I'm still trying to recover from the onslaught of excess at the American Girl store yesterday. It was the birthday girl's sole wish to be able to fully experience the American Girl world, complete with a lunch (with her newly acquired doll - a gift from both sets of grandparents), so my mom and I took her and her best friend to the massive store for the day. I may talk about it some more later, but I need to go cut out some coupons or something to alleviate the guilt I'm feeling from such ... Read more

Last year, when we went to Michigan near Traverse City for the first time, I had no idea that it was the cherry capital of the Midwest. Cherries are used in everything: salsa, barbecue sauce, ice cream, wine, coffee...the list goes on. They even had cherry-flavored dog treats at the Cherry Republic where I couldn't resist a jar of cherry preserves. A few days ago, I had the best cherry pie I've ever tasted, and I'm not usually a big fan of cherry pies. Anyway, all these fruit-infused ... Read more

Two weeks in a row of giveaways! I heard the call for swimwear fabric, and as the possessor of plenitude, I'm feeling the need to share. For this giveaway, I have that sumptuous aqua stripes I used for K's swimsuit and an equally cute pink/orange/yellow stripey fabric. Both seem to contain spandex and/or lycra and are just shy of a yard each, but plenty to make a kid-sized swimsuit or two, depending on how little your kiddo is. You could also squeeze out an adult-sized bikini or speedos ... Read more

And the giveaways keep on coming! I have about a yard left over of the adorable orange polka dot print that I used for this dress, and have a feeling that you might like it... I'm also throwing in about a yard of Oliver + S "City Weekend" fabric, which is the perfect complement to the polka dot for that uber retro vibe, no? Both are 100% cotton. And for you fellow crafty types, I have the lovely Lotta Jansdotter book that is full of fun ideas. With Father's day coming up, wouldn't it be ... Read more

  ***We have a winner! Congrats to MT (#262), whose dream job is a "little craft store tucked in a quiet street corner…with regular customers who are more of a friend than a customer". Love it! Please email me your address, MT, and I'll ship out the package.*** I'm a little late to the party, but I'm joining in the Sew Mama Sew giveaway! It's a giveaway bonanza, and I discovered a lot of amazing sewing blogs last time around and am looking forward to discovering more this round. I ... Read more