Thank you, Google!

I'd like to give a shout out to Google. Today I was thinking that Google has been doing pretty well for me lately so I decided it deserved a thank you. And how often does it ever really get thanked? Whenever a question pops into my head or I can't remember the name of that band that sang that song, or Tom and I are arguing over what year that movie came out, Google is where I go for the answer and where I'm sure you go too. But then I just close the browser and move on. Sorry, Google. I'll strive to thank you more often.

The reason I thought to thank Google today was that it provided me the link that led to the creation of this patchwork block. After a few weeks away from my sewing machine (because I was in LONDON BABY! more about that later), I was itching to make something quick yet satisfying. Now I have this super cute and simple block, although its fate is yet to be decided. Mini quilt? Part of a larger quilt? Pillow cover? Hmm can't decide.

So why would I thank Google for a quilt block? I have chevrons on the brain and wanted some inspiration, so I typed in "chevron quilt tutorial" and started clicking links. One of the first pages I came to was the blog of You had me at bonjour. I liked the quilt but it wasn't what I was looking for. The blog looked fantastic so I left it open to browse later - I was on a mission. About an hour later I was checking email and what do you know, the Chalk Talk newsletter was featuring the chevron quilt tutorial I had just been looking at! So I thought I'd better page through right away. The most recent post was about where she got the inspiration for the quilt, a manhole cover! She also posted some other inspiring photos, including the one of a window grate that led me to create the block above. So really I should say thank you Google, for showing me this amazing blog, and thank you Kirsty for the inspiration! I will definitely be using this log cabin style block again but with other color/print combinations. I think this would look great with all print fabrics that alternate like I have here, or fade out towards the edge. 

Probably one of the even greater things that Google has done was lead me to the blog that inspired my newest goal, training for the Cleveland Half Marathon on May 20th! Before vacation I was quickly losing momentum on the design for my camera bag. There were just too many options and I wanted the perfect bag (read: impossible). So I googled "DIY camera bag" or something to that effect. I found the blog of Live.Laugh.Eat., a girl who is about my age who loves Marshall's, is also an asthmatic with a peanut allergy, and is a runner who is trying to eat healthy and stay in shape. I quickly got hooked and tried some of her recipes right away. Deeeeeeeeelicious! 

My Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies a la LLE. Recipe here.

The idea to run the half marathon had been floating in my head for awhile, but after reading about some of her long runs and tips I decided, why not? At the very least I'll start training and become a better runner, whether I'm ready in time or not. So except for a few lapses during vaca because of blisters, and also today because of laziness (yes I feel guilty, but I promise to run a great 6 mi tomorrow!) I'm doing fairly well. An even bigger part of this is the change to my diet. Sure, I still love Doritos and french fries. And pizza, cheese dips, and candy, cakes and cookies. But I'm finally learning where to find sources of protein that I like and am not allergic to, and I've started sneaking fruits and veggies into my meals. Thank you Google for pointing me to Allie's awesome blog!

Oh yeah, London! I just finished weeding through the 1000 photos we took (that's literal) and can't wait to post a few, plus photos of my souvenirs! Most of which are in my sewing room, actually. Since I also made two bags for the trip, I'll include those too. I loved the trip so much I can't wait to share!