Playing Hooky

Last week, my son skipped school so we could go to Disneyland with one of his cousins who was on the last full day of his trip in L.A. before going back home to the Seattle area. Verdict? Better than school. I was always what they called a "schoolgirl" since I enjoyed school so much, but going to D-land kicks school's butt. We didn't stay through the evening like we usually do when it's just my little three-person family (me, husband, and son), so the little guy was pretty sad when we had to leave before it got dark. We got in a few good rides, though, and saw Mickey first thing upon entering the park in the morning. And given that the park wasn't completely packed that day, it was very much worth it.

xo, Gladys

New Shoes: Vintage Fluevog Sopranos

Dress: Fun 2 Fun via Modcloth | Necklace: ModCloth | Belt: Kohl's | Leggings: Foot Traffic via Sockdreams | Boots: Fluevog Inge (Soprano family) via eBay

I wasn't even looking for these shoes. My Fluevog pusher and generalissima, Joanne, found them on eBay and gave me several "pushes" via early-morning text message. ;-) She was definitely looking out for me as they were in a completely different size from her feet. After consulting with one of our Fluevog dealers (Denny at the Haight store) about sizing, I decided to go ahead and get them. These boots, now vintage, come up for sale from time to time but at quite high prices. This particular pair was well below $200 and apparently in great condition. Plus, teal is one my favorite colors.

When they arrived, I admit I was a little disappointed. The color was much more sun-faded than I expected from the eBay photos; they're now almost aqua instead, and if you lift up the flaps, the color difference is quite marked. HOWEVER, I am quite fond of aqua as well, and it turns out that I had the perfect dress and accessory with which to wear these aqua boots.

I wore the outfit to a birthday party and got compliments on the boots. It was a particularly cold but sunny day in L.A., and I feel like the combination of colors and textures worked wonderfully with the weather.

This is one of my more inspired outfits as it came together suddenly, as if from inspiration. When I got out of the shower that morning, I was in a hurry and had NO IDEA what I was going to wear for the day. It actually started with the dress, and then when I realized what colors the stars were, I immediately grabbed the boots, and the tights and necklace were almost natural additions. The only thing I didn't like was the hair -- too much conditioner so it was all floppy and not very style-able. I'm going to need another trim for my bangs soon. They grow so fast!

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

Under Water

Spending quality time with my little guy at the California Science Center. He loves huge aquariums (aquaria?) and the one that was part of the Ecosystems exhibit gallery was no exception. Here we are in greenish light in the aquarium tunnel. He could not take his eyes off of the fish (including small spotted sharks!). This was our first time there -- we visited primarily to see the retired space shuttle Endeavour -- but we will definitely be coming back for the rest.

xo, Gladys

Gift Haul: Art and Aliens in the House

Exquisite painting titled "Area 51" by artist Jean Vengua, via Etsy

This past gift-giving season was pretty intense for me and my husband. We celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary in late November and, almost automatically, the celebration converged with the holidays. Thanks to his generosity, I made out like a bandit (although he didn't do so bad himself!). He bought part of my beautiful green Fluevog Elizabeth mary janes. And if you know me, you know I consider many Fluevogs works of art. Those shoes were more than enough. But he didn't stop there. Here are some of the other gifts he gave me, stocking stuffers and bigger. You might notice a theme or two. Maybe. :-)

My very own Doctor Who TARDIS! Well, printed on a beach towel, anyway. I don't know if I should use it or just hang it up in the craft/sewing/guest room. Hmm, decisions, decisions. :-)

Fluevog playing cards!

A book of Doctor Who sticky notes

What the notes look like -- fun!

Fluevog Angel key ring

There was also an owl purse hanger from Etsy. It's one of those hooks that you can attach to a tabletop at a restaurant or bar so you can hang your purse if there isn't a convenient method otherwise.

For my part, I gave him a pair of gorgeous black Fluevog CBCs (still on layaway), various drill bits and other electronic gizmos for his fabrication projects, and also -- my favorite -- some art prints.

I got him the art print below for our anniversary. It's called "Aloha" by Nidhi Chanani and it was just absolutely perfect for us, especially given that we had just come back from a vacation in Honolulu the month prior. I love that they actually look like him and me, well, coloring-wise. What a lucky find, for which I must thank Joanne who referred Chanani's work. The print is in a cheap frame of a standard size which is why it looks a little weird and off-center, but we wanted to put it up right away.

Print of "Aloha" by Nidhi Chanani

This one below was more for the "house" but really it's about us and what we love as a family. It's a mashup of two things we love from two different media -- Maurice Sendak's famous children's book Where the Wild Things Are and some unforgettable characters from film animator Hayao Miyazaki's oeuvre. Joanne also referred Justin Hillgrove's work to me, but our friend BJ Reyes was the one who gave me a heads-up on this particular print. Only thing is, we need to have it custom-framed as we can't find anything close to the dimensions of the print.

Print of tribute art "Studio Ghibli (Hayao Miyazaki) / Where The Wild Things Are tribute (Maurice Sendak)" by Justin Hillgrove

By the way, the alien doll painting at the head of this post was purchased by me for ... well, me, but it was done in the same spirit as the gifts my husband and I gave each other. I also can't tell you how thrilled I am to own such a gorgeous ORIGINAL work of art. I've done that only one other time in my life, and both times I felt like I got the better end of the bargain. The rest of my art purchases have been of prints. Anyway, Jean Vengua is incredibly talented in many arenas (she's a friend of mine as well), and if you like any of her work from her Etsy site, you're able to purchase prints of her paintings via Bluecanvas instead/in addition.

xo, Gladys