Sep 1, 2010 | 94 Days of Summer
Day Seventy-three: A summer skirt or two.
Ok, it’s not for me, and technically I didn’t sew it. But I did supervise its construction. In fact, I supervised the construction of two, since Miss Faith also made a skirt along with her sister Miss Sara. And yes, I call them that. I have no idea why, I just do.
We picked out fabric and wouldn’t you know that the ONLY black jersey was some awful fake velvet that Miss Faith just Had. To. Have. Â (Oh don’t get me started on our local JoAnnes) Â And sometimes, you have to give in to the whims of a pre-teen, because she is nearly 13 and well, she wanted it. Who cares if it costs too much (for such terrible fabric) and who cares if you’ll spend the day cursing under your breath. The smile on a certain pre-teen’s face is worth the frustration.
So we sewed. All day. Other than cut the fabric (Yum, JERSEY FROM HADES) I made them do everything but the final pinning of Sara’s ruffle and pressing and pinning Faith’s hem. We used a pattern from Sew, Mama, Sew! and it’s just wonderful. Easy, straightforward, the perfect “pattern” for a new sewer. They both got a taste of success, which is necessary when you’re first learning. Right? You want to be able to sit down and actually make something.
I’d call it a successful first sewing lesson. And, you bet, I’m crossing off “Make Summer Skirt” off my list. Twice.
Aug 31, 2010 | 94 Days of Summer
Day Seventy-two: This might be worse than fabric.
Aug 30, 2010 | This Life
Day Seventy-one: Making candles with Sara and Faith
The girls (ages 10 and 12) up the street have been hanging out at my house every few days until school starts. Once that happens, I’m their new after-school hang-out spot. They’ve been itching to make candles since they first laid eyes on all my supplies. So, today we made birthday candles for their parents, both of whom have birthdays this week. I was skeptical at first, “What? You sure your dad would want a candle?” Eager nods and unison affirmations, “He lives for candles!”
It would be poor form to not make a candle for someone who lives for them! I warned them, “Candle making is really boring.” And I was right! They spent the afternoon bouncing from the kitchen to the Wii in the living room. Good thing I had back-up entertainment, eh?
Me? Well, watching wax cool is boring. But sitting with a cup of tea listening to siblings rival, well… that’s absolutely fascinating.
Aug 29, 2010 | 94 Days of Summer
Day Seventy: Still green
My little victory garden isn’t feeling too victorious. My plants have only a few tiny starts and those are still completely green. I’m beginning to think that short of a really hot September, we aren’t going to see homegrown tomatoes this year.
Aug 28, 2010 | This Life
Day Sixty-nine: When the Universe hands you a pumpkin blight, bake cherry pie.
Turns out, I did double the sugar. Sigh. One bite and I pitched both pies. It’s a waste, but it was simply inedible.
So, I woke up this morning convinced more than ever that TODAY I would make pumpkin pie! Off to the store I went, for a can of pumpkin only to discover an empty shelf at Safeway. Turns out, last year’s pumpkin crop caught a case of the blight and Safeway just barely had enough supply to last through the holiday season. They’ve been sold out since. Â Evidently, the Universe is trying to tell me something.
I’m not listening.
Since we skipped our annual cherry pie for the 4th of July (We ate chocolate cake to celebrate IZ and my SIL’s birthdays) I scooped up some cherry pie filling instead. You can blight the pumpkin crop, Dear Universe, but I’m still going to bake pie!
Aug 27, 2010 | 94 Days of Summer
Day Sixty-eight: Pumpkin pie with vampire test holes.
I’m not sure why, but I woke up today with the urge to make pumpkin pie. Do you ever have days like that? I do and they don’t usually come to much because the day typically gets away from me. But today I was determined. Good thing too, because while I might have been jonesing for pumpkin pie the Universe was having nothing to do with it.
First up was the realization that I needed evaporated milk. Which meant yet another trip to the grocery store. I have real issues with trekking across town for just one item, so wine and bread and cheese also made the list with one can of evaporated milk. No worries, just a little trip to the grocery store, I still have my pie making mojo! Upon returning home I set to work.
Now, my recipe is a double. So that means, unless you half it, you’re making two pies. I know this. I told myself this at the onset, “Self! Pay attention! You need to half everything*.”
I promptly measured out the all the spices and then looked at the sugar. “Half it!” And I did… good girl, Wende. Except, as I mixed it altogether, the color starts to tip me off. Homer Simpson moment, “D’oh!” I forgot to half the spices.
(more…)
Aug 26, 2010 | 94 Days of Summer
Day Sixty-seven: Spent the day with Faith and Sara making headbands.
Aug 25, 2010 | This Life
Real Girl. Real Dress. Real Brave.
It should come as no surprise that I’m a dress kind of girl. But it seems like the older I get (read: hello turning 40 and poof, waistline!) the harder it is to find a dress that is both flattering and, dare I suggest it, “age appropriate”. I know, I know, that’s completely open to interpretation. Trust me, I’m pretty sure the entire world would agree with my choice to not put MY body into a 23″ dress with no sleeves. And even if you’re one of those people who can rock the barely clothed look, if you work in any kind of office or school you’ll still need a sweater. Forget modesty or social convention, air conditioning alone will drive you into the arms of something wooly.
Wouldn’t it be lovely to find a dress that had, let’s say, sleeves? A dress that was long enough  you didn’t broadcast your panty choice to the paparazzi upon getting out of your chauffeured limo? A dress that didn’t look like you shopped in your 13 year old’s closet?
Yeah, me too! So, you can imagine my utter glee when I was contacted by Shabby Apple and decided to take a look. I had a little apoplectic fit. Real Dresses. For Real Girls. Real Smart! My tonality aside, I was deeply impressed. Shabby Apple’s  take on women’s dresses made my heart absolutely melt.These are dresses that a girl like me can wear. More importantly, these are dresses that I can imagine wearing with my very real girl body. So, I went shopping!
(more…)
Aug 24, 2010 | 94 Days of Summer
Day Sixty-five: Deep Weeds
About a month ago I was contacted by a lovely company called Shabby Apple about doing a dress review. Now, you should know, Evidently gets contacted on a regular basis about advertising. Usually, it’s from companies or ad agencies that haven’t even bothered to read my blog. Because if they had, they would know that my readers probably aren’t interested in seeing ads for car parts and professional cook-ware on this blog.
My response to date, as you can tell from the dearth of ads here, is to pass on the offer. If the email sent is relatively non-spammy, I draft a quick, “it’s me, not you” letter, otherwise I click “spam” and completely forget about it. But the email that came from Shabby Apple was different. First, it was clear from the email that the writer had spent at least a small amount of time on my blog. Flattery gets you everywhere, just sayin’. It was a nice enough note that I actually stopped to consider the offer. Second, Evidently readers like dresses. You even wear them and talk about them on your blogs! I’m sensing kismet! (more…)
Aug 23, 2010 | 94 Days of Summer
Day Sixty-four: School Supply Crack. Environmentally friendly crack no less.
