Friday Nights Sew In: June 17th

Yay for Friday Night Sew-In and even better that I am all set for it.....my projects are picked out and although I won't be starting anything new, I'll be finishing alot this Friday night.  I'll have to pass on the glass of wine if I want the results to turn out ok. :-)

If you want to sign up, please go over to "Crafty Vegas Mom" blog and register.

Check back tomorrow for the pictures of the results!

Two New Totes and a Handbag....Summer 2011

I found these fabrics and fell in love - my problem? I see fabric and I buy it.  Sometimes I use it, but other times I 'save' it.  Well, nothing good can come of a saved piece - the better option is to make something with it.  So here are my two new totes....

BEACH WAVES:

 MIAMI BEACH:

I also made a little hangbag in the SEASIDE fabric since I had extra.....

I have the best model!!  :-)  Happy Weekend!

Memorial Day Weekend: 2011

I cannot believe it has been so long since my last post - life is moving too fast for me.  Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend.  We're out on relaxing Fire Island with friends and their two daughters.  Little Olive is playing "big sister" to the two girls.  Here she is modeling a new dress - for the Memorial Day occasion....and then July 4th, and Flag Day, and Labor Day..... :-)  It will get alot of use.  She picked out the fabric herself!  She's getting so big.....

Sunday Surprise: Our Poor Tree...

When the snow melted and I assessed our backyard, I noticed our flowering pear tree had a "break" in its trunk from the fork of a main 'trunk'? 'branch'?  I thought that when Spring arrived, I'd likely have to get something to 'seal' the fissure.  This was 2 weeks ago.

Yesterday, we had a crazy storm - nothing to the extent of the tornadoes that hit Oklahoma / Arkansas earlier this week, or North Carolina earlier on Saturday.  We had pelting rain and then the winds started.  We've had worse winds though.  This morning - all was good.  but, sometime between 2:30-4pm, when Mr. Olive was out with little Olive at the park and I was upstairs, that limb cracked off the trunk.  Little Olive and I were readying the Easter egg coloring when I looked out the window and saw the hunk on the ground. 

We planted this tree when we first moved in - it was a sapling.  As you can see, after 9 years, it has grown into a beautiful tree. Now, two-thirds sit on the lawn.  I'm so sad. 

Orchid Show: Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square PA

I love plants - always have, always will.  Growing up I had a room full of houseplants, but funny, no flowering plants.  I started getting into orchids about two years ago and have posted several times about the orchids Mr. Olive has given me and others I've bought.  I'm a total beginner and need to hone my skills in caring for them so I can get flowers.  My little collection makes me happy, but seeing the Orchid Show at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is a huge treat for me.  I'm lucky to have a college-friend live in that town so twice now, we've packed up the car and headed to the Orchid Show and tie in a great visit-weekend.  The show is put on with different orchid societies putting together its display and then the orchids are judged.  I wanted to share some pictures of the gorgeous flowers.

 Catleya:

 Vanda:

 Vanda

 Several different orchids:

 Phaleanopsis:

 Catleya (I think):

 ???

 Dendrobium:

 Phaleanopsis injected with blue dye:

 Paphiopedlium (I think):

 Vanda (I loved these!):

 Oncidium:

 Militonis (pansy orchid):

Now, next set of pictures will be of my plants - the ones I've managed to get to flower.   Enjoy!

Commuting: I have to vent....

For those of you that live outside the NYC area, you probably get up in the morning, have coffee, read the paper, before getting ready for work.  You probably have a 20-minute commute into your office.  OR you live in an area where taxes and expenses aren't strangling you and hubby, and you don't have to work.  Me, on the other hand, ain't so lucky.  We live in New York.  Worse than New York...Long Island....Nassau County.  I get up at 6am to maximize my sleeptime.  I then race the clock for either the 6:37 am or the 7:04am train into NYC.  Ninety minutes....yes, you read that right.....90 minutes after I walk out my door, I arrive at my desk.  And it's the same time home.  Fifteen hours a week I spend on the commute.  If we lived anywhere else, we'd probably be looking at a 30-minute each-way.  I'd have back 10 precious hours to my week.  Mind you, we are 27 miles outside the City - when I get off the train platform in Long Beach? I can see the NYC skyline.

And the subway.  I cannot even go into it without shuddering.  I've told Mr. Olive I'm not sure how much longer I can take the subway!  The subway uptown to Penn last week, there were high school kids on the car.  I couldn't read so I merely closed my book and stared at the window.  The woman next to me - also a professional who looked seasoned by the subway - looked at me and said "I don't know if I can take much more of the subway".....so we bonded for the remaining 10 minute ride.  I hear ya sista. 

The next morning, I cannot get on the train at Penn, so I wait for another.  A guy gets on in front of me, so I'm already annoyed at him, not then not as much as the girl inside the open doors that doesn't move to let anyone else in.  Pulling pulling into 14th street, the girl then needs to battle the crowd to get herself across the train to the opposite doors.  The guy looks at me and says "And she couldn't move when we're trying to get in?  I don't know if I can last on the subway". So I smile and relate my same subway woes.  But, this guy is a 9-11 survivor who moved to Florida and was lured back by a job that he said he'd have to work for five years, until he was 45, and then he'd be able to retire and move back to Florida.  He isn't sure he can make it on the trains.  I don't have that same type of job where early retirement is an option.

*sigh*  sorry - I just had to get it off my chest!!  Tomorrow will be a new day. :-)

March Catch Up!!

It has been awhile since I've posted.  Time is getting away from me.  I turned around and it's March 13th.  February was a great month mad-money-wise until Borders filed for BK and the store on lower Broadway was one slated to close.  I spent my whole $100 there.  To further my reading goals (and taking a back step on my decluttering, but rationalized since 'classics'), I bought book two more of the Asian Saga written by James Clavell: Gai-Jin and Tai-Pan.  If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend "Shogun" - book one.  It is a daunting 1,200 pages, but I have to say, as I neared the end, I stalled finishing bc I wished there were 300 more.  It is also my father's and Mr. Olive's favorite book.  My other resolution to read 11 books - I'm on book 2 and I chose "New Moon", which I'm liking much better than "Twilight".

For Valentine's Day, I 'suggested' that Mr. Olive head to Victoria's Secret for my gift...and NO not for the lingerie.  I was buying the neighbor a gift certificate in January and while on line, I happened to smell "Love Spell".  I tried the tester bottle of lotion and all day kept smelling my hands!  I like fruity scents and this is ultra-fruity with cherry blossom, white peach, and jasmine.  I wanted the lotion, but he did surprise me with the eau de toilette and the spray.  Heaven!

On the sewing front, we had some good sales this year - I'm hoping to get a sale a month, and March is at nada as of now.  Maybe someone will like my new little pink and green wave bag? 

I guess I do have a March sale as the bridal party bags are done and ready to ship.  These are navy with a silk-shantung outside; all the bridesmaid's have navy lining, but the bride's lining is pale yellow. Silvermist was nice enough to pose for me.

I also went to the fabric store and bought some great fabrics - well, I think they are great!  :-)  I've already cut the teal, yellow, and grey waves for totes - there was only enough fabric for two.  I like the sunny yellow lining, which of course, can be the outside since it will be reversible. 

This fabric is quilted - I had to buy a yard.  I'm hoping I can make some nice medium-size bags from it.

AND last but not least, it was a beautiful day in Long Beach, so we took Little Olive for a boardwalk ride on her new bike Santa brought her.  A nice day for the park too.

What's been going on with you??  Do you also think time is flying by?