dinner.

so there's this amazing little bakery down in the alley where you can get fresh bread every day. a loaf is 20 kurus (which is seriously way less than 20 cents).

well, if you bring toppings they will put it on for no extra charge. so tonight being lazy i took leftover meatloaf, added some sauce and spices, and brought it down there with a bag of cheese... and this is what i got for 7 lira (which converts to $4.75) basically our dinner tonight was about $12, and there's so much i shared with the neighbors and still have a ton leftover!

this is one of the things i will miss the most about turkey.

turkish bread bowls

not just for bread anymore *lol*

my weekly craft project (from this week!)

okay, here's the purse that i'm working on (with TONS of help from kim and april!)

i think it's coming along really nicely. i still have to sew on the straps and do the inside, but at least you can tell it's really a purse!! yay!! plus, i LOVE this fabric and wanted to use it on something cool. the grey fabric that's on the straps and that will be on the inside is a pair of 50 cent thrift store pants! :)

i also made a cute little fabric ball last night just to see if i could. i'll post pictures of that when i do it again; this time adding taggies to it. it looks a little boring with no taggies.

my weekly craft; from LAST week.

so i'm a little behind with the blogging and trying to catch up!
this was really fun and easy to make:

applique really might be one of my new favorite things!

even the commisary is fun w/ these two! :)

it might surprise you to learn:

i internalize.
A LOT.
i am loud. out spoken. opinionated.
but that's just the slight outer layer.
i am giving myself an ulcer.
doing what's right for you
is easier to imagine
than it is to follow through with.
everyone's got their own agenda.
i don't know why i feel the need to be impressive.

as promised; mersin in pictures.

so fun.

the art of applique...

sometimes i get an idea in my head and i have to craft it. i've been tossing around the idea of appliqueing for a few months now. to the point where i actually had all the supplies; i just needed the proper motivation.
well the proper motivation came in the form of me cleaning my craft room and finding a single onesie that looked so sad and lonely. so while i was watching a really boring movie (at 10 pm) i decided to bust out the supplies...
so i stenciled my design cut it out, found the fabric i wanted, loaded the machine... and then realized that i didn't have an iron!
why, you ask??
well, apparently mine got knocked over about a hundred times and finally just broke. so i had thrown it away. of course these aren't the things you are thinking of at 10 pm when inspiration strikes...
i was tempted to go knock on my neighbor's door, but at this point it was about 11... i didn't want them to think i was more insane than they probably already do (love you kim and glenn!) so i started thinking... was it possible that i had an extra iron stashed away somewhere?? (those of you who know me, know that this is entirely possible...) but no. there was nothing... until i realized what i had upstairs in my bathroom!!
when in doubt people... use your hot iron! that's right, a hot iron for your hair will work as an iron in a pinch... it definately worked better than the crappy iron i had thrown out days earlier!
so, i got my crafting fix in and didn't have to wake anyone up!
i don't have a camera right now, but i will post pictures tomorrow or the next day. i picked a purple skull to put on the onesie. next time i will pick a much simpler design until i get better at stitching. still, thought you might get a kick out of the hot iron idea, and be proud of me for knocking out my crafty goal by tuesday night!

be jealous. very jealous!

i got to ride to mersin w/ a friend today and eat lunch at the hilton.
it was so fun to have a grown up day!
i'll post pictures when i get my camera back :)

ps. i'll have you know that turkish people think it's hilarious that i take pictures of my food!

you might just live in turkey...

if your kids wear knit hats and eat freeze pops.

ps. dirt just makes her cuter so don't be a hater ;)

today we went to the fabric store...

and this is what it looked like:

five floors of fabric fun and a dolmus ride to boot :)

good times!!

when it's okay to play with your food...

you know, lately i've been totally neglecting one of my favorite things!

CRAFTING!

so in an effort to reconnect with some of the things i love, i'm setting a goal for myself; one new crafty item a week.

i've printed out a few fun tutorials and have decided to start the first one this week!

here's my first effort at felt food:

i actually have a second one half finished w/ blue "sprinkles". i'll post that one after i finish sewing it.

and here's michael and mae enjoying the fruits of my labor *lol*

untitled.

i don't know how not to get involved.
i don't know how to not wear my heart on my sleeve.
how do people live their lives without caring?
i get emotionally invested and then immediatley...
well, months later perhaps,
regret taking people at face value.
i hate being judged,
yet judge people for being so...
so something.

wordless wednesday.

what i have learned.

people hate change. i grew up believing that i did too. the last two years have taught me that not only do i NOT hate change. but i actually crave it.
i have spent a lot of my life being afraid to try new things. i worry about what people will think and what people will say. but really? i think most of the time people are so wrapped up in their own buisiness and/or insecurities that they don't have the time to really worry about critiquing us. and even if they do, i have finally reached the point in my life, where i just can't care. caring about what other people do and say is just exhausting.
sometimes the biggest decisions are the hardest to make. but they are also the most important. i need to do what is right for me.
here lately i feel like all my blogs are saying the same thing indirectly.
so in a nutshell:
life is short, you don't always have time to wear pants.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS???

my 300th post! holy cow! i talk a lot, right?
well, here's the deal. if you leave me a comment on this post, i will send you something cool in the mail! that's the deal :) just leave me a comment and your e:mail, and i will get in touch w/ you for your address! who can resist free stuff?? ;)

doubletalk.

"we are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those that we do not care for."

the only power that people have over us, is the power that we give them. why do we live in a world where we let other people's opinions dictate us?
while i do think that we have a moral responsibility to do what's right, why do we get so engulfed in what other people think?
if you're going to be brave enough to do something or act a certain way, you should at least be brave enough to stand behind your decision. i think that we just do things because we think that no one will call us out on it, and then when they do, we backtrack or make excuses or point fingers in other direction.
i am far from perfect. i make mistakes. i say things i shouldn't. but i want to at least be the person who is willing to say, "yeah, i did that." and when i'm wrong, i should be strong enough to apologize.
it's natural to want to nurture. to want everyone to love you. but realistically, not everyone will. at the end of the day, i just want people to know that i am the person that i say i am.
some days being the "bigger" person is exhausting.
some days you stoop to other people's levels.
some days you realize that not everyone wants to be saved.
some days you have to close the door and realize that there is no window.
and today i can't be honest enough.