a way into Narnia

Design Flop

2012-01-29T19:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I see things and wonder. . . what were you thinking? Some people may very well look at this design and think that it is cute. Me? Well, I think it made it onto a discount shopping site for a reason. Excuse me, but you just put your gathering on the wrong side of your bra cup. What is this for, an extreme amount of side boob? Bad idea.

Ruined

2012-01-27T10:52:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law has ruined my life. Let me explain.

About two months ago she sent me two books, one I read right away and one that I've had a harder time diving into. The book I ate up was called Real Food for Mother and Baby. Honestly, I didn't expect much from the book. I felt like I ate a lot of real foods. Margarin is a food I only force myself to eat at other peoples homes. . . I couldn't be that bad off, right? Wrong. So wrong. Turns out I've never properly eaten flour. And when I say flour I'm not even talking about white flour, I mean, I've never eaten whole wheat flour the correct way.

Sprouted grains. That's where it's at people. Now, the thing about sprouted grains is that if they are not stored correctly, they actually become less nutritious than non-sprouted grains - they have a very short shelf life and need to be frozen if they are not going to be used. What does this mean? It means that if I want to eat sprouted grains that I am going to have to start soaking, dehydrating and grinding my own grain into flour, because buying sprouted grain is very expensive and when you buy those grains off of the shelf at Whole Foods (or whatever the name of your health food store is) the nutrition is already gone. Makes me glad that I didn't spend $7 on a half pound bag of flour the other day. Long story short, right now I am on a flour strike until I find the time to go get some real whole grain. That hasn't ruined my life though.

I got a tortilla press for Christmas from my mother, and I recently started making my own corn tortillas. These are delicious and have 3 ingredients in them, best of all, Jonathan can eat them because they do not have gluten. Eventually I'll probably read that I need to grind my own corn, but, I haven't gotten to that part of the second book yet, so, life goes on. Although, I used to fry all of my tortillas and make tostadas. Because I no longer believe in yellow oil, I cannot fry these. Well I could. I could use coconut oil, butter or olive oil. . . here is why I don't. We all know that olive oil is really lousy when it comes to heating up to a high temperature. Coconut oil does great at high temps, but, I don't love the taste. Butter. . . well, that's another story.

The higher the fat content on your food, the more important it is that that food be real. Hormones and antibiotic residue is stored in fat, when you eat that fat you are taking all sorts of things into your body that you do not need there. Long story short, butter is very fatty, so if you can you should buy organic, and if you really want to do things right you'll not only buy organic butter, but you'll buy organic pastured butter. . . which can only be made seasonally as cows don't always have access to fresh green grass. So, it's very expensive. There is one nice thing about the expense though. . . you start treating butter better. You don't waste two sticks of butter in a batch of chocolate chip cookies that you don't need to eat, and can't eat because you don't have any real flour. But, if you could make those cookies the right way, they really wouldn't be all that bad for you.

Eating organic is more expensive. Some people (cough, Kyle, cough. . . ) think it's all hype and not important. It's hard to know anything for sure. Some people smoke a pack a day, snack on candy and white bread and live to be a hundred, others don't. All of our bodies are different. I drink whole milk like water, eat butter, love steak and salt everything like crazy (real salt. . . salt that actually has minerals in it) and I have low cholesterol, low blood pressure, a low resting heart rate and don't exercise all that much, I'm 5'6" and usually weigh under 137 lbs, I'm sure there are other people out there who eat the same way and weigh in at the Drs office very differently. Why does that happen? I haven't a clue. What I do know is that I feel good about eating organic, I feel good about knowing exactly what I am putting into my body.

I say that my sister in law has ruined my life, but in all honesty January has probably been one of the best months of my life as far as eating and cooking goes. I've made dinner most nights or we've had left overs. I've stretched a piece of meat further than I knew it could be stretched. I've wasted less food. I've made meals that I feel good about serving. The bread I've eaten has been sourdough (another story) and the breakfast "cereals" I've eaten have been soaked and prepared properly. I haven't had a perfect score card, we've gone to Chipotle and I ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's in three sittings, also there was a bag of sea salt potato chips in there. I don't feel bad about those things, and I won't let myself feel bad about them in the future. I know that I will eat the wrong things, intentionally and unintentionally. The last thing I want to do is become a nuisance to people because of the way I want to eat.

Time to go make lunch. . .

2012-01-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

How to get an A in one of my classes:

1. Come to class on time

2. Sharpen your pencil, better yet, use a mechanical

3. Turn your projects in on time

4. Learn how to read and follow directions

5. Take notes

6. Treat school like it is your job

It's that simple!

candy for cuties

2012-01-21T13:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.wimp.com/fashionpredictions

Great video clip about future fashion!

Citrus

2012-01-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

If you live in a warm place in Arizona and you are buying citrus at the store right now, then you are a fool!!! All the orange and grapefruit trees are ripe for the pickin' right now! Last week Jonathan and I headed out to the little orange grove planted at the entrance to our neighborhood and picked ourselves an entire grocery bag full of oranges.

I didn't quite know what to do with 40+ oranges and was afraid that they might not even be any good. I gave some away to friends and with the rest I made orange juice. I was going to make marmalade, but, I don't want to spend money on canning equipment right now. I think that is actually a law somewhere, that you aren't allowed to buy things (unless it's with a gift card) during the month of January.

The oranges are a little meaty, but, they made great orange juice. The grapefruit that we got on our walk two days ago were perfect. I have never had a juicier grapefruit.

One year ago. . .

2012-01-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

January 4, 2011

2012-01-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

We're in a bit of a standoff here at the Williams household. We can't decide if the same Santa appears in both pictures. What do you think?

Raven & Lily

2011-12-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

Aren't these products lovely?

They are made from recycled bullet casings and war weapons by women in Ethiopia. Check them out

Schedule

2011-11-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

I love looking at my calendar. I am so excited about so many things coming up in the next days, weeks, months and years. I look at dates and think, "OOOOoooo, it's only two weeks until that event is two weeks away, and when that two weeks is up, all I have do is wait that amount of time once more." I really get into this and will do it for weeks in advanced, "only two more weeks till break, then two weeks of break, after that the semester is half over and we only have 5 weeks left! These first three weeks of class went by so fast, the next two are going to go by just as fast. Just like that half, of the semester is already over and the second half is only going to go faster because all of my students are going to be stressed out. Wow, February is so close."

This probably came about from my family's trip around Kansas. Now, when I say around, I really mean, around. We went to each corner, and then drove to the middle. "We've already made it to one corner, and that was a really long side we were just on, the second corner is only going to take half as much time as this last one to get to. Then I only have to do that 3 more times. This trip is almost over!"

2011-11-26T15:10:00.000-08:00

A cow. That is what I want for Christmas. I will also need a small farm to keep my cow on.

Changes

2011-11-21T12:01:00.000-08:00

Driving down the road the other day I was reminded of our trip back to Missouri two Christmas's ago. We drove my little bmw coupe 1200 miles to Missouri. . . with our two dogs in tow. I took out the back seat (leather), built a wooden platform, and somehow managed to unfold their gigantic metal kennel into the backseat. It was a very cramped drive. Our seats were about as far forward as they could go, and were also as upright as possible. But our dogs? Oh, they were very comfortable.

Though it was snowy I made sure to stop the car frequently to let them out and go to the bathroom, to let them run around. It was a fun trip. One of the things I remember the most was being worried about their sleeping schedules. Alexis stayed up with me through the night. I would look into my rear view window and there she sat, just gazing out in front of her. Oh, I was so worried about how tired she was going to be!

When we got to my parents house, Kyle and I talked about how we were thinking about getting a new car because their just was not enough room for the dogs. This was a real reason why we were thinking about getting a new car. My mom took it as code for, "Kyle and Caitlyn are going to have a baby."

Turns out she was right, and I had been thinking about how impossible it would be to get kids out of a two door car.

With Jonathan almost 15 months old now, I laughed in the car as I remembered this story. I cared about the sleeping schedule of dogs. With a baby it now seems so silly that I should have cared so much about my animals. Obviously they were important to us, and I think it is important to take good care of your pets. . . but, they were grown pets perfectly capable of taking a nap whenever and wherever they wanted (Alexis illustrates this perfectly in the last picture. . . that is my luggage she is curled up in), but I was just so sure that they were going to be so tired!

We now drive a station wagon. I purchased the station wagon because it had a big enough back area to put the kennel in. We no longer have the dogs, but that space is put to good use. . . a stroller, toys and portable crib. . . because, I am still worried about sleeping schedules, and there is nothing worse than a tired baby.

Matching

2011-11-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

Last Christmas our family was gifted this outfits from Aunt Angi and Uncle Remy. Jonathan's is still a little big, but, today just seemed like the day to finally take "the photo." So we headed outside with the tripod and camera and had a little photo shoot. A woman and her children walked by, we said, "Hi," she almost walked past us without acknowledging us, and then said (to Kyle and Jonathan), "oh, you are wearing matching outfits" and then "Wow, you are all matching."

Jonathan thought it appropriate to make a toy out of a plastic bottle he found lying in the grass.

Children's Stories

2011-11-16T18:31:00.000-08:00

I have no words of my own to speak right now, so I share these wonderful words by George McDonald with you. From At the Back of the North Wind;

You see when he forgot his Self, his mother took care of his Self, and loved and praised his Self. Our own praises poison our Selves, and puff and swell them up, till they lose all shape and beauty, and become like great toadstools. But the praises of father or mother do our Selves good, and comfort them and make them beautiful. The never do any harm. If they do any harm, it comes of our mixing some of our own praises with them, and that turns them nasty and slimy and poisonous.

and;

His father had been very gloomy--so gloomy that he had actually been cross to his wife. It is a strange thing how pain of seeing the suffering of those we love will sometimes make us add to their suffering by being cross with them. This comes of not having faith enough in God, and shows how necessary this faith is, for when we lose it, we lose even the kindness which alone can soothe the suffering.

and while I'm at it, from another work of his, The Princess and Curdie;

The must be something wrong when a mother catches herself sighing over the time when her boy was in petticoats, or a father looks sad when he thinks how he used to carry him on his shoulder. The boy should enclose and keep, as his life, the old child at the heart of him, and never let it go. He must still, to be a right man, be his mother's darling, and more, his father's pride, and more. The child is not meant to die, but to be forever fresh born.

This is the kind of treasure some of you are missing out on by not reading more "children's stories." Why would you want to have anything other than the true heart of a child in you? May I never grow up,

Caitlyn

Fantastic Mr. Fox

2011-10-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

Jonathan was going to go as the Fantastic Mr. Fox for Halloween. Then I decided it would be cute for Kyle and I to be Mr. and Mrs. Fox and for him to be Ash. So, I made him an Ash costume instead, and then Mr. and Mrs. Fox costumes didn't happen. . .

Boo!

2011-10-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Jonathan is going to be a George Clooney character for halloween. Can you guess which one?

My imaginary family

2011-10-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

I just went imaginary shopping for my imaginary family that lives in Europe and has money.

Apparently dad is a gypsy and is going barefoot.http://www.livieandluca.com/shop.html

Extreme Home Makeover - Joplin

2011-10-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Really glad to see that 7 homes are being build in Joplin for victims of the Tornado.

Scratching my head that they were not built with basements or tornado shelters.

2011-10-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you to the people who write thought provoking things, who write deeply personal and moving things, to the people who bare a little bit of their soul. You make the internet worth it. Without you (well, and online shopping) I'd give up on the Internet.

Coat

2011-10-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

From the woman who taught me how to sew:

2011-10-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

2011-10-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

Two Nuns Bike by Ron Arad from Dezeen on Vimeo.

Butternut Squash and Caramel Onion Galette with Toasted Pecan Topping

2011-10-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

Made these little lovies for "Appetizers and Dessert" at RC last night. Liked them so much that I had another for breakfast this morning.

I followed this recipe over at smitten kitchen. Well, I changed a few things. I think I used more squash and cheese than the recipe called for and less onion (also, I think twice as much onion really would have overpowered the flavor of the squash) - just because that is what I had. I also used rosemary and marjoram instead of sage, and black pepper instead of cayenne pepper, because I do not have those two things. I also garnished the top with butter roasted pecans.

As far as technique went, I used an electric blender instead of a pastry blender. Never having been a big fan of the pastry blender and not owning one in my adult life, I opted instead to hack up a bar of already frozen butter (which I also like to call luck. . . without that box of butter in my freezer this recipe would have taken me 3 hours. . . instead of 2) and toss it in my blender, then I added the "course meal" size bits to the flower/salt mixture, and viola! It was the exact same texture as what I used to get with my mom's pastry blender and it only took about 30 seconds.

I also opted to make 11 small galettes, instead of two large ones (I doubled the recipe).

I think I will make this for Thanksgiving this year, being careful to start early so that I can finish on time.

Jonathan also had butternut squash for breakfast, his was accompanied with notes of pear. OOhh, la la.

PS - Friend, in case you are wondering, these do not taste like they have vegetables in them. . . Kyle ate them (2) .

Britex

2011-10-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a trip to the San Francisco area. Highlight of the trip? Britex Fabric. . .

On the left you see a lovely black and brown knit wool and on the right a nice medium weight silk/wool blend. Plans? Shift dress w/ kimono sleeve and some sort of high waist pencil skirt.

Time to get my boots out!

Abortion

2011-10-03T23:35:00.000-07:00

Some people are rolling their eyes, others already shaking their heads in approval.

I know I have friends on both sides of the abortion table. It is safe to say that many of them have arrived at their conclusions by using their brains and putting a lot of thought into it.

For a little while, I thought it was okay if someone other than me wanted to have an abortion, I thought, "Hey, it's their choice. People who commit other heinous crimes also have a choice too do or not to do - and some people get away with it - sometimes the government even lets them get away with it." I'm sure there are plenty of war crimes in our past that are not attractive, and that were "sanctioned" by the government, but, in general, the government does not sanction murder - except when it comes to babies. Edit: I am not comparing a woman who has had an abortion to a war criminal. I am saying that, within reason, the government has the power to keep these things from happening, but they turn a blind eye.

That's pretty sad. Voluntary euthanasia is only legal in 3 U.S. states. Someone is saying, "please, kill me, I want to die," and we aren't even allowed to give them their wish. Yet, it's not a big deal to kill someone who is completely at your mercy, someone who cannot defend themselves yet.

"Caitlyn, you are crazy! Abortions don't kill babies - those aren't babies that are in women's wombs. Those are fetus's or an embryo or a blastocyst or a zygote!"

It has always felt like life to me. And when that life is inside of you it's like your soul has added on a great big huge addition. It's wonderful! (I know not all women feel like this) When that soul is extinguished, it's not just the addition that gets knocked down. . . instead, the entire structure is condemned and torn down.

I watched this film today, and it is really what changed my mind about how to vote when it comes to abortion. Do I think change will ever come to America? Probably not (unless the Mormon's take over, which they are forecasted to do in about 2080 because of sheer population), but, it's possible. If people understood what life really is, than I believe that change would have to happen. Because once you really truly grasp what life is, the thought of extinguishing it for any reason, no matter how extenuating, becomes unbearable.

And just to clear anything up that might be out there. No, I would not kill Hitlers mother to get to Hitler. No, I do not hate people who have gotten an abortion. I understand that the thought of bringing another person into the world can seem unbearable, and that you can feel so overwhelmed and unprepared. I do not think that you are ever outside of the grace of God. Don't murder is just one of the commandments, there are 9 others that get broken just as often. All of which need to be addressed.

tour de France

2011-10-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

Project 29 of many. . .

2011-09-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

It makes sense that while walking over to the pool to score some free rosemary sprigs from the apartment complex's landscaping for dinner, that I would pass by a perfectly good piece of trash sitting beside the dumpster. Of course, I had to bring it home with me, it had potential written in dust all over it.

Three yards of fabric and a stick of staples later, I had myself a new chair.

Project 28 of many / Child 2 of many . . .

2011-09-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things crash into one another.

Today is the 2 month anniversary of when we found out about the loss of Benjamin. Sometimes my heart aches so badly that I don't know how I am expected to go on. Then Jonathan wakes up and I regain some perspective, but the ache is still there.

About two weeks before we lost Benjamin our pastor preached a really great message on Gods Love. This sermon brought Romans 9:20-23 to my mind and I began to get images in my head of a piece of art work that I just had to do. I went out and bought the paper right away, and then put the project off. I hadn't stopped thinking about it. I thought about it everyday, I just didn't know how it was going to work. The idea was the earth as a broken, clay vessel being worked over in a pair of old hands.

Sometime after the initial idea and before I did preliminary sketches I had a dream that my baby was dead inside of me and that the feelings I had been feeling in my stomach were phantom kicks. I woke up and felt my stomach, but my stomach was flat and I was suppose to be 18 weeks pregnant, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I eventually fell back asleep.

When I finally sat down to the the preliminary sketches, the concept had changed. The earth was now a womb. But a broken womb/broken vessel. This is the image I wanted to incorporate, only without a hand sticking through. The only hands would be the surgeons, and they would have holes in them. I would say these sketches took place around the end of June.

The womb idea eventually subsided and I went with a pitcher, that was actually a head, but also the surface of the earth with people growing out of it. Two days ago I finally put everything together.

I wish that the circumstances that allowed this piece to be created hadn't been as they were. I do find comfort in the idea that I was being prepared for the trial that I was about to face, and that I now have a picture that reminds me of Gods sovereignty.

The other verses included are Psalm 73, Isaiah 64:8-9 and Isaiah 54: 11-14

Project 27 of many. . .

2011-09-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

I had to take a break somewhere in the middle of the project 26 and do something that I could get done quickly to help me cope with the fact that I was only half way through a 500 hour project. . .

I made this apron for the other Mrs. Williams. It had two matching pot holders that went with it, but I don't think I took a picture of them.

I've been on a bias binding kick lately. . . somebody watch me closely or you may come over someday and notice that I've glued it around my fridge or something crazy like that.

EDIT:
Just received a photo of the pot holders.

Project 26 of many. . .

2011-08-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

I was somewhere on the canned goods isle when my phone rang about six months ago. I'm happy enough when Suzy calls me, I was through the roof when I heard she wanted me to make a dress for her to wear at her wedding reception in August!

The design process began with a series of sketches, which we slowly widdled down to this one:

Silk organza dress with gathered bias cut strips radiating from waist. Sheer organza overlay at shoulder, with keyhole at back neck and cap sleeves. Separate silk organza net crinoline

The dress that was picked was likely the most time intensive of all the sketches, so obviously it was one of my favorites. Having never done anything like this I was very excited about the project.

I think that 9 times out of 10 the fabric that I chose for a project is out of stock. The same was true with this project. The first thing I did was dye 10 yards of silk organza. To do this I used my trusty tamale pot and 6 bags of tea that I let seep for ~3 minutes. I then pre-wet the silk and let it sit in the pot for 45 seconds. The result was the perfect off white.

I cut 60+ 1" bias strips for this dress and then ran two rows of gathering down each side. I think in the future I will see if I can find a company that will do this for me. Keeping organza on a perfect bias is . . . really tough, but mostly really time consuming.

I discovered the wonderful fabric seen above on this project. It is a silk organza net and it is fabulous. I would describe it as a lightweight horsehair canvas. . . but obviously in silk. It was perfect. Without this fabric I would have had to use something nasty like nylon tulle (shudders) to give this dress body. . . no, I would never have done that. . . the dress would have had 30 layers instead of just 5.

Another thing I experimented with on this dress was creating a lapped zipper ending in three separate layers of fabric with french seams. On top of this was added a singular bias cut ruffle. Add to this the fact that I thought I was going to do an invisible zipper, so I only at 1/2" seam allowances to work with, not 3/4" . . . meaning I had to sew on an extra strip of fabric (you can see this on my sample above - there is an organza strip running next to the purple) on somewhere. In the end I think this strip was a good thing as it reduced some bulk at the waist.

I love making buttonholes by hand. These ones were a little tricky because of their very small size and the fact that I only had 1/4" of space to work in. The buttonholes you are looking at right now probably appear twice as large as they actually were.
On a side note, I also love sewing 1/4" bias organza binding around the edges of fabric that loves nothing better than to come unwoven in your hands.

Lapped zipper disappears when zipped up all the way.

Here is the dress almost done. It is missing the cap sleeves, which needed to be draped on the wearer and the uppermost row of gathers.

This is a picture of Sarah modeling the headband that I made out of braided organza strips. I am now completely obsessed with flat 8 cord braids. I love them because you can sit down and watch a movie and get a project done at the same time (this is also why I love hand sewing).

Here comes the bride. . .

These fab photos are taken by Avia Photography out of Columbia, Missouri, who did a wonderful job of capturing Suzy's festive fiesta themed Columbia reception (how appropriate that I dyed the fabric in a tamale pot. . .). Check out their blog.

Do you have a dress in mind that you are just itching to have created for you? Give me a buzz, I'd love to work with you on it! caitlyn.m.williams@gmail.com

The Big One

2011-08-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

Making party invitations. Until last night, when I started to make Jonathan's invitations for his 1st birthday, I had completely forgotten how much I use to LOVE making invitations. I think it might have been the best part of the party for me. I thought I was so tricky with the printer, I'd print one half of the invitation out, turn the paper upside down and then print out the other half. . . a couple of "tricky" paper folds and viola! I had one snazy looking party invitation! Once or twice I might have even had colored ink in the printer.

I did not do any folding on these invitations (well, except for the envelopes). I used an X-acto knife and found a great love in my heart for this dude. . . I have no idea how he does that. In a world of crickets, I prefer my sloppy circles I think. . . Such a nice "homeaid" look. . .

2011-08-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Ummm, so these are adorable.

If you decide you cannot live without these, or something else on this site. . . hit this link and say that I referred you!

To your fleece be true. . .

2011-08-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is the second year that I've gotten to make this sweet little girls outfit for the line lead. Isn't she adorable?! This summer she brought home two blue ribbons and one red ribbon. The ewe was in heat for the state fair, so we won't go there. haha!

I'm already starting to think about the plan for next year, and I am super excited because there is a younger sister who is going to begin next summer, so I get to make two outfits!

How to: Make a pair of shorts out of jeans

2011-07-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer : After 4 years I just found the macro button on my camera. I am super excited and will probably start doing a lot more "how to's" )

We all know how to make a pair of jean shorts - simple, mark where you want the leg to end and then whop away at the fabric with your scissors. After a couple of washes you'll have yourself one fine pair of daisy dukes.

I am 99.9% positive that I will never have to legs to pull a pair of shorts like that off. I hate shorts. I realized that this is true this morning when I looked in my closet to find myself a pair. All I had were a pair of maternity jean shorts and a pair of cargo khaki shorts. . . oh, and like 3 pairs of biking shorts ;) What I do have are lots and lots of jeans - most of my jeans are pretty beat up and the width around the ankles is a little out of date, so I decided to get to work.

I like that long skinny shorts are in right now, I like this because I do not have a pair of pants that is baggy through the thigh area . . . not even when wide legs jeans were cool did I have a pair of pants that were baggy through the thighs - it's just not in the books for me.

One thing that I detest more than just about anything else are pants (or shorts) that you can tell have been hemmed at home. I am a hem snob, so just shoot me. I've totally put my foot in my mouth over this issue several times, "Caitlyn, my mom hemmed these jeans for me, can you not stand these?" : / Actually no, I can't stand them. You should have let me hem them for you.

Getting the hem on a pair of jeans to look right is simple - follow the following rules:

1. Pick the same color of thread as the original hem and use a double thread if necessary to achieve the same look.

2. Put the same size hem in that was there before.

3. If you jeans are distressed and hem has a lot of details on it that you paid a lot of money for, then cut off the original hem and sew it back on. Honestly, this approach is easier than re-hemming a pair of jeans in my book and I do not know why alterations places charge more for it.

4. Most jeans have been through some sort of acid bath and then are industrially dried before you get them - this makes the hem have a very unique "worn" look to them - you can recreate this with a hot iron, lots of steam and some sand paper. After a wash or two in your home machine your hem will look as good as "old."

5. Keep in mind the shape of the leg when you are hemming something. When hemming a pair of jeans into shorts you are most likely going to be working with a tapered leg, meaning it gets increasingly narrow as you near the knee. When you fold the jeans up to create a new hem, you are going to get puckers in your hem unless you do something to your side seam first. The reason for this is because you are sewing something that is say 20" in circumference, to something that is 19 1/2" in circumference - it might not seem like a lot, but, it will look funny if you don't do something about it. There are a couple of ways to fix this, I have a picture demo below (with a few words) to show you one of the ways.

How to make a pair of shorts out of jeans : adding a side slit

(Yes, I understand that most of my readers probably know how to do this - especially you, Mom!)

1. Using a straight pin, mark where you would like the hem to end. Caitlyn's helpful hint: Forget where you think you want them to end and just pick the smallest part of thigh above the knee. If however you cannot hold a child in your lap because the space between your legs is so wide then I suggest just making daisy dukes. . .

2. Using a straight edge, chalk mark your hem line.

3. Your chalk line should run parallel to the crosswise grain line of your pants - look for threads running horizontally across your pants. Further, the chalk line should end at your side seams in the closest you can get to a 90 degree angle.

4. Decide how deep you want you hem to be (Do you want the stitching line to be 1/2" from the bottom? 1"? ), add half and inch to that measurement and then measure down that distance from your hemline. I wanted a 1" hem, so I added 1 1/2" to my hemline. Cut on this line.

5. Lay the cut leg over the leg that you have not cut yet. Make sure that everything is lying nice and flat and perfectly on top of one another - cut the second leg.

6. Get a seam ripper and tear out the outer side seam until you reach your stitch line. To determine where your stitch line will be, measure up from your hemline (first line marked) the depth of your hem (mine was 1" up from my hemline.).

7. Place a straight pin at the bottom of your side seam and sew ~ 1/2" up the side seam. Make sure you backstitch at the beginning and end of the seam (and trim your threads of course!) .

8. Press hem up 1/4" I am using a hem gauge to help me with this.

9. Press up another 1/4" This will hide your raw edge.

10. Press side seams flat

11. Fold bottom of hem up. It should fold right on that first hemline that you marked. Right sides will be together.

12. Bottom of hem will fold up until it touches the area on your side seam that you reinforced in step 7

13. Do the same thing to the other side and pin in place.

14. With the majority of the jeans facing away from you, sew the side seams shut - starting at the center and working your way to the hem. You can only do one section of side seam at a time. Backstitch at the beginning and end.

15. Now with the majority of the jeans facing you, start at the hem and stitch to the center along the side seam. Stop when you reach the midway point / stitch line from step 14. Backstitch at the beginning and end.

16. Clip your corners.

17. Turn hem right side out. Iron flat.

18. Continue ironing the hem up at 1" from the bottom to the folded edge.

19. Put a new large needle into your machine. There are needles specifically for jeans. . . I find a 90/14 works just as well.

20. Sew your hem in at slightly less than 1". I usually follow the 1" mark and then offset my needle to the right just a bit.

21. Iron that baby like there is no tomorrow. Turn your steam all the way up and leave your iron on the hem for a minute or so.

22. Pretty quickly you will notice that folds from your hem are starting to show through where you have been ironing. More steam and heat will bring them out even more.

23. Sanding block and very rough sanding paper.

24. Use the sanding block all over the hem. Little bits of lint will start to fall off and attach themselves to the sanding block. Caitlyn's helpful hint: Do not inhale or attempt to snort these - doing so will eventually result in cotton lung.

25. Use the rough sanding paper to add small holes to the very bottom of them hem. Remember these are shorts, the bottom edge really can't get that worn out naturally, so don't add to many holes or it will start looking unnatural. If you want to add a bunch of holes, add them to the back, that place would get more wear and tear for sitting than the front would. . .

26. These holes will distress a bit further in the washer. Better to make small ones than large ones that you can't go back on.

27. Viola! A cute little side slit in your denim shorts! A nice little detail that masks the fact that these were not originally shorts, but pants!

28. See what I mean? Short cut offs and me just would not work.

Let me know if there is anything else you would like a demo on. Make it as complicated as you'd like :)

Ain't even grey and she buries her baby. . .

2011-07-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

When my time comes, please bury me according to the words of this song:

Tribute that I wrote for Benjamin's funeral today:

Benjamin was just shy of 20 weeks old in my womb when his heart gave up and stopped beating. Such a short life story, but I still don't know where to begin, so I'll begin by asking, "Where o' death is your victory?"

We were not created for this world. This is a truth that has always brought be great comfort. We were created for a life free of sin and evil. A life where we are in perfect communion with God. A life with no pain and no tears. Sometimes I wish we could just bypass all of this inbetween stuff and just go to that place.

I carried my son for 18-some weeks before he passed from all of this madness and into that glory. During those weeks Kyle and I were filled with so much joy. We wanted this baby so very badly. We were so excited for Jonathan to have a friend for life and could not wait to meet him.

All of that came crashing down on July 7th when we went in for our much anticipated ultrasound where we would find out the sex of the baby. The baby had been measuring small since our first ultrasound and despite trying I had been unable to gain any weight. The instant I saw my baby on the screen I knew something was wrong. He was still too small and was curled up. The nurse started asking the questions you never want to hear and finally said that there was no heartbeat... that the baby had died weeks ago. We cried a lot that day, but despite all that sorrow there was a strange glory about everything.

The thing about the truth is that it has a way of making itself known and it kept coming bak to me that we are not created for this world. I truly believe that inside of everyone that there is a God shaped hole and that we are all longing for heaven and for God to fill it. So, despite myself wanting so very badly to be mad at God and wanting to say "this isn't fair," I instead saw that my child passing from my broken womb and into the loving arms of the only one who can fill that brokenness and the only one who can really take care of him. What better father is there than the Lord? And he is the one raising Benjamin! Not the “son of my sorrow” as death would wish it, but the “son of my right hand.”

I began to be filled with this sense of peace and happiness as I was comforted in the idea that my children are so sweet and precious that God wanted some cuddle time, too. After all, we took his son from him and did the unthinkable. We tortured him, He who had not sinned, who truly was innocent and then we nailed him to a tree and left him there to die while we went off and denied that we ever knew Him.

Jesus was someone's son, the Son of the only God that has the power to control anything... and yet He died too and his Father didn't get to hold him and when He died He was so covered with our sins that even His own Father could not see him. Now that God is taking care of my 3.7 ounces of a boy.

Do I think God killed my son so he could have him? No. Rather, he took something ugly, something caused by the curse that sin brought into this world and He made it into something beautiful. That's what it says in Romans 9:20-23.

“But who are you, O Man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory –“

So let us find comfort in that glory and rest in the idea that His Grace makes all things beautiful.

2011-07-08T05:07:00.001-07:00

Nothing beats the sound of hearing the first bird beginning to chirp in the morning.

Flagstaff

2011-06-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

I turned 25 yesterday.

On Friday, after I frantically finished a project, we headed up to Flagstaff for a short little trip. On the way up we stopped at the outlet malls. Now that manufactures create clothes exclusively for outlet malls, I feel like all stores have the exact same things - targeted to almost the exact same customer. I went to Gap, Anne Taylor, Banana Republic, Calvin Klein, J Crew and BCBG. With the exception of BCBG and Anne Taylor there was really a huge lack of design - everything was the same. Anne Taylor was set apart by some really nice dresses. Dresses, that if my stomach were not baloomining (yes, that is a word) I would have probably tried on and then put back on the rack. I am having an increasingly difficult time finding clothes that I like at a price I can afford. The dress I would not have put back was still $200 at an outlet mall. . . well, I would have put it back because of the price.

I think that perhaps the greatest setback to shopping is Jonathan. He is a very well behaved baby. . . but shopping with a baby, I just can't stand it.

We made it to Flagstaff right around sunset. Our hotel was nothing to write home about, but was significantly better than the "Relax Inn" that we had stayed at down the road a few years earlier. When we stayed there our shoes never came off and we slept in our sleeping bags on top of the bed. Even with this room being so much better, we still made Jonathan stay in his pack-n-play the whole time. I dunno, I just like knowing where my floor has been. . .

We slept in Saturday morning and then went hiking around 11:30. The weather was so nice, and was almost cold at times. The hike I picked out was. . . child friendly. It was suppose to end at a lake. However, that lake was dried up, so we ended up hiking further than we were suppose to and down several different "trails" that eventually ended into nothingness. One ended at the top of some rocky cliffs. I insisted that we climb down them, Kyle insisted that the hike was "child friendly," I said, "Kids climb all over everything." So we climbed down. After about 5 minutes I was convinced that we were not going to find a lake at the bottom. So we climbed back up and had our little picnic.

Cheese, crackers, salami from Trader Joes, almonds, hard boiled eggs and apples. . . all taste so much better when you don't have a baby with you who has watery eyes and a runny nose because the wind is blowing dust into his face in 40 mile an hour gusts. It was so windy! The sound of the wind rushing past my ears was like standing next to a huge waterfall. On the hike going "to the lake" everything was fine because the wind was at the back of Jonathan's head, however on the way back it was blowing right in his face. So I carried him back the rest of the way. . . okay, Kyle helped too.

In retrospect, I think this was the lake.

All in all it was a very nice hike. I think the only thing I would change in Jonathan's hat . . . he needed one that fastened under his chin, because he kept pulling his ballcap off.

Back in Phoenix, Kyle took me to the the House of Tricks for dinner. Kyle had been keeping this place a secret from me, but, he had also told me that the place we were going to was not very expensive. So the entire way there we kept driving past hole in the wall Mexican and Asian food places and I just kept thinking, "oh, please no." Apparently what he meant by not expensive, was "not expensive when your work place has given you $$$ to take your employees out for a nice meal and entertainment, and you go during lunch time." House of Tricks is by far the best restaurant that I have been to in the Phoenix area. It was very much like Les Bourgeois in Rocheport, Missouri - with the exception that it was not a winery.

We had a cheese and fruit plate that was . . . out of this world. With this pregnancy, good food has given me goose bumps and made my toes tickle. The cheese plate had praline pecans that came with it. . . praline pecans are soooooo good with fruit and cheese! I had no idea! By the end of the night Kyle was just rolling his eyes at me because I was trying them with everything. . . turns out they are good with the "Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Bacon-Fig Gastrique, Aged Manchego Cheese Potatoes,
Watercress and Truffle Oil" too.

Home

2011-06-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

Project 25 of many. . .

2011-06-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a little jumper and sweater that I just finished for a little girl who competes as a line lead in Ohio each summer. Last year I made her a garment that won her the state blue ribbon and a trip to advance to nationals. Hope she does well this year too! Sorry for the bad photo . . . I can't seem to find my camera and need to package this up and get it sent.

Rubber

2011-06-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

I am in the market for a new handbag. I am very picky about handbags. . . also I can't spend thousands. I can't even spend hundreds really. I'm really liking this one by Hunter - best of all, it's made out of rubber and would be a great bag for a mom with a messy life.

It was on sale last night. . . just my luck that it no longer is this morning. However, it's larger sister is, but I don't like the colors on her as well- or the shape for that matter.

Hamish

2011-05-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

My mom came for a short visit last week. While she was here we went to a Stephens Alumni event and also got to hear Hamish Bowles talk about his latest exhibit and book "Balenciaga in Spain." The talk was very good and he had some very interesting images to look at showing Balenciaga's early inspiration. There were also some images that required quite the stretch of the imagination, but, were no less interesting.

My mom with Hamish Bowles at the Phoenix Art Museum.

Me with a very hamish boy a few days later at the museum.

love

2011-05-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

I love this bag. It's a little big though. . . I'd like it a bit smaller. . . and a bit less expensive.

Seriously though, it's as big as the model.

4 years

2011-05-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

Kyle and I have been married for just about 4 years. In those four years we have lived in the same house and Kyle has always acted surprised when he sees whole grain bread, instead of white bread.

Change is coming.

We are moving this week. I am so excited about moving that I can hardly stand it. I lie awake at night and think about how great it is going to be to move from our current place and into another. I have probably lost 10 hours of sleep over the last two weeks just thinking about moving. I try to think about other things - but nothing helps.

I know it sounds cheesy, but, one thing I have learned over the last four years is that marriage is all about compromise. Kyle and I. Hate. Compromise. We are both very strong willed and believe that we are always right - needless to say this has lead to one or more arguments. I made a run to Lowes two nights ago to get some boxes for moving, and then stopped at Fresh and Easy to pick up some OJ. That's when I saw this. . .

Whole grain white bread. And no high fructose corn syrup. Now, in truth it is only made with some white whole wheat flour - but that is the first ingredient, so I'll settle. I feel like this is the first compromise that I've made in my life that is actually the best of both worlds. I know it's a little thing, but it made me smile.

Moving on (no pun intended of course). I have slowly been packing up the kitchen this last week, and am just about done. I have been trying to use up all of the perishable foods so that I don't have to throw anything away. This has left us with strange things in the fridge. . . mostly condiments, frozen meatballs and frozen chicken.

I used to think that I did not like chicken. I do like chicken, but, I like it to be dressed up. Today I made the most delicious chicken salad sandwich in the world. It was so good that I got shivers as I ate it. My toes felt tingly. Really, it was like being kissed. The best part about this sandwich was that I was able to use up the rest of the chicken, mustard, olives and onion in the fridge. No, I take that back. The best part was that I had packed up ALL of my spices, but accidentally left the paprika out. The other great thing is that I now have something to eat for lunch the rest of this week. . . which is good, because I packed up the peanut butter yesterday.

Here's how I made it:

Broil some chicken in butter - sprinkle with salt. Allow to cool for a bit and then shred into little bits.
Cut up some celery
Cut up some green olives
Cut up some onion

Put all of this in a big bowl along with some mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt & paprika. Stir it up. No need to measure anything, just add what looks and tastes right.

Place between two delicious slices of whole grain white bread and eat.

Feel Kissed that your life is so blessed.

Grace. . .

2011-04-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

Last night as I was driving home from work at 11:30, I did as I often do, and thought about my precious baby boy the whole way home. He makes me smile and makes the class I just taught seem less frustrating (not one student brought their supplies to class, despite being told every day for the last 3 weeks that they would need fabric to cut out their jacket on the 13th. . . ).

As I neared home my thoughts suddenly went from happy, to painfully terrifying. I find the best thing to do when you start crying because you've just imagined your child dying in your arms is to pray. So I prayed, and put a little more pressure on the gas pedal. Then I realized that there is really precious little that I can do to protect my son. Yes, there are the obvious things, I can sweep the floor, feed him good food, watch him closely and make sure he gets plenty of rest. But there is nothing that I can do to keep Gods plan, whatever it may be, from happening. I can't understand those plans either.

So I slowed down and trusted that God was going to keep my family safe, and believed that His will, whatever it is, is perfect.

When I got home Jonathan was fine. He and Kyle were in his room getting ready for bed - they had just got done eating some peas and brown rice (which, is disgusting by the way). I went over to look at him on the changing table. I saw something that was not right, and reached into his mouth. I pulled out a piece of plastic wrapping, that if it had been swallowed would probably have ended his life, or caused me to die of a heart attack. The plastic was clear and very hard to see, it looked more like spit bubbles inside his mouth than anything else.

We have no idea how the plastic got in his mouth. He'd gone from being in his highchair to Kyle holding him. So he must have had it in his mouth the entire time he was eating dinner - so, lots of swallowing, it just never went down.

I'm so glad that it's not just Kyle and I looking out for our family, God knows we'd fail - which is why I believe He stepped in.

Wooden Garden Planters

2011-04-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of moving out of our home. We are doing a short sale, which means we have really no idea when we are moving. We are planning on moving into a two (maybe three if we find a deal) bedroom apartment. We currently have 3 bedrooms and a den. So, we are going to downsize - which I am completely fine with. I've been studying the rooms in my house lately. The biggest rooms are the rooms we spend the least amount of time in - our living room for example, followed by our family room/eating spot in the kitchen. These spaces would be great for something like a workroom, but who wants a work room to be the focal point of their home? The two rooms that I spend the most time in (or what seems to be the most time) are the laundry room (smallest room in the house) and my studio (second smallest room in the house, sans the bathrooms). I also spend a lot of time in the kitchen and the size of that space is perfect. Ideally, my home would have a huge walkout basement with a very open floor plan - there would be office, bathroom and studio, also a place for Jonathan's toys. The floors would be heated, dyed, cement with drains in them. The other structure in the space besides the bathroom, would be tons of closets. Actually, in an ideal situation all of that would be separate from my home, would have an apartment space upstairs, a garage and a greenhouse off to the side. . . That kind of ideal is a really long ways off though, so I'll just try to convince myself that the first option is my ideal.

I'm not sure what the point of all of this is, except to say that I'm not a fan of the traditional living room that people have to show off their nice furniture, television and decorative objects. I like spaces that can be lived in. . . and lived in hard. In an ideal world I would not sit on the sofa and watch television and the type of people I would entertain are the type who like the get their hands dirty and get glue on their clothes.

But, that is not happening anytime soon. . . and I can't have everything I want, and if I did have everything I wanted, I'm sure I would be very miserable. So we are downsizing and I am saying goodbye to my backyard. I love my backyard and I will miss it. I wanted to take part of it with me and had planned on digging up all my trees and putting them in gigantic containers. . . but gigantic containers are muy muy expensive. As it turns out, planters of any type are quite expensive, especially if you want something other than plastic. Pot are also generally round, which on the small rectangular shaped patio that I am likely to get in an apartment, are just not going to work very well. So, I made my own.

Each of these planters cost about $10 . Perfect. Here's what you need and how I did it. . .
(For one planter)

Circular saw
Pen
Ruler
3 - 2x6x8 pine boards
2 - 12 x 12 ceramic tiles
~ 40 wood screws
Wood putty
Stain
Optional:
Roofing paper
Tar
Cheap roller brush

Mark line 1" from edge of board.

Use circular saw (or router if you have one) to cut along line. Make sure you adjust the height of the blade so that it only cuts about 1/2" into the board.

After you make one cut the length of the board, make another right next to it.

Use a flat head screwdriver to remove the wood between the two cuts.

Cut the boards. You will cut all three boards, but only one board will have the cutout for the tiles. I don't remember exactly what they measured. The important thing is that they are cut so that your tiles can snugly inside of your cut out. Approx 27" and 11 3/4".

Pre-drill and counter sink your screws. 3 on each side of board.

Join board together at corners, making sure that you cut out lines up.

Complete three sides of container and slide tile down into grove.

Put the other tile in. They don't have to lay in there perfectly, they just need to be snug so they don't fall out.

Close off end by inserting the final board.

Build two more boxes (without grove for tiles), and stack one on top of the other. Screw some wood screws in at an angle so that the box is nice and sturdy.

Optional: Paint the inside with tar.

Optional: Cover tar with roofing paper.

Use putty to fill screw holes. Sand entire box.

Put on some gloves and apply stain with a rag. Let the box dry overnight.

Then fill with dirt and your favorite flowers. I salvaged what flowers did not die in the freeze over Christmas, but had to buy some new ones too. . . :)

I think my favorite thing about these boxes is that there are so many different ways to arrange them and they take up minimal space in a corner. When we move I will form them into an "L" shape

Weeding

2011-03-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

I once told Kyle that I loved weeding. I do love weeding (However, that did not mean that I wouldn't like help every once in a while.) I was weeding the front yard this morning, having tons of fun like I do. I had almost finished the yard when I looked up and saw the most gigantic weed of all. It was huge. It was dead. It made me think of this commercial I saw awhile back where a Ford or Ram truck backs up to this gigantic tree and pulls it out. The tree literally "pops" out of the ground. Wow, now that's power!

So, I looked at the weed or former bush if you will and thought, "Hey, I have a V8, I can do that. OOOOOOooo, and I also have some rope!"

So, I got the rope, wrapped it around the base of the dead plant, and hooked the other end to the back axle of my car. I took the baby inside (best idea I had all morning). Came outside, got in the car, turned the car on and slowly accelerated. Felt the rope go taunt and tighten around the base of the plant. Then. . .

The rope broke and busted my tail light cover. I think I need some chain. And a tractor. Or just a chain saw.

Identity Crisis

2011-02-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

Cute, right? Dockers. Wait, woah, what? That's what I thought anyway when I saw this cute line of Dockers for little guys, that were shown at the Platform show in Las Vegas. Here's my question though, if these were shown last August for this Spring, why can't I find them anywhere! They are adorable. I especially love the pair with the shoe laces screen printed onto them.

Dreaming of Narnia

2011-02-06T16:12:00.000-08:00

This post is inspired by my friend April over at A Kitchen Table for Two. She asked the question, "Do you have a place you dream of living?" Yes, yes I do. That place is Narnia. There are so many wonderful places to go in Narnia. If you ever find yourself tethering on the edge of a picture frame and the spray of the sea is hitting your face, I encourage you to hold your breath, kick your shoes off and jump right on in! After a moment or two in the water you'll likely find yourself being pulled upon a lovely boat by a young prince or handsome boat captain. You'll be at sea for awhile on this:

Eventually you'll spot land and go ashore. Immediately you'll realize that kicking your shoes off was not the smartest decision you ever made, and you'll be wishing you were wearing these:

Your Manolo gladiator sandals.
You'll want to wear something breezy, I suggest something like this asymmetrical dress by All Saints:

Pair it with a cute scarf like this one from Marc:

Of course you'll also want to carry around a nice satchel, kind of like this one by Gucci:

Now, as for what you should carry with you, I've got that covered as well. I have a theory that the sun in Narnia isn't in the habit of burning people like our sun is, so you shouldn't need to take along sunblock. Now, this doesn't mean that the sun isn't bright, so you will need your some sunglasses. I personally like these ones by Dior:

The following product is good to have, but really hard to come by. It is also very expensive, but if you can find some, well then, you better take it along:

Just one drop will cure any ailment.

Now, I mentioned that the above product will cure any ailment, and indeed it will. Remember though that I also mentioned that it was extremely hard to come by and also pricey (you have to get it on the black market, unless Father Christmas gives it to you). So, say you have a stomach ache or a bit of sea sickness - I wouldn't waste a drop of this on that, instead, bring along some Ginger Chews, by the Ginger People:

I don't know what it is about Narnia, but I always get SO thirsty there! I love drinking rose water while I'm Narnia, it is so refreshing and sweet without being overbearing. The best comes from The Edge of the World, they bottle it locally right at the source!

Now, you may ask of Narnia and the surrounding countries, "is it safe?" to which I would say, "Safe! Course it isn't safe!" You should definitely bring along a bow. I really like this one, it makes a great "twang" sound when you release your arrow, plus, these arrows fly really straight:

As far as what to eat while you're there, I suggest tea cakes with lemon curd, you can get this at many of the local restaurants and inns. My suggestion, however, is to stay away from The Witch. Yes, it's true, you can get almost anything there (including what I hear is the best lemon curd ever), but, there is a steep price to pay and you'll probably regret it later.

Now, there is ever so much more to traveling and living in Narnia. Stay tuned for more helpful suggestions. In the meantime, if you find yourself at a twilight dance party with some wood nymphs, I suggest the following pair of shoes to help you blend in. From McQueen:

Project 24 of many. . .

2011-02-01T11:16:00.000-08:00

Wool Floral Handbag

I love the whimsical floral look, especially on handbags. The problem with that look however, is that it is very fragile. I am not a fragile kind of gal, I need things that can stand the test of time. Enter wool, my favorite and most beloved fiber of all time. Wool is the perfect fabric for me. This handbag could get covered in mud and once the mud dried I could take a metal brush to this bag and it would still look awesome. I know this because at first I wanted to try to distress my fabric, so I took it outside and scrapped it along the concrete curb in front of my house. It did not have the effect that I wanted. It cleaned the cement instead and created a white powder on the fabric that simply brushed off.

I have no idea when I started this handbag. My guess is that it was sometime in September, perhaps October. Though, I don't have any pictures of it before November, so it could have been then as well. I have no idea how long it took, but, I am so glad that I am finally done with it ! I really like how it turned out. I am actually going to use this handbag. It has sentimental value, I won the wool for it about 10 years ago at the Make It Yourself With Wool Contest.

2011-01-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

I wanted today to be productive. Really, I did. But it's just not happening. Check out this ultra cute watch I just found on etsy. . .

Buy it here. . .

Big League

2011-01-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

Cheesy. I know. But cute. I'm sure lots of people want their children immortalized on a vintage baseball card like this. If you do, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Should have. . .

2011-01-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

I never answer the door. Never. To make matters worse, now that we no longer have dogs the alarm is always set to "stay" which means that if I door is opened that the alarm will go off. I have an intense fear of opening the door - this happened when we had bunch of ex-felons living next door, which translated into people ringing our doorbell at 5 am looking for drugs. Our house was also broken into, which makes me wary of strangers. Finally, I do not know how to say "no" to traveling sales men. . . which is part of the reason why we have an alarm system.
If you are a friend, or the UPS guy or my mail woman, I will answer the door. I've also heard that you should answer the door, so that persons looking for vacant houses to rob know that your home is not vacant.
All of this is to say that yesterday when someone knocked on the door, I did not answer. I should have though. When Kyle got home I heard him turn the alarm off and open the front door. This is what he brought me . . .

I got a good one! Thanks love!

drool.

2011-01-25T12:52:00.000-08:00

so cute. . .

2011-01-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I wrote my last post was so that I would stop seeing the word "Santa" at the top of my blog. Now I'm writing this post, so that I will not see that nasty chicken goo at the top of my blog.

Chicken Nuggets

2011-01-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

Remember those books you were given in kindergarden? Picture books, they had no words, you just looked at the pictures and made up the words. I was recently inspired by this picture. I didn't even have to read the story, the picture told all, and I was never (not that I did anyway) eating at McDonalds again. The following is my solution to the nasty gloop seen above. . . still may look a little nasty at times. . . but, you know exactly what is going into it

Chicken Nuggets - A Picture Recipe: By Caitlyn Williams

Santa's Little Helper

2010-12-16T00:50:00.000-08:00

Lot's of projects going on in the workshop right now. That's Santa's Little Helper nestled there among the piles of piles. That is not Santa's glass of milk on the table though - that is a glass of glue water. Mmmm, glue water.

As you can see, the happiness did not last long. I got part way through the making of one mask when Jonathan decided to break down. The funny thing is that it actually took me a really long time to get a picture of him where he looks upset. Why? Well, because every time I pull out my camera he starts smiling. He is mesmerized by the camera. . . I can't take video's of him laughing because he just starts staring at the camera.

If today was your last day. . .

2010-12-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

A lot of people make fun of NickelBack. They think that every song sounds the same. . . and maybe they do, but I like them anyway.

Last night I was driving to church and the song, "if today were your last day" came on the radio. I started to imagine what I would do if today were my last day on earth. In the car I decided that I'd get on a plane, fly to Japan, and die with the wind in my hair and the spray of the sea on my face.

Later that night as I was trying to fall asleep, Kyle was on one side of me and Jonathan on the other, both asleep. I realized that if this were my last day, that I would want them to know that I love them. I want my family to know that I love them. I realized that if today were my last day, that I would want to spend it holding Jonathan, feeding him, playing with him, kissing him and feeling bad about leaving him alone for an hour while he sleeps.

I guess this means that I live everyday like it is my last - since that is all that I ever do. It is so easy to look at the mountain of things that you would like to accomplish in a day and lose sight of what is really important.

Day is done

2010-11-30T13:08:00.000-08:00

Do you ask why I'm sighing, my son?
You shall inherit what mankind has done.
In a world filled with sorrow and woe
If you ask me why this is so . . .
I really don't know.

3 months

2010-11-27T14:39:00.001-08:00

A table for ten, food for more, dinner for 2 (and 1/2).

2010-11-26T20:19:00.001-08:00

I cooked my first turkey this year. It did not turn out the way that I had planned. The only upside to making this huge meal, is that I did figure out how to cut exactly 1/2 cup of onion.
This table can fit 10 people. . . but, we only have 4 chairs. Someday I will get around to making the benches that go with it. If you are wondering where I got the awesome table runner from, it's actually vintage obi fabric that I got from the fabulous Lisa.

Food we had:
∞ Roasted turkey with onion & apple stuffing (way overcooked, and didn't enjoy the flavor that putting the turkey in the oven at 425 to "seal in the flavor" yielded)
∞ Homemade rolls (that I accidentally cooked while keeping "warm" on the stove top. . . first place the meal started going downhill)
∞ Mash potatoes (these were good)
∞ Deviled eggs (best part of dinner)
∞ Green bean casserole (Usually so against this sort of thing, but sampled it at Trader Joes and it was delish. . . so I went with it.)
*Pumpkin pie
*Pecan pie (toss up as to which pie was better. I ate both)
Jonathan ate his right up. (This is how the turkey leg came off. . . the bird cooked a bit too long . . . But, was still taken out of the oven an hour before it was "suppose" to.) The meal was much better today. I think because there wasn't as much hype.

Fall Craft Night

2010-11-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

A week ago, two weeks ago. . . I honestly don't remember when it was. But, sometime in the past I had some girlfriends from church over and taught a little sewing class on apron making. We had cheese, wine and other scrumptious snacks. Below are the finished products!
Everyone did so well!

2010-11-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

By the looks of my blog, November has been the most dull month seen in a while.

It hasn't seemed dull, it's just that most of the things that have happened have to do with Jonathan. . . and despite the fact that he has a facebook account . . . I'm trying not to have his entire life on display on the internet.

Here are some things that he has done:
∞ gone on his first hike
∞ started being interested in toys
∞ gone shopping for his first Christmas ornament
∞ helped mom paint

This week he will also enjoy the first Turkey ever cooked at the Williams house. . . 16 lbs from Trader Joes. We are literally going to have turkey coming out of our ears. (and no, I am not going to give him Turkey)

I have 5 million projects going . . . they just aren't going anywhere fast. Well, at least being a mom has not diminished my ability to start projects. . .

Here are some things that I am currently in the middle of:
∞ Wool handbag
∞ Farmhouse table (finished) and bench (not finished)
∞ Painting for kitchen
∞ Dress for Sarah (Finished pending buttons and some bias trim)
∞ Christmas presents . . . which are another entirely.

2010-11-10T00:17:00.000-08:00

When Women Went Downtown

The city was brick and stone in the time

before glass and steel. In those days

the city was streets of women.

They climbed down from buses

in seal skin, navy straw hats stuck with pearl drop pins,

their double-knotted Red Cross shoes,

clutching black cowhide purses, leading the children.

They lunched in tea rooms

on chicken-a-la-king and quartered sandwiches

but never wine--and never with men.

Rising in the smoky air,

their voices blended--silver striking off silver.

They haunted book rental booths,

combed aisles of threads and zippers,

climbed to the theater balconies, the palaces

where Astaire dipped and turned them

into more than they were.

In the late afternoons they crowded the winter dusk

waiting at the Isle-of-Safety, for the bus

with the right name to carry them home

to the simmer of soup on the stove,

the fire’s sweet red milk.

Evenings, far over the tiny houses

the wind swept the black pines like a broom,

stars swirled in their boiling cauldron of indigo

and the children floated to sleep to the women’s song

zipping the night together, to the story

of the snow goose who went farther and farther

and never returned.

------- Patricia Fargnoli

2010-10-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Jonathan had Jaundice for about 6 - 7 weeks. Halfway through that we decided on the perfect Halloween costume for him. A yellow crayon. A few days ago we decided on the perfect costumes for us. . . white paper with scribbles. Jonathan's art work so to speak. We each made our own shirts. . . let me tell you, it was tough. Kyle got really creative and covered Jonathan's feet in paint and put those on his shirt. By the time these pictures were taken Jonathan was a bit overtired . . .
. . . I still managed to get a couple of smiles out of him. They looked more like smiles from front on, but I couldn't get him to look at the camera.

Got the yellow onesie on Etsy and made the hat and footies. . .

2010-10-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

Poor Jonathan, his life is very hard. Jonathan: "You sound like my mom, feel like my mom, and smell like my mom, but you look funny."

We had a costume ball at work tonight. I think I went as my alter ego.

"They're terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future." - Westly

Bath Cocktails

2010-10-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

Now you can have your baby, and a cocktail too! Check out my friend, Ashley's first giveaway for her emerging company, Bath Cocktails! Super cute soaps in an array of tasty flavors! Visit her site!

Project 23 of many. . .

2010-10-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

I call it "Keisarin uudet vaatteet." Which is Finnish in case you were wondering. . .

Laundry. . .

2010-10-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

. . .not sure if it's clean or not, but it sure is cute. Hands down (or up) best place to take a nap.

1 Month Old

2010-09-27T11:49:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that our little guy is already 1 month old!
Here he is at about 15 minutes old.

. . . and here at a month and a few hours old.

Project 22 of many. . .

2010-09-27T09:06:00.001-07:00

I was contacted mid-August by a girl in Texas who wanted me to recreate a certain bag she had seen. Said bag was by an Italian designer who somewhat recently had a documentary made about his final couture collection. Said bag was $2700. Here is my interpretation of the inspiration she presented me with. There are several changes. The bag is made of %100 silk satin, tulle and dupioni and has pearlized leather trim, it is then "crystallized" with over 600 hand-sewn swarovski crystals.

I was very excited about this project. I thought it would be a great little thing to throw together before the baby got here. Unfortunately all the suppliers that I sourced decided to either not have the products I ordered in stock, or change the price of their products after I ordered them, or not send my order out. Long story short, my supplies all showed up after Jonathan's due date. Which was fine because I was convinced he was going to be late. And he was late, but not as late as I would have liked. Before he was born I was able to get most of my fabric dyed and some of the flowers cut out.

So, in the three weeks following the birth of Jonathan I worked on this bag. Luckily Jonathan is a very good baby and cooperated with me very well on the project.

Colic Calm

2010-09-21T14:05:00.001-07:00

Jonathan has always been a gassy baby. In my tummy he got the hiccups 3x a day, he still gets the hiccups and now his little tummy turns as hard as a rock with gas and he cries. . . well, like a baby. I've found two things that help with this problem. The first is breast feeding. However, 5 straight hours of breastfeeding, followed by a 1 hour nap and then more breastfeeding really makes it hard to get things done. I also think the only reason breastfeeding works is because it makes Jonathan feel comforted. The other thing that works is Colic Calm.

When I first started reading about Colic Calm I wondered if it would really work. I went to the store today and got some because my house is starting to smell and I can't figure out cleaning and feeding at the same time. Jonathan fell asleep in the car and I thought that maybe I wouldn't have to use it and that he would finally go down for a nap. 2 Minutes later he woke up and started crying so I gave him some of the Colic Calm. His reaction was instant. His forehead relaxed and he looked like he was at peace, 45 seconds later he was asleep and (as I would not be able to write this if he were awake) is still asleep. As one woman wrote, “Colic Calm gets my vote for the Nobel Peace Prize.”

A bit overdue

2010-09-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

At 3:00 pm on Thursday the 26th of August I experienced the most frightful moment of my entire life. I went to the bathroom and it was nothing but blood. The baby was not moving, and there was almost always movement. Being 40 weeks pregnant and having had two miscarriages I completely lost my cool. I called my doctors office and got the answering system - they close early on Thursdays. I left a message. Without a thought I jumped in the car and started driving to the hospital. I got a hold of Kyle and told him what was going on, we decided to meet at the hospital. My doctor called me back and told me he was at the hospital, he didn't seem that concerned.

The drive to the hospital was strange. I was very emotional, but was trying to stay calm so that I could safely drive myself. I knew that God knew what He was doing and prayed that it was what I wanted as well. I eventually felt the baby move, which brought me peace. The drive to the hospital took 40 minutes - surprisingly quick for that time of day.

I got to the hospital and saw Kyle waiting out front. I parked the car and we walked in together in silence. We told the nurse in the ER about what was going on and she got us checked in. I then had to wait for half an hour for a wheelchair. I was not allowed to walk to labor and delivery because I was bleeding - this seemed so stupid to me considering that I'd just walked into the hospital and had driven myself there. I did freak out a little in the ER and I did make Kyle go talk to the nurse several time.

Eventually I was wheeled up to triage. I was put on the monitor and could hear the heart beat. The most beautiful irregular sound ever. The doctor then came in and told me that I was 5 cm and having contractions. Then he said he was going to keep me at the hospital until I had the baby. I was not prepared to hear that. I thought that either everything would be fine and I'd get to go home or that there would be total disaster. I did not think I was in labor. I did not have a single thing with me that I had wanted to bring to the hospital. All I had was an uninflated pool in my car and nothing to blow it up with or fill it up with.

The reason I was so unprepared to have a baby on Thursday afternoon requires that I tell another story.

When I was 8 weeks pregnant Kyle and I went to our MC (missional community - like a Bible study). I was not telling people that we were pregnant yet because I was fearful of another miscarriage and wanted to wait until the first trimester was over. Kyle, as I found out that night, had already been telling people that we were pregnant. He told me that if we wanted to tell everyone the news that the time right after prayer requests were taken would be good. All the prayer requests were given and Jeff (host) kept asking if anyone else had anything they wanted to share, Kyle kept elbowing me in the side. So I looked at Kyle and said "Kyle has something that he wants to share." After we had shared the news with everyone someone told us that our baby would be born on the 30th of August and that he had been right in predicting the date that several babies were born - even going so far as to make some very late momma's very upset. We were pretty skeptical at first, then I shared with Kyle about the peace that I felt now that the birth of our child had been prophesied. That date gave me the strength that I needed to make it through many of the weeks of my pregnancy. All of that is to say that I was not prepared for a birth on any day other than August the 30th.

So now I was laying in triage thinking, "I am going to be in this hospital until Monday." I wanted to do everything natural, so the nurses told me to start walking around the hospital to get the baby down. While I did this, I sent Kyle out to fill the tub up with air (I was planning on laboring in the tub) and to buy a hose. It seemed to take him hours.

Around 7 the nurse checked on me and said that I was at 6. This was kind of disheartening to me because I had started to feel my contractions and wanted to progress more quickly! We got the tub filled up - though in the end the maitenance guy from the hospital brought a generator up to fill it with air and we were able to use the shower head to fill it up.

We kept walking, then I'd get in the tub, then we'd walk some more, then I'd rest and so on and so forth. I believe the nurse checked me again around 12. My contractions had gotten much worse by then and again I was discouraged by how little I had progressed. I was starting to want to push and I was getting tired.

My water broke while I was in the tub. In birthing class we were told to remember TACO. TACO stands for Time, Amount, Color and Odor. All I know is that it was bright red and I freaked out again. The nurse knew better than me though and reassured me that it was just my water and then checked and confirmed. Having my water break made me feel like things were progressing and also helped to relieve some of the pressure that I was feeling.

I do not remember when the pain became unbearable. I do remember that in birthing class that Sherry told us that labor did not have to be torture and that we should decide beforehand when we would opt for some sort of intervention. We were encouraged to come up with a word that was the signal that something had to change. I, of course, being me, did not come up with a word because I believed the I could survive anything. Instead I said that I would rather have my toe cut off than have an epidural or any help.

Around 2:30 AM my nurse checked on me again, again I had not progressed much further and my water had resealed itself. I had been against an artificial rupture of my bag of waters at first because if popped and the baby is in the wrong position the baby can get stuck - which can lead to a C-section. I figured that my water had already broken once, so I might as well have the doctor come and break it again. Again there was some relief when the water was broken, but I still had the strong desire to push and then I head my doctor say that I was only at 6 cm. I think that is when I hit my wall. I was in so much pain, I was shaking all over, the tub no longer felt good, I was speaking in a language that I do not know and I saw myself being there until Monday - and that I could not handle. I tried for half and hour longer to hold out.

Someone I met told me that something she found very helpful during labor was to have memorized a Bible verse and to say that verse over and over again. I chose 2 Samuel 22:29 - 36

29 You are my lamp, O LORD;
the LORD turns my darkness into light.

30 With your help I can advance against a troop [g] ;
with my God I can scale a wall.

31 "As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.

32 For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?

33 It is God who arms me with strength [h]
and makes my way perfect.

34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

35 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 You give me your shield of victory;
you stoop down to make me great.

I especially loved the part about "leaping over a wall." (which is how the version I learned read) At 3 am I realized that I could not leap over the wall by myself and I heard the words of a friend of mine telling me that God had created medicine as well. Kyle and I prayed about it, and decided that it would be best for me to get an epidural. By the time the IV had been put in me and the bag of fluids had emptied into my body I was at 9 cm. I was still completely confident about my decision.

Once I had the epidural everything was so nice. I could still feel my contractions ever so slightly and I still had the desire to push - but I could breath and I could think. I was in the mindset that I had imagined I would be in when I would meet my baby.

At 5 am I reached 10 cm. I tried to push but was not very successful at first. So the nurse went away and we waited a bit longer. Eventually we tried again, this time I laid on my side. We made progress this way. The doctor was called in and after an hour or so of pushing Jonathan Daniel Williams was born. He was perfect!

For the first hour of hid life Jonathan was very alert. He spent the time nursing, looking around the room and pooping - which he did 3 times. After that first hour Jonathan showed us that he was going to be a very good sleeper. It was almost impossible to wake him up and get him to eat. We would lay him on cold hard surfaces, which would wake him up for about 30 seconds and then he would fall asleep again.

Three weeks later Jonathan still loves to sleep. I am pretty sure that he would sleep though the night if I did not wake him up to feed him. I would not wake him up to feed him, but, he has Jaundice and frequent feedings are suppose to help combat the issue. Jonathan has been wearing a bilie blanket for about three weeks now. I am so tired of that thing, but am so thankful that it's only jaundice that we are dealing with and not something more serious.

I cannot believe that three weeks has already passed. Time seems to have gone out of existance since he has been born - it doesn't feel longer or shorter than 3 weeks - it just is.

Here are some of Jonathan's accomplishments thus far. . .

During his first diaper change Jonathan showed us that we can never leave him alone even for a second on his changing pad. He rolled from his side to his back and almost off the pad.

His umbilical cord fell off in exactly a week and a day.

Loves to smile in his sleep.

Loves to stretch.

Has a very strong neck and can hold his head up.

Refuses to sleep on his back and is always on his side by morning.

Rolled from his back all the way over to his stomach.

Pooped on mom.

Child 1 of many. . .

2010-09-05T17:54:00.001-07:00

∞ Jonathan Daniel Williams ∞

Running a little short on time now a day. The title of this post should sum up how we feel about Jonathan. He is perfect and a blessing from the Lord.

Alexis

2010-08-25T17:14:00.001-07:00

Alexis is leaving our home today and going to a new family. She was a wonderful dog and it's very sad to see her go. I think she will be happy with her new family though and I know she'll make them happy. Unless she digs up one of their trees 5 times, then they might get a little erked.

Project 21 of many. . .

2010-08-23T14:47:00.001-07:00

Something so simple should not have taken this long. I guess that the new duration of my projects is a good indicator that I am indeed 39 and 3/4 weeks pregnant. Something tells me that projects are only going to take longer from here on out.

Waiting on baby

2010-08-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

Our little one is due to enter the world in exactly one week. Despite gaining about 35 lbs and feeling something move around inside of me, I really do not feel pregnant. I cannot grasp the idea that in no more than 3 weeks I will be holding a precious little baby in my arms. It's fantastic. It's amazing. It's mostly unreal.

I know that genetically this baby belongs to Kyle and I. That we made it. I do not feel like that. I feel like I've just been blessed to bring someone into the world that was thought up in eternity. Someone created for eternity, for Someone who has loved and will continue to love for eternity. And though my body has essentially built this child, I feel like I've had less to do with it than I do when I tailor something. I know how to tailor a coat. In fact, given the right resources I could make you a coat all the way from the primary source. And when I was done with it, it would be void and without life (but not without form ;) ). I cannot tell you how I made this baby. Even if I were an expert on the matter of baby formation, there would still be things that I could not explain. Like amniotic fluid - nobody even knows where that stuff comes from.

I feel blessed. So many people have helped to make this baby possible, from words of encouragement to such generosity that I cannot even understand it. These things may not have directly "made" the baby possible, but have been a tremendous blessing and have really driven home the idea that God is always going to take care of us. All of this creates inexpressible joy, and I pray that I will remember this even in the worst of times.

. . . like, when I'm trying to push a baby out. :/ Until then, everything is ready waiting. The nursery is completed. The car seat is installed. The birthing pool is in the car. I even tried to set up my first appointment at the pediatricians today - they said I had to have a baby first. Go figure.

The closet. Complete with dresser/changing table, the pony that hung in Kyle's room when he was a baby, and a nice supply of diaper bags. . .

. . . and a cork wall with notes from friends and family.

Rocking chair and toy chest that Grandma Jackie refinished for us.

Crib with stuffed animals from friends and a cross-stitched blanket from Great Grandma LaVon.

Lots of great books that I cannot wait to read through over and over again.

Book that we wrote for the baby. I'm really excited about this one. Hopefully it will be a favorite.

Kyle thinks that this page is going to embarrass the baby. I say "bring it on!"

If you want to read the rest of the book, you'll just have to come visit us.

Bramble Tart with Cassis Cream

2010-08-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Kir. I love it. I wish I could drink it every night. Unfortunately, I have not been able to have one for about 8 months now. What this has done is left me with a bottle of creme de cassis in my refrigerator, that I've just been dying to use.
Yesterday afternoon I stumbled upon a recipe for a bramble tart with cassis cream and decided that this little bit wouldn't hurt me. This tart was so easy to make and it turned out deliciously! The recipe serves six, but I think it's more suited to 4 . . . or 1.

Pastry
2 2/3 c all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
5 tsp semolina (which I couldn't find, so I used 1 T whole wheat flour)
1 egg white

Filling
1 lb fresh blackberries (or you could use a mixture of berries. . .strawberries, raspberries. Peaches would be good)
6 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp creme de cassis
1 tbsp flour

Cassis Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp creme de cassis
powdered sugar - I have no idea how much I used, the bag was almost empty, so I just dumped it in the blender.

Cut butter into flour and salt. Once it looks like bread crumbs, add the sugar and then enough cold water to form a dough. Chill for 30 minutes

Mix blackberries with 4 tbsp sugar and creme de cassis and flour

Preheat over to 400, place mixing bowl in freezer

Roll out the pastry into a large circle, leave the edges ragged. Sprinkle dough with flour. Pill the fruit into the center of the pastry so that there is a 2 1/2" margin around the edges. Fold the edges of the pastry to overlap and enclose the edges of the fruit. Close any gaps that you see in the pastry. Brush pastry with egg white and sprinkle the remaining sugar onto the pastry and berries. Bake for 25 minutes

In chilled bowl, whip cream until it begins to thicken, then add creme de cassis and powdered sugar until peaks are formed in the cream.

Serve tart hot with the Cassis Cream. It's also good chilled the next day :)

∞ The Adrian Carryall ∞

2010-08-12T16:21:00.001-07:00

Just finished this diaper bag. Everything about it turned out the way I wanted. I love it when projects go this way. . . they seem few and far between lately.

Buy it here. . .

Project 18.4 of many. . .

2010-07-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

∞ Crib Bedding ∞

Every part of putting this nursery together has taken me longer than expected, the bed skirt and bumper for the crib were no exception. The problem encountered with this project was not something I anticipated - though, in retrospect, I got my fabric at JoAnn's, so I really should have expected it. Long story short, this lovely woven fabric that I chose was not woven correctly, making the distance between patterns different. If you look at the bottom of the bed skirt you can see that one side hangs down longer than the other. Had I decided to make them the same length I would have had to cut off part of the pattern - which I think would have looked worse. I also ran out of fabric - which wouldn't have been a problem had the pattern been even on the fabric. I went back to JoAnn's, had the lady unroll the entire bolt of fabric and then I proceeded to measure the distance between each set of flowers - nothing measured what I needed it to, so the back of the bumper is made out of plain muslin. . . which no one will likely ever see, so I guess it does not matter.

This project has been done for about a month, but I couldn't post pictures until I got a mattress and sheet - which I finally picked up today. Lovely thing about the mattress - it was suppose to be $89, but I had a 20% off coupon. The lady at the counter was nice and gave me another 20% off coupon which I think was suppose to apply to the sheet I bought, but instead applied to the mattress, so I really got the mattress for 36% off, AND got to use a $5 off coupon on my $10 sheet. It was fantasitc! That would have never worked at Macy's. . .

. . . and I can already tell that that light switch right by the crib is going to be a problem in about 2 years.

Project 20 of many. . .

2010-07-22T23:16:00.001-07:00

I reupholstered the chairs in the kitchen today. I have been needing to do this for about 2 years. I have been putting this project off because I honestly believed that I was going to build the infamous "breakfast nook." (and it will happen. . . ) Anyway as they say in Ever After, "We cannot have a royal bottom sitting on a dirty chaise, now, can we?" They were beyond embarrassing.

Technically I started working on these yesterday. I started sanding one chair and then had a panic attack because the idea popped into my head that they might be painted with lead based paint. Fearing this I ran to get a lead test at Home Depot (I really don't like that place, but Lowes no longer carries them), unfortunately the test had somehow dried up (again, don't like that place), so the project got put on halt. Today I got another lead test and it came back negative and so with a sigh of relief I carried on.

This is actually the third life for these chairs. My parents inherited them from my aunt and uncle - at that point they were a lovely gray vinyl color. When I went to college Lisa and I decided to recover them for our duplex. I really have no clue how they got so dirty, it's like they were covered in mud and then left out in the rain (well, that, and also used as ladders to paint with. . . ). I think I will spray these with scotch guard to preserve them a bit better. Total cost to redo each chair was about $7 - a whole lot cheaper than buying new chairs :)

Project 18.3 of many. . .

2010-07-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

∞ Closet Shelf ∞
My aunt Doreen and cousin Lindsay gave us a Lowes Gift card at the baby shower that my mom and Grandmumz hosted while we were in Missouri. I knew exactly what to do with it.

When we painted the baby's room I took the doors off of the closet, took the old shelving out (metal wire) and painted the inside. My idea was to create a space to put a small chest of drawers in, that could also serve as a changing table. I also wanted to put a new shelf in. Needless to say this project took longer than I expected. Turns out the walls of the closet measure differently at the base of the floor than where I put the shelves up at, so the shelf turned out a little small, luckily this is hidden by the support that I used for the shelf. Then my boards were warped - I figured this would happen when I was looking at lumber, but then everything seemed straight enough so I put the idea out of my mind and pushed on, figuring I could easily nail the shelf to the support and everything would turn out fine - which would have worked, except the shelf barely covers the support on the sides, so I couldn't really nail it down. Half a container of putty later and another coat of paint I called it done.

I think it turned out quite nicely. I think that if we have a girl I'll put a bar up under the shelf to hang her dresses on . . . otherwise, we'll go without. Might also put some more little shelves up along the sides of the closet.

2010-07-07T22:07:00.001-07:00

hmmm, it seems that the only thing I am certain about right now is that the future is uncertain.

Blocks

2010-07-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

These cute blocks are now up for sale on my etsy site! (Note: To the grandparents trying to figure out if one of the names spelled out is potentially a grandchild's name. . . think again, I don't break that easily)
∞ See them here ∞

SCL

2010-06-23T01:23:00.001-07:00

* To anyone who doesn't know me, please know that the following is a rant and that I am just as guilty of this as anyone else *

Why do so many Christians have it in their heads that going to church is suppose to make them feel good about themselves.

I do not religiously follow the blog "stuff Christians like" but do read it from time to time. In the latest post, mothers day and fathers day sermons are compared. The idea behind the post being that mothers are glorified on mothers day, and that on fathers days, Dads's are told to do better at being fathers.

First of all, I'm sorry if you go to a church where the specific holiday that Sunday falls on determines what type of sermon is going to be preached. Second of all, I'm sorry if you think that mothers day or fathers day somehow trumps God's day (which isn't just every Sunday - it's actually everyday) and that you think your goodness should be praised, instead of the righteousness of God. We really need to get over ourselves and stop taking offense when we are told that we fall short of the glory of God. I mean, it's a total "duh." Duh, you don't compare to God. Get over it. He's God and He created you. God calls us to follow after Him and to be like his Son, Christ.

You know what would be a lot more uncomfortable than having to sit through a sermon where you are given some advice on how to be more Christ like? Sitting through the rest of eternity and being totally and completely separated from God and being completely aware that you worshiped yourself, rather than Him. Or coming before God on the day of judgement and being the pastor who candy-coated Sunday morning . . . turning it into "Stuff Christians Like" rather than stuff Christians need to accept/hear/learn/repent of/ etc. etc.

Do I think it's fair that some churches tell Dad's they are doing a bad job on Fathers Day and Mothers that they are doing well on Mother's Day? Most certainly not - in fact, I think it's wrong to not let mom know that she is just as short of God's glory as dad is. We are all destined for destruction without the grace of God. God's grace is what saves us, not ourselves, not anything we can do. . .

What more could you want than that? And why can't that be the ending of every sermon?

Project 19 of many. . .

2010-06-21T22:00:00.001-07:00

First maternity dress. I had a productive weekend.

Never told to mind my P's and Q's. . .

2010-06-21T10:19:00.001-07:00

. . . but always my plaids and stripes (and wallpaper patterns).
A little jumper I made for a little girl who is going to be a sheep lead in Ohio this summer. She will be wearing this jumper with a coat that I made for my senior collection, along with a pink scarf that of course matches the scarf that the lamb will be sporting.

Project 18.2 of many . . .

2010-06-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

∞ The Nursery AKA "Spare Oom" ∞
Why are curtains the most annoying thing in the entire world to work with? Honestly, I think I'd rather spend the day working with 13 year olds, than working with curtains. Something always goes wrong for me, and it's generally in the "putting up" department. I think I've spent too long looking at my students straight seams, because the moment I put up the sheers I could tell that they were a quarter of an inch closer to the ceiling on one side than the other - didn't even need a ruler. Guess I need to learn to "measure twice, cut once" rule with curtain rods. But I digress.

Joann's, a place which I usually hate going to, had a really big sale this weekend. Almost everything was 50% off. I went in to get a spool of pink thread and came out with bolts of fabric, curtain rods, cutting boards, batting and who knows what else. In addition to finding curtain fabric, I also found fabric to make the crib bumper and bed skirt with. . . and if it's not pattern over kill, a cushion for the toy chest as well. I don't have fabric for the quilt/blanket yet, but I'm thinking that in a land where it rarely get's below 60 degrees, that we just might not need one. Why not just use those footie pj's?

Despite all the frustration w/ the curtains, I am quite happy with how they turned out. I really love the texture and color variation in the brown fabric. I took a picture, but it really doesn't do the fabric any justice (can't believe I just said that about something that I got at Joann's)

Ky - Ky

2010-06-18T09:47:00.001-07:00

When Kyle and I first started dating he bought a motorcycle (because I said they were cool), we also went bowling a lot. On my birthday he gave me a gift that was very round and I looked at him w/ a quizzical expression and said, "a bowling ball?" Turns out, it was a motorcycle helmet (that matched his).
Kyle knew right away that what I got him for his birthday really was a bowling ball.

she turn around and gave that big booty a smack. . .

2010-06-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

That's all I can think when I look at this product.

She hit the floor, next thing you know, shorty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low

2010-06-06T16:04:00.001-07:00

I have been looking at this little bubble jumper on the bergdorf website for a while now. . . it went on sale and had free shipping . . . so, I broke down. It's a size 3 months, so I'm not sure it will fit right away, but I sure hope so, because I really would like to bring the baby home in this.

So cute!

Project 18.1 of many. . .

2010-06-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

∞ The Nursery ∞

After much deliberation, we have decided that we are staying in our house, erm, home. Of course, it only took .05 seconds after making that decisions for me to realize what that really meant. Which is that I could start working on the nursery. Technically work on the nursery began before this realization. Jackie came out at the beginning of May to help us prep. She refinished a rocking chair and toy chest for us, which I will put pictures up of once I decide what fabric I am making the cushions for those things out of.

With that said, I am much too impatient to wait to put up pictures of project 18, so you will be getting updates in small increments. Today, I bring you pictures of 18.1 or the mural, or a way into Narnia. . .

In my bible study I recently came across a passage that had me scratching my head.

1 Timothy 2:15. "But women will be saved through childbearing -- if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety" [NIV]

Another translation says "good sense" instead of "propriety." I chose to ignore that translation because I am not sure I have good sense or that I ever want to have good sense. I like the illogical and the nonsensical. And I will tell you why. If this child is going to "save" me, then its bedroom is going to be my portal, and what better portal than a wood between the worlds, and little pools that can take you anywhere? This makes perfect sense to me and if it does not make sense to you, then I must say that I am not sure how you can carry on in this world without any imagination.

Before

After

2010-05-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

If I had more than a mother's intuition (and $5) I'd put this lovely light fixture up in the baby's room as soon as I could get it.

Bi-Plane Down Lighting Pendant

2010-05-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

The Suzy Carryall - A Baby Bag

Name Ideas?

2010-05-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally finished (well, sort of) the baby bag that I started working on about a month ago. Unfortunately it's got a couple of problems, like the flap is a little larger than the bag in the middle, so the closures don't match up as perfectly as I would like (It's still completely functional, just frustrating for me). Also, in retrospect I should have done the bottom of the bag in the solid purple, because right now it looks like the vertical purple lines just end abruptly. In all actuality, I probably didn't have enough of the dark purple to do this. I have not finished the bag completely. . . I still need to make the strap (which, I might not have enough fabric for) and the changing pad (which zips up into that bottom compartment). I think I will probably put this up on Etsy in a few days and see if it sells. It was my mock up bag, so I guess I shouldn't be disappointed with how it turned out. . .

Goal for next bag is to source better zippers and closures, what is on this bag is not what I would consider good quality . . . I don't know if I even feel comfortable trying to sell it (zippers don't perform like they should and rivets in closure are too big, making it hard to twist them shut). It's really frustrating that everything else on this bag turned out and that some things had to go wrong :\ What do you think, should I try to sell it? And if so, what should I call it? I'm thinking an overall style name for this type of bag, so think beyond the purple scheme. Also the bag can be either a messenger, backpack or can strap onto a stroller.

Wearable Art Show

2010-05-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the paper dress that I made for the wearable art fashion show at Collins College this past Thursday. Have no fear, I ended up finishing it hours before the show.

New Developments

2010-04-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

Yay! Kyle and I are officially past the halfway mark! The baby is measuring 20 weeks and 1 day, and weights 13 oz! The due date has been moved from the 27th to the 25th of August. Today we had our ultrasound, the baby wasn't in a very good position, so we didn't get any great images, in fact, the images from 11 weeks were more clear than the 20 week images (11 weeks was also on a very high-tech machine). The baby was squirming around a lot though and kept fully extending his legs and then she would retract them, over and over again, just pushing on mommy's uterus. It was pretty cool. Also pretty cool was the ultrasound gel, why couldn't they warm it up like the other place did? Also, we did not find out what the sex is and we are not going to.

I also got a new haircut. I cut about 6 inches off. It resembles my hair style in 3rd grade. . . Kyle has not gotten use to it yet, every time he looks at me he's got this weird look in his eyes that I've never seen before.

2010-04-07T18:03:00.001-07:00

Kyle and I have started to attend a birthing class (!!!). The lady who is leading the class gave me a book to read called, "So that's what they're for!"

There are some interesting tips and I've learned a few things about breast feeding that I didn't know before, but goodness gracious, I do not need 60 pages worth of literature to convince me that bottles are bad and that breastfeeding is good. Also, I'm pretty sure that I would be excommunicated from the McMurry family if I did not choose to breastfeed. In fact, I'm pretty sure that on the "no no list" that bottle-feeding falls after divorce (severing your spirit from your spouse, or severing your baby from your body = same thing).

I can still remember growing up on the farm and my grandma saying that she would feed a baby the formula that we fed to the lambs before she would feed that baby baby formula.

Also, not sorry if this post made someone out there, who thinks boobs were made for magazine covers, feel uncomfortable.

2010-04-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

I decided today that I think my home in Heaven will be a fixer-upper with something like a Lowes down the pot hole filled road of gold :) I'm pretty stoked!

Femme Mache

2010-03-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

We are having a wearable art fashion show at Collins College on May 6th. Surprisingly, I've already started my submission. I don't know what I'll do with myself if I get this thing done with more than a week to spare. The title of the piece is Femme Mache, which I'm pretty sure is a language that I just made up. Pictured below is the origami skirt. . . it is going to get a lot more textural work done to it once I figure out how to get it from school to my home.

2010-03-29T15:00:00.001-07:00

I've been feeling little kicks coming from within my belly for about 3 weeks now. (Emphasis on little) Last night I was laying in bed with my hand on my stomach and experienced what must have been a flip. It was intense! If it startled me, then I surely must have startled the baby with my reaction. I screamed and propelled my body about a foot in the air from a completely horizontal position. Hopefully my reaction won't deter the baby from wiggling in the future.

Maternity Jeans

2010-03-26T19:23:00.001-07:00

The maternity jeans that I wanted were $189, so I made me own. I went to My Sisters Closet and found some nice 7's, which were going to be $40, but when I got to the counter I had a credit on my account (from some clothes I'd taken in to sell on consignment forever ago), so they technically only cost $4. Now, that's a price I can handle. . . especially for something so attractive.