7 Quick Takes Friday

Hello everyone! I decided to participate again in 7 quick takes hosted over at Conversion Diary. Go check it out!


1) More fabric from the outlet I found nearby....I went there 2 days in a row. Telling myself to at least wait until next week to go back. Ha! Good luck with that, self!

2) I love quick dry nail polish. Otherwise my nails would never get painted, since little sweet children always need picking up!


3) This rose bush was purchased at Lowe's for 50% off because they had too many plants! So excited, it is supposed to be a climber AND the fragrance is amazing AND the roses bloom in different colors! I have never seen anything like it. I stop by the bush and smell the roses every time I go outside.

4) I am still very excited and appreciative of being featured over at San Antonio Mom Blogs as fan of the week. I was interviewed! So fun, and I really liked actually having to answer someone's questions and having to think about why I do what I do.

5) Got my Oliver & S patterns in the mail last week. I can't wait to start sewing, especially the shorts. My daughter needs more shorts. There is a shortage of shorts. =)

6) For some reason I keep hearing about (randomly) and seeing the name "Teresa of Avila". I really need to read more about her and her writings. I found these quotes attributed to her. They are so beautiful.

"God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person."

"There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers."


7) My parents dropped off a box of stuff I still had in their attic: guess what?! Apparently I started collecting vintage sewing patterns in high school!! 

 

San Antonio FABRIC OUTLET

Yep. FABRIC OUTLET. In San Antonio. Be. Still. My. Heart. I recently saw a billboard for this place but did not know if it was recent and I just kept forgetting to go pass by and check it out.
The outlet is CI Castro & Co Children's Clothing and Fabric Outlet 
Let me tell you...this is an amazing resource for any seamstress. We are talking buttons, fabric, trims, lace.  Beautiful laces...highest price I saw was $2.50/yard on lace. They even have huge cone spools of thread foro $1.50!! You might have to dig, hunt, and be a bit patient but this place is so so wonderful and much needed (especially since the customer service at LoAnns fabric is severly lacking). The prices at the outlet are prices I usually only dream about. On my first trip, I took my two crazy children, and no bribes (next time I will take a bag of lollipops). I hurredly picked out 5 yards of crochet sequin trim and 3 yards of pink eyelet. If you know me, you know I love anything lace or eyelet. PINK EYELET. AHHH. Total was less than $10.
They have silks, velvets, cottons, wool......I am going back ASAP. Check it out and thank me later!
p.s. I wrote this post because I am excited about this and want to share, I was in no way compensated for this post.

Fave of the Week: Mop Top by Don Freeman

Don't judge a book by its ratty cover. See this book? I have mentioned it here before on the blog, it is one of my son's absolute favorites. My mom actually bought it with a bunch of other books at a yard sale, and it had been sitting in their attic for the longest time. I never looked through all the books until recently, and little did I know that a huge treasure for my son was just waiting.

We really enjoy Don Freeman books, and this is a great addition to our collection (Corduroy included!). This book, MOP TOP, has such interesting artwork- all done in black, white and red. The language is fun and wonderful as well, and now my son says "Sonny" and "Mop Top" in conversation and gets such a kick out of it. The story is about a boy who needs a haircut but really does not want one. The barber in the book is "Mr. Barberoli". Perfect, memorable names and characters. Lots of assonance that is exciting to read and hear. Hope you enjoy! Look out for it at your local library (or thrift store).

What Reading Aloud Can Do

Two weeks ago, I decided to document the amounts of time I spent reading to my children. I needed more information so I would know how to proceed. My son loves to read, and sometimes I feel like he does not get enough reading time. On an average day, I read 30-45 minutes to my son. Other days, days that I am really busy and just let things slip, he gets about 15 minutes of reading. Since then, for the past week, I have been slowly inching up the time I read aloud to him and have been making sure he gets at least 30 minutes.
GUESS WHAT?! Reading transforms my children. I was worried about what my 14 month old would be doing while I spent one-on-one time with my older child. I should not have been worried. She sees us with books, so she either plays with books or pages through books herself. Then she wants me to read to her once I am done reading to her brother. My son, who will watch TV and be grumpy given the opportunity, has latched on to this increase in reading time. This week, we are pushing an hour or more of read aloud time. He looks at books and pretends to read as the read aloud time has increased. Interesting, right?!
I am so so excited! We go to the library every week, so I try to get at least 3 "new" books in the reading mix for the week, because he does like to read certain titles over and over and over. (Our most repeated titles are "I Took the Moon for a Walk", "Shopping with Dad", "Cookie's Week", and The Berenstain Bears "No Girls Allowed".

our new books!

I just found the titles pictured above at the thrift store, so we will be reading them this week, along with "Ship Shapes" from my Barefoot store. (Disclaimer: I receive a commission if you buy anything from my store)

What is your reading routine like? What are your favorite repeated books?

My Sewing Club

Hello Monday readers!
Last week was Kids Clothes Sewing Week with Elise Marley. I was so excited, I had a couple of garmets planned. Well. They did not happen, I got really sick for 24 hours then I had a book fair, and my babysitter couldn't make it all week. So my house is a disaster and I got zero sewing done. Where do people find the time to sew? Since I dont have show and tell today, I wanted to share with you a little story I had forgotten about until recently. I am pretty sure it was blocked out of my mind for a reason.
When I was in New England, I decided to start a sewing club to meet other people with a shared interest in sewing. I signed up on Meetup, paid $25 for the group, and the members started pouring in! I was so excited. When we finally met up (all 4 of us), it was clear that we were all quite different. One woman was looking at someone else with a child inside the Panera and said "Why would you ever have kids?!" Ummmm I was like, 6 months pregnant at this point and gave her a crazy look. The other woman who showed up said she doesnt really sew but really could use some company, and proceeded to start some sort of group therapy session. One other girl was really fun, a food scientist for Dunkin Donuts. That was our first meeting.
Our second meeting was held at my house (MISTAKE!) and the meetup was supposed to be from 6-8 but the women just would not leave my house. It was 9:30 by the time they left, and they only left because my son, who was 2 and a half or so, kept crying (he was trying to go to sleep but they were really loud) and the crying was really getting on one of the ladie's nerves. Now everyone (except the Dunkin Donuts girl) was older than me by 45 years and they all were looking for a club to talk. Not to actually sew. Sigh. So that was the disaster that was my sewing club. Needless to say, I will NOT be starting another. I contacted the American Sewing Guild in my area last week, but no one followed through with registration info and meeting schedule in my area.
Are you part of any clubs or groups with shared interests?

Getting Thrifty on a Thursday!

Here are some finds from my past week of thrifting at Goodwill! I just can't stay away, especially because I am doing a closet overhaul. I have way too many nonfunctional items that need to be replaced. I also have junk that was cheap new but is falling apart or looks awful.

Citizens "Kelly" Jeans! In my size...well, waist size...I always have to hem jeans. This pair had been previously (badly) hemmed and the zipper teeth are a bit messed up, but I can fix them! Paid approx $5 Retail is $168

Pair of shorts for my hubby. Always on the search for shorts!

 

Yellow Anthropologie tshirt. Cute scoopneck, 100% cotton, and cute sleeve detail. It is soo soft! Have you ever noticed that some cheap tshirts (new) come in a cheap, scratchy after one wash cotton/poly blend?! I prefer 100% quality cotton, thank you very much!

 

Vintage purse. Super cute, and it is the perfect medium size. $3.99!!!!

Why I Buy Used

How do we end up with so much useless crap? Why do people buy things they cannot afford (especially houses and cars). Why does society give such a big pat on the back to people getting out of debt? (I mean retail debt, not school debt, medical debt...). "Way to go everyone! You didnt charge up your credit card on useless crap and you exercised self control?! Congrats you are doing sooo awesome!"  Why does society seem to look down on those with less, automatically labeling those with small homes, people who have downsized, people who just don't care about how shiny and new their vehicles are? Perhaps it is advertising at its finest, making those who buy less and enjoy it feel "different?" How many of us are actually good stewards of our stuff?

Moving back to Texas was such a light bulb moment for me. Especially because we were in such a hurry that the movers had to literally throw random items from our house into boxes. Just imagine moving and not cleaning/straightening your house beforehand, not getting rid of anything you didn't use. There were toys with lamps, clothes, random office supplies just tossed in boxes. Unpacking JUNK really puts the important things into perspective.

So what if we can theoretically buy a more expensive [insert item here], do we really even want it or can we even use it? Its like this: If I could afford to buy a large bag of $6 candy every time I went to the store (say between the grocery store, gas station, etc. I go 3 times a week), and did that, it would be impractical. I do not need to buy the $6 bag of candy every.single.trip. But some might say "If I can afford it, why not?" I say lets STOP and think about what we are buying. Think about the price vs. the quality. Think about the actual need. This will cut down on a lot of excess purchases.

If you have visited this blog before, you know I love thrifting. Things are so awesome at the thrift stores, when I recently went mall shopping, the prices shocked me back to "reality" and I just couldn't bring myself to purchase anything. The idea that every time I buy something, I become part of the mathematical formula that is demand really makes me more conscious of my consumer decisions. Many stores have replenishment set up on a min/max system. Example: Store can have a max of 8 items, once people buy 4 of those, the computer kicks in and creates an order to fill the quantity back up to 8. (Did I mention my background in the corporate retail world?) Buying used means I am not triggering a replenishment order. Buying used means less packaging, less resources. Buying used means being conscious of what I bring into my home. How does the quality of used compare at lower prices than the mass market stores? I am not saying that I am boycotting the mall, or never buying at retail again. Its not about that. Thrifting, buying consignment, garage sale items is about being aware, and having fun. I enjoy digging around. I look forward to estate sales. I want to wear a 100% vintage wool cardigan while reading an old leather bound book. Do you buy used? Why?