Weird/Funny Video Monday and New Peasant Shirt!

Please admire my new shirt! It is a refashion from one of Josh's bazillion button downs.

From this:

To this!

I got the idea/tutorial from one of my all-time favorite blogs, My Mama Made It.

The back


Josh and I have really tightened our budget lately, so I've been trying to find things around the house to sew with so I don't have to go buy things. One of the things I needed for this project was elastic. I don't have a spool of elastic sitting around, so what better way than to cut it off your pajama pants? Josh hated these pajama pants, and I was ridiculed every time I wore them. I guess I have had them since 8th grade or so. It was their time to go I guess. For everything there is a season, folks. Yes indeed.

A big shoutout goes to my friend Cindy, who gave me some extra buttons she had lying around.

So anyway, just a little snippy snip around the collar and the length of the sleeves, take in the sides a bit if it feels too baggy (mine did), add some color to the ends of the sleeves, add some elastic to the neckline, add some cuter buttons (thanks, Cindy!), and you have yourself a new peasant shirt! Oh and I took off the pocket. Sounds so easy when I say it now.

Actually, this one was pretty easy. Easy peasy, as the crafters say!

Cats are way cooler than bunnies.

Naughty Kitty and Fat Kitty.

Cat video and Post of Randomness

Happy Monday video! I saw this a while ago, so maybe some of you have already seen it. I just can't get enough of cat videos. Watch this one first!


Now watch this one:


As I was watching this, Delilah was purring and talking back too!

Ok, now that you know how crazy of a cat lady I really am, here is my post of randomness:

1. Wow, it's 9:24 AM and I have already planned my grocery list and meals for the week. Are you jealous of my amazing productiveness? Well, don't be too jealous because I don't have a job!!! ;)

(ok, I do have a job but I don't work full-time)

2. I made this bag for Sister Rachael last week. It came out really cute!

3. I had a good dose of children this weekend, and I think it will hold me over for a little while. On Friday, I babysat for my friend Becca. She has a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Julia (3) asked me, while giving them a wagon ride, "Abby, what are those green things on your legs?" To which I replied, "Oh, those are veins!" I guess my veins were sticking out. haha- Leave it to a 3 year old to point it out! Then, I wasn't sure if I could make it up a hill while pulling both of them in the wagon, to which Julia replied, "Abby, you just have to try your best and you can make it!" So cute. (I made it up the hill, in case you were wondering.)

Then, on Sunday Josh and I were the teachers for the children's ministry at church. I was with the babies, and Josh was with the older kids. The babies were very fussy. I don't seem to have that "motherly touch" to get them to stop crying.

4. On Saturday I went to brunch for my grandmother's (Mimi) birthday. I made her this purse and she loved it. It was my first time doing pleats. I think they came out pretty good.... but once again, my measurements were off. WHYYYYYYY???????? The pleat in the back ended up not being centered, hence, the reason it went to the back.




5. Then, Josh and I went to the wedding of one of his old high school buddies. The reception was at a beautiful farm with a pond and a creek on either side of the tent.



6. I am a techie. I think I just saved my computer from a virus. There was this pop-up that kept invading, wanting me to run this program, so I ran some virus tests, found the problem, and ZAPPED it. Yep. I feel like I am a techie (which is just ABSURD, because I clearly am NOT). But this morning, it seems as though the virus is gone!

7. I have lots of sewing projects planned for this week, including another shirt and some pillow cases for Sister Bekah. (I think that's how I will refer to my sisters now: Sister 'blank'. I like it because it makes them sound like nuns. I like that.)

Have a good day!!! Go hug your cat!!! (if you have one, if not, hug something else)

My weekend

Hi! I am trying to think of something special to do on Mondays- like a funny video or how-to or something- you know, to give Mondays a little lift (not that it matters to me, since Mondays are pretty much just like any other day for me!) So today, the special treat is this link:

Our Best Bites

I don't really know how I came across it, but seriously, these recipes are so good. Most of them are very easy, and you don't have to go all over the world to find the ingredients, which is important to me. I hate buying something I will only ever use once in a recipe.

I made the Spicy Honey Chicken, Spicy Honey Chicken salad with the leftovers, cupcake frosting, grilled potatoes, and creamy pesto pasta so far- YUM! Everything was so good.

Ok, now for my weekend update:

On Friday, I made these:

I actually didn't try them so I don't know what they taste like, but they look yummy! I used the cupcake frosting recipe from Our Best Bites. I did have a taste of that while I was making it and it was sooo yummy and creamy.

Then, Rachael and Austin (sister and boyfriend) came over and we watched He's Just Not That Into You. Did anyone else see that yet? I never read the book, but I didn't like the movie very much. A lot of it is about how girls just talk and talk and get these things into their heads about how much a guy likes them, and they read into these "signals" (which aren't really signals), and inside the girl's head the guy is in love with her, but the guy is actually thinking "when can I end this?" This all seems very true. So, this is what happens in the movie and it's funny and ridiculous, but then everyone is happy at the end and it doesn't seem like anyone learned any lessons! (sorry if I ruined the ending for you).

On Saturday, I had a recital for some of my students: (hence the cupcakes)

Me with five of my students.

They did a great job! I always get nervous before my student recitals because I just want them to do well (and all of their parents and grandparents are in the room). Don't they just all look so cute? I love it. I also make them introduce themselves and their piece before playing, for a few reasons:

1. because it is good for them to practice speaking in public and projecting their voice
   
2. I had to do it, so they should too.
   
3. It is just so darn cute! (is that mean??) "Hi, my name is so and so, and I will be playing such and such." but in a 5 year old's voice. I love it.

It was a very nice recital, very short, with yummy treats afterward.

After the recital, Josh and I went to the mall to get a few new things for our vacation! We decided this past Friday to go to Cancun for a few days! We are very excited/I am a little nervous. You know, just about the kidnappings, drug cartels, and swine flu.... that's all. So, if you don't hear from me by next Wednesday, please come to Mexico and rescue us. Gracias. No, but seriously, they say it is safe, and we will be at a big resort..... sooo, yeah.

So anyway, we (and by "we" I mean mostly "I") bought a few new clothing items for our trip. Then we went to our friends Ben and Lindsey's house for dinner. Fun day!

On Sunday, I made this:

A sunglasses case!

I noticed that I had a huge scratch on my sunglasses, so I need to get another pair before we leave for our trip. I always just buy the cheapos. But I wanted to make a case because that sounded easy and so that my new pair wouldn't get scratched in my purse. Here is the lining:
You can see that I kind of messed up the top stitch. I should have had it on a bigger stitch. It got a little crooked. However, in my defense, it was really hard getting it under the machine because I put some kind of felt in there to make it soft and give the sunglasses more protection. So it was a bit "fiddly" under the machine. I learned that word from a blog I read and I just love that word. It gets stuck in my head. Does that ever happen to you? Just one word getting stuck in your head?

Anyway, last night we went to Rachael's softball game. Good job, Rach!

I think she was embarrassed that I was taking pictures. I snuck this one on the right!

Josh was embarrassed too. Come on people, I am a blogger now! :)

Have a good Monday! Make something yummy for dinner!

Happy Monday

Yep, it's Monday. Today I woke up at 7:30am (gasp). Yes, I set my alarm and got up early (gasp). I've decided I need to start being a normal human being after 3 weeks of pure laziness (gasp). Ok that's enough. (But speaking of lazy, I like this blog/site: www.lazygirldesigns.com. They have lots of sewing shortcut tips and cute bag patterns) Anyhoo, It's been a great 3 weeks, and I really needed it to debrief from my crazy semester/year of being in school and being a wife all at the same time. It's tough folks, it really is. I wouldn't recommend it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being married and I love my hubbypants, but if I had to do it all over again... I'd probably just drop out of school. KIDDING Seriously though, if I had to do it all over again, I would do it all over again because it's been a great year but very crazy!

Ok, I'm rambling. Anyway, I've turned over a new leaf and I am going to set my alarm every night and get up at a decent hour like a normal human being. I am going to fit more than one activity in my day. I am going to practice every day like I tell my students to do! And I am going to make more of these:

Are you ready? I know, seriously, the suspense has been killing you all weekend. I unveil to you, my baby-sized project: These adorable baby booties!
















These have velcro ribbon straps, but I think I like these next ones even better.




























These were actually my first sewing project (besides the dress). I thought they would be easy, but they really are not. Making bags is so much easier. Just the fact that they are tiny alone makes it hard to work with. And then to get them to look the same, sewing around the curve at the top, making sure you sew each layer... etc. They are a challenge, but it was good for me to start with these because I learned so much that making bags is a cinch! Well, ok, not really. I bought the pattern on Etsy from Precious Patterns. It was a good tutorial and they have such cute things! My booties need some work (my own booty could use some work too, but that's for another time). And I also need to work on a pattern that can be used for baby boys. But they are super fun to make because they are just so darn cute!



PS- Does ANYONE (Yes, I am talking to you 3 readers) know a better way to upload pictures on blogspot? Why do they keep going to the top? I have to drag them all the way through my blog and it's so annoying. It might just cause me to move my site to a better host. (Is that the right word?)