Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! Family Edition

Well it's been a long time comin'.  I've let the blog go for soooooo long.  I've decided to revive it as a way of giving details to things --be they events or projects--that I just can't do on Facebook.  I'll be posting things from the past along with current events and projects!

Since my last post, we've experienced a major life event.  We became in-laws!  Jeremy got married on October 5, 2013.  He and new daughter-in-law Denise proved that you can have a classy wedding on a shoestring budget by doing so much of it themselves.  I was really proud of them.   It was definitely a Pinterest wedding!

Denise made all of the table decorations and place cards.    She collects milk glass so she used milk glass containers for the flowers.

The only thing I made were the chocolate covered Oreo table favors and we supplied the expected Pittsburgh cookie trays! 

Denise's cousin, who was also the matron of honor, made red velvet cupcakes decorated like roses and placed in milk glass vases.  

Ems made the bouquet as a wedding gift.  It was made out of sheet music and used a Dr. Who sonic screwdriver as the handle.  Denise is a big Dr. Who fan!

The wedding was at an old estate that is owned by the park service.  Jeremy and Denise hired the caterer, rented the table linens and called in friends to bar tend and dj!  It was beautiful and a lot of fun!  Here are a few more pics!

As much of this space is dedicated to my projects, of course there was sewing involved.  My dress was made using Vogue 8814 view B.  I made a muslin as it had some oddly shaped pieces and I wasn't sure how my usual alterations--enlarging the hips--would work.  As usual, it fit fine.  It's made of silk jacquard from Thai Silks in CA--one of my favorite sources.  I love this dress but it poses some lingerie issues!  I topped it with a shrug from an out-of-print Vogue pattern using some Oscar de la Renta hammered silk charmeuse.  I use the shrug with a lot of other evening wear.  

That's it for now.  I'll catch up on more later!

Busy weekend!

I've had a busy weekend! Friday, my friend Cat and I headed to the Burgh to see the kids. I had to bring Jeremy's car that we got him and pick up our station wagon so we decided to make a weekend of it. Friday morning we stopped at Joann's before heading out where I picked up some patterns on sale:



I figured I can make these from stash. I also got a vintage apron pattern and a purse pattern.

Then we headed out. We got to the burgh around 2:00 and ate at the Square Cafe where Ems is now working. It's a really nice place and the food was good! We headed off to check in to our hotel and picked up Ems when she got home. After stopping by Right by Nature to see Ems' roomate, we headed to the Warhol Museum to see the Shepard Fairey exhibit which was wonderful. Saturday, we went to Squirrel Hill and to Little's Shoes to look around. I was perfectly controlled and didn't buy anything there for a change. I did get some nice loose teas at the little tea shop on Forbes. We then went to the Carnegie museum to see the dinosaurs! It was a great exhibit! I'm sorry we didn't have more time to see more of the museum. We quickly went through the Polar Life exhibit and the Egyptian exhibit. News of the weather at home was making us a bit nervous as we were originally expecting about 2 inches of snow. When I checked the weather, they had increased the warning to 5 - 7 inches! We had a quick dinner at Mad Mex then headed out around 6:30.

The trip home was uneventful but we could see that snow had fallen once we got to Hagerstown. It was clearly worse in Howard County so we just took it slow. I was surprised that a couple of the bigger roads had not been plowed! We got home about 11:30 and Cat headed to her place. I was wound up from the trip so I ended up staying up quite late then sleeping in today.

I spent part of the day finding fabric online for my next big sewing project. It turns out that I have a formal to go to in March so I decided to make another gown. I wanted something elegant and I had a pattern on hand that met my needs.

This pattern is now out of print and I don't think that Vogue carried it for a long time. It took me a while to digest the instructions as they are really involved and hard to visualize. There are also a lot of pieces because it is assymetrical so most of the pieces are cut out in a single thickness of fabric. I only found one review on Pattern Review and it looked alright except that it had been made out of polyester which I don't think really works with this type of design. The folds in the drape don't lie flat with a synthetic and this type of garment really needs to be made of silk. I found a 30mm weight heavy silk crepe in bright red at Thai Silks and on Ebay and I've requested swatches. I will also have to order boning and figure out how I will bustle the train. I really love this gown.

Other news--I ordered some Icon Shoes! Those who know me know that I LOOOOVE Icon Shoes! They had a 50% off sale which included 50% off of sale items. I ended up with a make up bag and 2 pairs of sandals!



I'm thinking that I might get the purse to go with the "Yes We Can" shoes!

That's about all that's been going on. I'm plugging away at my red sweater and I've reached the end of the body up to the armholes. I now have to do the sleeves then join them and knit the yoke. I haven't gotten much done on that the last week because I had my winter concert and grades to do!

That's about it for now! Have a great week!

Kitty Cam: The tuxedo twins, Samantha and Harley, are spending some quality time together.

It's been a long time comin'. . .

Finally! Bird getting his "diploma." Sort of, that is. First off, they only give you the diploma cover and you get the actual paper later. For Bird, it will be much later. When he got to the ceremony, he noticed that his name was not in the program. They fixed that. A couple hours later, after the ceremony, his advisor called him to tell him that they didn't have his graduation form which is why he wasn't on the program. Funny thing is, he filled it out and turned it in in October several weeks before the deadline. They obviously lost it. The not so funny thing is that his diploma will be issued in May 2009. If he interviews for a job requiring a degree, then the school will write a letter explaining that he officially has the degree, so that's good. I told him that he should try to get his loans deferred until 6 months after his "official" graduation date (the one on paper). I will say that after 4 and 1/2 years at Duquesne, this has been the first snafu. They have always been efficient at everything. It just figures that the first boo boo would be a big one! That's okay! We still celebrated and had a great time.

What's the first thing that the graduate did?Light up a cigarette ! (much to his mother's chagrin)







Thanks to Andrew for taking the photos. He was an honorary family member for the weekend!

Check this out--I noticed during the ceremony that Ems is her mother's daughter!
The shoe queen gene is passed down to a new generation!

After the ceremony, we went to Fatheads in the South Side. Best sandwiches ever! I can't believe that I actually finished mine. I had a "headwich" which supposedly is a sandwich the size of a human head. It came close! I typically don't eat much, but I finished it and didn't feel all that full! Go figure!


After Fatheads (and Starbucks) DH, Ems and I went to Shadyside so that Ems could go to the Apple Store to get her iPhone looked at. We dropped her there and found parking. While walking to the Apple Store we passed the neatest little shoe store on Walnut Street called "Ten Toes." There was a pair of boots in the window that I loved. After the Apple Store, while walking back to the car, the conversation went sort of like this:

Ems: Ooh! I have to show you the cutest boots I saw there!
Me: Were they the ones with the buckles?
Ems: Yes! Isn't it funny that we love the same shoes.

And we ran to the window to discover that we loved the same boots! We went in the store and most of the boots and shoes were half off! I ended up buying two pairs of those boots--one for each of us!

They can be worn cuffed as well! There was a brand of shoes called Naught Monkey that both Ems and I fell in love with. They were all half off as well. If it wasn't the holidays, I may have picked up a pair or two, but money is a bit tight these days!
This type of situation occurred again when we were window shopping at BCBG. Ems wanted to show me a dress that she loved and I was rushing to look at one I saw that I loved. It was the same dress!

We went back to the hotel for a while then met up with Ems, Bird, Andrew and Ems' boys (her band buds) at Arsenal Lanes in Lawrenceville for some bowling. They have a $9 all you can bowl from 9 p.m. to midnight on Friday nights. There is also karaoke and a bar in there! I must admit that I find the bowling alleys in Pittsburgh a little strange in that the two I've been to are all upstairs! Around these parts, bowling alleys are all downstairs!
Bird and Andrew dressed for the occasion:

Here's Bird singing "Dust in the Wind"
We all did karaoke! We found out that Andrew does a mean Elvis!

Ems and her boys:

We met Ems, Bird and Andrew and the Cheesecake Factory for lunch at 11:00 on Saturday then hit the road at 1:00. We were home at 5 p.m. The kitties were pretty glad to see us. They get such good care from Pampered Pets that they are much more "ho hum" about it when we walk in. They used to be very clingy, but they get spoiled when we're away now. Their sitter forgot she wasn't supposed to come Saturday night and she came over. She said that if we ever get home to find Mikey gone, we'll know she took him! Everyone loves Mikey!

I stayed up until 3 a.m. last night, doing some Christmas knitting and watching HBO. I watched "Definitely, Maybe" which is a cute romantic comedy, followed by Sweeney Todd which is anything but a romantic comedy. I still love that movie, but it is definitely on the weird side. One has to figure that a movie with Johnny Depp that's directed by Tim Burton is going to be quirky, to say the least! Today I will run my usual Sunday errands and work on a few holiday gifts!

Less than one month left of the following--
Bushism of the day:
"You know, I'm the President during this period of time, but I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived in President, during I arrived in President." --George W. Bush, ABC News interview, Dec. 1, 2008

Kitty Cam: Bar makes himself comfortable like a little prince.

Sweet Victory

I've been meaning to blog since the election, but life got in the way.  I think I was coming down with a cold last week.  I stood out in the mist last Tuesday and handed out materials to those coming to vote at my school.  It was interesting to see the voters.  The neighborhood is extremely diverse with many non English speakers.  Many of them had questions and all seemed very excited to vote.  It is an overwhelmingly democratic district.  

I stayed up until 2 a.m watching the election returns and commentary. I was a nutcase the next day as I was totally exhausted. That's okay. It's not often that one gets to experience that type of victory!

My sale book order from KnitPicks arrived on Thursday. Check out the goodies:




I love all of them, but my favorite is Boutique Knits. It has some very unusual accessories. Also--check out this scarf from the Nicky Epstein scarf book:

Of course that page would catch the eye of the Crazy Cat Lady!
I also started the Silken Scabbard. No photos yet, but soon!

Saturday, DH and I headed for Pittsburgh to celebrate Ems' birthday which is actually on November 11. We got there around 3:30. Her street was covered with leaves. I love the houses on her street. They are rather large brick or stone homes with neat architectural details. Many have stained glass windows as well.

Here is the side of Em's house. Her apartment is on the second floor and she has the curved windows that you see.

Everytime I go in that house I see details that I missed before. Check out the plaster work on the ceiling:



We met Bird at the Double Wide Grill on the Southside for dinner after which Bird went to work. Ems, DH and I ended up meeting Ems' friends at the Forward Lanes in Squirrel Hill for a couple of games of ten pin bowling. I have to admit that it's been over 40 years since I've bowled ten pins! It was fun. After bowling, we took Ems back to her place and we checked in our hotel. Sunday morning we met up with Ems and Bird at Ritters which is a diner in Friendship. After a trip to Joanns, we took Ems home and we headed for the road, arriving home around 7:30 p.m. I paid a sitter to take care of the kitties so they were well provided for.

I think things will get back to normal for a short time until we hit the Holiday madness.

A bit of Nostalgia
"It was twenty years ago today . . ."
Here are some pictures from Ems' 5 year old birthday party. She just turned 25! We used to have wonderful theme parties at our house. This one was the Wizard of Oz! Can you guess who Ems was?

That's right! She was Dorothy! And of course, I was Glinda!

I just knew I'd find a place to wear that flea market 50's prom dress!
And no party at our house was complete without the special birthday cake that Nannie made. This one is of the Emerald City with Wizard of Oz figurines:

All the party guests received a goody bag with a "Doctor of Thinkology" diploma, a heart ornament and a medal of courage!

Bushism of the day:

"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008

Ouch! I think we are figuring out now!

Kitty Cam: We got to meet Ems' little baby, Chelsea. She's a wild thing, but she is absolutely gorgeous! She has beautiful markings!