Tonight's Clothes Shopping Adventure

I went shopping for a few clothing items and I just need to vent. I am sure that some of you will understand and have no doubt had at least one similar experience. For starters, I want to know why pants are so long. I think I've mentioned this before. I also want to know why I can't find a size 6 in "petite" which is a nice way of saying short. It seems that the short pants start at size 8. Just because you are small in the waist doesn't mean that you have legs like a stork, it can mean that you are just small in general. That leads me to another annoying thing, why do they put petite pants on the top rack? There should be a rule against that. I have found a brand of jeans that I like, they are relatively cheap, they come in different legs meaning boot cut, straight cut, etc., and they have a slight stretchiness about them without being like leggins or whatever. This helps when you are a mom with hips and a butt and have to bend or squat alot because as we all know, kids are short.
I also went shopping for bras. Now that I'm no longer nursing a baby, I don't need to wear nursing bras. I threw out all of my old bras when I started wearing nursing bras again because they were shot and it was a good excuse to toss them. I want to know why bras don't come in packs like underwear. Wouldn't that make sense? You'd get 5 pairs of underwear in one package and 5 bras in another. I think it's a conspiracy to make you stand in the bra isle looking like an idiot for as long as possible. I guess it give you the most mix and match ability? To that I say "Whatever", I'm in it for function, not to be pretty, sorry honey. I have a gripe about bras and society. I have a small middle, and small boobs. I am 100% ok with saying that. I do not need, nor do I want an underwire push up bra that makes me look like I've jacked my boobs up to my chin. I am secure in the fact that I do not wear a "D" cup, and honestly push up bras make me feel like I'm perching my boobs on a ledge and I have to pray that they don't fall out of the cup. I always feel like I should talk to my boobs like I'm talking a jumper off a building, "Don't jump, it's not worth it". I admit that I do like the slightest but of padding, but only as "nipple insurance" because while perky nipples might be hot in a wet t-shirt contest, it's not really something I want to sport in the grocery store.
In conclusion, I will say that I tried on 4 pairs of jeans and 4 bras and much to my surprise, they all fit great. I only purchased 3 of each because I didn't want to spend all of our money and give my husband a heart attack. I'll go back later and bra shop some more since 3 isn't gonna be enough. The selection of what I wanted was small and I got tired of looking through them praying for the correct size. I did see one brand that offered small, medium, and large, which I thought was genius. That being said, I only found one small. Ugh. I also got 2 pairs of "skinny jeans" which are loose enough to not look painted on, but tight enough not to be saggy and to easily fit into my tall boots. All in all it was a fabulous shopping trip which almost never happens, and I seriously thought about stopping to buy a lottery ticket on my way home, but I was tired and it was cold out, and I'm not sure that I'd have driven by any place that sold them on my way home. Too bad, tonight must have been my lucky night. ~Kellie~

Learning Tolerance

This post isn't about the level or amount of learning that I can do, it's about actually learning to be tolerant. I'm not very tolerant. I'm also not very patient and I sometimes lack a filter. There are probably a few other things that you could throw onto the list of things that I'm lacking in but for now we'll just move on.

As I said before, I'm not very tolerant but I'm learning to be with regard to certain things. Will I ever be tolerant of a kid with a smart mouth? Probably not. Will I ever be tolerant of people who break the rules again and again, or who don't put forth any effort into anything they do besides being lazy, or who just don't give a flip? I hope not, but there are other things that I'm learning to accept without getting bent out of shape over. I have a habit of thinking or assuming that because I'm reasonably good at something, others should want to learn how as well. This whole concept of being tolerant hit be the other day as I was shopping for crafting goodies with my bestie. I've mentioned before that I learn random things from her not only about crafting and such, but about being a good human. She doesn't try to teach me and I'm not a pet project (I don't think), but we are very similar in totally different ways. If you told us both to construct something you can be sure of a few things, 1. It would have to be pretty or have to do with fabric or she's not gonna be interested, 2. Our end results would probably be waay different from each other, and 3. If in the event that they looked similar, you can bet that we got there from totally different directions. So she was plotting a wreath for her holiday decorating and maybe she was nearly camping out on the floor in front of the accessories in order to get the perfect things for said wreath, but it was ok because she wasn't blocking the isle or anything. I do not have an eye for such things. I try, but it just kinda looks like a jumbled mess when I try. I'm not kidding, I'm crafty at certain things but you can bet that if I make a wreath or flower arrangement and it looks good, I just got lucky and couldn't recreate it again to save my life. I just watched in awe as her wreath came together and then it hit me. She wasn't berating me because I couldn't craft such a thing, and she wasn't instructing me on how to do it or telling me that I should watch u-tube videos until I was a master, she just did her thing. I quickly referenced earlier in the week when I went over and installed her washer and dryer because she didn't know how and her hubby was at work and they were both recovering from the crud. It was easy for me, but she had little idea how to do it and even less desire, and that's ok. If we all were good at the same things, no one would have a job because we'd just do it ourselves. I don't try to instruct her on construction-y things anymore because I have come to realize that she just isn't interested as a general rule, just like I'm not usually interested in knowing how to put together the perfect outfit or make a wreath. This is why we're a good team. It's ok to not know how and to not want to know how if you don't really need to know how. Today, I'm more tolerant of that. ~Kellie~

That sinking feeling

I'm pretty crafty, I admit that. Sometimes my projects are awesome and sometimes they flop. It's always weird when I have one that I think is sub par and other people look at it and say "I think it's great, what's wrong with it?" and I point out the flaws and they say "I wouldn't have known that unless you told me". I guess that's a good thing, but what if I send something out on my Etsy store and someone does notice a flaw and I look like an idiot? I try not to send out anything that I'm not happy with, but I'm probably harder on myself than I should be and I expect perfection and sometimes I have to say that it is probably fine and just let it go. I also get intimidated by other people's work. Sometimes I see things and I know that I can do better, maybe even with my eyes closed, but then I see other things and I think that I could never pull it off as well as they have. All of these things come into play because I'm trying to regroup with my Etsy store/ small business. I've made the same things over and over and I'm burned out. I've also made some random things that just don't float my boat enough to make over and over. The result is a somewhat patchy line of work that really isn't cohesive and certainly doesn't look great in a craft fair display. It makes me feel like a gypsy peddling goods on the side of the road, and I don't like it. I need to pick a few, as in like two or three, items that I sell. I'm willing to do different variations of those items, but I really feel that I need to pick a theme and stick with it. I've been researching items that I would consider making, and I get that sick feeling like mine would never be good enough. I'm not sure why, I have skills and I've made those things before, but I just don't know. I hate locking down to a set of things. I like the freedom of piddling, and making what I feel like making and not having to adhere to any rules, but if I do that I wind up in my current situation and that's just not good for business.
I'm having to admit that there are two very different markets when it comes to selling crafts. Make no mistake, the online market is much different than the craft fair market. Maybe I just think that because I am forced to look at other people's work when I'm at craft fairs. I don't really look at other finished items on purpose because I don't want to copy someone else. There in lies another problem that I'm pondering, and here it is. If lots of sewing/embroidery people are making a particular item, is it good or bad to make that item? In general I try to steer clear of trends, but I'm wondering if that's the right thing to do. If you go with the flow are you just another person flooding the market with a certain item, or if you stay away from it are you the loser who isn't keeping up with the trends? Maybe just because there are twenty people selling it in Atlanta, that doesn't mean that I can't/shouldn't be the go to person in Franklin, right? I dunno, I guess I'm just gonna sit here and drink my adult beverage and think about it. ~Kellie~

High Cotton

I chose that title because I did something today that makes me feel like I am grown up and sitting in high cotton. I replaced that stupid (spray painted- we were on a budget and it was pink!) tension shower rod in our master bath with one that is bolted to the wall. I threw those stupid plastic rings that hold the curtain on in the trash and put up new pretty metal hook ones. I also removed the plastic shower curtain liner thing and I'm just gonna use the pretty cotton one from now on. When we moved here 5 years ago, the bathroom was soooo ugly. I had to do alot of digging, but here's a pic of what it looked like when we moved in.

Things that you can't see in this pic:

• The tile that boarders the floor is almost pink
• The tile on the floor is sort of a dark beige
• The wallpaper has this grass like pattern on it (which honestly was the best wallpaper in the house)

Before I show you the after pic, I'll just say that we have painted the wallpaper because it was adhered directly to the drywall with no primer under it!!!! so we couldn't take it off and had no choice but to paint over it. We have also painted the vanity and trim, put up a made by me roman shade of sorts, and I spray painted the pinkish wall trim tile white because every shade of paint swatch that we held up next to it just looked like garbage. We've also replaced the toilet seat (we did that immediately when we moved in), and replaced the light in the center of the room. We just recently put up a new multi-level swivel towel bar. WOOT! So without further adieu, here's the pic today.

The bathroom still isn't fabulous by any means, but it has come a long way. I really want to repaint the trim and vanity again, probably white. I have the paint to do it , I just haven't made it that far yet. I also want to replace the "clown lights" over the vanity. Eventually I'd like to gut the bathroom and start over but that's a pipe dream for when the kids are gone or we win the lottery, but you have to play to win so, you know. Some of you will think that it's ridiculous that a shower rod makes me giddy, but it just means that we are getting to the point with the house that we can think about details and upgrades. The toilet paper holder and the towel holder by the sink are still the original brass fixtures that have been spray painted black. They are next to go because I think this brushed nickel is nice. After they are replaced, the faucet and vanity light fixture are in danger. Their days are numbered as I am sick of looking at them and all of the other sink faucets in the house have been replaced already. I'm not sure I've ever been to the details phase in any house of my own so this is a big step. I am seriously looking forward to a shower with the extra 5" of elbow room that the box promised due to the fact that this is one of those fancy curved rods. I'd better get it too or, oh hell who am I kidding, I'm just glad that it's up there. Oh, before I go I want to add that I may never want to drill into tile again. Ever. That junk is slick and you can't get the bit to bite in and it wanted to slide all over the place (yes I used tape) and it took seemingly forever to get the holes drilled, and even after they were in the stupid anchors didn't fit and I had to wallow the holes out to get the anchors to fit, oh for the love of crap I'm just glad the darned thing is up!!! My hubby so owes me for putting this up, it was a pain. Yep, today I feel a little more grown up and a little less poor. ~Kellie~

Trade-offs

I like dogs. I've had at least one dog at a time most of my life, There have been brief exceptions for one reason or another, but I always wind up with a dog again because I like dogs. They fill a void like nothing else. When Henry and I got together I was in a dog-less phase but he had a dog so it all worked out. When that dog died unexpectedly, we were all heart-broken. I had thought that when he was gone I would be finished with dogs because he was a drooly one and he was inside all the time so there was fur floating around. Honestly those were the only two things that I didn't like about the dog. Oh, he had gas alot so that makes three. Anyway, aside from those things he was awesome. He was super affectionate but not in an annoying way and he loved to cuddle. He'd hang out with you on the couch until he was so hot that he had to force himself to get down. We all loved that dog. About a year after he died I finally convinced Henry to get another one. We talked about the options and decided to get the same breed because it just sort of fit with out lifestyle. I've mentioned it before, but he was not the same at all. He kinda looked the same, but his personality was way different. He drooled less but shed more. He was really friendly, but sometimes overly so. He wanted to play, but usually at the wrong time for us. He ate crumbs off the floor, but more times than not he left a huge slime line that was slippery and we all slipped in it more than once. He drove us nuts, but we loved him. We finally admitted that we didn't have the time to give him the attention that he deserved and that it would be better for everyone if we found him another home. We found a great couple with another dog which was the perfect scenario for him. He has a good time but I'm kinda miserable about half the time when I think about him. I don't have to deal with all of the annoying thing like the fur and the drool and the barking, but when things are quiet and you just need something to love on he's not here. Nothing is as relaxing as rubbing a dog. I've tried petting the kids, but they don't like it. I'm still glad that we found him another home because it was better for him. I keep reminding myself of the negatives when I think about him. I do it to talk myself off the ledge and to try to stop feeling bad. I still feel like we failed him, mostly me because he was my idea to get and my idea to relocate. Just when I think I'm ok I see one like him or I find myself in a cuddly mood when the little kids are asleep and everyone else is gone. The house is free from fur and drool but there are so many crumbs. I remembered the first dog and how lonely I felt without him, and that helped me be thankful for the second dog, but everything is a trade-off and sometime you just have to choose which thing you're willing to deal with. ~Kellie~

Where do pandas come from?

Well, sometimes they just appear out of necessity. Here's the story (with little to no back story). Thursday afternoon we went costume shopping for the kids. Not quite last minute but whatever. The short version of the boys' costumes is that they decided to be soldiers so we just bought them some camouflage pants and a shirt that they can just keep on wearing to play in after Halloween. Winning! We also got them a few little accessories, that I had to spray paint flat black, but after that they were taken care of. Henry and I already had most of our costumes and just had to get some little things to finish them out. Pics of that coming soon, the party is tonight. Kinsley decided to be a princess. Again. She has a whole closet of attire to choose from so, done. I couldn't decide what the baby was going to be and I got an idea after we had already left Wal-Mart and I was gonna have to go back and blah blah blah because I'm not spending alot of money on a costume for an infant. I'm just too cheap and I didn't like any of them anyway. Friday morning I'm contemplating dragging the kids to the store to get stuff for his costume. I ask myself if I really want to do that, and if I do that will I be able to find what I want in the correct size, and will I be happy with the result, and will I end up just making something anyway since I probably won't find what I want, and the list goes on. I decide that I will take a peek in my stash to see if I have what I need. I'm pretty sure I do, but it's still hit and miss. I first look for a pattern, 3 to choose from, 1 of them is exactly what I need. Sweet. I know that I for sure have enough of one fabric that I need and I look for the other one. I'm gonna be short. DANG IT!! But wait, what's this, another box to check? SCORE crap tons of what I need. I'm gonna need a zipper. I check my box. A couple to choose from in the right color. Awesome, one of them is the length I need plus a little extra. Now this is the point where I start feeling like a crazy cat lady fabric hoarder. Who has this stuff?? I console myself by saying that sewing and such is my hobby and myjob and that it's ok to have random things hanging around. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. So here's his costume for this year.

I have to say that I only have a few hours in this including the searching and the pondering and the modifications that I had to make in order for the legs to be a different color and the hood not to have a huge point on the back. I also do not want any of you to become haters at this moment because "well aren't you just crafty". I repeat that sewing related things are my job and I do them all the time so this was super easy for me. I do admit that I was lazy and did not serge the seams but they are fleece so they won't ravel, and by the time I trim them a bit you won't notice anyway. Those of you who know Henry and I know that pandas hold a special place for us so this seemed totally fitting. The costume wasn't a long planned thing, it just sorta happened last minute but I think it's cool. I don't think it's too shabby for something I "just pulled together". I am proud of myself for how this turned out. Stay tuned for pics of everyone in their Halloween attire. ~Kellie~

Sneak Peeks and Revelations

I'm not going to have time today to do any office projects because I have too many work projects to do, but I thought I'd take a second and do a little sneak peak. I've been collecting a little eye candy for my office. First we did the faux bead board and that worked out so well that I thought I'd keep the vibe going. Now I'm the first to admit that "country charm" or "cottage-y" isn't usually the feel I gravitate for. Those who know me know of my dislike of burlap which seems to be the new poster child for all things country. I'm not going that far, though I am seriously considering ONE piece of visible burlap in my office ONLY because it has sewing machines on it. We'll see if I can hack that another day. For today though, here are a few sneak peaks of things that will go on said bead board wall.

I'm blaming too many episodes of American Pickers for my recent purchases. The knob thing will go near my desk and I'll hang my bag on it so that I don't keep losing it. The key is actually a knob, will become a hook as well. The brown-ish hooks are for my hoops and possibly other things. I love that it's a combination of hooks and a hinge.












I also got this desk organizer for Henry. I hope that he can find the bills easier now. I have to admit that I love that he has a real work space in the office area now. It doesn't feel weird or crammed in, it just works. :)














 OK, so those are my reveals, now time for the revelation. This is less about the doll (which I love and made yesterday for Colin) and more about the backdrop. I've been seeing people post these awesome pictures of their stuff and I'm just blown away sometimes. I mean who has this awesome stuff hanging around? I finally asked someone about it. I was expecting something crazy or hard or expensive. Nope, it's just scrap book paper. Now, granted it's probably not as fabulous as the real thing would be, but it's much better than lots of other things that could be lurking back there! It's also super easy to change it based on the item you're photographing. The knobs in picture one are also on paper. Who knew they had scrapbook paper that looked like that? Anyway, that's about all I've got for today. Later Taters! ~Kellie~