14 of 30: Mosaic and Wolves

Yes, I seriously am STILL working on my 30 for 30. I know, I know, it's been three months now. At this point, I'm wondering over how many months I can stretch my 30 days. It should be interesting.

Dress: Patagonia | Tee: GAP | Micro-fleece tights: Tabbisocks via Sockdreams | Booties: Blowfish "Hichi" via Amazon

I wore this dress as part of outfit #6 back in October, but here's my winter take. (And one of these days I'm going to take in the shoulder straps; they really are too long for me.) I layered the dress over a comfy long-sleeved tee and a pair of very warm micro-fleece tights. The tights are so warm that they feel like pants. I love them a lot.

I also wanted to show you the tote bag that I've been using as my everyday purse since the beginning of the year. Wolves and raspberry vines. Adorable! I like big totes but mine usually don't have such a cute print on them. The tote is quite sturdy so far and is big enough to carry anything a mom of a preschooler would need. Plus it's got three pockets (two inside and one outside) that allows me to keep the little items from getting lost at the bottom. I got this on sale from ModCloth in December but it is no longer available. (It's a Kate Sheridan bag.) However, ModCloth has got another 70% off sale going on! If you've got some Xmas or other holiday money burning your pocket, that might be a good place to get some adorable stuff. :-)

xo, Gladys

Project: Sewing Dresses

Part of the reason I was so busy last week was that I was sewing up a storm for my Holiday Challenge. That doesn't mean that I managed to sew lots of things, but I sewed a lot. If I wasn't so slow I would have much more to show for all the hours I put in. However, I'm pretty happy with how the projects turned out. The patterns I used were from One-Yard Wonders.

This looks like a bikini top, but it's actually the halter top for the dress I made for my younger sister, before I attached the skirt part.

The thing about making dresses is that it's hard to do fittings when you're using a pattern. Like me, my sister is petite, but the pattern I used was most likely based on a taller person. So while I had taken all the suggested measurements -- bust, underbust, and waist -- the pattern was still too tall on the bodice part. That then made sizing the underbust (with the tricky gathers and elastic) difficult. I had to redo the elastic after my sister first tried it on. I think the finished product is still too big for her, but I suppose she can wear it as a beach coverup come summer. (She also travels quite a bit, so she may be able to use sooner it if she travels south of the equator during the first part of the new year.) One of my goals this new year is to learn more about editing patterns, especially for petite sizing.

This second dress project was more successful because it was more forgiving, given that it was for a toddler. Kids' clothes usually don't need to be fitted. For my friend's daughter's third birthday (she's a NYE baby), I decided to make a pinafore. This was my first time making lining, and it was a lot easier than I thought. The directions for this pattern worked very well for an intermediate-beginner like myself. The only iffy part was turning the finished bodice inside-out by pulling the fabric through the very narrow shoulder straps (what helped: using a large knitting needle to push the fabric through the "tunnels"). I wasn't sure if I was going to add the button, but I couldn't resist the heart shape; too bad I only had the one. It took me a whole day, in between eating and taking care of the kiddo, to make the dress. I'm quite proud of this one. I washed and pressed it, and we gave it to the birthday girl over the weekend. While she didn't particularly care for it aside from the ballerinas on the print (do little kids ever care about clothes as presents?), her mom, one of my favorite people, loved it. Just as I anticipated. :-) I'm actually looking forward to making this same pattern for another little girl.

xo, Gladys

Birdies and Blowfish Shoes

Quick outfit post today.

Dress: Peppermint via Modcloth | Tights: Worthington via Kohl's (??) | Booties: Blowfish "Wycliff" (giveaway prize)

Here I am wearing my new Blowfish booties. They're as comfy and easy to wear as my other pair of Blowfish booties (the "Hichi"). The best thing about Blowfish shoes/booties is how easy-breezy it is to get in and out of them, particularly when you're running late and need to get out of the house in a hurry!

I wore this ensemble to lunch on Boxing Day (day after Xmas) with some dear old friends from college. Anyway, this is one of those outfits that felt cuter than it looked, at least in the photos. (I need to improve my darn posture!) I got a couple of compliments on the dress. I personally love the birds and the lace trim. In any case, I figure that since I felt happy wearing the outfit, that's what matters most, right? :-)

xo, Gladys

NYE 2011

Owl jumper: Ezra via Modcloth | Top/tunic: Sugarhill Boutique via Modcloth | Tights: Foot Traffic via Sockdreams | Booties: Blowfish "Wycliff" via giveaway | Owl necklace: Alilang via Amazon (gift from the hubby) | Lion bracelet: "Orchid Grey" via Modcloth

I was really happy with my New Year's Eve outfit. I bought both the owl jumper and the tunic on sale, one in mid-December and the other way back in October. The jumper was a little large so I almost returned it, but the owls were too adorable. (Can you blame me?) As for the top, it's made by one of my favorite (fair-trade) brands, Sugarhill Boutique, so while it wasn't my usual style, I knew that it would be great quality. As with my Christmas outfit, I had bought the clothes not thinking at all about the holidays. But given the sequins, the jumper turned out to be perfect for NYE, and I couldn't wait to show off the owls. I still can't believe how well the two pieces went together; they are basically the same length, and since the jumper is so thin (as is the tunic, which is lined yet still slightly sheer), the bottom of the tunic acted as a slip. I would totally wear this outfit again to a party in 2012, but next time I would wear black tights and leave the color (purple, orange, and/or blue) to the pumps, flats, or mary janes for a more unified and softer look.

xo, Gladys

Christmas 2011

Hi all! Happy New Year! I'm back online from the "holidaze." I hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve as well. My hubby was off from work all last week, plus we had lots of gatherings with family and friends (including a day trip to Disneyland/California Adventure), so I simply didn't have time to get online to post photos.

So...more posts coming this week! I want to show you what I wore for New Year's Eve and some of the other events we attended. I also want to show-and-tell my latest completed (i.e. successful) sewing projects. :-)

Dress: Tulle via Modcloth | Cardi: Softie (100% cashmere for the ridiculous price of ~$30) via Amazon | Tights: Foot Traffic via Sockdreams

This was my outfit on Christmas day when we had our family over for luncheon (and beyond). I loved wearing this outfit and I think it was very Christmas-y, with all the red, green, and cream. The bottom hem full of impressionistic roses was a lovely touch. Funny thing, I bought the dress in early fall during Modcloth's clearance sale. I didn't realize it would work beautifully as a Christmas dress. I'm so glad I decided to keep it even though several months passed before I wore it.

Anyway, we had a really great time on Christmas day, from the start of the day to the end, with the kiddo opening presents from "Santa" in the morning and then opening everyone else's presents after lunch. He was sooooo excited. In the morning, when he was opening his gifts, I could feel him shaking with excitement. Trembling with it. The rest of his day went much the same way. His grandmother (my mom) and I could barely get him to sit down and eat anything (except cookies, surprise surprise). My favorite presents? A BabyGAP toggle coat for the kiddo, and a lovely ruffled confection of an apron for me. (It's so pretty, it looks like a dress.)

I'll end this post with a few photos leading up to the big day. 1&2}decorating and salivating over the Christmas cookies that my hubby made. 3}the kiddo-bandido stole his dad's glasses and wore them upside down, looking surprisingly handsome.

xo, Gladys