The Lone Pillowcase

Remember those curtains converted from $5 Ikea Duvets (its ok if you skipped that post).   Well, with a lone pillowcase left over and inspired by this pretty yellow chair on a recent cover of House Beautiful


source

I started whacking at 45 degree angles and I converted the pillow case to a living room throw pillow -

- Charlie Brown style

Leave yer horses at home!

Well, we got Riley's allergy test back and the poor guy is pretty much allergic to life itself (but not cats or humans!). 

Grass?  yes.

Trees?  affirmative.

Oranges?  yup.

Dust?  Si Senor(ita)!

Next time you come over, please leave your horse at home and don't wear wool either.  I'm kidding (kinda)

So as a 'i'm sorry you got 70 pricks of a needle today', Grandma/Grandpa bought him a new bed (sans cedar!), his other mommy (not me) bought him a squeaker toy and THIS mommy (me) bought him a new wall hook for his leash.

I know what you're thinking, but squeaker toys don't last longer than an inch worm in this house...besides, let's not forget who paid his allergy bill

Colbeck Couture!

So there I was.  It was a rather cloudy day over the bay and I was still sewing my dress in the car as we crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin.  Never fear San Francisco drivers, I was in the passenger seat.

With 45 minutes to spare before arriving at the wedding destination, I snipped my last thread and still had enough time to grab a sandwich and curl my hair for Phil and Julie’s big day (the curls didn't last - but the dress was fabulous!).

The bride (stunning and witty woman that she is) dubbed it Colbeck Couture. 

Couture in that it was custom designed by me to fit me. However, later in the evening I discovered how versatile my dress really is...   It wouldn't be a proper wedding without a little sister dress switcharoo, would it?  

Can we also call it prêt-à-porter or perhaps one size fits all?

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Work in Progress

As if I didn’t have enough to do already in this little world of mine... One more thing wouldn't hurt, right? 

I became inspired by an upcoming wedding (this weekend!), so I decided to do something with the yard of gold/cream brocade I bought exactly a year ago at Harts Fabric in Santa Cruz (I could have sworn I requested 1.5 yards, but discovered last week, twas only a yard). I took another trip to my favorite Ghetto Fabric Store in San Jose for the turquoise charmeuse and THIS, my friends, is my latest (unfinished) creation:

Pardon the picture quality, its a new camera and it was late last night!

I used a hodge podge of various patterns + my own freehand fancy scissor work and literally had no idea how this would take shape until I started cutting and putting it together.  I have to admit, I'm kinda impressed with myself. 

Still on the todo list:
Go to work (check – still here!)
Celebrate someone's birthday
Add zipper
Hem
Figure out how to attach the shoulder strap to the (currently backless) back 

Must.Finish.By.Saturday!

Seeking: 1 angry boy

During my own recent episode of Hoarders (the Garage), I unearthed these adorable juice glasses.  

 

First I unwrapped the blue little girl.  It vaguely reminded me of the little peg people I played with as a teenager kid.   (They’re Fisher Price Little People, I was later informed)

“cute” I thought, “but I have no need for this” and I re-wrapped it its newspaper and popped it into the charity pile. 

Then I unwrapped the dog and then the mama and LORDY I knew I couldn’t send these childhood treasures away.    

But we’re missing one - the Angry Boy (I swear, that's what he's called)

If you know of his yellow-glass whereabouts, please reunite him with his mom and dog and sister in primary-colored-Fisher-Price-juice-glass-Land   

The least I can offer you for this great deed is some juice and if you’re extra nice (handsome) it might be in cute little colored juice glasses. 

Happy Mother's Day

Isn't mine adorable? 

Oh! and here's her Mother's day cake hand baked by her youngest (not me!)

SSScat! Review

My punk of a cat has a thing where he likes to hang out on the kitchen counters.  If he wasn't allllways hungry, I'd argue that he was an emotional eater.  I once purposely left his food open and 'unattended' one saturday morning and he ate like the world was ending for 2 solid hours.    And then there was the time (whilst trying to remove wallpaper from the ceiling) I fell off the ladder (the whole house shook) and he ran to his food before checking out the ruckus. 


Can you feed me? I'm hungry!

Going along with his bad-boy attitude and fear of starving, he is definitely a scavenger.  This may go back to his kitten days of hanging out on the wrong side of the tracks before Ranger Doug and his Ranger Friends adopted him and eventually found him a home with me. 


So due to his punk-like attitude and aforementioned fear of starving, he has a bad habit of hanging out on the kitchen counters when we're not in the room.  No matter how often we my sister housewife cleans up after me meals,  he still hops up hoping to find a morsel left behind.  Punk.


We've tried the sticky paws thing which did nothing but help him shed his winter coat. 
We've tried the foil and pans of water on the counter tops, but no avail.


I found a product called the SSSCat (yes, with three SSS's).  it is a motion sssensor ssspray.  Don't worry, it is sssafe, non-toxic and vet recommended (sssays its webpage).  When it detects motion, it SSSprays a non-toxic gas and emits a loud noise. 

SSSold!

The thing is, it appears to SSStartle and SSScare the humans more than it does the kitty. 
Walk into the kitchen?  SSSPRAY!  and then SSSCREAM.  
Open the cupboard?  SSSPray! then SSScream! 
Turn on the light?  SSSpray! then SSScream! 

Its getting old. 


I'm ssstill not sssure this has sssolved the problem of my I'm-not-afraid-of-anything-but-ssstarving cat hanging out in the kitchen sssink, but judging by how high he jumps when the ssspray goes off on us, I think it might be working a little. 

Bad Blogger!

Happy Wednesday!  I've been an absentee blogger lately... and for that, I apologize. 

This past weekend I was supposed to be retiling my floors and making my yard pretty, but instead I had a weekend full of frivolity and good deeds. 

First it was the Royal Wedding Party where we were instructed to wear an old bridesmaid dresses.  I nixed that and instead wore one of my new party hats

Then it was time to volunteer at the Humane Society's annual fundraising gala - the Furball.  Wear a pretty dress (this time it was an old bridesmaid dress) and give back to those who gave my sweet, allergic, goofy pup a second chance?!  No brainer! 

 (rumor has it they raised close to $500,000!) 

Then on Sunday I was off to the Pebble Beach Food and Wine Event where I hung out with old friends, Real Housewives, famous chefs and enjoyed a beautiful coastal day!


the Iron Chef

 

a Real Housewife



Anne Burrell

  Though two hours of sleep after the Furball combined with a few too many sips of Pinot Noir in Pebble Beach made me feel a little like I did the morning after my 25th birthday... 

Ouch!