A little housekeeping & a lot of sewing

It is the end of a long, productive day. I don't mind being tired like this when I've got a lot to show for it. I have been absent from my blog for several days now, but I'm back to fill you in! I have rekindled my love for sewing, and I am in heaven!

First things first: I stopped the presses to clean this (frat-after-the-party) house. It was a disaster in all areas: dishes, laundry, toys, you name it. I'd say I don't know what inspired me today, but I do know--a steroid shot to the hip.
It smarted a little bit, but looking back (literally, over my shoulder at the room)
it was worth it. Also, I had to put on my nah-this-doesn't-hurt-a-bit face because my two youngest were in the room when the nurse gave it to me. They were facinated.
Anyway, after vacuuming all the carpets I decided to go for the gold and shampoo them as well. Ugh. Only, last time I used the machine I neglected to empty the water tank. OMG. It smelled like the opening scene of Criminal Minds!! Don't worry, I bleached that sucker good before using it today. The house looks and smells soooo good.

Now, about my sewing projects! I got my first sewing machine 4 years ago--the first Mother's Day after Ava was born. I taught myself through trial and error and a few flashbacks from Home Ec classes from highschool. Before long, I was cranking out the cutest baby dresses for Ava and I would stay up late nights finishing projects.
Lately, I've been making those cute little pillow case dresses with the ribbon ties at each shoulder and they are my new obsession. My husband knows by now that when I tell him I'm running an errand, it will include a stop by the fabric store. I am certainly fulfilling my creative outlet again and it feels wonderful. I've even cut back on my Facebooking, so you know it's serious...

I think that one of life's secrets of happiness it to find something you love and pursue it. I wish I hadn't waited twenty years out of school to find out, but maybe back then it wouldn't have meant as much to me. I have three "muses" to inspire my creations these days: Olivia, Ava, & Marilyn. That's all the excuse I'll ever need.

A day in Fairhope, Alabama

Hey, everybody. Let me just go ahead and set your minds at ease: nobody threw up in the van today.

To celebrate my friend Nichole's birthday, the girls and I picked her up and drove down to Fairhope, AL. If you enjoy the quaintness of a small town, but with plenty of unique shops and eateries, put this visit on your bucket list. It's a place that's rich with old town charm, friendly folks, aesthetic store fronts, and beautiful landscaping on every corner. Their boutiques are very up-to-the-minute, their art galleries range from foo-foo to kitchy, and their restaurants are anything but cookie-cutter.

Our first stop was Personally Yours, which carries a favorite candle of mine--buttered rum. It's one of those that wafts throughout your entire house. When I buy a candle, I want that sucker to give me my money's worth, you know?

After asking the sales girl about a great place to have lunch, we ended up walking around the corner to what's known as the French Quarter, to eat at the renouned Panini Pete's. Nikki told me she had seen Guy Fieri's show and that he's eaten there. What's good enough for Guy, right? The FQ has two alley entrances that intersect under a giant live oak, and is surrounded by cool leafy fans of banana trees and crepe myrtles. There is also a three-tiered water fountain splashing to add to the ambiance of this little 'secret retreat' from the sidewalk bustle. We drank the best sweet tea (mine with a little lemon) and devoured a couple of Panini Burgers. It was a burger on ciabatta bread, then pressed super flat and cut into triangles. The pile of super skinny shoestring fries didn't hurt either. And why does everything seem to taste so good served on wax paper in a basket? I swear I'm gonna go to World Market when I'm done typing this and get some of those.

I know we made it to several shops, including the Christmas shop, which is ALL Christmas, ALL the time. Of course, I was most drawn to any shop that had quirky little signs, purses, jewelry...you know the routine. There was one shop called Olivia's Serendipity that had the cutest little metal sign: "A.S.A.P. ...as Southern as possible." I also saw one that I may have to recreate for my Lifetime BFF, DMB, that read: "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room."

By now, Ava & Marilyn have had it with Nikki and me and this Girls Day Shop-a-thon. I bribed them with the promise of a cool ice cream co, buying us just enough time to wrap up our trip. Once I pulled back into our sacred driveway, they were all too happy to bunker down for nap time. No arguments.

Hmmm. I may gas up the van for another trip tomorrow...

Y'all have a good day and go do something fun with someone fun!

Wait, didn't we already have Monday this week?

Good grief. Just to get it off my chest, here's a short recap of my day.
I had every intention of getting the whole house cleaned up (again) all before lunch.
Remember, I've been watching all those episodes of "Hoarders" on A&E...

Instead, I broke one of my major rules: rather than beginning with the big and obvious messes, I began with the small, very specific project of cleaning out the girls' closet. I had ulterior motive, because at the very back of that closet sat a 4-drawer file cabinet, and I needed it elsewhere. I schlepped out all the clothes, and ultimately bagged four more lawn-sized bags for donation. Then, I attempted to hang one of those white metal shelves like you see at Lowe's, only I'd lost the proper brackets. "Shoot. I'll just improvise" I smugly decided. In the end, that ba$#@rd fell right off the wall. I got out the DeWalt power drill, for round two. The cord wouldn't reach. Forget it...I had to get Liv to soccer practice on one side of town, then race to the other side to watch Ava's first soccer game. A team of 4-year-olds scrambling around, skipping, holding hands, picking up the ball...really anything other than actually playing soccer. It was painful to watch. Let's just move on.

While I was weaving the van to the back of the golf community where Liv was going to have her practice, Marilyn threw up. It almost doesn't even phase me anymore.

Finally! I made it to Ava's big game...and there were eight minutes left. If I was a cast member on The Office, it would have been in that moment that I'd leer into the camera with an "I give up" look.

That's it for today. That's enough really. Tomorrow, the van gets detailed. Don't worry...I'll tip good. ; )

Elastic Waistband

Do you ever just get on your own nerves sometimes? I do, especially when I've done something really dumb. Let me share with you just how wise I was this afternoon.

We were headed out to the park to meet some of the girls' playmates, then afterward I'd planned to swing by WalFart (not a typo) to pick up a few groceries. The girls had taken a good nap and were in great moods; they were dressed; water bottles in hand. All I needed to do was change into some shorts and a t-shirt. The shorts I picked up were that pair that you always pick up and think, "Hey...why haven't I worn these in a while?", then remember (when it's too late) WHY. So comfy! Cute little ribbon tie in front and with an elastic waistband. Only that #$%$#@ waistband was twisted so bad it made the shorts look and feel crappy. My genius idea was to cut that sucker out, and so I did. Dummy. As the playdate went on, the waist of those shorts stretched out wider than my hips, and they started sliding. I had to keep tugging them and holding them like those idiots who wear jeans around their mid-thigh. Luckily, I made it through the grocery store without incident, which almost never happens for me, even on a good day.

Tomorrow, I'll run them through a couple of times on my sewing machine to give them a more permanent fix. Aren't you glad I'm here to be the guinea pig for all your potential fashion faux pas?

Let's Compare Notes

Do you ever wonder if the things that happen in your everyday are "normal"? I think there is a lot of pressure to do things a certain way, because we would just die if SusieQ found out we live otherwise. Am I right, or am I right?

Let's just hope that SusieQ has a keen sense of humor, and poor eyesight, if she's gonna be friends with me. Being a stay at home mom, you might assume that my house is pristine, but you would be so wrong. It's a wreck most days, but we manage.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love a tidy, neat house. It's just that once the single life blooms into love, marriage and the baby carriage(s!), it sort of turns into a free-for-all. It's more important to me now to enjoy my family time in lieu of doing the supper dishes. Now, after a couple of nights of that, the sink has fangs. Thank goodness for my sliding pocket doors into my kitchen--so I can erase the mess when SusieQ knocks.

Living in the Gault house also requires a Roll With It attitude. When crap happens, I can either go batty and use my outside voice, or I can shrug and fix it. So, this morning, when I closed the silverware drawer and got a big whiff of something stinky-pie-pony, I reeeeeally wanted to go with option no. 1. Too bad, because that smell was my fault. I totally forgot about a bag of potatoes underneath the counter and... well, you know you've done that, too. Mop up the juicy goop with the cheap paper towels and disinfect! See? I didn't waste time getting upset, which freed me up to unstick the syrupy breakfast plate from the table. :) Speaking of dishes, I still have no idea where all my forks and spoons are ending up. We had two full sets, now were down to two-meals' worth. Whatever. I just opened a pack of yellow party spoons left over from something and that's how we got through supper last night. Have you ever?

Sometimes, it's a potential suprise visit from SusieQ or the Mail Lady actually having to bring a package to the door that spurs me into a quick pick-up/spray-down of the front living room. Can you relate? You know, you clean up just what anyone can peruse from the front door in all directions. A quick shout out to my faithful helpers, Lemon Pledge and Yankee Candle: Without you, it wouldn't be nearly as impressive.

So, fire up those candles and do some cleaning, but don't kill yourself. Because I promise you, SusieQ is down the street busting her hump doing the same thing just in case YOU show up on HER doorstep. Which you totally should do, so her half A cleanup won't be in vain.

You're welcome. I'll be here all week.

Mississippi State Bulldogs football♥

This house is a MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS house! Last weekend got everybody into a great mood (um, except Ole Miss fans) with all the wins. MSU beat Memphis royally, which made my Hubby vurry happy. The HDTV in the den was on all day, but when 6:00 rolled around, it was Time. Time for the game, snacks, and cheering. I whipped up some chips and dip to start, then we had some hot buffalo wings, celery and fries.
Somehow, an entire pan of brownies disappeared that day, too. Nobody, of course, ate the last one.

If I'm gonna be honest, I don't really care much for sports in general. I think I like the "idea" of it more than the actual thing. Golf on TV? Snoozefest. Basketball? Too much shoe squeaking. Racing? I just don't even have a nice answer.
Then there is football. Not just any football: college football, more specifically SEC football. It's hard for me to pull for a team if I don't feel a connection or some sort of base rivalry. I genuinely love watching MSU football. Even better, I love watching when the weather has taken a cool snap and ideally there's a fireplace involved.

When I had my apartment, sans fireplace, I'd actually crack the sliding glass door and let that cold air stream in to complete the football experience. I love to be at a game when you have to bury under blankets, scarves, and drink hot chocolate.
Here at home, we have a den that we call the Man Room. It still has panelled walls, a rustic wood mantle over the brick fireplace, and a sliding glass door! Every other room has been updated, but not the den, and that's the way I like it. It feels sort of like a cabin--and I'm a sucker for a cabin. There is even a set of antlers on the mantle, put there by ME. Most of my friends are fainting about now.

I like spending time watching football with The Hubbz. It reminds me of all those weekends we spent together when we first met...football, cool weather, tailgating on campus. (Now, we 'tailgate' in the den with three daughters!) Every fall, I get those same old feelings again. I'm smiling right now just writing about it.

Happy Football Season, everybody.

GO, STATE!

Been away too long...

"Hello, darlin'...it's been a long time."

I have not blogged in three months! I even forgot and had to reset my password!
Let's hope I don't have this problem tomorrow. Oh, I'll write it down, but where will that piece of paper end up? Probably scribbled with crayon and slathered with Elmer's. Y'all know the drill around here.