CHRISTEPHI

Hubby said this is the best thing I've ever made...in fact, he said it looks like something you'd buy at Dillard's (which is the most expensive place he knows of, so that was a major compliment)!  I bought this stunning cherry blossom fabric on eBay a few years ago and loved it so much that I couldn't use it for anything. I finally got over that and this was the perfect project for it. I used the "Pink Daisy" overalls pattern from Ottobre (3/2009 #8) for the dress, but modified the lower half to be a skirt, rather than pants.  The main fabric is a nice heavy green twill I had left over from a baby carrier I made my cousin.  It's fully lined with the cherry blossom quilting cotton...I had originally planned to line only the top half, but I'm glad I lined the whole thing. It makes for a nice, warm jumper for fall/winter/spring!  I wasn't sure what to do for buttons, so I snagged some navy blue ones from my stash, covered them in fabric, et voila

Our no-spend week turned out to be an exercise in both self control and negotiation.  I'm not sure hubby was quite as sold on the idea as I was to begin with, especially for the weekend.  All day Saturday he said things to me like, "You don't have to cook tonight.  We can just go out.  You deserve a break.  Wanna just order pizza?  Let's just go order from the $1 menu." etc., etc., etc.  I made a conscious effort to not be frustrated at his attempts to sabotage our no-spending his unwillingness to cooperate. Instead, I tried to understand why he was being this way.  I was first tempted to say he simply lacked self-control.  My husband was raised Catholic which instilled in him a strong sense of "it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission."  In other words, his natural inclination is to do what he wants and deal with the consequences afterwards, like going to Confession Sunday morning after partying all night Saturday.  I, on the other h

Well, we made it through our no-spend week weekdays ...just two weekend days left.   Those'll be the hardest!  I convinced hubby to pick up his video game on his way home from work Tuesday instead of coming home first and going back out for it (he likes to have us with him when he shops).  So he didn't need to fill up his gas tank this week!  But we had a major blowout today...McDonald's was kind enough to provide our supper...for a fee!  Actually, hubby called me on his lunch break today and asked if he could go to Dairy Queen for lunch.  "Didn't you pack your lunch?!" "Yeah, but I feel like eating something hot."  Anyway, I convinced him to just eat the lunch he packed, but he insisted we go out to McDonald's tonight.  I must admit I was secretly glad because it meant I could sit at my sewing machine a little longer instead of getting up to make supper.  Plus, Miss M didn't take her nap today and was in need of special love and attention b

I've finished up four more garments for the Ottobre Fall SWAP (sewing with a plan).  I'm really pleased with how wonderfully this whole sewing plan is going!  I've done most of the "easy" garments and am starting in on some of the more complex items. The fabric I used in the Muru tunic (Ottobre 1/2009 #6) was taken from an old t-shirt cardigan of mine that magically grew shorter and shorter on me.  I even re-used the ribbing and buttons.  I swear, I had a bad case of preggo brain when sewing it because I must have ripped out every seam at least once. It wasn't the pattern, just me.  In fact, the pattern was really quite simple and I enjoyed making it!  I nixed the whole clear elastic thing though 'cause the knit was so tender and the elastic so stiff...it just wasn't working.  I gathered it with old fashioned basting threads.  I'm not sure if I'll try the clear elastic again next time I make this pattern; it will probably depend on h

I'm happy to announce that the nilaga turned out quite well...sufficiently like my mother-in-law's to pass the critical "Hubby Test." It makes enough to feed an entire clan, so we'll be having it again a few more times this week. I based mine off of this recipe .  I added one seeded jalapeño from the garden 'cause I know my mother-in-law does.  It only stayed in while the meat cooked (which took way longer than the 1 hour the recipe says!); I took it out before adding the other vegetables.  Miss M only ate rice and broth, no veggies or meat; hubby ate a plate of rice with veggies and meat, but no broth; and what you see above is my bowl before I added rice. When I woke up this morning, the weather forecast said 90% chance of rain and while it didn't rain very hard, we did get a bit of a shower. Since there wasn't any thunder, I let Miss M play outside with her "bra-lella." She's wearing her "Wendy" dress.  Wh

Today's the first day of our no-spend week. I did what I could this weekend to plan and prepare, so we'll see how it all goes! But first...  We went to a parade Saturday!  Miss M has been begging to see a parade (and, in fact, "seeing" them in the most unlikely places), so when I heard there was to be a parade at the Parkville Days celebration, we decided we just had to go. There were two marching bands, clowns, a carnival, pony rides, and one very happy toddler!  You couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day. We got hungry, but opted to buy a small snack rather than spend an arm and a leg for carnival food that most likely would have been less than satisfactory portion-wise.  That saw us through the rest of our errands and we ate at home. I made my meal menu that night. I doubt anyone plans meals quite like I do, but who knows, maybe my way could be helpful to someone else at some point.  Instead of planning specifically what I'll cook on

We've decided to start our no-spend week Monday and carry it through next weekend. Today was hubby's payday, so that gives us a chance to do our grocery shopping and other errands this weekend. When I was single, I was very frugal, mostly because I didn't have any money to spend! A shopping trip to Target to buy shampoo, deodorant, and other female necessities usually cleaned out what was left in my checking account each month. At that time I was only getting paid once a month -- talk about needing to budget well! -- so I simply had to plan ahead for rent, utilities, and groceries.  After I got married and started working full time, hubby took over most of our budgeting. Sadly, he's really good at it because his parents are so bad at it. We got all our (my!) debt paid off and saved up for some big-ticket items (a used car paid for in cash and a refrigerator).  We had a double-income then, and though living in Orange County, California is anything but cheap, we did pret

I finally have some progress to report on my Ottobre SWAP.  There are actually six garments finished, but I only have pictures of four of them so far. You can see that the brown Maya blouse is lacking buttons. I didn't have anything suitable in my stash, so I'll "have" to go find some at JoAnn's.  I'm thinking something to match the medium pink in the trim, but we'll see. I almost never buy buttons...I usually always make do with what I have on hand. The cream Maya blouse is made of a vintage pillowcase I picked up at Goodwill a while back ($0.50).  It carries that oh-so-fresh smell that I love on my pillows and is super soft. I have a bit left that I'm going to hoard until just the right project comes up. I'm delighted with how dressy the little skirt came out! It's made of chocolate brown stretch velvet.  Miss M thought it was great fun to pet it like a kitten. Modeled by the lovely Miss M...and just before naptime (what was I thi

When I was pregnant with Miss M, I was working full time in accounting. I didn't have to take care of anyone other than myself and hubby (although he's pretty self-sufficient too). Welived in a teensy weensy one-bedroom apartment in Southern California -- not much to keep clean...no weather to speak of...and hubby did the laundry.  So I don't remember this "slowing down" where I can't seem to get anything done during the day. In general, but even more so when I'm pregnant, I feel best about myself when I get at least a decent amount accomplished in a day. I hate going to bed at night feeling like the entire day was wasted 'cause nothing got done. Those feelings seem to be even stronger during pregnancy. Monday Miss M and I had dentist appointments. When we have something to do in the middle of the day like that, it seems to throw off our whole schedule and I usually don't get anything done at all. But I did pretty well considering...got a load of

Yesterday afternoon Miss M was asking for sweets  (nothing new there!), since I was in the mood to bake something, I pulled out a cookbook and handed it to her. "Find some cookies and I'll see if we have the ingredients to make them." She picked Frosted Fudge Brownies from the Taste of Home's Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2005 . (By the way, it's a pretty good cookbook, if you're in the market for one). I'm not a huge brownie fan or even much of a chocoholic, but I had (almost) all the ingredients and was willing to give it a try. I was short an egg, but it didn't seem to matter too much. I was also out of powdered sugar, but since we were doing our fortnightly grocery shopping last night, I figured I'd just pick up some then and frost the brownies afterwards. Miss M loves running the electric hand mixer and she did well this time -- meaning she didn't fling batter all over the walls. She was very excited to announce that "we're

The night before last I was haunted by visions of a Regency Era dress for maternity wear and when I saw the flat bedsheet Miss M was using to make a tent, it told me it wanted to be that dress. So yesterday, when I was supposed to be working on my SWAP, I cut out a dress for myself instead. It turns out, a queen sized flat sheet is perfect for the Regency dress pattern (especially since I needed to hack off 5 inches in length).  I cut out the whole thing and the rest of the garments for Miss M...good thing too 'cause I was having a few contractions bent over on the floor like that. I'm listed as "high risk" for pre-term delivery (Miss M was born at 36 weeks), so I don't need to be having contractions at only 6 months pregnant! Now that all the cutting out is done, I won't have to get down on the floor like that anymore! It seems I woke up one morning, turned around, and my baby girl had morphed into a sponge, soaking up every bit of information and stimulat

I don't know how people with kids eat vegan. I really don't. We're not vegan or vegetarian or anything, but I am having such a hard time getting Miss M to eat healthy. She won't touch vegetables or fruit. She eats bread (especially crackers and pasta) well. She loves cheese. She does moderately well with chicken and beef.  And she takes a daily multiple vitamin. But she has a serious sweet tooth (thanks to her father!) and is constantly asking for sweets instead of eating her real food. Asking for sweets, not getting sweets, mind you. Here's how the morning went.  She had a bite of my "midnight snack" last night -- a bowl of oatmeal -- and liked it. So she asks for some this morning. She stirs it, nibbles a bit, and asks for juice. Okay, so I give her apple juice. She's allowed to have 2 half-glasses a day (any more than that and she gets the runs).  Next thing you know she's asking for chocolate (as if I ever give her chocolate for breakfast)!  T

I was inspired by the good ladies on the Yahoo! group for Ottobre (English) to make up a sewing plan for Miss M's Fall wardrobe.  She has a few things from last year that'll still fit her, but for the most part, she needs a little of everything. Since I'm due with #2 in November, I figured joining the SWAP with a deadline of having everything finished by the end of September would probably work in my favor. [caption id="attachment_5" align="aligncenter" width="499" caption="sewing plan for Miss M's fall wardrobe"] [/caption] So far I have all the patterns traced and cut out.  I got the final yardages in the mail yesterday and washed 'em up so I can cut out some garments today. I'm still not sure about the knit pants in my plan. I love them! It's just that I'm trying to not have to buy any more fabric than what I already have on hand, so I'm not sure I can find something suitable to make them out of. I did, how