15 minutes dress fix

Happy Thanksgiving to all! This morning I decided to take a couple of pictures of Bug in her pretty formal dress, and I noticed a little problem. Do you see it ??

 Look closer... Here.

Well, Bug is one of those string bean kids, show only grows one direction : UP, and fast at that. While short dresses are cute for babies and toddlers, I felt this was a lot of leg to show for a formal dress, even with tights underneath.

So a little stash dive later... I cut some 6" wide strips of satin that matched the sash color as closely as possible:

Folded in half, ironed and cut to size.

Then sewed into a loop

And added to the bottom of the skirt

Ahhh much better and it only took 15 minutes :)

Happy Thanksgiving !!

What I've been up to - Week 18

This has been a roller coaster week. It started by the confirmation of the demise of my laptop Icarus, due to fried motherboard. Hindsight, maybe I should have chosen a different name. Thankfully though, my husband insisted on making backups, which I regularly did by cloning my disk on an external drive, Deadalus.

RIP, Icarus

For the most part, this blog has been on "autopilot" with a lot of post scheduled after updating drafts as best as I could with our old (6+ years) family computer. Uploading photos from the camera makes the poor old thing choke and emailing from my cellphone was downright painful. 

Now for the better part. My husband got hired in a new job. To celebrate the pay raise, Mother's day and my upcoming birthday, he gave me the green light to order a new laptop that got delivered Friday. I plugged my backup disk and like magic, all my documents and settings, all my applications got restored, just like nothing had happened. Meet my new laptop, Phoenix (a MacBook Pro - 2011 model). 

Photo from Apple Store

Now I have to catch up on over 3 weeks of emails. I apologize to whomever I have not replied to yet. Working on it!

I didn't get a chance to spend any time in my studio other than for chasing dirt tracked from outside and the usual dust thread bunnies, there was way too much going on around the house to get anything done. This week was dedicated to taking care of work outside the house. Yard TLC and some long overdue deck refurbishing were the main courses on our menu. A lot of lugging, chopping, digging, staining, raking was involved. Both projects are moving along but there is still some work to be done. Hopefully we can get this advanced before it starts raining this afternoon.I hope to post photos of the final results this week. 

And maybe, after I am done climbing Mount Laundry, I'll have a chance to reunite with my mom cave... 

What have you been up to ?

Venting post - Now I REALLY want to scream

I usually don't mention much beyond my crafting addiction and some family events in this blog but I have to make an exception this time. Because enough is enough and I'm beyond tired and exasperated of poor customer service.

Here is the back story. Sunday night 9PM, my little bug wakes up screaming in pain. Off to the nighttime clinic, we go. Double ear infection. Ugh! Poor bug. So I stayed at home with her (thanks boss for letting me doing that!). Last night, still 100 of fever. After 3 full days of antibiotics she should be better. So this morning, we went to the pediatrician's office. Verdict: She's not worse, but not better either. New prescription for antibiotics is sent electronically to the pharmacy at my local Giant Grocery store. Up to that point, it's a boring story right? Well the interesting part is coming up.

After the doctor's appointment (45 mins after), I head to the grocery store to pickup said prescription. Pharmacy clerk tells me it takes up to an hour to get through and it's not there yet. OK. I take a phone number to call back the pharmacy and check on the status. And about one hour after I call back. I  wait on hold for 15 minutes with the answering system. I hang up and try again after 10 minutes. This time I only wait 5 minutes and finally speak to the pharmacy tech (note not the pharmacist). He puts me on hold while he checks. I was close by on my way home from grabing lunch so I make the detour to the pharmacy in case it's ready. Still on hold....  Still on hold... I'm at the store. I drive by the front door. And what do I see. The same pharmacy technician that put me on hold 10 minutes earlier sitting on a bench in plain sight. Taking a smoke break. HELLO !??!! I was so shocked I just drove back home. Still on hold. I get home and finally speak to the guy again. He announces the prescription is still not there. OK I'm really annoyed but these things can happen. Next I call my Dr's office and wait some more on hold to find ou what is going on with the prescription. The nurse confirms to me the prescription has been sent at 11:30AM and is there... has been all along. At that point  it is past 2PM and I am litterally FUMING !!

I ended waiting another 20 minute on the phone to speak to a manager. Oh funny, the store called back that my prescription was ready 10 mins later.

Total minutes wasted = way too many

Guess where I won't be shopping anymore. Like NEVER EVER. 

PS: Can you believe a grocery store allows their employees to take a smoke break 50 feet from the store entrance, for all customers to see, and inhale? I used to be a smoker... Never ever did any of the companies I worked for not have a deisgnated place, away from customers and co-workers for smoking (if smoking was even allowed on company property).

Done ranting. Regular programming will resume now.

What I've been up to this week

My studio has been very neglected this week. I only visited to wrap and label presents - no crafts. Instead, I want into baking overdrive. 15 dozens of sugar cookies, 250 chocolate Grand Marnier truffles, various other creations for Christmas parties. 

Hard to resist all that chocolate

Lots and lots of cookies

Fist batch of royal icing decorated cookies

Second batch - Making progress with the technique 

I'm glad I am taking some vacation time starting Monday evening to rest up. This time of the year is always a bit stressful. There is so much to think of. The days were stretching from 6AM until 1 or 2AM.  The list kept being scary so I ended up crossing a couple of items off to keep my sanity:

- Christmas cards - done 

- Handmade gifts - done - removed from present list : the play tent 

- Handmade ornaments - done  - removed from the list : bunting and garlands

- Holiday baking - done - removed from the list : gingerbread

- Photo album - Postponed 

- Holiday shopping - Mostly done - I have 2 more days next week to finish since I refuse to brave the weekend crowds at the mall

Still on the list: 

- Plan Christmas eve menu and grocery shopping for the family visiting

- Cook and bake some more

Unexpected items: 

- Straighten up the family room that is cluttered due to the water heater almost disaster

- Paint the baseboard that my hubby suddenly decided to replace (I'm still wondering about this one...)

Added item: 

- Take a long hot tub or 2 since the new water heater provides unlimited hot water on demand

- My letter to Santa : can I have time for a nap please ?

How's your Christmas list coming along ? 

All winners -Belated

This is what happens when you type the wrong date on a scheduled post. It doesn't get published. Oooops


There were only 2 qualifying entries for the week 4 of my Christmas ornaments so the both won.

Amy and Shari please email me your mailing address as soon as possible and will run to the post office to send your gift!

Adventures in the backyard

I have to share a little story because my neighbors are so awesome. We live in a townhouse built on a short hill. The back of our house faces a rather steep partly wooded slope with a small stream at the bottom. A couple of weeks ago, my husband decided that rather than tossing our halloween pumpkin in the trash it would make more sense to let nature reclaim it. So he tossed it in the slope in the compost pile. And off went the pumpkin, along with his wedding band... on the wooded slope, covered with a thick coat of fallen leaves. Yikes! 

I had no idea about what had happened until I spotted him rummaging through the leaves down the slope. After a while, he sheepishly admitted what had just happened. Of course it had to happen on a Sunday evening, shortly before sundown. We both shuffled leaves until it got pretty dark. No ring. 

The next day, my husband picked up a metal detector at a local construction equipment rental place and we spend a few more hours that evening and the next one poking around. Still nothing. On the third day, as he was leaving to work, my hubby ran into Al, our next door neighbor. Al is a police officer, well over 6-foot tall, wide as a tackle, and a great guy with a huge heart. My hubby explained the situation and as luck would have it, Al has some experience with metal detectors so he offered to take over the search while my hubby had to work. 

That same evening, as I got home, I got greeted by Al, a big grin on his face and my hubby's wedding band in his hand. Needless to say I gave him a great big hug even though he is not the hugging type. And my hubby got him a box of cigars. Al again saved the day. I couldn't ask for a better neighbor

Tootles, booboos and other considerations

I've had the craziest week. Between being on call for work (this implies serious sleep depravations), the fast approaching Christmas craft deadlines, and some home improvement put on hold that need to be finished, I'm afraid there was a bit more on my plate than I could really handle. The result: I got hurt.

Let's rewind to last Monday. First night on call, first night with very little sleep. The following 5 nights were more of the same. Thankfully, my boss is aware of the on-call hardships (he is on the rotation) so I was able to work from home rather than driving to work risking a car wreck. My hubby and I have also been trying to make some progress on little bug's new bedroom. And we have. The baseboards and quarter-round are installed, the closet overhaul is done: spackled, repainted new bifold doors installed (after some "custom fitting"), new shelves and hang bars. Left on the list for the finish: a few paint touch ups and a big scrub, curtains and sheers, a trip to Ikea for a bed, and the big move of course.

So this week on top of answering the emergency calls overnight, working on handmade gifts in my studio, I was helping out the hubby with the DIY stuff. My daughter also helped: She was handing the "tootles" (i.e. tools) to mommy and daddy. Mom and Dad know how to use tootles :). She is also getting very excited about moving into her new room soon and pushing for the finish. I almost forgot: we have the added pressure to complete in time to turn the nursery in an acceptable guest room by December 20th for my in-laws.

I should have steered clear of the kitchen but I didn't.  What happens when you are over-tired, distracted and use big sharp knives? Yep you guessed, you cut your finger instead of the bread. The cut was not deep enough to warrant a trip to the ER but it's a definite impairment and doing too much is preventing it from healing. No pictures but it's not pretty and I managed to cut trough the nail too - ugh! Poor little bug was right there and ran to daddy to tell him mommy had a big booboo. 

SOooo I have made a big decision: I'm taking a couple of days off the studio - not from blogging though. Besides, my faithful Pfaff is also in dire need of a break after all that sewing, so she is going to the Sew'N Vac shop today for a spa treatment. We will be reunited on Friday. In the meantime, I will concentrate on little bug's bedroom and tidying up the house/studio. Thanksgiving will be celebrated at Aunt Joan's so the house doesn't need to sparkle. Small favors. I'll stick to the basics: vacuum, mop, dust, de-clutter. Oh and yes SLEEP. Sleep will definitely be a big part of the long weekend.

Ugh

I'm sick again .. fever, cough, headache. I even left work early. Getting sick on a Friday is just wrong.  Shivering from under the cover, Im now realizing that I've been sick more often the past 18 months than during the previous 6 years. And I finally put 2 and 2 together. I've been sick a lot more since my daughter had started going to school. I'm not a germophobic but I'm starting to be a bit weary. I don't send my kid to school when she is sick. Why do other parents not follow that simple principle? 

It's official

I'm an indoor plant killer...  I don't understand how I do so well in my yard and so poorly in my house.  This time around the cats did help me a bit but still...

Sorry !!
To my visitors, please do not buy me indoor plants. Or fake ones maybe. I swear I won't be offended

Under the weather

Been feeling a bit under the weather the past couple of days. Not up to crafting I'm afraid. I do have a few projects lined up but it will be later in the week, as long as the energy comes back for it.

In the meantime, something that always make me feel better, a happy little bug :

PS : last few days to enter this giveaway

What is that ??

Spontaneous growth in a neglected planter. I have NO IDEA what this is. Is it a weed? Is it toxic? Somebody? Anybody ? Bueller ??