Sunshine Stars in the works!

From the moment I laid my eyes on my first sewing machine, I knew I wanted to make things for my son. And once I had a few successful projects, I knew I wanted to start making them for other people, too. There was no one I admired more than Dana from MADE and Ashley of Lil Blue Boo. I read their blogs for months before I even started sewing, and every time one of them posted a new project, my creative little heart went pitter-patter. They were my new heroes, and they both ran their own business from home on the internet. That's what I wanted to do.

I've made a handful of things, all but one project (the unfortunate little boy suit) turned out well enough that I have become fairly confident. I have had enough people request things from me or suggest that I open an Etsy shop that I figured my work must be decent. After a stint on Etsy in the past trying to sell my photography prints - which was a rather dismal failure - I've decided it's time to give it another shot. Except this time, I am giving baby clothes a try.

After a long time of wishing that I had the funds/the gumption/the time, I decided to just jump in. I contacted a few friends with baby girls and arranged for them to model the clothes for me, and now I will be spending the next few weeks whipping up the initial pieces for photographing and formulating prices. I have quite a to-do list, and hopefully this weekend I can get most of it out of the way.

I'm not hoping to be the Next Big Thing - in the saturated blog market, that would be folly - but I would enjoy being able to do something I liked to do in my free time and make a few dollars while I'm at it. I think it sounds like an adventure, and I can't wait to get started!

Next up - Sunshine Stars begins!

Bento!

If any of you have gone through the two year old phase of "I hate all food!" then you'll commiserate with this post. Micah is fully immersed in this phase right now. I have tried everything, including giving in to his random, horribly unhealthy whims. Cookies at 7am? They're calories, sure. (Please don't judge me.) Pizza for breakfast? Ok.

I've even tried bribing with food, which was suggested to me when he wouldn't eat. "If you are a good boy for this entire grocery store trip, then you can pick something you want out." It usually ended up being Oreos or blueberries. One is bad, one is good, but if he eats the entire container of blueberries in one sitting (when he's in the mood to even eat them by the time we get home), then his poor tummy freaks out and it isn't worth it.

It's sad, and it's probably all my fault because I used to be happy and tell people he would eat literally anything we gave him when he started with solids at around 6 months. That's what you get, bragger.

Anyway, I recently discovered Bento boxes, and I thought it might be a good way to get him to eat and actually like it. Fun shapes, little creatures, those animal-shaped picks. Anybody tried them out? I figured we could start small and just do veggies and fruit - stuff that will keep so I can make the whole weeks worth at one time - and then if he likes them we can go crazy and get more creative.

So of course, now I have a Pinterest board of Bento awesomeness.

Source: creative-food.blogspot.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Source: offbeatmama.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Source: ivillage.ca via Aimee on Pinterest

Source: parenting.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Source: keeleymcguire.blogspot.com via Aimee on Pinterest

50 things every girl should do in her lifetime

One thing I dislike about Facebook is that if you comment on someone's post, it will show up on your feed and as a result, on the feeds of your friends. (occasionally, I guess, because I can't find a method to the madness). This includes comments made on posts of people you are not friends with. Example - my husbands aunt commented on one of her friends posts, someone I don't know in any shape or form, and it showed up in my feed.

Usually, this is annoying and privacy-invading. But today I saw one that inspired a post from me. The woman said she had read a list of 50 things every woman should do in her lifetime, and one of the items on the list was "kiss a stranger." It kind of made me laugh, and then I wondered where she had found the list, so I did a quick Google search and came up with this one. It isn't exactly mind-blowing, but it has some really fun things on it that I happen to agree with. Every woman should ride a roller coaster!

I decide to bold the ones I've personally experienced. How many of these have you done?

50. Ride on the back of a motorcycle
49. Date someone who has visible tattoos
48. Buy a toolkit and learn how to use the things in it
47. Travel Alone
46. Spend a day at the best spa you can afford
45. Drive fast
44. Date someone older than you
43. Date someone younger than you
42. Live in a foreign country
41. Have a romance with someone from a different country
40. Meet one your role models
39. Do something your friends don't approve of
38. Delve into your personal psychology
37. Be proud of your smile and laugh
36. Live by yourself
35. Learn to say no
34. Give time to a cause you believe in
33. Forgive your parents for whatever they did wrong
32. Have some photos taken of you that you really like
31. Learn to drive a race car
30. Become a better public speaker
29. Understand how fortunate you really are
28. Break your destructive patterns
27. Evolve your look and scare yourself (often!)
26. Take a risk and prove the naysayers wrong
25. Get your fortune told
24. Go to New York and stay at the Hotel Plaza Athenee
23. Learn a foreign language
22. Take dance classes
21. Ride a hot air balloon
20. Go to Paris
19. Attend NY fashion week
18. Go skydiving
17. Get a college degree
16. Throw a huge party and invite every one of your friends
15. Go skinny-dipping
14. Learn how to take a compliment
13. Send your boyfriend a dozen red roses
12. Plant a tree
11. Take charge; ask a guy out on a date
10. Learn how to be a bartender
9. Grow a garden
8. Make a snowman
7. Buy a stock
6. Read at least 5 major works of literature
5. Take your parents to dinner
4. Write the story of your life
3. Sleep under the stars
2. Ride a giant roller coaster
1. Fall devastatingly, helplessly head over heels in love

The little things matter the most.

This morning, I read a heartfelt post on A Day in Motherhood. As I was reading, I realized...I was doing the exact same thing, without even noticing it.

After I initially heard about the tragedy in Newtown, I had to remove myself from it. I shut off the news, changed channels when it was mentioned, and avoided scrolling through my Facebook feed because the faces of those innocent babies were everywhere. I understand why the world is talking about it - it's a senseless tragedy that every parent can relate to, because we are able to put ourselves in the shoes of those mothers and fathers that are forced to bury their child far too early. It breaks our hearts and we cry along with them, feeling the pain as though it were our own.

But what I cannot understand, is the repetition. Yes, the story is major news and everyone deserves to treat it the way they see fit. But as a mother of a sweet little boy, I just cannot stomach the constant exposure to such painful news. Being ignorant of the reality is not what I want, but I just can't bring myself to continue to play the scenarios and feel the agony those parents must feel, over and over.

Instead, just as Lori posted, I find myself cherishing every moment of my days with Micah, because I don't want to take anything for granted. I had photos professionally taken of Micah by a friend of mine named Minie, mostly for Christmas cards (that I slacked off on and never got printed - oops). But after the 14th, I found they started migrating to my desk at work by the dozen, and I find myself staring at them off and on all day. I listen to video clips I have of him on my phone just to hear him talk and laugh. Who cares if last week I wished he could just STOP and relax for a moment without talking, because he was exhausting me?







We got him a trampoline that was supposed to be for Christmas, but we broke it out early and he plays in it every day before bedtime. He likes to lay down in it, so we fill it with blankets and pillows and cover the top so it's like a tent. Who cares if it makes a mess I have to fix after he goes to sleep?





Yesterday, a coworker of my mom's sent a bottle of bubble bath and some candy canes to Micah for Christmas. Without even letting him ask, I opened one of the candy canes. When he found out what the bubble bath was for, he wanted to go home and take a bath. So we went home and I ran the space heater in the tiny bathroom, and filled up the tub more than I normally would have, with a an excessive amount of bubbles,and he played in it for an hour while I took pictures of his bubble beards and sweated in the heat. Who cares if the candy canes made him sticky and hyper, and who cares if his little toes and fingers were pruned from being in the water so long?





He stays up a little later, he has more milk and more cartoons, I give him more hugs and kisses and take more pictures. I spend more time remembering the little things and enjoying his constant jabber about volcanos and bowling, he gets a little chocolate and maybe a cookie for breakfast. I tickle him more and tell him I love him a thousand times a day. I worry less about his clothes getting dirty and his socks being clean.







Nowadays, it's all about the memories and the journey, and less about the sweating the little stuff. Nowadays, it's about cherishing the time you have. Even if it comes along with dirt and less sleep.

Fabric happiness

On a crafty note - who hit the craft stores this weekend to stock up on fleece and flannel?

It was seriously like a fabric party for me. I went to Joann's late Friday night (hoping all the crazy people would be long gone, and thankfully, it wasn't very busy at all). They had an amazing deal on flannel for $1.64 a yard and blizzard fleece for $2.99, with the rest of their fleece on sale for 60% off. FABRIC PARTY.



My husband went with me and decided that I pretty much needed everything in sight, once he saw the prices. And who was I to deny him? I ended up with quite a haul, a ton of fleece to make pants and blankets for Micah (maybe even some sheets) and a couple choices for myself, as well as two pairs of scissors and plenty of thread. Since Micah was with my mom that night so we could do our Christmas shopping, I broke out my brand new Elna Experience (a combination Christmas and birthday gift from my awesome husband) and whipped him up a pair of 20-minute pants. I love making him fleece and flannel pants, they are so easy and they didn't need serging, since I haven't scored a serger yet. Though...my new machine does have some pretty nifty stitches I plan on trying out, a few of which look remarkably like edging.



Micah loved his pants, he kept talking about how soft they were, though he looks highly unimpressed in this photo. I call this The Saddest Tada ever, though I actually just caught him mid-sentence and he liked the pants more than it seems.



Joann's was literally the only store I went to on Thursday or Friday, because I didn't feel like getting trampled by the masses. Though I did stop by True Love Tattoo with my husband that morning for something fun. And oh, so very ME.



I'd say it was a satisfying weekend for the fabric hoarder in me!

Turkey Day

It's been awhile now, hasn't it? I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was very low-key - we spent the morning lazing around the house, then headed to Antonio's grandparents house for the big feast. The Arizona cousins were in town and it was a full house, two tables full of people. There was also the usual Skype conversation during the meal with Antonio's parents in Ecuador, along with the usual sound problems we have with that, hah. Thank goodness for Skype on the iPhone, we have made good use of it in the last couple years since his parents left to start a new church.

Micah spent a good chunk of his time running around with his cousin Miles, who has always been his buddy no matter how long it's been since they have seen each other. Possibly the best part of being a kid is that no other children are ever strangers - they just become playmates all over again. Miles is a good 5 years or so older than Micah but it's never slowed them down. They chased each other all over the house and Miles introduced Micah to the joys of Fruit Ninja on the iPad. If you've never played it, and don't have a ton of free time, don't download it! It's addictive and a worse time-suck than Pinterest has ever been for me. Micah loves it, though he often starts poking the bombs on purpose. No stress to get a high score for this kid.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we headed to Antonio's other grandparents house to visit for his aunts birthday. We don't see this side of the family as much as we should, but we always make it a point to see them over holiday weekends. The little house was overflowing like usual, and Micah found a new playmate or two there (though one of them kept pushing him down, and even though my kid is friendly and outgoing, this confused him quite a bit ). They also had a half-grown dog and an 8 week old Pomeranian, which Micah chased all over the house and had a love-hate relationship with. He's never sure what to do with dogs, they kind of freak him out even though he really wants to play with them.

I did get this fantastic photo - it's four generations right here. Antonio's dad holding Micah, Antonio, and his grandpa. Cutest thing ever.



Sunday was a lazy day at home with poor Micah struggling with his allergies all day, parking himself on the couch with a blanket and his chongos (monkeys) instead of running around playing. It's always sad when he feels bad, but this time we visited the doctor because he just could not breath out of his nose at all. There wasn't anything they could do at his pedi, so we picked up some childrens Allegra and got a number for an ENT. Fingers crossed I can get ahold of them today and get him in fast! These allergies have lingered badly for 8 months now.





A nice family weekend in all. What did you do last weekend?

Purse Week 2012

Last year, I came across a fun little blog called A Lemon Squeezy Home. The very first post I read was this one with the Purse Week winners of 2010. I absolutely adored the first place purse and I bookmarked the website to keep watching. Christie runs a really cute space chock full of ideas and DIY goodness. I missed Purse Week 2011, but when I saw that the content for 2012 was coming, I started trying to come up with an idea.

I didn't get too fancy with my final project, but I think it has some fun touches, and I sewed it in about 3 hours without a pattern.



I cut four pieces in two different fabrics for this little purse. A blue corduroy for the outside - a remnant from a jacket I am working on for Micah - and a pretty teal-on-teal print for the lining. I sewed eight buttonholes and threaded one of those skinny belts that are so popular right now through them to give the option of cinching the top of the bag into gathers, and two matching black straps attached with O rings onto the simple bias tape edging. It also has an inner zipper pocket.





This purse was such a simple idea and it looks rather simple to my eye now that it's done. But this thing caused me FITS! My first problem came up when I realize I bought the wrong kind of interfacing - I wanted fusible, what I got was the sew-in kind. Then I went to make the zipper pocket and broke a needle for the very first time. So completely wounded, hah. Then I found out I left out a piece of fabric that actually made the pocket, so I had to do another square of sewing that makes it look less professional to me. Then I did the buttonholes, and for some reason the last line of stitching failed on every single one. I had to reset my stitch every time. My machine is clearly having some issues.

But it all finally came together, and to the casual viewer, it looks nice. I've gotten a ton of compliments already and I am looking forward to seeing if the Purse Week judges like it. Wish me luck!