I must apologize...

...for not posting anything for 10 months! Since my last post in September, so much has been going on in our little family. I began substitute teaching, tutoring, and teaching an after school cheerleading course. I also took over teaching health and technology at our local elementary school! I had big shoes to fill, but I enjoyed every minute of it! I'm praying that I can continue filling that post in September. Brian has a new job as well. In June, he transferred from the Montreal head office downtown to the branch here in the town we live in, where he now works face to face with clients and has his own office. Two big positives are his set schedule and the less than 10 minute commute! (Both make it much easier for me to plan dinner and have it ready when he gets home!)
In March, on a sad note, my good ole Malibu gave out on us. It was my first car, and I was sad to see it go.. However, on a happier note, we are now the proud owners of a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta TDI! I love love love our new car, but unfortunately, we were in the process of looking for a second car when the Malibu died. So therefore, we still only have one car. We are starting the process now of deciding what we like, want, and can afford so that we can hopefully purchase a second vehicle in the fall.
In the mean time, I have made some great friends at work and even went on a long weekend trip to Toronto with a couple friends. It was so much fun, and I had a lot of new experiences, including trying a lot of very authentic Asian food! :)
The week after my Toronto trip, we headed back to Georgia for a wedding and to visit family...but I'll get to that later!

Gooo Dawgs!! Sic 'em!! Woof!! Woof!!

A Fab New Skirt!

I woke up this morning to temps in the low 60s...it feels like fall back home! lol  As much as I love fall, I would love for the seasons to slow down a bit because I'm not such a fan of what come next (like beyond frigid temps and mountains of snow)!  So with the crisp, almost Georgia like fall air wafting in through the windows, I'm being nostalgic and drinking tea from my Atlanta mug I snagged from the airport Starbucks last time I was home....

Love that thing...it reminds me of the plantation home where Brian and I got married!  And on a side note, I take milk in my tea, and I don't think I've ever mentioned that our milk here comes in bags. Yes, I said bags! lol  You put the bag in a pitcher at clip off the corner...takes some getting used to!

Anyway, on to my actual topic!  I've been quite busy upcycling lately thanks to Pinterest!  Here's the 'Pinspiration,' shall we say, for one of the newest pieces of my wardrobe!

After looking at a few tutorials, I set to work!  To make your own button down skirt, you'll need:

• a men's button down shirt (the bigger, the more A-line your skirt will be)
• elastic
• sewing maching
• needle & thread (if you make a mistake like me! lol)

Start with your hubby, boyfriend, or dad's old shirt...

Yep, my hubby loves pastels, lol

I started by cutting off the sleeves, but next time (oh yes, next time! This skirt is that cute!), I plan on leaving the sleeves so I can put pockets on it!  So ignore this step if you want pockets.

Next, cut off the shoulders, leaving it long enough to still be a decent length skirt!  And watch out for the buttons and front pocket...leave yourself enough room to fold over about an inch for your waistband!

I then pinned and sewed the sleeves shut, but again, for pockets, skip this! Instead, turn the arms inside what's left of the shirt, cut and sew pockets big enough to your liking.

Now, I have to admit, this is where I messed up!  Sewing all the way to the top opening of the sleeve is a BIG no-no! It will later mess with your waist band, and create more trouble than it's worth!  So DO NOT sew all the way to the top of the sleeve; leave enough room to fold over your waistband.

With that in mind, time to create your waistband!  Turn your skirt inside out, and fold over and pin about an inch to create a tube for your elastic.

When sewing the waistband, leave a space to thread your elastic through.  Use a safety pin (I happened to have a paper clip nearby) to thread the elastic around the skirt.  You'll want to measure the elastic by wrapping it around your waist at what feels comfortable to you...probably an few inches shorter than your actual waist measurement.  

Once you've worked the elastic all the way through the waistband, sew it together.

Finally, with your needle and thread, sew the waistband shut and turn right side out....and ta-da!

Wait, I forgot! Last step....admire your handy work and rock your precious new skirt!

P.S. This is right before I went to the school board to apply to be a substitute this fall!

Oh, and if you're wondering about the belt from sleeves from the inspiration pic...the sleeves aren't long enough to make a belt with themselves, and I didn't have any fabric that would match to add to it.  But I think it looks great with a wide belt like this one!  And a wide belt hides any sewing mistakes (like not sewing the waistband straight like I did!) you might have made! Win-win!

Men's Tank Refashion

Do you like my new shirt?? Cute right?

Well, guess what....I didn't spend a dime on it!  I made it...well sorta! lol  I was digging through some recently rediscovered tshirts of Brian's, and I came across this old tank top.  Oh men's tank tops, lol, classy. 

Determined to never let my husband wear it again, I thought of a tank refashion I had been admiring on Pinterest.  I've never done much sewing, but after studying a few other refashion tutorials online, I set to work!  What's the worst I could do?? Ruin a shirt that Brian hadn't missed in years? lol

My mother-in-law, Carole, had given me one of her old sewing machines and whole basket full of different lace trimmings.  Her mother had been a seamstress, and Carole had a good bit of leftovers! I decided that lace would make for really cute straps and part of the back!

After sewing on the new straps, almost halter style, one long piece, I trimmed up another piece of lace to add to the back.  Since it was a men's XL tank top, the arm holes were a bit larger than I needed, so I made the all together length of the back piece + the straps shorter than original size of the top.  To put the back piece on, I trimmed off the flatter edge of the lace so it would match up with the scalloped edge of the strap piece.

Then I trimmed up the sides to be even with the natural line of the tank.

Sewing it together was a bit challenging being that I didn't have much experience with that machine, and I thought I was done too!  However, once I tried it on, the halter style strap piece stood up kinda funny around the back of my neck, so I trimmed off that flat edge of the lace again to detract from how much stood up, and had to add darts to the back neck.  I know Brian must have thought I was losing it! I kept running from the sewing machine to the mirror, putting on the tank top, adjusting pins, ect.

Finally, I added a sash to the front corner to make a bow!  And there you go!!

So yay me! I'm kinda proud of myself!  

Love Pinterest

So I have to share a bit about my newest online obsession: 

Pinterest!

Pinterest is a great website where you create 'pin boards' about everything you love, and you 'pin' things to each pin board that go along with it! You can find anything you want from outfits, wedding ideas, recipes, diy crafts, home decor, ect. 

Here are a few of the ideas that I've already gotten from this wonderful compilation of genius ideas...

...like an easy, but intricate up-do!  Here's the how-to:

...and here's how mine turned out!

a little messy, but you get the idea!

I've also gotten some great crochet ideas, like making my own kitchen rug from a sheet!

This is the picture from Pinterest...

Cute right?

So I turned this sheet...

$1 from the thrift store! notice the Looney Tunes? lol

...into this rug!

No more Looney Tunes! lol

And today, I curled my hair with not only with ZERO HEAT, but with a SOCK! lol 

This is the original picture from Pinterest...

And mine turned out like this!

excuse the picture...I had Brian take it with my phone!

It worked great, and here's the tutorial!  Now that I've done it once with my hair and layers, I know what will work better so it'll be even cuter next time! :)

If you don't have a Pinterest account, you should consider joining the site because it's just chock full of fabulous ideas!  I'm officially addicted! lol

Much love -

ATTENTION....

I have an announcement to make...

This truly is an answer to my prayers! I will finally be able to get back into the classroom as more that just a volunteer and financially contribute to our little family!  School doesn't start until September, and the school board is on vacation for the next two weeks.  As soon as they reopen, I will be adding my name to the substitute list! As of right now, none of the schools in the area need permanent English teachers, but as teachers go on maternity leave (which is a year long btw!) and what not, I hope to be considered for any short term contracts! A friend of ours also has a tutoring business, so I also hope to be getting involved with tutoring before too long!

I want to thank everyone for all of their support and helping me to remember to be patient...something I needed to be reminded of frequently! My permanent residence isn't finalized yet but is steps closer, and I would sincerely appreciate your continued prayers and support! Thank you all so much!

Much love -

Fitted Sheet Trick!

I hate folding fitted sheets.  I can never get them to look right, and they make the linen closet look like a disaster zone!  So when I spotted this quick trick online one day, I automatically filed it away somewhere in my brain! lol  

Instead of fitted sheets looking like this.....

...your sheets can look like this!

 Ok, so here's how to get a nice, neat linen closet: 

1. Fold your flat sheet until it's about a quarter of the original size, and place your folded(to the best of your ability! lol), fitted sheet in the center.

2. Fold one side over the fitted sheet.

3.Fold the other side of the flat sheet over the fitted.

4. Fold in both ends and viola! 

So not only do you not see the ugly fitted sheet, but you won't be searching for matching sheets either!  Whoever thought of this should get an award! lol