Bridesmaid dress sneak peek

I'm working on a bridesmaid dress for a wedding that I will be in in November. My mom is helping, thank goodness! I was so nervous to cut up all this pretty silk. I have a linen weave silk for the dress, silk dupioni for contrast and silk organza for a pleated ruffle that will peak out of the bottom, all in Navy Blue. I think it is going to be gorgeous! This is Vogue 8494 and we are going to add little flutter sleeves like these. I made a wearable muslin for this that fits great. It still needs to be hemmed and then I can show you how cute it is. The picture shows the unlined bodice and the dupioni contrast laying on top of it. I love the linen weave silk so much and am glad I chose that for this special dress.

Great Docs

We have seen some great documentaries lately, both streaming on netflix and on HBO. The first one is on netflix and is called Pressure Cooker. It is about a culinary arts program that awards college scholarships to kids in Philadelphia. The class that is featured has a strong and sometimes harsh teacher, but you can tell she cares about her students and wants the best for them. This documentary had us invested deeply in the three main characters and it is a very inspiring movie. You can learn more about the movie and the culinary arts program here.



We caught A Small Act on HBO last weekend. It is about a village in Kenya and the struggles of the school children there. One of villagers was sponsored by a Swedish woman to go to secondary school when he was a child. He went on to study at Harvard and work for the UN. He and other Kenyans, including his cousin, created an organization that gives scholarships to the top students from the area. This documentary is also very moving and inspiring.



This weekend we watched 180 Degrees South on netflix. This adventure doc about mountain climbing and surfing follows a trip of a lifetime to Patagonia. This one has a great soundtrack and is beautifully shot and once again you become invested in the lives of the characters.

Junking

After taking home a few antique bottles from my parents house I have been looking at them more closely. There is a story in the newest Martha Stewart magazine about collecting bottles and it is beautifully photographed with the bottles arranged by color. You can find a bit of info on her website, but the magazine story is so much better and more inspiring.

Last weekend Frank and I relaxed at my parents house enjoying their cable and ac. We did some of our favorite Denton activities including lunch at Mr. Chopsticks, and then hit the square to browse Recycled books, and the Downtown junk malls. I couldn't resist getting a coffee at Jupiter house too. I love browsing antique malls, flea markets, junks shops etc, and the Denton mini mall is one of my favorite spots. The above booth is really cool with antique jars, and all kinds of tins, cans, bottles, lots of quirky stuff. I didn't take home any treasures but still enjoyed looking. Speaking of junk, one of the shows that we look forward to watching at my parents house is American Pickers. The two guys on this show travel the country "picking" or buying junk from people who have lots of it. They are professionals and talk about the psychology of buying junk from people who often times don't really want to sell what they have. If you haven't seen it you should check it out.

I loved this rooster decorated with nails and brads, someone put a lot of work into this guy.

Coming along

My new office space is coming along nicely.
Here is the before picture.

I started uncovering the window that had been sheetrocked over.

All sheetrock removed and ready for paint.

The wall above the mantle is now gray, a really pretty purpley gray called Battleship from Valspar. The ceiling, walls, trim, shelves and mantle are all getting a fresh coat of our trim color, basically a pale gray tinted white. I'm really happy with the colors and am about half way through painting the room. I can't wait to get it all put together.

A Speical Weekend Treat

A special weekend brunch treat for us are Strawberry Crepes. As a kid, in the summer time, my mom would make these for my brother and I and we always loved it. I used this recipe and it couldn't be easier. Actually, I'm not sure why we have this so rarely considering that it is so easy to make. They taste so good that they feel fancy and special though. We slice strawberries and spread sweetened cream cheese inside these babies and they are oh so delicious!

Hanging in there...

It is HOT here. We had lots of rain and cool fronts last month and had a pretty nice June. Now it is topping out at about 104 degrees and it is time to retreat inside. I say that, but I'm about to go do some work outside with Frank, not fun. The plants are hanging in there too, and some of my beauties are blooming. I think the bright, vibrant colors of these flowers are appropriate for this weather, they seem to go hand in hand.

This is my Flame Acanthus. I caught the tail end of the first bloom, they were covered in these orange flowers, but it will bloom again this fall. The hummingbirds love this stuff, I even saw one drinking from it in the rain!

I love this combo, it is golden oregano and creeping Plumbago, that blue is to die for!

I bought two of these mini roses probably 7 or 8 years ago and gave one to my mom. This thing just barely hangs in there, never growing more than a foot tall. I guess it is healthy though, and is out there blooming in this heat. I love that orange!

I missed getting a picture of my Texas Sage covered in blooms. It is one of those plants that just bursts into bloom and takes you by surprise. I looked over and it was covered in lavender colored flowers, all six feet of the bush. My camera batteries were dead, and by the time I charged them the blooms had faded.

New Linen Top

I cut this top out a few nights ago not expecting to sit down and sew til midnight! I just love this fabric so much and was so excited to get it done that I couldn't help myself. This is Simplicity 2594 and is quite easy to sew. I love the outcome and think it is a flattering fit. This top is cut on the bias and has a draped neck. With my petite stature the back was too baggy, so mom helped me make two long darts in the back to take some of that bulk out. I cut the top smaller at the shoulders and larger at the hips, which is a usual alteration for me. I think this one is more fitted than the pattern image shows, but I like it that way. I got this lightweight crossweave linen at Joann's (they still have it at mine) and it is really beautiful.

Air Plants

Our trip to Wimberley last weekend coincided with their first Saturday Market days. My parents and their friends had been a couple of times and mom had told me that there were lots of great plants. My main mission for the trip, besides swimming, was procuring a few new house plants at Market days, and I wasn't disappointed. There was a vendor with some great air plants and these are the ones that I brought home. They will live outside most of the year and be brought inside for Winter. All of them are blooming and make me happy!

What the?

Why would someone cover up a perfectly good window and the molding around it with sheetrock? Who knows when this was done (our house was built in 1923), but I just undid it, well almost. I cut the hole as big as the window but have to consult with someone who knows more than I do about what to do next. My main issue with this house has always been the lack of natural light in the front room. There are two windows across the front, but I don't like to keep the blinds open and allow people to peep in (maybe a semi-sheer curtain can remedy that issue). Mom had noticed this window years ago, but I never realized it was only covered by a single layer of sheetrock. I was taking down decorations to paint this wall and after removing the nails I kept seeing a pinhole of light coming through. That is when I investigated and figured out this was something that I thought I could tackle. I'm just not sure now if the whole wall of sheetrock needs to come down or if we can just cut it out around the molding. Either way I'm thrilled to have all this added light in my new office!

I'm also narrowing down paint and fabric choices for the front room. I never new how hard it was to pick a gray! There are way too many choices here. I know a dark gray will darken the room, but I am just going to use it as an accent wall above the mantel. I will also use a lot of white to counter act the darkening affect. I have to re-cover my desk chair and also may use fabric to cover a lamp shade and possible a window treatment for this newly uncovered window. Here is what I have so far, the green ikat is from Tonic Living and the beautiful amoeba like fabric is from Spoonflower.

Fireworks

Sorry for my extended absence. We had a wonderful long weekend in Wimberley with friends and family. Mom didn't get to go this time, unfortunately, but otherwise it was a perfect weekend. We caught one of the fireworks shows on the fourth and I attempted to capture their beauty, but it was hard. I am just catching up with paper work and getting back in the swing of things. I have more to share. I hope you had a wonderful holiday too!

Queen of the castle....

.....Or so she thinks! There seems to be a theme going here. Lucy lays where she wants and for the most part we let her. Frank says I spoil her, that she shouldn't get to be in our bed more than we are. I just can't help it, she is too cute to punish. Plus, mostly she just lays in a spot, not really hurting anything!

Here she is in a laundry basket full of clean laundry

This is at my parents house. This pillow lives there for precisely this reason. I bought it in Belize on our honeymoon and it is made from a Guatemalan Huipil. I hope to bring it home someday, but maybe I don't quite trust Lucy just yet (she is 8).

We moved this chair into the front bedroom and she has taken it up as her prime napping spot

On this occasion she actually pulled back the covers and made herself a nice cozy spot right where my head lays at night. She usually sleeps under the covers, so she was probably thinking she could just let herself under there before we cam to bed.

On the bed again...

And finally, not napping, but protecting her kindom!