These last few weeks, besides being on holiday, I've also been tying up all of the loose ends for two weddings (a ceremony + dinner in Hawaii and a party in Chicago). I have planners for both, so I know I'm super lucky and a lot less busy than some brides/grooms. Loml is also OK about helping (though often he does it grudgingly and without opinions). For some things I don't really have opinions either. I want to have a fun party - but the details are less important to me than I expected them to be. I really thought I would be super opinionated about flowers and linens and look/feel - maybe a baby bridezilla with that stuff. But it turns out I don't care that much. Hopefully it'll turn out great.

And while that's a lot of big words, I am trying to coach myself that if something isn't like I imagined it..to not freak out. On the day of my wedding and the day of my wedding reception, I want to just be happy and ready to party. And worrying about being social rather than details (as in, I don't really like crowds and especially crowds where I am the center of attention. Groan). I already am prepared to not really talk to anyone for any length of time in Chicago. Five hours with 300 people = very little time for talking to any one of them..

2013

Do I say this every year? I'm not sure, but I'd very much like to commit to writing a blog post twice a week this year. I often will have nothing to say - but in the absence of content, perhaps I can find silliness here again. Do I even have any readers? Debatable. Currently I'm planning on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule. See you again tomorrow!

This year I also want to start blogging about actual code. I am a developer for a living and sometimes we actually do cool things. Eventually I'd like to move any content to a coding blog, but I'm not convinced I am disciplined enough to write about code often enough to actually have a dedicated coding blog. So there will be a trial run or two here.

I'm currently home sick - I was actually bragging about how I rarely get sick to a friend a few weeks ago. I guess I deserve this uncomfortable cold? Lots of snot and hot/tired eyes over here today. Day 5 of this cold - hopefully the last.

Umba time! This month I received two handmade goodies. I already wore one today to see if I liked it/could pull it off (I think it went OK).

The bracelet is actually a double length, but in this color. By the pink ruffle. You should know that this bracelet is super soft. Like, insanely soft. Yellow isn't my favorite, but I think I will find uses for this every now and again.

Sadly for you, my next goody isn't represented on the web. So this picture is straight out of my phone. Sorry for the quality.

Six key notecards! Very delightful addition to my stationery collection. From Fourteen-Forty.

Solid, usable month. Umba love.

Its been a really long time since I blogged anything of substance. Umba and crafting are awesome (and I truly love them both). But I've been so busy lately that I haven't done any crafting. And the truth is, this will continue straight through to September I think. So what has taken up my weekends (most weeknights I struggle to do one constructive thing and lately that has been cleaning or yard work or cooking)?

• I went to Boston for a conference. I really liked Boston and have officially added it to the places I could see myself living. Also on the list? Chicago.
• Spent some time with my mom shopping for furniture and learning to decorate cakes.
• Birthday party for a bestie.
• Cleaning the house after we got central air installed (lots of holes drilled into the ceiling = a layer of dust everywhere). And then I decided the house needed a complete rearranging. Really we just swapped furniture between two rooms. Sounds pretty innocent and easy..except I tried to go through everything in those rooms. Goodwill benefited greatly. This has taken up a large chunk of my time over the past few weeks.

And what do I have coming up?

• Trip to Madison.
• Trip to Indiana.
• First wedding dress session with the couture ladies
• Rocky Mountain train trip!
• Trip to Salt Lake City.
• Trip to Wisconsin to stand up in a wedding.

That puts us into the middle of September. There are a few weekends scattered throughout with no plans. I hope to do absolutely nothing on those occasions. 

I'm a tiny bit hungover (in an, I had one and a half drinks and stayed up too late way), so I'll leave you with this tired thought:

I really love Disney World. And I also kind of love Vegas. So does this mean I love fakeness? Fakity? Fakosity?

umba!

Another month, another umba box. For some reason this month didn't knock me off my socks like most months do. I guess that was to be expected, eventually. However, I did end up with a lovely necklace and some lollipops to try so it's completely still a winner of an "of the month" club.

Necklace from Lucid. To be honest, I have a hard time linking you to that site because it's kind of poorly done. I tried to search in the email subscription box. Then when I did find the actual search, all the links that the search was providing were broken. Throwing ugly asp.net errors. So be warned, this website is not awesome. The necklace is small, delicate, with a very short chain. I'm certain I won't be wearing it regularly (as I still mostly avoid gold), but it is nice to have that little bit of difference in my jewelry box.

Lollipops! From The Candied Flower. They're really pretty - if you need a favor for some kind of shower, these in a bunch with a ribbon - fantastic! I received two flavors - Mojito and Citrus. I have yet to try either, I'm saving them for a business trip. You can likely find me in O'Hare or Logan sucking on one of these. If they're truly gross, I'll update here. However, I expect them to be tasty.

Not the most inspiring month...but any surprise present in the mail is better than none. Happy June!

Quick post. I made Mothers Day cards this year. Since I sort of have a mother-in-law (mother-in-law-to-be?), I thought this was the year to start giving her cards. I hope neither mom will be insulted, but I made the same card with very slight variations (different colors/different embossing on the inside). For the moms:

front

inside - with microsoft paint half-assed
photoshopping...so you can't see my
personal note. :)

When I said I've been mostly doing nothing...that was a lie. A nice little white lie, but a lie. I've been busy wedding planning (pretty much done) and sewing. Knitting has stalled. I broke a needle on the project I was working on -like an idiot, i tried to put on the sock while I was still knitting it (it looked way small) and crack went the needle. So this is a sewing update for you!

First, I finished my set of potholders. I got much better at piecing and quilting lines. I'm pretty much at the same skill level with the binding (not terrible but not smooth and perfect). And I wound up with a potholder I'd call my favorite! I actually love one of them. This one:

i think the chevron lining worked fantastically with the squares

 And here's the full set. Remember, I screwed up my measuring/seams on the first one I did...which is why it is small in comparison.

I spent a chunk of hours cutting out all of the squares for a second set of potholders, to be made for my sister and her husband:

In other sewing news, I spent one full day butchering a set of curtains my mom had made for my old apartment. You can see them in said apartment (sort of) in a picture here. Those windows were huge: tall and wide...and those curtains didn't really fit anywhere in the house. We were/are using them on basement windows to "hide" all of loml's music gear from would-be robbers (his paranoia, not mine). But they were huge for the windows. So I cut up one curtain to make three for basement windows and then sewed an insanely basic hem on any cut sides. Basic because eventually I think loml would like to pick his own fabric for those windows. It surprisingly took a long time - for something that sounds so simple.

I also went on two shopping expeditions with a friend to pick out fabric for her housewarming gift: curtains. We bought it last weekend and I'm in the process of deciding on a curtain type..and then I'll begin the insanely scary task of cutting. You can rip out seams...but you can't undo a poor cut. Here's a picture of that fabric in its raw state:

Lots more fun with my sewing machine to come. I'll try to update in parts, rather than in a huge chunk.

Umba box day! Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm busy doing nothing (yay!). This month was another three item spectacular. Still in love.

Two hairpins! A green and a yellow. I love them. They're wooly and cute. I just have to figure out how to use them in my boring, boring hair. Tomorrow I may take a stab at it! From Willow Handmade.

Picture from Willow Handmade etsy site

Lip gloss! Picture below is not the specific version I have - I received Summer (fitting!). It says "scented with Garden Herbs". It feels pretty nice and has a spicy smell. From Stewart & Claire.

Picture from Stewart & Claire blog

Smelly candle! This candle packs a wollop of smell. I don't know how to describe the smell. It's fairly perfume-y. I think I'm going to put it in the bathroom that holds the litter box. The version I got is much smaller than the one on the site (20 hour burn time). From Patch NYC.

Picture from Patch NYC site

I haven't been sure if I should say anything, but I suddenly feel dishonest. So you should know that I'm blogging about my wedding planning on our fairly newly minted wedding website.

Since this blog is super public, I'm not going to give you the URL to that site. But I do invite you all to email me or comment here with an email and request the location of it. I'm likely going to keep the wedding site narrowed to people I know.

I also think it's only fair that if you want wedding stuff to be a "surprise" then you probably shouldn't read the blog.  :)

Umba box does it again! Man I love this little monthly gift SO MUCH.

Awesome, blueberry dish towel. Love the feel of the towel and blueberries. Click through for more pictures. By Tina Produce.

Handmade caramels. Fleur de Sel Caramels. I admit that I am not a caramel lover. But I have a few in my life...and they are going to benefit from this gift. There are three caramels. Loml already ate one lovingly. The other two will be fought over later today or tomorrow by family. By the caramel jar.

Cute little, letterpress cover notebook. I work in technology. And I have a really nice new iPhone. But I still like to write lists and addresses in little notebooks. And I've recently found that I love top spiral notebooks. So this little gift will find much use in my hands. By Paper Lovely.

Seriously, getting my Umba box in the mail is a highlight of my month every month. Just in case I've convinced you to treat yourself: Umba!

Umba month 4! So this month was a homemade bath product box, products made by Rinse. I've tried two of the products and the third, a bath bomb, will likely not get any love for six months. That bath bomb is lavender (image links to shop).

The skin stick is kind of awesome. It's like glue sticking your face/arms/body. There is something satisfying about it.

And the third, I'd actually like to offer to anyone interested.  It's a face mask, which I tried last weekend. And it did leave my skin feeling smooth and lovely...but I had a hard time with the mask itself. Because it smelled so strongly of coffee. And I don't really like coffee. So any coffee lovers who'd like a ton of "make it yourself" face mask, let me know. Mailing envelope here and ready for you! Info about the Cafe Mocha Mask here.

Potholder update - I've completed two. I'm definitely falling in to a groove and I'm pretty sure I know where I have to be more careful on the next batch. When I sew all my squares together, perfect 90 degree seams are a must. And when I measure out/draw on my quilting lines, I have to choose a pattern that works for the particular problems that I may have created with my piecing. All very satisfying. I'm going on vacation at the end of next week for about a week, so no crafting updates for a bit here...

The first (slightly small as I screwed up my seam allowances):

The second:

And a side by side:

Journal swap round 6: me!

I'm clearly into fabric...and my quilting scraps were screaming to be made into bunting.

Journal swap round 6: librarian!

So, I feel I should say that I had both journals for quite some time. And I accidentally flip flopped the rounds. I should have made something in the white journal and instead, I went with black. So we're a bit off now...but in the end, it'll even out.

Update time! I haven't finished anything, but I thought I'd let you know how the quilting is going. And as an aside, I've officially hit the 1st quartile of my weight loss goal. 28% done!

Quilting is...part awesome, part satisfying and a whole lot of exact cutting and sewing. I definitely have not hit exactness. In fact, I think it will be a miracle if I ever get near perfection. However, I am determined to make a series of potholders until I am pleased with the results enough that I would give them away to someone other than a family member. I'm going to become a potholder factory.

I took some pictures of my in-progress potholders. Tonight I finished making the binding tape (a weird process that required a tool I didn't have, which slowed me down), so hopefully in a few days I will have one finished, accidentally too small potholder (I didn't understand the seam allowance, so lost about a half inch on each side).

Here's the potholder with half of the quilted lines (front and back). My lines are not straight. But, for my first try with quilting and the walking foot on my sewing machine, it's not terrible either:

And here's the potholder with all of the lines in. That excess batting/backing has already been cut off in preparation for binding. This is the part where you can see my in-exactitude glaring at you in the face. My squares were not perfectly sewn together/not straight. And the hatching meanders across the potholder in an uncomfortable way. It's in the center of some squares...and not so much for others. The horror. Note that the edge squares are bigger - this is not a seam allowance error, this is on purpose. The binding will cover up the excess amount of square to make it look exactly correct.

So I just need a ton more practice. For a while, potholders. Then table linens. Pillows. Eventually, a real quilt. They say it takes 1000 hours to become an expert at something...just 100 potholders to go...