HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

I hope everyone is having an awesomely blessed holiday season. I am so enjoying seeing family, and relaxing (yeah, right!). I'm excited to report that as of Dec. 24th, I've been a vegan for 1 whole year!!!

I'm hoping to do something different with this blog and how I post in the New Year. I'm feeling good about the coming year. What about you guys?

God Bless you all, and as always, stay sexy!!

See ya soon!

Kwik Sew 3155 Tracksuit

Ok....I like this, just not for me. I would have been happier if I would have found a poly/cotton blend of stretch velour but unfortunately I could only find the poly.

The color is fabulous and the fit is great. I made no alterations, which is unheard of for me usually. It turned out great, but I feel so old in this. It does nothing for me.

I do like the fact that the waist is elastic and drawstring. I also like that it ties on the side, because I hate when there's a lump from waist ties right in the front.

If you like this style I would say that you should definitely give this a try, but for me, it's too frumpy.

Ok...on a mission to continue sewing with only fabric I have in my stash. I have begun making the kid's teachers Xmas gifts. I will alternate a gift and then something on my own list. My daughter says that teachers have already begun putting little bugs in her ear about "your mommy made Mrs. So & So such an adorable bag last Xmas"....Uh, huh. They are lucky I appreciate them so much!!! LOL!

I'm also cleaning out all the drawers on my pattern organizer. I need to purge and organize.

Stay Sexy Ladies!

McCall's 5975 & Halloween Pics

I love this dress!!! Please excuse the paleness of my makeup. I use a lighter shade in the fall/winter because my skin usually gets much lighter, but apparently I still have a bit of a tan leftover from Summer. Didn't look this light in the mirror, I guess the camera flash reveals it all, huh? I've cleaned out my makeup container recently, so I'll be makeup shopping during the coming days. LOL. I'm going to be trying out Avon's line of mineral makeup. I need to find an inexpensive alternative to BareMinerals. I've heard of the Pur Minerals line and one other. Any suggestions?


*Bronx leather ankle boots ~ Nordstrom (about 2 yrs old now) Tights are from Target and the softest, stretchiest, most comfortable low waist tights I have ever bought. I will definitely go back for more.

Didn't feel like going to the gym today sooooo, I'm writing this in between commercial breaks during excercising ~ FitTv Allstar Workout. Love this workout.

This dress has a zippered back, which is abit unusual for a stretch pattern, but I love how it turned out. I can't wait to make the short sleeve and sleeveless versions. It seems that I should have tied my belt alittle looser. Ooops. I used a great feeling, very inexpensive jersey fabric that I got by luck from Walmart. I also did a blind hem on my machine which really gave this dress a wonderfully clean finished look.

Exercising over, now browsing channels and have come upon John & Kate Plus 8, so sad what has happened with that family.

Baked Mariachi Macaroni

Ingredients

2 Cups Uncooked Macaroni Noodles

1/2 Cup Sun Dried Tomatoes (1/2" Peices)

1 Cup Thawed Frozen Spinach (measure while still frozen)

1/2 Block of Silken Tofu

2 Tbsp Pine Nuts

1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Tsp Sea Salt

3/4 Cup Soy Milk

1 Tbsp Flour

1 Tsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tsp Onion Powder

1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1 Tsp Mexican Oregano

1/2 Grated OnionPaprika

Directions
Cook macaroni noodles until slightly under cooked and drain. Chop sun dried tomatoes into 1/2" pieces. Cook spinach and drain. Into blender place: tofu, pine nuts, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, soy milk, flour, sugar, oil, onion powder and garlic powder. Blend until smooth. Pour sauce from blender onto noodles and mix in the grated onion, crushed red pepper and oregano, sun dried tomatoes and spinach. Pour into 2 quart casserole dish and sprinkle top lightly with paprika. Bake in 400 degrees F oven for 45 to 50 minutes. After taking it out of the oven, let stand for 5 minutes before eating.Servings: 6Serving Size: 175 gramsNumber of Servings: 6
This was pretty yummy. Very filling.

Halloween was a blast for the kids. They enjoyed an afternoon with wonderful weather at the Elementary school for their little parade, and then the following day we went trick or treating. Briana wasn't completely satisfied with her costume. She waited to long to decide what she wanted to be. She settled on Hermoine from Harry Potter, but then we ended up only being able to find the cape. It didn't help that another little girl at her school and the Principal were the same thing with the complete fancy costumes. Bryce was thrilled being Mario.

Please keep me in your prayers. I'm trying to make sure I'm following the Lord's plan for my life. I'm considering going to grad school to get my Master's either as a Physician Assistant or a Teacher. These are two completely different paths, but I feel that I would be suited well for either. I have a Bachelor's in Journalism/Communications with a minor in Health Sciences. I started out in school as a Biology major, with plans to go to Medical School, but as a single mother at the time with two small children, the demands soon became to much.

My final consideration is to continue to try to start by own business by getting a product I've developed on store shelves. This takes money, which at the moment I don't have alot of disposable funds available. I'm sure the Lord will narrow the choices down for me and I'll be able to update you. Either way the sewing will continue.

Ok, shower will wait until I get back, off to pick up my son from 1/2 day pre-k. It seems like I just dropped him off and then turn around and pick him back up. He's only there from 8:30 - 11:10 am. Seriously???? Oh well, it's a great program and it's free so I can't complain too much. LOL

I'm Still Alive! McCall's 4707

Hi Everybody!!!! I've missed you guys! I have been sewing my butt off, baby stuff however. Just taking a break so I can make myself a few things.

My 8 year old performed on stage with the adult choir and for two services, singing and doing sign language. To adorable. You can't see her, I need a better camera, but she's there and was wonderful. She's growing up so fast and is such a wonderful child.

Do you guys remember when my husband brought that "little" pit bull puppy how that I was not too excited about......well, that was then at 2 months.....

and this is now....at 8.5 months. Wow, right! He is such a sweetheart too, loves everyone and we all adore him.

Finally, I'm on a mission to use up all the fabric I have on hand and only buy trim and notions as needed to complete projects. I don't really go anywhere now that I'm not working outside the home, but I've been feeling frumpy lately, so I decided to dig out some fabric and make myself as many tracksuits as possible. When I've gone shopping lately, they are so expensive, even the ones made with the cheapest quality of fabric are like $20 plus a piece and not my style so I used McCall's 4707 and some stretch terry and viola!

If I make this again I think I'll use some stretch velour or sweatshirting and lengthen the jacket. This is a juniors pattern and I'm not so much into the cropped look anymore. Love it though.

God Bless you guys and hope to post again soon. Oh, almost forgot, Happy Halloween. I didn't make their costumes lately, too tired of sewing for kids with all the stuff I've been making and sending to Bermuda, so we will have one Super Mario and one Hermione from Harry Potter.

Bri's 8th Bday @ Build A Bear Workshop!

Briana had her party this past weekend. Let me start by saying that this was such a fun party for kids. I would recommend it to parents. My daughter has a party every other year and this was the easiest one so far.

After a fun tour throughout the workshop making, dressing, naming and playing with the bears they made we went downstairs of the mall and decorated tables for cake and juice.

Thanks so much mom for all your support and guidance while I made this cake. I wish you were here to do it. It was NOT as easy as it is for you! The kids loved it! After cake all the kids were treated to a ride on the merry go round. We ended out day there with all the kids leaving with fun and yummy filled goody bags.

Briana's favorite birthday gift! Thanks Nana!

I've finised listing all my kids clothes from last year on ebay and earned a respectable $699 before fees. Beats giving stuff to the thrift store! School shopping is almost finished and sewing has started back up for selling. I should be back into sewing for me and the kids in the next few weeks.

God Bless until next time!

Simplicity 3881

Super Easy!!

Pattern Description: Skirts in various lengths.

Pattern Sizing:I chose 14

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? yes, exactly.

Were the instructions easy to follow?Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Loved everything.

Fabric Used: Silky with a crepe feel.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Shorten for my petite height by about 2 in. in the body of the skirt before attaching bottom.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? yes, I plan to and yes, i would recomment it!

Conclusion: I received many compliments on the style of this skirt at church. It was super easy to make and would be worth it to make it in all the other styles. No alterations. I cut a 14 and my measurements are the exact ones as mentioned on the pattern envelope and it couldn't fit more perfect!

*** It's that time of year again, BACK TO SCHOOL!!! Yeah!!! Well, I've already pulled the bins out full of last years winter and bts stuff and will be ironing and listing on ebay for the next few days. Then it's off to catch all the sales for new stuff.

Cheerleading will start for Bri next week, then her 8th bday party at Build A Bear that weekend and my oldest daughter is finishing up her first college class in preparation for her Freshmen year of college. I'm so proud of her, so far she's getting a B.

I probably won't be posting that much for a couple of weeks. I need to sew some things up to sell in Bermuda for some extra cash and I also want to get a head start on sewing up some fall stuff for me and my own kids.

Until next time ~ Stay Sexy Ladies!

Butterick 5022 & Day At Artscape ~ Baltimore City

Pattern Description: Girls Dress, Shorts, PantsPattern Sizing:7 - 16.5, I chose an 8

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, exactly.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Pretty much.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I think the pants waist runs big, but it could be that my daughter has gotten alot taller and slimmer.

Fabric Used: Cotton for top and linen for capris

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: None made, but should have tapered in the waist.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? If I had to sew it again I probably wouldn't, but I think it turned out cute and I love all the pockets and fly/zipper front and flat waistband. The top can also be worn with other things, like denim shorts etc... I would recommend it to others.

Conclusion: Adorable options on this pattern that are design and constructed to look like RTW.

This was our first time going to Baltimore to attend the Artscape Celebration. We saw many artist, odd and downright strange things. The kids loved the cars. These were baby hands and body parts all over it and the other was decorated as a beach themed car.

I was happy that I got to hear the Robin Thicke concert, even if I couldn't see it. Loads of people everywhere.

All kinds of crazy decorated cars. This one was a camera van. My husband was standing next to a van that had copper ornamental things all over it. Too many people to really back up and get a good pic of it.

This was so cute. The completely insane contortionist (sp?) pulled my son out of the audience to assist him.

Target had a huge tent for the kids to color and design their own little backpacks. There were many boths for the kids to create. I was upset we missed the Balloon, Snake and Dog Show.

Have a great day!