Patio Cushions and a Photobomb

I've spent the better part of the week sewing my sister-in-law's cushion covers and I can gladly say that I'm done! Unfortunately, she doesn't live nearby so all I have to show are some close-ups of the covers with one of my little throw pillows stuffed inside.  For this, I used an outdoor fabric (some synthetic material that I can't remember the name of), but it's supposed to be fade and dirt resistant.  I'm gonna mail these out to my sis and hopefully she'll send me some pics to share so you can all see how they look when filled.

This was my first time installing a lapped zipper.  The top half of the zipper has a flap that folds over to cover the zipper.  I mainly chose the lapped zipper because for the largest cushion, we couldn't find a zipper that matched in color and had to use a white zipper.  This way the zipper isn't showing so it really doesn't matter what color it is.

I made some velcro tabs to secure the cushions to the chairs.  We actually found some blue velcro too!

In other news, I've been working on writing up my first tutorial on how to make the pillowcases I posted on last week.  I've got a little more editing and hopefully can post that soon!

And, to celebrate the fact that it's quitting time on Friday, I thought you might enjoy a silly photo.  I totally photobombed this one, but in a good way!

Happy Friday everyone!  Hope you have a great weekend!

Oops! I did it again....

I went to the store, bought too much fabric

Oh baby, baby.

Oops I couldn't refrain

From getting more fabric

I've got to stay away...

Ok enough of that, you're probably rolling your eyes.  Just to be clear, I'm not a fan of Britney, it's just the first thing that popped in my mind and out of my mouth when Andy came home and saw the new additions to my stash.  (I have noticed that if I put on my cutesy face and voice, he doesn't seem to get too angry when show him my purchases....haha).  But really, I'm thankful to have such a generous husband.

My new fabrics!  In my defense, I am planning on making a throw sized quilt as a wedding present for a friend.  However, there's no way that a throw needs oh....say 11 yards of fabric? hee hee.  The second point in my defense is that it was a store closing sale so I basically bought these fabrics at 50% off.  Now how often does that happen?!?  That's right girls, I just HAD to take advantage.

Oh, and I couldn't resist and picked up these places for 50 cents a pop!

On a totally unrelated tangent, I often drive by this patch of black-eyed susan's when I go out.  Every time I go by, I think to myself I should really pick some of these...they would look great in my apartment.  I once asked Andy to stop and he refused.  So, the other day, I was driving by myself and decided to stop and pick me some flowers!  I must've looked like the crazy lady running around grabbing flowers off the side of the road.  But, it was worth it - they look beautiful (or they did for 2 days before they wilted :-(...)

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This past weekend was a relaxing weekend...sorta (if you call working from home relaxing).  Andy's been busy at work and had to put in some extra hours during the weekend.  I'm busy working on my sis-in-law's cushion covers.  So we both set up on my sewing table in the "study/sewing room" area and spent the day working while watching a few mindless movies (like Deathrace 2, From Paris with Love).

Getting ready to cut - one of the cushions is practically the size of twin mattress

Trying to work out the dimensions for making a lapped zipper.  After reading a few tutorials, I just decided to do it my own way....still came out pretty good :-)

A working Saturday = not so much fun for Andy, but lots of fun for me.  As usual, I took up 2/3 of the table and Andy got 1/3.  This applies to many things in our marriage - our queen bed, the blankets, the closet....you get the point.

Andy's engineering - sorry I can't show any real documents, they're confidential.

My engineering - don't mock, sewing involves lots of calculations!

Andy's computer screen.  I had to blur it out just to be safe, but he's got it open to microsoft outlook.

My computer screen - music inspires me to sew.  Everything is made better with a little music.  Lately, I've been on a Mat Kearney kick.

So that was a weekend.  Hope yours was more exciting than ours!  Alrighty, time for me to finish up these cushions.  1 down 2 to go....

Back in the Sewing "Room"

It felt so good to spend some time sewing this week.  All my creativity has been bottled up inside without my sewing machine outlet.  Originally I had planned to sew for most the week, but surprisingly my schedule was filled up by some wonderful friends.  Turns out a friend from the church I grew up in Jersey and his wife are going to be spending a year in Houston, which coincides with our plans.  Having moved so many times, I've learned a thing or two about getting myself situated.  The biggest thing is that it's important to reach out and find at least one good friend.  I've got some friends in the Houston area, but they live up north at least 40 minutes away.  So, I've been praying that God would bring some quality friends into my life as it is harder to find and develop friendships when you don't work.  And wouldn't you know it, I've got two childhood friends living within a 15 mile radius and one of them has a wife who isn't working.  Perfect!  I feel so blessed.

Anyway, I didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped, but there's always next week.  My first project was one I've had sitting in Singapore for at least half a year.  I finished off my couch pillow collection!

I first made these two in Singapore.  I don't think I ever got around to posting on them.  I bought a couple of white throw pillows from Ikea and had my sister bring over some fabric I ordered in the states.  These are from Amy Butler's Lotus collection.

This pic makes me miss our apartment in Singapore...

Invisible zippers

I bought more pillows and then had my mom bring over some more fabric when she visited Singapore but the project just sat on the shelf for months until I moved back to Houston.  Here they are:

The one in the middle is made from Free Spirit's Pop Garden collection
and the rest are Amy Butler's Lotus collection.

Looks like I flip-flopped the top two in between pics. Haha.

Here they are in action (or should I say inaction - corny I know):

You can see the building blocks under our couch.  Our couch sort of broke in our last move and that bottom beam is not quite connected on the right side.  I put the blocks up to help support the couch so it won't break when we sit down.  I keep meaning to find someone to fix it, but so far, it's been almost 2 years and I still haven't gotten around to it.

This chair has been everywhere, it's one of the first pieces of furniture Andy got after graduating.

Now my living room is complete! Unfortunately the two pillows I made first are flatter from frequent use so I've instructed Andy to only use the new ones until they balance out.  I'm such a perfectionist :-)

I've already got a queue of projects lined up.  Next up - cushion covers for my sister-in-law's new patio set. She got married earlier this year and moved back to the Austin area and bought a beautiful wood patio set. Unfortunately the set has white cushions, which is not so great for the outdoors.  We did a little shopping and found some nice blue fabric to make covers out of.  Better get started, because for now, they're stuck sitting on plastic covered cushions to keep them clean.

Goodbye Mani, Goodbye Cockroach

Yesterday, I decided to paint my nails so I could look extra pretty for our date to see the Houston Symphony in the special dollar concert (yes, it only cost me $1 a ticket, but I had to pay a $5 service fee and $7 to park - go figure).  I rarely paint my finger nails because inevitably, 30 minutes after I'm done, I ruin it.  I don't know how some women can keep their manicures looking pristine past 1 hour...any tips? Maybe they just sit around home eating bon bons and watching Keeping up with the Kardashians (which I admit I occasionally watch as a guilty pleasure....I think their life is ridiculous, but it's inexplicably engrossing).  At least when I watch, I'm probably sewing.  Sewing = death for manicures.  I guess I just like to get my hands dirty...I don't know why I even bother with manicures.

Anyway, today I busted out my sewing machine after a 3 MONTH hiatus and traded my manicure in for sewing.  Making stuff is way more awesome!  It feels so nice to be in front of a sewing machine again, although my neck tension problems are creeping back.  I need to work on remembering to maintain good posture while sewing and take breaks in between.

Here's a sneak peek at my new sewing area:

I forgot to take a pic after I actually brought out the sewing machine

My manicure isn't the only thing I've said goodbye to lately.  The other day, I lived through what I call "The Great Cockroach Standoff".  I was unpacking and organizing the bathroom linen closet when I spotted a gigantic cockroach in an open bag of toilet paper.  There were little black turds in there too so I suspect the cockroach had been there awhile....I'm hoping that it came from our temporary apartment since there was a roach problem back there (this is what I tell myself to overcome the gross thought that I'm living in a roach infested apartment).  Anyway, I tried to kill the roach in the bag, but it got out and then proceeded to crawl all over my stuff, up the wall, and onto the ceiling.  Now the ceilings here are about 9 ft high and the cockroach just parked itself up there.  In the process of trying to kill it, I pretty much pulled everything of the closet and created a gigantic mess.

My big mess

Now, how to kill this little bugger? I thought about using my swiffer to squash it against the ceiling, but what if I missed and the bug fell on me?  There wasn't really much room to get into the closet and the roach was too close to the door, making it impossible to see it unless you stuck your head in the closet and looked up (with your mouth closed of course).  It was getting close to dinner time, but I couldn't leave the room without the roach being dead.  So....I sent Andy a distress call, told him to get his butt home pronto and pick up some roach spray on the way (it helps that I literally live next door to Home Depot).  Then I pulled up a chair and began "The Great Cockroach Standoff".

About half an hour later, Andy came to the rescue.  He reached his hand into the closet, pointed the nozzle of the roach spray towards the ceiling, gave a blind spray, causing the roach to fall to the floor, and I creamed it with my swiffer.  Victory is mine! So:

Cockroach: 0
Sliks: 1

I took a pic of the dead roach on my phone, but I figured you probably would rather not see it.  Hopefully I'm on my way to living roach free....

Lately

Once again, a month has gone by and I have neglected to post.  In the past couple of months, I've....

1. Moved across the world
2. Flew to San Francisco for a dear friend's wedding
3. Had my sister come out to visit
4. Signed a lease and moved into a permanent apartment
5. Took a trip out to Austin to spend time with family for the Fourth of July
6. Unpacked all of my junk

I have to be honest, I'm sort of glad I don't have any trips planned for awhile and get some time to just relax at home.  Moving is stressful and tiring, no matter how small or straightforward the move is.  But I will say, this is probably the easiest move I've done since I'm already somewhat familiar with Houston.  Moving is not my favorite thing to do, but I do enjoy living in new places and experiencing new things.

So, here are a few pictures of what's been going on lately:

One of my college roommates got married at Half Moon Bay near San Francisco.  It was a beautiful wedding!  I was debating whether or not to go for awhile because it was less than a week after we made our big move back to the states, but I'm so glad I got to go.  I got to spend some quality time with her and one of our other roommates...really made me miss the good old days.  It's hard for me to believe that we are all grown up and married now.  I think in my mind, college friends will remain in that stage of life forever :-)  It's also amazes me that no matter how far apart we are, or how long we've gone without seeing each other, when we get together, it's like no time has passed at all.

Walking down the aisle - isn't she gorgeous??

Ring exchange

                 

This was one of the funniest moments of the wedding.  My friend, J, who is deathly afraid of all insects, decided to release a box of butterflies at the end of the ceremony.  She basically hid behind her husband while the butterflies clung to the box, stubbornly refusing to fly away.  When he finally got the butterflies to fly, one of them flew straight into a lady's face who was sitting in the front row.

The new Mr. and Mrs. C!

They had a blackjack table during the cocktail hour where you could win some raffle tickets, it was pretty awesome.  I lost all my money...haha.

Before the big introduction

The new couple!

Me and my wonderful friends.  I love these girls!

Re-posing an old photo - 8 years later (did I really just say EIGHT??) still looking good :-)

Moving on, here are some pictures of my sister's visit to Houston:

I took her on a cruise around the Port of Houston.  It wasn't the most beautiful cruise I've been on, but it was  still pretty interesting, and the best part was, it was FREE!  They even offered a soda for everyone on board.  Pretty neat.

Here we are, having a fun time along the Port of Houston.

Being 14 years younger than me, I have a pretty interesting relationship with my sister.  I think of myself as her mini-mom, which according to her, can be a good or bad thing.  I'm obviously less strict than my mom would be, but probably boss her around more than she prefers.  I love watching her grow and develop her own personality.  Since I've played a big role in her life, it's funny when I see her exhibit traits and tendencies similar to mine....like acting crazy, or being inexplicably drawn to movies with dancing or any type of group choreography.  We're really similar in many ways, but different in others.  I can't believe she's 16 already!  She'll be driving in another year....yikes! I think I will always see her as my baby sister....even when she's 30.  There are just some things that never change.

        

Acting kooky

Don't think she's the only who acts kooky.  We sailed by some contraptions that look like "The Claw" the little green men from Toy Story worship.  Of course I couldn't resist doing my own imitation of "The Claaaaww"



We also took a trip down to NASA to check out the space center.  In all my time in Houston, we've never visited it before.  I'm glad we finally got a chance to do it!

Waiting in the blazing hot heat for the tram tour.

I hate that this picture is ruined by a little smudge on my lens...

Where the astronauts train in mock-ups of their shuttles

Me, Andy, the Saturn V shuttle and rocket, and the back of some kid's head.  Photo credit: my sis.

So, there you have it.  That's what I've been doing in the past couple of months.....that and unpacking like a mad woman.  The doc gave me some new drugs at a really opportune time.  They've given me a burst of energy the past week, which has resulted in the fastest unpack I've ever done!  Now I can relax in my organized apartment and, the most exciting part, begin sewing again!  It's been nearly 3 months since I last touched a sewing machine. *Gasp!*  Today marks my return to sewing - I'm so excited!