Ag May ...

Part of the capsule experiment is that I need to be held accountable to developing a style that I am happy with.   It’s very easy to throw on a top and bottom, but, in putting it all together I want to look “together”.   But what does that mean?   Actually, I don’t know.   Very a-typical of me, but I don’t have a real definition of where I’m heading as I travel this road of “sh-tyle”. I suppose I want to be able to take a month of outfits and photograph them again and be in love with all that I see.    I’m also loving the compliments.   And they’re compliments about how “fresh” I look and how “happy” and how I “lend a professional feel” to a meeting.   I love these compliments as they are seeing how I feel; how I feel about myself.   I’m definitely on the right road. So now, I’m reviewing the outfits that worked and those that didn’t quite hit the mark. For me, the most obvious thing to get right (or wrong) is proport...

Little snippets... Clockwise... - a rare photo of me with my girls - a stylish Baby Mac - loving My Little Pony this week - Little Miss M's recipe - Butterfly Cakes - a favoured arcade housing a favoured chocolate cafe - going for a solo drive with the volume up HIGH A dedication to my Dear Husband - my favourite and my best!  (plus an extra favoured photo) - He's got it all covered - hula hoop for the girls, doing the dishes for me and listening to his podcast for himself - No space is too small to offer a little comfort to a sleeping bub - Ms A - Big smiles with Daddy - Ms A - even bigger smiles with Opa Have a happy week, peeps!

It had been a very long time since I had last attempted an adult clothing sewing pattern.   Being a beginner sewist (I refuse to refer to myself as a sewer!), I needed patterns that were extensive in their instructions, smart in their construction and professional in their finishes.   Having reignited my sewing career using my favourite bag designer's pattern, I was used to high quality patterns. As time had gone on, though, and my need for fit-to-size clothing, I thought I might be in a good place to start exploring womens clothing again.   I chose this Vogue pattern as my re-entrance project. One of the reasons I didn’t continue with making my own clothing back then was because I didn’t know how to alter a pattern to fit, or where to find that sort of information (short of doing a course).    And what was the point of making clothing that was as ill-fitting as what I could find off the rack? Just a decade or so on, and the internet has made a...

Two good ones from Little Miss M this past week... After been given a particularly slobby kiss by Ms A, Little Miss M, looking a bit perplexed says "Hmmm... awww, thanks A.  That was a, um, a delicious kiss." One evening, as we were coming home a bit later than usual, Little Miss M notices all the different colours in the sky due to the sun setting.  Then she turns to her dad and I and says, "My favourite part of the day is the sunset because it's like a gift to everyone." Isn't that the sweetest thing? Anyhoo, I got a bit lazy last week (and a bit side tracked with the long weekend) so here is two weeks worth of snippetry.  I hope you've had lots of lovely snippets. - coffee, hershey kiss, sour cherry pie with a maple syrup whipped cream and a lemon curd filled bagel for breakfast from Bowery to Williamsburg (Ah America, I do love your food). - "Pupil of the Week"!!!!  Well done, Little Miss M!  I'm so proud of you.  And thank...

Koko Black – Bourke St, Royal Arcade Sedate, elegant, dark and comforting, Koko Black has been a favourite chocolate haunt of mine from the time I had discovered it. I am and I’m not a chocolate snob.   I love the creamy smoothness of Sisko orbs and the crisp crunchy bites of Ganache’s chocolate covered caramelised hazelnuts .   I’m also addicted to Cadbury’s Marvellous Creations and Cadbury's Special Edition Mint Flake .   I LOVE CHOCOLATE. But when it comes to Iced Chocolate and Hot Chocolate, I am very particular and will not risk this type of chocolate experience with a less than stellar product.   If I have a craving for an iced chocolate or a hot chocolate, I will wait until I am at one of my favourite haunts to satisfy the craving rather than ordering at any old café. My favourite at Koko Black is the Iced Chocolate and the Iced Coffee.  Normally, it is the Iced Chocolate for me, unless I’m trying to satisfy a coffee and dessert cravi...

Homemade Lap Blanket I am tentatively making my way into the world of quilting.   And these sweet little lap blankets are my stepping stones into that crafting nirvana. These blankets teach me about sandwiching techniques and binding.   I’ve also enjoyed how my lettering has been coming along and I welcome some more practice with names that have curves in them. For this blanket, I was determined to improve my machine binding.   In traditional quilting, binding the sides consists of sewing the binding on one side of the quilt and hand stitching the other side.   Personally, I find hand stitching quite meditative and I do enjoy it, but it does require not having little girls that like to jump on your lap in any instant.   Plus hand stitching is still a time-consuming task for me, so it pays for me to practice another technique, a quicker technique of binding. The lettering was hand drawn and then appliquéd using a small zig zag stitch...

A small snippet of my week - a collage of simple pleasures. - Right side : food indulgences including a welcome to Autumn (a hot chocolate) - Sisters playing together inside and out - Beautiful interfaced, wadded and ironed material - Ms A lending a "helping" hand in the kitchen  What were your simple pleasures this week?