Fabulous Army Life

Cristy and me in our blinged out hats! On Sunday, we found more great vendors and booths and had a great time shopping and visiting with shoppers and sellers alike.  It was such a friendly happy place! At one shop, Cristy and I both tried on some blinged-out camo clothing.  I told her that if I went home with a purchase of camo pants, I would definitely have some explaining to do!  With a closet full of camo, desert camo, and digital camo, I'd be better off buying a "Bedazzler" and blinging up my own!  The lady who owned the Camo shop chatted with us as we perused her treasures.  When Cristy told her my husband was in the Army, she asked, "Really?  What's he like to live with?"  That had me stumped for a moment ... and she followed up with, "Is he really rigid and stuffy?"  I almost laughed out loud.  "He's fabulous to live with," I answered, which is true!  Cristy and I laughed later about some people's perceptions of serv...

We started the day today bright and early, getting to the massive outdoor parking area among the first of the shoppers.  It was crisp and clear and full of potential for great shopping finds! It didn't take me long to realize what a true Canton novice I am.  No kidding, at one of our first outdoor booths, I was labeled a "Canton virgin!"  Experienced shoppers start early (like us) but also had lightweight wire shopping carts with customized water-proof liners (not like us).  I'm a stroll-and-see kind of shopper and there were legions of on-a-mission kind of shoppers all around me.  It was mostly not an issue, and I quickly learned how to stay out of the uber-shoppers' way.  We found tons of great shops and the atmosphere was very lively and friendly.  Vendors were nice, not pushy, and co-shoppers were excited to be there, too.  We found personalized signs, blingy jewelry, cute shoes, and custom furniture.  There were shops for kids and co...

Canton has a zillion crafty options and lots of blingy, fun items, but I was especially drawn to the girly-girl stuff. Having no daughters of my own, I get out all my frilly shopping needs by looking for fun stuff for nieces. Here are a couple of my favorite items ... Loved this TEXT themed corkboard for a super-texting niece of mine!  TONS of super-cute frilly corkboards for girls.  Loved these!  No, I'm not looking for crib bedding ... but I have a friend who is! How super-frilly cute is this?!? Girly Girl is a good name for this collection! 

My wonderful friend Cristy invited me to go with her to Canton this weekend for the massive craft fest known as "First Mondays."  For all of you newbies out there, Canton is a crafting paradise.  Every month, vendors from all over Texas set up booths on a 100+ acre area and sell their wares.  I'm no stranger to shopping ... or craft fairs for that matter, but this is a truly amazing experience.  Check out their website to get a better idea of the enormity of the event:  http://www.firstmondaycanton.com/ We drove out early Friday afternoon, doing our best to avoid I-35 as it was also UT/OU weekend and there was LOTs of traffic.  In fact, at one point, we were debating whether the rumors of tailgaiting on the interstate were true or not ... and enjoying a very relevant song titled "Nowhere Fast" ... which is exactly where we were going.  We did make the drive that day and enjoyed spending that time chatting, catching up, and generally get...