Birthday Dress *Oh My!

Yesterday I was on a mission.  I needed to find my daughter a dress for her upcoming birthday and baptism. 

I went directly to the thrift store and found this cute little dress, originally from Crazy 8, for only $3....YES!

 The dress was pretty on its own, but it was just too plain for what I had in mind.  I also wanted it to present some white than to just be plain gray.
I had to do something, so I headed for Hobby Lobby's trim section.   After narrowing it down to  a few different options, I selected the sophisticated look.   I love when things just work out so smoothly(which seems very rare for me, hehe)

Here it is in all its finished glory...

*sigh... I'm in love

I'll have to add photos of my daughter modeling it later when I can find a minute to take them.

Now on to the birthday plans...

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Mustache jars, a stash or "stache" for Dad

I saw this idea floating around on the internet a couple of years ago and just had to make them for Father's Day last year.  Daddy still uses his to keep the kids out of his treats and it works like a charm.  The Daddy's jar is a plastic Mango Salsa jar from Costco washed out and Label peeled.  The wording and mustaches are just stickers from Hobby Lobby.  I added "pokey" down the side of Daddy's because our younger daughter always tells her dad not to kiss her with his "pokey Mustache" when he hasn't shaved for a while.

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Simple DIY circle "midi" skirt

My daughter has been begging me to sew her a midi skirt for the last couple of months.  I finally pushed a few things aside to gain a little spare time, which is almost impossible to find these days, so I could sew her a skirt. We began our venture by scoping out the local fabric store and came across a gorgeous salmon colored polyester fabric.  I next found and used this pattern from stylelist.com. 

I realize this isn't exactly a midi skirt on her because at her 5'9" height, I should have only looked for 62" bolts of fabric.  However, She is thrilled with the outcome(I say that lightly because, if you know my daughter, you know, she contains her emotions rather liberally) BUT I did get a permanent grin 

and a "can I just wear this to play practice today?" She looks so sophisticated and absolutely beautiful wearing it, which I love, because her usual choice of clothing are jeans or PJs

I will say one word about this pattern, okay maybe two words....simple and elegant! 

Here is some "twist" action...

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Mini Schnauzer pup

As you can see, I'm a huge dog lover. This is "Hurley"(named after the character from the TV show, LOST) and he is the last puppy. He's the sweetest boy and has been the favorite since the puppies were born. The rest of the litter are all going to their new homes on Saturday. I'm so sad to see them go, but at least one, so far, is staying in the neighborhood, so I will get to see him often. :)

Puppies in order from left to right:( Kate, Sun, Hurley, Sawyer ( Sawyer's new name is Apollo )

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Language of hospitality

This is one of my favorite pictures that I've ever taken, so much so that it's blown up and hanging on my living room wall. This was on my trip to the UK. I was fascinated with the way the English presented and meticulously cared for their inviting entrances. They were always seeming to say to me "Come in and have a cup of tea". It has inspired me to make the entrance to my home more warm and welcoming as well.

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The results are in from our official pinewood derby last Saturday. My son rocked it!! He would have one 1st had his car not wrecked and bent his axle, slowing him down one race. Luckily dad was prepared with a backup and he still came out 2nd place!! He had a blast. This picture is his time on the race he wrecked. You can see his car off track with a respectable time of 2.276!

It looks like my posts may not be as frequent as I had hoped. I am going back to school starting Feb 7th. I am working to get my CNA and Applying for the nursing program to get my RN. The ultimate goal is to get my CNM and become a Certified Nurse Midwife. I just pray I can come up with the funds or my dream might just die here, but hey, at least I will still have my family and that's all that really matters.

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Does a body good

I have had back aches, head aches, wrist aches, ankle aches, knee aches, you name an ache and I've probably had it. Exercising always improves my aches, in fact now when I have an ache, I think, ooh time to get more exercise. Today was such a lovely day for walking to the school to pick up the kids and the dog loved it almost as much as I did.

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