A Break from Politics (Please?)

I'm starting this blog entry while the first of the presidential debates is going on in the background. I needed to do something to distract myself, since things like that make me really uncomfortable but at the same time I feel obligated to have it on. I also needed to work on something that had nothing to do with Facebook or really any other portion of the internet, since everywhere I turn I'm hit with someone's political opinion/vitriol/ignorance. I have a rule for myself that I avoid talking politics with pretty much everyone as much as possible. I have no interest in arguing (the term "healthy debate" is, to me, and oxymoron) and frankly, I don't particularly care who others are voting for. And, since last I checked, no one who appears on my news feed is running for office so I don't have a need to know their political standings and vice versa.

As a result of all that, I am going to do my best to stay off Facebook until after the election. I think the political rants bring out the worst in people and I'd rather not have my judgment of someone clouded over something like that. I will still share my blog on Facebook (which I do from Blogger and thankfully doesn't even require the use of FB) and my phone will hopefully let me know if I have any messages. 

There, now onto other things that I promise have nothing to do with politics: pumpkins and changing leaves. Well, not so much actual pumpkins but rather the pumpkin-flavored everything craze that is going on right now. Is it just me, or have you noticed that a huge increase this season in the pumpkin-spiced trend? For the most part I like pumpkin-y foods/desserts, but some things have gone to far. I saw a recipe on Pinterest for pumpkin mac & cheese and that sounded pretty gross...but if you're a pumpkin fan I highly recommend Thomas' Pumpkin Spice English Muffins. Toasted with some cream cheese and they are deeelicious.

All of the sudden the leaves around here have really started to burst with color. In another week or so I think they might peak, so yesterday I took Charlotte to the park so we could admire and take some pictures before all the leaves are on the ground. She was so excited that this was her reaction when we arrived:

Ah well. She stayed this way for the first hour of our walk, but at least it gave me a chance to have some fun taking pictures.

She was excited to wake up from her nap and find herself in the park!

What a life :)

I hope you're having a great week and doing your best to deal with all the political madness going on. 

~Stacy

Happy Birthday, Howard

Howard is three today. It feels like he should be at least twelve--not because he acts old but because it seems like we've had him forever. Is that good or bad? Some days both.

We brought Howard home on Christmas Eve of 2009. He was just about three months old at the time and beyond adorable. I chalk it up to temporary insanity caused by holiday cheer that we A) adopted a second dog (Henry was about 8 at the time) and B) adopted a puppy. I had sworn off puppies. Why? They're bad. They go to the bathroom on the floor, they need to be let outside several times a night, they whine in their crates, they eat stuff they shouldn't, their energy levels are through the roof and their razor sharp puppy teeth should be considered a weapon. They also need tons of shots, spayed/neutered, and LOTS of patience. And probably obedience classes.

This was taken about 10 minutes after Howard came home for the first time!

I honestly think living with a newborn is easier than living with a new puppy.

But alas, hindsight is 20/20 and while there may be no more puppies crossing the threshold of my home in the future there was one on December 24, 2009. He was part of a litter of six--three females, three males, and he and his brother were the only ones left. His name for the first 12 weeks of life? O'Donnell. Kind of cute, but I get a kick out of old man names for dogs. And Howard just sounded right with Henry.

Howard is a complicated creature. He has a lot of, shall we say, quirks. For starters, he doesn't really like anyone he meets. For a lot of people, he comes around eventually but "eventually" can mean over a year. Case in point: he adores my brother and sister-in-law, but it's really been only the past year or so that he's displayed any sort of affection for them. Before that it was apathy at best and hiding at worst. His circle of "acceptable people" has grown considerably, especially recently. I label him as "slow to warm."

He also dislikes other dogs. The ones he really doesn't like get barked and snarled at; all the others he just ignores. He's also been known to charge wildly at another dog, typically one who is large enough to eat him whole, barking like a madman and generally raising hell. He stops himself just in the knick of time because at his heart he's actually terrified. All bark and no bite, that dog.

There is one exception to his disdain for everyone else in the canine category: my parents' dog Frances. He loved that dog, worshipped the ground she walked on, and (we think) whole-heartedly believed she was his mother. When Frances passed away last summer, he was despondent. Sadly, he has not found their new dog, Izzy, to be a suitable replacement.

Howard and his one true love: Frances

One loss he wasn't despondent over? Henry. Henry and Howard had a strange relationship. They didn't hate each other, but there definitely was no love lost. They would get into occasional spats (always over food), which one time resulted in a wayward paw whacking Henry in the face and busting open his eyelid, which required not one but two rounds of stitches and anesthesia. Lovely. Other than that, they generally ignored each other when awake but oftentimes wound up sleeping in a heap together. One time Howard stayed at my parents house for a few days while Henry was here (recovering from surgery) and when Howard got home Henry forgot to act disinterested and ran to the door, excited. When Henry passed away, Howard was different--but I can't really say that he missed Henry. I think what he missed most was the security of having another dog around to show him how to behave and without that he went a little nuts for awhile.

Howard & Henry

Howard & Henry

Howard has a lot of anxiety issues and is generally a rather nervous animal. His bark is so loud that I can hear him at the end of the street with the windows closed. His behavior toward strangers (human and otherwise) is embarrassing and often frustrating. Where Henry could go anywhere with us and was happy to get pets from anything or anyone, Howard is usually not suitable for public consumption.

But...he has his positives. When he does get to know and like someone, they're in for life. He will get so excited to see you that he won't be able to run in a straight line. He'll jump in your lap, kiss your face, and fall asleep at your feet. He's one of the only dogs I've ever been around who truly is a lap dog. He'll come and curl up in a ball on my lap and let me use him as a resting place for my book. He'll snuggle up between us when we're watching TV and he finds his way into our bed every night, sleeping sweetly in a ball and occasionally offering a lick just to remind us that he's there and could we please, maybe pet his ears?

He loves going on walks and car rides. He's a smart dog who picks up on things quickly. He was the easiest puppy to train--easily housebroken, barely a peep in his crate, and never destructive of things that weren't his. His intense love of playing Frisbee is fun to watch, and the joy on his face as he's playing is the best. Oh, and he's really, really adorable. If he wasn't so crazy I'd send his pictures to ad agencies so he could be in commercials.

He's handled the huge life change of a new baby in the house as well as could be expected. There have been a few hiccups and bumps along the way, but he's adapting and coping a little better every day. We take the bad with the good, and his good definitely outweighs his bad. At the end of the day, there's just something about him that I love. Some days, especially his not so good days, it's hard to remember why I love this dog but I do. He's just my Howard. My three year old Howard.

Meeting Charlotte for the first time 

We put a ThunderShirt on him for the first time and he had no idea what to do with himself. This is his attempt at sitting.

We are celebrating by letting him lick the dinner plates when we're done eating and allowing him to sleep on the couch. Oh wait...that's every day.

Have a fabulous weekend!

~Stacy

Project Pinterest: Sushi Costume

I'm kind of cheating in calling this a Project Pinterest since a friend actually found this idea on Etsy and asked if I could recreate it for her little guy for Halloween. If you search "sushi costume" on Pinterest, however, the photo from the original Etsy find pops up about a hundred times.

You can find the original Etsy listing here along with other adorable and creative baby costumes from the original mastermind behind this idea here at The Wishing Elephant store.

When I first got the request to make this costume, I was a little nervous. I've never made a costume before and I have very little experience working with felt. I decided I was up to the challenge and I'm so happy I went for it--the costume ended up being surprisingly simple to put together and the felt was really easy to work with. I used this tutorial as a guide, which was written by the creator of the original costume (Carolyn Caffelle). I didn't follow it exactly--it has templates you can use for all the shapes but I just drew mine freehand using the finished photo as a guide.

**Notes on materials: I used regular felt, not the stiffened kind. I felt (ha) like the stiffened kind would end up being too heavy on the bodysuit once the adhesive and everything was on it. I recommend avoiding it! Also, instead of using a separate fusible adhesive and parchment paper I bought a roll of Heat'n Bond Ultra Hold Iron-On Adhesive. It's inexpensive and came with enough that I have plenty left over for other projects.

So here's a little pictorial on how I turned a few pieces of felt and a white onesie into a shrimp roll:

My sketches turned into paper pattern templates.

After cutting all the pieces, I fused them to the Heat'n Bond then fused the whole thing to the onesie.

Forgot to take pictures of the grass/lettuce making process...

I can honestly say I've never made felt wasabi before!

...or felt ginger!

Ta Da!

I'm pleased with how it turned out and I can't want to see pictures of Baby E. in all his sushi glory!

~Stacy

Projects~This & That

Over the past couple weeks I've finished (yay!) a variety of projects. Usually the opposite is true: I start a variety of projects. Finishing is another topic altogether, but I'll get to it later (har har). Among the finished? Another repurposed skirt and a bunch of fabric dolls for Charlotte, a painted coat rack, and a Halloween costume. The costume will come later this week (along with a tutorial) because I want to make sure the costume's new owner gets a chance to see it in person before it's posted.

First up, the skirt. I had a shirt that I really liked but found that I never wore it. Why? Because it makes me look pregnant. I wore the shirt before I got pregnant and never really noticed a problem and I continued to wear it in the earlier parts of my pregnancy. Now when I put it on I just feel like I look 4 months pregnant, which is not a look I want until I actually am 4 months pregnant again someday. I figured I could follow the same tutorial I used to make Charlotte a skirt out of her old dress, which I did and it worked out great! I might have to hunt through my closet for more cute shirts that I don't wear and give them new life. Here's the before and after:

Sorry the last two look weird...I do 90% of my sewing at night, which is when these photos were taken. Bad lighting and I was too impatient to wait.

I also finished her 30s-inspired fabric dolls that I made using this fabric panel:

Once they were all done I arranged them on her rocking chair so she'd find them when she woke up from her nap:

They were a hit, though unfortunately they're also a hit with Howard. He steals them on a regular basis and uses them as bait to get Charlotte to play with him. No permanent damage has been done that I can tell, though I did find a mysterious wad of stuffing on the floor yesterday...

And finally, I fancied up our coat rack. I wanted to paint it a bright, bold color so I bought a can of spray paint that's a paint and primer in one that will adhere to almost any surface. No sanding or priming? I'm in.

Now if only I could just spray paint the built-ins...and the ceiling, which I avoided completely when doing the rest of the painting a few weeks ago. I don't want to talk about the ceiling. If you come to my house, just don't look up.

I hope you're having a good week :)

~Stacy