Odds and Ends

Before I sign off for the day, here are a few iPhone shots of what I've been up to since my blogging hiatus. Have a fabulous weekend!

Closeup of my newly-done eyebrows a couple of weeks ago

Just a fraction of the beautiful cloth I recently purchased for my Holiday Challenge

Measuring and cutting contact paper for the kitchen cabinets and drawers in the new house

A little slice-view of the new dining room from the kitchen -- we brought the chandelier with us from the old house

More cloth

A toy Singer sewing machine (that actually does stitches) I saw at Jo-Ann's -- I didn't buy it, but I thought it was adorable

xo, Gladys

Thanksgiving Outfit

It's been so long since I last posted! I've missed you! We started living/sleeping/eating in the new house last week, but our internet won't be connected until early next week. I am putting this post together in the old house, where there are still lots of little things to throw into boxes and bags. Most of my clothes and shoes are still here! So while I have the chance, I'm putting up outfit photos of our Thanksgiving. We visited family in Long Beach that night. The photos were taken in indoor lighting with my iPhone, hence the poor quality. Sorry about that! But I really loved my outfit.

ON ME: Dress: via ModCloth | Cardi: GAP (gifted) | Royal tights and fishnet tights: Foot Traffic and unknown, both via Sockdreams | Mary janes: Fluevog Guides (Prepare family)

The pleats on the dress are very flattering and elongating, and the pattern is just gorgeous. My mom said it was her favorite dress in my closet. Also, this was my first time layering tights like this, and I have to say that the effect of fishnet over opaque is really beautiful. Something I DEFINITELY have to try again. Got several compliments on the whole outfit from my fun aunties. :-)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday last week (if you celebrate it in the U.S., at least)! I'd love to be back to regular posting by the end of next week.

xo, Gladys

Holiday Challenge

As if I didn't already have enough on my plate, I decided that this holiday season, I would make rather than buy presents for family and some friends' children. So I'll be sewing clothing and accessories -- new patterns that I've never tried before.

All while in the midst of moving. O_o

I'm not sure why I do this to myself. But you know what? After I asked what they would like, several family members got really excited about it, and one even sent me a link to this simple tutorial on making a circle scarf. Basically, all I'll be doing is buying the material and sewing the ends together. It's really that easy, but she is still really excited about getting such a simple hand-made item from me. It's worth it already, is my feeling. :-)

But most of the other items won't be so simple. I'm particularly looking forward to making clothes for the children, but apprehensive, too. I'll be using patterns and instructions from these two books:

I'll mostly be sticking to the beginner patterns, at least. Wish me luck. :-)

xo, Gladys

Disclosure: I'm a member of Amazon Associates, so if you click through the book images above and purchase anything on Amazon, it may result in my earning a small referral fee.

Wendyslookbook Scarf-Tying Tutorial

I believe this awesome video on "25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes" has been making the rounds on Facebook and blogs recently (saw it most recently at the demure muse). Makes perfect sense for fall, even though the vid was created back in April. At around minute 4:36, you have the option of getting a tutorial on the specific scarf-tying of your choice. Great music, great editing, and really educational (at least for me :-). Enjoy!

xo, Gladys

12 of 30: Dinner Outfit

Ugh, jeans again. Sorry about that. This was from a couple of days ago. I considered wearing a dress since I was going to be meeting up with old friends for dinner and drinks, but I realized that I needed to go more casual and comfortable because I would be walking around downtown L.A. Turned out to be a good choice. I wore a black cardigan over this (not in my 30 for 30 items, but it was warmer than what I had available) and a ladybug watch necklace from ModCloth (no longer available).

It was a really great evening -- stimulating intellectual and heartfelt conversation over sushi, sake, and Sapporo plus after-dinner Pinkberry. I hadn't seen a couple of these friends in years, but we were all in the same master's cohort a decade ago, and it was like our minds recognized each other again. It was easy to be happy hearing about what and how they'd been doing since the last time we met. It turned out that 3 out of the 4 of us were, are, or will soon be in the process of moving, separated by a two-week window each. That's some coincidence! Good times. :-)

Top: [no tag] via Speedygirl; Jeans: GAP; Socks: ?; Boots: Fluevog Raphael (Earth Angel family)

xo, Gladys