My mom said she used to wear them when she was little and they called them “day aprons”.  Mothers would put them over their clothes to keep their daughter’s dress from getting messy.

Isn’t that a fabulous idea?  I thought so!

So two days ago on my wonderful snow day off from work, Mother and I ventured into the basement to work during MM’s naps.  {My sewing “studio”–hehe–is in my parents’ basement since my own basement is a dirt basement with scary old pipes and a 100 year old boiler–yikes}  We took MM’s pinafore that fit her and made a pattern.  I don’t know how to do all those fancy-schmancy .pdf patterns I see everywhere, but here’s one that’s looks pretty similar.

With our first pinafore–the one MM was wearing in my last post–we used two Alexander Henry fabrics that I’ve been saving for a fun project.  With our second pinafore (the one seen here) we used some fabric I liked at Hobby Lobby that was 30% off.

After we she cut it out she put right sides together and pinned.  {She’s the official fabric cutter and I’m usually off working on another project at the time}

After I pin right sides together I sew.  I usually do a pretty small seam allowance–1/2″ and no more.

Then I turned it inside out and ironed.  If you ever sew anything you must know one thing: the iron is your best friend (with pins a close second). 

Finish the garment with a 1/8″ stitch around the edge to close the opening.

After that it’s time for buttons!  I use vintage buttons from my collections, but any buttons will do.  Thankfully I have two sewing machines that can do automatic (“sensor”) button holes for you because I could *never* do that stitching on my own.

Finally, you sew on your buttons and taa-daa! your day apron is complete.

I also find that since MM drools a lot–and has been since she was 8 weeks old, will it ever stop?!–this is like a big bib for her too.  So it keeps her clothes clean and the drool away…perfect in my book.

Well, I got nothing for you.  Nada. Nil. Zilch.With all the sickness that has taken over our house I am lucky to be coherent enough to type this.

See, MM spoiled me when she was little.  I *never* had to deal with a fussy baby and colic?  I barely even know what it means!  But today?  Oh today, I got my payback because the baby is still sick.  We even went back to the doctor yesterday (yes, twice in 48 hours) because her throat developed lesions and her single ear infection turned into a double.  And all that together has created an angry baby that is in horrible pain.  Pain that Baby Tylenol and Motrin don’t even touch.  The only time she will not scream like you are killing her is when you walk her around the house and then it is a constant whimper.

And I walked around for FOUR hours tonight after working a full day on my feet.  And, oh yeah, my throat is now hurting and my glands are swollen and sore.  So I really wasn’t feeling the best to begin with.  And C. can’t help ’cause he has come down with what we think is the flu or at the very least some sort of “funk”.  And we all know men are complete and total babies when they’re sick.

I am exhausted and it is only 7 o’clock.

So those collection pictures will just have to wait another day.  I really will try to get to them, I promise….but I couldn’t leave you without at least one picture, could I?  Here is Miss Crazy Hair sitting on the stove (that is turned off, I promise!), bread bag in hand, and crazy bed hair at 6:34 in the morning.  Talk about a candid picture!

But there was no reason to worry because I LOVE it.  LOVE it LOVE it LOVE it.

It’s not the traditional light blue of a porch ceiling, but it still gives that porchy feeling.  And the color actually brings out the tongue-and-groove ceiling.  It kinda makes me sad the rest of our ceilings are “boring” swiss coffee throughout the house.

And the wainscoting looks pretty dang good painted too.

As for MM she is feeling better and her fever was 101 or lower today.  She’s drooling more than I can even describe–she went through her undershirt, her shirt, and two bibs within thirty minutes–but she’s “talking” more today and definitely more active than yesterday.  Yesterday she wanted to be held like a little baby and rocked and today she was on the move.

Here she is having a bedtime snack at the table and chairs we picked up when we went to Ikea this past Saturday.  As y’all know, our kitchen is *tiny*, but I was able to squeeze in this tiny-sized tot table.  I’m thinking I’ll put it in the dining room this summer, but for now she’s content to sit here and eat her snacks and play with her puppet chicken.

In other news, the tile was put in place today, along with odds and ends like cutting off the bottom of all the doors (a total of seven, including cabinets) since the floor is now higher and moving the plug-in and water lines for the washer lower on the wall to accommodate the counter top.

They’re coming back on Thursday afternoon to grout it.

If you know me personally and can remember back to when we rehabbed Brogdon House in 2007 then you can remember my dilemma with paint colors.  I cannot pick out paint colors to save my life because I just don’t trust those little cards with the sample colors at Home Depot because of a bad experience I had with some cotton candy pink paint in my college apartment.  So I only used paint colors I had seen in design homes (I heart you ‘Driftwood Beige’), in magazines, or something I was matching the color to.  In our downstairs bedroom there are two shades of green–a light sage green below the picture molding and an even lighter sage above–and it took me HOURS trying to decide on those because I didn’t have anything else to go by.

And tonight I met my match again.

Yesterday I talked about how we loved the green ceiling, but wanted to take it a few shades lighter.  Easier said than done.  I could’ve spent an hour at Home Depot tonight comparing a sample I had of our vintage green to paint sample cards. I ended up finding two.  Then I couldn’t decide how light I need to go.  But since MM was sick and I needed to get a move on I just went with my gut…and boy, I hope it’s not too over the top for the ceiling.

On the left is some paint I found to match the trim in that room and on the right you can see my tiny paint samples and the arrow points to the color I chose for the ceiling.

So, what do you think?  Is it going to be too bold?  Well, I guess it’s too late anyway–it’s being painted tomorrow afternoon!

{wow, I just had a triple negative in that sentence, oops}  

In fact, she gets a TON.  If you ask her if she’s sleepy (and she is) she’ll crawl to her bedroom.  

If you ask her to give her doll a hug and a kiss, she will.  

If you ask her to talk on the telephone, she puts it up to her ear.  

If you ask her where her nose is she’ll point to it.  

If you ask her for her paci she’ll give it to you…but just for a second, haha.

And the cutest thing of all?  If you ask her to wash her hair, she will.   Here’s a little video I caught yesterday afternoon.  Please disregard the lady talking who thinks the word ‘hair’ has two syllables.

I didn’t post all this to gloat.  Okay, okay, maybe I did.  But what I really meant to say is that I very often buy outfits with the sole intention of having MM’s picture made in them at some point.

-Her pink cashmere going home outfit.

-Her light blue two-piece pants set hemmed in lace from Strasburg Children.

{can’t find a picture on the computer.  oops.}

-Her Green Pomegranate dress with apron and bonnet all made with antique linens.

-Her vintage light blue dress with pearl buttons and matching sweater we found at an antiques show two  years before she was born.

-Her smocked owl romper.

And now, a smocked bathing suit and another Green Pomegranate dress.  I can already see the dress being worn as MM walks around the park in our little downtown named in honor of her grandmother this spring and the little swimsuit while she splish splashes this summer.

So, my question is this: am I the only mother who buys clothes especially for pictures?  (Please say no…haha!)

My, my, what a difference a year makes!

Yesterday afternoon MM and I put on our aprons and baked treats for the grandparents and great-grandmothers.  Chocolate chunk cookies, Martha Stewart’s classic pound cake that we put in Williams Sonoma cakelet flower-shaped pans, sugar cookies, and chocolate surprise cupcakes were all prepared with love for the ones we love.

MM was a huge help.  She stirred, she whisked, she poured the batter in the pans.

Okay, okay, really she just sat in her booster chair at the kitchen table and played with the batter and spatula all the while sneaking pieces to Vivi.

But we had a great time (so did Vivi!) and I can’t wait for the years to come when she can help me even more.

I hope you all have a very happy Valentine’s Day surrounding by the people and things you love the most.

And look how precious it is!

When I got to my parents’ yesterday (where my sewing room is) my mom cut out the pieces using some Amy Butler, Jennifer Paganelli, and Henry Glass fabrics I had on hand while I began sewing.  The pieces were so easy to cut out and machine sew–less than 30 minutes.  I took the pieces home last night to stuff and hand sew them together which took about an hour.  And this is what I created.

I just love this funky little chicken and I think MM will too.  C. didn’t really know what to think about it–he even asked, ‘Is it supposed to look like that?’ and I just laughed.  Hopefully it will be loved for years to come and that she’ll know with every stitch I made last night I was thinking about her.

I did use buttons for the eyes (antique ones from my collection actually), but I sewed them on extra tight.  That being said, I wouldn’t let her keep this doll in her crib or anything–I would want to watch her while she plays with it.  You definitely could just do knot eyes for your little one if you didn’t want to have to worry about the whole button-choking thing.

That child is too tall for her own good!  I think she was reaching for the ground mustard, who knows.  Anyway, I started looking through my mom’s camera and realized she & I had taken some cute pictures of MM the past couple of weeks.  As I looked through them I thought it was so neat to be able to see what they do during the day while I’m at work.  All I have to say is, MM has a fantastic time and is doted on by many!

 This one was taken last Monday…what day was that?  January 25th?  She’s sitting in her “Barney Chair” waiting for a favorite dinosaur to come on the TV.  This little rocker was actually my dad’s, circa 1947.    All you have to say is, ‘Barney’s coming on!’, and she runs crawls and gets in her little rocker.  I actually took a video of her doing it last weekend…I’ll have to post it.

Here she is last Friday, the 29th.  She’s looking out over the back deck at Vivi running around (and barking) in my parents’ backyard.  She’s wearing her official Valentine’s Day outfit, but unfortunately, you can’t see her heart tights or red shoes…but trust me, she’s precious.  hehe

 These next two are from this past Monday (the 1st).  Here she is “driving” her green car with the door open.  No matter how many times we close the door, she always opens it back up.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that she mastered holding her bottle the day before we took it away.  Well, she’s definitely mastered her sippy cups too.  This is how she drinks out of them–she just leaves them in her mouth and when she’s ready to drink, she does–it’s like a paci and a sippy cup, all in one.  She is too funny.   This is her with one of her very favorite visitors, Mamaw.  (Oh, and I made that little Valentine’s Day shirt)

And last, but not least, here she is yesterday in her Barney Chair with her cow.  After this picture was made, she and my parents had a big day–they went and ate at the food court at the mall (she loves a Chick-Fil-A kids meal and can now eat 3 of her nuggets!), rode on the carousel (she’s not a fan), and got a new dog–which she and my dad named “Spooky”–and a small black dog side kick at Build-A-Bear.  She loves going to the mall to people watch (getting new stuffed animals and outfits doesn’t hurt either).

It makes me so happy knowing that her days are spent with some of the people who love her the very most.  It’s the next best thing to me being there with her.  I’m so excited that I get the whole summer off with her and that starting in August I’ll have every other week with her.  It makes my heart happy.

I wanted it to match her current bedding (browns and blues), but also work with her toddler bed bedding that I’ve had made (pinks and blues).  I decided on an Alexander Henry print (the apples) and an Amy Butler print (the dots)–two of my favorite fabric designers that I always have in my sewing room.  I got a new bird applique last week and decided to do that on the hem since I’m always calling MM my “little bird”.

And she loves it.  Now every time she goes to sleep–whether it’s a nap at my parents’ or at night here–she has to have her little pillow.  When you go to get her when she wakes up she hands it to you and then she’ll carry it around with her while she plays.  Too precious.

And now I’m starting to obsess over hand embroidery patterns, like the monkey found here.  How cute would that look on a little shirt or a pillowcase?  I’m debating on whether purchasing it now or waiting ’til spring break when I’ll probably get around to doing it anyway, hehe.