Monthly Archives: May 2012

Ellie woke up at 1:30 am last night with a fever of 104.8 F. Yeah, not fun. After a dose of ibupofren and some good old fashioned rocking in the rocking chair, both she and I were crashing.  Needless to say, she didn’t go to gymnastics today…which led to her watching “Puss in Boots” which led to her asking for a cape. Yes, a cape. And not just any cape. The darn thing needed to be pink and purple with shiny things on it. Goodness Gracious, child….really?  Reality is that she has been requesting this particular cape since we got the Blu-Ray of aforementioned Puss in Boots, and I’ve been putting it off, so today “put it off, no longer” was my motto.  I’m not the greatest when it comes to sewing, but  I can get by (Mom made me hem enough costumes when I was a child that I at least know how to do that, even if I hate it). In an effort to avoid as many stitches as possible, I decided to check my closet for something that I could adapt. I found the perfect piece: a sun dress that I had bought at Target last year for $3.88 – and I now knew I wouldn’t wear.

I headed downstairs and was soon cutting and snipping and pinning and sewing.  First, I cut along the seam that had the “care” tag, opening up the dress so I could lay it flat. I then cut the “bodice” off, leaving the gathers that were awful cute.

I laid it flat and after trimming what had previously been the straps, I pinned the bodice that had become the new “collar with ties” to the actual cape. I put in some pleats to match up the width of the “bodice” to the “body”.

Then using contrasting purple thread, I sewed the previously pinned pleats to the bodice. To finish it off I added some purple sequined trim (I had found a huge bag of trim and ribbon at the Goodwill last year for $5.99).  Ellie loved it, so I was happy – even if it wasn’t something that I could sell or give away as a gift! I’ll have to try to get a better photo at some point…she literally wore the darn thing all day, with numerous outfits! Definitely makes me happy to make HER so happy!

admittedly a horrible picture, but it shows how the ties turned out

I’m hoping to pull myself together enough tomorrow to write about the “real” stuff that happened today (interpret “real” as “fiasco”) – I’ve got photo evidence, so I’ll just let it speak for itself….

Yeah, wine and blackberry sorbet on the floor instead of in the freezer....

Stained the darn hardwood floor - who puts hardwood in a kitchen that's used anyway?!?!?

I'm not sure my island will ever be the same.

I’m loving the unseasonably warm weather that we’ve been having here.  Days like these are the reason why we tolerate the nastiness of Oregon the rest of the time. The weather report says the rain comes back and the temperatures drop next week, but that’s next week, not this one, so we’ve been spending as much time as possible outside in the sunshine!  Ellie loves being able to run around barefoot, climb on her play structure, play in her play house, and ride around on her scooter. It’s most definitely a challenge to get her inside for dinner and bath and bed time – especially with the sun still shining at 8 pm!  “But it’s still light out, Mommy!!!!”

The vegetable garden is finally starting to see some sprouts. The asparagus is always the first to pop up, and I’m in love with its fresh spring flavor.  

New apple trees...I"m not sure why they got planted so deeply....

Flowers are blooming all over the place, which makes being outside even more spectacular!

My favorite poppies - they don't look real! They look like coffee filter flowers

I can have fresh flowers in the house now, and Ellie and I have spent loads of time filling our arms with bunches of flowers and arranging them in vases.  She actually has quite a good eye, and definitely gives me her opinions about where flowers should go.

Ellie's arrangement

The first peonies (I'm not sure how many I'll have this year since I lost so many plants last year from too much rain

My latest craze has been using placing bunches of herbs in vases…they are so hearty, make the house smell so fresh, and last for ever! I was inspired by this month’s Martha Stewart’s magazine to use simple leaves for decorating, and the herb idea was born out of that…

MS used leaves down the center of a Father's Day table - which isn't exactly practical because of their height...but on a mantle? Looks great!

Chives, Rosemary and Oregano

Sage and our first real rose!

Blossoming Sage and Chives

Having people over to share in the fun is one of our favorite things to do – especially as a family.  And today was no different, but I’m far too tired to go into it tonight…I’m off to sleep, and will try to post more about that tomorrow……zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz