Mblaaahahhh... and sewing:)

Boy, I sure hope I'm just suffering from some seasonal blahs, cause I am DEpressed:(


Anyhoo, Ella is loving the sewing machine she got for her birthday. Her and I created a little pillow and blanket for her Barbies as a beginner project. Then I let her just sort of go to it and sew random pieces of fabric together and create on her own. She loved it. And I think it's the beginning of learning a skill she'll be able to utilize forever. Evan really wants to learn too, which is great.

And regarding the sewing machine, I researched the pants off what to do with buying a sewing machine for a 5-year old. I considered buying a toy one first, but was deterred by all the posts I read on what a waste of money it was. I read that most of them just broke and the kids couldn't really evolve their skills with one. So in the end I opted to buy her an actual machine and deferred the task on choosing one to my mom, as I was inundated with party planning for the Princess Party.
My mom ended up going with a Kenmore, as I still use hers from the 70's, and it's never failed us. She went with the Kenmore Zip! 12512. I'm pretty sure it's a keeper:)

Speaking of sewing, I have been working on this f*$%ing monkey stuffie for my friend's son and it is taking me FOREVER. I don't think she reads my blog so it should be okay to post a picture of the pattern, and if she does read this, then, well, surprise!
I've been trying to figure out how many hours I've spent on this thing so far, and my best guess would be more than fifty. Once I'm done it, I'll post pictures and explain why it's gone from being a Christmas gift, to a birthday gift, to a "here's a random gift" gift. Sorry Xander, auntie loves you!

Cheers,
Kel

The Ultimate Pink, Purple, and Sparkly Princess Party!

So Sunday was finally the day! The 5-year mark since my little Ella came into this world purple and not breathing. Wouldn't have known it today of course, as she danced, sang and giggled her way through the day I've been planning for WEEKS! Here's a visual run-down on Princess Ella's big day:)

I threw a pic on here back when the invites went out - it's here.
Kyle and I decorated at night so that when Ella woke up on her birthday, she would be wowed by all the decor:) We used pink and purple paper globes, giant paper stars, and plenty of pink and purple streamers!

A shot of the dining room decor

The party began with lunch first. We (of course) had a selection of foods spanning several princess's themes:

Princess Ariel's Goldfish (Crackers)

Princess Cinderella's Cheese for the Mice  

Princess Ella's PB&J Sandwiches
(I wanted Ella to have her favorite in there too!)

Princess Aurora's Forest Fruits & Veggies

Princess Snow White's (Non-) Poisonous Apples

Princess Pocahontas's Leaf Chips

Princess Tiana's Green Frogs

Princess Jasmine's (Iced) Tea

Princess Merida's Bear Claws

We also had Princess Elsa & Princess Anna's Frozen Ice Cream, but never snapped a photo, d'oh!

After that, we decorated Princess crowns. I just picked up a bunch of crowns and a box of fake jewels. The kids used Q-Tips to spread glue and away we went:

My sweet niece Avery creating her crown:)

Then we played "Pin the Kiss on the Frog." I drew and laminated a frog prince and made a little sign for the top:

After the game, we had all the kids sign their names on the poster for Ella as a keepsake:

After that we all gathered to sing Happy Birthday while Ella blew out her crown candles:

Full of cake, the kids each then took a turn sitting with Ella as she opened their generous gifts. Then we turned up the iPod and the girls danced to a playlist my husband and I put together of Ella's favorite songs:

We included songs from her favorite princess movies like Enchanted and Tangled, as well as favorite radio songs by Muse and Lorde and Serena Ryder. The big favorite of course was the new hit by Idina Menzel from the movie Frozen.

As the kids left, Ella gave them each a candy flower the two of us made together:

Princess Belle's (Candy) Roses

Even though it was weeks of planning and hours upon hours of work, the smiles and thanks from my (now) 5-year-old princess make it all worth it. Every moment.<3

Big Dreams, people!

Aagh! Planning for Ella's birthday party is confiscating my life! I'm constantly on Pinterest or various blogs looking for ideas and recipes and decor inspiration for this "All-Pink and Purple and Sparkly Ultimate Princess Party." Work is the worst too! (I work at Michaels. Oy, right?) When I leave my frame shop bubble to help a customer, I can't but shop on the way back to my shop. Sigh. As much fun as I'm having planning for this, I'll be glad when it's over! Until then, here are some things I picked up today: (*Squee*)

Of course, the ones I bought are pink and purple:)







As much as I enjoy my job and the people I work with, I'm really looking forward to the end of March when I go back to part time and continue with school. The hubby will be back to work, but I'll be able to see the kids a lot more<3.

Finished up Mr.King's book and really enjoyed it. He shone an interesting perspective on writing and it definitely helped to fuel some inspiration, as I've edited a short story I wrote and never published and am currently looking for magazines that suit it. I'm also editing my next completed novel and aim to have it ready to shop around before I go back to school! Big dreams, people!

I also needed some romance in my life and picked up an Austen that I've been meaning to read: Persuasion. Just started it, but already enjoying it.

I've also spent the last 5 months trying to find a tattoo shop with an female artist whose work is similar to the style I'm looking for and FINALLY have a consultation this week! So excited for that appointment!!!

Allright, time for a hot bath and glass of wine!
Night, yo!
Kel

Princess Party So Far...

So Ella and I are having a blast planning her Princess Party:)

Here are her invites we finished designing and printing today:

And it's super fun to think up a menu based around this princess theme. (I'm excited to try the cookie recipe I discovered based on the triplet's treats from Brave!)

Having fun,

Kelly

Reading Fun!

Ah, a new year. How's yours going?
Mine is so far full of busy days at work, gently getting back in shape for derby season, and now planning Ella's All-Pink, All-Princess 5th birthday party. (Which is actually super-fun to do:)

I'm trying to read books I keep putting off before buying new ones (HA!) so I'm finally reading Stephen King's On Writing. I'm about halfway through it and really enjoying it. His anecdotes and memories are fun and well-written, and the portion so far that discusses the craft itself is helpful. He is blunt and opinionated and it makes for an informative and enjoyable read. So far.


Before that, I ripped through an unread Jodi Picoult I found on my shelf. It was okay, but not one of my faves of hers.

And my memory is so awesome that I can't remember what I read before that and since I last posted about what I was reading. My brain is awesome.

And the most exciting thing to happen to me this past week was doing my daughter's homework with her. On Friday she brought home her new assignment: Home Reading! I'm not sure who was more excited. And we sat down and she read me a book. It was freakin' awesome:D

Hope this week brings you many joys!

Peace Out,
Kelly

Invoke...

So I had insomnia last night and ended up staying awake far past my bedtime. I've spent the last few days invoking The Writer Gods through a relaxing puzzle.

I've been wanting to do this puzzle for years and get it mounted and up on the wall of my library. Thankfully I'm a framer that has access to a drymount machine, hooray!
And hopefully by spending many, many hours with this thing, I've absorbed some of the brilliance and inspiration of these masters. (Here's hoping!)

Peace out,
Kelly

Go to Hell, 2013

So I for one, am not sorry to see this year end. It has been one of the worst in my life.
And while driving home yesterday, my radio station was running a show with the question, "What song title describes your life this past year?" It got me thinking, and now I'm posing the question (slightly altered) to you:
What Book Title (not necessarily the content) Best Describes Your Year?

For me, I could go with any of these:

How about you? Has it been a year of increasing debt? Maybe this one is for you:

Been hating your diet?

Evenings been getting out of hand?

You get the gist. 

And here are my hopeful titles for 2014:

I hope the new year brings you everything you wish, and be safe out there tonight!

Peace out,

Kelly