Picnic and Shades

Ok, ok, more shades to show off. They're finally done! (the picture got cropped, click the photo to see better):

Secondly, a fun picnic with our two favorite friends, Madeline and Jane. Can't wait to meet their little sister any day now!!!

Weekend

This has been a fun weekend: time outside and time with friends!
We went to the Doylestown Memorial Day Parade today, which was super fun. Then we went to our friends' house for dinner, which was also so fun! It's really nice being able to walk over and walk home, I really am loving the city lately.

I bought fabric to cover the other two dining room chairs:

I got flat pedals for my bike and new grips:

Here are the girls and I at the parade today:

And Fern looking a lot like Charlie Chaplin after eating some chocolate powder (confused? me too, ask daddy):

Sunday Night Inspiration

After some encouragement from an old friend, I decided to try out the 'Manual' setting on our digital camera. I've gone out the last two nights on my bike to shoot. This used to be a good exercise for me, and I've found my head in a lot of different places lately.

I also went to go see my friend Jon's documentary tonight: The Scrapper. It was really good and I want to think about it for the next couple of days, and hopefully talk to others who saw it.

Today, I took the girls and my dad and niece to the circus. I scored free tickets, and went even though it started at approximately NAP time. It was really cool, though part of me did want to stand outside with the PETA protesters and make a stand against animal cruelty. I am kind of on the fence about the circus, especially the whole 'entertainment at any cost' mentality. But here's a shot:

Also, today I sewed a cover for one of our dining room chairs. While it's not exactly my style to cover dining room chairs, it is my style as a mom. The furniture is taking a beating with two toddlers. Here's a finished product picture, click to see my flickr site where the work-in-progress is:

Pants Re-do

So today I finished the 2nd Roman shade for our bedroom. It turned out great, and the second one was MUCH easier to complete. Plus, we went to Home Depot (after trying at our local hardware store) to buy a Dremel!! I am so excited. So I used that to trim the dowels I had purchased, and the thing went up so quick! Right now it's blocking light in our other window, and our room actually feels like a bedroom!
Tonight, I finally went to work on my jeans that I made months ago (March, I think). They were my first pair of pants, if you can remember, and they had some issues in the butt and waist.
I was reading Vogue Sewing and actually felt like I should attempt to fix the issues with my butt being flat! So I took in a little bit in the center back seam, as well as the side seams. I had enough material left over to make a pseudo-high-waisted waistband.
I added snaps for the closures (and actually at the fly as well because I broke the zipper in the process). I love the way they fit now! Maybe a better picture to follow.

Props

It occurred to me last night that the last blog post was severely lacking in props to two people who have helped me reach this goal of mine (finishing my first semester back at school).
Tray, my husband, is awesome. I still have a huge crush on him after 4 years of marriage, and I would not be doing all the things I am passionate about if it weren't for him. He is the best dad, hanging with the girls for so many hours while I studied or went to class, always with the best attitude. Working long hours and coming home and immediately going into 'dad-mode'. Working from home doing orders and building wheels to make up for time lost at the shop.
My mom is the other saint here. She watched the girls, free of cost, all day on Tuesdays. On most Fridays, she watched the girls so I could go have some study hours! She is the best mom and grandma anyone could ask for. I am so grateful for who she is and all that she gives, practically and emotionally. My girls are so blessed to have her as a grandma!! And I cherish her advice like no other.
Thanks, you two!! I love you.

Phew!

Well, I feel excited!
My brother's wedding was beautiful and super fun. Here's a shot from it:

My finals were both yesterday, which means I am done my first semester back at school! Everyone told me it would be "so hard" to go back, and yes, it was hard, but not "so hard".
I am also excited about this:

It might not look like much to you, but it's exciting for us! There is a grassy knoll behind our house that the city maintains, and they cleaned up another spot last week and mowed it too!! It used to be full of trash! We have really had a blast back there lately.

I am also excited about this:

I made this yesterday. It's the first time I've sewn something like this. I should have followed the directions from Bows and Arrows more thoroughly though!
With the start of the summer, I am feeling excited about SheRox Triathlon, sewing a lot, napping a lot, and making lots of bread.

Snags of the Weekend

I scored some seriously awesome deals this weekend. First, a free Trek bike trailer and jogging stroller in one. It only seats one, but that is fine. I am really excited to take the girls on special dates in the trailer (or bugger, as I used to call it when I was little and it was our only form of transportation with my mom).
Our bike trailer (which we actually were loaning from my dad) was stolen from behind our house about a year ago.
Second snag: an Oster bread machine for $15 today at Circle Thrift.. I am super excited! It is the same brand I've used for years at my mom's house, and I love it. I hope I can download a user's manual online, and some recipes. I made pretty tasty pretzels, pizza, and all types of breads in this before. Mostly I just make the dough and then bake it in the oven.

I finished the little closet valence I was planning on making for months now. I used an Ikea Index curtain rod, which is like $3 total. Their closet had ugly plastic doors on it before. I am so pleased with it!! The scalloped edges were kind of a mystery (and sort of remain to be!), but it turned out great for its purpose.
My friend Lindsay, whom I have been friends with since 3rd grade, came over last night. We went out on the town on bikes and went to see our friend Lois play in Adam and Dave's Bloodline at Johnny Brenda's. It was, as Lindsay said, "So refreshing." Tons of laughter that just heals the soul. So far, an awesome weekend. And tonight, Tray is headed to see the Grateful Dead while I head out for my future sister-in-law's bachelorette party! Sweet!