OOTDs: Colorful Casual.

Been a bit behind in the ootd posting, so in an attempt to catch up will keep the copy brief and focus more on the photos.  If an item is still available, I will make mention of it, but in general, all of these items are older and definitely gone.  :-)

Outfit worn on March 3, 2015.  I went out that evening to G Street Fabrics with a friend after having some dinner with her.  I remember we were talking about the snowstorm that was set to come and wallop us a few days later (and it did, in epic form).

I wish my hair always looked like this.   Since I am not a stylist, I will just celebrate when the right combo happens.

None of the above is available, I have owned most of these for years, but the shoes can still be found at J. Crew Factory if you catch them on popback.  DO not pay $108 for them, though.  I got mine for under $40.

Worn on February 1, 2015.   This was a Sunday, but based on the outfit, I wasn't off to church (must have gone the night before). 

None of these are available, ancient clothing one and all (and clearly I love these corduroy pants).  There is a newer color of those Nikes available, in a grey, so much more of a neutral than my yellow pair.  :-)

Worn February 2, 2015.  This is a Monday.  Rex was still injured, so I was home with him.  I did something that day, if it is just me at home and no place to go, I don't bother with necklaces. 

(I just went to FB and found what I did that day--I met with the school and discovered that I would be homeschooling Rex for the foreseeable future.  No wonder I don't remember, I am trying to block the memory of that from my brain.  I mean I love Rex, and I love teaching, but together at home?  It's been a trial.)

The shoes are the same ones from the first outfit in this post.

The rest of the outfit is old, but I will point out that these are Lou's favorite pants from Boden, and when she saw them on me recently (in a photo on facebook), she asked if those were here favorite Boden trousers.  I happily declared that, "yes, indeed, they are."

Worn on February 4, 2015.  Again, no clue what I was doing that day.  Still home with Rex.  Going somewhere as I have on the shiny puffer down jacket, which is available at J. Crew still, btw. 

Worn on February 24, 2015.  It was a Tuesday and although I would normally be at bowling, that week I wasn't.  However, I did work on Rex's blazer that day, which I needed to finish by the 28th, so it is very possible I nixed bowling in favor of getting it done. 

The Turner pants are definitely still available in the solid shades, though these weirdly printed versions are gone.  (I bought them after finding I loved the Turner pant silhouette and these were only $25 or so.)

I wore this on January 3, 2015.  It was a Saturday.  I have on a necklace, so going somewhere.  LOL.  I love this cardigan from Anthropologie, it is called Jacquard Sweater Blazer, and like most items that I love from Anthropologie, is from the brand Moth.  It is not around, but the fact that it still has a page at Anthro means there are pobacks every once in a while.

Those jeans, btw, are so old, I have had them since 2003, and I will one day clone them into a pattern so I can so up additional pairs for me to wear, they are that comfortable.

Okay, that's all for now, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!

OOTD/Made by Me File: Halloween and a Pizza Costume.

Hey, all.  It has been a week.  Woah.  There hasn't been a lot happening around here, but there is a lot on the docket to be published.  I have been living real life fully, though, so my virtual life has been very muted.  ;-)

For those of you who would like to see the post I wrote for Fabric Mart on the skirt that was part of my last made by me file, check it out here.  I did do that last week, but still have to get around to publishing those posts for here. 

Okay onto this post which is not super late, but not exactly timely, either. 

OOTD will be first, followed by my son's pizza costume next.

Day: Friday, October 31, 2014.

Where:  Halloween Festivities.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I have had all the bits of this outfit for years (barring the shoes and sweater which I bought last year) so these are time-tested comfortable favorites.  I love the coat, what an unusual shape and color, but very comfortable, and thankfully warm.  It was so cold that night.  (WHY?  It isn't like we live in Manitoba!)

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  The silhouette works for my frame, so that helps with the cool factor.  At the end of the day it is a fairly simple casual outfit though spiced up by funky Halloween earrings and a very interesting coat.

Anecdote from the day:  The kids had the day off from school that day.  I am a fan, it made getting ready for the night easier AND they weren't super-tired walking around.  Wish they would do this every year. 

Also Angus was supposed to be Yoda.  He refused to wear the hat so he was just a regular Jedi.

So if you are thinking this pizza costume looks like a stuffed toy, that is because it does function as one, just with added ties to make it wearable as a costume.

When Rex came home from Target one day and said he wanted to be a pizza costume after seeing one in its aisles, I was like, "challenge accepted!" 

My issue was more on how I was going to go with it.  Was I going to make a flat costume with some structure or was I going to make it stuffed?  Was I going to make it so his head sticks out of the costume and slips over his head or was it going to be a tie on? Was it going to be a circular pizza pie or a slice of pizza?

In the end I decided to make it stuffed, tied on, and in the shape of a slice of pizza. 

The process of making it was somewhat involved, but the measuring part wasn't terrible.  Basically I laid his school uniform over the tan colored jersey and drew checkmarks where the points were (shoulder points, waist, crotch, and knees).  From there I determined the crust at the top would be at his shoulder line, not above, and that the bottom of the slice would be near his knees.  I then connected the marks with a ruler and made a triangle shape.

Then I figured out that if I used some smaller glass bowls as the template for my pepperoni slices, that would make for the right sized pizza slices, which I then appliqued to the tan jersey using special fusible fabric bonding interfacing with a blanket stitch on my sewing machine.  (The applique looks okay, but circles are really hard to applique as it turns out!)

To give the pizza top some heft and to keep it from collapsing on itself, before I appliqued the slices of pepperoni, I decided to treat the tan jersey and one layer of the (awful looking) brown jersey as a quilt and bonded those two together with a thin fusible batting.

(Btw, the top crust was part of the bottom layer of that quilt sandwich, it just wasn't fused to anything and hung out above the quilted tan and brown jersey lower layer until I was ready to fold it over and stuff it, which happened later.) 

Once I had my tan jersey/brown jersey fused together, that is when I appliqued the pepperoni slices on the pizza.  That, in essence, quilted all of the layers together.

After that I went ahead and made the top crust part by folding it over and sewing it to the quilted pizza top.  Then I added the poly-fill and sewed up the seam left open by the stuffing process.

I wasn't done yet with the costume (though that could have worked on its own, I suppose).  I decided that the pizza would look great stuffed, so I made a duplicate layer of brown jersey to match the bottom triangle.  I then took the piece and the quilted top (with crust top), right sides facing (wrong sides towards me and the machine) and slowly and carefully sewed them together, LEAVING the top open.  I also made sure to attach the ties in the side seams at this point (at the waist).  I would later add the top ties, but since the top bit is open, the process of sewing them in was straightfoward. 

I then fully stuffed the pizza with more poly-fil (the same stuff from the stuffing the top crust).  It took a lot of the stuff, but this is truly a stuffed pizza and not only can serve as a costume but a stuffed toy and pillow.  Rex has now slept with it multiple nights in a row, so yay for multi-tasking sewing projects!

The top is still open, closed with simple closures.  If I were to wear this as a costume (I can, it just ends higher up on me), I would take out some of the extra stuffing since I don't need all that girth, lol.  For now all the stuffing is staying in...

Here it is on him before we were just about to go out.  He really liked it, so I consider that a success.  I also dig that I drafted and figured how to sew it up on my own without a pattern.  :-)

I am not digging that we forgot to get Halloween buckets, so my kids had to use Easter baskets instead.  I thought we should use pillowcases (that's what I used!), but he was like, "NO!"  LOL. Okay, then...

My little man from the side in his stuffed pizza costume.  This view allows you to see what I am talking about when I speak of the quilted top, the bottom layer, and how the ties ended up in the side seams. 

(I am not sure if any of you are going to want to try this, but just in case you really want to make a pizza costume it is nice to see this view!)

And the back.  Very simple tie closures so that he can grow into it or others can wear it, if they so choose.

I did write this project up at Pattern Review, btw, so head over there if you would like a bit more info. 

Okay, that's all for today.  I have a lot of free time now for a while, so I am excited to get back to hanging out at my blog again!

Made by Me File: Splatter Abstraction Simplicity 1590. Thank You, Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner.

UPDATE (10/18/14): I just found out the news, and I won the final week, which means I won the challenge!  Wow!  I was not expecting that result, to say that I am stunned is a bit of an understatement.  I am so excited, though, of course.  :-)  It was a great time, I learned so much during these six weeks, and my competition were truly amazing sewers and I am glad to say I have gained so many friends through this process.  Thank you to Fabric Mart for hosting the challenge, and thank you to all the judges for taking their time to look at our pieces.  Their feedback was so helpful for my sewing!

This is the last entry for the Fabric Mart Fashion Challenge!  I made it to the finals.  I really hoped to go far, but honestly, because I started as the "lowest" level sewer (advanced beginner--there were a lot more seasoned sewers in the competition--churning out amazing things every week), I expected to be auf'd sooner than not.  So to be here, right now, is very exciting!  :-)  I want to thank all of you who have so supportive of my creative endeavors of late, having your sweet words and nice comments definitely helped in all those moments when I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open after a long day of sewing.

I haven't won one of the weeks, yet somehow still here, so I guess I was *just good enough* all those weeks to keep on keeping on, lol.  The final three do receive a prize, so yay!  I'll take bronze if that is what I end up being.  I'm cool!  :-)  (But wouldn't say no to a silver or gold, of course...)

Anyhow, here is my final entry, and because I want to go out with a bang (and take a big risk), I chose to create a blouse inspired by the art of Jackson Pollock, his wife Lee Krasner, and the era in which they both created their visions, the 40s and 50s. 

Before I start, the first five photos are done like I am in a magazine, but we were asked specifically to do so by the challenge (stage your outfit in a setting that will go with your vision...think of yourself as a model in a fashion spread), so understand that is why my mid-century Eames rolling chair (mine is the real deal that I was able to save from being trashed!) is perched at the edge of my driveway with the vista of the forest in the background.

Chicken Wings were so a *thing* in the 1940s.

I was asked four questions by Julie, and since my answers pretty much cover everything I would have said here anyhow, I will copy and paste those here.  :-)

Tell us what artwork, movement, etc. you chose and why you chose it. 

After reading what the last challenge was going to be, my brain *immediately* went to Jackson Pollock. I own some Liberty tana lawn called Melly that is very reminiscent of his famous "splatter" paint technique and thought I would use that at first to create a design from one of my Japanese dress books. But after doing some research on Jackson Pollock and reminding myself that the National Gallery of Art here in DC has one of his most famous works (that I also happen to LOVE) Number 1 Lavender Mist, I knew that I wanted to try painting my fabric myself, in colors I love, just like he did with his work. To see how he did his splatter paint technique, check out this link. I explain how I created my vision of his work in my fabric in the next questions below.

But he alone did not inspire me in my creation. I also read up on his wife, Lee Krasner, who also was a very successful, if less well known artist, in her own right. She was overshadowed by her husband, but her works also inspired me, as she, too, created works using a similar technique to Jackson Pollock.

The garment I decided to make is from the era of both of these artists and based on the portraits I saw of Lee Krasner, I could easily have seen her in a similar piece.

Bringing the blouse to 2014...

Then also tell us about your garment, why you created what you did and how you can use it in your life. 

I chose Simplicity 1590 which is a reprint of a blouse pattern from the 1940s.  It features a scoop neck, fitted waist, and a peplum hem. There is also a five button closure. I chose this pattern, as I mentioned above, because it looks to me like something a woman like Lee Krasner would have worn, and since I wanted to keep her as part of my inspiration, I was specifically looking for something from that era.

I also felt like the painting method used by Pollock would look good on a garment like this. I saw that other designers (recently, in fact) have used Pollock for inspiration in their collections (Dolce and Gabbana 2008, amongst others--AND Sportmax 2014--Rosario Dawson is wearing one of the dresses here).  Armed with the knowledge that I wasn't alone in my love of his unique art, I forged ahead, willing to take the risk.

I loved the idea of something so prim and ladylike being paired with something so messy and not prim. The disconnect makes this garment exciting to me.

I find it very wearable, but do look forward to washing it. You have to wait at least 72 hours before doing so, but based on how long it took to dry, I think I will wait a week and carefully handwash mine and line dry it.

I will be wearing it with jeans since it looks so cute that way, but maybe for a night out I will wear it as I did in my "editorial/magazine" photos.

Explain what fabrics you chose and why.

I chose handkerchief linen because I know linen is perfection for accepting paints and colors, so it was a no-brainer choice. I had *just* enough to make my garment with a little left over for experimenting on before I began the big painting job. After deciding on how I wanted to apply the paints--yellow, green, and turquoise were all applied in drips and gentle waves, while navy blue was applied more aggressively, I proceeded and when pleased with the results, I left the pieces to dry. It says four hours on the Tulip soft paint, but it took nearly twenty-four hours to get mine to dry fully.

(I need to point out that I needed to add water to the Tulip soft paint to get it to the correct viscosity for applying the paint the way Pollock did, in its regular form it is far too thick.)

I found that once dry, the pieces were easy to sew together, but the pressing process was very interesting and took me a long time since I didn't want to ruin all my hard work. :)

Include a photo of the inspiration too. 

I was inspired by this quote by Pollock, which allowed me to fully release and let go during the process of painting my fabric: “When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’ period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.”

Jackson Pollock Art: Number 1 Lavender Mist (more amazing in real life, btw); Untitled 1951; Convergence

Lee Krasner Art: Shellflower--(an article, btw, which has a lot of info on Lee Krasner); Shattered Color

Okay, that's it for now.  Again, I am so grateful for all the support.  I am definitely worn out, but feeling great that I stayed the course and kept on keeping on.  :-)

Voting will be open tomorrow and I will update this post with a link if you feel *inspired* to vote for me.  ;-)  For now, here is a direct link to the Fabric Mart blog.

OOTDs: Three Pairs of Pants and One Purse.

Day: Tuesady, March 11, 2014.

Where: CW's Bible Play.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I love the ease of this outfit.  I normally try to dress up more if I am going to the kids' school, especially if it is for a play/performance, but I wasn't feeling up to getting kitted up that day, so I figured a dash of color would make up for the fact that I am wearing jeans.  :-)

The Must Have Tee is super soft and just warm enough, even though it is fairly lightweight (see my original review of it here).  I didn't have to wear a coat that day, by some minor miracle in this Canadian winter of ours, we had a day of semi-warmth.

Cool Factor: (2.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.)  Very pretty, but also very casual.  Just somewhere right in the middle of cool...

Anecdote from the Day: You can never hear kids when they are performing, huh?  There is a chance CW did say her line properly, but we aren't sure.  They all sang the songs really well, though.

Day: Wednesday, March 12, 2014.

Where:  Home sewing and school pickup.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Again, a super high score for comfort.  Those Pure Collection pants are sublime, and I am so glad I have these in both the navy and the black color (I am wearing the black now as I type).  Even though I haven't been able to do a lot of in-depth reviews of Pure Collection lately (budget constraints, boo!), I do look over there from time to time (and keep their coupons in my sidebar) since I LOVE everything I have from them.  Looks like they have a near dupe of these pants in their current collection called the Pure Silk Tie Waist Trousers, and I kind of think I need to save up for the ones in jade.  My pants are made from a heavy poly mix, so I suspect the silk ones would be even more luxurious and special.  Pure is having a big mid-season sale and the pieces in there look to be very pretty, especially all the cashmere in sherbert shades.  The Pure Silk Tie Waist Trousers are not in the sale (the sister, the silk tie waist skirt is, though), but you can use the sidebar coupon to get an additional 25% off those, if you like the look.  (The 25% off does not come off the mid-season pieces, though.)

Cool Factor: (2.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.)  The Downtown Field Jacket seems to be the coolest bit of this look, as it is so popular that J. Crew keeps bringing it back season after season.  The rest of the outfit is fine, of course, but not especially cool.

Anecdote from the Day: My stinking Pants Sloper I worked SO HARD on is TOO BIG!  I spent hours redrafting the sloper into a new pants pattern with a yoke and pockets only to make the whole thing up and find the whole thing was too big by one whole inch on each side.  Sigh.  I put the redrafted pattern against what I had made in class and it was the same, so the only thing I can think is that because I wore tights and not bare skin to the lessons that the friction from the fabric allowed the pants to stay up since they definitely were falling off of me when I finished all the hard work on the pants I made at home.  I can save them, I took an inch off each side seam and they fit better, but still a bit loose.  I think I need to redraft the pattern again and hope for the best.  I can save the pants I worked on, but they will likely become "at home" "fat day" pants.

At least the crotch length and depth is accurate, so small favors, right?

Day: Saturday, March 15, 2014.

Where: Finishing the kindergarten class quilt, the Veronica Mars movie, and Girls Night Out with B. and T.

Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  The Peter Pilotto for Target tee is very soft and comfortable (and worth the $20 I spent, only thing from the collection not overpriced in my estimation).  The points off are for the jeans, which while look fine on me are just not *super, over the top,* pj comfy the way I have decided I want all my pants to feel.  LOL.  I am getting soft in my old age. 

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.)  This outfit is pretty cool.  I think the whole look makes me look a touch younger, maybe not super youthful, but maybe, possibly, *not a mom with three kids* young?  :-)  Here's to hoping, anyhow.

I cannot believe how much the people in the UK were willing to pay for these Target pieces.  They were sold at Net-a-Porter UK and from what I could tell they simply took the American price and put a pound sign in front of the amount instead of a dollar sign.  So this tee would have been 20 pounds, or nearly $35.  Yikes.  And then of course some of the items sold out and the ebay people over there then double or tripled the UK price.  Seriously.  Wow.  I made a joke with some of my UK blog friends that I could go to the local Target, buy most of the pieces on sale, and then make a *stupid* amount of profit if I did that.  I guess we didn't want these pieces as much as the ladies over there did.

Anecdote from the Day: My hubby and I love Veronica Mars.  I loved it enough to obsessively watch it, but my husband was obsessive enough to actually give money to the kickstarter to get the movie funded.  It turned out that he couldn't give money in the end since the whole project was funded in one day (fast!!!).  That's some serious love.  It was a good movie, but it was weird, like it should have been on TV, but there I was, along with other adults reliving their *decade old* youth in a theater.  Did anyone else out there see it?

Okay, that's all for now. 

If you have a Boden review, I will be writing the BWRR up tomorrow if you would like to include yours in it.  You can either comment your review here at the Boden Reviews tab, or you can email me at dinagideon AT aim DOT com.

OOTDs: Winter Casual.

Hey, all!  Even though I normally try to add bits and pieces about each outfit (like coolness, ease of wear, and anecdotes), I am going to dispense with that since I am pretty beat.  I spent the day cleaning every last square inch of my room.  Plus side--I feel so tidy now.  Minus side--so tired...

If I can link to an item since it is currently in stock, or if I have thoughts on an item, I will mention it in the copy below the photos. 

Worn to first "Moms with Young Kids" group at church and then to help CW's class with their auction project (a quilt that I will be making--yipes).

Sweatshirt/Tunic.  Zara's Printed Sweatshirt.  Size Medium.  Very cute, very comfy, and true to size, as far as I can tell (I would think my frame would be a medium up top and a large down below).  The pockets are fab.  I think this is worth the full price.  :-)

Pants.  J. Crew's Full Length Bi-Stretch Wool Minnies.  Size 8 L.  So long that I actually had to tuck the hem up into itself to get it to be the right length.  Having said that, had I bought the regular, it would have been too short by about 2 inches, so I made the right call on length.  Love how they look, just fitted enough, just long enough, and a great color for my wardrobe.  I am a fan of the Minnie pant, and look forward to seeing this version next fall in other great shades.

Worn to pre-bowl, since I can't seem to drag my butt to the actual bowling league itself.  Subbing, snow, and school meetings are getting in the way!

Top.  Johnnie b. (Boden) Sammy Sweatshirt.  Size 15-16.  As far as I can tell I am usually a 15-16 in tops, unless the top is so oversized that it looks ridiculous on me.  (Then I go for a 13-14.)  I typically wear a 4 or 6 in Boden tops and a 4 or 6 in J. Crew, so use me as a comparison if need be.  Very comfortable, cute, young-looking top.  I love the color, such a fresh shade of aqua/mint.

Pants.  Johnnie b. (Boden) Printed Skinny Jeans.  Size 30 L.  These pants were so cheap during Boden's crazy "let's reduce clearance items by 80% off" that I bought two pairs, the 30 L and the 32 L.  They were $9 a piece.  The 32 L was very big on me, near falling off, but I dug them so much and since they are actually cheaper than fabric in that amount, I am keeping them, cutting their legs off, altering the waist, and making these pants into shorts for the summer.  The 30 L that I wore bowling fit fine, a touch tight through the legs, so if you have calves that fall on the wider spectrum, they may be too skinny, even if you size up.  These were also so long that I tucked the hem up on them, too, just like I did on the Minnies in the first outfit.  Again, had I gone with the regular, though, they would have been too short.

Worn on the school run last week.

Coat.  Boden's Ingrid Coat.  I did a review of this amazing coat here at this blog post.

Worn on the school run.  This is my most casual outfit ever (hey no makeup!).  But man was it cozy and comfortable.  Look at Angus walking up those stairs all by himself.  He is a champ stair climber.  He's almost two, guess it was bound to happen.  :-)

Shoes.  Target's Merona Mallory Flat.  Size 9.5.  As per my usual with Target, I only buy if the shoe has some component made from leather.  That is getting harder to find these days, but I was in Target and saw these darling mint driving mocs and was all, "ooh," 100% expecting to put them back after spying "all manmade materials," but nope, the uppers are suede (100% leather), so yay for that.

Okay, that's all for now.  I hope everyone is having a great Monday night/Tuesday morning.  :-)

OOTD: Fair Isle Birthday.

Good morning, everyone.  Are you one of the many who is out of school or work today because of the monster snow storm that has affected pretty much the entire east coast?  We are out today and we will probably be out tomorrow, if history holds true.  I guess I will be getting a lot of housework, sewing, and blogging done.  (Secretly thrilled over here.)

If you have a Boden review and would like to share the link to the blog post, or you would like me to include your written review in my next BWRR (tomorrow), you can e-mail me at dinagideon AT aim DOT com.  You can also leave the details at the Boden Review tab here at the blog.  If you don't get a chance, and you are one of my regular blogs that I feature on the BWRR, you should be fine, but if you want to be sure, I don't mind.  :-)

Okay, onto the outfit!

Day: Wednesday, February 12, 2014.

Where: Women's Club at the church and Rex's Birthday dinner.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  These jeans are one of the only pair of jeans I plan on keeping after I use my new pants sloper pattern (I have been in some sewing classes learning how to make a pants pattern to exactly fit my body).  Something about the way these exactly work with my curves make them super comfortable and still presentable.

The Fair Isle Yoke sweater ( still available on clearance in limited numbers; review here) was nice and warm, exactly right for yesterday's very cold temperatures and nighttime snow.  It is pilling a touch under the arms, but still nothing terrible and nothing that a fabric shaver couldn't easily take care of.

I am surprised by how warm the double cloth bonbon coat kept me.  This one is not insulated, so I thought I had chosen poorly (even though it is exactly the right shade for the outfit), but I felt fine.  I suspect I layered correctly for the weather.  :-)

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.)  I love the look of it, especially with the coat opened.  On its own without the coat, it would drop down to a 3, but with the coat, very cool.

Anecdote from the Day:  With the help of our parish priest and another mom, I am starting a "moms with young kids" group at the church.  We will meet every first and third Wednesday of the month, and it will be a chance for those of us suffering from what I affectionately call "sleep blindness" to get together and be prayerful and celebrate this time of our lives in a community rather than on our own, which is what so many of us do.  At the same time as we meet, some older women of the parish meet to do arts and crafts, and more than not, it includes sewing and knitting, so it is right up my alley.  Meeting the women of the arts and crafts group was lovely since it allowed me the chance to explain what my group would do and also allowed me to see that in addition to meeting for companionship, we could also help the arts and crafts group out as needed (and as long as it included activities that all of us could do, especially since some of the moms won't have sewing and knitting experience).

Later that day we took Rex to our favorite Ethiopian restaurant, Meaza, for his birthday dinner.  He specifically asked for it since his favorite food is the yellow lentils they have there.  (They are really good.)  Normally I buy a glass of wine, but last night I decided to try the St. George beer, which is an Ethiopian beer.  It was so good, I ended up drinking two beers.  Then the waitress told me I could purchase it at the shop next door, and since I live so close, I guess I could just make the grocery there part of any grocery run.  :-)

The kids were so excited by the snow they ran around our darkened driveway for a couple of minutes when we got home.  I took pictures (obviously) and CW posed.  Of course she did.

Alrighty, that's it for now.  You all have a great day!