Hello Blogging, My Old Friend.....

I feel like I'm in a perpetual state of catching-upness lately; and I have felt too frazzled to compose a logical and entertaining blog post! I'm so surprised I even have followers left; and have gained a few...welcome!

So many things I'm juggling right now; I took the plunge and obtained my own booth space for my Farmers' Market; and had my first day on my own on Saturday. It wasn't the greatest day I've ever had; but I think it was because I had moved locations; and was exceedingly unprepared with no tent in the blazing sun! I have lots of lofty plans for my booth; I want to create a station with running water in a sink so my customers can try my soaps and scrubs; but the logistics are proving to be complicated, to say the least! I was so lucky that the Market Manager was extremely receptive to my crazy ideas; and is planning to try to get me near a water spigot; which would be exciting!

I also had my first experience selling in Downtown Boise, which around here; is the biggest show in town! I had an opportunity to do so with Idaho Indie Works, who has a store in Downtown Boise; and offered spaces for vendors during First Thursday; which is a seasonal, monthly street fair and event. I felt so "fancy" being downtown with all the hustle and bustle, and got to introduce my products to a whole new crowd of people, it was great! I had a lot of fun with my "neighbors", including a fabulous fine artist; some lovely jewelry makers; and a glass artist; among others. I acquired a set of gorgeous art glass-topped hairpins and a tie dye onesie through trading; and love them!

Goodness...it's uncharacteristic of me to wax poetic about my business; I guess it's just because it's what's on my mind; although there's a lot going on in my "real" life as well. My boys will be home for the summer starting Thursday; and I was getting very misty while doing my weekly grocery shopping; because I was buying things with a view to summer lunches and picnics; I really do love the summer; but each time summer comes; it's bittersweet; because it means another year has passed; and my boys are yet another year older. Ahhh, how sad and sweet it can be to be a parent!

Elvis just turned 11 months; I can't believe we've had him for nearly a year! On the other hand; my pregnancy seems like a long-distant memory; and I look back at that time with a tinge of sadness; because it seems like such a simpler time; although I didn't think so then!

 

This somewhat blurry video shows my adorable Elvis; he just learned to "snap" his fingers and was doing it up a storm...until the camera came out! It's still a great video and he snaps for half a second; don't blink or you'll miss it! 

Oh...I suppose I should explain my picture.....no, I'm not pregnant; and have no immediate plans to become pregnant; but I love vintage maternity fashion; and have always wanted to own a vintage maternity pattern. I found a great one from my friend Maggie at Vintage Core Patterns and couldn't resist! I may make them up just for fun...or for possible future use...or to sell, who knows! All I know is that I love this style of Maternity wear; and if I ever decide to take the plunge again; this is what I'll be sporting! 

Have a great, Summer-y week! 

 

Farmers and Brides

Ahhh....such awful cell-phone pics of the bride! I promise that as soon as the real pictures are back I will post them! The first picture is taken with a camera, at least; as I was finishing the dress; you can see it's a beautiful shade of pale yellow; and I hope you can see enough to know that my mother made a lovely bride for her wedding last Saturday. After the wedding, which was at her home; she opened up her pool and the boys went swimming and ate Hawaiian food, which they had never had, but loved!

Saturday was also my first day selling at at Farmer's Market. I was so nervous and had so much to do, I couldn't sleep! Once we were there getting everything set up, I felt more comfortable, but it takes some getting used to to have people look at your items, ask you questions, and then walk away without buying. I know that happens hundreds of times a day to my online site, but it feels more personal when the customer is standing there! After I loosened up a bit, and got a couple sales, I started to enjoy chatting with customers and only felt a twinge of disappointment when they would walk away. The weather was as good as could be expected for fickle Idaho springtime; and I can't wait for the weather to improve further, so I don't have to freeze every Saturday! I learned of a lot of things I need to change and get better at, but all in all I think it was a success!

This picture is my display; I wasn't totally happy with it, I felt like a big dork with hardly any items, but I do plan to expand on this for next week; and I hope to be better prepared and less stressed that way.


Sunday was our 12th anniversary! I had a great day, I slept in thanks to James; which was amazing, since I've been so sleep-deprived lately! He made us a great breakfast, and then we had a relaxing morning. My little sis Rachel, who is so great with our boys, came over in the afternoon to babysit; so James and I had a great date afternoon. I treated myself to a real haircut at a salon, and even had my eyebrows shaped; Jean Harlow's got nothing on me! James got a haircut and a shave, then we drove out to Ste. Chapelle, our local winery, and had lots of fun deciding on our wine order. We are members of the "wine club", which gives us a discount on the wine we buy; it actually turns out to be an economical, and fun, option. We decided on 12 bottles; which will probably last us three months or more; and it seems so decadent to so many lovely bottles to choose from.

I feel like I've been so busy lately I don't know which end is up! I'm trying desperately to catch up, and to find my joy again; it's been really hard lately, because I feel like I'm doing so many things all at once; and none of them well!

One of the many things I've been neglecting is my blog; I hope I will have more interesting and less whiny posts soon!

Happy May!

Cowboy, Take Me Away......

<Sigh> Whenever I'm tired and stressed I start to think about how nice it would be to ride off into the sunset....where there would be no worries of course! I think it's normal to need an escape when things are tough, for whatever reason.

It's no secret to anyone, I'm sure; that I've been overworking myself lately; I feel like I have no choice at the moment; it's just something I have to power through...but it's been tough! A few nights I have been so exhausted I didn't know where I would find the energy to package orders or work on my sewing; but I did!

I hesitate to post pictures; because I always find dresses on hangers aren't nearly as lovely as the dress on a body or a dress form.....and I still have "loose ends" so to speak, yes the bodice facing in flapping in the breeze (undone because I still have alterations to do); and I can see 14,000 loose threads in that picture; but all that will be taken care of in due course. Oh, and working with the silk makes it terribly wrinkly; when finished I will steam the wrinkles out....so keep an open mind......<eeek>

When worn, the neckline on this slinky bias-cut dress drapes loosely

This is the material which will become the detachable train, it has a heather pattern and tiny beads and rhinestones

The daring low back plunges to the waistband....and yes, there's that bodice facing!

My mother came over to try on the dress for fit today; I'm happy to say that it just needs a little nip in the side seams; and she looks like Jean Harlow in it! The cut fits her petite frame perfectly, and reminds me of an old-time movie star! Next I have to do multitudes of hand sewing, which I have trouble with and dislike immensely! And the hem; which shouldn't be too hard; the only challenge is getting the shape right, since the back flares outward to form a small train. Another fitting on Thursday...hopefully, the last!

Gracious, I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open; but I have to make 3 batches of soap tonight, and hopefully at least press the hem for the dress....I may have to take a tiny nap!

I'm hoping to get back into the groove of regular posting as my schedule slows down; so many things falling through the cracks at the moment; I'm really hoping to change that!

Thank you to all my loyal followers, and I'm stunned to learn that I've gained new followers in light of my recent neglect! Thank you!

Have a great week!

You Should be Kissed Often and by Someone Who Knows How

Ahh, Gone with the Wind! I absolutely believe in that sentiment! It's important in a marriage to not forget the "little things". I've seen the saying "Always kiss me Goodnight", which is a nice thought, but honestly; half the time James and I don't even go to bed at the same time, or else we both collapse on the couch; so there's not a lot of Good night's going on in our house! I say; kiss when you can! Somebody should put that on a coffee mug!

I've got marriage and weddings on the brain right now because my anniversary is coming up, and yesterday I realized that my mother's wedding is in nine days, so I really need to finish her dress this weekend. I'm coming right along with it, the skirt is bias cut and has five pieces, so getting those contoured seams perfect is crucial to the flow of the dress. The skirt is put together, and the bodice and facing are done, I just have to put the lining together and do the zipper and the hem. And the train...and the waistband....And the straps....EEK! I must work faster! I don't have any pics yet, because...well, it doesn't look like a whole lot yet, so I'll wait until it's at least recognizable!

There's no point in saying I'm busy; or tired; so I won't! I'll just say that I'm feeling very hopeful about the way things are going business-wise; and I'm trying to not sweat the small stuff. I heard that song on the radio today, the one by Tim McGraw called "Live like you were dying"; which basically is about living your life to the fullest, as if each day were your last. Certainly if everyone followed that to the "T"; there would not be a lot of bills being paid or laundry done; but I appreciate the message. Truly, getting my darn laundry put away doesn't help anyone (much); but having a (relatively) calm mother helps my boys tremendously. My final hang-up about the "letting it go" method is because of ingrained habits and attitudes, and the (unfounded) fear that if I don't keep up appearances; so to speak; James will not see the value in what I do. He's told me a million times that he would rather have a happy wife than a clean house, so I suppose it's really all just me. I have a tendency to be pretty hard on myself, and others; and it's hard not to have the cleanest house and the best cooking and be the happiest, busiest Mama in the whole world! I guess it's just admitting I'm human, and fallible, and recognizing that I don't have to be perfect to be a pretty good person.

Must sew tonight! As soon as the dress looks like a dress, I will be sure to post pictures of it, and I really hope my mom's not reading this; because she'll think I won't have her dress ready in time! (It's ok, Mom; I'll get it done, no matter what!).

Tomorrow's Friday; have a great one!

I Am a Material Girl.....

Of course, the "material" I'm talking about is the fabric kind! I've been working with glorious silk charmeuse fabric for my mother's wedding dress; it's a great pale, pale, yellow color (her favorite); and as delicate as tissue paper! At first I was wary of even cutting into it, but after working with it for a while, I realized that since it's 100% silk, it is much sturdier than it looks and it behaves quite well; clinging to the other layer when sewing, unlike cheap synthetics that are a nightmare to hold together! I've been staying up quite late sewing (or early, rather), and the other night watched another of my favorite classics; "How to Marry a Millionaire". It's very much in the same vein as "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"; with good comedy, and the straight woman Lauren Bacall to act as a foil for Marilyn Monroe's signature ditzy blond character. My favorite line is when the girls were discussing how to "catch" a rich man; one asks "Do you marry him?" and Lauren's character answers, "Honey, if you don't marry him; you haven't caught him, he's caught you!". 

Whew! I feel like I've been neglecting my blog lately (because I have). I feel like I'm always talking about how busy I am; and really; busy doesn't begin to cover it!

Ooh! Ooh! I'm really excited because yesterday I got a lovely message from a woman who has a shop Flossie Fern's Vulgar Medicinals  where she makes lovely things with adorable names; she's a trained herbalist and makes all manner of balms and salves, and something called "Tea and Strumpets" dry shampoo! Her whole shop makes me happy!

So, after justifying the expense six ways to Sunday; I purchased these lovely items from her; for myself I got a tin of this sweet Knee Rouge  which is a really great multi-purpose rosy cream balm (but I must use it to rouge my knees; because I can't resist); and a product that James actually needs *don't click the link, my dear husby; it's a surprise*. The rest of you can feel free to click away and see what I got for a Gift for James. 

I love being able to buy little lovely trinkets like these; I find more joy in the little inexpensive items than I ever do in the big things. I remember when our refrigerator was on it's last legs last summer; I would have kept on dealing with the issues it had, but James was determined to get a new refrigerator at last and took me appliance shopping. It was horrible! I was very glad and felt lucky to get a new appliance, but the whole process was stressful and I would have preferred buying something like these little things; instead of breaking out in a cold sweat over the expense of a big ticket item! The saleslady even remarked that I didn't seem excited about getting a new refrigerator, and James and I were switching up the usual roles of husband and wife; he excited about shopping, and me wanting to run away and never come back! I guess I'm not really a material girl, and I certainly didn't go about trying to marry a millionaire!

The wedding dress is coming together; and I'm trying to ease my workload by not being as much of a perfectionist and delisting some of the items that are running low, instead of working through the night to restock my store. I have a Farmer's Market to prepare for, and that has to take priority right now. It does sting to feel like I "should" be doing more things and recognizing that I simply can't. I've heard the saying so many times, "you can only do what you can do", which seems so cliche, but is really meaningful. I always feel the need to push myself further and further, and I know I need to back off some so that I can still enjoy family time and perhaps eventually, sleep! I keep telling myself this refrain, "Just make it to May"; since all my most pressing issues will be done or under control by then, just so long as April doesn't speed by even more quickly, I should make it!


Have a great Wednesday everyone!

...It Was a Teenage Wedding.......

".......beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat' ~ Joanne Woodward, wife of Paul Newman 

".......beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat" ~ Joanne Woodward, wife of Paul Newman 

I'm a huge fan of Hollywood celebrities who manage to have long marriages, and Paul Newman is one of my favorites! Let's face it, he was a drop-dead gorgeous man who believed in marriage and fidelity; how rare! He was known to say that he had "steak at home, why would I go out for hamburger?". I also found another quote from him that is brilliant, "People stay married because they want to, not because the doors are locked".

All this reflection on marriage is because my wedding anniversary is fast approaching, May 1st will be our twelfth anniversary!

 I can hardly believe it, 12 years is a long time, isn't it? When I look at our wedding pictures and see how painfully young we were; honestly; I can't believe we were allowed to get married! How far we've come! Whenever I start to delude myself that I haven't changed, I have only to look at our wedding pictures, and the truth is evident; we've grown up together, as well as growing together as a couple.

It certainly hasn't been easy; though nothing worth doing ever is. We agreed (as we do almost every year) that presents were unnecessary (especially since our vacation was a great present), but I couldn't resist, and used my etsy money to buy a little trinket for both James and I! It wasn't expensive, just funny and meaningful; and I'm bursting to say what it is, but won't, because James sometimes reads my blog and I don't want to let the cat out of the bag!

We do generally go to a movie and out to dinner, which I'm sure doesn't sound exciting to most people, but we rarely get the opportunity to see movies anymore, or go out to dinner, so it's a special treat that reminds us of when we were dating. I think we may just go to our favorite winery for wine tasting and for lunch this year; we've recently enjoyed sampling different types of wine, and the drive and visit to the winery itself is very beautiful this time of year. Thank goodness I have a few sisters that are great with my boys and so generous as to come over to babysit when I ask; otherwise, it would be virtually impossible for us to have "dates", since none of my children have ever been watched over by a babysitter who wasn't family; and I don't want to go down that road. Although I do have a few wonderful friends I would trust, but I consider them family, anyway.

Last weekend I went with one of my best friends to a craft store, to buy supplies for my Farmer's Market booth, and found one of those inspirational saying signs that I loved; it says "All because two people fell in love". I love it! I'm planning on putting in on the wall that has all the framed photos of our boys; I think I love the sentiment because it's something I often think about. When I'm driving my boys to school, I look in the rear-view mirror and see five little heads in shades of blonde and auburn, and think to myself; "all this because a 19 year old boy asked a 17 year old girl for her phone number?!". It seems so strange that such a little thing, that happens every day has changed the world so much. Having five boys seems so profound to me, that means that because of me, five men will go out into the world and change it, for good (I hope), or for bad; and their children's children will as well. I never wonder when people have difficulty in deciding whether to have children or not; I'm thankful I never had to decide, it's a wonder to me anyone has children when given the choice, such a serious undertaking!

Anyway; I'm not sure where the serious bent to my blog posts lately has come from; I find myself reluctant to blog about the mundane lately, because as always, I feel like I'm getting buried by everyday tasks, and have found myself worrying quite a bit about the next few weeks, since I have so much to do! I began work on my mom's reception dress, I always wish, wish, wish that I had a dedicated space for it, since before I sew I have to make sure my kitchen table is sparkling clean, especially with the fine fabrics I will be working with on this project; it would be horrible for my mother to get married in a silk dress decorated with jelly from her grandsons' breakfast! Someday, I'm sure I will have a sewing and craft space, but for now, I just have to make the best of it! I may find myself pulling all-nighters soon, but I have no doubt if I push through it, I can get everything done.

Have a great weekend!

I'm (not) ready for my close-up, Mr. Deville......

The Lily Belle at Disneyland

This was one of the highlights of our Disney trip; after all the times (probably over 20) that I've been to Disneyland, I'd never ridden the Lily Belle, nor really knew anyone could. I had seen the trains of course; it was Dorian's favorite pastime to ride past the "dinosaurs" over and over again. Before we boarded the train one morning, James pointed to the Lily Belle; which was attached to that particular train, and said; "I want to ride in that car! He asked the conductor how to go about getting a ride, and was told that we needed a reservation; and that the resevations fill up fast! So the first thing the next morning, we went to Main Street Station to make a resevation, and found that allthough it was only 9:30 all but three spots were taken!

I just did some research and learned more about the Lily Belle; as well as reading This article


Shortly after Disneyland opened, Walt told his wife Lillian that he would like to build a parlor car. It would be great to ride outside on the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad studying landscape, buildings, etc. Maybe have lunch on the train, discuss plans for future ideas of Disneyland. All of this came as a result of Walt's great enthusiasm for trains. Now the open car from the first passenger train has been converted into an elegant parlor car, or the President car, so named in honor of the first president of the Disneyland Railroad, who was Walt Disney.

A picture of the Lily Belle interior; taken some years ago and not by me!

Waiting in Main Street Station for the train

The last day we were at Disneyland was dreadfully hot; at least for our standards; and we were tired, but we still had a memorable day. We started the day with beignets and mocha's (thank goodness!) at the Mint Julep Bar; and then after we baked in the sun a bit and were really getting quite cranky; found our way to the Dole Pineapple bar; which I had somehow managed to avoid ever going to! Mmmmm; fresh pineapple juice in the heat was glorious! I fulfilled my life-long dream to have a drink with an umbrella by ordering a pineapple float, which was fresh pineapple juice and pineapple soft-serve ice cream! Just what the doctor ordered! And Elvis shared with me and cooled down his poor flushed cheeks! Since it was our fourth day and we were out of gas; we had a laid-back day involving riding the train around the park several times for a break for our poor feet; and shopping, which I learned was my favorite ride! We had bought each boy (except Elvis) a gift card to use at Disneyland; and James sister was soooo generous and did the same! So each boy had plenty of money to buy what they liked. Andrew was determined to buy a genuine leather fedora, like Indiana Jones; and found one at a store in Frontierland. At over $50; it is not something that he would have ever had the opportunity to buy otherwise; but after talking to him a bit and urging him to sleep on it to make sure it was what he really, really wanted; it was nice to see his excitement after he was able to wear it out of the store. Later the same night; a family we met from Australia complimented the hat; and it turned out the dad of the family purchased that very same hat! To Andrew; this convinced him of the value of it; because everyone (apparently) knows that Aussies are the authority on leather fedoras! I got a sparkly pink Minnie Mouse travel coffee mug, and two tops; I had to convince James to spend money on himself; but he got a Pirates of the Caribbean (the ride, not the movie) beer mug, an apron that makes him look like Mickey Mouse, and a wire whisk for his famous breakfasts. I also saw a darling Alice in Wonderland tea set; and bought a teacup and saucer for my best friend, who adores all things Alice; and has never been to Disneyland!

After being at Disneyland from 9 to 6; I was completely exhausted, and while I love Disney; I was ready to leave while I was still on two legs! The boys were fired up about getting their last kicks in, so after walking Elvis and I to the hotel to collapse in bed, my poor tired husby brought the other four boys back to Disneyland for a last hurrah. They went on more rides, and stayed to watch the fireworks; which was an excellent ending to the vacation of our dreams!

The title refers to the fact that I am only a few weeks away from my market debut; and feeling very much like a scared starlet! What if they don't like me? What if I flop? This is my first time selling my products face to face; and I really don't know what to expect. I met a lot of the vendors today, and they are a friendly, home-spun bunch!  I just hope I can fit in! One dear older lady who sells knit wares, came up to our table and introduced herself and gave us great advice for having a shared booth, and we met the face painter, a young woman just out of college; who does the market with her father.  Everyone was very welcoming, I just hope I don't disappoint! After the vendor meeting my best friend and I took a shopping spree to a craft store to buy displays and booth decor. We had lots of fun, and I think the booth will be great!

I found fabric for the sheer train on my mom's wedding dress, just waiting on the silk charmuese, and I will be sewing away!

I hope to have a relatively productive evening, since last night I put my hair in curlers, laid down "for a minute" and was dead to the world until morning!

Have a great Sunday!

An Apple Pie a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

. 

We've slowly been recovering, and my poor boys are almost all better! Some of them have lingering coughs, and two of them never got sick at all; and I'm hoping our luck will hold. I'm trying to think of all the last-minute things I need to do before our vacation, and one of them is to use up the half-bushel of apples I bought optimistically a few weeks ago. Although I'm storing them in the garage, I don't want them to go bad while we're gone, so I've decided to go on an apple pie baking blitz. I figure that if I make an apple pie every day, or two every other day, I should use up all the apples before we leave. Yesterday, I baked pie #1; it seems like forever since I've made a home-baked dessert and it made the house smell awesome! My boys were all thrilled, they love apple pie, and I felt like I had accomplished a lot that day, even though I didn't.

I think I've been pushing myself too much lately, I've been unusually tired, and the joy I used to have creating and selling my soaps has seemed to be replaced by feeling that I've fallen short, not just at that, but that I've let it take over my life a little too much. I have a tendency to be a perfectionist, and although I told myself when I started that I would be happy if I only made one sale, soon I found myself glued to the activity feed! I think I'm going to concentrate on the joy of it again, and if it's true that a "watch pot never boils"; well, maybe it's true that a "watch etsy-shop never sells"! And I am looking forward to my first Farmer's Market, I love Farmer's Market's and it will be so scary and exciting to have my own (shared) booth! I'm already planning my display and decor, with my snazzy new apron that Rita, a fellow etsian at Lazy Mondays made me. I've made "Idaho Dirt" soap, "Clean Air" soap, and have a lot more planned that I hope people in an open-air market will like!

For now, I need to concentrate on my sewing, which is my one true love; and getting ready for our vacation, that is so close now I can taste it. I almost can't believe we're actually getting to go to Disneyland, I think I've avoided thinking too much about it, because it seems almost too good to be true!

Since it's a Friday night, I can stay up as late as I want, watching old movies and sewing old patterns, my favorite! I may work it some new soap "flavors" I have planned. I have more consignment goodies, can you believe it? I also have to buy Andrew new dress shoes for his school performance; which will be the day we leave for San Diego! He's been preparing all year for this, and is really nervous, I'm hoping to have everything packed in the car and meet him at school with the whole family, including Daddy; so that right after the performance, we can leave for San Diego! So much going on this coming week, it's scary and exciting! I will post pictures of my now-mythical vintage attire once it's done, I swear!

Have a great weekend, everybody! 

It's good to be the (consignment) Queen!

Our vacation is fast approaching, so all my boys need some spring/summer things in advance of when I usually buy them. Last weekend, I did the dreaded task of sorting through all my bins in the garage that hold out-of-season and outgrown clothes, so I knew what I already had. I found that strangely enough, one of my children had ten pair of shorts, and one had zero pairs! I made a little mental list of who needed what (Andrew; shorts, Bentley; pajamas, etc) and headed to the consignment shop with Elvis in tow. He insisted on being held, so as I grabbed up clothes as fast as I could, added them to a stack on the counter, then went back for more, I had a little baby trying to grab everything off the shelves! I had store credit, from the last batch of clothes I consigned, so I ended up getting practically everything I need, including hoodies all around and shoes for Andrew; and the big hit of the trip; a Boise State hoodie for a lucky Bentley Jeffrey! I love the little terrycloth beach cover up for baby Elvis! It was only 2.95 and perfect for keeping him warm poolside and at the beach! After my store credit was deducted; I bought 28 items for $47.97! Not bad!

I posted earlier about needing summer sandals for myself, and I went to Payless to look for the shoes I have pictured, tried them on, and found that they were the kind of shoes that slip off your heel continually while walking! No good! So I sort of fell in love with the green wedges with the flower on the toe, and as it turned out, I didn't even need the wide width! I also picked up these blue sandals with a buckle and again, the flower; I couldn't resist these, and I wanted to have some flat sandals for Disneyland in case the wedges prove too high for walking. I love colorful shoes! To me, almost any color goes together; and since I know have a blue pair and a green pair; I can't think of a single color that would clash with both! Payless was having a BOGO sale, so I ended up getting two pairs of shoes for myself and shoes for two of my boys for $60. Not quite consignment prices, but not bad for shoes!

This morning we had the unwelcome surprise of having Callan wake up with a croupy cough; it's been exactly a year since my little Callie scared the daylights out of me and his daddy by developing a life-threatening case of croup, which led to a two day hospitalization and sleepless nights for both of us whenever croup is afoot. Fortunately, the usual remedies helped tremendously, and we're hoping for an uneventful night. We will probably sleep with one ear out for him and clothes laid out for a quick getaway to the hospital if necessary. I've learned that with so many children, sickness is inevitable, and I don't waste a lot of time worrying about what could happen, I'm just thankful we live in a day and age where they have effective treatments and that we live only 5 or 10 minutes from the hospital.

I was thinking about that yesterday, when I was practically shaking with exhaustion at the grocery store, since I'd been up most of the night. I think a person's happiness depends a lot on their level of thankfulness, although I occasionally have bad days, I always know how lucky I am; I've known loneliness and sorrow in my life, but I always knew it was not forever, and the pain had no portion in me; I always could see this life, the one I dreamed about, and knew it would happen. So even though I'm often overwhelmed, and exhausted, and have many things I could spend a lot of time worrying about; I am a content and thankful person. I wish that peace and happiness for everyone.

I have a busy day of laundry today, with hopefully some time to work on my sewing; have a great Sunday!

Big Girls Don't Cry.....

I just realized today that we have exactly two weeks before we go on vacation. Where did the time go? And me with a half-finished swimsuit and not a wrap skirt to bless myself with! And my etsy shop is really picking up, which makes me worry about putting it on vacation mode; I'm still leaning towards "not"; just putting up a notice that says that shipping will be delayed until I return; which I think effectively dissuades a lot of people, but you can't have it all!

Up high on the list of the things I can't have right now, is the tan, toned body, I envisioned myself in on the beach...I considered getting a spray tan for about half a second; then decided to be true to my paleness. I'm not fooling anybody with the fake tan, and I actually like being an oddity in a sea of the perfectly tanned. Sure, I'd like to look great; but having an orange-y glow is not my idea of beauty. So I'll just go out with my fair skin, flashing like a beacon for the world to see! And the toned part it not necessarily happening; I've been rather neglectful of my gym membership lately, because I've been so, so, busy; and having five 9 and 10 pound babies is not conducive to a bikini bod! Cleansing breath! The only thing that matters, really; is having a great time with my family; I don't care if I look like a beached whale and everyone is blinded by the glare coming off my snow-white thunder thighs! I remember last time we visited San Diego; although I had lived there for three years and only been back in Idaho for three; I couldn't believe the contrast in the culture! Where in Idaho, I'm a fairly stylish and put-together person, I confess I felt like a country bumpkin! I remember my husband, a native San Diegan,  remarking while on the freeway with cars whizzing by us, "why is everyone in such a hurry?". Quite a culture shock, even for the initiated.

So, big girls don't cry, right?! I will not cry, no matter how many things I have left to do; my sleep deprivation, my dwindling soap stock, my white legs, or my Idaho style!

I'm going to wake up every morning, put on my new perfume and lipstick, and slog through my miles of housework and the ever-present laundry. I need to start putting less pressure on myself; no one except me expects me to have an immaculate house,  five children, and and etsy shop, but I do find it discouraging when I work so hard all day and seem to never make a dent. But, as my husband always says, my real job, my only job, is to take care of our boys, and any day that ends in them being happy, safe, and healthy is a success. 


On a much more fun note; I'm due for new summer shoes, and have been looking around for something to go with my vintage summer wear. I also have a wide foot, so finding something in a wide width is difficult; but here is what I found:

I think these are pretty, and since I'm accustomed to walking in higher wedges than these, I think these will be comfortable enough for at least one day at Disneyland. I love the white, I remember when white shoes were "in" and then most horribly out; so the white is fresh and eye-catching. I love to wear white shoes for some reason! I think I'll go and try these to make sure they're truly "wide", and then buy them!

Have a great Friday, everyone! 

Can I?

Wow, what a week! A week in which all my plans have gone awry in some way or another, a week in which I had all sorts of plans to stay up as late as necessary...and instead ended up crashing immediately after the boys went to bed! I now have the daunting prospect of a huge vacation to plan for, and I'm in the horrible stage where it's too soon to do some serious packing, but I have terrible packing anxiety because I'm afraid that once it comes time to pack; I'll suddenly realize it can't be done. Yes, that's my fear; that is actually can't be done; I mean; whoever said it was possible to take five children several states away, in a car that seats the amount of people we have, for a week. A week. I'm now wondering how few things I can get away with bringing. They have clothes and baby food and diapers and shoes and toys in California, right? I can just imagine myself, though; in some seedy laundromat in Southern California, frantically doing laundry before I get mugged. However, I believe they do have laundry facility at both hotels we're staying at; including the rather posh Disneyland hotel. My other fear involves the rash plans I made to make my clothes for the trip. Will I ever learn? Probably not. I have my bathing suit about halfway done; and I've made the decision to only do the "must have" items, like the bathing suit and a wrap skirt, which should be quick (no, I'll never learn). The rest will just have to go into the ether until later in the year. I have lots of soap projects that I'm behind in; which leads me to my other concern: putting my shop in vacation mode or not? It's not as though I'm getting daily orders, so I think I'll just take my laptop and do such work as I can in the evenings; (here I go again!); and just tell any customers that I may (or may not) have that all shipping will be done once I get back.

I'm hoping (as always) to get plenty of work done tonight, and to really buckle down; including going through the dreaded bins of boys' clothing, and consigning all the items I have saved up to consign. I probably will need to buy quite a few summery items for all the boys and for James; and most likely will need to fill in deficiencies in my wardrobe as well.

Can you tell I'm worried and stressed? I feel rather ramble-y tonight; I'll just keep repeating to myself, "I think I can, I think I can, I think...."

Mr. Sandman.....

So remember my pledge not to stay up past midnight? We'll that's all gone out the window now that I realized I only have barely over a month until our vacation, and several pieces that are a must sew. The bathing suit pattern I cut out the other night is on the top of my list; I would hate to wait seven years for a vacation only to end up at the beach in a threadbare, stretched-out, five year old,  I've-worn-it-through-two-pregnancies-and-never-liked-it-anyway bathing suit!

So last night I buckled down (at 11pm) and got to work; movie on the laptop; boys and husband in bed. After all my enlarging/reducing/reducing I found that I had made the shorts gigantic! I mean, really big! I stitched them together as cut because I didn't want to lose the lines of the pattern; tonight (if I survive that long), I'll try them on and reduce by taking in the side seams. I have to adjust to the fact that they are meant to be rather flowy, drapey shorts, as was the style, and I don't want to lose that. However, I also don't want to be drowning in fabric. I think it will all work out; I did have to change the pattern size significantly, and it's natural for there to be differences in fit with a vintage pattern compared to modern expectations.

I hope, hope, hope to be back on track; sleep-wise soon, as soon as I catch up a little (promises, promises). For tonight, I feel rather exhausted, and may or may not pass out completely as soon as a finish this post!
I do have a great weekend coming up, and I'm excited about tomorrow being Friday!

Have a great night, everyone!

I Write with a Goose Quill Dipped in Venom

Isn't that a great line? It's from one of my favorite Film Noir movies; Laura. I watched it last night while working on my sewing since I just figured out how to watch movies from Netflix on my laptop. I know, people have been watching movies on their computer for centuries; but since I had no computer until last December, this is all new to me! I'm no movie expert, but I've been a fan of classic films since I was a little girl watching old movies with my mother. I'm like a kid in a candy store! So many movies I've never seen, or some of my favorites that are hard to track down. Since I have a laptop, it's easy to have it set up on my worktable, start one of the classics and get to work!

This was the view from my kitchen last night; I got to work resizing my vintage swimsuit pattern, a process I started the night before. Although when giving the resized pieces a second look last night, I realized that I had made them far, far, too big! It must have been because of the late hour, after taking a few measurements, I realized I made the swimsuit front several inches too big, the top picture shows the front piece, in a Junior size, and the white material is the pattern material, which is printed in one inch grids. You can see I had to add quite a bit, including adding length from top to bottom, for coverage and modesty. After I took this picture of the piece which I had just reduced in size, I still needed to remove a few more inches in width. I felt like Alice in Wonderland, trying desperately to achieve the correct size! The lower picture shows my workspace; the kitchen table, covered in sewing stuff; which is the worst part about sewing, at least for me; because I don't have a dedicated space, and have to carefully put away everything despite the late hour; otherwise my boys will have a field day in the morning! For some reason, my littler boys are fascinated by my sewing machine and equipment, and when I leave my sewing machine out, I always have to check it carefully; since they usually have changed all the settings!

A few weeks ago, a fellow etsian on my team did an interview with me about my shop; she published it today; check out her blog; By the Book Paper

It's a great Monday; since my boys are out of school for President's Day; I'm hoping to have a very laid-back day today; Happy Monday!

The shoemaker's wife is barefoot...and my husband has no soap!

I love the old Ivory Soap ads...not that I am old enough to remember this particular ad; but I remember the 80's ads for Ivory; they always had the most beautiful pictures, and the cutest babies! Maybe I was always meant to make soap; I've always loved to get a new bar of soap, unwrap it, and display in my bathroom. I remember wanting to keep soap in a pristine condition by not using it; I always loved the designs stamped into the bars, and the "feel" of a brand-new bar of soap....ahhh, but I digress!

The reason for the title of the post is that ever since I've started selling my soap, I have been terribly reluctant to actually use my soap myself! I've gotten such kind compliments from people, and I truly enjoy making something that people enjoy. Meanwhile, I'm looking wistfully at bar after bar of my soap in my drying closet; still working my way through my early attempts, scratch and dents, and slivers of my soap! Although I do always test each batch for gentleness by washing my hands with the trimmings, I must confess there are several varieties I have not used! So tonight, in the spirit of taking care of myself so that I can be the best wife and mother; I took a deep breath; opened my drying closet, and picked out a soap! I have to admit; it was an imperfect soap, one that I was saving for free samples, but I felt like a kid in a candy store! I also used a shampoo bar, and gave my poor husband a pristine, saleable bar of the soap I made with him in mind! Poor thing, he's been using a tiny of sliver of soap for who knows how long; he confessed he was afraid to ask me for soap! I feel terrible! The reason I started making soap in the first place was provide high-quality soap for my family; it seems that I may have lost sight of that a little; I hope to keep balanced in my endeavors and make sure that I'm taking care of my family above all; the rest will take care of itself. I must admit, I feel quite refreshed, after lathering myself up with soap I was pleased with, then slathering myself with mounds of shea butter lotion. I made it after all; I shouldn't be going around with dry skin! What kind of example does that set?  

On a side note; I got so much sewing accomplished last night. I was feeling tired and headachy and grumbling about getting my sewing stuff set up. As soon as I got into the project; I immediately felt energized and wonderful; I truly must remember my love of sewing, and that no matter how tired I may feel, a good project aways gets my creative juices flowing, and it's so worth the effort! I hope to do more sewing after I finish this post; hope all of you have a great evening!

My Name is Brandi; and I'm addicted to patterns.....I'm also REALLY bad at math!

Ok, full disclosure; the post I made yesterday; about homemaking: I just realized now that 1951 was in fact; 60 years ago; not fifty....

Wow; no more late-night blogging for me!
*embarrassing*

Today I woke up, ready for action; and while checking my etsy shop; noticed that one of my favorite shops Vintage Treasure Huntn had added some new patterns; and there were a few I just could not pass up; even though I have lots of patterns, lots of fabric; and almost no time or energy left! The one above is the one I finally decided to purchase; after justifying the expense six ways to Sunday and vowing to make it worth it by not buying new clothes for the next decade, at least!

Fortunately, Vintage Treasure Huntn has very reasonably-priced patterns; very much in the grasp of a budget-minded mama like me! The fact that it is my size made it seem like Serendipity; I just couldn't say no! It is a "half-size" pattern, which means a petite, but it's very easy to alter that, and the fact that I'm only 5'5" makes it even better. I have some fabric that would be perfect for this, probably the pink linen that I posted a picture of earlier, although I have to say I'm completely in love with the blue/grey with contrasting cuffs and belt, as shown for view A. I also have some navy blue and white polka dot, that may work, and the red accents for that would be darling. I'll have to wait until I get it, once the pattern is in my hands, inspiration just seems to flow better!

And I must, must, must make more time to sew this week; I don't want all my beautiful patterns to go to waste!

Vintage Success....one down, LOTS to go!

I posted a few weeks ago about a vintage sun suit I was making for Baby E, along with lots, and lots, and lots, of projects I intend to finish before our much-anticipated vacation at the end of March. I've been trying, and trying to find time for my sewing, but lately it has been difficult to fit it in to my ever-busy schedule. Tonight James had a late soccer game, so I was able to do some of my other chores, like making more Crunchy Mama soap for my etsy shop while he napped. I was so close to being finished with the sun suit, I only needed to do the dreaded buttonholes, and of course the normal hand-sewing and trimming thread duty that I despise. So here, at long last, is the finished 1955 sun suit; with shaky atrocious buttonholes! Fortunately, I found adorable buttons with anchors on them to lend a nautical air, and to hopefully disguise my usual wretched buttonholeing when the suit is worn this summer! I loved this pattern, straightforward, simple instructions, and a new twist, a technique I've never encountered before; flat-fell seams, where instead of sewing the side seams with right sides together, which makes a seam allowance on the inside; you sew the side seams wrong sides together, then on the right side, trim one of the seam allowances, then lap the other allowance over it, making a clean line, then top-stiching over all. I love to learn new (old) techniques, that's what makes vintage sewing so interesting, you never know what kind of instructions you may find, and it challenges your skills as a seamstress.

Also, I am at this moment, defying my self-imposed curfew, but since James is out playing a soccer game, and it is a weekend, I decided that it was allowable! No pumpkin-ing for me! I hope to be productive while I have this little opportunity, and perhaps even sleep in just a bit in the morning!

Desperate Housewife

No, I'm not talking about the TV show, which I do not watch, but about little ol' me! It seems that this whole having-five-children-and-an-etsy-shop-and-attempting-to-make-a-new-wardrobe thing got a lot harder all at once! I don't know where the time goes! I wish I could be like this woman in the pictures, blissfully and serenely making her house beautiful calmly, all while wearing a plethora of colorful aprons, but the reality is, I am often frazzled, harried, annoyed, panicked, and most of the time wearing a layer of baby food, flour, or something worse over the outfit I choose hopefully in the morning. There are a few things I insist upon, one of them being that I get fully, fairly nicely dressed every day before taking my boys to school. I just feel so much better about life when I can at least put on some lipstick and go out into the world. I know lots of mothers who bring their children to school in pajamas, and think nothing of it; I don't judge them, in fact I admire their ability to "roll with the punches" and adapt to whatever is going on that morning, but for myself, I just can't mentally go there. The other thing that is important to me is to have my house looking as clean and inviting by dinnertime as I can make it. Now, I'm not married to a tyrannical, oppressive husband, and I know James would never fault me if he came home to a topsy-turvy house, but I feel as a homemaker, this is my foremost job, and I just wouldn't feel like I accomplished anything if I hadn't made significant progress on the home front by the time James got home. The sad truth is that the house often starts out looking great in the morning, and becomes progressively worse as the day wears on, despite my frenzied efforts to the contrary, and this bothers me. It seems like I should be getting somewhere for my efforts, and I guess staying ahead of the mess five children can make is a difficult task, but really? As I said in an earlier post, it is often close to midnight before I feel my job is done for the day, which gives me exactly seven and a half hours in which to sleep, sew, and make soap. Hardly enough. I need to either get on a better routine, or clone myself! I think I will start by allowing myself the breaks and the rest I need, because I think I will be much more effective if I start getting more rest. That brings to mind an old saying, which I recall from 'Mary Poppins', but I'm sure is much older than that, "Well begun is half done". I can hardly begin things well if I am not getting enough rest, so I vow to go to sleep no later than midnight from now on! EEK! That will be a hard one to stick to!  

Friday Late Night Burgers.....

Similar to our Sunday Salad tradition, James and I have started really enjoying having late night burgers on Fridays...actually I think the Sunday Salads were adopted as a result of the Friday Burgers! There's something great about putting all your children to bed and enjoying some alone time with each other, as adults...and the great homemade burgers are a bonus! http://www.ecookbooks.com/p-23097-bobby-flays-burgers-fries-and-shakes.aspx About a year and a half ago, when we were footloose and fancy-free parents of four, we bought this cookbook, and started working our way through the recipes. We had so much fun picking out which burger we were going to try that weekend, shopping for the ingredients, and then of course, eating the delicious results! It was a great stay-at-home date night for us, which got a little sidetracked when I became pregnant with Elvis. We are going back to our tradition, although lately we've been coming up with our own burger, based on what we have on hand, which is fun, too! I think it's important to have little things like this to enjoy as a couple, and it doesn't have to be grand, or expensive. I also have my guilty pleasure movie to look forward to...I'm ashamed (a little) to admit that after Elvis was born, when I was looking for a little harmless diversion to distract me from the crushing sleep deprivation and a touch of the baby blues, I decided to give the Twilight movies a whirl. I wasn't terribly impressed, but then I read the books in between feedings. The books were surprisingly engaging and well-written, and I loved the fact that although it was a teenage love story, there was no sex, and the books themselves were written by a mom close to my age! After I read the books, I re-watched the movies, and although they are essentially teenage pieces of fluff, I find them to be entertaining and great to watch while slogging through the endless laundry, or in place of my usual classic movie watching while I sew. You know what? I'm not embarrassed! I'm a hip, happening, mother of five boys, and I can watch whatever I want! So there!

Midnight Madness

Well, it's midnight...and as usual, I have just finished the laundry, and was thinking of taking time to unwind, since all my boys and men are asleep and I can do as I please. I always have such a conflict, I have so many projects I'm dying to work on, but part of me feels guilty for staying up half the night, because I don't want to be tired and grumpy tomorrow. It's always a difficult choice for me, the back and forth of wanting some time for myself, yet feeling like I can't completely enjoy it because there are so many, many things that need to be done at all times, and I feel like I should not allow myself to become too sleep-deprived. I've been testing my limits for some time, seeing how little sleep I can not only survive on, but feel well all day on. I've found that I can do very nicely on five hours, any less and I feel tired all day long. It doesn't leave me with much time in the evenings, though; by the time we get the boys truly settled for the night it's usually around 9pm, then I watch a little TV with James, return e-mails and manage my etsy shop. All in all, it's never sooner than 10pm when I have a little "me time", and often it's not until closer to midnight. So here I am, at midnight, a little tired, but planning on finishing the romper I started for Elvis; it's so close to being finished and I hope to have it done and have pictures posted tomorrow. It does have buttonholes, however....pray for me!

I'd rather be......

This great piece of art was forwarded to me by my sister-in-law who said it reminded her of me...ain't that the truth! It pretty much sums up the way I've been feeling the past few weeks, dealing with sick kids, the ubiquitous laundry and the housework I can never seem to finish. Add to that the worry about what my etsy shop is doing (or not doing, to be precise), the grey wintry weather, and you've got a pretty desperate housewife! I know that I'm doing the best I can, but at the end of the day, I still feel a sense of failure at all the things left undone, projects that sit unworked on, and the fog that seems to have made it's way from outside and come to settle over my psyche. I have a plan though (besides waiting for spring). I need to find something to do for myself that energizes me, maybe I'll finally take that dance class I've been wanting to take ever since I was 8 and got a pink tutu. I have a wonderful stack of vintage fabric just waiting to be cut, and two projects in the works, so I need to make time for my sewing, since it is something that leaves me energized, even if I stay up until 2 AM (as I often do when caught up in a project). Above all, I need to learn to pace myself, not start the day with a list of tasks that would be difficult to accomplish even if I were home alone; let alone with three little ones, getting over being sick, and two hours a day spent dropping off and picking up older children from school. I think I will go back to "triage"; focusing on a few things that really make a difference, regardless of what order I think a house "ought" to be cleaned. For example, daily I struggle with keeping the kitchen clean, and in my head, the floor is the last thing that should be done. But this leads me to constantly have a sticky floor, often it doesn't get cleaned until before dinnertime, which bothers me immensely. I'm going to start cleaning that floor early and often; in spite of the condition of the counters! And I know this to be true : As Goes The Bed, So Goes the House. If I can just spend two minutes a day making my bed, it seems to greatly affect my state of mind and my ability to finish the other tasks I have set my mind to. I think it's because every time I go into my room (often, because that's where the diapers are kept) I think to myself "Wow, I'm really on top of things, just look at that bed!". Baby steps!