It was a quick trip to the nursery because Ben had to pick up nematodes for the garden, and of course, I left with another house plant. This time it’s a variegated rubber plant; the leaves had me at hello.

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

I’ve been thinking a lot about friendships this week and how some evolve and change. I’ve had my share of dumb and not so dumb fights with friends. I think there’s something special about the friendships you can be honest with, and even at times, fight and still end up friends after. Good friends are treasures, so treat them as such.

Ben’s mom is in town and we are all loving it! We are totally being spoiled by her presence. Oh Texas, why do you have to be so far?! 

I’m a gift card hoarder. When someone gives me a gift card, I save it for as long as possible and make sure whatever I spend it on is worth it. With that, I’ve had this Madewell gift card for a couple years now, and lately I’ve been debating if I should spend it on this embroidered denim dress. Just not sure. I’m always iffy on buying a new dress because I sew, but this embroidery might warrant it being bought. I just showed Ben though and he was all, “It looks like one you just sewed.” So it looks like I’ll wait until a shoe I love comes around.

I can’t wait until our espalier trees look like this.

Excited to be #3 Amazon hot releases for family activity!

School is almost over. I know homeschooling is different, but still, I’m excited for summer!

I love following Erin Loechner’s instagram. Makes me excited for our Singapore trip!

Weekend’s here, game 6 between the Thunder and Spurs starts at 5:30pm today (#gospursgo), and the book party is tonight! The weekend’s gonna be good and busy!!!

These are the goodies for tomorrow’s book launch party for Let’s Sew Together and I think everything is pretty sweet! The glitter tote from Hello Apparel and gold pillar earrings from Lisa Leonard, an accessory (either a necklace or earrings) from Burdees, a necklace making kit from Treehouse Kid & Craft, fabric bundles from Ann Kelle. and fabric markers and other kid craft things from Oriental Trading Company (and not pictured will be a handmade bar of soap from SQ Apothecary). Some things vary slightly from bag to bag, but I think you get the gist of how awesome everything is. We are celebrating the book after all, so bring your book or purchase one there and go home with one of these great gift bags (only while supplies last!). There will be a limited number of copies at the party for purchase (20 to be exact), so come early to snag one, or, if you’d prefer to play it safe, remember that you local Barnes & Noble now have them in stock, as does Amazon.  There will be cookies, music by Me & Mr. Cassidy, and lots of mingling, so I hope you’re able to come and join us! The girls are pretty excited about it, but I’m sure they’ll be super shy once Saturday comes, and I’ll be shy and chatty all rolled into one!

When: Saturday, May 31st, 5-7pm
Where: Oh, Hello Friend Shop
122 N. Harbor Blvd., #103
Fullerton, CA 92832

RSVP for the event here (no cost or ticket necessary, but just want to keep a mental note of how many people to expect) and if you want to order my book, you can do so here. Thank you for the support you’ve given already, it really means so much! xoxo

Rosy Posy Flower Felt Clip

Supplies:
Rosy Posy Flower Template
Various scraps of felt (acrylic or wool)
Scissors
Embroidery needle
Coordinating embroidery floss
Snap clips (I used 1″ ones, can find some here)

Directions:
1. Using the template, cut out all your flower pieces. It’s also easy to just go for it and cut without the template.

2. Layer all but one of the large flower pieces on top of each other (from largest to smallest), and with your needle and embroidery floss, hand sew on X on the center to join all the pieces together. Pull the thread taut and knot on the back of the flower, so that the felt will bunch up to give it the “flowery” effect.
3. Fold the leaves together, place the bottom half of one leaf sandwiched into the other, proceed to use a running stitch to stitch around the perimeter of both leaves.
4. Center your clip on the remaining flower felt piece (this the back piece of the flower), cut a tiny slit to put your snap clip through. Insert tongue of snap clip and snap clip close. Place bottom portion of the leaves on top, layer on flower, and then with a running stitch around the perimeter of the flower, join together the back felt piece and the main flower together. You could also use different types of clips with the flowers; French barrettes can easily be glued onto the back. The template attached is for a larger sized flower, but you can most certainly enlarge or shrink to make larger or smaller flowers. If you have a baby with not very much hair, instead of a clip, sandwich elastic where the snap clip would be.

Who’s been around since my etsy shop days and I used to sell these clips? See this listing so long ago with a baby True. I finally have a pattern for you and instructions, so now you can make your own.  I loved making and selling these flower clips (and my crowns and dolls), but once baby Soul and Glow got added into the family, there was no time to sew for shop purposes. My felt flowers and other felt creations, along with  sewing is what started this blog, and it’s been a completely fun and unexpected journey ever since.

I hope you have fun making these flowers. If you want to see other floral things I have been making lately, follow me on instagram (@cakiesblog) or just check #cakiesflowers. I’m also excited to be going to Singapore to share my love for felt floral making!

on true: shirt, molo kids (a few season ago). polkadot overalls (so cute!), target.

The two biggest girls are very helpful around the house. Soul, gets tired after like 2 minutes, and it’s mostly playing and complaining from her. She’s still only 4, so she still gets a pass once in awhile, but getting passes isn’t going to be an ongoing thing. She better not get used to it. I can see how oldest siblings can sometimes feel more pressured with responsibility than the rest. True’s my to-to gal in helping out, but I need to make sure as all the kids mature, that they all become my go-to gals. Brave’s pretty helpful too and they (True and Brave) have the same chores list to do around the house, but I think I just automatically ask True to do things more often because she’s the oldest.

I think I’ll need to work on being intentional to have the same expectations from Soul and Glow when they’re ready for it. I could see how babies of the family can be babied because they just seem younger than the older ones, and aren’t given the same expectations and same level of responsibility. Birth order (typically) plays a role in things, doesn’t it?

So for now, the big two work as the little two play. Yesterday evening, the girls and I had good conversations at the dinner table and then we (True, Brave, and I) worked together to clean-up. It was a calm evening of quick obedience and no fighting, and I’m thankful when those moments happen. True and Brave were singing as they were working and I left my camera on the counter on to catch them; they laughed and suddenly got shy when they discovered my secret filming.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! If you’re in Southern California (or happen to be here this weekend), come and celebrate with us at the book release party!!! Get more info on that here.

These were some images I snapped on my phone, but never shared on my instagram (@cakiesblog). Some of them I remember taking and some I don’t.

1. Don’t remember this sky picture, but the clouds must have made me happy.
2. This is my favorite one here. One afternoon, I found True and Brave sitting behind the curtain, working on their yarn weavings together, while they were waiting for Ben to come home. Those two sisters are so sweet together.
3. Pretty vintage bottles make a cute picture. What you don’t see is the toilet below it. #croppeditout
4. A morning in the garden and Glow reaching up. Love that baby hand!
5. Pretty trees from my trip to Arizona last month.

It’s a long weekend over here to remember all those who died (and served) serving in our armed forces. We will spend the day resting, playing, and probably gardening because that’s what happens on the weekends over here. We aren’t attending any barbecues, but we will be making langostino sopes again (my favorite!) and I will have a recipe to share with you guys soon.

Again, Brave goes for a red and blue outfit, but not necessarily for Memorial Day, but all for Spider-Man. I’d totally wear True and Glow’s outfit, and I actually thought about wearing a romper too, but decided if Glow and I were both wearing rompers at the same time, I’d feel like an overgrown baby. Way weird. Thus, I decided against it. I went for this vintage dress I scored on ebay years ago, but never wore. Totally lame, I know. I’ll be wearing it more for sure.

These girls of mine are silly hams, and you can totally see it in a a couple of these shots. I love their silliness! I’ll take their silliness over stubbornness any day.

Red, white, and blue,
Happy Memorial Day to you!

on me: dress, vintage. shoes, the splurge ones that I love so much (mentioned here). on true: peplum top, denim shorts, cowboy hat, c/o old navy. shoes, vans. on brave: peplum top, spider-man hat, denim capris, striped espadrilles, c/o old navy. on soul: shoulder bow sundress, c/o old navy. shoes, thrifted. on glow: star romper (perfect for 4th of July!), jelly sandals, c/o old navy.

This post is sponsored by Old Navy. I’m thankful for the support you give me and this space, and the sponsors I decide to partner with! xoxo