My Spring Palette and Sewing Inspiration

I have still been dreaming about Spring. Working in the yard and seeing my plants emerge give me more desire for Spring to hurry up and arrive. We had to run to Lowes a couple of nights ago so I had some fun with paint chips.

Here is my Spring Sewing/Wardrobe Palette.

I definitely have more patterns and ideas than time to sew, and I can never pass up a pattern sale at Joann. Mostly I go for the Simplicity 10 or $10 sale and am totally spoiled by that. I'm so cheap that I hardly buy Vogues on sale for $3.99 (though I have a ton in my wishlist) or the regularly priced (cheap) patterns like New Look. There are several new Simplicity and New Look patterns that I am excited about.  I've also been obsessing over Burda Style's website and contemplating their great patterns.  I have only downloaded a couple of free and very simple patterns via pdf, so I'm pretty new to that.  I would also like to try some Colette and Sewaholic Patterns, though once again I find it hard to shell out the dough.

Here are some of the new patterns that I'm digging.

New Look 6107
I like Views A and B. The rest don't do much for me.

 

Simplicity 1872

View A and B and maybe C without the ruffle on the sleeves.

I love Cynthia Rowley Patterns

Simplicity 1877 

Definitely view B.  No thank you on hip ruffles!

Simplicity 1880

I love all of these options!

New Look 6100

Last summer I didn't have any shorts that I liked.  

Maybe sewing my own is my best option?

I'm not saying that I will be sewing all of these patterns for Spring, or any of them for sure. I just love finding inspiration and I definitely do more planning than actual sewing, I need to do something about that. I did finish my third knit shirt and am fully loving sewing with knits. Too bad patterns for knits are scarce.

Spring Color Palette

I've been thinking about Spring and certain colors keep popping up.
Coral, Lilac, Sapphire, and a whole range of Greens and Yellows.

I collected some images on Pinterest for inspiration.

Source: shelterinteriordesign.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: porterhousedesigns.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: design-seeds.com via Ashley on Pinterest

                                            Source: colorfulhomes.tumblr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Ashley on Pinterest

Happy Friday!
Enjoy your weekend, I know I will.
xoxo Ashley

Growing Older

Lucy and I just got back from a walk.
The weather is gorgeous, warm and sunny with a cool breeze.
I forget how old this little dog is because she still acts like a playful puppy sometimes and doesn't look her age.  She is eleven now.  We got her a few months after we moved into our house, I think that's the way I keep track.  Poor girl got tired on our walk, neither of us get enough excercise.







I would like to forget how old I am, and I used to. Now I am acutely aware of my age. I don't necessarily feel my age, but I do know it. I'm not old, but I'm closer to my 40's than my 20's.

I saw this cartoon that said, "I miss being the age when I thought I'd have my shit together by the age that I am now". I can definitely relate to that.

All this is to say that time is flying by and I need to get more exercise so that I don't end up feeling my age. 

I Think I Need Glasses

I'm pretty sure I need to wear glasses.  I haven't had my eyes checked yet and have never had to wear glasses, but I'm pretty sure it's time.  I had started noticing people's glasses at work and wanted to make notes of what I liked.  I pinned a few on Pinterest and a friend told me to check out Warby Parker.  Have you heard of Warby Parker?  It is a great concept, sort of like Tom's.  For every pair of glasses sold they give a pair to someone in need.
And they aren't expensive, only $95 for frames and perscription lenses.
And they are good looking frames.
The only problem is, the nearest store is in Austin.
In the meantime I decided to play around with they're virtual try on tool. 
I had a hard time finding a picture that their website would accept, so this isn't a current pic of me.

Miles


Webb


Sinclair


Preston


Finn


While this was just silly fun it does give me an idea of what might work for my face. I may try to go to their store when if I get to go to Austin next month. I think I posted the pictures in order of favorites.  What do you think?

This reminds me of those kiosks in the malls in the 90's where you could plug your picture in and see what different hairstyles would look like on you.  So funny!

This and That

I had a couple of days off at the end of last week and was able to recover from the Valentines mayhem at work.  It was a nice little retreat.  We spent that time at my parents' house with my family.  On Friday night we cooked a feast of Crunchy Sesame Chicken Wings, Granny Potato Salad and Spinach Salad and had a bunch of friends join us.  It was great fun.

I feel like my blog has been all about my niece Karlie lately.  I guess she is what I've been all about.  On my days off I just want to spend time with her and we have been as much as possible.

I tried to get her to pose with me to show off our boots, but she wasn't feeling it.




I love my new boots.  They were a Christmas surprise from my parents and Frank.  They will last me forever because they are so well made.  I have been wearing them under long jeans, which is sort of a cowgirl boot look.  I do like the way they make my legs look longer.  I have jeggings (never thought I'd own those) that I thrifted to tuck into the boots, but I need longer shirts to wear over them.  They also look great with skirts that hit me right above the knee.


I have been sewing too when I'm at home and have really gotten into sewing with knits. I have almost finished my 3rd top from Sew U Home Stretch and have been wearing one of them a lot. I wish I could get into taking pictures of myself in the clothes I make, but somehow I'm not motivated to do so.  I will try to get over that and show you come of the great new sewn and thrifted clothes that I have added to my wardrobe.

For my Valentines mayhem story.  I loved working in floral, despite the craziness.  I rotated between helping out in the back and bringing flowers to the front, helping customers pick out flowers and wrapping flowers for customers.  By Monday they weren't doing any more custom bouquets, but customers could pick flowers and we wrapped them in tissue.  Both days were crazy, but Tuesday was nuts.  There were flowers in front of the store, but mostly the men with lost looks in their eyes congregated in the floral department.  I enjoyed going up to them and asking what they had in mind, any specific colors or flowers.  Some knew their ladies' favorite flower and we went from there.  My favorites were the ones who wanted something different, not necessarily a dozen red roses.  Red roses are pretty but red roses with baby's breath just bores me.  One gentleman buying flowers for his mother wanted Sunflowers and I put together a bouquet with Sunflowers, Irises, Gerber Daisies, Stock and I can't remember what else, but he loved it.  It's really all a blur of flowers, but I totally enjoyed it.  As I was tagging flowers for the cashiers I was so glad that I wasn't one of them.  I had cashiered Saturday and Sunday and those days were already insane.  So Valentines at Central Market really lasted four days.

By the time I got home on Valentines evening it was late and I was exhausted.  Frank had made me the sweetest card and gotten me chocolate.  I was super lame and hadn't done anything for him.  He made us quesadillas for dinner.  We made up for it the next night with possibly my favorite new diner though.  We made our Shrimp Pasta dish with the new fresh pasta from work and a splash of cream that I had bought for the caramels.  Best pasta dish we have ever made and I don't think I can go back to dried pasta now!!!! Seriously, it was so good.

 My to do list has been growing lately with lots of handmade gifts to be made. I have three birthdays and three baby gifts coming up and two are fast approaching.  Possibly too fast to get anything made.  Work really does get in the way sometimes!  I have also been obsessing over new Spring sewing patterns and eye glasses.  More on that later.

Belated Valentines Treats

I just couldn't not make Valentines treats, even if I am a few days late.
Last year I made Fleur de Sel Caramels.
This year I took it a step further and covered them in Chocolate.



I have had some caramel making experience since this time last year.  With Salted Caramel Ice Cream and my Birthday cake.  Between that experience and the reviews on the Caramel recipe I knew to cook the sugar longer to get a lovely caramel color and flavor.  I followed one reviewers tip to cook the sugar mixture to 270 degrees on my candy thermometer (this is the first step before adding the cream).  This made a big difference.  I also doubled the recipe but left out 1 tablespoon of butter.  I used sea salt in the caramels and saved my Fleur de Sel for the tops of the candies.  I poured the caramel into a 9x13 pan but propped a box of cornstarch at the end to make the caramel thicker.



I did all this last night and let the caramels cook and harden overnight.
This morning I cut them into pieces, roughly 1" x 1/2".



I melted Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate chips in a pyrex bowl over simmering water.





I used two forks, and dipped one piece of caramel at a time, completely covering them.  The forks were used to lift, shake off excess and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.  I sprinkled the tops with Fleur de Sel right after dipping so it would stick.  This process would have been much faster with a helper.  It took me about an hour to dip the chocolates and I think I came out with over 80 pieces!
I tried dipping a few at a time, and by the time I got the third one out the caramel would be melty so I switched to one by one.







These are time consuming, but I split it up into two days, which makes it manageable.  I haven't tasted a finished on yet, but I did taste the caramel and it is just right.  I have no doubt they will rival the ones I sometimes have as a guilty pleasure at work.  Time is the biggest investment here, but I probably make at least $40 worth of candies and only spent $10 on cream and chocolate.  I bought a 30 oz bag of chocolate chips and didn't even use half.  I already had everything else on hand.  I know this isn't a thorough price comparison, but the $40 is based on buying from the bulk department at work for fifty cents a piece, and that is without any pretty packaging or a famous name attached to them.  I know they could cost way more than that.  I think making them at home is my solution for future gifts.  I wish I had time to try out more flavors, maybe coffee, vanilla, chiles, the options are endless.  I will be sharing these with family and friends asap so that I don't over indulge.

I still have to tell you my stories from working in the floral department on Valentines.  It was actually quite fun!  For now I'm off to search for ballet shoes for my niece and necessities for us. 

My Valentine

Frank, my Valentine, my love.
I've said it all before, he's the best.
To know him is to love him.
Ask anyone who does know him and they will concur.
His infectious smile and laugh will win you over in a heartbeat.
I'm one lucky girl.

Our friend Meredith Martin took this photo of us the weekend of my birthday.
This is the tree we got married under in my parents backyard.  I love that spot and wanted some photos before my parents sell their house.

I have to run, I'm off to the front lines of the floral department at Central Market.  I will report back with details later in the week. Frank and I won't have time to cook a nice dinner tonight like we usually do, so we may celebrate later in the week.

Happy Valentines Day!
xoxo
Ashley