Back to School

I'm at it again. This year I am learning how to teach Suzuki violin book 2 and book 3. I'm hoping this time around I will actually do something with my training. Last year I walked away motivated, inspired, and very excited to teach little ones how to make beautiful sounds from a such a small instrument. With moving,I somehow let that excitement get a little clouded, but I'm ready again.

If you know someone that is interested in learning the violin through the Suzuki method, pass them along. I took Suzuki from the early age of 5, and it has done so many things for me, even beyond learning to play.

Here's to 8-5 classes for the next 12 days!!

A nightgown

or loungegown if you will.

 

With renovations going smoothly on our house, we hope to be in by July, a loungegown for myself with Simplicity pattern #3835 seemed to be in order. Katie and I have talked about nightgowns before, the idea of them just didn't seem to fit with New York apartment life. But for some reason with a house the idea makes me so happy. I really don't intend on sleeping in it, but throwing it on in the morning and maybe stepping outside to grab the paper or mail, or making breakfast in it, all barefoot of course just is all too perfect, and suburban.

  

I even had enough to make an extra little one size 2T. I am putting it in the shop today, it is a slightly modified version of mine, actually a little fancier with a tie around the neck. I love this fabric, it's so sweet and feminine, perfect for a loungegown.

Fabric I'm dying for

I used to have a handle on buying fabric. Don't get me wrong, I had to exercise major self control, but I always had the excuse of not being able to use it for Luke, and it being just to cutesy for me to pull off. I would only buy out of these bounds if I had a baby gift I was intending to make or if I thought I would still like it by the time I have a girl. (Deep down I'm pretty sure I'm having all boys, but that's a whole other can of worms).

But now, I'm having a hard time holding back. With my etsy shop, I just can't control myself. I'm hoping at some point I too will be grossed out by all of the fabric I have laying around, but for now, all of it is calling to me, and you guys are the ones who are benefiting. I at least get to stare at it while I turn it into something little and cute.

This particular fabric line, My Folklore by Lecien, I was a little too late in finding. I was able to score a few of the prints, one of them I am making into a dress for myself, stay posted, but the rest of them  I will just have to stare at on my computer screen.  There are a few  half yards of it floating around at Sew Mama Sew, Reprot Depot, and Purl, I highly suggest grabbing some before it's completely gone.

A Trip Recap (with some added Bean luck)

With an excuse to see REM, Modest Mouse, and the National in concert we set off on a rode trip in our new gas efficient Honda Tuesday morning to California. The trip was great, but like anything we endeavor in, there were major hiccups along the way.

 

Las Vegas
Our first stop was Circus Circus Tuesday night. We made great time, just enough to enjoy the arcade games, catch a late night juggling act, and fill our lungs of indoor smoke. The next morning we cruised the strip, stopped off at the mall, and I spent some money I didn't have at Madewell. We set off on the road around 1pm expecting to pull into our second stop, Laguna Nigel around 6 pm.

Highs: Circus Circus hasn't changed, Madewell, the workout room, the best veggie sandwich ever, and watching Luke love the quarter rides.
Lows: Circus Circus hasn't changed, the beds (you could literally feel the springs while laying on them), the looks I got while having to walk through the casino completely drenched in sweat back to my hotel room, & loosing one of my running shoes.

In Route to Cali
We weren't even outside of Prim when we got stuck in a standstill for over 45 minutes, a semi had caught fire at the top of the hill and kept over 500 cars in gridlock. Luckily Luke slept through half of it, but the other half was miserable. Finally we started to move, but just over the hill, the check engine light to our car went off and we lost complete power. We rolled into the gas station and spent another hour trying to find a solution to our very unlucky situation. We ended up resetting the battery and letting it cool long enough to let us drive the rest of the way to California. Our friends waited up for us, and we spent what was left of the night letting the kids play and catching up.

Cali day 1
The next day, we awoke early and let the kids play together. It was so fun to see Luke remember his friends, it was like they were never apart. That afternoon, we grabbed In and Out and headed to a private beach, it was beautiful, relaxing, and well, perfect.

 

That evening, we set off for LA, to check into our hotel, meet up with Wade and Kath, and to see the concert.

Highs: Relaxing at the beach with our friends, seeing Wade and Kath again and finally meeting their youngest, The Hollywood bowl was just as I imagined (I've been dreaming of it since Beaches and Some Kind of Wonderful), Michael Stipe, and a night out without Luke!

Lows: Getting lost on our way and back to the hotel, Tom hitting our friends rental car because the nice lady behind them refused to let us in while we were trying to follow them to the concert, us not talking for half of the 45 minutes we were stuck in traffic because I was so mad at him, and just missing the National play which was a quarter of the reason we wanted to go to the show in the first place.

Cali day 2
The next morning we met up with our friends again to do some much needed shopping. H&M proved to be a success, mainly for Luke, he scored some great stuff, while the rest of us perused the shops and ate cream puffs. That afternoon we set out for the mid-century furniture district, bought our lamp for dining table, and then drove back to Laguna for fish tacos and shakes at my favorite childhood spot, the Shake Shack with our Brooklyn friends.

 

 

Highs: Bearded Papa cream puffs, Modernica, eating tacos and drinking shakes overlooking & watching the sunset at Crystal Cove (the beach I spent many summers at),& staying up way way too late talking and talking.
Lows: getting stuck in traffic for over 3 hours and making our friends wait for us, my LA headache, discovering the shake shack was bought by a chain, not feeling so good after all the junk I ate.

Cali day 3
After a lovely breakfast spread, we set off for Knottsberry farm to meet Wade and Kath again. We spent most our time, well all really, in Snoopy land, a perfect park for tots. Luke loved every minute of it, the cars, ferris wheel, huff and puff, he definitely takes after me.

Highs: Yummy crepes, watching Luke ride the huff and puff, and the one roller coaster I rode.
Lows: getting sick, really sick, so sick in fact we left after a couple of hours, throwing up in the parking lot 3 times, and laying on a couch with shivers and a fever most of the night.

Cali day 4 and in route back to Las Vegas
I was feeling much better by the morning, good enough to stuff myself with a yummy breakfast from Auntie Ems with Wade, Kath, and the kids. We said our goodbyes, and set off to Vegas with enough time to enjoy our hotel, swim, and relax that evening. Well, just outside of LA, the check engine light went off again. We pulled over, reset the battery, and thought we would move ahead as we had on our way to California. We hadn't got more than another 10 miles when it went off again. This happened repeatedly for the next 8 hours, with a flat tire thrown in for some added fun. We pulled into Las Vegas around 9:30 pm, and didn't do anything more than grab food and fall asleep.

St George and in route to Salt Lake
After the pattern of car breakdowns we recognized that the car actually ran just fine in cooler temperatures, so we left back for St. George at 7am. We made it there without any problems, and pulled into a Honda dealership toying with the idea of trading it in for a new Civic. We test drove a black civic, all too similar to the one we own, but still sat down to talk finances. They offered us half the money we payed for the car as a trade in, and after negotiation, we still decided we were crazy to even think we could afford a new car. phew. By this time it was hot, hot enough to set off the check engine light once again. We took the car to a shop, they plugged their little machine in, told us they couldn't fix the car until the next day, and erased the code. We then took it to another shop, and they spent the next 4 hours doing test after test only to not find the problem and charge us $100 for nothing. After more In and Out, a hour of Indiana Jones, and a lot of time walking and walking in the hot sun, we got back in the car and set back for home. Because it was now evening, we were able to drive home without problems and pull into the driveway a little before 3am.

The next day and a half I spent sewing the little girl stuff to get in the shop, and Wednesday evening, my sister and I left back to Las Vegas. It rained, and rained at least half of the way there, which was scary, but helped keep the car healthy. We got in after midnight but slept in later than I have slept in I think than in the last 2 years. This was my first official trip away from Luke. It was perfect minus more car problems in Las Vegas and on the way home. We lounged at the pool, swam a bit, saw 3 movies, and even met up with my brother who was hitch hiking through.

But I'm back now. Happy to be back actually. Vacations are wonderful, but so is everyday life.

*not sure what we are going to do about the car. Honda said they could fix it for $3600, we are still trying to find an alternative. So much for my high opinion of Civics.

Some new stuff!

I'm taking a break from my vacation at the moment. I got back late
late Monday night and am leaving again tonight, well in a couple of
hours if I can pull it together, for a weekend in Las Vegas with my
sister. I'm still trying to figure out how I thought I could sew all of
the stuff I planned on in the day and a half I had plus take care of
the little guy, needless to say it didn't happen. I did manage to crank
out a few new items to put in the shop. I would have probably tried to
do more, but the fabric I planned on awaiting me after my trip was
still in fact with Sew Mama Sew, and as it turns out still won't be to
me for at least another week. So, more to come, soon.

But what I think I might do is just try to put one new item in the
shop a week, just to make it easier on myself. I'm not giving myself a
set day of the week either, just when I can get it done, so I guess if
you are interested, you might have to check back every couple of days.
I also have to admit I have been missing sewing stuff for myself, I'm
selfish that way, so I might try to work that in as well.

I'm
putting these items in the shop by 4pm, mountain standard time.
Although I didn't get around to making any ties, let me know if you
want one in any of the new fabrics below.

Cross Stitch Pleated Dress

Flower Mod Dress

Flower Stripe Sun Dress

 

Western A-line Skirt

 

I'm working on coming up with a model for the little girl items. I don't feel too bad about using Luke for fittings but I just can't take pictures of him in them, even if I cut off his head, I could regret it later down the road.

And also note that I marked down the smocked dresses that are ready to wear, custom dresses are still regular price.