Good morning! Whoa, I am wiped out...but in that I-worked-out-hard-and-I-feel-good way. The tiredness is not from exercising, but from teaching my first ever sewing class (an all-day workshop!) -- I think the class went well yesterday! A wonderful group of women gathered together and made some seriously adorable tunics. I loved teaching. I really did. I enjoy the whole process: the preparations of materials, structuring the class, connecting with students/participants. I had so much fun! I'll ... Read more
Happy Friday + Randomness
Happy Friday! Poor K has had the sniffles for the last few days, and I've been plying her with a mixture of lemon juice and honey in warm water to soothe her throat. Luckily, I'm hale and hearty still, though I might have felt a tickle this morning. It's a little unsettling to see K with such low energy. This is the girl who usually has the sass to say things like, "Don't micromanage me, Mommy."* But I think she's on the mend and we now have the weekend to fully recuperate. Just a quick note ... Read more
Sewing for Me: Clover Pants + Stripey Batwing Top
I mentioned that I have a stack of Burda magazines last week, and to date, I haven't tried a single pattern from them, though I'm constantly entertained by the extreme level of styling hits and misses. You'd think that someone so used to Japanese patterns would find Burda to be no sweat, but the way they cram those pattern pieces onto one sheet of paper is no joke. I got a sense of what other people must feel like when attempting Japanese patterns without any familiarity with the language. I ... Read more
Rustic Apple Tart
When autumn rolls around, apple desserts are mandatory. I've been meaning to make my favorite apple dish for quite some time now, and yesterday had just the right amount of crisp and cool in the air to get me going. I consult mainly two sites for my sweet fixings: Smitten Kitchen and Orangette. This "rustic apple tart" is from the inimitable Molly of Orangette -- since 2008 when she first posted it, this tart has been a regular part of our fall desserts, and it's divine. Just as the ... Read more
It’s that time of year again…
It's getting chilly, and my hands are starting to feel rough and dry with the cooling temperatures. This reminded me that I had posted about my tried-and-true hand cream and lip balm last year (and that I need to get more hand cream). Sure enough, almost to the day, I had talked about skincare. Around the time of that post, I had discovered a new-to-me face soap. I don't talk about skincare here much, but it's sort of a side obsession of mine. My ignorant days of youth in sunny L.A. (baby oil ... Read more