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. :-)