I'm going to share just a few more pictures of our weekend getaway.  We stayed at the cutest little boutique hotel - The Artmore Hotel, built in 1924 and it had a lot of personality.  If you ever need to stay overnight in the ATL, look them up.  It was just $94 a night, and we were within walking distance of the High Museum of Art and Atlantic Station.

It even had a nice little kitchenette area - complete with Audrey.

 And look what was in the corner!  I thought it was just a very classy place that would leave us goodies; but Derek pointed out that I didn't get out much and that yes, they would charge us for what we took.  You are looking at a $3 Snickers here.

But the best surprise by far was what I found in the bathroom .....

 AVEDA products!!

Anniversary Weekend

On our anniversary trip we went to the Carlos Museum.  Not only did I get to see my first mummy (and mummified cat, mummified falcon, and mummified croccodile), but I got to see other cool Greek and Roman art - like these two little sculptures.

What's amazing about the one above is it was only about 1 1/2 inches tall!  Can you belive the detail?  The one below was only about 1/2 inch tall - they had a magnifying glass set up in front of it that Derek took the picture through.

Even with all the beautiful art and deep history, I still got tickled at naked cherubs.

Even more tickled at a 500 year old bum!

Glass Blowing!

It's our 15th anniversary this week.  My folks were gracious enough to keep the kids while we went away and celebrated for the weekend.  I found the coolest thing in Atlanta, a glass studio, Siyeh Studios, that offers a "date night"!  For two hours (we were having so much fun, though, that we stayed an extra hour), you get to learn some basics of glass blowing, some snacks, and you get to bring home some (hopefully) beautiful projects. 

We started with a simple flower. You can see above and below Derek's flower. He and the instructor made it look simple.

As you can see from mine, it was not that simple for me.  At least we had a good laugh at my "flower".

 Derek thinks it looks more like a boot, so I guess that's how I'll display it on the mantle.

 Then we moved on to a paperweight.  This one was more fun and, I think, I clearly excelled in paperweight making.  Which one do you think is prettier?  Oh?  The one on the right?  That's mine! 

Last, we had a choice between a drinking glass or a vase.  I decided I wanted a vase that I could put our glass flowers in.  Mine was starting out great, then I made some wrong move, and the whole thing went lopsided.  I also kept getting it wider and wider, so the darn thing is too short for my flowers. 

I think it makes a better crumpled top hat than a vase, so that will go will go good with my boot.

Maybe I should have gone with the drinking glass.

Derek decided to go all fancy and make a candy dish with red and white striped like a candy cane.  Well, I must admit, it was a beautiful red polka dotted bowl, but it broke.  He can't wait to go and try again soon.

She did end up wearing a different top then the one she modeled last night; so here is the official first day of school photo - complete with puffy eyes from her lack of sleep.  She was excited, though.  Like all of my other ones is rather independent and didn't want Derek or I to walk her in, so John and Molly were fighting over who could help her get to her class.  I can't wait until 2:30 today to find out who won!

Sis Boom fabric + twirl skirt pattern = FABULOUS SKIRT!

I've never sent my kids to all day Pre-K.  I've always thought that they need to be home as long as possible and also that's just too long of a day for a four year old.  However, at the end of the last school year, Molly was visiting my sister for the week; and I realized that Anna was bored out of her gourd with all five of her older siblings gone.  She was whiny and right under my feet the whole week.  I ended up calling the school and signing her up for Pre-K and finding out it was too late - there was a waiting list and she was number 53!  Would you believe it, but they called on Thursday and she got in!  My pediatrician, who books out 2 months out for well visits, just happened to have a cancellation on Friday; so we were able to go get her immunizations.  It was amazing how everything worked out. 

She was excited because that meant I would make her a skirt for her first day of school like I did Molly.  I talked her into another Redondo, because well, it's my fav pattern.  I bought some Sis Boom fabric on sale last month that was perfect for her skirt.

I got Anna to bed at 7:15 tonight to get her ready and rested for her big first day of school.  She fell right asleep, but was so excited that she woke up at 11:30 and wanted to try her skirt on and have me take pictures.  So this is not her official first day of school picture; but it is what she will be wearing - and that's really the only thing that's important, right?

We have had a wonderfully lazy summer.  Since I haven't blogged much lately, I'll give you a few highlights.

Our pups are gone.  It only took an hour sitting out in the Wal-Mart parking lot to get of the little boogers.  Only one out of the six kids cried when they realized we were giving them away.  Pretty good odds!

Charlie had a summer birthday and bought a budgie with his birthday money.  This little fella's name is Tweety.

Tweets likes to hang out on a branch hanging in my den with some fellow fabric birds.

I think I might be getting the hang of french braiding.  I've always had short hair, and I've always wanted little girl with long hair that I could braid and fix all pretty.  However, I have never known how to french braid or do pretty little hair styles.  And .... my girls have always had a fascination with cutting their own hair.  Both are finally getting long enough and I think my braiding is starting to look a little more even!  What I really want to learn is how to do a crown braid like Heidi or a little Amish girl - wouldn't that look sweet on two very sweet girls?

First Day of School

Today is my girl's first day of Kindergarten!  She has been counting down to this day for four months now.  As you can imagine, she couldn't sleep last night.  I think she finally fell asleep around 10:30 and I have no idea when she woke up - I do know it was before 6:00.

Here she is sporting her new Hello Kitty backpack and Littlest Pet Shop lunchbox (complete with Barbie Thermos). 

Each of the classes at our elementary school has its own theme, like the Curious Caterpillars or the Jolly Ranchers.  Molly is in the Zany Zebras; so she wanted me to make her a zebra skirt.  Unfortunately, Hobby Lobby was out of traditional zebra material - but I did find this cool pink on pink zebra print!

I was a quick sew, taking only a couple of hours from cutting time to completely finished.  There was only one mistake - and a big one - that I made.  I sewed the waistband on the wrong side - with the raw edges on the outside of the skirt!  I was in a lazy mood and did not feel like ripping out the seam, so I improvised.  I decided to leave the seam; but do a rolled hem with my serger to add a ruffle type effect.  I think I rather like it!

Sweet Harmony Bag

As soon as I saw Amy Butler's Sweet Harmony Bag pattern, I knew I wanted to make it.  I love most of her bags, but her patterns are usually for bigger purses and I like to carry a small one. 

I know remember why I don't like to make purses!  Too many pieces, too much prep work, too many layers, etc., etc., etc.  By the time I finished the cutting and ironing the fleece and interfacing, I had to set all of it aside for a few weeks because I was already tired of looking at it.  I did sit down and sew it last night, though, and I LOVE the end result!

I used some Anna Maria Horner Good Folks fabric that I've been hoarding for awhile now.  I bought up a lot of that line when I found it half off a long time ago; and it was very hard to decide which one to use for my purse.

There are pockets galore in this bag.  Three on the inside, two on the outside and .....look - there is even a cell phone pocket!