Withdrawal

A little background - we built a new house last year. We've lived here for 6 months now (we moved in December 23rd!) and in our rush to move in the basement wasn't completed. I swore that it would be finished as soon as humanly possible, but guess what? It's still not done. And guess where my studio/office is? In the basement.

But I'm not bitter, oh nooooooo. Nope. I just use our dining room! The problem is, I had to clean it up to host the party last week and I can't bear to clutter it up again! The piles and piles and PILES of fabric are now neatly stacked in Rubbermaid containers in my garage and it makes me want to cry. I hadn't touched my fabric or my sweet sewing machine for THREE DAYS and I was starting to get the shakes.

To remedy this I decided to start on the ever-present Simplicity 4589 top. I've had the pattern and fabric for months. I bought some clearance fabric for my first try - I've never sewn adult clothing before so it's a new adventure. One part of sewing for myself that I've already found offensive - taking my measurements. Oh, MY. That made me think twice about what I'm ordering at the Thai restaurant tonight.

You can see some cute tops made from this pattern here, here, & here. Let's hope mine comes out half as good as those - pics tomorrow!

It was fun . . .

. . . but I am so glad the party's over. Three weeks of preparation boiled down to a 3-hour party. Funny how that works, isn't it?

It went as smoothly as it possibly could have and it was so much fun getting everything put together - that's always my favorite part. The decorations, the neat lines of plates & napkins, the untouched platters of food . . . and then it's destroyed in a matter of seconds! In the best sense of the word, of course.

I hate to tell you, but these aren't homemade cupcakes. I have this thing (okay, obsession) for cupcakes from Sam's Club. Wierd, huh? They just taste so good to me that I don't even waste my time trying to duplicate them. That, and the fact that they're $11.88 for thirty of them really seals the deal. They did a great job matching the colors of all the other decorations - I was really happy with them. What I'm not happy about is the fact that Josh took the rest of them to the office today. Delaney's none too pleased either. My guilty conscience is thanking me, though.





My mom's a Vera Bradley fanatic so her retirement gift was a beach bag full of goodies - the bright colors fit her personality perfectly and I know without a doubt that she will use every single thing that we got her. I think my favorite part are the lounge pants - it took a lot of self-discipline not to swipe them! Seeing the look on her face was totally worth all the preparation- I love giving gifts!







We had an obscene amount of food. . . homemade potato, pasta, & ham salads, artichoke dip, fruit & veggies, and hot wings from a local favorite - The Cold Spot, which is a total dive but has the best wings I've ever had. We made lemonade & iced tea so we could have "Greg Normans." (They're really called Arnold Palmers but I have a hard time keeping my golfers straight so that's what I always call them - drives my golf-fanatic husband mad.)

Congrats, Mom. I'm so happy for you.

WIP Wednesday

My main works-in-progress these last few days have consisted of the finishing touches for my mom's retirement party. Who am I kidding - finishing touches? I should say beginning touches! I'm hosting it at my house on Sunday, so at least I have 3 more days to prepare. For some reason I thought it would be a great idea to do handmade decorations. My ideas are always perfect in theory (and in my middle-of-the-night brainstorming sessions) but somewhere between my brain and the sewing machine reality hits - usually in the form of two little people screeching, smacking each other, and wanting to be fed. Eh, they can feed themselves, right?

I found this great vinyl outdoor tablecloth and thought it would make some nice little seat covers for my patio set - and it just so happended that Target also carries all the matching party supplies - string lights, plates, napkins, you name it!

We've been working on our landscaping over the last week or so and I am so enjoying the new flowers on the back deck. Add a few little lanterns, some brightly colored pots and some wind chimes and we're ready to party!

I think my favorite part so far is this sweet little bunting made from 30's-inspired fabrics. I'm really going for a old-fashioned look and this will bring it all together. Oh! I just thought of another perfect little touch - my grandmother's white milk glass filled with fresh flowers! Is that going to be precious?!

Another bonus - an enormous pile of scraps.....oh, scraps - how I love you.

After much hemming & hawing . . .

I'm jumping in! I'm a blogaholic so I might as well make a contribution to the world of blogs, right? I have to admit, though, that it's a little intimidating. I am most definitely not a writer so bear with me - I have a feeling the learning curve is going to be quite steep. I'll try to focus on the things I do best - crafting, creating, kids, and I'm quite sure that the occasional complaint or two will sneak in. ;)

Oh, and that's a picture just so I can feel like I accomplished something with my first post. Hee! It's a USA flower pot I discovered at our annual East End yard sale for ONE DOLLAR! Now that I have a bigger kitchen I'm starting to add to my collection of McCoy & USA pottery. They really seem to fit in with the Craftsman/bungalow style that we love so much.

Have a wonderful, rainy morning! (If you need rain, that is - we are dry as a bone here so my fingers are crossed).