Sunday, June 24, 2012

Sewing for France Part II

Pin It We are getting really close....

Our family will leave in two days and after a week on our own in France, my parents will meet us in Paris!

The kids are beside themselves with excitement and that paper chain is getting quite short.  (a.k.a. the noodle)  We will have to pack the noodle so the countdown fun can continue.



I made another dress for the trip.  This is a very simple tank sheath dress.  The fabric has a slight stretch and it is very comfortable.  The fabric has a textured stripe and I made the zipper exposed to add a little more fashion to this simple dress.  After the last dress, I wanted something a little understated.

Abi took the picture, so the angle is from a child's view.

I think the exposed zipper in a shade of lime green creates a fun but not too bold touch.
(Another Abi photo, doors included.)

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Blessings and Bananas

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Armed with a menu and grocery list I made my way through the treacherous aisles of Safeway.  A more dangerous place…I don’t think so.  The goal?  Food for one week, maybe a week and half if I’m smart about my perishables.

I spent time clipping coupons, $80 worth, and set off towards my goal of a full fridge and pantry. Two hours and one over flowing cart and I was done. 

The mighty huntress returns with her kill...err. groceries.
After I got home I debated whether a glass of wine or 4 antacid tablets would be a better cure for what ails my check book.  When did my children start eating enough food to feed a small country?  I have a good friend who is thinking of taking the youth of our church on a 40 hour fast as a representation of what the average time between meals for 3rd world children are.  Afterwards she would feed them a feast of rice and milk.   Give them some perspective as they munch 3 bowls of Kix in the morning. 

We are blessed and I know that.  There was a time in my adult life when the money didn’t exist and the cupboards were bare.  I remember eating the very last thing in the pantry and knowing that pay day wasn’t for 3 days yet.  God was always good and I remember after cooking that rice, James and I looked across the table and just wept.  The doorbell rang literally a minute later.  Some acquaintances from our church had been to Sam’s club and had felt led to purchase more groceries then they normally need and to give us the overflow.  We brought them in and humbled ourselves to open our bare cupboards.  

That night I Iearned a lot.  I learned about myself and my personal responsibility, about listening to the call of God to do something out of the ordinary to bless others, and not to take the blessings of life for granted.

So as the kids and I put away a gaggle of groceries  I was reminded of how far God has blessed us.  Hopefully I am teaching gratefulness and responsibility.  Hopefully as I watch my children eat their morning cereal, snatch an apple from the bowl, drink a cold glass of milk or enjoy a hearty dinner I remember how far we have come and listen closely to see if anyone needs  just a little of what I have been blessed with.
McH

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Alone

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My boyfriend did something out of the ordinary yesterday.  He asked if I would ever want kids. 

To understand how strange this is, one has to first know a little about my views on the matter.   For as long as I can remember I have not wanted children.  I feel lucky that I grew up with some great influences (Thank you Aunt Jill) who helped me realize my options.  So, not even in my “clock-ticking” hormonal 30’s does the idea of having a human under my care seem like even a slightly good idea.

Lets just be honest about the entire process for a moment.  Baby’s are needy and smell like sour milk. - If you are lucky that is what they smell like.  Toddlers make your whole house sticky with everything they touch.  Something about the combination of baby snot, saliva and grape jelly create a perma-glue that no cleaner can handle.  Children are loud and have WAY too much energy for me to handle.  Pre-teens… well lets just say I remember being 12 and I didn’t like myself either.  Then there are the teen years, which I think is the one age group I could handle.  Accept I would be its mom so it would automatically hate me.  Needless to say, kids aren’t really my bag.

So, you can imagine my surprise went Mr. Lynch asked me if I ever thought about having kids.  He knows my stance and has made it clear to me that his was the same.  Matter of fact, I have not met anyone who resembles Mr. Wilson from “Denise the Menace” more than my loving boyfriend.  Why would he ask me that question?  When I asked him he said he didn’t really want to have one, but sometimes he get afraid of being alone when he’s old.  It was then I realized we had just watched an AARP commercial. 

            It’s funny how we change our behavior and even personality because of our fear of the future.  Every thing from what job we pick to whom we allow ourselves to date.  “Does this job have a good 401K?”  “Is he someone I can settle down with?” But what about now?  I can’t have kids because I’m afraid of living alone when I’m 90.  Not when I think of how it would change my life now.  Buddhists believe that contentment starts in living life in the present.  But the Dali Lama doesn’t really have to worry about retirement or the American health care system.  Where is the balance?  How can I best keep myself happy now and in the future? 

            I don’t have the answer yet.  My only hope is to live now and hopefully die young (However, as I get older so does the term “young”) 

Pairing for life’s confoundment:  Corpse Reviver #2:  Equal Parts Gin, Combier (orange liquor), Cocchi Americano, Lemon juice with a dash of absinth to rinse your glass.  Combine ingredients and stir with ice.  Strain into a cocktail glass and serve up.  It won’t help you find the answers, but you might forget your questions.

Sewing for France

Pin It In just over a week .... we are going to FRANCE!

I am incredibly excited and the whole family is looking forward to the trip.  Specifically, we are going to spend a week in the Loire Valley visiting chateau after chateau and then we will spend 4 days in Paris and finish it off with a day in Reims.


The most exciting part of the trip is that my parents will be meeting us in Paris!!!!  Needless to say, the kids are beside themselves.  They have been using a paper chain to count down the days.  (Though for some reason they call it a noodle.)

I made matching dresses for the girls to wear.  They got a trial run with them on Father's Day.  I am glad I did let them wear the dresses early because I think they need a more substantial hem .  I used a rolled hem in order to keep the length and to give a light effect, but with this fabric it starts curling.







So, in the future, you may see them wearing these dresses in front of 440 room castles or strolling down the streets of Paris.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

High Heeled

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I put on some pumps today.  Not reasonable working pumps I can still carry a case of wine with.  Not unisex clogs that are great for a 10-hour day on your feet.  No, these are real 3.5 inch, pointy toe slut heels.   It has been too long my friends.  The reason I broke out the naughty librarians is for a very special occasion.  An occasion I have learned to appreciate more than anything these last two weeks.  What is this special event you ask???  I have a day off. 

Yes, a whole day with no one to call and nothing to do.  I have no obligations that are sitting in the back of my mind ruining my time watching the Chew and taking Rex out for the day.  It also means I can wear ridiculous things that have no practical purpose accept for making my bu-dunk-de-dunk look amazing. 

It has been one month since I started my new job back in a fantastic Seattle restaurant.   It is a lot of random hours, running from start to finish everyday; and I love every minute of it.  Best of all are these two days a week I can choose to make bad foot care decisions while wearing my “honey-booty” jeans. 

Wine pairing for Monday days off:  Claire Valley Dry Riesling.  It’s a super crisp and racy wine with beautiful flavors of apple; white peach, bee’s wax and honey suckle.  Also, it won’t stain anything if you happen to topple over in your 3.5-inch stilts.

Winocologist*

Thursday, June 14, 2012

ready for the weekend

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Sigh...
The last couple of weeks have been busy at work.  I have been running around from one task to the next just trying to keep up.  But the last couple of days I found my rhythm and checked things off the list.  I got enough done that I will thoroughly enjoy the weekend.

But just because I have have been busy, doesn't mean I stopped sewing.  Actually, particularly because work has been hard I have sewed.  Some nights I have been too tired to really make something so I will just do some pressing for a project or pin pieces to be ready for the next day ... or whenever I get back to the sewing room.

Last weekend I made a dress for me.  It is pretty wild and a little shorter than I am used to.  But I received a few unsolicited complements, and therefore will wear it again.

It is my own design and made of crepe de chine.  The sleeves are 'cut-on' cap sleeves so they are more like a long shoulder.  If I were to do it again, I would not have made a cowl neckline.  I don't think it looks that great on me.  But with the drapey fabric, it is soft and comfortable.

Next I am working on a couple dresses for the girls and then it will be my turn again.
But not tonight.  
Tonight I am simply waiting for it to be time to send the kids to bed and then I will curl up in mine.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

focusing on true beauty

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I have been working on making shorts for my children’s summer wardrobe.  They all desperately needed them and so that has been my sewing focus.  One morning, my son woke up and went into the sewing room, picked out a pair that were finished the night before and came down stairs dressed and ready for the day.  My response:
“But I did not take a picture of those first!”

What?  Did I just say that out loud to my 4 year old boy?  Even before I started blogging, I did try to keep a photographic record of the clothes I have made, but when you blog, good pictures are important.  But how important?  Are they important enough to focus on making perfect pictures documenting my sewing skills over focusing on providing for my children?
I think this is a good micro example of a macro problem.  Too often I want to create a picture of a beautiful family.  I want a beautifully decorated and always clean home.   I want my children to wear nice clothes, coordinating if possible, and behave in a calm and peaceful manner.  I want to attend church have people look at us and think, “What a great family.”
None of these desires are inherently bad.  But they are not what make true beauty.
I want more than a “happy home” that is created by outward beauty.  Being a mom means sometimes having an imperfect appearance and the beauty I seek and long for in my home has nothing to do with clothes, home decor, or housekeeping.  A few weeks ago a 13 year old boy sang a song at my church.  It was Something Beautiful by Needtobreathe.  It sums up my heart on this matter.  Here is a bit of it:
Verse 1
In your ocean I'm ankle deep,
I feel the waves crashin' on my feet;
It's like I know where I need to be
But I can't figure out,
yeah I can't figure out
Just how much air I will need to breathe
When your tide rushes over me,
There's only one way to figure out
Will you let me drown,
will you let me drown

Chorus 1
Hey now, this is my desire:
Consume me like a fire
'Cause I just want something beautiful to touch me -
I know that I'm in reach
'Cause I am down on my knees
Waiting for something beautiful.
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh... something beautiful.

Through this song, that 13 year old boy reminded me of something extremely important.  Outward beauty and shiny, pretty, clean things are not the stuff of true beauty.  True beauty comes from Above and Within.
So, I did make a bunch of shorts.  And I took pictures of them. 

Some pictures of them looking nice, some on children, some after they were worn and quite dirty, and some of them crumpled up on the floor. 


These pictures document the clothes I made.  But they also document that I am raising 3 amazing people.  People whom I am lucky enough to get to know and hopefully impart character traits that will allow them to embrace what truly is beautiful.
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