11.1.14 - Craft day!

This evening my friends Janice and Erin came over for a small potluck dinner and making cards.

But let me back up - early this morning I got an email from the craft store Michael's saying all of their fall and Halloween decor is 80% off. I wanted to go check it out because I LOVE craft stores, but I didn't want to check it out because we don't need craft supplies so I don't want to waste money. I told Jack my conundrum and he encouraged me to go. He said part of the reason he likes where we live is because I make it feel like a home, and part of the way I do that is with crafts, and it's a sale anyway. (Jack may not be good for our budget. :-P)

Anyway, so I went, and I'm glad I did. Everything was almost gone already! The autumn stuff was confined to the sidewalk and very front of the store, and the rest of the store was either the year-round crafts or Christmas decor. There was a line to the register of people snatching up the fall craft supplies. But! I did get there in time to get this beautiful autumn wreath - normally $40 - for $8. Since I can still use it through Thanksgiving and then use it again year after year, I felt it was well worth the $8.

While I was there I also bought two paper punches: a fall leaf punch and a snowflake punch (both also on sale). Those turned out to be a great idea.

Janice and Erin came over in the evening and both of them talked about how home-y my apartment felt, which makes me feel great. We ate our potluck at an actual dining table (at our old apartment we always ate around the coffee table in the living room). I made my green and gold bake, Janice made a great fruit salad with honey drizzle, and Erin brought this amazing autumnal chocolate cake for dessert:

"Corn cake": chocolate cake with Reeses Pieces in the frosting.

We also spent a few hours making holiday cards, and we all used the punches liberally. Erin decided to make a Christmas card because she can't wait for Christmas, so she took the snowflake punch. But Janice and I took turns with the fall leaf punch and both got a kick out of it, haha.

Btw, this is a great use of scrap construction paper!

My coffee table, midway through our projects.

The entire time we listened to the Pandora station "Ragtime Mama Blues," which is pleasant but not distracting. We talked and joked, I don't even remember about what, and laughed a lot, and it was just a great time. As they were getting ready to leave at the oh-so-late time of like 8:30pm, I thought about how 5 or more years ago I would've probably spent a Saturday night at a club dancing and drinking. And that can be a ton of fun too. But I really enjoy just hanging out with a few people who also like to get creative, and I had a great time.