A couple things that I have been ruminating on from my quiet time in the mornings and reading from Colossians 2… abounding in thanksgiving and setting my mind on things above. Both things I fail at, but praise the Lord it’s not about what I do, but what Jesus did in my place. So while I fail, I can still strive for these things and experience grace in them because of Jesus and what He did.
I started making this linen jumpsuit at the end of July for a wedding, but I didn’t have time to finish it until a couple weeks ago. As a result, I never wore it to the wedding like I had planned (I wore this instead), though I was able to take it with me to the Michaels Makers Summit and wore it there. This is my first go at a jumpsuit and I’d like to make another, but with a couple tweaks on the sleeves. I used 5 pieces total, including the belt, and there are no zippers or buttons. I used this vintage jumpsuit and this denim one as a pattern guide. I made it where I could wear it without the belt, when I really want that loose look, or with the belt for more waist definition. In the pictures of me wearing it, it looks more blue, but the color is closer to the picture below.
Home sewn clothes are my favorite, along with thrifted ones, but I haven’t come across much at the thrift stores lately. I’ve thought about giving away all the girls’ clothes and working with them to sew a whole new wardrobe, but that’s probably not practical right now. Maybe as they start to outgrow things, we can sew all the new things, but they have so much that still fit them. True has really taken an interest in sewing and even sewed her own bag recently without any help from me. I’m sure she’d love a mini version of this jumpsuit as she loves to try dress like me (Soul does too).
During the Makers Summit, I was talking with Annabel about ways I could actually make patterns from the clothing I make and she had some pretty good suggestions. Some of you have asked for patterns in the past, and I’m not quite sure how to make that happen yet, but I am brainstorming ideas to see what can be done (not promising anything though).
We went camping with friends on Labor Day weekend and we had such a good time. While Ben and I both grew up camping (he went pretty much every summer), this is the first time we’ve taken our own family on a camping adventure. Our friends have this beautiful property a few hours away, so that was the special spot we got to experience our first camping trip. We were armed with a super large tent, a bucket for all our potty needs, sleeping bags, chairs, and cooler full of food. Thankfully, we were able to borrow all the gear from friends and family. Not knowing how it would go, or if we’d like it, we didn’t want to invest in things from the get go.
The weekend was spent hiking, eating, chatting, playing (we rode quads for the first time!), eating some more, and a whole lot of relaxing. In case you thought we were just eating cold cut sandwiches all weekend, we certainly were not. Our friends do this sort of gourmet camping and we stuffed ourselves with so much delicious food. I was inspired by how they got this camping thing down and do it in style. They are legit and they’re even building their own tiny house for weekends just like this when they want to go “off the grid.”
I was just in awe at the beauty that surrounded us, from the early morning sun peeking through the mountain and casting the most perfect golden light, to the bowl of stars shining brightly over our head at night. Clearly, nature was declaring God’s glory. The first night the girls looked up and said, “Mommy, the stars look fake.” On the second night, I spotted 3 shooting stars. THREE! These are things we miss out on due to all the light pollution out in suburbia.
The girls came home with treasures (rocks, sticks, and wildflowers) and a whole bunch of pictures captured on their Fuji Instax. Ben and I were so thankful to our friends for opening up their second home like that and allowing us to experience it. It was a such a magnificent weekend and I didn’t mind roughin’ it one bit. As long as I have my own bucket for our potty business, I am good to go. We’ve got one camping adventure under our belt, and I’m ready for another!
My littlest love turned five last week and we celebrated with a simple birthday party. Her requests were balloons, drawing party, and a scooter. Thus, it was a Friday night party in our bedroom. I made a poster and got an engineering print of it made at a local copy shop, picked up some multi-colored balloons from Michaels and taped them all around the bed (the packaging said nothing about mustache faces on them, but we rolled with it), and I made a little drawing book for her and her sisters. We had birthday cake, pizza, everyone drew in their little book, and we surprised her with a green scooter (green is her favorite color because of Yoda). Of course, her sisters had a bunch of homemade presents for her too.
Ever since last Easter, when we gave her this little drawing book, she has loved to draw. She will even tell you that that book is what got her to love drawing. I made my own version of it in Adobe Illustrator, and tried to imitate the style of the Bunny Doodle one, so she would make the connection. She was so giddy when we gave her the drawing book, and I made 3 more for her to give to her sisters too. They spent the evening drawing in that little doodle book and they are having fun with “32 Ways to Dress Glow.” I’ll share more of their drawings in the book soon.
We actually had the party a few days before her actual birthday because I was going to be out of town for the Michaels Makers Summit, but she was okay with it because she had two days to celebrate. Ben took all the girls out for an adventure on her birthday, and the breakfast he made for her was impressive (I’ll have to share soon!). I think Glow’s birthday dreams came true and this sweet celebration is exactly what our last five year old wanted. We love you Glow!
Ben and I have been watching Fear the Walking Dead, and while it’s filling the current void of The Walking Dead, there aren’t any characters we really like.
I’m in the mood to whip up pom poms to make a bag like this.
We are looking forward to a chill week and getting back into routine. Being gone last week, threw things off a little, so we have some making up to do.
I don’t really have an interest to stay at the Madonna Inn. I think it looks cool, kitschy, and whimsical, but I’d rather sleep somewhere simpler (I’m an all-white spaces type person). Although, I would like to take the girls to dine in their all pink dining room. I think the busyness of the hotel rooms stresses me out a bit, but I think it’s definitely worth it to walk around the premises. Alex Madonna was certainly a creative fellow and I appreciate his resourcefulness in how he built the hotel with all those big boulders from his construction work, and the quirkiness he infused throughout. I love how much that man loved pink; that dining room is Soul and True’s dreams come true. Also, that men’s restroom with the rock formation waterfall urinal is undoubtedly interesting.
Silly me, while roaming around the Madonna Inn, I decided to have some fun shooting on the pink and blue basketball court. It was one of those #weirdthingsthatbloggersdo moment. Plus, I had exhausted all the thrift shops, and didn’t find much, walked around downtown SLO, as well as peeked around the entirety of the Madonna Inn, so I had time to kill while Ben was at the conference.
The whole time I was there, I debated getting a slice of their pink champagne cake, but it was such a huge slice, and I didn’t think I could finish it, so I decided not to. I really wanted to get one (or two) of their goblets though, but decided against that too (found them cheaper on eBay!). I’m glad I passed on both because I came home with more indoor plants and a really pretty vintage bag I found at an antique shop.
on me: top, vintage hungarian blouse (vintage here, new there). denim skirt, vintage (vintage here, new there). basket, thrifted (similar here). sandal, gap (last year, similar here).
Last week has been special because Ben's mom and sister were in town (they haven't been here in a few years), so we were relishing our time together. There was a lot of special grandmama time with the girls, and a lot of sister bonding time between Ben's sister and me. We saw them in Texas this past Christmas, but it's been awhile since they've been on our turf, so we are having fun hosting and cooking them some of our favorite foods. If you know us, well, more the girls and me (not Ben), the first thing on the agenda was take them to our favorite ice cream place, A la Minute. His mom and sister agreed that their ice cream is pretty terrific and the best they both ever had. There wasn't much on our agenda during their stay except spend quality time together. We did have plans to go to the Lavender Festival, but Ben's mom and sister got sick the last two days, so we had to scrap that idea. Thankfully, the festival will be going on next weekend, so Ben and I are hoping we can still take the two little ones. It was a fast 5 days with them and we look forward to seeing them again in July when they come back to drop off the big girls.
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This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…
