Today is my Birthday!!!!!

. . . and I'm so excited. This has been a different kind of year for me, full of ups and downs but the things that have been constant include my health, the health of my husband and children, my fabulous friends and the undying, awe inspiring love that we share. For as many relationships that have disappeared under the high powered microscope of truth and integrity, more have flourished and have been amazing and fortifying. And then there's you,the wonderful members of the sewing community who have continued to follow and support me even though I haven't posted a single finished garment this year (I just realized that and it makes me a little sad). Special shouts out to Faye for graciously allowing me to be included in her sew-alongs this Summer when we both knew it was HIGHLY unlikely that I would actually produce a piece. To Adrienne for always keeping me laughing and inspired. To Carolyn for her prolific creativity and always keeping it real. To Knitmachinequeen for keeping it fabulous, fierce and fearless and Finally to Erica B. for motivating me to get off the "mommy couch" and actually think about Fall fashion rather than just something to cover up and stay warm. And to the rest of you who read and/or comment on my blog posts, a heartfelt thank you, you are truly appreciated.

Over to the dark side

As many of you know, I had a beautiful baby girl last November (I know, it's so hard to believe she's almost a year old).

(Gratuitous Baby Pictures)

We knew we needed to buy a larger car but I.DID.NOT.WANT.A.MINI-VAN. So over the past year or so, I have looked at every SUV or cross-over vehicle known to man to try to find something that will seat five, plus various configurations of car seats and boosters comfortably plus cargo on a regular basis but also accommodate our big girls when they are with us. This was no small task and I researched vehicles I hadn't even heard of. Finally last May when we travelled to Texas for our daughter's graduation, we rented a van. We travelled all over the greater Dallas area, all 5 children in tow, super comfortable, without complaint, while driving on one of the MANY toll roads, I looked over at my husband and uttered those words of surrender, "you know we have to get a van right?"

So without further adieu . . .

This is an image from the Internet.

And here she is in her new home

I.LOVE.HER. We didn't buy new, but almost, it's a 2010 and we got lots of bells and whistles. We bought it from the sales division of a national rental car company and service, pricing and selection were fantastic and if anyone is in the market for slightly used vehicle, I would absolutely recommend checking the rental sales lots in your area. This is my second time purchasing from a rental company and both times I received excellent service and the vehicles were just 1 year old. We will get lots of use and have many happy times in this van. So the next time you see the white mommy van with heads bobbing around in back, take a look it might be me and my crew.

McCall's Holiday Collection

I always get so excited when new pattern collections come out and this time was no exception, however my excitement was short lived. Of the 29 in the collection this was the only one that caught my eye, but it will make the list of options for my Christmas dress so I won't complain.

Did you see any that you like?

My latest obsessions

I saw this DVF dress while trolling on Pintrest

Tre Fab!

And found these at DSW.

I continue to find ways to spend money. Don't you just love the internet!

A Complement . . . I Think or We've Come a Long Way Baby

Today was unseasonably warm here so I was out doing my weekly errands wearing one of my versions of M5893 (I love this dress! If I have time, I should really make another).

As I was putting my groceries in the trunk I just felt like someone was approaching me. I turned around to see this big, burly, mustached, tattooed guy just a tad too close, who just blurtted out "where'd you get your dress". Now you know I talk for a living and through the years have heard just about everything, however, I kid you not my brain froze for just a second trying to synthesize what I was hearing with what I was seeing. He must have noticed because he went on to say that his "old lady" had seen me in the store and liked my dress and wanted to know where I got it, "no kidding, she really liked it and kept saying she wanted a dress like that, MAYBE IN A DIFFERENT PRINT but a dress just like that." (Musing to self: Did he just ask me to share information with him and say he doesn't like my fabric all in the same sentence? hmm . . .) I told him I made it -- now his turn for brain freeze induced silence. Apparently he thought he heard wrong because when he recovered he said "what! you made that?" shortly thereafter you could see his eyes practically glaze over and he went on his merry way.

I found the whole exchange pretty humorous but it also made me reflect, I remember when I first started sewing and back then I would NEVER tell people that I made a garment I was wearing because the moment you do they almost instinctively begin to look for the tell-tell signs that your garment is homemade, the worst were the people who actually flip the hems of your garment up to inspect how the garment was finished (forgive me, for I was very young then, that would never happen to me now). But these days, armed with more experience and better tools, when people ask about my clothes, I can't wait to tell them that I made it because I am confident in my abilites and proud of the pieces that I make. Just a little something I thought I'd share.

How HOT! is that ?

I am presently obsessed with animal print footwear and just wanted to share these beauties with you.

To Maxi or Not to Maxi

This has been an extremely s.l.o.w. to non-existent sewing year for me but I've been buying fabric like a mad woman! I have recently gotten a few deliveries of beautiful knit fabrics and am expecting about 50 yards (YIKES!!!) more. I love the feel and comfort of maxi dresses and have been living in them this summer, the styling is easy and effortless, just throw on a pair of sandals or any kind, and with the majority of my dresses being polyester knit, they are no iron which makes it just that much easier. What I've been thinking about is how to transition the look into Fall. Obviously I'll be adding sleeves but what shoes to wear? Here are a few of the shoe choices I've been thinking about:

Yes these are the same shoe but I love them both and will be getting at least one pair.

I have a couple of pair of black booties but just picked these for illustration.

A heeled loafer

And then there are these . . .

These lovely little Louboutin's are $695 so I will be admiring them from afar.

So those are a few of my choices, what are your thoughts? Will you be taking the maxi look into the Fall?