It’s my mom’s birthday today! Happy birthday to a great mom!
More Background On The Skirt Obsession
Another reason I’m suddenly into skirts, as stated yesterday, deserved its own post: I’ve started watching the TV show Glee. A sewing blog I read linked to another blog devoted entirely to one Glee character’s outfits, which were mostly cardigans and skirts. Without having seen the show, I started following the outfit blog for some fashion inspiration.
Fortunately, my friend Kara found out that I had never actually seen Glee and she loaned me her DVDs of the first part of season one–which I watched in a week. Guys, I love Glee! There’s music! Unpopular kids! Insecurity! Drama club! Gay teens! I LIVED this in high school. And I can finally think about it and not cringe.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Pencil Skirt #1
Hooray, a project that fits and has big pink flowers on it!
(Toby wanted me to get him and his heater in the picture.)
This is one of my new favorite patterns: It fits, there are no fussy details (Cynthia Rowley, I’m looking at you), and I can make it in about 3 hours. In fact, I’m working on a second skirt from this same pattern this week and have a third one planned out, too.
After being more pro-dress than pro-skirt for the last couple of years, I’m really into skirts suddenly. I think that’s because I realized that skirts give you far more options for wildly mixing colors and patterns.
Today’s Quote
…is by Galileo. Yay science!
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason and intellect has intended us to forego their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them. He would not require us to deny sense and reason in physical matters which are set before our eyes and minds by direct experience or necessary demonstrations.
Friday Unrelated Information
1. I know why so many writers are alcoholics. It’s been so busy lately that I’ve had a hard time shutting my brain down at night. I have also discovered the Negroni. Coincidence? If it stays busy, before you know it I’ll move on to pink gin and then probably just a straw.
2. Do you need a panflute? Find out below.
Happy Birthday, Barbara Kingsolver
I have liked everything from her that I’ve read. Maybe instead of reading Dune for the nth time again, I should go to the library in her honor and get one of the short story collections I haven’t read.
Quarterly Report: 30 Things
It’s been three months since I put up my list for this year, so I thought I’d report on it. Seven things are done or going well, I’ve already had to modify a couple other, and the rest are pending. Commentary on successes, modifications, and challenges below:
1. Put the money that I was using to pay off debt into savings for a down payment on some sort of house, townhouse, or condo.
Yes, I am doing this every month–Toby needs a yard to play in. I’d like to start channeling some extra money in there in addition to the main savings.
3. Stop buying non-essentials (ready-made clothes, really expensive fabric, shoes, magazines, etc.) for three months (months TBD)
I’m cutting this back to a month at a time with the option to extend it to the full 3 if I can get back into the frugal habit. (I think that May and June will be the months–I want to start after I get my tax return, which is getting spent on things like vacuums and desk chairs and end tables.)
6. Buy a living room chair–armless, small-ish, but comfy. This will help with seating to accomplish #22.
Done!
7. Sew new pillow covers for the living room.
Done!
8. Buy a vacuum.
As soon as I get my tax return.
9. Refresh my yoga skills and then…
10. Start doing yoga once or twice a week.
I’m going to try to get to the intro class this month, then get into the habit of an evening class in May.
13. November-March, walk or ride to work at least twice a month. April-September, up it to at least four times a month.
I get a resounding FAIL on walking from November to March–I think it only happened once. And my 4 times/month goal in April isn’t going to happen, but I will try to ride at least once. Fortunately, I have a bike buddy who works across the street from me to get me going.
14. Eat at one new restaurant a month–any meal, but it has to be somewhere I haven’t been before.
So far, so good! Between Vegas and fun work lunches with my bike buddy, I’m doing just fine. And I’m counting the bar at Bambara as a restaurant for this month.
18. Stop biting my fingernails (I mean it this year).
Really, how hard should this be? It’s not so much the nail as the skin around the nail that I destroy, and the more stressed I get the more that happens. Maybe I will try a manicure next week.
19. Wear more colors of lipstick than “pink” and “darker pink.”
Um, not only have I not been wearing new colors, I’ve pretty much stopped re-applying it after all the morning coffee at work.
20. Find a perfume I want to wear regularly.
Samples of some classic Guerlain and a new Chanel scent are on their way!
21. Stock and maintain a home bar and keep it stocked. No drinking it up and not replacing it. TAX RETURN = BOOZE. Hooray!
22. Have more people over to the apartment–not huge parties, but a few people for dinner, or drinks before a restaurant, etc.
Yes! Between a wine class (see below) and the three attempts to see Sherlock Holmes, Toby has had lots of after-work visitors.
23. Learn more about wine.
I learned about value wines of Italy in January and that was really fun. I really want to take one of the classes on French wine later this year.
with my list of 30 Things:
- Put the money that I was using to pay off debt into savings for a down payment on some sort of house, townhouse, or condo. Yes! As hard as I am on myself for buying non-essentials (and I buy a lot of them), I am meeting this goal.
- Learn about real estate and home buying through the Utah State Extension classes. Soon. At the halfway mark for savings, I will start online learning.
- Stop buying non-essentials (ready-made clothes, really expensive fabric, shoes, magazines, etc.) for three months (months TBD)
I think that May and June will be the months…I’m cutting it back to 2 months with the option to extend it to 3 if I can get back into the frugal habit. I’m also starting after I get my tax return, which is so getting spent. - Buy that Eames desk chair. I’ll use the money I’ll be saving from not buying any non-essentials.
- Buy that damn garbage can already
- Buy a living room chair–armless, small-ish, but comfy. This will help with seating to accomplish #22. Done!
- Sew new pillow covers for the living room. Done!
- Buy a vacuum. As soon as I get my tax return.
- Refresh my yoga skills and then…
- Start doing yoga once or twice a week. May is the month for yoga.
- Get recycling at the apartment. I haven’t had it for three years and I’m tired of feeling guilty every time I throw away some junk mail.
- Similarly, bring in some actual flatware for the breakroom at work to cut down on waste
- November-March, walk or ride to work at least twice a month. April-September, up it to at least four times a month. Resounding FAIL on November to March walking. I will try to ride at least once in April with my craft friend and bike buddy Kara, who fortunately works across the street from me.
- Eat at one new restaurant a month–any meal, but it has to be somewhere I haven’t been before. Yes! Between Vegas and fun work lunches, I’m doing well. I highly recommend Diego’s in the MGM Grand and J. Wong’s Asian Bistro on 300 South.
- Eat at Red Iguana
- Go to Bonneville Speed Week
- Go to a roller derby game
- Stop biting my fingernails (I mean it this year). Really, how hard should this be? Still not happening, though.
- Wear more colors of lipstick than “pink” and “darker pink.” Not only have I not been wearing new colors, I’ve pretty much stopped re-applying it after all the morning coffee.
- Find a perfume I want to wear regularly. Samples of some classic Guerlain and a new Chanel scent are on their way!
- Stock and maintain a home bar and keep it stocked. No drinking it up and not replacing it. TAX RETURN = BOOZE. Hooray!
- Have more people over to the apartment–not huge parties, but a few people for dinner, or drinks before a restaurant, etc. Yes! Between a wine class (see below) and THREE SEPARATE ATTEMPTS to see SHerlock Holmes, Toby has had lots of visitors.
- Learn more about wine. I learned about value wines of Italy in January. I really want to take one of the classes on French wine.
- Learn and retain the difference between whisk(e)y, bourbon, and scotch
- Learn and retain the difference between brandy and cognac
- Get my eyes checked again, update my prescription, and start wearing glasses in front of the computer.
- Find a dermatologist to look at a couple of moles, if only so I can stop worrying about skin cancer
- Learn how to can fruits, veggies, or jam
- Get a better camera
- Go to Moab and/or Zion
Tuesday Project Roundup: Not Easy, Green, Etc.
I can’t say this is my favorite project ever, but at least it’s wearable:
It’s another Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity pattern, but I have to complain that the fit is really inconsistent from pattern to pattern: Cutting the same size in all three, the yellow dress was way too big in the bust, this tank from last year was also a little loose, but this tunic ended up really snug in places.
Unfortunately, it’s easier to take something in than to add fabric that you’ve already cut off*, so even though I planned this as a dress it ended up as a tunic. (I, ah, probably need to start walking more and stop eating lemon bars for breakfast, too.)
But it’s wearable, and it’s done, and I do like this part of the pattern a lot–that decorative piece around the slit has a backing of sky blue, for just a little contrast:
*Say it with me now: MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE!
Probably Wrong, But Funny
(Click for big. Not as wrong–or as funny–as this, though.)