OOTDs: Festive White and Polka Dotted.

Happy New Year's Eve!  I am actually going to a party with some teacher friends, and I really hope to have a good time, but it's been forever since I have gone to a party like this, so I have a feeling I might feel out of place for at least a little while.  Thank goodness for champagne!

Before I begin, Boden is offering an additional 10% off clearance/sale styles.  I have a link for it in the sidebar and at the bottom of this post for those of you interested.  The affiliate program provided me with the link, which is awesome.  (Sometimes the affiliate doesn't get all the good ones.)

Day: Sunday, December 13, 2015.

Where:  Mass at our newly remodeled church.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) It was kind of hot that day, so the topper (which is an ancient spring coat from Anthropologie) was worn for a grand total of twenty minutes.  But overall, a very easy outfit considering we had a very long mass that day (all total around 1.5 hours). 

Outfit Details: Coat, Anthropologie; Dress, Boden; Shoes, Nine West; Scarf, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Ray-Ban (here, they are the Meteor style).

Anecdote of the Day: The church looks lovely and bright now.  It used to be a touch dark in the space.  I was in the first Confirmation group to be confirmed in the original "remodeled" version of the church WAY BACK WHEN, so it is wonderful to know that my kids will be part of another group to enjoy their sacraments in the second remodeling of the church.  (Though Rex had his First Holy Communion in the old church design, and all the kids were baptized in the old design.)  They kept some of the original bits, including the ceiling, which was the one thing I didn't want them to touch.  So glad they kept that!

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Wednesday, December 16, 2015.

Where:  Christmas work party.

Ease of Wear: (4.75 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) This pretty sparkly polka-dotted dress by Boden is made of jersey, which is perfection for ease of wear.  I thought it was made with a woven jacquard fabric, so I ignored it as a possibility to wear, but by a stroke of buyer's luck, discovered it was a jersey stretchy material right around the Black Friday sales, so I was able to purchase it for a fairly decent price.  It had to pop back in my size, but once it did, I jumped on it, and was glad I did.  The sparkly shoes from last year are flat, so there was no pain there, either.

Outfit Details: Dress, (Sparkle Spot Jacquard Dress, here at Boden; my review of it here); Coat, Halston Heritage; Shoes, Boden; Necklace, Stella and Dot; Tights, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Ray-Ban (here, they are the Meteor style).

Anecdote of the Day: I like my drinks hard and manly, so when offered a neat Scotch or Bourbon, I will happily drink it.  I had the pleasure of enjoying a really lovely Scotch that strongly tasted of peat, which if you have traveled to any bit of countryside in the UK, you have smelled burning in the air.  It tastes amazing, but I do understand that the taste may be an acquired one.  ;-)

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Wednesday, December 24, 2015.

Where:  Christmas Eve Dinner.

Ease of Wear: (4.75 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) I originally planned on wearing this one only in the morning, but in the end decided I was fine with wearing it all day because 1) lazy and 2) need easy waistband for dinner gorging (ugh, must show more restraint in the future).

Outfit Details: Dress, Boden (Casual Weekend Dress, here; my original review here); Jacket, Boden (Boucle Jacket, here; original review here); Shoes, J. Crew; Necklace, gift from my dad; Sunglasses, Ray-Ban (here, they are the Meteor style).

Anecdote of the Day:  Dad brought Popeye's for dinner.  Popeye's.  I was appalled, Mr. Dina was thrilled (he loves Popeye's almost as much as he loves his white tennis shoes).

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Extra 10% off sale prices with code 2SAL plus free shipping and returns over $49 valid 12/31-1/3

OOTD: Hibiscus Floral Birthday Muumuu Maxidress.

Before I write up the blog post, I wanted to let you all know that I looked at Boden's site a couple weeks back and saw they had put up a new affiliate program as one we could apply to, so of course I decided to go ahead and do so, thinking there still might be a chance that my blog isn't big enough to be part of their new program.  However, yesterday I received word that I was accepted, which is good news!  :-)  I see they have similar systems in place as the old program, so when the time is right I will have coupons in the sidebar, etc.  So yay!  Right now the big summer sale is going on, so the sidebar links are to that, but once the regular season starts up, I will switch them out to the coupon links. 

Now to go and dust off my Boden Weekly Review Roundup boots again.  ;-)

Day: Sunday, July 5, 2015.

Where: BBQ Birthday Party.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I bought the Hibiscus Floral Maxidress from J. Crew in November (so well after I could reasonably wear it outside) for a very good price.  Initially my thought was to take it and use all the yardage for something, maybe a shorter dress for myself and a dress for CW.  But then I tried it on back in May and asked all my Instagram friends if I should keep it as is, and most said to not cut into it and wear it as is.  So I did, and I am glad I did.  I *might* bring the straps up a touch since they run low and I know they are meant to hit higher, but otherwise, I love the fit, length, etc.

Outfit Details:  Dress, J. Crew; Necklace, J. Crew; Sandals, (can't see them, but I am wearing them, lol) Target here; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day:  It was a very yucky 4th here in the MD/DC/VA area.  All muggy, humid, buggy, and a bit rainy.  I was worried for the 5th, but upon waking I saw all the pretty skies and less awful weather, and breathed a sigh of relief.  Most of my friends and family were able to make it, and it was a great time.  Just perfection.  I even was able to share blowing out my candles with two girls who have their birthdays right near mine or on mine. 

Sadly, my great aunt passed away later that day (we were expecting it, though, unfortunately), and she was more like a grandmother to me than a great aunt.  She *is* the reason I love bright colors and prints, since she was the one who insisted I stop wearing so many drab colors back when I was nineteen.  Her funeral is this weekend in CA, so I will be heading that way on Thursday to say goodbye to her.  :-(

INSTAGRAM of the outfit HERE.

Okay, that's it for now.  Hope your Tuesday is amazing!

OOTE/Made by Me File: Spaced Out in McCall's 2401.

Outfit of the Evening:

Day: Saturday, March 21, 2015.

Where:  Auction for my kids' school.  Past years' outfits can be found here and here.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Well, I made the darn dress out of a knit, so it fit me and it was super comfortable.  My only issue was that static cling thing again...the dang poly sticks to everything when there is even the vaguest hint of dry air (shaking fist furiously at the winter sticking around, boo).  So I had to wear a slip with this and it was a bit too long and even after taking up the straps on it with my sewing machine, the slip still managed to show its lacy hem.  Not exactly the look I was going for, if you kwim.  So I ended up tucking in part of the slip in my tights (about seven inches total at the slip's waist, leaving the skirt to hang loose below the tucked in bit), and crazily enough that worked.  Huh.  I didn't even feel it untuck once.  Of course I drank enough that by 9:45 it could have untucked and fully shown its pretty lace, and I definitely wouldn't have noticed, but based on everyone else there, I am sure I wasn't the only one too sloshed to care.

Outfit Details:  None of these are available, but if you are a seamstress you can find the fabric here at Spoonflower (called Sparkle Star Field).

Anecdote of the Day:  My hubby decided he wanted me to go on my own to the "Space Odyssey" themed auction.  I spent $125 on two things--two cosmopolitans (there was an open bar, but I am always a sucker for the "themed" drinks), and a night of babysitting with three gifts cards for a date with Mr. Dina.  So though by myself, I exhibited restraint in the auction venue.  (Some of those people throw the money DOWN, though.  Dang--what it would be like to say, "hey, I want a $3000 Capitals Jersey or a $1000 wine package.")  Anyhow.  What I needed him there for, though, was a reminder to eat.  Yeah, at my age you think I would know better.  No.  I ended up drinking four strong beverages and had a half a plate of food.  DUMB.  DUMB.

So one of the parents comes up to me at the auction and says, "I knew I knew you, but I just figured out how."  Turns out that we were in the same program at Mason together in college, he was just two years older than me.  Woah.  That is a crazy good face memory on his part.  Anyhow he now lives a few blocks from me and one of his kids is in Rex's class.  Tiny a$$ little world here, you all.


MADE BY ME FILE:

McCall's 2401.  This is a very basic sheath dress pattern that has loads of neckline and sleeve options, and based on the fact that there are three pages of reviews for it over at Pattern Review, this is a beloved pattern, too.  It has probably been around since 1996 if we are going on cover art alone.

I know that Burda 7137 has been made by me twice as a basic sheath dress, but that pattern has far fewer options for necklines and sleeves, and to be honest I don't want to keep making the same thing over and over, even though it is really tempting.

Anyhow, this pattern is not specifically for knits, but I saw some of the reviewers had made it up in knits similar to this performance knit, and I figured as long as I did what they did, I should be successful.

Definitely glad I left off the zipper, didn't need it at all, and glad that I decided to stay with my same size as I would have in the wovens (10 at shoulders and waist, graded out to a 12 and 14 at my high and low hip/hem).  Though the knit has a good amount of stretch, the print is on a white base, so if the fabric was too stretch too much, the white would come through and make the black background far less black, ruining the effect I was hoping to get.

The next time I make this in a knit, though, I will likely size down to the size below since I could tell that a lot of the drag lines/wrinkles came from the dress being a bit too large in certain parts.  It would have been fine in a structured woven fabric, but a drapey, stretchy knit, not as awesome looking.  Plus pressing this fabric was a bit of a difficulty, it kind of reminds me of ITY, in that it is awesome for packing, but really hard to iron.

So--lesson here--the form of the black galaxy print was more important to me than the function with the proper fit with no drag lines.  That doesn't mean I won't bitch about it below, though.  Ha.

This shot shows the full potential of this dress, but I am most definitely standing at my best posture, and the light from the direct sunlight isn't hitting the dress showing off all the wrinkles and drag lines.

I know I should be less hard on the dress, since (hello!) it was worn to a party in a dark space, and honestly, besides the few issues, looks really nice on me, but I am a notorious perfectionist about these things.  >:-(

There is one issue that I absolutely need to correct, and it has noting to do with excess ease from using a knit instead of a woven, and that is my square shoulder.  I often will do a square shoulder adjustment on my woven makes, but not on my knits since the knit fabric stretches to accommodate my straight across shoulder (most patterns make their shoulders sloping), but it didn't work this time, I can see the frown lines radiating from my armpit (especially the right shoulder, that's the one that is "up" more than the left).  I suspect those come from not making the square shoulder adjustment.  I always adjust for my hips, I should just get over it and always adjust for my shoulders.  :-)

Side view.  Haha, I needed to pull that belly in, eh?  I didn't hem the sleeves or the skirt.  The fabric is deliciously fray resistant/proof.  However, I will bring the sleeve hem up.  Unlike most patterns, this sleeve runs long...most of the reviewers with the long sleeves have the hem right at the wrist.  I have long arms and while technically I could get away with it hitting at my wrist, I know if I hem it up, that will take away some of the lower sleeve wrinkles/drag lines.

Back View. Hey! No drag lines or wrinkles at my butt!  It fits nice and proper there and at my upper neckline.  Woo.  (How's that for positivity?)

The waistline clearly shows that I need to make a swayback adjustment OR make a smaller pattern size at the waist.  The ease at the waist is around 7 inches, I believe, and with a 28" waist, which is three inches bigger than what is normally expected from a size 10 to wear, it should have a waist measurement of 32".  That extra few inches of ease is probably too much in a fabric like this and the sway back only makes it worse.  And it is also very possible that I need to reduce the length on the bodice since I have a short back measurement (it is 15.5 inches, and the size 10 calls for a 16" back measurement).

But the skirt fits at the hips!  WOO!

I finished the neckline with a foldover elastic, quartering it and stretching it to fit the neckline while I sewed it on with a zig-zag stitch.

The fabric was in honor of the "Space Odyssey" theme for the school auction I went to that night (I made it in one afternoon, yay, thankyouverymuchserger!), and if you like it you can find it here at Spoonflower. 

The dress was a hit.  Galaxy print dresses and leggings were everywhere a few years ago, but are out of favor right now (don't care!).  I had hoped to find more galaxy print fabric for sale, but really only Spoonflower had the best versions, so I just jumped right in and purchased two yards.  I loved the fabric and really do love the way the dress ended up looking (despite my fitting gripes). 

In addition to making the dress, I sewed up this pillow (it is a 28 x 28 form) for the auction.  It took a lot of work, especially appliqueing the stars on the fabric, but it was worth it.  I actually found quilting the stars very peaceful, but boy was I glad when it was done.  Don't ask me how much it went for, all I know is I couldn't have afforded it.  LOL.

You all have a great night!!!  Talk with you soon!

OOTDs: Three Celebrations.

Before I start, two things to let you all know about.

1. I have completed my first blog post for the Fabric Mart blog.  Eventually you will see all the pieces I made for that blog post dissected here in separate "made by me" files and in a special packing post, but for now head on over to see the pieces I slaved over the past week.  :-)  I love the end result, and am very excited that I have these for my trip to Mississippi in a couple weeks.

2. Boden's 25% off sale ends tomorrow.  For more information on that one, please do check out this post.

Onto celebrating!

Mr. Dina didn't intend to make this look like a catalog shot, but it turned out that way.  He probably thinks he is a "photographer" now.

Day: Saturday, November 8, 2014.

Where:  Rex's baseball team's championship win celebration.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  The party was at 3 at a local Italian restaurant and even though I ate well (although that time--weird, right--hard to decide, late lunch or early dinner), I didn't feel like I was being pinched or pulled, so I would give this one a thumbs up for comfort. 

The New Balance 620 shoes are a recent purchase.  I have to say even though J. Crew has been falling down style-wise for me of late (too blah and not enough color), their shoe collaborations are awesome.  I took these in a 9.5 and they fit perfectly true to size.

Cool Factor: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  This one is pretty cool.  For me.  :-)

Anecdote from the day:  Since I spent all of last weekend celebrating, any moment I had free at the house was sewing.  It was a weird situation to be in, I far prefer to do all my sewing at home for an extended time (cocoon-like and hiding away), but this put me in a different frame of mind.  I didn't dislike it, but my hyper-focus had to be shut down, which was a little unnerving.  It was probably good for me. 

Day: Sunday, November 9, 2014.

Where:  Mass and El Paso for my dad's birthday dinner.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This dress was made by me, so it fits perfectly, so that made it very easy to wear.  That said, the Naturalizer booties were not my best choice of footwear for that night, though (see the anecdote for more on that).

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Nice, but very buttoned up.  The scarf is fun and the boots put a fresh spin on an outfit with a tailored sheath, but it is still very conservative.

Anecdote from the day:  I suffer from weird hip pain in my left hip, and it flares up once a year without fail.  I have had this since the very end of my pregnancy with CW and it makes walking very difficult when it comes around.  It usually is around for a week and then disappears.  This is why choosing booties was probably not smart.  This was the first night I experienced it, btw, and have been in a bit of pain since then (though it gets worse at night than during the day).

I haven't seen my brother in ages he has been working so hard.  It was good to just be able to sit and chill with him.  He is starting a new job, so we are very excited for him.

And how cool is it that the Berlin Wall has been down for 25 years?  I remember when it came down in 1989.  Since I had been there many times as a girl (my dad's dad lived in Berlin and that is where my mom's mom is from), the idea that the horrible barrier was gone was truly uplifting.  (One more cool fact--my mom's mom and my mom's dad met during the Berlin Airlift!)

Day: Friday, November 7, 2014.

Where:  Dinner out with my besties from high school.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This one was very easy to wear, the only bummer was the scarf which I needed to keep warm.  I think it looks fine and definitely helped keep the biting cold winds from my neck, but blah for style in this particular outfit.

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Necessity is the downfall here.  I just don't love the scarf with it and can't see beyond it.  Really glad I still have this Boden dress in my wardrobe from all those years ago, I still love it as much as when I first bought it.

Anecdote from the day:  I love that I can still hang out with my friends from high school.  They are some amazing women.  I can't get over how much more I laugh and let loose around them than I do with other adults I have met since then.  I don't know what it is, but it is just easy to be fully me around them.  Maybe I feel less judged by them?  I also let my hair down around my kids and my brother, so maybe the "no judgment" thing is a huge part of it.

Okay, that's all for now!  I hope you all are having a great Wednesday!

OOTD/Made by Me File: Frozen Festivities...In Superfluity.

If you recall, right before I was slated to start competing in the Fabric Mart Fashion Challenge Sewing Competition, I sewed up most of my little girl's "Elsa" dress based on McCall's 7000 sewing pattern.  I was nearly done at the point I wrote up that blog post, but because of how much time and energy was spent in September and half of October on sewing for the Fashion Challenge, I never did get around to showing off the final project and all of the festivities that surrounded her costume creation.

In addition to this sewing based post, I am also throwing in outfit of the day shots (my daughter is in all of them, though, since the main focus of these days was her, after all).  I am also including some Frozen-themed birthday party things that we did for her on her big day.  And at the end, I included some photos from when we went to see Disney's Frozen on Ice.  (We surprised her with that one, too!)

I realize that there is a real hodgepodge of things going on here, but hopefully if you are here, and are looking for Frozen/Elsa things, what I have here can help you.  And since it is three days before Halloween, I know some of you probably are doing what I do every year, a little bit of procrastination.  You may be just starting your Elsa costume, so seeing a final product might make the work go a little better.

(I am not out of the woods this year, btw--I have to make a PIZZA costume for Rex--no pattern--by Friday.  Have I started it...erm, no.)


BIRTHDAY PARTY DETAILS:

Right before her party, CW and I posed with one of her birthday gifts/party decorations, the life-sized cardboard cutouts of the Frozen sisters, Elsa and Anna.  Of course CW squealed with delight after seeing the life-sized Queen and Princess, but both Mr. Dina and I squealed with delight (well, not really, lol) after we realized that for $35 we could have both a present AND a party "favor."  The guests at the party would receive a sparkly crown (like CW's--$1 at Joanns, btw) and they, too, could pose with Anna and Elsa and I would send the photo to their parents after the party.

OOTD: Dress, Anthropologie; Shoes, Target.

My daughter looks so beautiful in her Elsa gown!  Worth all the hours of sewing I did.

Since we had only invited a handful of girls and their parents to the mid-afternoon party, we knew we wouldn't need much in the way of food, but we know that kids get hungry and thirsty, so we made sure to set up the table in a way that they could have easy access to the food and drinks.  This is the shot before I had put all the food out. 

I happen to own a lot of aqua blue colored dishes/serving pieces, so we had zero costs there.  (I guess I was onto something thirteen years ago when I put all these things on my registry.)

Again, not much in the way of food and snacks, just apples/carrots/some juice (on the glass platter just outside the frame of the photo) and some gumballs. 

There were other food items, but they were part of the festivities of the birthday party.

Originally I was going to have a "Frozen" yogurt bar, but when we saw the Blue Bunny Birthday Ice Cream flavor, we *knew* that had to be the dessert for the treat.  It's good, you all.  Mmm.

Anyhow, the girls were invited, one at a time, to get some ice cream from me, and then put their favorite decorations/yummies on top of it.  We used pearl colored balls, silver balls, aqua blue sanding sugar, marshmallows, and sno-caps (get it, ha!). 

The ice cream bar was a huge hit, and the expenditure was very little.  Some of those girls, though, man, they poured on those candies and treats.  Sorry, parents!!!

Because it was a birthday party, of course we had a cake.  More sugar, hey!  Anyhow, Harris Teeter had this cake as one of their options, so even though there was no specific Frozen birthday cake licensed by Disney, this sheet cake with blue icing and snowflake decorations was available.  We added the 6 candle and the Elsa mini doll (she's in her coronation outfit in this one).

Over the summer I made quite a few "Elsa" skirts for little girls, and for one version (given to CW's cousin), I used some sparkly poly organza.  I had some left over, so I knew that I could use it for something.  And that something was as a wrapping for the party favors the girls went home with (in addition to the crowns they received at the beginning of the party). 

Each was cut using pinking shears, but that still didn't keep the fabric from fraying, however, since these were only meant to last for a little while, I wasn't that worried about it.  I enclosed some blue and white gumballs, some snowflake stickers, and a Frozen ring in each girl's favor.  (I also made sure to have a few boy versions available--they received the Kristoff rings.)  I then tied the favors using some Frozen ribbon I found at Joanns. 

MCCALL'S 7000 DETAILS:

I wrote up a review of this pattern at Pattern Review, so definitely take a look if you want more info on it.

The dress turned out quite well, but I personally did not want to make the whole thing from woven fabric.  Instead I decided to make the bodice bit from knit fabric (extra stretchy for growth spurts, plus easier on her to wear), and use some gorgeous sparkly metallic linen (from Fabric Mart, hey!) for the skirt portion.  Fabric.com had some great sparkly tulle, and although the stuff drives me crazy (not the sewing of it, but the way it is always getting caught on things bugs me!), I knew this dress wouldn't be complete without it.

I wish the pattern had included directions for using knit fabrics, but in the end I figured out how to make it all work. 

One way I had to "make it work" was to figure out how to get the super sheer white power mesh fabric to lay flat and down into the seam where it joined the knit sparkly aqua fabric.  Nothing was working (pressing that mesh--not an option), so in the end, I just carefully topstitched the mesh fabric down with the aqua sparkly knit fabric.  You can see the topstitching detail at the sweetheart neckline.

(You can also see the zip in the back, though the front bodice was completely knit, the back fabric was partial metallic linen, so I just followed the pattern directions exactly for that bit.  I did not, however, add a keyhole opening in the power mesh above the zip, there is PLENTY of stretch there and in the neckline to get over my daughter's head.)

Since a traditional facing or binding at the neckline wouldn't have worked, I needed to figure that out, too.  I added a stretchy ribbon lace that I found at G Street fabrics there instead.  Let me tell you, though, adding that ribbon to the neckline was a pain in the patookus.  I had to pin like a madwoman and then carefully stretch the ribbon (which was smaller than the power mesh opening by about two inches) to fit the neckline.  I thought I had attached it fully only to discover that it had only been stitched on fully about halfway.  Somehow in the process of attaching and stretching the ribbon, I had lost contact with the neckline.  Grrr.  But I took a deep breath and started over, and fortunately the second time's attempt was more successful.  I am actually insanely pleased with how well it turned out.  This is ice skating dance costume worthy, people.  :-)  Plus on my daughter it fits perfectly, and looks really lovely!

On the hem I used a "snowflake" stitch that I found on my machine.  Since I have a 9 mm opening on the plate, but used a 5.5 mm foot to stitch the flakes, it does look a bit smooshed, but the effect is still there.  I didn't do this the whole way round, though, instead switching to a traditional stitch on the back.  Heck, you can't even see it unless you are up close, but I figured that is what makes home sewing so special, these little details.

Back of the garment features an invisible zip that is accessed by a slit in the tulle.  If you are using an organza or something very frayable, you will need to hem the opening of the fabric, but the tulle does not fray so I saved myself some work there.  Plus, you can barely tell there is even an opening there. 

Here is the back of the garment on her.  If I could have lengthened the tulle a bit, I would have for a better effect, but ultimately, I worked with what I had.  I think the shorter length works better for her age, though, much less possible to ruin the hem that way.

FROZEN ON ICE DETAILS:

Her outfit here is nearly identical to the one she wore at her party, but since I knew we would be doing a lot of walking (I took her for a tour of my college beforehand since the show was at the Patriot Center), I insisted she wear her aqua blue sandals instead of her special plastic Frozen heeled mules.  She did bring her "Elsa" purse with her.

OOTD: Jacket and Jeans, J. Crew; Top, Hunter Dixon; Boots, Boden; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

If you ever wonder what little girls are doing when they put their hand out the way CW has in this photo, it is *this* Elsa moment they are trying to emulate.

Right before we headed to our seats, we stopped to grab this photo of the "stage."  I bought one thing, that crazy snowflake wand, with the caveat she had to promise to lead us on Halloween night with it.  She said it would be her pleasure.  Yes, she is wearing this costume on Halloween.  Like every other little girl out there this year.  :-)

Definitely a low-definition photo, but I managed to get this photo of Elsa from the production.  Thankfully CW has not asked for me to make her a shorter gown to look like Elsa from the show.  ;-)

Okay, that's all.  I'll be back later this week with other things, I am sure.  But only after I get that pizza costume started!