Floors and Lingerie

I am still cleaning up from this past weekend's festivities. This past week Blake and I went and looked at some new flooring and the man told us it was "so easy" to put in. So Blake called his friend and he was free this Saturday to help put them in. I was hosting a lingerie shower that Saturday night at the house, but I was assured that they would be done in only a few hours. So Friday night Blake and I took up the carpet and the wood flooring in the entry way along with moving all the furniture to start bright and early putting new floors in on Saturday. I also made cupcakes, brownies, and a cookie cake Friday night in between helping. Well bright and early meant to them meant 11 AM. So around 12:30 PM they actually start...I begin to feel the uneasiness of "this is not going to be done in time". So the party starts at 7:00 PM I thought they would be done by 3 PM and I could go shopping a little bit before the party. Nope! I was there the entire day cleaning up and moving things to make it easier for them to get things done. I also had to decorate all the cupcakes and the cookie cake. So at 6:45 PM I was like - JUST LEAVE!!! They were able to get majority of the living room laid and all the furniture moved back as the guests arrived. The party went well and then we went out afterwards...way past my bed time. I love my new floors and Blake and his friend did a fabulous job putting them in. It is so nice to have a friend like Bryant who knows how to do so much and is willing to help us out whenever we ask. He is one of a kind. I will post pictures soon - we still need to put the quarter round in a few more places. I also want to get a new rug for the living room and a new coffee table. I want one that is leather and has a huge base so I can put candles and decorations in the center without Bailey messing with it. Sunday was spent doing nursery, still cleaning up the mess, and finishing the floors before going to our Sunday School cookout. Blake and his friend did not finish until around 12 AM Monday morning with the floors. So the next time a handyman tells me "it's so easy"...it probably isn't.

Payless Shoes

I am all for saving money on Bailey's shoes and Payless has such a great selection for little ones that I go there first to buy all her shoes. We went a few Sundays ago to look for a pair of brown closed toe shoes for this winter to wear with dresses and pants. Well they had the cutest pair of brown and crimson red shoes...so Bailey and I decided she needed both. We were about to pack it up when I saw them - Dora Uggs. I told Bailey we were not going to get them but that she could try them on. She couldn't even walk in them because the bottoms of the shoes would not bend, but they looked so cute on her!

My Santa Fabric

So this is the picture of the fabric I am using to make my 1st sewing project out of. Isn't it cute?!? This picture was taken with my phone so the color of the bright turquoise looks faded, but the lighter color in the candy is a really pretty turquoise which is going to be the color of the ribbon and bottom pant cuff.

Sewing Classes

So after waiting and waiting I finally got in a sewing class at Hancock Fabrics. Me and a friend are taking the class together on Thursday nights. We ordered our sewing machines off of Amazon.com not having a clue how to use them. So the first class was two weeks ago and we picked out our patterns and materials. We are making pants, but I wanted to do something really soft like pajama pants. I thought it would be fun to do a Christmas pattern since our class would end right before November - just in time to bring out Christmas decorations. We found this bright green pattern with adorable Santa's in bright red suites with bright turquoise candy in between. I will post pictures soon! I am going to get a bright turquoise satin ribbon to use as the tie and I am going to get some turquoise fabric to add a cuff on the bottom of the pants! They are going to be the most fancy Christmas PJ's ever!

So I go to pay for the fabric and it was $22!! I was like - we could have bought some for that amount! Now I know why these boutiques charge so much for their stuff - because fabric is expensive if you don't buy it on a big sale. We even had a 30% discount and it was still $22 for 2 yards of fabric. Then we got homework! I had no idea these classes were going to be work outside of the two hours I went each week. So like a good student I waited until the night before to start on it...I mean how hard could it be to cut out a fabric and pin it? Okay - well it isn't as easy as I thought it would be especially when your fabric shrinks 4 inches on the right side causing the pattern not to fit. All my dreams of making fun dresses and nic-naks came crashing down as I stared at the 20+ pictures, steps from 1 - 45 that made no sense, and everything was coded with lines, dots, dashes, arrows, shaded areas, triangles, squares, circles... Sweat started beading on my forehead as I looked at the clock - it was already 10 PM and I had only cut out the pattern - I had been staring at the directions for over an hour trying to figure out what to do. So I finally lay it all out according to picture C and although the fabric was too short I pinned it on to show that I put forth the effort. Well the next day in class it wasn't just me who had issues - we all had to restart over. Then we practiced on our machine - making the bobbin, threading it, and THEN we made our first stitch...and all my crushed dreams came back to life!

Where to start?!?

Well the past month has been really busy at work and home so blogging took a backseat for over a month! First it started with recruitment weekend. I am the rush advisor for Zeta Tau Alpha - Theta Nu chapter so that kept me overly busy for an entire week. Then I planned and decorated a cake for my best friend's bridal shower three weeks ago. Two weeks ago we went to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for 5 days. Last week: Blake left for the entire week to play war games in MS; I had a 3 Family Yard Sale and made some great CA$H with two friends; and Tuesday I had an Initials Inc. party(www.initials-inc.com/1521) - love their stuff. This past weekend I helped with my best friends bridal pictures, we went to a wedding on Saturday, and church on Sunday.

Bridal Shower Pictures (3 weeks ago)

Party Favor: Chocolate chip cookie with their initials on each one.

Blake and I in Punta Cana (2 weeks ago)