A Year

I know I'm not much of a blogger any more, but I had to say something and this seems to be the best outlet. The boys and I had a very fun Thanksgiving in California complete with Stanford football, shopping, and eating way too much. We got back Sunday and got to decorate our tree on Monday.

It's not much, but a good 2/3 of our ornaments were purchased this week. I was pretty floored when I first put up all the decorations and realized how little we had. There was no star, and a bunch of these ornaments I made last year with some felt, yarn, and styrofoam balls I happened to have on hand.

Suddenly I remembered what my life was like a year ago. The only reason we even had a tree (or any presents under it last year) was because a lady at church realized that we had none. I had to make ornaments because we couldn't afford any. I was constantly sick and depressed and completely hopeless. I kept telling myself that things would get better, not because I really believed it but because I had to say it to have a reason to keep on going. But I never imagined they would get this much better this quickly. 

I'm not going to say that my life right now is all that glamorous - we live in a two bedroom basement apartment and my car is going to die on me any day. But we have ornaments and a few presents. And I get to be home with my kids a lot more. And we are healthy and happy. I guess I'm telling you all this for two reasons. First, because I want you to know that things really do get better. They really, really do. God is watching over us. And secondly, because I want to thank my friends and family from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and prayers on my behalf. I know that we are all busy, and you might not feel like the small things you do really matter, but they do. Our little family has felt your love in so many different ways. We are so thankful and we love you all so much.

Hello, Strangers

Facts:

I never really feel like blogging (including right now).

I moved to Lindon last month, and I like it.

I work part-time as a bookkeeper, and the rest of my time sewing.

I am looking for some sewing help, if anyone is interested.

If you'd like to keep up with me, you'd have better luck here.

If you want to keep up with my shop, you'll have better luck here.

I did this last week:

I will be here next weekend:

This girl lives with me for the next few months, and I love it.

I am 29 now. :) I had an awesome birthday month - cakes, concerts Gigi's mission call to Argentina, family members flying in to see me, sushi, friends, shopping, farmers markets, and sewing.

I am med-free and feeling the best I've felt in almost 3 years. My crazy pills were making me crazy. And now I'm just regular crazy and feeling awesome. :)

Style on Monday: Bow Tops

Sometimes blogging about something satisfies my appetite for that something just enough to keep me from buying it, even though I really, really want to. Right now I'm obsessed with button-down blouses. I am currently on the hunt for the perfect white blouse (suggestions?) and am loving blouses with bows.

(Top left from Ruche, bottom right from Spotted Moth, the rest are from Modcloth.)

Etsy has a million of them in their vintage listings, most for under $20. Fun, right?

Outfit!

How is it for random that I don't post for 2 months then stick an outfit on here? About right for me.



I have a thing for shower necklaces (necklaces you can wear for days straight without having to take them off.) I alternate them every couple weeks - about as often as I remember to - but the Adri necklace takes a turn like every other time. I can't help it. Well, I can. But I don't want to.

I am including this body shot even though I think it is pretty unflattering. But you have to see the shoes. My mom bought me a pair of black flats last Christmas, but like a week after I set them on top of my car to buckle my kids in. Then I forgot them and drove away. One shoe managed to make it home on top of my car. But one shoe is as good as none. So I wear leopard flats like all the time as if they were black. 

Oh, and AFTER my friend Lindsey was done taking pictures of me, she commented on how my hands like that make me look like a little kid on the first day of school. Haha. Thanks, L.

 My hair is crazy long, right? It only looks good when I do it, which I haven't yet this week. I am growing it til Christmas and donating 10" to locks of love. Except now that it's so long I kinda want to grow it another 10" and THEN donate 10". But that would be grossly long.

Chore Chart

My poor Chandler not only looks like me but acts a LOT like me. He LOVES lists. He is very visual. He gets really cranky when he's tired or hungry. Just like me. I am still figuring out how to get him to sleep on command, but I did find something to do about the list thing. Last weekend I made the boys some chore charts:

Each day after they complete a chore, they get to pull the card to reveal a star. Who doesn't love a sense of accomplishment like that? I want one! (I also want to have only 5 chores a day.)

It was way easier to write out the directions this way, I hope it makes sense to you. 

To make:

You need 1/4 yard cotton fabric and a 9" x 20 3/4" piece of this clear fabric stuff. (About $5 a yard at JoAnn BEFORE 40% off coupon. A yard left me with a lot of extra for future projects.)

 

 

 

 

 Sewing on the side pieces:

Sewing on the top piece:

All done!

Weekend Recap

I finally remembered to bring my camera to the farmer's market over the weekend so I thought I'd share some of the photos. I only took pictures of my booth and two of my neighbors' . . . one of these weeks I'll take some shots of the crazy animals people bring and the crazy tattoos they sport. Salt Lake LOVES tattoos and big, ugly dogs, let me tell ya.

Anyway, here are a few shots of my booth:

I got these black grid walls on KSL a few weeks ago . . . they've made a huge difference in my booth. I should have taken a before, but I didn't. Let's call this the "during" photo because I still have some improvements to make.

My friend Ryan of Jorgensen Design shared a teeeeeensy corner of my booth . . . I didn't even charge him for it. I know, pretty awesome of me.

That would be colored pencil on wood. He's pretty amazing.

Here is my neighbor to the East, Circles and Stones. Besides being obviously super talented, Christy is also super nice. She stands guard for me while I take like 3 bathroom breaks a day. It's only a 5 hour market. I can't help it.

She sets these beads herself, lets them dry over night, then grouts them. Seriously must take forever.

And to the West - actually my neighbor to the West changes every week. But this week it was shared by Nadia's Place and Polka Dots and Posies. When I see adorable stuff like this I am just happy I don't have any girls because I'm pretty sure I'd be broke (well, even more broke) if I did.

After the market I saw Moonrise Kingdom. I LOVED it. It was directed by Wes Anderson and was as fun to watch and interesting to look at as the rest of his films.

I think what made this movie better to me than the other Wes Anderson movies I've seen is that it is more relateable. It's every kids dream to just run away and survive. And to be in love. Good flick.

  

Speaking of Color Blocking

I got a newsletter from Burda Style today which featured some adorable patterns....

I have a tshirt pattern very similar to this that I've been working on. ^

LOVE the pockets.

My boys will be in Colorado from tonight until Sunday so I may have to take a stab at one of these . . . 

Birthday Gifts

Weeks before Chandler's birthday I made it known to my family that he (and by he I mean I) didn't want ANY action figures or toys that were going to be forgotten within days. Instead "he" wanted educational toys. Even though he explicitly asked me for anything Spiderman or Batman under the sun, I knew that this isn't what he really wanted. My mom went to the Education Emporium (the teacher store by my house) and got him some really cool stuff.

 (Awesome smile, Chan)

Seriously, these things keep the boys occupied way longer than any other toys they have. And not only that, but when they are done playing, they feel like they have achieved something. They are proud of themselves. Kind of makes me sad for all the money and time we have wasted on lesser toys. Not that the trains and cars and dinosaurs aren't being put to good use - they are - but when we move next month we are going to be donating a good chunk of what is in the playroom. Plus, I enjoy participating in this kind of play WAY more than I enjoy participating in action figure play.

There are a few more fun things I will post about later, with a tutorial on making an organizer. :)