Graduation Dress Update

Last weekend, Thing 2 and I worked on her dress.  She got a firsthand lesson in cutting out the pattern.  And, she is old enough now to handle an iron, so she pressed the patterns flat.  Then we pinned it to muslin fabric and transferred the pertinent markings and cut it out.  Thing 2 still has trouble pinning but she really liked transfer the pattern dots to the fabric!  I need to sit her down and have her practice pinning so she get comfortable with it.

I already did that with her for sewing.  I took some scrap fabric and with a magic marker, drew straight, curved and zig zag lines for her to practice sewing on.  She kept at it till she got comfortable and it abolished any fear since it was just scrap fabric that we were going to throw away (well, I used it to clean the barbeque first!)

After we sewed up the muslin, she tried it on and wasn’t very impressed!  Little Thing 2’s hips have come in, (sigh… puberty) so I showed her how we modified the pattern (literally drawing black lines on the muslin, then modifying the paper pattern.

Cutting out the fabric was as far as we got.  She’s still not sure if she’s going to like the dress when it’s done so we used a bright Hawaiian print fabric to make a little sun dress for vacation this summer.  Once she can see the final result, she’ll have a better idea of what her graduation dress will look like.

We had a really nice time mother daughter morning shopping at Joanns for the white linen fabric that will be used for the final graduation dress.  We also picked through my stash of zippers (acquired from the Grady Hunt estates sale) that will be used to spice up her graduation dress.

Diaper Cake

My best friend forever (Really?  Forever?  thank you Bridesmaids) called upon my craftiness this week.  Yes, Wilma Fingerdoo was invited to a baby shower and to her full credit, she saw, somewhere in the interverse, a Diaper Cake –  which apparently is all the rage for baby showers.  Full credit because Wilma is not exactly know for her maternal instincts.

Now, when I was having babies, they didn’t exist yet.  (diaper cakes, not babies)  What a GREAT idea!  You can never have enough diapers when you have a baby – and diapers are expensive!  Wilma asked for my help (she knew I’d have all the supplies) and it sure looked like fun.

It’s ironic that the day that I’m helping make a diaper cake, I bought a high school graduation card for the son of my other BFF, Kat.  I threw Kat’s baby shower right before Jaggar was born.  It was the first baby shower I had ever thrown.  And now he’s G R A D U A T I N G!  How the hell did that happen?

I didn’t bother to put the instructions here making on diaper cakes, just the results.  A quick search on your favorite search engine is going to give you all the options and details that you need.  I will tell you we went with the “swirl” method (oddly appropriate for a diaper cake if you think about it).  Wilma may not have deep maternal instincts but she instantly figured out that the other methods involving rolling up diapers and securing them with rubber bands would be a pain in the butt for the new mom.

Lemon Drop Martinis, the squirrely kind

I’m posting this very late  – better late than never, right?

When I was packing for the 2011 NAMM show, I’m was thinking of my best friend Kat, excited that I would see her soon!  I met Kat at the Rainbow 20 years ago.  I was hanging out with a friend and Kat overheard our conversation about boobs – um, yes boobs, and she “busted” right into our conversation.  It was love at first sight.  I’d never met a cooler chick in my life (still haven’t and she’s got a lot of competition these days).  We were so head over heals for each other that when Kat mentioned that she wanted to transfer to Los Angeles, (she was a flight attendant living in Chicago) I said she could move right in with me… without bothering to check with my boyfriend.  So she showed up one day, and well, I don’t see him anymore… but that’s how it goes.

Kat ended up marrying her rockstar, moving to Scottsdale and is raising 4 amazing kids.  Despite her moving away – we remain very close, talk daily and visit each other regularly (but not nearly enough).  Kat didn’t introduce me to Lemon Drops – but she did teach me how to make them.  They’ve become my favorite drink of decadence.   Making them is always fun and every girl  needs to know how to make her own!

You will need:

• Cocktail Shaker
• Martini Glasses
• Shot Glass
• Ice Cubes
• Vodka (citrus flavored is not necessary)
• Lemons
• Triple Sec or better yet Grand Marnier
• Sugar

Fill your martini glass with ice cubes to properly chill the glasses.  Pour it out right before serving.

Fill your cocktail shaker with ice cubes

Measure the following into your cocktail shaker:

• 1 1/2 shots of your favorite and chilled vodka
• 1/2 shot of Triple Sec (or Grand Marnier)
• 3/4 shot of fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp of sugar.

Shake then pour into your chilled martini glasses.

You can coat the edges of your martini glass in sugar by dipping the edge of the glass first in water, then into a plate of sugar.  I opt to skip this part as I really don’t like my drink too sweet and the sugar always sticks to my lipstick.  This of course, it’s Kat’s favorite part – she likes to lick the sugar off the rim.

These are quick and easy to make – master these and you’ll be invited back to the next party….  CLINKIES!

A funny thing happened that last time I went to make a lemon drop.  The famous Wilma Fingerdoo stopped by for a cocktail and I had all the ingredients set out to make us a quick cocktail.  But Thing 1 had left us with no ice cubes.

Faced with an ice cube shortage, Wilma and I headed out to scout out the neighbors to see if we could borrow a cup ‘o cubes.  Sure enough, my neighbor Tom was heading out and how could he turn down two damsels in distress.  As we followed him to his apartment, a cute little baby squirrel came running out of the bushes and tried to crawl up Tom’s pants.  To Tom’s credit, he didn’t scream but the squirrel, despite his tiny size was relentless!  It charged again and again, undaunted by Tom’s foot gently trying to block him.  The situation when from cute to crazy and Tom finally escaped to a stairway while Wilma and I were practically rolling on the ground, hysterical with laughter.  We finally all escaped the squirrels advances and made it safely into his apartment for the ice cubes.  When we left, the squirrel made a half hearted attempt to follow us but clearly it was waiting for Tom and quickly gave up.

Realtor Sponsored Garage Sales

This weekend, Thing 1 was my wingman – he has finally developed a love of garage sales.  Right in our very own neighborhood, a garage sale event of epic proportions took place!  The new trick with Realtors is to sponsor neighborhood wide garage sales.  Love it.  So after I dropped of Thing 2 at gymnastics, Thing 1, myself and the furry child headed out.  The first item we found was a vintage carved headboard.  How could I resist it’s clean feminine lines, the carved filigree flowers, and an inner panel screaming for an update.   I wish from the bottom of my heart that I had a room to keep this pretty piece.   But this will be painted white, the panel re-upholstered in a black and white damask (or something else clean and crisp) and perhaps studded (to look like nailheads).  Thing 2 picked up a few vinyl records from the progressive rock era.  We’re going to display them in the shelving over his desk – the perfect decor for a 14 year old and aspiring musician!   I also picked up (brand new, in the box) a Williams Sonoma Message-In-A-Cookie cutter which will guarantee another solid first place win at the annual Christmas Cookie Exchange.   I was recently informed that the stakes are higher this year.