete in ballroom and salsa dancing and really miss it ~ it'll be so good to get back into it.)
6. Expanding my business to include more wedding accessories and hair clips.
7. Paying off my student loans.
8. Getting married and becoming a mama (of course, this probably won't happen for years, but I'm still looking forward to it!).

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant ~ Skipper's! ~ with my family.
2. Had a completely free food day. I snacked on my favorite cereal ~ Special K Chocolately Delight ~ all morning, had peanut m&m's this afternoon, ate greasy fish for dinner followed up with a dipped cone at Dairy Queen, and then finished off the day with buttery popcorn and Mike & Ike's. Back to eating healthy today. :o)
3. Worked on updating my website ~ http://www.sugarplumgarters.com/
4. Snuggled with my sweetie while we watched Seven Pounds on the couch.
5. Caught up on almost everything I had to do at work.
6. Rejoiced when I heard that Baby Stellan was moved out of the PICU and has had very few bouts of SVT over the past few days.
7. Mourned when I heard of the Spohr family's loss.
8. Emptied the dishwasher for one of the last times ~ our new house doesn't have one!

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Lose the ten pounds I've been trying to lose for the past year.
2. Quit my day job and put all my focus on my garter business.
3. Go ballroom/salsa/country dancing 3+ nights a week ~ when I was right out of college, I danced that often and was in the best shape of my life ~ I never even had to go to the gym!
4. Fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow instead of laying awake for hours worrying about how tired I'm going to be in the morning.
5. Adopt a kitty or two in addition to my puppy.
6. Hire a maid so I can have the clean house I want without having to do the work. (I am incredibly lazy when it comes to house work!)
7. Find a church that my boyfriend and I can both call our church home.
8. Spend a few months traveling. Our must~see spots include Italy, Greece, and Australia.

8 Shows I Watch:
1. Big Love
2. Heroes
3. House
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Rock of Love (I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I watch this ~ we watch it every Sunday with Little Brother and his girlfriend. I probably wouldn't watch it otherwise, although there is something remarkably addicting about trashy reality television.)
6. Castle
7. Brothers & Sisters
8. Ugly Betty

I would like to tag anyone who would like to join in the fun!

Have a fabulous weekend!

~Heather

A Bloggy Break

With everything that's going on right now, I've decided to take a little bloggy break. Work is crazy, we're spending four days in Vegas next week, and we start moving a week from Monday (and I have only done a minimal amount of packing so far). Needless to say, I have much to do that takes a slight priority over blogging! (Although I really wish it didn't ~ I love to blog!)

Just wanted to explain my absence in advance!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Easter

We're midway through the week once again and it's time for Wordless Wednesday! This week's topic is Easter.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

~Heather

Favorite Thing of the Week ~ Pincushions!

I have fallen in love with pincushions, and they are officially my favorite thing of the week! I did a little searching on Google and Flickr and here’s what I found!

I think it may be time for me to start making/collecting these adorable and functional little sewing tools. The red strawberry is my favorite ~ which one do you like best?

Happy Tuesday!

~Heather

Friend Makin' Mondays ~ Things That Really Fuzz Me Up

This week for Friend Makin’ Mondays, Kasey has asked us to share five things that really fuzz us up. So without further ado, here are five things that really get my goat:

1. Dishes left in the sink by individuals who have no intention of washing them or putting them in the dishwasher at a later time. This is equally irritating at home and in the communal kitchen at work.

2. Bad customer service. If you expect a tip from me, you’d best be nice and bring me my food in a timely fashion. It doesn’t take that much more energy to be kind than it does to be rude. And please don't make me wait too long to eat when I'm really hungry!

3. Women who aren’t respectful of existing relationships and try to steal another girl’s man. We need to stick together, ladies! Some men may be scummy cheaters but we don’t need to aid and abet them in their misdeeds!
4. Drivers who tailgate. If I’m going the speed limit or a few miles over it (as I tend to do), getting on my tail isn’t going to do you any good. It’s only going to irritate me and make me slow down so I can irritate you!

5. Coworkers who come into my office and leave a drawer ajar after pulling something out of one of my file cabinets. I know that in the big scheme of things, this isn’t a big deal but I find it so annoying and I can’t focus on my work until I get up and close the drawer!

Visit Kasey's blog to join in on Friend Makin' Mondays!

Have a wonderful day!

~Heather

A Little Background on {Sugarplum} & a New Blog Name!

I thought I’d offer a little background on the “Sugarplum” in my business name and blog title in case anyone is curious. :o) (I know that I always wonder how others came up with their blog or business names!) I danced from the age of four all through high school and college, and for three years in high school, I danced the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy in my studio’s production of “The Nutcracker.” I started using “sugarplum” as part of my email address during my senior year of high school and got in the habit of using it as my username for various logins when I didn’t want to use my name. When I decided to start my business, “sugarplum” seemed like the natural choice for a name. I did consider names that might sound more wedding~related, but in the end, decided that a name that was unique to me and my past was best.

I’ve been contemplating changing the name of my blog for awhile now. When I first started blogging, I thought the majority of my posts would be related to my garter business ~ hence the name “Sugarplum Garters.” But as I’ve become more and more addicted to the wonderful world of blogging, my posts have become far more about me and my life than about garters. So without further ado, here is my blog’s new name ~ Visions of Sugarplums!

I’ve decided to keep “Sugarplum” in my blog’s name for a couple of reasons, the most prevalent being that it will make for an easier transition from my previous name. I am also in the process of expanding my business to include other bridal accessories as well as a line of little girl hair clips and bows that I plan to sell under the name “Sugarplum Cuties.” As I add more to my inventory, I will probably change my business name to “Sugarplum Garters & More” or something similar, and would like my blog title to still tie in somewhat with my business name.

Enough of my rambling! Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!

~Heather

Fabulous Finds Friday ~ April 3rd

Whoo hoo! We made it through another week! It’s been a busy one for me, and the weekend will be even busier ~ we’re packing for our big move, meeting an estranged family member for dinner, and DJing at an old classmate’s wedding. But that’s not important right now ~ what is important is that it’s Friday and that means it’s time for FABULOUS FINDS FRIDAY!

I am in no way a foodie ~ I’m one of those weird people who could eat the same meal every day for years and be completely content (of course it would have to be a meal I love such as fish from Skippers, Pasta Roni’s Shells and White Cheddar, or our favorite dish ~ chicken and rice with white sauce, which I discussed here ~ it’s number 6 if you want the recipe!). I’m a pretty picky eater and am in no way brave when it comes to trying new things, so I find it pretty humorous that many of my Fabulous Finds Friday posts include some sort of food item. And this week is no exception!

While doing our weekly shopping, I decided to venture out from my normal cereal selections of Kix, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Special K Chocolatey Delight (which, by the way, is a fabulous snack sans milk) and bought some Kashi Go Lean Crunch! cereal. I’ve been eyeing Kashi brand products for awhile now ~ I’ve heard they are very healthy and tasty, and I have to say that I was not disappointed with their cereal. It’s delicious, much more filling than Kix, and makes for a great way to start the morning out right because if FEELS healthy. If you haven’t done so yet, get some and try it!
I ran across these adorable kimono baby shoes while searching for sewing patterns ~ perfect for the little one in your life! The shape of them reminds me so much of chubby little baby feet. Here's the PDF. Go forth and make cute little shoes for your babies!


I may have developed a love for pincushions ~ isn't this one by Heather Bailey cool?!? I love that it's a different shape than normal pincushions, and you could do so much with different ribbons and fabrics to make it your own.

That's it for this week's post ~ it's been a busy busy week and I didn't have quite as much time as usual for random Internet searching. :o) Have a fabulous weekend!

~Heather