more Silhouette SD projects

a new shirt for Noah
(he has no idea how cool this is)

a new shirt for dad (Go Gamecocks!)

and a new house motto:

4 things... a non-update, if you will.

1. I've been running (3x week) and going to Zumba (1-2x week) for about 8 weeks now and tracking what I eat on myfitnesspal.com. I'm not losing weight super fast (12 lbs so far), but I'm doing things that I *know* are healthier for my body and that makes me feel awesome! My first 5k is on October 8th and I'm really excited!
2. This guy starts "school" back tomorrow (he attends a Parents' Morning Out playschool). I can't explain to you in written form exactly how excited I am.
3. Aah, the t-shirt quilt- project 4 years in the making. Way back before I even had a sewing machine, I had all of these great intentions of making one- how hard could it be? Cut squares, sew them back together. Now that I'm a bit more versed in quilt making, I understand what an undertaking this is- an expensive one! I plan to take on a few of these for some sorority sisters and I have already bought 2 bolts of FusiKnit which put a nice dent in my wallet. So far I'm loving it and I had so many fun memories come back to me while cutting these- college was so fun! Since I took this picture I've started sewing 2" sashing strips to the rows- slowly but surely it's coming along!
4. Snickers Popcorn. Don't ask questions- just make it.
   

Then just make sure to keep your almost-2-year-old away from it while it's cooling!

Almost-2-year-old- crazy! Birthday party invites went out yesterday and I can't wait to show y'all pictures of his Seuss party!

jumping on the trendy train

If you would have asked 16 year old me if I like "trends", I probably would have rolled my eyes at you, turned on the heel of my converse one-stars with the rainbow laces (so NOT trendy, right? Riiiight....), flipped my hair over my shoulder, turned up my ipod (which had a heavy mix of everything from Blink 182 to Britney) and walked away.

Yeah I wouldn't have admitted it to you then, but today, I'm all about trends. The feathers in the hair type stuff- not so much, but fun and cute things- hecks yes! I'm all about these trends right now.

1.

Any workout that allows- nay, encourages- you to wear tassel-butt pants is ok in my book.

Not to mention it's WAY fun and you can burn upwards of 800 calories in a 1 hour class! A group of friends and I have started going to a class on Thursday night taught by Liz (HI LIZ!) and soon there will be a Tuesday night class- STOKED! AND it reminds me of competition cheerleading (too bad we can't do stunts) AND the past few weeks one of our songs has been "Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing (!!!!!). AND I am learning how to booty dance (don't think about that too hard, you could go mentally blind). I could go on, but I'll leave that alone and move on to my next favorite fad...

2. Hexigons

I bought one of Sara's kits and I'm officially in love.

They are tiny and time-consuming so I'm only planning to make a cover for my last trendy gadget...

3. My kindle

Yes, I'm aware that books will still be around even though the kindle exists and yes I still love the smell of a book, but I also LOVE the convenience of the Kindle and the way it allows me to be absolutely lazy at night and read in the dark without the bother of lifting my arm to turn a page. *happy sigh*

Oh, and the last 2 trends should go without saying: Pinterest and this Iced Coffee Concentrate. Holla!

Joe and I are heading up to DC this weekend for one of my absolute bee-eff-effs! I've never been to that area before- if you have any ideas or suggestions (fabric stores, anyone?), shoot me an email or leave a comment!

I thought summer was supposed to be calmer than the school year?

Man, things are seriously busier in the summer than they are during the year- what's up with that? Unfortunately, I don't have many accomplishments to share as I've been travelling, preparing for a wedding I'm in at the end of the month, getting ready for Vacation Bible School (which I'm in charge of all opening and closing ceremonies and music... it doesn't seem like much but when you're looking at 400 kids already signed up, it gets daunting fast!) and I got a kindle- So there went hours upon hours of productive time!

I did make these shirts last week for Aislyn who became a big sister yesterday! Her little brother Elim was born and I just can't wait to see him and squish him!

Other than that I've basically been just running around after this kid all the time.

The big boy bed transition went freakishly smooth and he's doing GREAT sleeping in it! He's been in it for almost 3 weeks and hasn't gotten up at night once (I would knock on wood, but let's be for real- my kid's obsessed with sleeping and once he's out, he ain't wakin' up til morning!). He does like to come to the door and knock right after we've put him to bed, but then he just gets back in bed when we don't come to the door!

The coolest thing that's ever happened to Noah happened this week when we went to see the Wiggles in concert. They said no flash photography so we left our camera at home (since we rode the light rail up there and if they wouldn't have let it in... well, we would have been screwed!) but I have a couple of pics from my phone. Unfortunately, this is the best pic of me and Noah. Lame.

He is absolutely in LOVE with his new shirt and didn't want to take it off to get in the bath that night.
(whoa- proof he has hair!)

He was so cute though. The first hour of the show he just sat there staring incredulously at the stage like "Is this real life?". The last 45 minutes or so he started clapping and singing but you could just tell his mind was completely blown. Sam and Captain Feathersword even came down to our area and waved to Noah! So fun!

I've got a few projects mentally lined up that I hope to get finished after this crazy week of VBS starting with a king sized quilt for our bed. Am I insane? Maybe.

can you spot the difference?

*deep breaths*

dabbling in alterations

Last weekend I attended a bachelorette weekend in Charleston, SC for my good friend from college- the invitation requested that we pack a black cocktail dress for dinner and drinks on Saturday night. I totally didn't have one- well, I did have a dress that I bought to wear to a wedding TWO WEEKS after Noah was born that was approximately 4 sizes too big now! I decided that I would try my hand at altering the dress- taking it in a few inches and then hemming it to a more "cocktail" length.

Here's the before:

YIKES!

and the after (excuse the camera pic!):

with the bride:

It really was not as hard as I thought! Luckily, I had Jenn (who sews clothing for a LIVING and works at a bridal boutique) give me her opinion as far as HOW to take it in. My genius self was planning to take it in on the sides (but a side zipper ruined that plan) and she advised me to try taking it in at the pre-existing darts in the front and back (apparently at the rate of 1" per size down). The dress was two layers (the lining and a sheer top layer) so it took a little longer than I thought it would, but I am in love with the results! I think I will definitely wear this dress more often- but then again, I only wore it once before!

I would love, love, love to take a class or get a book on clothing alterations- this opens up a whole new world of thinking: if almost ANYTHING can be fitted to my specific body, then shopping is about to get a LOT easier! If I love the look of a dress but one size it too tight in the bust and the other looks frumpy, I would love to be able to buy the bigger size and take it in. I can't believe I've never tried this before and I can't wait to learn more about how clothes are constructed!

... and just for fun- here we are all, ready for supper at Magnolia's! YUM!

oh, pinterest. (a love letter in pictures)

Dear Pinterest,

At first, I wasn't so sure about you. I didn't quite understand the point but I went ahead and moved most of my bookmarked projects over to pinterest so I could see the photos of the projects. Ok, I was starting to understand- this was easier than a list! Then I discovered browsing pinterest, following friends and the group boards that you can ask your friends to contribute to if you're brainstorming a project.

... and I fell in love.

Although you do waste a considerable amount of my daily computer time, you also inspire me to make some pretty cool things.

Like this potholder sewing kit that makes it easy to sew on the go:

some sweet bandana pajama pants:

a cutesy dry erase frame with daily motivational quotes!

and this awesome (and HUGE and pocket-filled) PB-inspired beach bag (made from scraps and $0.99 IKEA fabric!):

Not to mention ALL of my last minute Father's Day gifts were your idea:

In conclusion, I want to thank you for your awesomeness, forgive you for the lost hours of my life and pray to the good Lord above that you never disappear with all of "my" ideas never to be heard from again.

smooches,

Laura