Full Draft of Dissertation Done!

Here's another Wordle to celebrate another finished chapter! I confess, it's not as good as the last one I finished (it's also quite a bit shorter). BUT it is the last chapter ... which means that I officially have a full draft of my dissertation! It's kind of a milestone for me. I hope this means I'll get the green light to finish my degree in the next two months, but seriously, even if my advisers think I need a few more months to polish it up, I still have a book-length manuscript under my belt. (Wow, I just reread that sentence and it boggled my mind.) That's a first time for me. Basically, now I know I can finish that novel. (NaNoWriMo 2014, here I come!)

Here's something else I wanted to share that I'm kinda proud of *_*:

I managed this about four days ago while I was on a break from writing (oh, all right, while I was procrastinating). I may or may not have gotten so excited that I started whooping and yelling around the house. I've only broken 2048 the one time but ever since then I've gotten close almost every time. Weird how that works. 2048 is such an addictive game. My brain likes it very much. The person who invented it is a genius. Oh, and there's also a Benedict Cumberbatch + otters version, but I'm always so distracted by the photos that I can't do a very good job.... ;-)

ETA: Here's a better 2048 with BC. I love the otters but this one has GIFs!

xo, Gladys

Chapter Draft Done!

OK, this is not an academic blog, but I'm so relieved to be done that I'm posting a Wordle of my chapter! I always do one of these Wordle things when I finish a chapter. Over 14,000 words, baby!

Oh, and you know what today is, right? May 4 ... Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you. (As it was with me, I suppose. Yay for being done! Though it almost burst my bubble when I realized that the last time I did one of these was YEARS ago. Yikes. But hey, I'll let it roll off my back. On to the next -- and last -- chapter ... after some rest and relaxation, that is. I need more sleep!)

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Oliver + S Reversible Bucket Hat, Take 2

I didn't want to end the year without one last sewing project, and thankfully this one turned out okay so I can share it with you. Really, though, it's the model who's doing all the work here.

Even if a little blurry, isn't he utterly adorable? Those cheeks say hello!

This is my godson C wearing the reversible bucket hat that I made for him as one of his Christmas presents. If it looks familiar to longtime readers, it's because I have made this hat before -- from a free Oliver + S pattern available here -- and even used the same fabric for one of the sides (his mom picked the fabrics). This time around, however, I confess that I was pretty rusty due to not having sewn anything during the second half of the year. Sorry, C! Well, he doesn't really like the hat (yet), anyway. During the photoshoot, he kept taking it off -- hence the blurriness as I scrambled to take the photos in the waning light. His mom, my older sister, tried to help ... and I just wanted to point out the Doctor Who TARDIS slippers she's wearing in a couple of the photos -- another present from yours truly!

Speaking of which, I'll post some photos of our actual Xmas celebration, which sorta had a Doctor Who theme and made me seriously happy. And then there was the delicious food. And the adorable nephews. And the fun family conversations and music. I was in heaven!

Anyway, if you celebrate, I hope you had a wonderful holiday, too!

xo, Gladys

Floral Blues

If you haven't yet, you can still enter my Ellie sportswear giveaway here. Contest ends one (1) minute before midnight (PST) tonight! I'll contact the winner by email shortly after.

Tank: Old Navy | Cardi: POL | Skirt: Handmade by me | Flats: Fluevog Amie (Integrity family)

This blog is loooong overdue for an outfit post. I haven't posted an outfit since early February! I think I fell into a rut during winter, where my daily uniform consisted of jeans, a top, a cardigan or jacket, socks, and sometimes nice shoes. Nothing worth documenting. But now it's really spring here, and over the weekend we decided to make another trip to L.A. to see my mom and to visit the Fluevog store once again (more on my visit in a later post).

I went tonal for this outfit. I picked out the skirt first since I wanted to wear something other than jeans when I tried on shoes, and this skirt looked very spring-y! I hadn't worn it since the summer/autumn I first made it, in 2011 (whoa). It was the first garment I made using a pattern, and the first time I made pleats and sewed on a zipper. I loved the way it turned out, but the only problem was that it was too loose on me. Well, I've gained a few pounds since then -- specifically since the holidays late last year when I fell into poor eating habits that I'm currently trying to conquer -- so it fit just fine over the weekend. (However much I like this skirt, I'm still planning to lose some of this gut over the summer once swimming season starts! Occasional running and dancing are in the stars, too. And I have to be more strict with the rice and sweets, especially root beer. Sigh. Sugar should be labeled with an addictive warning, no doubt about it.)

I wore the cardigan closed the rest of the day because the tank top showed too much bra strap. I don't think it's as attractive closed, except that the topstitching on the cardigan has a cool sailor-vibe that's accentuated when the buttons are closed up. Overall, I liked this outfit and had fun in it. The skirt sure looks great with lots of different Fluevogs! I'll post more on that later. :-)

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Classic Stripe Apron

My love affair with this Lotta Jansdotter reversible apron pattern continues -- it's my FOURTH one so far. (Here are 1 / 2 / 3.) After the first one (for Joanne, who looks ridiculously adorable in hers), I decided to make one for all of my close friends here for their birthdays because the apron looks fabulous on everyone. I have to say, I think it looks a little better on folks with a larger bust area than I do, so my friends have that covered. ;-) Anyway, I've got one more to go later this year.

This one was for super-cute S, who mostly wears solids for a very classic, low-key look. She's a runner and prefers wearing loose, comfy clothing. (I also found out that she loves paperboy caps, which would look great with her current hairstyle. Note to self for her birthday next year.) I almost chose dark brown or black but then decided to use something brighter. It helped that right before I sat down to make the apron, I saw her wearing a lovely red-and-gray striped sweater top; and it looked so great on her, I knew I had to make a fabric run after that. This striped fabric was the closest to that design that I could find. (Jo-Ann's Fabrics seriously needs to carry more striped fabric, especially since they have such a large selection of woven fabric. Anyway.)

Construction-wise, I liked the one large pocket at the thigh area that I made the last time and so I did it again. I also learned my lesson from last time and made sure to buy 1.25 yards of each fabric even though the pattern only calls for 1 yard each. I'm so glad that, this time, there was no scrambling and piecing together different fabrics to make the apron; while it turned out OK for the last apron, it would have ruined the classic look for S's apron.

A small meditation on sewing: I thought that I would get a lot faster sewing this pattern by the fourth time, but sewing is just a time-consuming project. Measuring and cutting take the longest, and perhaps I take longer now because I'm more careful about measuring. BUT, I have shaved off some time since I first made this pattern because 1) I wasn't pulling my hair over the pleats, which I figured out by the second time making the apron, and 2) I didn't need to use my trusty seam ripper at all. Oh, right, I also didn't have to do extra piecing since I had enough fabric. Hooray for the small victories!

xo, Gladys

Valentines

This might be the most eventful Valentine's Day I've ever had. But the biggest news is that I am a new auntie!! My older sister -- whose birthday happens to be TODAY -- had her second baby (boy) a couple of days ago, so our whole family is on a high right now. :-D

And in the spirit of sharing some love, this is the first year we made Valentines for my son's classmates. He was in a daycare last year, and I was totally "that parent" or "that mom" who didn't do anything special. In fact, I kind of forgot that it was Valentine's Day, so when I dropped him off and saw all the kids sitting down at their little tables with cupcakes in front of them, I was confused. Yup, that mom.

But this time, we printed out some cool Superman and Wonder Woman Lego Valentines and added a sucker for each of the kiddo's classmates. Look how cool they turned out!

I actually found this great idea (with the printable photos!) a year ago and managed to remember it in time. And since we got a color printer for Xmas, it was easy to crank these out. The hardest part? Getting my son to write the names of his classmates on the back of the photos. He's still shaky with the writing but also has a perfectionist personality; mix the two together and it can get a little ugly! However, it was worth it. I think these are awesome.

Speaking of which, here are more awesome Valentines. My mom gave my son some yummy See's chocolate in a heart-shaped box -- we demolished the chocolate pretty quickly. ;-) But I had to share this very cute Valentine box from my husband, who said he couldn't resist getting it for me since he knows how drawn I am to owls. And it is ADORABLE. I love how the owl's wings swing up to show the word "love" on its belly. And even better, the box is filled with yummy brownies and cookies from Mrs. Fields. (It's an FTD.com item that's no longer available.)

Finally, these two cards came in the mail for us. The one on the left is actually from my son, who made it in school (yeah, I'm just going to ignore the typo there). Then his teacher had him drop it off in the mailbox after it was addressed and stamped. That was last Thursday. Needless to say, we got the card a few days early.

The one on the right is from my friend Dorothy of the MotleyFlue, who is a huge lover of Valentine's Day and offered to send a card to anyone who wanted it. I asked her to send one to my son, and I just love what she wrote. What a sweet, lovely message. Thank you, dear Dorothy!

Happy Valentine's Day to one and all!

xo, Gladys

Recipe: Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Since I stopped regularly baking with wheat flour over a year ago, one of the things I've tried to do is find an alternative paleo, primal, or, at the very least, gluten-free recipe to replace chocolate chip cookies. I often enjoy the treats that I make, including almond butter and coconut flour cookies. However, it wasn't until recently that I found a recipe that passed muster with my son, who can tell immediately whether the cookies I bake are "healthy" or not. (And unfortunately he prefers the non-healthy kind.)

This recipe is very quick to make, with simple measurements and no elbow grease required to "cream" the butter and sugar substitutes (melted coconut oil and honey mix quite easily together). It also has no eggs, so even eating the batter is pretty safe. My son makes this with me and he always asks to lick the spoon.

Some of my changes: I use dairy milk because I usually don't have almond milk at hand, and I also use semi-sweet chocolate chips. My cookies look more like the traditional wheat flour cookies and different from the original, which is likely because I flatten mine into the traditional cookie shape before baking, and because we use different almond meals/flours (mine is the blanched almond meal flour made by Honeyville Farms). I'm sure it would taste just fine without the almond meal being blanched.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Running to the Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour/meal
• 1 Tbsp almond milk (or other nut milk, or dairy milk)
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (use more as desired)

Method

Preheat oven 350F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper if desired. Except for chocolate, mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Stir in chocolate. Drop batter in 1 flat Tbsp at a time, leaving 1.5 to 2 inches between each cookie. You may roll the dough into a ball first, then flatten into cookie shape with palm once on the cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom edge starts to darken.

Take out of the oven and allow to cool and solidify for 5-10 minutes, as the cookies will be very soft right after baking. The longer you let them cool, the firmer they will be. I prefer them a little soft and chewy, so a 5- to 10-minute cooling period is just right for me.

Enjoy!

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Oliver + S Tote Redux

It was an unusually busy week for me last week, and only now do I feel like I can breathe deeply again. In between various errands, dental appointments, impromptu babysitting, an appointment with an accountant, a birthday lunch, a birthday party, and a school field trip with my son, I managed to squeeze in some time for a couple of sewing projects. Here's one of them, an Oliver + S Mother-Daughter tote (free pattern) for my niece's 8th birthday.

If that sounds familiar, it's because I used this same pattern before to make totes for my 9-year-old twin nieces last fall (all three young ladies are cousins). Here's the purple tote:

As you can see, I tweaked the pattern by using one large stripe for the middle instead of two smaller ones, and using the same complementary solid-color fabric for the bottom, top stripe, and handles. While I loved the original patchwork feel, I was going for a different, more elegant look. I was inspired by the dragonfly/butterfly fabric and knew that I couldn't simply use it as an unrecognizable stripe on the tote. So instead I decided to "frame" it and make it the centerpiece. (If you're interested in how I dealt with the dimensions, I simply added the height dimensions of the two middle stripes, from 3.25 inches each to one larger piece that was 6.5 inches. The height dimension of the lining had to be increased two inches to 23 inches. The rest of the dimensions remained the same, but the change resulted in a slightly taller tote than the original.) I think the tote turned out wonderfully, and this time around I was more meticulous about cutting the pieces and doing any necessary trimming as I went along so that the seam edges matched as closely as possible (though unfortunately still not perfect).

Here's a closeup of the awesome dragonfly/butterfly fabric, superimposed with different handwritten designs appearing to be the work of a natural historian or entomologist. The fabric design is both lovely and intellectual, and I thought it would be appropriate for a youngster who is exceedingly bright.

I don't have a photo of the inside lining, but for some fun I used this colorful stripey fabric which might look familiar to long-time readers. I used the same fabric to make an art smock from another Oliver + S pattern last summer. For this tote, I had the stripes going horizontally since it looked better that way. I wanted to use a colorful fabric for the lining because I personally get a kick out of seeing polka-dotted or brightly-colored linings in elegant leather purses or wallets. The contrast makes me feel like I've got a fun little secret, like when I wear bright patterned socks underneath pants or boots. Just one of the things that float my boat. :-)

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Wonder Woman Stuffed Pillow

This stuffed pillow was an Xmas present for Joanne, who is a huge Wonder Woman fan. (She's still on a search for the perfect Wonder Woman boots for her.) As you can see below, it was meant to be a stuffed doll. I bought the fabric from Spoonflower, and I was quite excited to make it. However, after I carefully cut out the front and back according to the directions, I found out to my deep dismay that they were not mirror images as they are supposed to be if you're going to sew them right sides together. Fabric design FAIL. So while it is a cute image and a great idea, you should know this before buying the fabric yourself.

What to do?

Well, it took me a while to commit to it, but I decided to applique the Wonder Woman cutouts onto fabric and create a stuffed pillow that would complement the birthday pillowcases I made for her. For added strength and to prevent the fabric from wrinkling while appliqueing, I used fusible web (Heat'n Bond Lite) on the backs of the cutouts, then I ironed the cutouts onto the pillow fabric.

Above is a closeup of the applique. Not too shabby ... but this is another skill that I'd like to practice and perfect.

Here are both sides appliqued. I pinned the fabric right sides together and sewed the edges of the pillowcase closed, but I left about six inches unsewn so that I could stuff the pillow.

Now time to stuff. These huge clouds were Poly-Fil and I used the majority of my bag. After stuffing, I stitched the opening closed by hand, using an even slipstitch.

All done!

Here's an iPhone photo of all of her three pillow(case)s together, courtesy of Joanne. (Nice Fluevog sandals, chica!)

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Pillowcases Galore

I made several pillowcases for holiday presents this past season. I'm embarrassed to say that one pillowcase took me until last week to finish, but they're all finally finished and mailed off. I'm saving the last-made one for a later post this week, but here are the rest. They are all fun in their own way.

Yoda

You've seen me make a pillow like this before ... except the back fabric is different, and at this point I've basically perfected the envelope pillow cover. I made this for my dear friend Dorothy (one of the MotleyFlue), who loves Master Yoda. The measurements on this baby are almost exact. French seams inside. I dig how badass Yoda looks.

Thomas and Friends

My nephew wanted another set of Thomas pillows for Xmas. I made a set using different fabric for his birthday last September, but I didn't blog about it. I sewed the previous pillowcases as envelope covers. These are more like the typical pillowcases that you buy, open with a wide hem on one end. I just used a standard-size pillowcase that we already had to create my measurements. Again, my measurements for these were meticulous, and they needed to be because of the directional prints.

Invisible Zipper

I made these color-block pillowcases for Joanne's birthday which was in early December ... and, um, she hasn't received them yet. (She'll get them along with her also-late Xmas present, hopefully by tomorrow.) She asked for simple pillowcases to brighten up her couch, but I couldn't make the easy version, i.e. envelope. I knew I needed to use zippers on these. Thing is, I'd never sewed zippers on the edges like this, and I'd never sewed invisible zippers before. I had to do tons of research and look through different tutorials online to psych myself up to do it. In the end, it worked, though I used a slightly different method for each pillowcase. The stuffed pillowcase above isn't how it's supposed to look, but I just wanted to show you how invisible the invisible zipper actually is. (It's supposed to look more full and stuffed; I used a smaller pillow form than what Joanne has, just for demonstration purposes.) I'm happy with the way they turned out, but I am planning to practice sewing more invisible zippers. It's not that difficult, but it is a somewhat fussy business, and this is one of the sewing skills I'd like to perfect ... because I am seriously planning to make a dress for myself in time for spring. :-)

xo, Gladys

Recipe: Chocolate Chili

Just wanted to share some photos of recently-made chocolate chili. I've mentioned this chili recipe before on this blog, but it's so good I want to share it again. I won't reprint the recipe here, so just go to The Clothes Make the Girl blog, whose writer Melissa Joulwan is the author of a great cookbook that you should consider getting, Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat. My only note is that I use two full tablespoons of cocoa rather than the 1.5 tablespoons on her blog recipe. I make it with two pounds of ground beef and it is basically gone in two family dinners or less. We eat it over hot dogs or baked potatoes (I know, not very paleo) with a veggie on the side, some sour cream for me, and maybe some dried chives. But I've also eaten it straight up from the pot, no sides or toppings necessary. Seriously, seriously delicious. Seriously.

Ready to eat!

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Small Totes for Small Ladies

I'm so behind on blogging that I'm still recapping the holidays. But I wanted to share this anyway.

So last month I sewed up these tote bags from another Lotta Jansdotter pattern for a couple of little girls among our family friends here. It's a quick beginner's pattern that would be easy to embellish and adapt, and it went even faster for me since I didn't make the handles from fabric but instead used cotton webbing that I already had on hand from another project. It's not a perfect combo especially from an aesthetic perspective, but at least I know the handles are sturdy enough for preschoolers. The bag itself is pretty sturdy at the bottom since the contrast fabric is folded over the bottom of the bag, thereby creating a lining there. The totes can be stuffed with books and other fairly heavy things, and they should hold up well.

My only complaint about the pattern is that I wish it had included a note about using directional prints. Since both pieces of fabric are folded in half to create a seamless bottom, using a one-directional print (as I did for the larger fabric of both of these totes) means that one side will be upside down. I wasn't able to figure it out from reading the instructions or looking at the illustrations. If I'd known that ahead of time for the pink cat bag, I would have cut the fabric in half then sewn together the resulting two pieces so that both sides of the bag would have the print right side up. I guess I could have redone the bag (using my trusty seam ripper) but it didn't look too bad and I was on a deadline. I made the adjustment for the kitty-people tote, however.

Speaking of which, I really love this kitty-people print. I'd used it before on an apron I made for a friend's birthday last October, and this little tote was a good use of some of the remaining yardage that I had. The recipient told me she liked it a lot, and I saw it packed absolutely full with clothes and a huge stuffed bear. It ended up being the perfect size for a four-year-old. Success!

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Autumn Apron

I made this reversible apron last month for my friend E's birthday. It's the same Lotta Jansdotter pattern as the cupcake apron and the kitty apron. This time, I stuck one extra-large pocket well below the waistline on each side. I really liked this print on E's apron. Her favorite season is fall, and she loves leaves as well, so I thought this print would be perfect. (My personal favorites are the apples and butterflies, and the colors are fantastic.) The only problem I had with sewing this apron was that I ran out of the solid burgundy fabric.

Note to self: when buying solid fabrics at Jo-Ann's, buy extra because these bolts are less than 44" wide ... which makes a huge difference with this particular pattern.

To make up the difference, I had to use the second yard of the print fabric that I was saving for another project. You can see in the photo below that the side/back panels are made with the print fabric instead of being continuous with the solid fabric. Oh well. E says she loves it anyway.

Here's a closeup of the fabric print, which I really, really like. I bought it on sale, too. Should have bought an extra yard.

xo, Gladys

Recipe: Beef Taco or Burrito Filling

I found this delicious taco filling recipe from a food blog called The Preppy Paleo. The author adapted it from Cook's Illustrated, and since I found the recipe earlier this month, I've made it five times now -- yes, that means I've made it at least twice a week for the past couple of weeks. It is easy and delicious and has my family's seal of approval. It reminds me of my favorite homemade chili, but it doesn't take nearly as long to cook.

This is how I eat it, using large pieces of lettuce as "boats" with dollops of sour cream on top. The extra crunch complements the flavors of the meat perfectly. So good. My mouth is watering just looking at this photo. My husband eats it with flour and/or corn tortillas, and my son just spoons it into his mouth.

I won't actually reprint the recipe here -- just go to the Preppy Paleo webpage -- but I'll note that:

• If you don't want it really spicy, either lessen the cayenne paper to a pinch or eliminate it altogether. You can always add spice to it on your dinner plate with hot sauce or pepper. Meanwhile, your 4-year-old won't get upset that it's too hot in his mouth. Poor thing. (Milk helped.)
• The sweetener and vinegar are unnecessary, but they do add a very subtle flavor.
• Since the recipe doesn't require draining the fat, you're going to have a very wet filling, so just be aware. I personally LOVE the extra fat and always have since I was a kid. I use grass-fed beef so it has lots of Omega-3 and CLAs. The fat flavored with the cumin, coriander, and chili powder is out of this world. Yum!

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Piped Throw Pillow

I made this throw pillow for my mom's birthday recently, using the instructions from Deborah Moebes's Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew, One Project at a Time. I've done the easy projects in the beginning, but this pillow is past the middle of the book. The main features: piping along the edges and a universal zipper, both of which are skill-stretchers for me. (I made a skirt two summers ago with a zipper, but it didn't turn out as well as this one did.) I got the beautiful fabric on sale last December at the local quilting/fabric store here.

Confession: I had meant to make this for my mom last Christmas, but after I missed the deadline I kept pushing it back for almost a year. The fabric is even called Lumière de Noël by French General -- Light of Christmas. I did begin the project last December; I cut the fabric pieces and started putting the piping together, but I think it was because the piping was so fussy that I felt like abandoning the project.

So fast forward to this past weekend, which was my FINAL deadline for this pillow. The fabric pieces and half-pinned piping had been sitting neglected in one of my fabric bins for many, many months. I finally took the plunge and tried to sew the bias tape around the 1/4"-cord to make the piping. Second confession: while working on finally finishing the pillow, I wish I had abandoned it ... or at least made a sample pillow beforehand to test the instructions. Here are my reasons:

1) I used a slippery polyester (poly/cotton blend?) red bias tape that I bought in a package at Jo-Ann's.  It's 2" wide and is basically blanket binding. Next time I will use 100% cotton fabric for the bias tape, even if I have to make it myself. The pattern instructions strongly suggest the 100% cotton, but when I was planning out the project last year, I had no idea how to make my own bias tape. The slipperiness of the polyester made pinning and covering the cord very irritating. Fussy is the word.

2) The instructions in the pattern I used were confusing at times, even though I figured it all out in the end. Another thing I'd do differently is that I wouldn't baste the bias tape so close around the cord; some of the stitching shows up on the outside once you've put together the pillowcase at the end.

3) And, most critical, there was one very definite error that turned my pillow into the "shabby chic" thing you see here. Instead of trimming the seam allowance of the piping to 1/2", the instructions said to trim it to 1/4". (There was a photo of trimming the seam allowance that looked like 1/2" to me, but I figured, since I hadn't seen any errata about the book online, that the instructions were probably correct.) That's a big deal since it gave me a mere 1/4" of fabric to baste, pin, and sew three different layers together. NOT FUN. Also, instead of ending up with an elegant-looking fitted pillowcase for a 16" x 16" pillow form, I had a pillowcase that was about 1/4" loose all around, or a 1/2" loose each in length and width. Yeah, shabby chic. (Sure, I could have gotten another pillow form sized 17" x 17" but I didn't have time.)

4) Inserting the universal zipper turned out relatively well, but the instructions were a little confusing ... which part is the zip stop? which end is the top or bottom? (apparently the zipper pull is in the top position when closed, as seen below) ... I had to suss it out by looking at the photos. I'm just glad it worked out for me.

5) There were two different ways that the zipper foot for my sewing machine needed to be used: one way with the piping and another way with the zipper. The instructions weren't very clear on that. That's why I messed up on sewing across the zipper teeth. I didn't have enough time to fix it since all the mistakes pushed the project to the 11th hour already. And the inside/wrong side of the pillowcase is, whew, ugly.

HOWEVER, I did finally finish this project which was a long time coming. It feels good to be able to cross off something on my list that had been hanging over my head for almost a year. If I make another similar pillow soon, I believe I'd be more comfortable with the project, and I could get that fitted look instead. Hopefully everything would be neater as well.

xo, Gladys