Easy To Sew Purse

UPDATE: Tutorial & pattern can be found HERE. And I have teal fabric, plus some extra of the green so I think I'm going to make another one for myself this week. WOOT!
 
Sometimes I get bored and just want to sew. This is an easy project that only takes an afternoon (with you know, a few breaks for some good ol' soap opera drama). And it doesn't use up that much fabric. Now I hate to say it but I lost the link for the tutorial. I'm going to have to find it again but I was way too excited not to share.

The inside is fabric that I purchased at a garage sale. Both fabrics are home decor weight - I wanted something a bit tough for how much I beat up my purses.

So simple and easy!

I promise, I WILL find that link!

The Gardening Apron

http://www.designspongeonline.com/I made it. From my post earlier this week, I decided that I really couldn't wait to make it (um, I'm procrastinating cleaning the house for our party, however, I did hang up a curtain to the laundry room, put some clothes away and start grocery shopping so...). Again for a refresher, I used this tutorial from DesignSponge (LOVE DesignSponge!!! If you don't already have it in your Google Reader and you love to craft things... DO IT).

Ignore my crappy I'm-done-working-for-the-day-crap-pants and just check out the apron.

It has three pockets - I recommend NOT using a pen for marking your pocket lines. I'm lazy and just couldn't find the energy to find my chalk pen. GAH. I need to motivate myself to do that next time. BUT, the blue isn't too noticeable unless you're actually looking for it.

The fit is flattering, I tied it a little to high though, but I'm a dork like that.

Overall - this was REALLY easy. Took me two days and about 2 1/2 hours with breaks and trips to get another glass of wine and waiting for my iron to heat up three times.

Definitely recommend.

Next apron I'll probably use a contrasting fabric for the apron body so it doesn't all blend together.

Happy Friday!

Dining Room & Kitchen Updates

Meh, you don't need to see 10,000 pictures of a small 10 x 12 room. Here's two new pics of the bookshelf I got for the dining room from Ikea. It was $75. Cheap and it fits. Frankly, I needed something to store my cookbooks and other random crap from the kitchen.

At Ikea I saw that the back had been cut so it would fit over the trim - however, our trim is old and original so it's really tall. And unfortunately the cut out isn't big enough, but that's fine. I've come to think of furniture quirks as "homey" and "comfortable" and "non-catalog" for our house. It doesn't look too bad - I wanted something more natural and shorter but now that it's been there for a week, I like how tall it is.

And of course, I filled it with crap the moment I moved it into place. (Please note: we do not have children hence the reason why the liquor bottles are on a lower shelf) I have more cookbooks that I will cram in at some point but I'm liking the less cluttered look. Oh wait, if you don't like clutter don't look at the basket filled with crap.

New rug for the kitchen - I decided that I'm too lazy to buy a rug from Ikea and paint it in a chevron pattern, instead I found this at Pier 1 Imports for $40. Bimmer Man likes it and he doesn't really say too much decor-wise unless it involves a BMW or a Ferrari so... I'm going to have to add in more pattern to the rest of the house.

Meet My Pink Bathroom

Did you know that there's this website called Save The Pink Bathroom? Well, let me tell you about my pink bathroom. It's original (except for the white tile surround of the bathtub) and it's pink. Isn't it awesome?

It really is. I even debated over looking for a pink toilet for awhile until I pulled myself back into reality and decided that I wouldn't want a pink toilet. I'll take my pink tile though.

I've seen so many homes built in the same year as my house (1949) with updated bathrooms and I think - what the heck did they do with the AWESOME tile? Might as well embrace the experience of people who peed in the 1950's, right?

If you have a bathroom from the 40's, 50's or 60's, how do you like it?

Our tile is in great shape for being old so I can't justify doing anything to the pink tile. It's the character of our house. It looks like pepto but man, I like having the original bathroom. It's sort of neat when you have visitors and they come out of the bathroom saying, "neat pink bathroom!"

MISSING: Furminator

Missing: The Furminator

Last seen: Living room about three weeks ago

Reward: A less furry dog

Places I've Already Looked: Living room, all baskets, under tables, under the couch, the hall closet, doggie crap basket (I did find a tennis ball), office and back porch.

Wanted: Any ideas of where else to look for this magic animal de-shedding tool.

Sewing To-Make Projects & Some Link Lovin'

A gardening apron - directions/tutorial from DesignSponge.

An awesome reversible bag WITH ADJUSTABLE STRAPS. Who doesn't love adjustable straps?

Crochet baby blanket made with modern colors (note: nothing about it says baby - which is totally my cup 'o tea).

DIY Roman Shades (it says no-sew, but man, I will be using my sewing machine, I don't exactly trust TAPE holding up shades while I'm peeing).

A door mat from Martha Stewart (wooden and I'm going to paint the slats a different color so it's nice and cheery. And hopefully won't attract gross bugs to live under it like the jute one I have now).

So friends, anyone want to be crafty with me this summer?

Indy 500 Checklist: Update #1

Phew. I'm making progress. Slowly but surely. I can't clean the floors until Saturday night - the dog gets them dirty. So my timeline is posted below my list.

1. Kegs - Mich Golden Light &  Rush River IPA

2. Food: Pasta salad, fruit salad, veggies + three dips, bruschetta, pulled pork sandwiches, homemade BBQ sauce, Black bean salsa, regular salsa, chips, hummus & pita chips, maybe cous cous something or other?

3. Desserts: Margarita cupcakes, brownies, key lime bars again? Maybe Mississippi Mud Cupcakes?

4. Clean the floors with Bona. Make them pretty


5. Set out rugs at doors so people take their shoes off

6. Clean up the back patio, get outdoor rug so people can go barefoot if they want

7. Dog water dishes

8. Clean the bathrooms, make sure two kegs fit in bathtub

9. Clean kitchen (and really clean it, don't just "wipe it down")

10. Purchase $30 vacuum that works then go and return it. (Ok, mostly kidding on this one but I do need a vacuum)

11. Get pile of crap ready for THE GREAT SWAP

12. Realize that I will need to accept this day as insane and start the day off with a mimosa or similar drink.


Timeline for Party Prep:

Friday: Grocery shop, de-clutter
Saturday: Pasta salad, margarita cupcakes, brownies, bruschetta, THE GREAT SWAP
Saturday night: Pulled pork, plate all the salsas & veggie dips (cover tight with plastic wrap), more cleaning, vacuum out the vents for people with allergies & change furnace filter, dust, move furniture, floors
Sunday morning: Fruit salad, cous cous, slice french bread, Swiffer, fill up the TP holders, etc... Sit down, drink beer and don't forget to make the bed

Inspire Me: New Orleans

Via Pinterest here.

Seen here on Pinterest.

Via Pinterest.

Via Pinterest.

Via Pinterest.

Someday New Orleans... I will come and visit...

Tornado Near Us This Past Weekend

I have a video to share with everyone. This home video was shot at a Costco maybe about 2 - 3 miles from our house. From where the tornado is, our house is just south about 3 miles. Where was I when this was happening? Well, sitting in the living room watching the news.



I wanted to share this because we live VERY near downtown Minneapolis and tornadoes in cities are very rare. SO... just a reminder - be safe, find a basement, grab a blanket to cover yourself and wear shoes!

Tulips From My Garden

Before the squirrels got to my tulips and daffodils, I decided to cut them and make a bouquet. The squirrels and rabbits get really bad around here so I have to share before they wilt. But my allergies are HATING me right now for gardening so much (more on that later... Pattymctatty will be seeing an allergist ASAP).

I planted a ton of bulbs last fall - maybe close to 125? I don't know, I suppose I could go look in my email to see the total. I even gave bulbs to our fabulous neighbors because I couldn't get them all into the ground fast enough. My favorite this year are the purple tulips. My Columbine made a return (woot!) and so did my Clematis. Below are pics of the tulips and daffodils - I saved the purple tulip for last. There's a bit of blue in the center.