Fresh&Vintage

This lil (fabric) piggy went to market...

...this lil (fabric) piggy had fun
this lil (fabric) piggy ate chicken korma
this lil (fabric) piggy could never have none
and this lil (fabric) piggy cried "WAH WAH WAH" all the way home!

You'll please excuse the silly nursery rhyme poetry but I'm still on a complete high from my trip to the International Quilt Market in Portland--I'm hoping my recap and these pictures can capture a bit of why the weekend was so much fun, it's left me singing inside my head.  Seeing old friends, making new friends, hobnobbing  with industry insiders, great food, and unprecedented weather all made the trip to Portland
a time to remember.

Wednesday the 14th:

I left for Portland a few days early so that I could meet up with my lovely friend (you know--the BFF kind of friend) Tara for some much needed girl time. After a bit of a traveler's snafu and missing my plane the first night (ask me later) I arrived in the city of roses around noon on Wednesday the 14th.  Tara had driven down from Washington  so with her car (the red caddy) and her keen navigational skills combined, we were ready to hit the Portland  ground running. After a brief stop at the hotel, we had a yummy lunch of lettuce wraps and ginger chicken at PF Chang's followed by dessert (AKA SHOPPING) at this hot spot. I love that both here in Cinti and in Portland these 2 places are adjacent to each other-what more could a girl ask for?! After shopping we had to head back to the hotel to pick up my cell phone (don't worry Patty-you aren't the only one who left things all over Portland-LOL).  I was expecting phone calls and how can a girl be without her phone these days? Cell in hand, we headed back out for more "dessert" and stayed at the mall until they kicked us out at 9. Joel called as we were leaving and we made plans to meet at the Convention Center the next morning.  I couldn't wait to meet up with Mr. Dewberry (Myrinda would refer to him as the fabric pimp- click on the picture of me and Joel below to enlarge it and you might see the  Fabric Pimp pin Myrinda gave to him--LOL)  anyway----couldn't wait to give him the Zen Robe I'd worked so hard to create with his beautiful new fabric.

Thursday the 15th:

Zen Robe in tote and a few wardrobe changes later, Tara and I headed off to the convention center to meet Joel. What a fantastic moment for me. It was like meeting someone you've known forever--I am so happy to report that Joel is absolutely as beautiful a person as his fabrics are--so genuinely real. Everyone loved him--I still need to tell Joel that the fabric gals decided he is kind of a cross between Rami from Project Runway and Dave Matthews from the DMB. Can you see the resemblance?

After giving Joel the robe, he immediately introduced me to his beautiful and talented mom Donna Dewberry and then made her try the robe on right on the spot-I wish I had pictures-she was so cute in it! Donna was at Market with a booth right next to Joel's debuting her first line of fabric for Westminster.  What a talented family.

Once the robe was settled into its place in the booth, Joel took Tara and I to meet the oh so lovely ladies Heather Bailey and AnnaMaria Horner.  I was so thrilled to meet both of these beautiful women. Their talent is utterly obvious. The nice surprise in meeting people you have admired from afar comes when they are as kind and giving as Heather and AnnaMaria were. Thanks to both of you sweethearts for taking the time to chat with me and for personally showing me your new lines of fabric-wow wow wow!
A Pop Garden Party blinged out in graphic bijoux all the way! Hold on to your hats seamstresses and fabric piggies like me--you're in for one amazing ride when these new collections hit retailers. Here's a peek at Heather and AnnaMaria chatting in the blue ribbon prize winning booth by none other than Ms. Horner.  Congratulations AnnaMaria-you so deserve it.

Tara and I were also privileged to meet Heather Ross-what a sweetheart! I've always wondered how Heather's fabrics can be sooooo soft--you guys notice that too? And ... Jennifer Paganelli  has got to be the most loving person I can think of--I adore her fabrics.  After meeting these fantastic designers, I trudged through the huge convention center to find my friend  Chelsea  who was working on her booth for the debut of her new pattern line. Chelsea's booth looked so alive and inviting-I know she'll be a huge success. Just around the corner,  I then found my friend Sandi and her sweet mom knee-deep in 2x4's,  misty seaglass paint, posters, light fixtures, and clothing designs galore. This gal went all out for the debut of her new fabric and pattern line. It all paid off too because she won 2nd prize overall for the booths in her size category.  I can't believe I never got a picture of Sandi's booth but you can visit her blog to see some as soon as she posts.  The booth was always buzzing with buyers that's for sure!

As I'm writing this I cannot believe this was all just Thursday morning--no wonder I'm singing poetic inside my brain! So...Thursday continued with a little more shopping for me and Tara followed by meeting up to chauffeur Patty and Myrinda to the Fabric 2.0 Meet & Greet at Oba hosted by Caroline  (JCaroline Fabrics) and Kathy Miller (the Miller of Michael Miller Fabrics).  The food was yummy and the company present was "star-studded" for a fabric lover like me.  I was able to meet up with old friends and also meet new ones as well. Here's where the pictures really come into play(click them to see them bigger if you'd like)
hope you enjoy all of these:

Me and Joel

Amelia (Intimate Photography), Daria (Boutique Cafe'), Me, and Megan (Brassy Apple)

Oh how I love these gals. I wish so badly we could have had more time together--Houston baby Houston!

Me and Heather Bailey (talented, kind,  AND beautiful)

Patty (ModKid) and Me

Me and Sandi Henderson (Portabellopixie)

Amelia and Me

My new friend Beth (EPD Dolls) and me. I LOVE this chica!

The gals getting chatty

L to R:
Me,  Sandi, Charlotte Barnard (Deputy Editor-Country Living Magazine), Jona (Fabritopia) and Myrinda (Fabrichound)

Sandi was gracious, giving nice hugs and told me I smelled yummy--thanks girl--wild fig has always been my scent of choice. Charlotte was fascinating and showed interest in my work--how cool to have her at the shindig. Jona was pure sweetness and a dessert party coordinator as well. Myrinda was fun, bubbly and full of information-thanks for livening up the weekend.

To see more great pictures from market and the party at Oba (Thank you Caroline, Kathy, and Sandi), check out these blogs here, here, and here. Ohhhhhhhh----and remember this design of mine? In my post, I drooled all over Tina Givens' fabric I used for "Summer Vogue" and hoped so badly to meet Tina in Portland.  So happy to report I did get to meet her--she is a breath of fresh air--a designer with amazing soul.

There's so much more to share and I still have more pictures to post so I'll add a part 2 to this post in a day or two. Hope you've enjoyed so far. This lil (fabric) piggy is off to get some rest for now :)
Much love, Eva

Going, going...gone to #113

Auctions seem to be a mainstay in my life right now. Not only do I have my entire "Summer Vogue" collection up for auction on e-bay, but I recently spent the morning at a real estate and personals auction here in town. I love the excitement of the bidding process: spying great items, positioning myself (in this case, #113)  whereas to be within sight of the auctioneer but not in full view of my competing bidders, the musical sound of the auctioneer's song taunting onlookers to "go higher," and just the overall fun of the whole experience. When an auction sign showed up in my neighborhood a few weeks ago, I marked it on my calendar in big red letters. Life's just crazy and busy enough, if I don't put it on the calendar--it may not happen. RED means I'm not missing it for the world (my upcoming trip to Portland is totally in RED by the way...but oh how I wax tangential). Anyway, my real estate agent even dropped by my house a few days before the auction  to make sure I was planning to come--she said she'd been through the house and knew that there would be plenty of the vintage goodies that are right up my alley. Boy was she right.

Look at some of my winnings--this amazing silver pitcher, butter dish and tea set, a vintage aqua jewelry case (lined in pink no less) and the most darling petty cash compact were my favorite of the day's booty.

I find myself mesmerized by the age group of auction hounds--they ranged from 18-80  that day. I love communal experiences like this--the ones when the love of something from the past and the drive to find a good bargain build a conversational bridge between young and old. An older gentleman raises this sweet painting high above his head for all the crowd to see and
the bidding begins...

Look how cute this petty cash compact case is. I've been treasure hunting for years in countless antique stores, flea markets, and auctions and this is the first compact like this I've ever seen. I just love it. As I'm writing this I realize I should have taken a picture of the inside--it's so darling. Maybe I'll fill it up with some change and post a picture in a future post. I have to say...this compact got me thinking about petty cash--ohhhhhhhhhhh how times have changed since this little accessory was made. Petty cash used to be made of metal and jingle in your pocket.

These days it all folds. I try to keep some $5's, $10's, and $20's stored around in various places like my desk and the glove box just in case--
I suppose nickels, dimes and quarters just don't cut it anymore, do they!?

Ps. You can find these pieces of my "Summer Vogue" collection by clicking on the picture below.

A Manatee's Metaphor

Don't you just love a beautiful Spring day trip to the zoo? I don't know how I got so lucky when I chaperoned Chloe's field trip to the CincyZoo today,  but the weather was perfect (not too hot...not too cold... no rain!) and the kids in my group were all well-behaved. You parents know that the stars don't always line up so well for days like zoo-day. Many times, if it's not blazing saddles hot and all of the animals are hiding in the shade, then it's raining cats and dogs ( and...who needs to go to the zoo to see those domesticates?) OR a kid or two (or three) are so cranky or hyper, it hardly seems worth paying to GO to the zoo when you brought the zoo TO the zoo with you. (did you get all that?!)

By far, our favorite animals we saw today were the manatees.

This beautiful sea cow gracefully moved through the water and even paused to strike this perfect underbelly pose for me. I think she liked my camera. I must say I'm pretty proud of this shot. I needed to capture a moment of carefree grace with the lens today. Life's been hectic and to some degree a little sad the past few days.
My new manatee friend took me on a metaphorical swim with her today and it was just the weightless feeling I was needing.
Thank you for your graciousness, kind animal.

Chloe and I also stopped to pose with the elephants. She especially loved the baby one and was amazed that a baby of any kind could be so BIG!

If you have a local zoo, I highly recommend taking a Spring visit before the weather gets too hot and the kids (or moms) get too cranky. And...thanks for letting me wax metaphoric with you. I'm feeling pretty introspective these days.

Popcorn Popping and Dr. Oz

I especially love driving into my neighborhood during this time of year. Both sides of the main road are lined with Bradford Pear hybrids and all I can do is sing...
"I looked out the window and what did I see?
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree."

I'm not gonna lie, the blossoms are kinda stinky,
but they are so beautiful to look at
and they mean one thing is certain:
SPRING HAS ARRIVED!
She was a little late in showing up this year
but now that she's here, I'll take
her with arms wide open.

Does spring just seem to bring with it the
desire to get into better physical condition...or what?!
I feel my body saying things like
"please lose a few pounds of winter insulation"
"could you drink more water while you're at it?"
and "hey...get some sun!"
Not sure if it was just a coincidence or if my body
is just determined to win this battle quickly, but
Dr.Oz  came here to Cinti this week and I was lucky enough
to get a ticket (THANKS TRACY--I love you hon!)
to hear him highlight some of
the information covered in his newest book.

Every time I see Dr.Oz on the Oprah show, I feel inspired to take better care of myself. There's something about his honest (and very detailed I must add) way of telling us like it is, that makes me want to eat more healthy.
Now, thanks to a conversation I had with
"the great and powerful Oz" during the seminar, I'm determined to DRINK a lot more healthy as well. I just had to open my big mouth and ask him how bad the DIET soda is that I've been drinking (you know you've been drinking it too, dear reader)  Intellectually, I already knew what his response would be--you know--something along the lines of..."those artificial sweeteners are chemically foreign to the body and therefore NOT GOOD for you at all!" Well, after everything (and believe me there was a lot) Dr.Oz had to say about how bad it is drink too many diet soft drinks, I now have a visceral-level determination to "kick the habit." He felt so strongly about it, he even said he thinks he should answer the question on an upcoming Oprah show. I'm happy to say that since Wednesday when I saw Dr. Oz, I haven't had any diet soda at all and only a few sips of the sugar-filled kind. I've drank about 10 times as much water as I typically have been and it feels really good!

A book signing following the seminar left me with some pictures, a few good laughs with my friends, an invite to come to the Oprah show,
and a signed copy of the new book.

With the Spring sun shining in full force yesterday, I decided to plant a flat of
morning glories in the flower beds out front. I then took my new book to the
front lawn to do a little reading while soaking up a few rays.

All of this and no DIET COKE...
now that's what I call determination.

Office Parties and Girls' Nights Out~WOOHOO!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...well what can I say? There are no words to do this justice...just sweet,
fun in your guts laughter--the kind that makes the world a pretty darn fun place to be:

I am so excited for tonight's return of The Office I can barely stand it. I know I'm not the only one.
What major faux pas will Michael pull?
What practical jokes will Pim (that's Hollywooooooood for Pam & Jim)be up to? Will Dwight kill any small animals and proudly say it was in defense of his great nation?
Will Andy sing a falsetto tune in IGPAY ATINLAY?

Ohhhhhh....as much as it pains me to do so, I'm opting for a little GNO with my homegirls when it's airing and then coming home to watch the new episode on DVR. Although I do love watching The Office with the kids, I really need an uninterrupted viewing for this one.

So, what does being at the office bring to your life? I'm really spoiled I have to admit. Here are some of the most fun things I got to do while "at the office" last year:

Traveling to Utah to the Boutique Cafe' Getaway weekend. I got to meet up with several designer friends; we had a fantastic time. Here's me with my LimeVine colleague Patty of Modkid and Amelia of Intimate Photography.

The year also brought the exciting opportunity to meet Mark Badgley and James Mischka. I was even lucky enough to be asked last minute to be a lead dresser and backstage asst manager for a runway show they did here in Cinti.

Their Fall '08 collection was stunning on the runway. What a blast looking at the collection and discussing it with the Mr.Badgley himself. This was a teeny taste of the kind of OFFICE I'm hoping to spend much of my career in.

Well, I'm off to my GNO. Look at my sweet friends--we get together every week. We have some good times that's for sure. I have to tease them sometimes for being such creatures of habit and insisting to meet at the same place, same table every week.

Being that I'm the creative type, I have to change things up a bit, goose people, rearrange the furniture, you know what I mean?! Anyway, I went out on a limb and broke the mold a few weeks ago. I texted them all, telling them GNO was changed for that night;I was cooking Italian and they'd better come hungry.  We had meatball lasagna with homemade marinara and a huge caeser salad. Everyone was blissfully fine with the change of plans btw.

Oh how I digress....

Anyhoo... are there any other OFFICE PARTIES planned for tonight? Pray tell-- because I'm dying to know who else is obsessed. Bradford's favorite Christmas gift was his Dwight bobblehead after all :)

Webkinz, anyone?

If your kids are anything like my kiddos and their friends, then even after a year and a half, the Webkinz obsession is still alive and kicking in your neck of the woods. Chloe's friend Abigail celebrated her birthday today--and like any 5 year old she wanted 2 things:the tiger snake Webkinz---OHHHHHHHHH----and a

Webkinz birthday cake.

Tall orders indeed!

Being that the tiger snake was already sold out here in Cinti, Abby's mom Tricia hoped to get the cake wish fulfilled and called me to ask for suggestions. A strawberry bundt cake, whipped icing, and a package of Wilton's fondant later, here's what I came up with:

This sweet little pooch is popping out of a fondant gift bag--no worries no icing was touching her pretty coat of white fur :) You should have seen Abby's face when she saw her cake--one of those priceless faces.  Chloe had a blast at the party--her favorite part were the blinged out animal collars made from sparkly pipes cleaners--what a great inexpensive party favor. All of Chloe's Webkinz are iced about the neck in bling and nestled in bed with her tonight. What a fun party. Thanks Abby for inviting us and letting me help make your cake.

Anyone else's kids still loving these furry little tech savvy friends? How many rooms in the mansion? I stopped counting. I do know Bradford purchased a lifetime supply of french fries for his panda bear though--good thing they have no calories. Now you know why my blogging's been sparse--the kids have taken over my computer building up their Webkinz worlds.

Ohhhhhh...and before I forget....better late than never here... the winner of my cupcake bling tee drawing is Megan-woohooo! E-mail me to claim your prize.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd...speaking of cupcakes and having wishes granted, look what's on my Spring '08 wishlist: I want one of these so bad--are they the cutest or what?

Anything on your wishlists? Chloe wants a tiger snake and another pony to add to her collection.