Seattle, here we come

We're taking a little trip to Seattle, leaving in a few hours. It'll be another new state for me. My husband pointed out that in all of Piglets 2 years of life, she's been to almost the same number of states as I have in the 31 years I've been around.

I actually didn't do a lot of research but some of the places I want to check out in Seattle...

Daiso
Seattle aquarium [My husband and I just love aquariums. We even thought about getting married here.]
The museum of flight
Pacific science center
Woodland park zoo
Pike place market seems like a must
Touristy stuff
International district and Uwajimaya I'm sure it's much better than the one in Portland
Click! Design That Fits
Bumbershoot festival
Dahlia bakery
Olympic sculpture park
Seafood
University district

4 days enough for all this? We may have to schedule another trip... Have a great weekend!

Ikea love

We spent all morning at Ikea and it was just the thing we needed. I had my husband with me which meant I didn't have to carry Piglet once she got bored of the shopping cart. And I could buy heavy, bulky items. Of course, we felt like our house could use everything there. We did some damage but didn't splurge on anything we hadn't planned on buying. I never quite appreciated Ikea's family friendly atmosphere until today. It's all in the details, like the little buckle seats in the bathroom stalls [Piglet always touches the feminine napkin disposal thing- ewww!] and little sinks. It was also the first time we ate there. The food is decent and you can't beat the kid-friendliness in the dining area. I will definitely make it an occasional outing because the set up is just so good. And I can't wait until Piglet can play in the kids area. Right now she's too short. That would be heaven. For me.

I was hoping to get some fabrics but didn't see any that I loved and there was no one at the cutting table. But I did pick up these cute textiles from the children's section.




Beautiful jars. And only $6 each!




Love the little dots on these vases.




Of course we didn't forget about Piglet. She loves painting on this easel with her new apron on!



Also got this bedding set for the master bedroom. It could use some color...


And this for my office, which is in some serious need for a little organization.

My first sewing projects

I did it! I actually used my sewing machine [thanks to the instructional DVD!] and made something. So giddy at the fact that now I can make anything I want.... well, with lots of practice.

Anyway, I looked for the quickest, easiest thing to make in this book- coasters! And I made them simpler by opting not to incorporate the binding. I'm not crazy about this fabric combo but I didn't have much to work with and also didn't want to cut into my "nice" fabrics just yet. They're not perfect, but who cares? Well, I do, but I'm right now I'm just happy that they turned out decent.



I received a lovely package of fabrics from my sister. [Thanks again, Sarah!]



I love these prints and instantly knew I wanted to make a little smock/apron for Piglet. She's into painting these days. The fabrics are intended for outdoors so I thought they'd work well. The pattern is from the same book but I didn't make the front pocket. Might still add that. I had a harder time with this [the zig zag stitch on a 1/8" bias trim is like walking on a balance beam] and it's not so pretty close up, but I definitely can do this better. I think I'll go make another one. Oh, this is too fun!

The gutter ball dance

We're busy playing this week. Some photos from bowling... Piglet loves it, especially when there's a gutter ball. She rolls the ball with daddy and then exclaims, "That one went inside the gutter!" And does the crazy gutter ball dance! My husband and I each got scores around 50 playing with her but it was worth it!

Weekend recap

This week/weekend just flew by. We had a full house here, family visiting on a short notice. I don't really even know what I did the past few days. I know this week will be a fun one though because it's my husband's one week off before he starts his new job. We have all week to play and then we'll be making a trip up to Seattle over the Labor day weekend. I've never been to Seattle so I can't wait! Been gathering info on where to shop and eat. Thankfully I found a this timely post.

One thing I have been doing the past few days is poring over this book. So many beautiful projects and I think it is perfect for me, a beginner. I'm waiting for my fabric orders to come in and I can't wait to start sewing. A little nervous, but how bad could it be, right?



So I'm surprised that I've stuck with low-carbs eating so far. I am craving pasteries though... and I'm going here tomorrow with a friend. Why do I do this to myself? Must be strong... The good news is I've lost about 4 pounds in 10 days. Yay- that is motivation! Must be strong... must be strong... for a few more days until I can start eating at least some fruit!

Roll, baby, roll

Piglet has been enjoying her gymnastics classes this summer. She loves to walk on the balance beam and swing/hang from the bars. So I Tivo'd this years national championships and showed it to her. The result? She went crazy and started doing little forward rolls all over the house, complete with the final pose. Here let me show you one! [Excuse the messy hair, she had been rolling around a lot.]

















This was the first time trying out the sports mode on my camera. Must say I'm impressed...

Weekend recap

It's raining here, bleh. It's really the humidity that kills me. At least we had a beautiful weekend...



Saturday morning we hit the zoo instead of the usual farmers market because we haven't been taking advantage of our memberships lately. I'm not sure if Piglet likes the zoo. She spent most of her time blankly staring at all the exhibits until we hit this, the water spout. This was the highlight of the zoo for her and we must've stood there for about 20 minutes. Oh well, guess we'll keep trying... By the way, I love these pink cargo pants on Piglet!



We usually eat out at least 3 meals over the weekend but were good this weekend. Might have something to do with the fact that I started a low-carb diet Friday [it's going well, thank you!]. We did visit our favorite casual Japanese restaurant where Piglet learned to drink miso soup the proper way! My new low-carb favorite: grilled kimchi and pork with tofu- YUM! I'll be making it at home this week.



I've been accumulating Hello Kitty things, mostly from Target $1 bins. Piglet's getting into Hello Kitty. Yay for something girly! The newest find? Hello Kitty macaroni! Yeah, I paid 3 bucks for a handful of macaroni... but they were too cute!



Then I wanted to make something super girly inspired by Hello Kitty. Actually I've had this in mind for a while and finally took the time to make it. What do you think? I like it and it holds up well. I'll be adding a few to the shop this week, I think.


I'm running downstairs to enjoy this before Piglet's up from her nap!

Remembering...

My father... who passed away 10 years ago today. So much has changed since... Now I have a family of my own. So grateful for all the love around me...

Seeing Piglet grow warms my heart and saddens me at the same time that I'll never get this moment in time again. She is growing too fast, getting more fearless every day. There are moments when I just about have a heart attack watching her play. Maybe because she's always played cautiously.

Playing at the mall play area today...



Oh, don't worry, she didn't fall.

Slowly catching up

I've been trying to take things easy... It's just scary how fast this summer is going by and all I want to do is enjoy a little family time before Piglet starts preschool [just once a week] and husband starts his new job next month.

The shop is going through an update as I mentioned. It mainly has to do with replacing all the current photographs. Then I'll just be making minor adjustments before I upload the new stuff. Here's a preview:



I love turning fabric covered button into little hair ponies. They're so playful and functional. I'm all about practicality. I also had fun turning felt flowers into hair ponies. I have more ideas in my head that will hopefully materialize soon. All the items will be available in the shop by the end of the week.

I'm always looking for fabrics to work with. Last weekend I was going through Piglet's clothes and found 2 pairs of pants that never got worn. Now they're too small for her so what did I do? I cut them up! Not the most economical thing to do but I liked the patterns. Of course now I wish Piglet could wear the ponies with the pants. That'd be cute...



I don't know, I seem to have a much easier time finding cute prints in a children's clothing store than in a fabric store. Maybe I'm just not that imaginative...

I'll leave you with a photo of Piglet showing off her "rainbow." One of her favorite activities is mixing colors. Food coloring + clear cups + water = FUN! She makes various combinations of colors but always ends with the "rainbow."

Weekend update

My husband is leaving his job of 11 years. Wow, that's a long time but I think he is ready and happy about the change. To celebrate, we had lots of fun activities planned for the weekend. And what happens? Piglet wakes up with a cold on Saturday morning. So we took it easy for a few days. We did manage a quick trip into the city for the PDX Etsy show. I really wanted this lovely mobile [not just for a baby's room anymore, yes?] but resisted. So many lovely Etsians in Portland.... The farmer's market was busier than ever so I'm sure they got great traffic at the show. We then sampled as much food as we can in an hour at The Bite of Oregon. The paella from this caterer was my favorite. We were planning on checking out the Oregon international air show too but didn't make it... next year, maybe.

Sunday we picked up a beach tent for our upcoming trip to Hawaii next month. It is huge and set up in our empty dining room right now. Piglet loves tents but this is more like a room for her. Ended the night with this movie which was rather pretty bad. And I usually like anything chick flick-y.

This morning I picked up a sewing machine from Costco. Woo hoo! I had a $35 off coupon so I just went for it. I'm convinced that the longer you stay there to browse the more money you end up spending. This frequently happens to me at Target also. Things I don't really need made their way into the shopping cart.



A little conversation with Piglet over lunch:

Me: What kind of food do you like, Piglet? I like spicy food.
Piglet: I like yummy food!
Me: Oh yummy food, like what?
Piglet: Apple pie and lemonade!

I've been tagged

by georganne

Here's my 6 weird things ::

1. I usually read magazines from back to front.
2. I love spicy foods. I used to put Tabasco on everything but now that I have Piglet, my cooking is much milder. I'm sure once she grows up my food will get more spicy again.
3. Speaking of cooking, I either love doing it or hate it. No middle ground for me. I'll cook up a storm for a few days in a row and then stop completely for the next couple of days. Good thing my husband can cook.
4. I hate the color purple. And of course, it is Piglet's favorite color...
5. I'm a fan of figure skating [watching, not doing it myself].
6. I had a really easy pregnancy and delivery with Piglet. In fact, right after I gave birth I said "I can do that again tomorrow!" [I shouldn't really write this because now we're planning for #2, and it's gonna come back to bite me.]

Now my turn to tag....

Runaway quilter

Paulette

Painted for you

The stitching barn

Topknots

Wrapsberry

Can't wait to read their 6 weird things!

New logo for Sweet Fuzzies

Brand new logo designed by my sister- LOVE it! Reminiscent of little sweet treats...



It's a little quiet this week as I'm working to make the shop "prettier". New photos for the shop, business cards, packaging materials are all in the works. I'm also excited to expand my offerings beyond hair clips. Updates coming soon. Hopefully by the weekend!

Eeemo Love

Trying to wind down from a busy but very fun weekend. My sister was a big hit with Piglet. There were many times she wanted her over me which has never really happened with anyone but is totally cool with me. Piglet spend all weekend saying "eee-mo" which means auntie in Korean. By the way, Piglet picked out this purple shirt all on her own. We were at Old Navy recently and I was looking at something for a minute. When I turned around, I saw her wearing this shirt in the shopping cart. Yup, she had picked it up, put it on [I wasn't even aware that she was capable of putting on a shirt by herself], and was admiring it. I thought it was funny and tried to take it off but she would not let it go! Good thing it was only $3. I'm not crazy about the print but she loves this shirt!



Anyway, back to the recap. Each day was packed with activities, cooking, shopping, eating, and a little crafting but I only remembered to take photos the first day...oops. This is one of the reasons I started a blog for... so that I can remember to photograph our everyday life to look back on later.


Fresh picked peaches




A beautiful little treat eemo whipped up. Waffle stick topped with Cool Whip, raspberry, mango cube, and marionberry. Love this idea for parties or kids. Toppings can vary sweet or savory.




Eemo's very berry trifle [yummy strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries all tucked inside]



Other highlights include the Woodburn company stores, Cannon beach, a couple of favorite restaurants, Sip & Kranz [we love Stumptown coffee], Zupan's market, Ikea. Not too bad for 3 days.

I'm drooling over...

Something to cheer up my white white office. This is not your ordinary tape dispenser people, it's also a USB hub! So cool. I'm not a gadget freak like my husband, but I want one of these. Cute colors too.



Maybe it's not so obvious yet, but I LOVE felt. I'm constantly wondering what everyday items can be made with felt. I love this cherry blossoms felt cake. The cake base and the little decorations are all made from felt so they stick. Endless hours of fun for your little chef, I tell ya. I've been seeing a lot of play foods made from felt, but this one takes the cake. LOL.



Reversible bustle skirt. Not exactly sure how it works but I love the apron-like top layer and all the ruffles underneath.



Another gorgeous apron dress.



And another bustle dress... I wish they made this one in my size. Then again, it may not be so flattering for my big butt. In any case, ack, this whole store is just drool-worthy.


All this bustle talk reminds me of my wedding dress. Oh how I miss you, my bustle dress....

My imaginative child

I mentioned the laundry basket as one of Piglet's favorite toys. And here's another household item that she just loves- the step stool. There's the more obvious ways to use it... climb and "cook" on the kitchen counter or turn it into a little tent by putting a blanket over the whole thing. Then Piglet thought of another thing it can be turned into- an easel! Pretty brilliant if you ask me! I was pleasantly surprised at how imaginative she was with this one. Seriously, I'm need to stop buying toys for Piglet...




Piglet's gotten quite good at feeding herself [with no mess]. Here's a picture of her eating with a grain of rice stuck on her nose. I didn' tell her or wipe it off because I thought it was so cute. Then she felt that something was on her nose, wiped it off, and said "oh dear, oh dear, oh dear." Where do they learn this stuff??