Infinity Scarves for Sale!

In January, I resolved to make this a year of simplicity and beauty. I wanted to appreciate and create beauty that is God-given and praiseworthy. In that attempt, I've been busy with my sewing machine and LOVING this new journey to make a little extra for our family by selling handmade infinity scarves! I set up an Etsy shop about a month ago, and you can see my vision for the shop by clicking here.

This is an EXCITING journey for me, because I don't just do this to make some cash that will smash our debt. I do it because it brings life into my heart when I do the things that God created me to do and to enjoy! I've only begun selling scarves and my heart is already happy.

Here are a few of the scarves I am selling. Check out http://www.etsy.com/shop/MrsDahlface for more detailed pictures.

White Chevron w/ Greek Key Stripe

Choose your thread color, or stick with the red and goooooo Cards!!!

Peacock Pastel

Sheer & lightweight.

Aztec Tribal Pattern

It's not authentic Aztec fabric, but... you get the point. Comes in a single loop (top) or double loop (bottom).

Sari Floral Dot

It's made from an authentic Indian sari! Can be made long or short-- you choose!

Graphic Grey

It's super soft.

Homespun Lace

This one is ideal for personalization... let me know how you want the lace to look! No two scarves are exactly alike.

Black & White Stripe

Silky and sleek... I've worn one myself and gotten lots of compliments!

Sari Floral- NO dots

That other fancy scarf made from a sari has silver polka dots... if shiny isn't your thing, try this one that's inside out! While this isn't an awesome picture of it (too much flash), it's one of my favorites.

Teal Pop

This IS available in short and long-- no photo of the long one currently. It's SUPER soft!

Any Questions?

How do I ORDER one of the fabulous scarves?!
If you'd like any of these scarves, you can purchase them and have them shipped through my Etsy shop (here), leave a comment below this blog post describing the scarf you would like, or send me an email/facebook message/write me some snail mail indicating what you would like.

All scarves are $10 flat-- no exceptions!

How will these fabulous scarves get to me?!
If you live in the BG area, I can hand deliver for free! If you live anywhere else, I'll have to ship it to you ($2 for one scarf, additional $1 for any extra scarves you purchase).

I like them, but there's one kind of scarf I've really been wanting. Could you make it for me?!
I'm glad you asked!! I can change the length/width of most scarves, add embellishments, or do something wild and crazy if you ask!! Keep in mind that the price may have to be adjusted if we get too crazy.

What's your email?
emilymdahl@yahoo.com

Why do you do this?
Because I love my husband times infinity. 

A pep talk for my last semester

School starts tomorrow, and I'm sitting here attempting to read each 25-page syllabus/do the readings (who gives homework before classes even begin?!?!), but all I've accomplished is making a pitcher of passion tea and breaking my heart to the sound of Boyce Avenue (just listen- http://youtu.be/GhFSgnvKqm4). Oh well. It is still break, after all.

College has been full of transitions- both smooth and abrupt- and it seems that college students just learn to brace themselves for every jerk of the ride. New friendships blossom at the beginning of every semester, often wilting as soon as someone transfers, graduates, or just plain gives up on school altogether. New dorm rooms and new professors at the start of each year. New freshman to make you realize how old you have gotten (and I couldn't have possibly looked that small and immature when I was a freshman?!...). New classes at the beginning of every semester allow us to pick our new favorite seat and get a new reputation with the professor and the class. You decide your social fate on the very first day of class- if you are talkative and introduce yourself to those around you, you may make new friends to share notes/beg for help/complain about the class with... but if you keep to yourself on the first day, staring at the syllabus on your desk until the professor waltzes in to explain it, you probably will go in & out from class every day without even learning the name of the person next to you. The first day of class is always a new beginning. They are broken up by so many breaks and long car rides up & down I-65 and rolling suitcases and stuff you can pack easily that suddenly... everything begins to seem so temporary. So. Many. Transitions.

The big transitions are coming up for me in just 4 months. I'll be leaving my apartment in Bowling Green which I share with 2 other girls, moving back to Louisville, living with a boy, living in Louisville, leaving my church, leaving WKU, student teaching in JCPS, then getting a big girl teaching job (Lord willing, in January!). Oh my goodness. Suddenly, I want to cherish that 8:00 a.m. class that I have tomorrow morning and the little apartment that I share with my sweet friends. I want to appreciate and find joy in the wedding planning process, and I want to enjoy being engaged until the day that we are married. I want to cherish the time I have left at my precious church, because I'm going to miss it so much when I leave. The last 4 years have been full of so many temporary things that I've dismissed with wishful "If only time could move faster"s and "I can't wait"s. Rather than complaining, I'm praying that the Lord humbles me to realize that my season of singleness is a rare gem that I won't get back come May 19. How will He use me until then?

I am so thrilled to find out how He'll use me as a married woman, but until then... I pray that He'll use me to His maximum potential in the time I have left as a single one.

In the meantime, I'm using this short amount of time I've got left before I get married to learn how to cook- I keep saying I'll do it, but I've put it off. I took a Gourmet Foods class last year, which was a start, but I really am terrible at making food. So go to my "Operation Domestication" page (thank you for appreciating my creative title) to watch the process- I really hope it works out :) ha.

4 months. I'm ready now. Thank you for reading my mental pep talk to go read those syllabi and have a happy heart about it.

Day 26: My dream home

You have no idea how long today's post could get... I obsess over the possibilities for my future home, and it gets ridiculous sometimes! When I made the switch from dorm room to apartment this year, I got so excited to decorate more than just an itty bitty little dorm room, and it definitely fulfilled my hungry expectations (minus the cost of all that pretty home decor that I can't bring myself to buy). And next year, I'll be truly nesting- although we'll still be living in an apartment, it'll be our apartment and I can let myself run wild with ideas of how I can decorate it! Is this too much? I'll stop talking now, and just show you what makes me happy:

I get most of my ideas and things to drool over from Design*Sponge, Centsational Girl, and Pinterest (of course).

My dream home would be a combination of these:



(Blue house, wraparound porch, porch swing, brightly colored front door, lots of trees, etc.)

The inside of the home- a mix of bold colors:



And some light/muted colors:



With some reminders of the outdoors, even when stuck inside all day:



Of course, our future home will probably have those unique characteristics that come with living in a home outside of America... but we can't help but dream, right? :)

Day 20: A hobby of mine

I like to call my hobbies "old lady hobbies" because I don't know many people younger than age 60 who like to do what I do for fun. These hobbies all began when I went to quilt camp (yes, those kinds of camps exist) and created my first quilt. In high school, I worked at the neatest fabric store/quilt shop and learned how to make even more cool things- and I collected a lot of fabric throughout those years! I am most proud of a twin-size quilt I made for my grandparents in high school- each grandkid drew a picture on fabric of an activity they love to do with our grandparents, and I sewed them all together with some fun fabric and gave them the quilt for Christmas. However, on the other end of the spectrum, one of my greatest disappointments in life came when I procrastinated and didn't finish a quilt in time to give to my Memaw before she died- she had asked me to take dresses and pictures of my Granny and sew them all into a quilt for her. I almost finished, but I waited and procrastinated just long enough that she passed away before I could finish- and it still sits in our sewing room at home, pinned together & ready for the 3 layers to be quilted together.

Quilting is a rather expensive hobby, so I sometimes resort to knitting and/or crocheting, but the sewing machine that my Memaw gave me 5 years ago has always been one of my most prized possessions. I'm hoping to learn in the near future how to sew apparel and how to smock (I gotta start on my children's entire wardrobe well before I even think about bringing a little child into the world, right?). Basically I'm just the most domestic diva you've ever seen, right?

Other than that, I occasionally like to pretend like I know how to play the piano or write, but I'm very mediocre at both things and I'll maybe try to improve in those areas when I actually am an old lady and have nothing else to do- but for now, I'll stick with the old lady hobbies I already have :) I'm a little mixed up, aren't I?