Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate! (We do both Xmas and Hanukkah in our house, as we are multi-ethnic and have different religions. I want my daughter to grow up in a world of inclusivity, where all peoples and beliefs are respected)
Mommy bought herself a MINI Cooper S Convertible as a DIY project. I named him “Desmond” and he’s officially my new boyfriend. LOL. We play the Beatles “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” while we work on him. So far, he’s so much fun and I got a great deal on it. I’ve always wanted to restore a car/customize a car.
We whipped this adorable scotty dog Xmas skirt (with red and white polka dot lining) at the last minute before a holiday carnival we went to. I made a matching hair bow and a bow pin brooch to go with.
It took less than 1.5 hrs to do the entire ensemble.
I think this is my favorite fabric to date! It is adorable and has the requisite twirl factor that Maisie demands.
Honestly, I doubt I will ever buy her another skirt again, when I can churn these out daily.
The quality of my homesewn and designed skirts are far superior to the ones I can buy at the store. I don’t skimp on materials, everything is lined, it’s just amazingly easy for me to do this… and it teaches her how to sew, to boot!
We felt well enough to finish sewing her Aleph Bet Hebrew Alphabet skirt (with literal NAPS in between steps), just in case we’re well enough to attend family services tomorrow. She learned the Shema and Oseh Shalom with the other little ones and they’re kicking off a special Friday thing tomorrow.
She also loves (and I mean LOVES) this video of the kids Hebrew Alphabet song- at the rate she is going, we could possibly add Hebrew to her English and Persian and Filipino and smattering of French she knows already:
She also received a “Little Trixie”- a dressmaker’s dummy dressform, whatchamacallit. I call my big one Trixie, so now I guess it’s Trixie Sr.
The kiddie one is by Dritz and it is ADORABLE. Maisie keeps hugging it like it’s her best friend. The measurements are adjustable to about size 12-14 kids, so this thing should hold up for a long, long time.
Maisie is slim and tall, so the measurements are a bit bigger than her actual girth- but with elastic waistbands and twirly skirts, that doesn’t matter.
All Maisie requests in a skirt are that they twirl and they have cool fabric. I can do this.
Actually, R’s been doing the actual sewing, while I tell him what to do. I prefer draping and design and hand sewing to machine stuff and cutting. To him, using a sewing machine is no different than making things out of wood with tools. He just has to be told how to do it and he does it.
I’ve been really out of sorts because of the pulmonary embolisms, but here are some nice things that have happened this month- lots of birthdays!
First up, Maisie’s 4th birthday was on 10 September! We usually have huge parties, but my health hasn’t been the best, so we just did a family party, with grandparents from both sides and her first cousins from her dad’s side. She received My Little Pony, Spirit Horses, an Ant Farm (her fave, ours too), and the outhouse dollhouse built by my dad (with base and landscaping by us):
Later in the week, she received macarons from our dear friend and we had a blast doing mundane things- also, my friend brought us wild paw paw fruit, which tastes like mangoes squished with bananas and pineapple! I was able to ripen them by sticking the branch in water for a week.
Then we ended this week with silver and gold henna tattoos- plus I received 2 new Tiffany heart bead bracelets to commemorate surviving the last 2 months since my embolisms ❤
If you scroll the instagram, you can see a shot of her with me, not in a hospital gown for once lol.
She is such a lovely child and well behaved and soooo smart!!!!! She will be four on 10 Sept!
She does not stop talking, though. She is a font of information. I adore that. You can have an actual intellectual conversation with this tot and it’s ADORABLE.
A little peek into our day, before trick or treat- it was 35F here in SW Michigan- absolutely freeeeeezing (1-2C for the rest of you).
We rushed to get candy for the manny in the house to dole out while we took the girl into the cold.
I had exactly 35 minutes to decide what to dress up as- and accidentally turned into a Zombie Kardashian- or a Game of Thrones greyscale Kardashian– still not sure which.
Maisie dressed as a brown haired Elsa… she was over the moon. Below is a pic with her brother- who is dressed as a sort of emo Waldo who doesn’t wish to be found- but will still take your candy-
I did, however, successfully stay keto and stayed out of the sweets today- so hurray for me!
I am seriously lazy right now and supposed to be cleaning the upstairs. I let a lot go to seed when I was recovering from my illness. I dusted and cleaned for about thirty minutes this afternoon- and now I have to try to get the Maisie to go down for her nap.
I’ve gone most vegetarian since my kidney infection- and I’ve upped my water intake. We have cut out red meat almost entirely (the others in my house still eat it).
This was Maisie’s breakfast today- Filipino Adobo Fried Rice, with a fried egg and sriracha
Ever since R bought that 2.5 ft toy giraffe for her birthday, she’s been OBSESSED with it.
Today it hit it’s pinnacle: she refused to eat or go anywhere without it. She cried every time you took it away, even for a minute.
We haven’t named it yet, but she calls it “G’affe”.
Today’s outfit is a late 1940s-early 1950s vintage baby dress I found on eBay. It is made of cotton and dotted swiss. I adore retro baby dresses- the quality and construction (and price) can’t be beat! I should have ironed it, but I have no time for that.
I really wonder how my grandmother dealt with 4 daughters and all those dresses to iron! I know people say that they ‘sprinkled the dresses with water’, but the details are sketchy. One of my friends showed me how to iron puffed baby sleeves and it is kind of like those Imelda Marcos butterfly sleeved Filipino dresses.
