We all need a day off now and then

I've been offline for a few days, taking a much needed breath of literal fresh air in the beauty that is...Door County. Talk about just what the DR ordered! My Dad and his wife have a cottage there, where Ryan, I and the kids have an open invitation. {You can say we're a little spoiled!}

I have some great stories and beautiful pictures of the fall beauty of Northern WI, but will need another day or two to get it all together. I do, however want to show a few pictures I took last week when I was running errands around Sheboygan. I can't say enough how much I love the beauty of fall! In the wise words of my friend Amy as she explained fall to her 8 year old son this weekend: "God could have just made the leaves turn brown and fall off, but instead He wanted to give us a little gift by turning them such beautiful colors first" Oh, Amy, you are so wise!

Angie

New Pics, thanks to Addimae Photography

A dear friend of mine offered to take some pictures for me for my fall collections. How awesome is that??I'd be a fool to say no! I gave her a big ol' bag of bags, and she sent me a message last night. It was 10 pictures that she took, as she was "playing around". 

{swooning}This is why I don't take my own pics. 

My very best pictures don't even look as good as her"playing around" pics! Tomorrow, we have a date to meet at our local historical museum to get some more pictures, which I'll post when I get them.

 She has a great eye for rustic flair, which goes so well with my {modernly-vintage chic-ruffley-pleated- fabulous} style! 

After oohing and ahhing over my pictures, please stop by Addimae's site and check out her work. And I know she'd LOVE to know what you think. Tell her ANGIE sent you ;)

They say real cheese comes from WHERE????

I am a Wisconsin girl, through and through. And the fun excursion my friends Amy, Cara and I took our kids on today proves one thing: THE BEST CHEESE COMES FROM WISCONSIN!!! Cara even had a friend visiting from Florida, who made the trip PERFECT by walking around with her camera on her neck like a real tourist, Lol!

I had been told by a friend that if you ask, they might let you see the factory. So I did...and while they couldn't take us to the room where they make the cheese (sanitary reasons, which I am GRATEFUL for!) but they had huge windows which allowed us to see the process. But our generous tour guild, Kert showed us and the kids an entire tour of the rest of the facility. It was fascinating! I never knew there was a demand for 1200 pound wheels of cheese, but I saw the picture to prove it. The wheel was ordered from Texas. I guess everything IS bigger in Texas!

Here are the kids, the sun was a little high at the time we wanted to take the picture :)

The huge windows and the view into the cheese making room.
That is the back of Kert(on the right), our wonderful, informative tour guide!

We made Will sit in the pictures and go along to the factory, although he is clearly WAY TOO COOL for such things!
From left:Will, my BFF Amy, Aidan,Sabina (those are her three wonderful babies!) then Chloe and Audrey, my two daughters. Oh how I love them all!

Chloe and Audrey showing off their hair nets for the tour.
The kids loved them, they wore them until we got home. NERDS!

These are wooden boxes filled with cheese wheels.
There was a crazy huge amount of cheese in this place!

That is a vat holding a wheel of cheese that is solidifying. Something about the whey coming out...
Kert explained it better than that. And yes, it is bigger than my daughters.

The kids are demonstrating how CHILLY it was in there. Fah-reezing!

These kids love each other so much, I just love this picture.
Oh,Aidan <3 (on the left)

Time to sample! Yummmmmmm. Those are squeaky fresh cheese curds.
They were still warm!

For information on Hennings cheese, check out their website. I honestly love their cheese over any other WI cheese maker. And we have some great ones THE BEST in our state.

Fun day, great place. Finished it off with local ice cream, scooped while we paid for our cheese:) I highly recommend making the trip if you ever get the chance. And anyone who wants to argue that cows are happier in California, please come check out Wisconsin. No question :)

Vintage US Army Fatigues Repurposed

So a good friend  and neighbor of my Dad called me to ask if I'd be up for taking her husbands army fatigues and recreate them into a purse for her. Duh! Of course :) The project was so much fun, and they turned out better than I had hoped. ( I love it when that happens!) When I finally got to meet her, I talked her into modeling her new/old bags for me, so here it is! Such a sport she was. She just may have a new career in modeling....:)

I was able to remove the cargo pockets and use one on the front. I put the name label she found on the flap,
so she can show off  Her Man :) I made the strap long and adjustable, so she can wear it as a purse, or cross body. To get a long strap, I had to piece together many cuts of the pants legs. The seams just give it cool character.

We came up with the idea to take some of the ties off of the pant legs to make a zipper pull.

This is her bags' mini-me. I used the other cargo pocket to make her a small cross body. Perfect for those scooter rides into town. (They live in a resort community in Egg Harbor WI, in the heart of Door County <3  lucky! )

This is the backside of the bag, I have to point out the stitching on the bottom center...I cut it out on purpose, it was a hole on the knee that he must have mended. I figured there was a story to go with it and HAD to include it in the design. Even if there isn't a story, she could probably make one up! Wink,Wink...

I would love to see things that other people have done with Army Fatigues...any ideas???

A few things I feel the urge to buy...

                              [Pumpkin Cheesecake Room Spray...can you say YUM?"]

I have realized that a casualty of my job is that I am always finding things that other people make that I feel like I NEED! Here are a few of the things that I've come across... I linked them to their etsy pages, in case you are tempted too :) Enjoy!

To have a cozy for something that makes me feel, well, cozy, is a must."]
Now I can have tea parties :)"][


If I had an apron that made me look this cute and happy, I'd bake every day!
If my clothes smelled like pears, I'd be a happy girl"
[

Girls Night Out

Last week I stepped out of the realm of comfort, and went as a featured guest at a Womens Gathering. First of all I was flattered that they would invite me, but most of all, I was honored at the opportunity to show my bags to new eyes.  It was so much fun pairing my bags with outfits and accessories from other lines and seeing how easily a quick change of accessories can change your look.  The coordinator had 3 models in basic outfits, and used bags, jewely and shoes to change the look based on their activities.

It was casual, and the ladies were so much fun! I have to admit I was a little nervous, wondering if I'd be able to pull it off, but in the end, I was challenged in a good way, and left that evening able to see my products from a whole new perspective. (a good thing, of course!)

I thought I'd share a few pictures of the night, but I have to apologize, the settings on my camera that night were perfect for up close still shots, but not so great for shots of the models. So I just showed the best ones I had :)

One of my favorite things

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I I am always on the hunt for fun,unique items that make me smile every time I look at them.
Imagine my glee when I discovered wallets that were handmade and whose prints and designs make my heart skip a beat!


After checking out her sites, top to bottom I fell in love!  *innad* became my gift of choice, with my friend and mother in law both recieving one for christmas. And, much to my joy, Danni sent me one as MY christmas gift. Anyone jealous?!?! I asked Danni if she would mind if I "shared" her with my Gathered & Sown fans, and she happily agreed! So here is what I learned about the girl behind the genious....

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Danni has a bachelors degree in textile design from uw-madison. She's been a tailor for over 4 years, and sewing since the 6th grade. She says: "I find my inspiration in Frank Lloyd Wright, Bauhaus, Sanna Annukka, Sam Chivers, anything from Sweden, the 60's and 70's, the list goes on.  Basically anything with clean lines and rounded corners I will like.  Monochromatic color schemes are my best friend!




What is your favorite design?
"I get most excited about pattern.  I see it everywhere.  I especially like patterns that require some sort of cleverness in how it's put together, like tessellations.  (Have you ever seen the carpets in the hotel in the Shining?  AWESOME.) "




What is your favorite tool?
"I don't have a favorite tool because they are all my favorite. What I'm most obsessed with at the present time is my stack paper cutter.  I got it for Christmas and it can slice through a 1/2 inch of paper without hesitation.  It's a nerd thing.  Next item on my list is a corner rounder of the same caliber."




What is " *innad*"?
"*innad* wallets started for me when I couldn't find a wallet that would fit in my back pocket without giving me scoliosis.  So I started making my own.  I don't carry a purse because it's too much of a hassle, so I carry everything in my pockets.  Everything I need fits in the wallet, and it's flat so even though iI sit on it for hours every day, I never notice it's there.  And it looks cool, so it can't be beat!  A lot of people suggest to me "Oh, you should make a wallet with a bunch of dividers and a coin pocket and this and that", but that's not what *innad* is about.  It's about a quick, convenient, simple, great looking wallet.  I used to live by the mantra "fashion over function", but once I got sick of being inconvenienced by bad design, I started making things that were more logical.  *innad* it's a mix of both -fashion and function in perfect harmony.




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To get your hands on your own *innad* wallet visit Danni's Etsy shop at www.innad.etsy.com.
To view her personal portfolio visit www.dannitrester.com.

Danni, (in one of her FAB scarves!!!)
the beauty behind *innad*