Happy Friday + Randomness

Happy Friday! I may be jinxing things to write this, but the server mayhem may be resolved! M tells me that in terms of server space, I’ve basically gone from hovel/shanty to palatial digs. Nice.

Small things: the other day I was browsing through the Elliot Bay Book Company and discovered their little cafe where I decided to hunker down with a cup of au lait and a warm mini-loaf of potato bread. I was feeling a bit blue and under the weather, as it happens in life sometimes, and I wanted to rest. The lovely man who made my coffee and toasted my bread handed me the platter with a flourish. “I added a little extra something for you – you look like you need it, and it makes it all so much more French,” he winked. He had added a small bowl of melted chocolate. I sat down, tore off a piece of bread, lightly buttered it and dipped it into the chocolate. I took a bite. And just like that, the blues were banished. I savored my coffee and decadent treat, jotted a few notes down, and went to go meet a friend. That small gesture of a spoonful of melted chocolate and kindness did wonders and righted the world. I snapped a photo with my ipad so I wouldn’t forget it (awkward) and it would have been an instagram moment if I were an instagram kind of girl.

This might be a good time to mention that I seem to get free food from strangers a lot. I’ve come to the conclusion that a) I must appear destitute or incredibly depressed or b) I’m very lucky. I’m thinking (a) because the food is often accompanied by words of encouragement.

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So I’ve been noticing a certain theme with K lately:

Me: [vigorously wiping at some unidentifiable gross goopiness on the stairs]

K: Mommy, your bum looks cute when you bend over.

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K: [humming tunelessly to herself, then suddenly belting out with operatic gusto] MY BUTT’S ON FIRE. MY BUTT’S ON FIRE. [resumes humming tunelessly]

I peeked into her room in the off-chance her derriere was flaming, but she was calmly drawing a shark eating a man. Should I be worried?

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There’s another funny story in the same vein from K’s preschool years, but it’s sort of long and I’m eager to get my weekend started so I’ll have to tell you another time. Have a fabulous weekend, friends, and here’s the weekly haiku:

Easter bunny fun
annual hunt for treasures
so much egg salad

 

 

 

 

 

You and Mie Guest Post + Outfits

Friends, technical problems abound, and I’m so sorry if you’ve been having trouble accessing this blog. My server is not completely dead but is definitely on its deathbed and very unstable. For the time being, it’s up again…but may go down again any minute.

Anyway, I am loving all the blog recommendations from yesterday! I’m familiar with a few but so many are new to me and I’ve been adding them to my reader like crazy! Thank you! [Update: I lost many of the comments and we are in the process of retrieving them…I may keep the giveaway open a little longer, more details to come.]

[Update 2: I have a new server! But a few things still need to happen for my li’l blog to be fully operational and I’ll be working on that for the next few days]

Moving on to other matters, I am guest posting for the Japanese Sewing Book Series today and if you’ve made it over here from You and Mie, welcome! I’m so honored that Cherie asked me to participate, and it was so so fun. Cherie is so lovely and wonderful to work with. Over at You and Mie, I’m talking about the nitty gritty of instructions, and though there’s a lot of information, I hope it’s helpful. As a companion post, I’ve created a few items to show you today, and I’ve had spots on my mind. In fact, if Picasso had his blue period, dare I say I’m going through my polka dot period?
Since January alone, I’ve made this and this and this.

Let’s talk about the Nani Iro dress first, shall we? I’ve been holding onto this fabric, waiting and waiting for the weather to turn from arctic to almost-spring. The time has finally come and doesn’t this little dress make you want to do a little happy dance? I’ll be the first to admit that maybe, just maybe, it’s a tad night-gown-ish. But that just means it looks comfortable, I say. Cherie made a sweetheart bubble dress using the same fabric and hers is decidedly not nightgown or hospital gown-ish.

I like the dropped waist with the casing and sash, and you can’t see the gathered neck, but it’s a nice design detail that makes it easy to slip on and off. K thinks it’s all right, but nothing to write home about. The pattern is from this book.

But this! This dynamic polka dotted camisole and tiered skirt duo was squeal-inducing. “I LOVE this!” K exclaimed, clutching the skirt to her chest. She wore it two days in a row and would have worn it a third if I hadn’t wrested it from her small hands.

She likes the top too and wore it immediately as a cover-up (appropriately) to a swimming birthday party. I used Kokka (100% cotton) and actually think this fabric would look fabulous as a swimsuit. The camisole top is from the same book as the Nani Iro dress.

The skirt is made from a denim-look knit – I sew a lot with denim-ish fabric since they match everything and becomes frequently worn. I serged the hem of the tiered skirt as a design element. I was definitely not feeling lazy nor was I trying to cut down on sewing time. Nope. Design element. The pattern is from this book and it seemed scandalously mini even with the built-in shorts, so I added about 2.5 inches to each tier. This is what it looked like in the book:

Which spotty look do you prefer? Detail shots below…

Monday Giveaway! [CLOSED]

[Update: Due to technical difficulties, the giveaway has been extended. Hooray (not for the difficulties but for the extension)! The giveaway is open until Thursday, April 4th and I will announce the winner on Friday the 5th.]

Good morning! What a weekend – we’ve been running around all over creation, from festivity to festivity. Fun, but I’m feeling ready to rest. How was yours?

I’ll be posting the weekly outfit tomorrow, but in celebration of Japanese Book Sewing Series this week (where you should go immediately to see the very first post by the amazing Kristin), I thought I would do a little giveaway.

I have two adorable Kokka fabric pieces of about a yard each that have been lounging in my stash, unloved and ignored. They would be grateful to find their way into a home that would nurture them and let them blossom into creations worth oohs and aahs. I am, after all, purging and it’s indicative of how big my stash is that I’m willing to part with cute robots and Wizard of Oz sweetness. Made of the fabulous cotton/linen blend that Kokka is known for, the possibilities are endless.

To win these lovelies, please leave a comment with your all-time favorite blog. I’m in the mood to discover new reading material and I’m open to any kind of blog (except maybe finance-related). I have a feeling that your go-to blogs are awesome. The only rule is that it can’t be mine to preemptively avoid feeling sad that mine wasn’t mentioned. Friends, chances are in your favor because Google Analytics tells me that we are a very exclusive society, you and I. Just so you know, my fave of all faves is Posie gets Cozy. I think Alicia (who doesn’t know I exist) is so wonderful. I actually cried when I read about her amazing adoption story and can’t get enough of her beautiful photography.

I will ship internationally, but it will have to be the slowest, cheapest option (sorry).

I’ll keep the giveaway open until Sunday, March 31 and upon using random number generator for the second time ever, I will announce the winner next Monday! I promise it won’t be an April Fool’s announcement.

Happy Friday + Randomness

Happy Friday! The other day, as I walked K and her friend S to school in drizzly weather, I listened to their conversation.

S: What if it rained food instead of water?

K: I would want it to rain ice cream.

S: I’d want sushi.

What followed was an impassioned discussion about the merits and demerits of the two. I heard words like “sticky”, “yummy”, “smelly”, “melty” and — inexplicably — “itchy”.

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The purging is slow-going. I saw this post via Cup of Jo, and am newly inspired. If a family of four can live that stylishly in 540 sq. ft., I have no excuse with three times that space!

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Have a lovely weekend, friends! I’ll be posting a new outfit for K on Tuesday instead of Monday next week in conjunction with Japanese Sewing Book Series. Excited! Wrapping things up with a weekly haiku…

If the sky rained food
what would you want it to be?
Me, I’d like carbs please 

Have you heard? It’s officially spring…

…but I’m not sure if Seattle got the memo. Maybe it’s been blown away by the gales of 40mph winds? I would like to wear a kelly green dress and carry a gigantic bouquet of flowers like my watercolor illustration, if weather will permit some day.

Yesterday, I had to run some errands in downtown and a little boy about the age of three or four came up to me and handed me a daffodil. A creamy white one with a lemon yellow center. A celebration of the first day of spring. I’d forgotten about this annual tradition.

When I got back home, I snipped some flowers from our yard and added them to the white daffodil.

It may not feel like spring, but at least it looks like it. And that, I admit, is not so bad.