Happy Halloween!

This year's theme for some of the teachers at school was Wizard of Oz!  I think we all look pretty cute!  And if you can't tell the hubby (in the grey) is the tornado.  His costume looks much better with his arms out to the side so you can get the full tornado effect.

Happy Halloween! Don't eat too much candy :)

Fall Pinterest Challenge: Envelope Pillows

It's time for another Pinterest Challenge!  This time I am linking up with Sherry, Katie, Carmel, and Sarah.

I've seen so many cute pillows popping up all over blog land and on Pinterest, so I thought I would whip some up for a Christmas gift.  Dad, if you are reading this, close your eyes!

Here is my inspiration:

                                                                          Source: maillardvillemanor.com via Liz on Pinterest

This seriously has to be one of the easiest sewing projects that I have tackled.  You only have to sew four straight lines!

We took a trip to Ikea last week and one of the new fabrics they have reminded me of some coasters I picked up from a local greenhouse in Michigan.

This super cute fall fabric is from Ikea and runs for $6.99 a yard.  One yard will be more than enough fabric to cover two pillows.

Margareta Fabric

First, cut your fabric to size.  My pillow inserts were 16", so I cut my fabric to a 16" x 36" rectangle.  

Then mark your fabric for your hem and fold lines.  Mark 1/2" from each end so that when you fold your fabric over you have a 1/4" hem line.  Also mark your fabric 10" in on your longest sides so you know where to fold before you sew the sides of your pillow.

Next, hem the two short sides.

Then iron your pillow on your fold lines.

Once you finished ironing, sew down each of the sides with 1/2" seam allowance.  Fold your pillow right side out, and stuff with your insert.

The result is a great looking pillow that was super easy and required no buttons or zippers!

This is what the back of the pillow looks like.  There is about a two inch overlap of fabric so that you cannot see any of the pillow insert.

Hopefully my dad will like them, and they will add a nice touch of the outdoors to his office space!

Half-Marathon: Review

Last week Sunday I completed my first half-marathon!  I never in a million years thought that phrase would come out of my mouth.

I am seriously so proud of myself.  I ran the entire thing, and only wanted to stop running once around mile 9.  My finish time was 2:25:34, which averages out to 11:07 minute miles!

If you have ever thought about running give it a try.  I had attempted to become a "runner" a few times, but always failed.  This summer I thought I would give it another try, and this time I actually stuck with it.  It really help me to have a group of women that were running the half marathon with me because we were able to hold each other accountable and talk about how our running was going.  I seriously started the summer not even being able to run one mile without being winded, and now I can comfortable do about six miles.

I followed the following training guide:

Week	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	3	Rest	3	3	Rest	4	Rest	13
2	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	5	Rest	15
3	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	6	Rest	16
4	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	8	Rest	19
5	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	10	Rest	21
6	4	Rest	5	4	Rest	11	Rest	24
7	4	Rest	6	4	Rest	12	Rest	26
8	4	Rest	5	4	Rest	9	Rest	22
9	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	8	Rest	18
10	3	Rest	3	Walk 2	Rest	13.1 (Race!)	Rest	21.1

This plan comes from this website.  I didn't start using this plan right away, I was running about three times a week for a month before I started.  Once I was able to run three miles without dying, I started to use this plan.

I also cannot stress enough how important stretching is!  Make sure you stretch before and after every run.  When I run on a treadmill I usually walk for about 3 minutes prior to starting any run just to get warmed up, but when I run outside I just start off running.

You can do it!  Just have faith in yourself and keep pushing through, even when you have days where you feel like you just can't run, or you just can't do it anymore.

Here are some pictures on race day:

 Before the race!  We made sweet t-shirts, and our team name was Wicked Wild Women.

 Me and my running buddy around mile 5. Photo credit: Daniel Grossman.

Passing through the starting gate again around mile 10. 

Me after the race!  It was such a great feeling to finish!

Half Marathon

My first half marathon is coming up in THREE days!

It got here so fast it's insane.  Luckily for me I am running with a group of five amazing women who all live here at Cardigan, so hopefully we will be able to motivate each other throughout the race.

We are running in the CHaD Hero Half Marathon, and the money raised in this race benefits the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth.

We will be rocking out in some cool "Wonder Woman" t-shirts that we made just for race day, so stay tuned for pictures!

Be on the lookout for a photo post coming up soon!

Fall is Here!

I love fall!  I used to think I loved summer the best, but I can safely say that fall is my favorite.  When the leaves change colors it seriously makes me so happy.  Fall in New England is pretty cool.  I wish I had a better camera to take pictures of how beautiful things are around here.

Speaking of pictures, I have failed miserably at uploading the ones I took when we were in Michigan a few weeks ago.  Also, my camera is terrible.  I am saving up for a new one and hoping to purchase it around Christmas time!

In Cardigan news, I am no longer teaching French!  That was definitely an adventure though.  Mark was practicing pronunciation with me one day and said that my French pronunciation sounded more like Spanish than my Spanish pronunciation does.

Yesterday in celebration of Founder's Day and Columbus Day the entire school went to the Sandwich Fair.  It's just like the Hudsonville Fair in MI complete with stinky animals, way too much deep fried food, carnival rides, and crafts to look at and buy.  It was a nice break from school though.

I'm running my first half marathon in less than two weeks!  Ahh.  I have been totally slacking on the training though.  Hopefully I don't die.

Now that things have calmed down and I feel like I am starting to have more free time I hope to update more often with real content!