Good morning! What a weekend. K seems to have recovered nicely and it's been a bonanza of parties: a school Halloween-fest, an extra special birthday celebration with her best friend, a grown-up dinner party at a delicious Moroccan restaurant that I joined at the last minute (I could have done without the belly dancer writhing in my face and the water accidentally poured down my lap, but it was fun nonetheless). I also worked on updating this here blog, and though a few nit-picky aspects are ... Read more
Happy Friday + Randomness
Happy Friday! Actually, we've been having a not so happy end of the week. K suddenly fell ill again and at school yesterday, she threw up. I'm feeling like my parenting license (if I had one) should be revoked for sending her to school in the first place. She seems better now, but I'm now on high alert because she seemed fine before the incident. The guilt of "I should have known better!" Sad face. Like the illo ... Read more
Sewing for Me: Houndstooth Raglan Dress
I sewed from a Japanese pattern book! It feels a bit sacrilegious to be sewing for myself during Kids Clothes Week, but there it is. I'm dead set on getting better at sewing for myself (sizing is still confounding me! Alterations boggle the mind!) and this rigorous weekly schedule is providing much needed practice. The pattern I tried was a very easy one: a short-sleeved shift dress meant to be sewn in wool. I'm not actually certain if this thrifted fabric is indeed wool, but I like the very ... Read more
Chocolate Muffins You Can Feel Good About
Initially, this post was going to bear the title "Healthy Baking And I Are Not Friends". But upon reflection these muffins weren't completely abysmal, unlike my non-life-changing bread from last week. Anyway, this week I tried my hand at a chocolate-zucchini muffin recipe I found via Pinterest. It promised to be gluten-dairy-nut-free, and because I still had quite a lot of gluten-free flour left over from my GF baking blitz earlier this year, it seemed to be the perfect opportunity to use it ... Read more
Baby Shoes – Part 1
Remember when I said I have only one Japanese sewing book for babies? Well, I lied. It wasn't intentional, but it turns out I have four books for tots sewing, though two are so old and not at all like your typical, light-filled, airy Japanese sewing books that I hesitate to include them in the same genre. They were tucked way in the recesses of my craft bookshelf. But I have no excuse for forgetting about this one above (which had been hidden behind some books because it's smaller in size). ... Read more