February 22, 2011

I'm getting better...at some things

"Oh Ben such a nice shirt you have on! Where on earth did you get such a well-constructed shirt that a lot of time and love obviously went into making it?"
HIS WIFE MADE IT!
Booyah! cranky sewing machines (I guess I just have issues with machines...or the whole sewing industry is against me)

I finished that finally this weekend. And Ben loves it! But he wouldn't let me take a picture of his handsome face to show off, so you just get a torso. The only thing that wasn't great was the pocket, which, of course, is emblazoned right there on the chest, but I think it's probably good enough only I would notice anything wrong since I made it.


At 6:30 tonight I remembered I have to take a dessert to work tomorrow for potluck. Having to feed a lot of people - best choice is a cake. Not wanting to go to the store - means homemade. Tip: trying to make a homemade cake from an internet recipe and ad-libbing a bit is not always a good idea. I think the cake turned out ok. It's cooling, so we will see. I even attempted icing, and now have a headache from repeatedly tasting it to get the right ratio of ingredients...but that was a disaster. It taste like a diabetic coma. So I will have to go to the store anyway.
Next time I'll just make brownies. So much easier, lot less of a headache.

February 18, 2011

These animals be crazy

Ben and I have three children, Jackson, Zoe, and Colby. Jackson is a lab-chow mix, Zoe is an orange calico, and Colby is an australian shepherd-healer mix. I think I mostly enjoy having them around because I can laugh at them.
This is Zoe's "don't mess with me" face

Jackson really gets sad when Ben leaves.
He stares out the window, whining, and waiting for him to come back.

Zoe found a new hiding place in our laundry closet to get away from the dogs.
I couldn't find her here for several hours either, but now I know where to look.

Something was under the dresser that the cat desperately wanted
This is an unusual state of being for Colby. Normally when I try to
take a picture of her she just turns out a blur. She never stops moving!

January 25, 2011

And we have a finished product

My first made-from-scratch piece of clothing that is actually wearable.

Yay!
And in light of my triumph over the sewing imps, I am entertaining the thought of opening my own Etsy store. For those of you that have never heard of Etsy, it's an online shopping community specifically for handmade and vintage items. But it will take me a while to create enough merchandise to open the store, so that won't be happening in the near future. 
But that's in the sights for now. We shall see how it goes.
Next project: Super Hubs has requested a button-down shirt. Pattern and fabric have been bought, and cutting has begun. I told him not to have high hopes. Updates on the trials and tribulations of collars and cuffs soon to come.

January 17, 2011

Aspirations of a Green Floral Print

There once was a lovely fabric that only ever wanted to be made into clothes. For some unknown reason it was banished to the clearance bin at Wal-Mart, but I saved it, took it home, washed it, and safely tucked it away until the perfect project came along. And then it's big day came: it was going to be a tunic.








Then half-way through, this happened! The iron completely melted it in a mere second. Apparently the overheat protection function on the iron broke...at least that's what I like to think. Super Husband is kind enough to let me continue thinking that (though there's always a strong possibility of user error) and he even bought me a new iron.

But it seemed that all hope was lost for this bargain cotton print. But thankfully, the tunic could be made into a shirt. And there was much rejoicing!

As I said to Ben, I seem to have more mishaps than are even probable with my sewing projects. It's a bit ridiculous.

So after I figured out we could save my fabric and all the work wasn't completely gone to waste, we went out to Target to get a new iron. And I came home with this:
The sewing machines were right next to the irons, I just couldn't help myself. And when I saw how cheap this machine was, it seemed too good to pass up. A heavy duty metal frame, but only the most basic of stitches. With as much trouble as my machine gives me,  for my own peace of mind and for the sake of my marriage, I just needed something that would just work. And this does. It was cheap, so not too much can be expected, but I'm happy to have something new. And with the help of my new machine we are getting closer to being finished with my once-tunic-now-shirt project. So we'll see how it goes...
This is Heidi modeling the progress so far

January 10, 2011

Destined for TV Fame?

Last night Super Hubs and I were watching "Worst Cooks in America" on Food Network. Now, I don't cook in my house because I am not good at it. Ben is good at it and enjoys it, so I gladly let him cook for us. We were discussing how neither of us are such terrible cooks that we need to be on that show. Ben is actually a good cook, and I can do the basics - cook a piece of chicken, brown ground beef, make rice, heat up a can of vegetables - so if I ever have to I can feed myself.
But I do pride myself on being able to bake - Ben's the cook, I'm the baker. Even with our lopsided oven I enjoy baking cakes and brownies and people always seem to enjoy them.
But apparently I have issues with cookies. In the middle of our show, Ben wanted some cookies. We always have the stuff around for homemade cookies, and they're easy to make. So I whip up a batch, stick em in the oven, and pull em out a few minutes later...and the crisp smell of burnt cookies wafts out to fill our house.
Perhaps I should've been on that show...

January 9, 2011

I can feel my fingers, so it's time to blog

Today is supposed to be the beginning of our terrible winter storm. Last year the storm actually brought a few feet of snow, but so far today it's not living up to the hype. Just some sleet. Still keeping my fingers crossed that it'll get bad enough to close my office tomorrow...

So a lazy Sunday afternoon with every heater in the house on and Ben and I snuggled up in blankets. Oh the joys of an old house...Right now I'm sitting with my feet propped up in front of the furnace for them to thaw out.

I would be sewing right now if my machine was cooperating, but alas...she's on the fritz. When she broke on my yesterday I almost broke something else. But this is a good excuse to catch up on the blog. Kendra, I was in the middle of finishing your last chair cushion, so when the machine decides to work again it'll be the first thing I do.

The holidays were busy busy as usual. But besides that I haven't done anything else because of my Christmas present from Super Hubby.
Best. Present. Ever.

The break was nice; I even took some time off work. Christmas was all of the Jackson families squeezed in when we could: my dad's family before Christmas, and the rest of my family on Christmas Eve for the annual IHOP dinner after church. This trip was a special one because it was my nephew's Layne first pancake experience. You could tell this was a big deal because of all the pictures that his mother took to document the occasion. And that little kid racked up on presents; I'm pretty sure he had more than the rest of the family combined. Well at least he's at the age that he doesn't know what's going on and can't say, "I don't like that."

Christmas morning we spent with Ben's mom and family. We had a wonderful non-traditional Christmas meal of beef strew. I actually didn't have to eat turkey or ham once over the holidays. We'll mark that as a victory for the taste buds. I'm just glad we got to see them for Christmas since the week prior they all had the flu and then Ben's brother got walking pneumonia. But they managed it.

New Years we spent down in Orlando with Ben's dad and family. We usually only get to see them once or twice a year, so we go down for as long as we can when we go. Our little nephew down there has started talking since we last saw him and loves balls, bubbles, bowling and balloons. Somehow I was christened Aunt Bubbles and Ben's not going to let that one go. I think I'm stuck with it.

And now that the holidays are over it's back to the normal swing of things. Hopefully we won't have any pipes freezing and bursting this year that cause a mess of things.

It's still not snowing...yet...

Ok I think I will go try the machine again. I might have to kick Ben off the Xbox and play some Mario Kart...

November 23, 2010

Gift List

Dear Husband:

I have been working really hard on my Christmas list. I know how much you love working from a list. I hope this helps make shopping easier.

I would not like twelve drummers drumming. Our upstairs neighbors make enough noise for the whole neighborhood.
I would not like eleven pipers piping. If they're related to the Pied Piper, we'll be overrun with rats, and we're still battling the ladybugs.
I would not like ten lords a-leaping. I'm afraid we don't have much to leap over, so they would get bored.
I would not like nine ladies dancing. We'd have to move all of our furniture out of the way, and then there'd be no where to watch tv!
I would not like eight maids a-milking. Messy. 'Nough said.
I would not like seven swans a-swimming. Our bathtub just isn't that big.
I would not like six geese a-laying. Our bed just isn't that big.
I would not like five golden rings. I prefer silver.
I would not like four calling birds. We don't have a house phone, much less four.
I would not like three French hens. You know what they say about the French...
I would not like two turtledoves. They're just a little too cheesy for me.
And I would not like a partridge...but I do think a pear tree would be nice.

With love
Your wife.

November 20, 2010

The Imminent Invasion

Last year was my first year to live in an old house. I really like old houses, they have such character and charm, and last year I learned a lot about the quirks that go along with old houses. I also learned a little bit about zoology. Apparently, lady bugs do not like cold weather. I really don't like cold weather either, so I can't blame them. But instead of building their own home, they decided to invade mine. Hoards and legions and swarms of them. Every nook and cranny I would find them huddled up to keep warm. Killing them doesn't work well, because they stink when they die. I finally just started vacuuming them up.

This winter we live in an old house again too. And as the weather turns cooler, here they are again.

November 16, 2010

Christmas Preparations

So this will be Super-Hubby and I's second Christmas married, and we have decided to attempt Christmas cards. It's always fun to take a nice pretty picture, and mail it out to all our friends and family. But alas! They are so expensive! Thankfully Shutterfly has a great deal going - blog about them, and get 50 free holiday cards (If you're interested, check it out here: http://bit.ly/sfly2010). I've done other promotions for Shutterfly, and they're great! We got a nice picture collage for FREE when we got engaged. So I thought I'd try this out. And to see any of their holiday cards check it out here:
I really like this one, but now we just have to agree on one. Woohoo, won't that be fun. I can't wait to send them out. 
And now, we just have to get a Christmas tree, decorations...oh and gifts. Yay for shopping season!

November 10, 2010

Escapades

It's been a while, and I've been super busy!

Halloween was a blast. I finished our costumes on time, and we were decked out for the Belhaven RUF Halloween party.
Ben really wanted my mug and whatever nefarious substance was within

It was a grand ol' pirate party!
Even little Colby got a matching outfit

I was pretty burnt out on sewing after the Halloween rush, but now I'm ready to dive back in. So last night I took this old dress in my closet and turned it into a pencil skirt. Too bad I didn't take a before picture, but here's an after. 





















It's a lovely wrap-around skirt with two rows of buttons down the front. I am so proud of this! It's the first thing I've made that I will actually wear out in public. Ok, I didn't actually make it completely since I just cut up a dress, but I managed not to ruin it so that's good. Can you see where I forgot to sew on a button? Realized that as I was wearing the skirt at work today. Oops!

Besides that right now it's that time of year...holidays, food, presents, and MY BIRTHDAY! Twenty-four years old. Wow, I don't feel like I have the knowledge or wisdom a twenty-four-year-old should have...I guess I'll probably always feel younger than I am though. But I can't wait to celebrate with Super-Hubby and friends!

And the dress that I claimed was almost finished a while ago is still almost finished...maybe it will get finished one day...

But for now I'm off to cuddle in my cozy sweater in front of the heater.