I'd Like to Thank the Academy!

Have you ever imagined standing in THAT moment? Designer gown and all your peers who you have admired from afar? Well, I'm not wearing the designer gown (I'm wearing exercise pants and a t-shirt) but all of you who I admire from afar are here,
so let's get this party started!

I awoke this morning to a lovely message from lovely Mona, the head cupcake informing me that because she 'likes my style', she is giving me this fabulous award above. I love awards but I love my blogging friends even more, so thank you Mona!
I like YOUR style, too!

Then over the weekend, I received this award from Sharon over at Inklined to Stamp. Sharon named my blog as one of the inspirational blogs that she has come to enjoy. Ya know, I think we all hope our blogs are inspirational, in some way, to all who visit. So it's really nice to receive recognition for that very reason.
Thank you for thinking of me, Sharon.
Over the next few days, I will be passing these awards on to other deserving blog hosts, so stay tuned. I have several to name and have not finished my list quite yet. It's always nice to do it all in one go, but I didn't want any more time to pass
in acknowledging these wonderful ladies.

So let's catch up on a few other things...
Many of you have continued to ask how we are handling the upheaval of our lives since the 'surprise' road construction began on Monday. I have considered sharing a few more photos with you, and may still do that. But for now, I can tell you that Paul and I are still in a bit of a funk about it. It's especially hard for me to see Paul so affected. Me...I'm an outwardly emotional person anyway, so me being upset is no big surprise. I have taken a fairly proactive stance and have contacted our city newspaper to request a space in the 'opinions' section of the paper. They have responded, but have yet to give me the space, so we'll see. I have been in contact with the mayor's office, the alderman's office and the public works' director. Each one has passed the buck on to the other. The only word that comes to mind is 'typical'.
The weather has been absolutely miserable, lashing down with rain for nearly 48 hours straight, so I don't need to tell you what the view is from our window right now.
I will keep you posted, but for now, it has been quiet and with tomorrow being Friday and more rain in the forecast,
I expect it will remain so.

Now let's talk about something fun!
Rubber stamping and shopping come to mind! I managed to pick up some of the new fall paper designs from Making Memories today along with a set of papers from GCD Studios called 'Provence'. Oh my goodness! Both sets are stunning. I am going to share a photo tomorrow of the papers in these sets, so you can be on the look out for them. I also managed to get a card done with one of the designs, so I will share that as well.

The Halloween card above is a little something I whipped up a few days ago. Inkadinkado has some terrific fall stamps out this season and these are a couple of them. Have you noticed I have been using tiny brads in my button holes? It's such a simple solution when you want something a little different. I also used the Cuttlebug Spider Web EF for the backdrop for our spider. I'm sure by now, you recognize the Martha Stewart Web punch used as a border.
Heidi Grace paper is so colorful and fun.

Tomorrow is Friday...WOOHOO! Paul is off for the day, but you will still find me in the studio, as we have no major plans. So I will be back to send some reminders your way about some fabulous, fun things that will be going on here at The Open Window,
so hope to see you tomorrow!