The Days are Just Packed

when i was growing up i couldn't get enough of Calvin and Hobbes books. i had every one and read them cover to cover. The Days are Just Packed has a picture of Calvin and, his trusty tiger sidekick, Hobbes hanging out on a tree limb just lazing the day away.....

waiting to drop a water balloon on an unsuspecting "slimey gross girl" no doubt! even though zoe is a girl i have a feeling she's going to be a lot like this little character. michevious, a dare devil, easy to love, smart and creative.

see what i mean?

she's already got her sidekick too!

right now, my 'days are just packed'. unfortunately, waterballoons and tree climbing aren't involved, but a really cute, mischevious, dare devil is. we are getting back into the swing of things around here now that summer's over and i felt that i needed a boost to make sure my creative fire doesn't burn out. what's a girl to do in this situation? shop of course! but not to worry, it was for a new book!

i picked up a new sewing book.

Weekend Sewing, By Heather Ross

i was considering Amy Butler's Little Stitches, but decided on this, since i really need to learn how to do some sewing for myself and friends without kiddos!

i'm reading it right now and hope to have this cute little kimono top done for two very special babies by this weekend!

bedside

*Oh! just for good measure... here's a little something that is going in the shop.

a one of a kind tunic dress made from vintage fabric

(size 12-18months)

Perfect for transitioning to fall!

Just when you start to think you're old...

you're reminded in some way, that you're not.

so, i've been thinking a lot lately about my responsibility level. it's increased quite a bit over the past few years. with the obvious addition of a child, home and an occupation where putty minds are mine to mold. sometimes i get overwhelmed with it all. i want to escape. hop on a plane, go somewhere... anywhere. no matter the cost, the losses, the bridges burned. i just. want. to. go.

but then i think hard. i think about what i've got and how much more i have than many. and i feel ashamed. ashamed that i would be so selfish to think that what i have isn't good enough, isn't enough. and i take a deep breath and look around and make things right in my mind again. take on the responsibilities and smile that i am fortunate enough to have them.

tonight though, i was given a glimpse of how NOT old i am despite my growing list of bills.

i'm a "boarder". since i was 12 i've skateboarded, surfed and snowboarded. never consistently, but enough to make me feel part of the culture. being involved in the three has waned over the years and i always hate the fact that i don't do any of the three on more of a daily basis. it makes me feel old.

i took a trip up to the local 7-11 for a treat after dinner, mike usually goes but begged me to since he was hanging in his birthday suit (insert me rolling my eyes here). when i pulled up there were three young guys slugging juices in front of the store shoving longboards back and forth under foot. it gave me a quick glimpse of what my life used to be. although, i would have been the only girl in this pack in most cases. they, of course, had to say something to me as i got out of our brand new truck that was recently a victim of a hit and run parking lot jerk. something about how, i "must not have seen that pole! came out of nowhere, eh!?" ha. ha. real funny guys. and as i went in i felt all bitter, 'stupid young assholes', i thought.

as i came out, one of them asked if i had "ever seen a long board?". while my first instinct was to punch him, i decided instead to show him. i proceeded to hop on one of the boards at their feet and cruise smoothly down the path ahead. made a few nice turns in the parking lot and kicked the board back to them. daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaymmmmmmmmmmmn. was all i heard. then a few requests for me to join them.

sorry boys. another time.

gotta go home to my babes.

The Color of the Day is: RED

i finished my first quilt a few days ago. now before you go saying, "wow, a quilt! that's great", let me remind you that i am a novice when it comes to this stuff so it came out a little wonky. not perfectly square, not perfectly stitched, but it works. and i think it looks pretty! so i guess that's all that matters.

.first quilt: play mat.

i made it for a friend of mine that is due in november. they aren't finding out what they are having until the big day, so i tried to keep the palate relatively gender neutral. red and orange seemed to be good colors for the base. throwing in some yellow stipe squares and liberty print for good measure.

.the purple ovals are super soft fleece, perfect for tummy time!.

and then after work today i just had to stop at a nearby thrift store. and low and behold if i didn't find the cutest London Fog kids' windbreaker! and even better was the hanger it was hanging on! a vintage yellow plastic 'circus' hanger, which i had to beg the cashier for. it's way too big for zoe and although i could save it for when she gets a bit bigger i may list it in the shop once i get it up and running.

.london calling.

so, as you can see children the color of the day is: RED!

.Things I loved twice today.

.darling dexter..girls gone child. .sparkle power.

.ashleyann photography.

.etsy.

So, Sewing...

right. about that. well here is what i did this evening: cut out 3 changing mats and made a pair of light cotton pants, perfect for romping around the house! i only worked for about an hour and a half so that was pretty good. i'm getting better, more efficient, the more i practice.

in the next week i hope to make the following:
*12 bloomers
*3 changing mats
*3 dresses
*3 pairs of pants
*1 coat (thats almost finished)

i promise to post pictures too. i know blogs are boring without visuals. just imagine all of the things i listed.... you see! they're awesome aren't they?

Case of the Mondays

sleep is a wonderful thing. when you get enough you feel basically like you can do just about anything. i rarely get enough sleep. and am sure it has to do with poor diet, caffeine, staying up WAY too late reading hundreds of blogs.

starting work makes me realize how badly i need to get to bed earlier. when the alarm went off at 5:25am this morning it felt like someone was hitting me in the head with a book. you ever get that feeling? when you are physically in pain from waking up when you're not ready?

zoe was on a nice summer sleep schedule as well. going to bed at 7:30/8pm and getting up at 7:30am. so when i went in to get her out of the crib this morning and change her diaper she kept rubbing her eyes and snuggling with her stuffed zebra. cute stuff for sure, but i felt bad waking her up so early!

i of course went back to sleep after mike and zoe got out the door and low and behold if i didn't sleep too long! scrambling out the door at 7:50 (have to be at work at 8!) i thought to myself, "looks like somebody's got a case of the mondays...".

Stokked?

i've got one of those fancy schmancy stokke high chairs (three baby showers and a couple of gift certificates later...) that allows you to adjust the height of the seat as your baby grows. i just noticed this evening that zoe's chair could probably use some adjusting and it made me a little wistful. i also received an email from babycenter.com telling me how old my kid is, in case i forgot she was 15 months today, and what she should be doing or not doing at this point in her life.

long gone are the days of imagining my growing baby as a snap pea or rutabaga (i kid you not). the days of feeding every hour on the hour or half hour for that matter! don't get me wrong, i love watching her grow and get all proud and motherly when someone compliments me about how "big" she's gotten! it's just tough man.

i consider myself lucky that in my profession i get to test the waters of stay-at-home-motherhood. and believe me it's way harder than one might think, or at least i thought. i had these visions of waking up and getting all dressed up with her, taking her for coffee/breakfast, going to the park library, coming home for her nap, sewing while she slept, afternoon snack... you get the point! just bliss, right? there were definitely days like that, but most of the days were made up of groggy mornings, too-hot-to-walk-outsideness, laundry, dishes, crying, nap time, snack, Word World, lazy-couch-time and shit-i-haven't-created-anything meaningful today!

oddly, when i go back to work i feel even more creative. i get a boost of the "can-dos" and let my creativeness go where it wants. so, am i "stoked" to be going back to work and sending my babe off into the care of someone else for the day? yes, because maybe it's the push i need to be more creative. and no, i miss my little zoe already.

3-2-1 LIFT OFF!

hello world!! it's me again, but in a new form. Love Me Twice Today is my new creative spot to start entertaining you with my creativity, designs and other things i love about life! hope you all enjoy...



here are a few snaps of things i'll be sharing:

.life.

.my creations.

.design love.

.my soon to be etsy wares.

.and many more things i can't get enough of!.

hope you enjoy.