Beep, Beep! Don't be an Idiot

You know how they have those cars that give you a warning if you're about to back into something? I wish my sewing machine had that. That would save so much time and hassle, don't you think?

For example, "Beep! Beep! The fabrics are not right sides together!"
Or, "Beep! Beep! You're sewing that pocket on upside down!"

It would also be helpful when out thrifting little boys clothes. I kept picking up pants that T-3 was telling me actually were for girls. Um, T-3, you forgot to mention that ruffles are for girls!


Oh well, they were 60c, and with a little seam ripping and re-sewing, they'll be fine! But if I had my own Idiot Warning Device, this could have been avoided. "Beep! Beep! See the ruffles, stupid?"

Something smells fishy

After a thorough search, I think I’ve found where that fish smell is emanating from. I found some leftover fish scraps in the dining room.

No, not that kind of fish scraps! Leftover scraps of fabric from a little fish bib I sewed today!

Does anyone have any ideas what I can do with these fishy scraps? I thought I could sew them together into a small (teeny, tiny) pillow although I really don't need any more softies in this house. Joel's room already looks like a stuffed animal factory vomited all over the place.

Here's the finished bib. It started out as a thrifted towel. I was able to make both the front and back sides from the towel; no additional fabric was necessary. The end product is kind of wonky because of the particular stitch that I used when topstitching. Live and learn, I guess! At least I got to experiment with a new stitch on my sewing machine :)

Sunday Stash & Saving Some Cash

I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve been on a rhyming thing lately. Please excuse any corny poetry that may happen to come your way.

So yesterday was a big day. T-3 and I went out to Gap and Old Navy for “Friends and Family” day, and we each spent a whopping $1.50. I bought a Christmas onesie for Joel. She bought some undies. (Maybe she didn’t want me to announce that?)

Then we went to a thrift store in the ghetto. I guess the best thrift stores are in the ghetto because they had some killer prices on baby clothes. Not-so-much on some of the other things though. Like, get this, men’s ties were going for about four dollars. They must have been smoking crack to think someone is going to shell out four big ones for a used tie (Yes, George Washingtons are “big ones” in my book).

I got eleven items of clothing for Joel for under $6.05 plus tax. I won’t bother you with more pictures because, really, once you see some baby boy clothes, you’ve seen them all. I did get a really cute Brutus Buckeye onesie and a Cleveland Browns turtleneck onesie that I should have photographed but didn’t. Village Discount Outlet, the thrift store we visited today, is my new fav. Yes, it may be in the ‘hood. Yes, I’ll probably get lost trying to find it again. Yes, I was just a bit afraid for my life. And yes, the second we walked in the door, some woman was screaming and cussing up a storm because someone stole her purse, but their prices were so cheap. I told my husband, “I know I’ve hit rock bottom when I pass on pieces of clothes for ninety cents because I think I could do better.” Seriously. There were some things I put back that were under a dollar because I thought they were too expensive. I mean, compared with the long sleeve shirt I got Joel that was only twenty cents, can you blame me?

Here’s two photos. First up, some thank you’s for Joel’s first birthday (90c) and another t-shirt (25c) that’s going to become kiddie-pants. I found them at the thrift store when out with my husband.


Yep, we went to three thrift stores together. I have never been so in love with the man. At the High Street Salvation Army, all winter clothes were 75% off, as were all pink tags (the above t-shirt was a pink-tagged item). I didn’t even look for wool sweaters because I know once I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop. He was showing signs of boredom, although I’ll give him credit, he doesn’t whine or complain or drag me out by the hair. I just might have to go back tomorrow though because I really want to find some wool for felting.


And now, this week’s puny little Sunday stash: two items I thrifted today (99c for the polka dots, and 15c for the surf-board-looking one The latter was 75% off. Sweet!). I certainly don’t need to keep adding to my stash, however isn’t that what all sewers do? It’s a sickness really. Use what you have?! *scoffs*


Speaking of sickness and fabrics, did you know that there is an actual phobia of fabrics? Textophobia is “An abnormal, persistent fear of some textiles/fabrics.” Textophobia sounds more like a fear of high school students using their cell phones to write messages to their friends while in class, at the mall, and driving their cars.

But truly, I think I have textophobia. I am fearful of some fabrics, aren’t you? Isn’t there just some fabrics that you hate to sew? You find them downright scary? You have nightmares about their slipperiness or their thickness? You hate to spend money on them because you know when you get it under the needle, you’re just going to screw up royally and either waste money, or waste time while you rip out seam after seam, or both. No? Oh, it must just be me then.

Poop on Ann Arbor

Joel slept the day away today, allowing me to actually get some sewing done. Yay! I whipped out Wednesday’s thrifted t-shirts faster than you can say, “Poop on Ann Arbor.”
No offense to any Michigan fans out there. You know I’m just kidding.

(Well, I’m half kidding).

(Okay, I’m not really kidding at all).

So I mostly finished a total of six pairs of kiddie pants today. I say “mostly” because I didn’t want to do the elastic or hem the bottoms until he’s ready to wear them so I can make sure I get a good fit. That and I hate working with elastic, so I’m putting it off for about a year.

First up: the map pants. You can see this was a well-loved t-shirt in its former life by the amount of wear and tear it’s received. You can barely even make out the license plate that says “GR8 ST8.” I cut that out and put it in the trash. It was pretty nasty.


Upon closer inspection of the shirt, I discovered this:



What were they thinking? I really wanted to use this part of the map for the seat of the pants, however it just wouldn’t work. That’s too bad, because then he really could have pooped on Ann Arbor.

Here’s the finished product along with a pair of Buckeyes pants to cleanse my palate from that bad Ann Arbor aftertaste:




I’m tempted to stand up and sing a round of one of my favorite hating-on-the-state-up-north tunes. “We don’t give a damn about the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan. We don’t give a damn about the whole state of Michigan, ‘cause we’re from Ohio. We’re from Ohio! OH! We’re from Ohio! IO!”

Anyway…. A few more cute pairs of pants:




And last but not least, a pair of Valentines pants that were originally a pair of napkins. They’re kind of girlie, however he was a February 14th baby.


I know lots of people have done tutorials on this subject and another one really isn't warranted, but I did snap a few mid-completion photos for you. The first shows off my designer pattern. Nothing says kiddie pants like a cut-out ad for Papa Johns Pizza and a Pet Extravaganza.



If you go to this tutorial for the pants, you can see how she started with a t-shirt that had the picture on the bottom right of the t-shirt. I don't know about you, but all the t-shirts I have have the design just below the neck, front and center. If you're lucky enough to have the design at the bottom of your shirt, then you can do as they recommend and use the bottom of the t-shirt for the hem of the pants. If you're unlucky like me, then you will have to move the pattern to the top of the shirt, center the design on either the left or right side of your pattern, and then do the hem of the pants yourself.

The previous photo shows you where to place the pattern for the easy method. I forgot to photograph the more difficult method. The good news is, even if you have to do the difficult method for one of the two pattern pieces, you can probably do the easy method for the other as long as it is just plain with no design. And by the way, "the more difficult method" still is not difficult. It just entails doing one more step since you have to hem the bottoms.

Here's what you get once it's cut out. I've highlighted the crotch areas in pink. That is where you will sew first. After you've sewed those two lines, you'll turn it so the crotch is in the middle, and voila, you have legs like you see in the last photo.


If you know your colors, you can sew kiddie pants like these! Pink was first. Then do the yellow, creating the legs. Next, sew a casing for the elastic to go through where the blue line is, making sure to leave an opening for the elastic. Finally, hem where the green lines are, unless of course, you are one of the lucky ones!

My Knight in Shining, Second-Hand Armor

Thank goodness for Salvation Army’s half-off-all-clothes-except-the-blue-tags day! I went to two SA’s, and the first one (which was a little further out) definitely had some good deals. Most of the men’s tee-shirts were originally 99c, and a couple actually were only 49c, so with the half-off on top of that… well you can do the math!

They also had very good prices on baby clothes. Most of the places around here want a buck to three bucks per article of baby clothes. Come on. Baby clothes use about 10% of the fabric that adult clothes use, so why in the world are they priced so high?

That’s what I never got about bikini swimsuits. They use up, what, like 1/4 of a yard of fabric, yet they command such high prices?!

Anyway, at the first Salvation Army I went to, the baby clothes were mostly 69c – 99c, plus half off on top of it. Cha-ching! Unfortunately, the pricers at the second Salvation Army suffer from greediness and had their clothes priced more like $1.99 or $2.99. We walked out of that one with nothing. (The fact that my son was screaming had something to do with that though. Luckily, the other customers thought he was cute and did not give me evil stares of death).

Today is the final installment of the thrifty three-part-series from Wednesday. Today we will focus on everything that is left, which is the baby stuff. If you don’t give a hoot about babies, you can close your browser now. Fair warning.

The most interesting thing in this shot is the 99c bedskirt (although it might be a tie with “The Flea’s Sneeze,” a story about a flea who passes his illness around the barnyard). Normally on the tag I can find the size of mattress it fits, but this one didn’t say. It looked to me like a crib sized bedskirt. If not, I think I can sew it to make it work. Joel’s crib is one of those convertible ones that will turn into a toddler bed, so he’ll still need a crib sized bedskirt for his Wild West Cowboy room. I like that this one is two shades of blue with red gingham. The walls in the spare bedroom (which will be his toddler bedroom) are red and beige, so it should go well in there.

Lotsa clothes! Won’t it be fun to dress up little Joel in this suit? I’ll take lots of pictures, I promise.

Here’s a brand-new-in-the-box Monkey mirror for the car, a fish towel (59c) which I am going to make into a toddler bib, modeled after the NY Rangers Bib I did a few weeks ago; a boppy cover (99c), and two 11x17 mats (99c).

And last but not least, a shield which is meant to hang on the wall but will instead be a toy for Joel. I’ll have to take off the picture hanger on the back and add a drawer pull for his hand to hold on to, and then sew him something with this fabric (from a few weeks ago). Then my little man, toting thrift store finds, will feel like a knight in shining armor!

Three Cents on the Altar

My husband thinks I’m a cheapskate. He told me yesterday that on the way home from work, they were talking about cheapskates on the radio. He said he almost called in to tell them about me and my hotel soaps. (I blogged a couple months ago about how I ground up all those little soaps from hotels, added water, and ended up with several containers of hand soap). That’s not being a cheapskate, right? Okay, maybe just a little.

I think this guy has me beat, though: a caller explained how his buddy loves to pick up coins (who doesn’t?!). While in the middle of his wedding ceremony , he spied three pennies on the altar. Apparently, he eyeballed them throughout the entire ceremony, and then afterwards, went back and picked them up! Yes, and his buddy got the whole thing on camera. It just wouldn’t be a wedding without some kind of debacle, now would it? I can just imagine the conversation that ensued between the newlyweds.

Husband: Honey, did you see those three cents sitting on the altar?! I totally scored!
Wife: OMG. Tell me you didn’t.
Husband: Lookie here. One’s from 2007, 2002, and this one here’s a wheat penny! Can you believe my good fortune?!
Wife: I want an annulment.

Of course, maybe the wife is a cheap skate too, in which case the conversation may have went something like this:

Wife: You went back for those three cents, right?
Husband: Yeah, I've got them right here. Two for you, one for me.
Wife: I'm feeling so turned on right now! Let's skip the reception and head straight up to our honeymoon suite!
Husband: Woohoo!

So could you pick up and keep money you found on the altar at church? I’m cheap, and I love to find money, however I just couldn’t do it. I can’t think of too many places where I’d skip it and leave it, but that is definitely one of them. The bathroom floor of a public place- that would have to be another one. I probably wouldn’t pick up coins from the floor of a thrift store either, at least not the ones around here. They’re pretty gross.

What a perfect segue into my next topic: yesterday’s thrifty finds, part deux. Today we’ll focus on the vintage finds. (Yay, my favorite!)


Here are my pretty red finds. I have a collection of rolling pins with pretty painted handles, and the ones with red handles are my favorite! I scored this one for just two bucks :) The tablecloth was a little more than I wanted to spend ($3), however I just couldn't leave it there since 1) it has roses on it, and 2) my dining room is red, and it will look smashing on our table. The other finds aren't vintage, however since they were red, I added them to the photo.


All my vintage sewing stuff that I got for a buck. It was worth it for the elastic alone, since I need elastic to make the baby pants (see yesterday's post).

I can't believe there's red rick rack in there. I was just saying the other day that I wanted red rick rack to finish off my NY Rangers bib, but since I didn't have any, I just went with something that I already had in my stash. Grrr. If this had just come a few weeks sooner...



Interesting. I'll have to check this little toy out. It says it makes sewing fun. Isn't sewing fun already?! Now a seam ripper that makes seam ripping fun, that would be something I'd be interested in. Maybe I should invent one and become very rich.


Don't you just hate those pesky zipper snags? Well do I have the product for you. And it was originally only 29c. Wow. Those were the good ole days.

Eight Tee-Shirt Pants, Coming Right Up

Today I heard the most beautiful eleven words to ever come out of my husband's mouth. No, not "honey, I think you're the most beautiful woman on the planet." Although that would have been nice too. But not as nice as, "I want to go to a thrift store with you sometime." Yes that's right ladies, he said that; he's taken so you better keep your grubby little hands off! (Of course, after he said those magic 11 words, he also said that his buddy found a computer at a thrift store for ten bucks, and that's really all he wants to find, but alas, baby steps, baby steps).

Speaking of thrift stores....

Earlier this year I was inspired by Queen of Fifty Cents to keep a log of all my thrifty finds and their prices. My husband helped me set up an excel spreadsheet with the following headers: crafting, work, kitchen/homegoods, Joel, Gifts, Decor, and Apparel. Before today's jaunt I had spent just under a hundred dollars so far this year. Eek. I hadn't realized I spent that much. But on the flip side, I would have spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars if I had purchased all this stuff first-hand. Also on the positive, half of that cost was stuff for Joel. So really it's like I only spent about fifty bucks. The stuff for Joel doesn't count, right?

Since I've become a part of blogland, I've been good at avoiding the purchases of vintage home decor types of objects. My house is cluttered the way it is, and now with an infant, I need to pare down what I already have. But oh how I long to add more plates, teacups, and platters to my stash, find some more vintage linens, and bring home old chippy chairs. Tole trays call my name, as do anything painted with pretty florals. Enamelware, crocks, rolling pins, collanders, Wagner ware... I want, I want, I want!

Today I could not help myself.

I was reading blogs about vintage finds, especially this one, and I got the itch again. It had been months since I last purchased something vintage (well, with the exception of the vintage red thermos I bought a few weeks ago). Lately, almost all my thrifty finds were either crafty or for my son. And many of my finds were new items rather than vintage.

So there I was, on the internet, drooling over Freshvintage's finds. I told myself that I would allow myself to bring home a vintage find or two. And boy am I glad I did.

(Rolls up sleeves) Ok, are you ready?
(cue the auctioneer so he can read through this stuff in a jiffy)

Eight mens' t-shirts to cut up and make pants for Joel ($3.50), a fish towel to make a bib out of (59c), a bag of vintage sewing notions (woohoo! $1), two new Valentines Napkins out of which I will probably make these pants (59c), two brand new blue and brown 11x17 mats for framing some photos of our newly created family ($1), a children's book about sneezing (25c), a pillow cover for our Boppy ($1), a new Valentines Placemat for Joel who will be a messy eater when he turns one year old ($1), a wooden shield that goes with the Renaissance fabric I got a few weeks ago (I forget how much it was- under a buck though); baby bottle nipples, new in the package obviously (69c), another Tonka Truck plastic plate to match the ones I picked up last week (50c), bedskirt that will match Joel's cowboy themed room ($1), the following clothes for Joel: a light toddler jacket (50c), white dress shirt and vest (50c), maroon Gap pants (50c), Oshkosh toddler pants (50c), an orange onesie (20c), striped PJs (40c), two pairs striped pants (65c), blue patchwork bibs (50c), white dress shirt (35c); St. Patty's Day t-shirt for moi (50c), and drumroll please....

a red handled rolling pin for $2 and a red tablecloth with beautiful roses on it for $3. Yay :)

I won't inundate you with photos today (there's eighteen waiting in the wings). I'll just show you a few and save some for the days to come. Up first: tee-shirts destined to become pants using this tutorial.

I thought this t-shirt was neat since it's a map of where we live. Every baby needs a pair of map pants, right? I believe in teaching geography at a young age.

What could be more cute than a kid who wants to kick your @ss?

This one has a hint of "beer advertisement" to it, however it clearly states it is a carbonated beverage.

How could I pass up a tee of my husband's favorite restaurant?

I like the vintage look of this one. I had to look up what Proverbs 22:6 is. Now the shirt makes sense: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." I am clearly going to train my child in the ways of green, thrify living. And when he's a little bigger, he'll have a constant reminder of this philosophy across his butt whenever he wears these cute little pants.

Lamenting the Lost Sewing Pixies

Hello Sunday Stash follower(s):
(is there more than one of you out there?!)

I found some fabrics at my Wednesday thrifting trip. I also found some during my thrifting trip two days later, however I decided to put Friday's finds back at the last minute. Fabric is so abundant that I've decided that if it's not cheap-cheap, then I'll pass. So what is cheap-cheap? Well, I passed on the bags of fabric at the Alum Creek Ohio Thrift, and each large bag was $2.99, so apparently that's not cheap enough. A dollar is cheap. Under a dollar is cheap-cheap.

What I don't like about the bags of fabric is that you can't tell how much yardage is in there. Also, just like with any thrift store grab-bag, you get lots of different fabrics (some awesome, some "what-were-you-smoking-when-you-designed-this-fabric?"). It's kind of like Christmas when you open those grab bags because there's prints hidden in the center that you can't see until you open it up. Unfortunately, many times it's like Christmas when you're Ralphie opening up an unwanted pink bunny suit from a well-meaning, yet apparently delusional, auntie.

So alas, I passed. The more I'm thinking about it though, the more I am kicking myself for walking away. Three dollars is still pretty cheap I guess, it just depends how much usable fabric is in the bag.

But damn, there was some cool prints in those bags. One bag had a fabric with a button print. Too cute. Another bag had this blue and white fabric that had little pixies sitting atop spools of thread. Do you think Joel would like wearing an outfit with sewing pixies on it? The fabric is blue after all, so it's not that feminine.

Oh Thrift-Store-Powers-That-Be, why couldn't you have put both the sewing-themed fabrics in the same bag? I totally would have swooped in and bought it if that was the case ... ok enough whining. I sincerely apologize.

I'll focus on the positive. I did find some cool fabrics last Wednesday that I can share with you today. Up first, for 99c, this primary color, great-for-toddlers polka dotted sheet which I will cut up into many things for Joel. A clown outfit perhaps? My sister-in-law is deathly afraid of clowns. That would send her over the edge.


Here we have a few pillowcases to cut up for fabric. One of them was 59c, but was 75% off so in the end, it was 15 whole cents. I splurged. The other pillowcase (50c) had two different fabrics, so I folded it over to show you both. The non-blue side has a chess pattern on it that's pretty cool. Not that I want my son to follow in my hubby's footsteps and be on the fifth grade chess team or anything. Sorry if I've offended anyone out there who's really into chess, it's just that I have big plans for my son. Since I'm a band director, I want him to be in the band. That's way cooler than the chess club, right? Being in band isn't nerdy at all. The next item on my sewing agenda is a pocket protector for the little man. He doesn't stand a chance.


A close-up of the chess print


And last but not least, some pillowcases that I fell in love with. I think I just might leave them as pillowcases to use on the bed rather than cutting them up for the fabric. The little flowers are so sweet. I have a bit of a pillowcase fetish, you see, and I need more pillowcases like I need another hole in my head. But at 59c apiece, I couldn't walk on by. I realize I have no more room in my hall closet for any more pillowcases, but I purchased them none-the-less. I can get rid of something in the closet to make room... hubby's fraying orange towels perhaps?

Warmer Weather Brings Thrifted Treasures

That title has a bit of a poetic ring to it, don't you think?

Joel likes car rides, thank heavens. His incessant screaming can be calmed by getting settled in his carseat and taking a little thrifting trip. He doesn't make a peep while we're in the car or while we're in the stores. Even at not-quite-three-weeks, he knows that thrifting is a good thing and is able to drift off to a peaceful sleep knowing that Mommy is saving money :)

I was still on the hunt for a white sheet to use as a back drop for photography, and so off we went. I hadn't posted anything yet about Wednesday's finds, but I did find one white sheet for a whopping quarter (remember I need two though!). It was a buck but it was 75% off. Cha-ching! I also found a few more children's books (including one on composer Verdi), and four greeting cards for a quarter each. I've been on a roll with the cards lately, haven't I? One of the cards I found is a belated birthday card for someday when I forget someone's birthday. I may have to forget someone's birthday on purpose just so I can send them this card! We all know I'm perfect so I wouldn't forget a birthday accidentally! Ahem. But this card was too cute to pass up. It has a sheep on the front that says, "I'm feeling sheepish," and on the inside it says, "Because I forgot your birthday. Wool you forgive me?" Adorable, I tell you.

I still needed another sheet for my photograph project, so off we went into the thrifting wild blue yonder. I did find something that fits the bill, however it wasn't a sheet; it was a plain white fabric shower curtain with grommets at the top. It was 75% off too, and it cost me 75c. I, of course, walked away with some other goodies which I have photographed below. (Also, not photographed is some fabric I found. You'll have to wait until Sunday Stash time to see it. Stay tuned...)


You can see the "3" I found the other day. I'm really glad I found that! It makes me happy.


Here's a close-up of one of the cards I found for a quarter. I love the row of buttons along the bottom edge :) No surprise that I have little boys on the brain, huh? Do I know of anyone who's having a little boy? Nope. But surely someday I will!

Here are the plastic dishes that I got Joel (50c each) and a changing pad (also 50c) for when we're on the road, and we need to change a diaper. Just a sidenote: I think it's cute that people from other countries (Britain, Australia, or both?) call diapers "Nappies." It's funny because in the US, "nappy" is an adjective. And a not-very-nice-one at that. If someone calls you "nappy," you've just been dissed.


Some things for Joel's future toddler room. This little nightlight ($1.91) goes perfectly with Jason's childhood sheriff badge collection! I was also very excited to find this little plastic plate (90c). I can't decide if Joel will actually eat off of it, or if it will be a piece of artwork in his room. Nothing screams "little boy" like a hanging plate collection. No?


And last but not least, more baptism invitations (50c) because I realized I did not have enough, some stackable blocks that won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio "Best Toy Award" (90c) and some goodie bags for Joel's first birthday (50c). I realize the goodie bags aren't very "green," and that I could have made some out of things from around the house, however their cuteness caused my judgement to be temporarily compromised. Don't make me feel worse about it than I already do! Cut me some slack! A girl makes mistakes sometimes. Sheesh.


A close-up of the blocks. Roses are red, Violets are Blue. Blueberries are sweet, and so are you!

Thrifty Knives

My son has been a naughty boy all day today. The temperature finally warmed up to a balmy 50-something, and I really wanted to take him out, however he had other plans. He wanted to scream all the live long day and had no interest in going thrifting. Perhaps he got his fill yesterday. Yes I took him thrifting yesterday but I thought we could hit a different one today. No such luck. Maybe tomorrow then.

Anyway, to get my thrifting fix, I was reading Thrift Store Adventures today, and let me just say that this dude is my hero. Seriously. You should totally check him out. Apparently once he encountered a psycho waving a gun in the Salvation Army parking lot. Reminds me of the time my dad was working on his car near the OSU campus, and some homeless guy walked by, waving a gun, shouting off drunken nonsense. My dad had a drill in his hand and started acting like it was a gun right back at the guy. The guy was too drunk to know the difference and then wandered off. True story.

Anyway, Thrift Store Adventure's encounter with the Salvation Army gun-waver reminded me of my own thrift-store-worries. It seems to me that the steak knife section should be kept under lock and key rather than just sitting out in the kitchen aisle, free for the grabbing by any random psycho. Forks? They're fine. Spoons? They're safe too unless you're Alan Rickman from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He tells his cousin he's going to cut someone's heart out with a spoon "because it hurts more, you twit!" But for most of us, spoons don't pose too much of a risk.

But steak knives?

I always feel a little unsafe when I'm in that aisle. It's a shame too, because I enjoy perusing the kitchen aisle. I have many, many collections and a great deal of them are kitchen-related. Take my red-wood-handled vintage kitchen utensils for example. They're always located in the same bins as the steak knives. If I want to dig for my treasures, I have to risk my life. I enjoy adding to my collection, but is it worth dying for?

Would you trust these people with a steak knife? That weird guy standing a few paces away... You know, the one who keeps eyeing you? Creep. Or what about the woman screaming bloody murder because you stole that pyrex dish right from under her nose, and she had her eye on it first. Oh no she didn't. And then there's the lady hoarding all the ceramic cat figurines.

Yep, they should lock up the knives.

Happy 206th Birthday, Ohio!

Dear Ohio,
I am so sorry, my beloved state of mine. I knew it was your birthday yesterday, however I just too pooped to take pictures and blog about it. Today though, I am refreshed after napping from about 7:45 until about 11 last night (during which time hubby took care of the little man), and then some short bursts of sleep throughout the night. I like it when Joel sleeps for three hours, like he did after his 4:50 am feeding. Yay. In honor of your birthday, enjoy some photos.

Love,
Jodie

P.S. I would have made you some cookies with the above Ohio-shaped cookie cutter, however I am on a diet. Pay no attention to the cheesy hashbrowns at the bottom of this post. I really am on a diet.

P.P.S. All this talk about cookies is making me change my mind. I just might bake you some cookies after all.

A little crafty barn I painted when Ohio turned the big 2-0-0. If you're not from Ohio, you probably don't know this, so let me share it with you! Some guy went around to each of the 88 counties and painted one barn in each county with our bicentennial logo. Phew! I can't even imagine how much work that would have been! This little crafty barn took enough time!

Here's part of my little flag collection. Did you know that Ohio's flag is the only flag in the union that isn't a boring old rectangle? You can't tell it from this shot, however Ohio's flag has a little V cutout at the end, so it's five-sided. Also in this picture: some thrifted items! I had this little doggie when I was little and was totally stoked when I found it at a thrift store while on vacation last summer in Piqua, Ohio. (What?! Who the hell vacations in Piqua, Ohio? Long story. Let's just say we were on a cemetery-hunting vacation...) I found the little turn-of-the-century ruby red souvenir glass pitcher for a mere couple bucks. I was so afraid that when the cashier rang me up, she was going to exclaim, "Wait a cotton-pickin' minute! This has been priced wrong!" and make me pay twenty bucks. But alas, she said nothing and off I went, happy as a clam! I just checked on ebay; there's one just like it (with a different name on it though) with twelve bids currently, going for 18 bucks. Woohoo!

And let me leave you with a shot of breakfast. On the menu today: cheesy hashbrown casserole (I should be back down to my prepregnancy weight in no time, don't you think?) and chai in my can-you-tell-I'm-a-music-teacher mug. It's sitting on my bent wood chair next to the bunny night light lamp that we use since Joel has been sleeping in our room. Yes, my bedside table is crammed with so much crap on it, that I now have been reduced to using the seat of the chair as tablespace...

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Today we're celebrating Dr. Suess's 105th birthday! My husband's cousin's wife told me about his upcoming birthday a few days ago; she said that _____ (I forget which store she said... Babies R Us maybe??) was having a half off sale on all Dr. Suess books, so she picked one up for her little tot who was turning one. Well I think I did one better - I thrifted a Dr. Seuss book yesterday at Goodwill for a quarter :)



Originally I ran out to the Pickerington Goodwill to look for two white sheets. We had done a photo shoot at T-3's place earlier in the day for her portfolio, and tacking up a sheet to the ceiling yielded very professional looking results. We also took a couple shots of the hubby, little man, and me, however we weren't really dressed for the occasion, so I'd like a do-over. The only problem: I don't own a single plain white sheet.

Easy solution: go get a couple at a thrift store! The P'town Goodwill only had two solid color sheets, one in a light green, and the other a light blue. I really need two sheets to match (one to hang on the ceiling, and the other to lay on the floor), and since they only had one of each, I passed.

I did, however, find several things for Joel. I was stoked to find a whole stack of Halloween iron-on transfers, new in the packaging. Each package contained two transfers; there was a total of six different designs, however I just purchased one package (79c). I was also very excited to find a very large, furry "3" applique for 99c; it will look smashing on a shirt for his third birthday. I also picked up three kiddie holiday VHS tapes for a buck each (Christmas, Valentines Day, and Easter), so they will make nice gifts for him when he's a toddler (VHS?! Am I living in the 20th century or what?! Hey, they were only a dollar so give me a break!) Last but not least, three books for a quarter apiece, including the one by Dr. Seuss.

I would also be remiss if I failed to mention that T-3 gave me some goodies yesterday! She found two darling iron-on cowboy appliques on clearance for 75c apiece, and she gave me a bunch of bobbins. The funny thing is, the day before she told me about the bobbins, I was at Joanns staring at the bobbins, kicking myself for forgetting to check and see what kind my sewing machine took. There are two types of the clear plastic kind that look the same to me, and I wasn't sure which ones to get, so I left empty handed (well not completely empty handed... I used my 40% off coupon to purchase clips so that I can make these binkie clips. I also found a cross cake topper for Joel's baptism; it was on clearance for a dollar). By the way, T-3 if you're reading this, I discovered that some of the bobbins work but some jam my machine. At least I got a few new bobbins out of it! :)