This was the first invite, well that I remember, to a baby’s 1st year birthday party. Which I think this is actually more of an excuse for the young grown-up folks to mingle, catch up, eat lots of food + give gifts. I was down, but the question remained….
WHAT do you buy for a 1-year-old????
Her name is Lianna by the way, and she’s just the cutest thing ever! BUT I already bought this kid something when she was in the womb (i.e. babyshower) but a year old is a different story.
- Can’t buy you play-doh, you’ll eat it.
- Can’t get you a really ultra cool expensive toy – I’m on a budget!
- Don’t wanna buy you diapers or give a gift-card….that’s just LAME
- And you can forget clothes. Every time I go into the baby clothes area + see those size charts of 3-6, 4Ts, this many inches, blah blah while I hear screaming kids in the background….I just run away.
So the party started at 4pm + I headed to target at 2:30pm, still clueless. But I do know that kids that age don’t really care about the present as much as they do the wrapping, so I found a cute monkey basket (for Easter) made of felt for $1.99. Then everything fell into place. I am procrastinating perfectionist who loves design, color + themes, so it helps if I have an overall idea, even if it IS last minute. SO I thought about making a big-girl kit for the baby-on-the-go (with parental guidance).
(clockwise from the top left photo) Bubbles, some rattle toy that stands up in the bath water, ‘Graduates’ peach snacks that melt in the mouth, the monkey basket with all contents included, assorted color hair clips (which are a choking hazard for kids 3 and under, but I’m sure her mommy can handle it!), and these iphone-sized assorted bear band-aids for boo boos.
Turns out my gift was the favorite! She grabbed at it immediately, dumping all contents. And that ugly rattle thing was a big hit. One of the grown ups put the colored clips all over her hair + we blew bubbles while all the kids enjoyed grabbing at them. Made for memorable pictures ;)
Next up was one of my best friend’s 25th birthday. She’s excellent at coming up with fun + unusual ideas each year and this was no different. She wanted a ‘Guid-ette’ group photo of the girls in proper ‘Snooki’ attire – bumped up hair, animal print, a dash of ’skank’ + attitude.
We went to the mall on an early Sunday afternoon in our club nasty get-ups + pumped up hair and frightened old people + got some shocked looks from parents and small children alike. SUCCESS!
Pre-shoot photos: ‘hair volume’ check in the car + trying to do that lip thing, lol.
Final shots (2 of 4)
Posing w/ birthday girl in the middle
Fist Pump!
I guess the heavens heard my cries and took pity on me, because Valentine’s day was beautiful! Boyfriend-less + flower-less, but absolutely gorgeous sunny + crisp t-shirt-cool weather. I’m no big-time chef, but every now and then I get the itch to try my hand at a random recipe. I found a recipe from a guy’s food blog for Hawaiian Marinated Seared Chicken a couple weeks ago and I couldn’t pass it up (and luckily I didn’t mess it up!) The author describes, and I quote, that the marinade is “…a blend of strong flavors, particularly the Chinese five spice, fresh mint and mustard.” I was sold on his photos alone! I made the citrus marinade the night before to marinate it in time for lunch the next day.
I didn’t stop there. I wanted a contrasting accompaniment to the hint of sweet flavors the meat had to offer, so I found another recipe for a Vietnamese Sweet + Sour Cucumber salad. Sugar, rice vinegar, thai chili, lime, fresh mint + cilantro – just to name the majority of ingredients. It was a pretty nice fusion of flavors. My Valentines (my parents) were quite pleased :)
The next morning I hadn’t kicked the itch yet and plain ol’ eggs + bacon just didn’t seem appropriate for the ‘morning after’
I put a twist on the BLT and piled on two strips of turkey bacon (with cracked black pepper added while frying), swiss cheese, a hefty tomato slice, a little onion + a small bunch of fresh cilantro instead of lettuce all on a slightly toasted bun.
So fresh + full of flavor!
Maybe next year I’ll whine about my love-life instead ;)
I usually only rant about myself on this thing, BUT I think it bears some worth to talk about the weather. It’s been so cold EVERYWHERE (in the United States, that is) – 49 of the 50 states, Hawaii being the exception, got snow yesterday. Let me just admit that this doesn’t include the Houston area, however, we were in the low 30s with wind + wetness. And before you roll your eyes and think to yourself, “oh please, that’s not even cold!” for a native of extreme heat and humidity – I hates it!! I don’t curse a lot, but the cold weather slapping my face has my thoughts all twisted with profanities!
But hey, you make the most of things right? So I stayed inside in the warmth + made faces at my MacBook.
It’s rediculous. I already know :)
In other news, I’m really really diggin’ my class! I forgot how much I just enjoyed working with my hands + learning new skills! In architecture school one of my fav things was making models….even if I didn’t always finish them on time! It’s not for sure yet, but I think I will go beyond the three courses for just plain ol’ alterations and for a full Fashion certificate in Custom Dressmaking + Alterations. It will probably take two years or so because I’ll be working as I go, but I really enjoy it + making friends along the way.
As I’ve been casually updating my lady friends about my sewing stuff, many have also expressed interest in making a few things for themselves, but not having the time and/or all the know-how. Luckily, sewing isn’t really that hard + you don’t have to miss out because you don’t own a sewing machine! In the next few weeks (but don’t hold your breath) I intend on making a tutorial for an easy dress with a wide waist-band, which seems to be pretty trendy right now for Spring – whenever THAT arrives!
Here’s some pics I stole from Lulus.com (love their stuff!!) to show more or less what the end product is kinda slated to look like (hopefully)
I will be using a print or solid color for the skirt (absolutely NO stripes – too hard to work with!) Probably about 1 – 1.5 yds tops.
3in. black elastic waistband – you can get these cut by the yard at a fabric store. At JoAnn’s Fabrics last I checked they were $5.99/yd and if you get subscribe to their emails or get the paper, they have 40% and sometimes 50% off coupons for regularly priced items. You shouldn’t need more than 1 yard of that.
I’ll also be using a cheap tank from Forever21 for the top. They have a variety of colors to choose from, they are of good quality, and they are only $3.99! The top will be a no-sew………..BUT I’m already getting ahead of myself! But you can imagine how easy this could be to make – it’s just about making the skirt really. No zippers or buttons necessary. So that’s a quick preview of the DIY project I intend on doing, and it will be for beginner’s level :)
Come on heat + SUNSHINE!!!!!
Only took 26 years, BUT now I can stop looking at earrings in the store and putting them up to my non-pierced ears in sadness. No one in the world has known of my love of hoop earrings. It’s not that I was never allowed to get them pierced or anything, but I just never got around to it in my daily life. It would never come to mind until I saw a cute pair and thought of the hassle of waiting 6 weeks + I would shrug the idea off. Now just 5 more weeks in my little light-sapphire studs (the training wheels of earrings) and I will be ready to bust out a grown-up pair :) Pics of that later.
Here of late I’ve been starting a class at a community college in works toward a certificate in Alterations. It’s only one of three courses that I have to take called ‘Ready-to-Wear Construction’ and so far so good. Most of the folks in the class, like myself, already have degrees but are switching careers and pursuing Fashion. I expected more like FRESHMAN freshman, but I enjoy this much better. It’s six hours one day a week and I nearly died of starvation on day one!
First project is a skirt and then a women’s jacket/blazer with set-in sleeves. I’m almost positive the jacket will be very tough.
Also, those sewing machines are no punk. Those commercial machines run laps around my home machine, but at least I already have some experience. The three (straight) dudes in the class have no prior sewing experience and must do a skirt and jacket too….AND the final garment bag *shaking head* poor boys.
But in addition to this course, I haven’t given up on my architect licensure-ing!! Test one is going to be a MF, so trying to get ready for that too. I can’t just roll up on test day unprepared because these exams are approx $270 a pop! I already failed one of these bastards almost 2 years ago and I was VERY unprepared. Not again. AND this is only one of SEVEN exams – Structural Systems…….YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!! *cough*gag*cough*
Any prayers and good-lucks from anyone here on out are definitely welcome :D
