Living Vicariously Through People Far Cooler Than Myself

9.28.2011

Let's face it - my era of "cool" is over. 

I'm a 30-something mother of one who lives in the suburbs.  I'm usually in bed by 8:30 every night, I love nothing better than to read myself to sleep, and my big weekend plans usually involved catching up on laundry and sewing (if I'm lucky).  Fortunately, we've kept a few "cool" friends around over the years so that we can live vicariously through them from time to time.  They can tell us about the latest concert that they've been to, about their recent travels to Central America, and they can invite us over to see the houseboat that they recently bought (!) - which incidentally O thought was the coolest thing ever.

Okay, okay - I also thought it was the coolest thing ever.


Now if only being on the water didn't make me want to vomit...

A Baby And A Tunic

9.26.2011

When I was pregnant with O, I lived in constant fear that something would go wrong.  It took us so long to get pregnant that I was convinced that a part of me would break if it didn't work out.  And because of that we told absolutely no one that I was pregnant until I was well over twelve weeks along and I bought nothing for the baby-to-be until I was over five months pregnant, fearing that I would jinx myself if I did.

Things feel different this time.  I still worry (and probably always will), but I also feel more at peace with the whole process (please don't let those be famous last words...).

And I feel even more at peace after last Friday - when we were able to see the little one moving around and having a grand old time in my uterus.


A grainy, black and white photo never looked so good.

Another positive?  Remember this tunic that made me look pregnant - even when I wasn't.  Well it seems to work perfectly as a transitional maternity top (you know, as you transition from regular pants that are so tight that they're cutting off your circulation to maternity pants that are so large that they barely stay on).  Yep, the clothing choices are few and far between nowadays.

Most Disgusting Use For A Crochet Hook

9.21.2011

Using it to clean out a drain.



Not for the faint of heart (or the weak of stomach).

A Cozy Winter Hood

9.20.2011

First off, thank you so much for your well wishes about our little bun-in-the-oven.  We are ridiculously excited and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a nice, uneventful pregnancy.

But let's talk about another little bun-in-the-oven for a while, shall we?

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be able to attend a good friend's baby shower in celebration of her baby-boy-to-be (it's amazing that people are still inviting me to baby showers, right?).  I knew that if I could muster up the energy, I wanted to make something hand-made for her little boy but I also knew that her mom is a fantastic quilter so an "amateur" quilt from me was out of the question.  Instead, I turned to Oliver and S: Little Things To Sew once again and decided to have a go at the cozy winter hood pattern because I love any children's item with ears on it (and as luck would have it, my friend does too!).


I used some amazingly soft polartec fleece that I happened to have around the house and just ended up using the same fabric for both the outside and the lining.  My hat may not be as cute or luxurious as the one pictured in the book, but I'm pretty sure that it'll be perfect for a wet and chilly pacific northwest winter.


The only thing that surprised me about this project is that I made the newborn to sixth month size and yet it came out huge.  In fact, it almost fits my two year old perfectly (it's just a bit short in the back...perfect to watch her little curls bouncing as she runs away).


Oh well, at least the the little guy will have a hat waiting for him for when he's two.

We are...

9.16.2011

We are over the moon...even if I've been feeling a bit under the weather.

We are ecstatic...if not a bit terrified at the changes that lie ahead.

We are loving the one we have...but so excited for the one on the way.


Watch out world - our little family is growing!

(Estimated time of arrival?  Late March 2012)

Whew...

9.15.2011

Break open the bubbly and put on your favorite party dress because I believe that a celebration is in order...the red dye has come out of the dress!

Hallelujah!

Thank you all so much for your tips and tricks on getting dye out of fabric.  I hope that none of you ever need them, but in the off chance that you do, check out the amazing comments on this post. 

As for my little miracle workers, I ended up using a combination of synthrapol and color-catcher sheets.  Synthrapol is a product that apparently is often used by dyers to get excess dye out of fabrics and it appears to have worked wonders in this case (and all with just two little cap fulls).  And as for the color-catcher sheets?  Well, there's no mystery there - they just soaked up whatever leftover dye came out of the dress.  Oh, and I'm not sure if this made a difference or not, but I kept the dress wet until I was able to wash it with the synthrapol because I was afraid that the dye would set if I allowed it to dry.

Now excuse me while I go breathe a gigantic sigh of relief.  Whew...

My Child's Transformation

9.13.2011

Yesterday O and I hit up the local Target and the entire time we were there she was an absolute angel.  You know, when your child is so well-behaved and utterly charming that strangers stop and tell you how adorable she is.  Yep, that was my child.

Until we got home.

Apparently, once her adoring public is no longer watching she transforms from a little angel into a little devil.  As soon as we got home she refused to get out of the car, she refused to walk up the stairs, she refused to take off her shoes, and she proceeded to throw the world's largest tantrum.  


If only the people at Target knew...

Sad Math

9.12.2011

1 new dress + 1 new gift = 1 big screw up

Allow me to explain.

Remember this dress?


This dress that I just finished.  This dress that I've worn exactly one time.

Well, it is now sporting some not-so-awesome red dye stains all over it.


I washed it yesterday with a bunch of other clothes, including a new sarong that my little sister gave me for my birthday, and unfortunately the sarong bled red dye all over the machine and all over my dress.  Ughh!

This, of course, sent me on a rapid googling mission to try to find out how to get the dye out of the dress.  I bought a couple of products off of Amazon and I'm hoping to give it a go this week, but if any of you have words of wisdom, please share them (as long as those words of wisdom are not "you should have known better than to wash new red fabric with your dress"...I can live without those words).

Our Last Hurrah

9.09.2011

What is it about vacation that makes you come back more exhausted than when you left?

Is it the mound of laundry waiting to be washed?

Or the fact that there's absolutely no food in your house?

Or is it the incredibly disgusting tupperware container that sat in your husband's work bag the entire time that you were out of town?

The mystery has yet to be solved, but in any case it was great to have a last hurrah of a summer vacation.

It was good to spend time with cousins and aunts and uncles.


And play board games.


And dig holes in the sand.


And get our feet wet and dirty.


And eat smores.


And contemplate new careers.

That's right, Sarah...you were born to run a lemonade stand...

And watch Ben explain what the hell his t-shirt meant.


Many thanks to my sister Debbie for inviting us along.  We had a ball!

Now if you need me, I'll be doing laundry.

Gingham And Pleats And Pockets...Oh My!

9.06.2011

Gingham dress...done!  Boo-yah!

Please notice awesome props - garden hose and dandelions!
That's right, this is obviously some professional photography!
There's not a whole lot to say about this dress that hasn't already been said given that this is my second time making this pattern.  I will say that this time I followed the pattern and interfaced the facings (because that was stupid of me not to do the first time - duh!) and I sewed a half-inch seam when connecting the skirt and bodice pieces in the hopes that the waist on the skirt would hit more at my natural waist (and it worked - hurray!).


Other than those small modifications (and using an invisible zipper rather than a regular one), I pretty much followed the pattern.


I will say that making this version of the dress seemed so much more tedious than the last version.  I remember thinking "uhh, ANOTHER pleat!" several times with this one, whereas with the first one I banged it out in less than 24 hours.


I'm beginning to fear that my garment sewing mojo has taken an extended vacation.  Hopefully it will return sometime soon.  Until then, I'll just use these pictures to tide me over.

Weeds count as flowers, right?
Pattern: Simplicity 2444
Size: Cut out a size 6 for the bodice but graded to a size 8 around the waist.  Cut out a size 8 for the skirt.
Fabric: Organic black and white gingham shirting from Esther's Fabrics

Thank You

9.02.2011



One year ago I decided to bite the bullet and start a blog.  I had been contemplating it for a while but had consistently talked myself out of it.

What if my interest in it fades after two weeks?

What if I just end up talking to myself? (as if that would be any different than real life...)

What if I have nothing to write about?
(as you can see, I am a master what-if-er)

But one year ago I decided to ignore all the "what ifs" and just "do" - and I'm so very glad that I did.  In addition to having a tangible record of the last year of our lives, I've met so many wonderful people (that's right, girlies, you know who you are!) and I've been able to keep in touch with family members who live in lands far, far away.  So here's to one year of blogging...made particularly special by all of you. 

Thank you.