Simplicity 2652

I finished this project during the miracle nap a couple of days ago. I am very pleased with the result. The fit is great and there wasn't a lot of screaming/swearing involved. This, I think, is the first garment I have sewn for myself that I am completely satisfied with.

I documented this project in a lot of detail in a little notebook and that made it easy for me to pick up the project from where I left off. The project took 11 hours divided into 7 sessions. The collar and the lining were the most difficult for me. The two things I took away from sewing this project are: 1. Trace and cut the pattern pieces accurately. 2. Read the instructions. Commercial patterns have a seam allowance of 5/8".

I enjoyed making this little jacket and think I will make it again. I am not sure if I am crazy about any of the other variations.

The front:


The back:


Jacket modeled:


By some miracle/fluke, the pattern on the front of the jacket matches perfectly! I didn't plan it that way and wouldn't know how to do it if I wanted to. :-) This jacket is just meant to be.

Spoiled Rotten

The little ones were spoiled rotten in the past two weeks. First a week long visit with Por Por and then another week long visit with Nanny and Papa. Yesterday was a shock for the both of them. One fun filled day with just Mommy doing absolutely nothing! Mommy cleaned and they sat around waiting for someone to open the door and play "incoming" with them. When they finally realized life is back to normal, they did the unthinkable - they both napped! The first things they said when they woke up was, "Where is Papa?" "When is Nanny coming back?" "Are we going to Vancouver yet?"





Come back soon, Nanny, Papa, Por Por! We miss you already!

The Before and After

I've only been to LA 3 times, including this past weekend and I've never really been a tourist there.

We took a stroll on Rodeo Dr the night before the event to check out all the fancy stores. My eyes were blinded by jewelry bigger and shinier than my fake ones. They were really really gorgeous. I also had the "good fortune" to overhear an argument between a bunch of tweens over a "f***ing thousand dollar bracelet". They were fighting to buy it, not fighting over the value of it. One of the lines I overheard was, "it's just a f***ing thousand dollar bracelet, why can't you let me have it?" Yep, quite a different world out there.




We passed by this cake shop with some of the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen!


The morning of the event, I had planned to lounge around the pretty swimming pool and work on my tan but the weather didn't cooperate. The best I could do was this picture.


Did I mention our hotel was super grand. Thanks to the generosity of Hubby's company, we got to stay at the swanky Four Seasons. This was the lobby when we arrived.


This was the lobby on day 2. Completely different huge floral arrangements.


The hotel was so fancy there was even a little bench inside the elevator.


My favorite thing about the hotel was the bathroom in our room. It was seriously bigger than my bedroom in my house. I especially loved this little vanity.


Ah... back to touristy stuff. We went to the La Brea Tar Pits the morning of the event.


I was convinced my teeth are bigger than the Sabertooth Cat's.


Okay, I thought the scientists there were pulling my leg. How can the speck be a bone and even if it were, how the heck did that find that from a pile of bones mixed in tar? (Oh, in case you can't read what the papers say... from left to right: large mouse toe bone, small mouse toe bone, mammoth toe bone)

The Food

We were told that the food is usually awesome. I worked out really hard the two weeks prior to the event to make sure there is at least half an inch of eating space between my tummy and the dress. Looking good was secondary. It's all about the "full" Oscar experience.

This was waiting for us as we took our seats. Truffle soup, goat cheese and beets, arugula salad and a mushroom salad in a pastry box. The soup was really good.


The second course was ravioli. The ravioli themselves were good but the sauce was "Chef Boyardee"-like.


Oh... there was also this pretty center piece and bread basket.


The main course was a filet mignon and sea bass with sides of roasted butternut squash, potatoes and brocolini. The portions were huge. The taste was great (for someone who normally doesn't eat beef, I tried and liked the filet mignon) but the plating, as you can see, was a little disappointing.


I usually like to finish everything on my plate but I just couldn't finish this dish. After all, I had to save room for dessert. Peach cobbler and honey ice-cream.


All in all, I'd say it was a good meal. It's not the most phenomenal food I've ever had but it was definitely the best banquet food I've ever tasted. Bravo, Academy!

Science and Tech

When Hubby started working at his current job, I often joked that it'd be a dream come true if he won and Oscar and brought me to the event. Much sooner than anticipated, our dream came true. Hubby and his team won a Science and Technology Award given out but the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and we were in Beverly Hills this weekend to celebrate the event.


I put some more picture here.

It was a great experience that I will blog a little more about later. In the mean time, we are all going to enjoy some time with family. Hope your weekend was as spectacular as ours!

Sewing Homework

The Girl borrowed a naked Barbie doll from a friend one day. Before she went to bed, she told me that it's not okay for the doll to be naked. Barbie needed a mermaid costume. Green tail, purple boobies (that's what she calls a bra) and a flower necklace. I was to work on that while she slept so she can play with Barbie in the morning.

So after I tucked her in, I set to work on my assignment. Can't believe I am sewing for Barbie now.


A close up of Barbie the mermaid. I discovered the trick to these play clothes is lots of elastic. The tail has an elastic waist band and the bra was sewn with elastic thread. The necklace is just a piece of confetti from Valentine's day strung on a short length of elastic thread.


Here is a bonus picture of Barbie and my newest girlie toy: a pink camera. Thanks for being manly enough to allow a pink camera in our household, Hubby.

Happy New Year!

The kids are totally loving having Por Por around. Let the parties begin!


I keep having to ask them to go easy on Por Por. She is staying for a whole week and I don't want the kids to break her on day 1. :-)

Cool Party

We went to a birthday party on Super Bowl Sunday and it was super fun.

I never thought I'd see the day when the Girl is coordinated enough to do stuff like this. I am sure you can hear the excitement in my voice. (BTW, are you able to view my videos? Please let me know if they don't work for you.)


Then we had some dramatic/pretend play. This is such a great age and a great activity. I love it when the kids totally get into character and have a ball with the costumes.


Regal.


Girlie following the King around.


Then she turned into a chicken.


Did I mentioned that we were invited to this party because of the Boy? This is the Boy's friend's birthday and the Girl was the tag-along for the first time. Yet somehow, she still made it all about her.

Special Post for T and A

If you are not my kids God parents, this post will not mean anything to you.

T & A: I hope this video works. Let me know if you can see this.

Fancy Pants

Made by Rae and Made are blogging a whole month about crafts for boys! I've made plenty for the Girl but sadly not much for the Boy because things just don't look as cute. I saw this pant tutorial and it was just too chic to pass.

The pattern is supposed for a tall three year old but when I was finished they were just right for the Boy.


Lier, the pattern designer, was right. The double top stitching makes the pants way more professional looking. I also love how the side pockets look.


She was also right about the pants riding really low. I didn't make the button holes for a drawstring so I suppose I can open up the casing and tighten the elastic but I don't think that would be very comfortable to wear.


I learned a lot making these pants. I never knew how to put in side pockets and I've never made a pair of lined pants. Here is something I already knew - back pockets.


So I'd say these are stylish pants but the fit is not very good. I am ready to find a commercial pattern and try it again. Nonetheless, I am still happy to have a new pair of pants for about $1.50. The only thing I bought was the twill and elastic.

It's An Emergency!

That's what these two were screaming on top of their lungs.


It's cool to see how the Girl plays differently with boys. Notice how even while saving lives, the Girl is still mindful of her attire. Here comes firefighter in a tutu.


This is a completely separate event. The Boy is pictured here playing with his preschool buddies.


I am doing the preschool co-op for the Boy now. This group of kids is very young. Most of them had just turned two so preschool is really play school. I don't try to "teach" much when I host. I like to do more physical things with them like having them learn to stand in line and take turns going through a tunnel.


So far, the Boy has not been a big fan of school. He loves going to the Girl's school and plays well there but he doesn't like being left with his own preschool group. I guess it will take more training before he is more comfortable. The thing is I don't remember it being difficult leaving the Girl during her preschool days. Both the Boy and I just have to tough this one out.

We Need More Testosterone

The estrogen level in our house is usually considerably higher than that of the testosterone level. I am not saying Hubby is not manly. He is at work most of the time and the Girl is so so so so girly and I kind of encourage and feed her girliness so the Boy usually just caves. I mean look at all the pictures of him dressing up as a fairy/princess/ballerina.

This night, one of the Girl's boyfriends came over to play and after dinner, he asked to watch Cars. Now, we have that movie and the Boy LOVES it. It is definitely his favorite and if it was up to him, he'd watch it twice a day everyday. The thing is, it's never up to him. The Girl is older and wiser and louder and can usually convince/outsmart/strong arm him into watching princess movies. The few (like one in six) times that he gets to watch Cars, the Girl makes sure he knows she is granting him a big favor. If he tries to talk to her about the movie while they are watching, (something like, "look at Frank chasing McQueen and Mater") she will reply, "next time, we watch Snow White, okay!" So he doesn't talk much during the movie.

Now back to the night of the play date. When the Boyfriend asked to watch Cars, the Boy immediately ran to where he kept his precious movie and brought it to the kitchen where we were all sitting and yelled, "I got it! I got the the McQueen! It's here, I can push the buttons!" (Meaning he knows how to work the DVD and he can set it all up.)

With that, the boys hopped onto the couch and started some serious male bonding.


Really, I have never seen the Boy so happy while watching the movie and I've never seen the Boyfriend preferring to interact with the Boy more than the Girl. My Boy have seen this movie way more times than the Boyfriend so he was narrating and explaining during the movie, pointing out his favorite parts and his favorite characters.


It warms my heart to see how much he knows and how much he cares about something and how much he want to share his passion with others but it breaks my heart at the same time that he never had a chance. Maybe I've spent too much time finding the girl a girlfriend to play with. I think it's time I find the Boy a pal.

My Goofballs

Here are some random goofy pictures of the kids.

The future king. I came out to the living room one night to find the Boy mastering the art of lounging. I think in his mind, he was taking up the whole couch and was the King of the world. Well... at least King of the living room.


The demure princess. I've been teaching the girl to sit with her legs crossed and this is the most demure I have ever seen her. Speaking of being a princess, here is a recent Kira-ism which is not new to those who are on FB.
I slipped and dropped the girl into the toilet one night and she cried and cried. Yes, it was my fault but after a few minutes of tearless crying, I said, "That's enough. Princesses don't cry." She looked at me with those big, accusatory eyes and said, with a sob, "except... they don't fall into potties either."


One night, I was telling a particularly juicy story to my mom on the phone and I didn't want to be interrupted so I hid in my room. I could hear them giggling and laughing in the living room so I assumed they were behaving and playing nicely together. When I came out, I found this.


From a distance, I couldn't tell what was going on and thought I had mistaken desperate cries for help as laughter and was going to yell at the Boy to get off his sister. Then I heard the Girl say, "now I am dead. You can sit on me and crush my tummy now." Where does she get this stuff and should I be worried?

CAT

I really like this one. I am thinking of turning into something she can wear like this, this, this or this.