happy halloween!

Arrr Mateys!  Have a fantastic Halloween everyone!

* I must note that I did NOT make Bradley's Halloween costume this year.  I just didn't have the energy, and 14 bucks at Old Navy sounded pretty dang good to me.  So I grabbed his costume along with a sword, hat, hook, and parrot and called it good.  Then I went through all my scraps of fabric and threw together our costumes.  It took a grand total of 30 minutes and it was the best stress free Halloween ever.  

I have put more effort into our costumes years past, and made a lot of them.  Let's take a little walk down memory lane....

2010

Mad Hatter, Alice, the White Rabbit

2009

Swine Flu

2008

Sarah Palin and John McCain

2007

Dwight and Angela

2006

K-Fed and Britney Spears

What are you guys dressing up as this year?

and the winner is....

SPOILER ALERT: I'm posting on the Project Runway season finale, so if you haven't watched it yet, stop reading and go watch your DVR!

I think Garrett was almost as excited as I was for the finale.  I love PR and usually want to run into my sewing room after watching it and start creating.  I was a little nervous about who the judges were going to pick in the end, because Josh wasn't my fav.  I thought it would have been between Anya and Viktor for sure....so that was a little surprising.  But they made their decision, and I am so happy for this little lady:

Yes her collection was pretty much all dresses, but they were gorgeous and flowy.  And lets me honest...I die over a good dress/skirt.  I especially loved this piece:

Also, I wanted to remind you to send me over a picture of your MAXI SKIRTS!  I have loved seeing them come into my inbox.  I plan on doing the big Maxi post Thursday of next week.  I figured I'd give you guys a few days so that you can finish up your skirts and your Halloween costumes.

Which by the way, Bradley wore his today and I had a hard time keeping myself from pinching his little cheeks he looked so cute!

Bradley's book

I have been planning on putting together a photo book of Bradley for the past 2 years of his life, and finally got around to it.  It's just one of those things that sits on your to do list and always gets put on the back burner.  I used mypublisher to make our wedding photo book and loved how it turned out.  I got an email from them for 80% off  the normal price (you read correctly...80%!) so I jumped on it.  I am in love with how they turned out...

I was able to fill each book with 100 pages and it was only $40 per book!  They usually have great prices normally, and are always doing specials.  But this was the best discount I have seen yet and couldn't pass it up.

I would recommend using mypublisher to anyone.  They turned out great and the program was really easy to work with.  Now if I could just find a good place to print out blogs.....any suggestions?

Also, you probably noticed my new site design!  It's still a little under construction, but I am really excited for a fresh new look!  More on that later....

P90X meals

So my husband had this great idea to start P90X together.  Really realistic for a 5 month prego, I know.  I think I made it through about 1.5 days of Tony driving me insane, then gave up and went back to bed.  But one thing that I have gotten into is cooking using the P90X cookbook.  I've always tried to be conscious about what I eat, but the first trimester was just a blur of Titos Tacos and Taco Bell 5 layer burritos.  I knew once I was out of the crazy 1st trimester lack-of-self-control-phase I needed to eat a whole lot better.  Mostly because I don't want to give birth to a 12 pound burrito.  

So for the past few weeks I have followed the P90X meal guidelines as best as I could, and we have had some mighty delicious meals that would make good old Tony proud.

For breakfast we really love egg white omlets with mushrooms, tomatoes, green onions, and mozzarella

For lunch I usually do a whole wheat tortilla wrap with motzzerella, turkey, cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, lettuce, and a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette

I've also loved pita bread with shredded chicken, dill, tomatoes, and cucumbers

Dinners have been a little more labor intensive, but have been reeeeally good and full of flavor.

turkey (cut fresh from the deli) with gravy from scratch, green beans, strawberry salad, and peaches

wild rice, green beans, salad, sauteed mushroom, apples, and butternut squash soup

salmon with fresh dill sauce, wild rice, and strawberry salad

beef and broccoli stir fry, quinoa, strawberries, pumpernickel bread, and miso soup

Don't get me wrong, there have been some frozen pizzas sprinkled here and there, but for the most part we have done pretty well!  It's a good thing I got this post in here before Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Because I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune then... 

sickey sick

Please excuse my lack of posts recently.  I'm trying to fight off a bad cold right now and am currently losing.  And with this baby inside of me, I'm not able to take the good drugs that just make me all loopy and help me sleep it off.  I could really use those right about now. . .  Hopefully I'll be back to normal soon!

in the works

excited about my current project.  Let's hope it turns out how I am envisioning it.....

sewing basics:: the essentials

I have gotten a lot of emails asking for tips for a beginner sewer.  I am no pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have a system down now of what I like to use when I sew, certain stitches for different types of fabrics, etc.  So I'll tell you all my tips and tricks throughout a series of posts I'm going to call SEWING BASICS.

Today I'm going to cover the essentials: meaning, all of the tools that I use every single time I sew.  Having the right types of tools will really help you with your sewing experience.  Now I know that there are plenty more sewing tools out there than what I have listed, but here is what has worked for me.

*cue a chorus of angels singing*

The Sewing Machine
  There are tons of different kinds in all sorts of price ranges, but I have loved every second with mine and would recommend it in a heartbeat.  My mom gave it to me for my college graduation and it is one of the best gifts I have ever received.  

My sewing machine is a Janome DC2007LE.  My mom got it from Nuttall's in American Fork.  It came with 4 free sewing lessons that I never used and have always regretted.  I've read my manual from cover to cover, but it would have been nice to actually have someone walk me through my machine.  But it is really user friendly.

*One tip that I didn't realize until a little over a year ago, is that you have an option to load your sewing thread horizontal (which I started off doing) or vertical.  It comes with a separate attachment to switch to vertical and it has made a world of difference for me.  When my thread was laying sideways it would always catch for some reason and drove me through the roof.  I haven't had a problem since I switched to sewing with my thread sitting vertically.  

It's really easy to change to different stitches, change the length of your zigzag, etc. The stitches I use most are 1 (straight stitch), 8 (basic zigzag), 13 (blind hem), and 16 (basic button hole).  I have also used some of the decorative stitches on baby quilts and things like that and have really liked having those options.

Serger
Now this machine isn't essential for everyone, but I wouldn't be able to sew without it.  I like all of my garments to be completely finished, and you can't get a professional look without one.  I have use my mom's old Juki serger.  It's old....but it runs like a dream.  I know there are various serges that are really thin, or only use 3 threads, etc.  I wish I knew how to do those!  But the instruction manual is really old and I haven't been able to figure it out.  But I have learned (through a series of stuck strings, strange noises, and swear words) how to thread this sucker.  It is HARD.

Sergers are very temperamental, and if the balance is a little off, you could wind up with a snapped thread and have to figure out how to re-thread it.  The first time it came unthread I took it down to The Cotton Shop and a nice lady there spent a good 30 minutes re-threading it for free.  So you can always try that if you really get in a bind.

A Rotary Cutter, Cutting Mat, and Clear Cutting Edge Ruler
I went waaay too long without these tools!  You WILL be cutting straight lines, and your time WILL be cut in half with this little trio.  I got them all at Joanns.  I would also highly recommend a suction gripper  that sticks to your clear ruler.  It makes it so much easier to hold the ruler in place as I cut. 

a GOOD pair of Scissors
I emphasize the word "good" because I've used crappy scissors and they are no good.  I invested in a pair of good quality Fiskars scissors because they were nice and heavy, sharp, and cheaper than Ginghers.  Use your 40% off coupon for an even better deal.

Seam Ripper 
When you make a sewing mistake....which you will, you will become fast frenemies with your seam ripper.  I have spent many a night curled up on the couch in front of Project Runway with a botched skirt and my trusty seam ripper.

Pins
You may think I don't have an opinion on pins, but I do.  I started out with the sorry little miniscule silver pins, but made the change to the long pins with colorful balls at the end and they are so much easier to hold, remove, and spot on the carpet so your toddler doesn't puncture his foot. . . . oh wait . . that last part happened yesterday.  Worst mom in the world, right here.
I also found that they are the cheapest at Wal-Mart.

Seam Gauge
I use my seam gauge as much as I use my pins.  I am constantly measuring and remeasuring hems, pleats, or seam allowances.  It is a great little tool since you work with small measurements constantly.

Vinyl Tape Measure
I don't have an opinion on which one of these to get.  Just get one.  And you look really professional if you always work with it draped over your neck, like moi.

Tailor's Chalk
I like this chalk a lot more than a marking pencil.  It shows up a lot easier and lasts forever.  But I have been known to use highlighters and pens as marking tools just as often as the chalk.

Extra Bobbins
I always have extra bobbins on hand in case I need to change thread colors.  I have wound the same bobbin with 2 different colors before because I was desperate, but it just makes things messy.  I would recommend sticking with 1 color of thread per bobbin.
(make sure you check the packaging on your bobbins to see if it is compatible with your machine)

Extra Needles
There is nothing worse than breaking a needle and not being able to continue because you don't have any extra.

Last but not least, get a good storage system for all of your supplies to help you stay organized!

I used to just have a sewing box, but it became full and crowded quickly and I got sick of always digging through it to hunt things down.  So I opted for this shoe rack.  it gives me plenty of compartments, and it's all see through, so I never have to spend time trying to find something.  Plus, it is all out of Bradley's reach, so I never have to worry about him getting into things.

 Let me know if you have any other ideas for this series!  Like I said before, I am no expert, but am happy to share things that I have picked up along the way.

I will try to do a sewing basics post once every couple weeks.  If I try and say you will get this kind of a post every Friday I would fail miserably. 

skinny tie

A while back I found a great pattern for a baby boy's skinny tie.  I made a bunch for Bradley and have loved them.  Now he is about growing out of them, so I'll need to tweak the pattern to make it a little bigger and a little longer.  It's been so fun putting on these adorable little ties on him for church.

You can find the pattern that I used here (scroll through the options until you see a graphic with a pink tie on the left and a multi-colored tie on the right) in PDF format.  The pattern that they have is good through about 18 mos. 

Tied and True Skirt

top: Forever 21, boots: BP,  sunglasses: Fossil, necklace: itsastitch , bracelet: Urban Outfitters

So I got this great pinstriped yellow knit at the fabric district and considered making another shirtdress. But then I just decided to make a skirt using the same technique, except I didn't attach it to a shirt.  I wanted to have the option of pairing it with different tops.

I did the waistband of the skirt the same way I do the waistband for my maxi skirts.  I added ties so that I could cinch it in as much (or as little) as I want.  It's light, flowy, and most importantly.....stretchy.