Back to School...

...with the Schoolhouse Tunic.

I figured I might as well sew this up.  I cut the pieces way back in June, before the boys were out of school.

It sat around and collected dust while I languished the summer away eating bonbons and laying in the sun carting my boys around to their various activities.

 I sewed it out of lightweight cotton and I made the extra small.

The pattern says to sew 5/8 " seams but next time I might go to 1/2" just to have a bit more ease.

 I have to say that I really am proud of this one.  

Of course, there are mistakes because I misread the pattern, but those will be fixed on the next one.

 I'm thinking a soft, lightweight denim or corduroy.

Add some tights, boots and a long scarf! 

Perfect autumn outfit!

 One modification that I made was to place only one pleat in the center of the skirt rather than have a bit more boxy look with two.

I saw this one and knew that it would work better with my body type.

 So now it's your turn!  Go, buy the pattern and get sewing!

If I can do it, you most certainly can!

San Francisco:part two

As we all know traveling with children can be fun and exhausting at the same time.  My husband and I have made it a point to show the boys as much as possible before they are out on their own.  They are confident travelers and appreciate a new experience when offered to them.

The last few year that we have vacationed we stepped away from the hotel model and have rented through VRBO.  Renting a home offers us the space that we all need at the end of a long day exploring.

 Last year, when we traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming we were lucky enough to find a beautiful home overlooking the town of Jackson.

 This year, we immersed the boys into city living by renting a two level apartment right in the middle of San Francisco.  Again, the space and the privacy of their own room helped to eliminate the nastiness that can occur at the end of a long day.

 I'm always a bit nervous to send off the check or charge my credit card to someone I don't know.  But VRBO has a good advice page on being safe with the people you rent from. It's a good thing to always try to speak to the owners on the phone first to make sure they are legitimate. 

 Unfortunately, we ended up in a hotel for the last two nights of our trip because of scheduling.  And, as always, even with having connecting rooms, the hotel demons were out and the sharing of a room did not go as nicely as our stay in the apartment.  What is it, with kids and hotels?

So, if you are planning a trip soon, check out this alternative to hotel stays.  I think you might be pleasantly surprised!

We went West....

to San Francisco!

And I believe, we all left our hearts there!

Be back soon!

Baseball Socks 2012

Each year during baseball season, I pull out my sock yarn and knit a pair of socks.  They are easy to carry to the games and don't make me sweat as much while I endure cheer on the boys. 

 This year was no exception.  My goal is to knit through some of the miles of sock yarn that I have stashed here and there around the house and knit up socks for everyone! I grabbed a manly color and got knitting.  Seeing that this sock was meant to be for one of the boys I added a few more stitches and knit a bit longer in hopes of producing a sock that fit.  Which it does, no problem! So what then is the problem? Sadly, I don't have enough yarn.  I thought I did. I really thought I had another skein.  But as I tore through my stash yesterday I only came up with this red.  

So, tonight I will rip the sock out, go up from size one needles to size three, keep my standard stitch count and add red on the cuffs, heels and toes.  I hope that will solve the problem. At this rate, the baseball socks will turn into hockey season socks.  

Wish me luck!

Link Love

My pictures just sing summer this week!  It's been a fast paced, action packed start to vacation.  I'm looking forward to settling into a summer routine filled with a few camps, a job for the oldest and lots of time spent with friends.  Hope you are all staying cool and enjoying this beautiful weather. I'm off to the farmer's market.  Blueberries and raspberries are on my list!

 These are going to be made this week!  But first, I need to buy the molds.  

 I'm in love with this site.  This post did not disappoint.  Shrinky dinks for adult jewelry!

 Yes please!  

I'm not on the wedding circuit of late.  But this would be  a great wedding present or shower gift.  

We are thinking about installing a rain barrel.  We  are on a well and in the dry years need to preserve our water.  This might be an option for us!

enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Happy Birthday America!

We are off celebrating the birthday of our Nation!

136 years young!

5 things....

Saturday, Andy took the boys and their friends out tubing on the lake.  I decided not to go as I tend to get a bit nauseous when they have the boat spinning in circles in order to get bigger waves.

As I was sitting, waiting for them to come back I discovered that I didn't know any of the parents sitting at the beach.  I've officially become one of the older moms.  The mom that sits out of the fray of the toddlers and elementary school kids.  The one that can actually relax while sitting near a body of water. The one that doesn't turn her head when she hears "Mom" being screamed at the top of someone's lungs and the mom that doesn't  go running when she hears a piercing scream and crying.

It was a bittersweet feeling.  I'm sad that our days of summer are not spent on that sandy beach anymore.  Days of digging holes and swimming for hours until their fingers were wrinkled from the water.  Gone are the many days of grilled cheese sandwiches and snacks from the beach bag.

But as I watched this new generation of parents and their little ones I was happy that we were part of the long tradition of families on that beach.  I can only hope that my boys decided to find a place just as special, maybe even the one they grew up on, to raise their families when it's time.

1.  Loving caprese salads right now.  It will be even better when the tomatoes ripen.

2.  Looking for a good television show for summer.  Suggestions welcomed.

3.  Just finished reading The History of Love.  It started out slow, but in the end I really enjoyed it.

4. Do you like sweet tea or unsweetened?

5. Matt and I have started a summer blog.  We took the idea from Sarah and Anna ( can't find the link Sarah...could you send it to me?) Matt and I need something this summer.  Hopefully, this might be it.
  
Enjoy the week everyone!  

Question....

Hey everyone! I'm here, but really busy.  As you can see I've been making a few adjustments with the blog.  I do want my header to spread across the top which probably means I need to go in and adjust the HTML. Right? Anyone know a simple way to do that, or can point me in the right direction on-line to show me how.

In the meantime, enjoy the pictures below.  I donated my photography skills to a local silent auction. The high bidder has a beautiful garden.  It's been fun to walk along the flowers.  I need to go back to get the morning light...enjoy!

Links I Like

Can you feel it? No?  Well, let me explain it to you.  It the tension easing up off our shoulders.  The relief that  after today the hard part is behind us and them and the oncoming summer is almost here.  Matt will be done this afternoon and then he will be a Sophomore! (gasp! How did that happen?) and Ryan will be done with his finals (yes, he has finals as a seventh grader...to prepare him for high school...there are no words on this one.) this morning and gets to slack off at school until the 21st.

While many of you have been on summer vacation mode for what seems like months to me, we don't officially start until June 21st.  Perfect timing, seeing that  it is the first day of summer after all!

We have not made many plans so I guess I should get on that.  Must make the oldest find some sort of work, even if it's just a few hours. Baseball will take up our evenings and anything in between will, hopefully, be relaxing and fun!

So onward to the weekend!  Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.  We will be celebrating by moving mulch...because that's what he wants to do. 

 In my quest to learn to sew better I came across this article.  I wonder if I have this attachment? I need to look.  Anyone know if they are standard with your machine supplies?

 We were hooked on watching Cupcake Wars for a few weeks.  Stands like this were common on the show, only on a much larger level.  I could see making one of these for a party! It looks pretty easy to do!

 You or the kids bored yet of summer vaca?  Here's a fun take on the T-shirt printing!

It's strawberry season around here!  Forget about the strawberry shortcake!  Make this and enjoy!

enjoy your weekend everyone!

Roller Coaster Days...

Well hello!  I didn't mean to stay away so long and probably have about three readers left, two of them being family members.  But, it is what it is and to tell you the truth, I've stayed away because I figured you didn't want to hear me go on and on about the difficulties of raising teenage boys.

The gray hair is coming in fast and furious now and my hair stylist and I are becoming good friends.  The emotions are high around here due to final exams and end of year projects.

You know what they say about that frontal lobe of the brain being slow to develop?...I think it might have stopped in my oldest's.  Geesh, it has been a frustrating time.

So I leave you with a few pictures of the last week.

The weather has been good and the activities plentiful.  

Send good thoughts that I make it through to June 15th.  

...or maybe just bottles of wine!