Pictures

Mom sent me these pictures yesterday.  I'm glad someone thought to bring a camera. Here we are, at the Justice of the Peace.  

Thanks mom!

12 years ago.

It was a Wednesday afternoon.  I remember I was wearing a red button up blouse.  It was December in Arizona and I even had on a jacket.  A black leather jacket to be exact.  David called me at work.  "Hey,"  he said.  "We have an appointment at 4:30."   After teaching a hand full of seventh graders and cleaning up my classroom, I climbed into the car with David and met my parents at the justice of the peace.  We were second in line.  I thought to myself, "Who gets married at the justice of the peace in the middle of the week?"  Apparently we did.  It was finally our turn.  I didn't think I'd get emotional.  After all, this was just for paper's sake and speeding up the immigration process for David's green card.  The "real" wedding  with the big dress and the black tie, wasn't until the end of the month.  But I did.  We said our vows, said I do, kissed the bride, and signed the paper.  That was that.  Done.  We were married.  Just like that.  We drove back to mom and dad's house.  Mom asked if we could pick up hamburger buns on the way home for supper.  We ate dinner, I went to worship practice, he watched the Sun's game with my dad and my brother.  We became husband and wife and I've never regretted one day since.  

Happy Anniversary David!  I love you!

P.S.  Obviously this isn't the justice of the peace. :)

Bridesmaids Bags

Here are the results of many hours at the sewing machine to make a bridesmaids bag order.   What a cool idea and even better that I was asked to make them.  The bride recently sent me a few pictures. 

I have to say, I am quite proud.  Don't they look cute?  Look how nice they go together with the dresses.  I have yards of that fabric left over.  I think I better get to sewing a few more of these bags.  

And the Costumes

I made the boys Halloween costumes this year.  I think they should go as eskimos next year, because by the end of October it's so cold they have to put jackets on over top and you can't see what they are anyway.

Here we have Super Ryan.  He wanted to be a super hero.

Next we have a Jedi.  This is Adrian's serious Jedi face, or fighting face, I'm not sure.  Thanks to the wind we got a cool shot.

The boys enjoyed them and I'm kind of proud at how they turned out.  

Now on to Thanksgiving.

A Late Halloween Update

We carved pumpkins for Halloween.  
Of course we carved them too soon and by the time Halloween rolled 

around our pumpkins were moldy.  Oh well.

Here are our three pumpkins ready to go.

These were my helpers.

Adrian cut the top off the pumpkin, but wanted nothing to do with the insides.  Ryan's help consisted of telling me I was doing a great job.

I printed some templates off of a pumpkin carving website and used those as our guides.

I vetoed Darth Vader.  And next year I'm going to do the same when it comes to anything that has letters. These things were a pain.

And here they are.  All done.  

Heres to another year of pumpkin carving.

There's No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk

There's that old saying about spilled milk and not crying over it.  

Well, let me tell you folks.  If you spill it on your laptop, you should cry.  And in case you haven't already put the puzzle pieces together, I spilled milk on my laptop keyboard.  It ran down into parts unknown and rendered my laptop useless.  Hence the reason I haven't been posting much.  Thanks to a generous husband, I'm back in business with a new one.  And he'll be glad to know that I won't be eating my cereal over it while checking Facebook.

A Little Bit Batty

Halloween.  I've tried to escape it.  I thought I had done it moving to Switzerland.  It followed.  I got out of it for about 4 years.  But some how Halloween snuck it's way into my neighborhood and Adrian was invited to trick or treat by the neighbors.  I've also been wrangled into making a Jedi costume and a superhero costume this year.

I don't decorate for Halloween.  However, Adrian made a bat at kids daycare at the gym and I remembered this post over at the MADE website.  And like she mentioned, I'm OK with the bats. 

I made a pattern and traced them on to black paper with a white crayon.  That way Adrian could help me cut them out.

After what felt like we cut out a billion bats, we taped them on the window in our living room.

The only thing left, according to Ryan, are the "punkins" that need to go up and then it's officially Halloween.

Sewing With Friends

Last week I had a Skype call with a friend and we did some sewing together.  It was fun!  She wanted to make a maxi skirt together.  It was a new experience for me since I've always used an old skirt as a pattern.  We took our measurements and cut out the form, sewed it up AND....they were too big.  Funny.  I'm glad they were too big.  Better than too small. 

After our sewing date, I took it apart and sewed up the seems to make it a bit smaller, only to realize I sewed the waist band on backwards and had to do it again.  Now it's done and I wore it to church today.  I paired it with a scarf that I also made from some of the material from the Salvation Army.  I couldn't decide if I was going to keep it or sell it on the Etsy shop, but it went so well with my skirt I decided I better keep it.  

Ta da!

It's made from a heavier cotton jersey, so it's perfect for winter.

(Don't mind the wrinkles.  I was sitting on the couch eating pizza before I took these pictures.)

My scarf is an infinity scarf.  I made it long enough so it can be worn in different ways. On those extra cold days I can even wrap it around my neck three times.

I'm kind of proud of how it turned out.  

Thanks for the sewing date friend!

Coconut Oil Update

Some time ago I wrote about introducing coconut oil into my life.  The first thing I did was try it in my hair.  I did it for about a week.  Every other day I would slather my hair with it and then attempt to work out.  It smelled great and reminded me of summer vacation.  I think it did make my hair a little bit softer.  However, it was kind of annoying while I worked out.  My hair wouldn't stay up and kept sliding out of my hair holder.  I eventually gave up.  

The next adventure was using it as a moisturizer on my face.  I was a bit scared to try this one.  But I have a cousin who swears by it and says it helped clear up her face.  I'm have acne prone skin, so I was ready to see the results.  After about a month my face was worse.  I stopped that immediately. 

The last experiment I did was to make my own deodorant.  I'm not a health freak.  I have made fun of people who make their own deodorant.  Who has time for that?  But I was becoming so tired of sweating in any kind of shirt that had synthetic material and it smelling bad forever and ever.  Even after I washed it, if I sweat, the bad smell would return.  I tried everything.  This past summer I even tried going deodorant free.  My sister told me she read somewhere that Julia Roberts didn't wear deodorant and just used antibacterial wipes.  Well, if Julia Roberts could do it, why couldn't I?  So I went deodorant free for a month.  That was a hassle and potentially embarrassing. Especially if you forget your wipes and you are on vacation in Arizona and it's 115°F.  When I got home I decided I would try and make my own deodorant using my trusty coconut oil.  I found this recipe on-line.  

Coconut Oil Deodorant

1/4 cup of baking soda

1/4 cup of corn starch

6 tablespoons of coconut oil

In the beginning I had to keep it in the fridge.  It was summer time and if I left it out, it just melted and was to messy to apply.  Since the temperatures have fallen, I can now keep it in my bathroom.  It's nothing fancy.  I put it in a little plastic container. 

Now the verdict...IT WORKS!!! I still sweat, but I don't stink.  I read somewhere that coconut oil contains antibacterial agents.  This is probably what makes it such a great ingredient for deodorant.  

There you go - coconut oil.  Who knew?!

A Make Over

My sewing area has evolved over the years.  Some time in the first few years of living in Switzerland I bought a sewing machine from one of our local grocery stores.  It wasn't spectacular, but it did the trick.  I wasn't into sewing like I am today, but I'd grown up with one always in the house.  So I got one.  My few scraps of fabric, and sewing supplies fit into a box and I kept my sewing machine put away most of the time.  That's how it stayed for a few years.  Some where down the line I met a good friend who inspired me to get sewing.  She helped me make a table runner.  Then I took up the project of making a tree skirt. 

 One evening, after the boys were in bed and David was away for work, I got out my unfinished tree skirt and got down to business.  I had that pedal pushed all the way to the floor pushing the machine to its limits.  While my little machine zoomed away I had visions of the tree skirt beautifully draped under our Christmas tree.  Then something horrible happened.  My machine started slowing down, and came to a deathly stop.  Nothing I did got it rolling again, and it kind of smelled bad.  We took it apart and came to the conclusion that I’d burnt out the motor.  

That little episode inspired me.  Going without a sewing machine made me realize how much I enjoyed creating and sewing.  Two sewing machines later, and many more than just one box of fabric, I now have a sewing corner.  Just this week I decided it was time for change.  There was no real rhyme or reason to things and my sewing table started to become a dumping ground for all of my supplies and anything remotely related to sewing.  Plus, I came home with yet more fabric and didn't really have a place to put it. It was time for a major over haul.  

Here's an embarrassing before picture.

After a trip to Ikea and a marathon building morning, here are the after pictures.

My favorite part of the new sewing corner are the magnetic strips that hold up my scissors. Aren't they neato?  I've got a little more organizing to take care of, but for now, it's a pretty great sewing corner and I'm even more inspired to sew.

Thrifting

I try not to go to the Salvation Army very often.  I just end up buying things I don't need.  However, today I felt the need to see what they had to offer and I think I came home with some real deals.  David might not think so.  Oh well.

My mom sent me this article about a lady who collects old pyrex.  I thought I had a lot...She collects all kinds of vintage milk glass.  Not just Pyrex.  Some where in the article she talks about there being different collections and designs of Pyrex that were made for the UK.  It got me to thinking maybe I could find some at the second hand shop.  So I went.  And what do you know?  I found a dish.  

Isn't it pretty?!  It even had the lid.  No chips or cracks.  Plus it says "Pyrex England" on the bottom.

This pattern is called "Tuscany Vegetables".  I think it needs a soup or a stew or something.  Maybe some mashed potatoes would look good in there.

As I strolled further on down the isle I ran into two candle holders that matched a pair I already have and some off-cuts of fabric.  Not sure what I'll do with the fabric, but my wheels are already turning.  I'll add it to my ever growing stash.

That about sums up my thrifting experience.  Hope you find what you're looking for on your next trip.

Back to Sewing

So, I took quite the summer break from my sewing machine.  I had these great intentions to sew while we were on our vacation in Arizona.  That never happened.  I did, however, get to purchase some great fabrics that have finally turned into some scarfs for the shop.  

I took some pictures today and they are up and ready for purchase.  I think they're cute.  What about you?

I've been a bit distracted from my Etsy shop.  I've been sewing other things.  I made a few maxi skirts for myself and sewed a cute little skirt for a friends daughter (more on that later).  Until next time, happy sewing.

Firsts

Monday was Ryan's very first day of kindergarten.  The parents were able to accompany their child and stay for the first day.  Ryan looked pretty cute in his back pack.

(Mom!  Take a picture of Sonic going to school!)

(OK, but now lets take a picture of Ryan going to school)

We walked  together and got there in pretty good time. 

I was concerned he might not want to go.  But he walked right in like he owned the place,

hung up his things and went to sit in the circle time.

This is his little sign so he knows where to put his things.  It's also on his water cup and chair in circle time

Here he is in circle time looking all grown up.

This is one of my favorites.  He was really tickled by what the teacher was saying and doing

After circle time they did a little craft.

After craft time we had some free time to play .  

Below is Ryan and our neighbor Salma.  

They walk to school together. He wasn't very thrilled about her helping with his tower.  I figured he needed to learn to share .

Here's a little bit of a view of Ryan's classroom.  It's bright and cheery.  

This is the "Babyecke" (literally translated "baby corner") The stairs to the left go up to a loft with all kinds of wooden blocks and things to build, hence the name "Bauecke" or "building corner"

When the afternoon was over, Ryan picked up his backpack, put on his reflector sash, changed his shoes and headed home.