blog jam

its just like writers block...and its what happens when i rest from this for too long. here's all i have to say for now:

i made a new dress. it took me four tries, so please try and really, truly appreciate it.

the prototypes will become three skirts and at least two tops, each a totally different style and fabric. it was worth all that to have a cute summer dress to wear to the remainder of our summer wedding commitments!

ok, i have to get to bed! our 4.5 mile trail run at 7 is already daunting enough...i don't want to start exhausted!!! right now i am pretending like i intend to do the 11 mile portion of the stump jump. we'll see if that's the kind of adventure i really want.

72 hours in the life of lisa c

kids, i've been busy! here are the highlights!

tuesday night we had my all time fav: breakfast for dinner! there is no explanation for my love of bfd, i think its just the simple meal-order rebellion that delights me. that, and it takes almost no planning to throw together a frittata with farmer's cheese, onions, sundried tomatoes, summer savory, bacon, swiss chard stems and greens, banana chocolate chip muffins, and grilled pineapple and peaches for dessert.

it was a wonderful, late dinner. a nice chance to slow down and catch up with josh. i had spent the entire day sewing...it takes me a while to unwind from that and a meal on the back porch was just what i needed. afterwards, we walked over to the neighbor's to check out the garden. apparently, the mosquitoes were pretty interested in checking me out too, i had to retreat from our social call early and find some benadryl!


last night we went out to alleia (unending praise for the culinary delight of the southside!) for two friends' birthday dinner and i rushed home right afterwards so i could finish making my very first batch of bagels. they turned out amazing! a dense, sweet wheat chock full of sunflower seeds. man, oh man are they good!
if any of you have heard me talk about "those bagels i used to get on my way to school," i have now successfully duplicated them. victory!

here's the dress i started tuesday. i've already put it in leo! i think it turned out pretty cute! those darling buttons and rad, rad fabric came from the once almighty baer fabrics. as a side note, so did both my machines AND my sewing education. that's right boys and girls, i learned to sew at a one week sewing camp when i was in the fourth grade! crazy!

my other creation for the week was this sweet top. i made it just to go with this amazing skirt! wish i'd made the skirt too!


here's hoping your 72 hours were filled to the brim with fun! i'm off to the beach this weekend and i can't wait! see ya'll next week!

today's special

anyone else remember that show? i loved it!

well, today i've already admired these beauties from the garden...





eaten this for breakfast...




(my version of it, anyway. more on that later.)

and planned to do the following today:

go to the free family movie at the rave at 10 with some girlfriends and their kiddos...

pick up BOTH my sewing machines from the lovely ladies at chattanooga sewing center...

get a 14" zipper so i can finish this dress i started yesterday...



there are also bills to be paid, bathrooms to clean, and dog hair to vaccuum! all of this made so much more motivating by the monkey doo, who will certainly spend the day sleeping in various and bizarre positions around the house.



happy adventures today!

one week...

last week i got to be with my mommy in louisville, sew to my heart's content, shop til i dropped, and care for her as she recovered from foot surgery. i love being home with mom and dad and have plenty of laughs while i am there. sometimes its hard to come home! but come home i did, all geared up for a week of adventure.

we spent sunday riding our bikes all over town, taking in the hunter for free, and even eating some ice cream...little did i know what the week had in store for me.

monday's sewing brought the downfall of my beloved bernina.



tuesday, the other girl died on me.



and, when we got home from dinner, the faucet decided it didn't want to be left out of the fun, so he snapped off his arm to fit in with all the girls in the house.

josh came to the rescue yesterday, dropping off both the sewing machines at chattanooga sewing center AND replacing the faucet with this beauty!



what a week! and i hear its only thursday!

from one monday to the next

last monday when i woke up, made my tea, and settled into my chair to catch up on email, i did it in a study that looked like this...





this is one of the rooms in our house we use the most and i had just had it with it looking this bad! and the carpet?! ew! i couldn't handle it anymore! so, i waited for josh to leave for work on tuesday and i began my campaign against the uglies. after spending the better part of the week working on it, josh and i finally hung art and got the computer back together yesterday.






here are a few of the gory details:

i now have one sewing machine upstairs, for my little projects and repairs! i hope it doesn't get lonely without the other three.

the grey/brown wall will be the new backdrop for my etsy images. finally, right?!

the cream shelves came from that massive bookshelf in the original office, which came from estate of confusion, which really came from a department store. i got lucky with spray paint and found a color that nearly matches the walls and painted the brackets to match. i really love the effect of shelves like this. it emphasizes the height of the room and eliminates previously ill fitting furniture.

the desk used to be our dining room table, which used to be nanny's dining room table. it has has a hard life! we will be putting its legs back on soon to ground it in the room. eventually, i'd like a giant slab of raw wood here.

the chair is by knoll and i found it in a thrift store in houston for super cheap.

the tree died in our front yard and i insisted on keeping it.

pillows and window treatments by me. fabric from tassels in louisville. i have had it forever. i can not get over how much i love that stripe.

print by bryce from isle of printing. he rocks the house. we traded for this piece.

floor was $1 a square foot. CRAZY! josh and i had a good time installing it. it was so easy! i highly recommend this type of floating floor for ya'll that are hating your carpet.

and finally, here's to the man who makes all my crazy dreams reality. how many, many adventures we have together! i love you shua!

eat

but by all means, please do it in style. these placemats were practice for me. i am determined to win my grudge match with the embroidery machine...and that industrial machine is just calling my name.

oh, to have endless studio time!

really, i want to blog...

i just never think to! then i go and read a post like this one and i renew my interest.

just when i felt my whole spring had been full of travel and house guests (i love ya'll and wish you could all be here more!) i got 2 whole weeks at home! what a rarity! josh and i went in to full blown project mode. we had gardens to attend to, kitchen projects to create and complete, i had sewing, and the weekly trips to sequatchie cove farm was finally resulting in some yummy veggies to be cooked.

mother's day weekend brought my mom, dad, sister in law and niece down to see us. one of our adventures was a trip to america's thrift store. my favorite!!!! if you are lucky enough to have one in town, check it out. as mom would say, "you'll be pleased with the results." one of my many finds was a somewhat cheesy kelly green shell. i just couldn't resist the color! and for $2.48, i dare any of you to try passing it up! i knew it would need some work, so last night it got a little bit of a makeover.







i simply added 3 rows of straight stitching with elastic bobbin thread at the waist to create this smocked effect. here's a better tutorial of this super simple smocking technique than i'll ever write. a quick nip at the side seams, a finishing overlock stitch to keep everything in place, and a warm iron over the new work was all it took to transform my find.

in about 30 minutes this piece went from oversized and awkward to fitted and fun. just in time to walk over to nightfall!

i can't wait to show ya'll the strawberries, the baby peach tree, the garden, the kitchen, the table linens...so many adventure of every kind to share! i think i'll be pleased with the results! see you soon! (this time i promise.)