From sweet shop to sweat shop

I've always had a passion for baking and cake decorating , but lately I've been looking to learn a new craft. In my last post I talked about getting back into sewing, and in the last couple of months I've taken it to a whole new level. Our poor dining room was converted into what my mom coined a Chinese factory to produce hand made grocery bags. At this point, I think I've made about 15 in the last month and a half. Here are some photos of the factory and one of the finished products:

Last night, my mom and I took a class on oil cloth & laminated cotton, and we made a doc kit and 3 nested makeup bags. I really enjoyed working with the new fabric and zippers, and absolutely love how these turned out. I think the factory is going to reopen for the production of more of these guys:



Final product

My first applique project is complete, and I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. Now I have a backlog of projects that I want to work on, but I guess that's a good thing.

Giving my parents the FULL Austin experience

Saturday one of Patrick's co-workers was participating the the Austin Roller Girls rollerderby, and we decided to ask my parents to see if they'd like to go. This is prime time people watching here in Austin, and needless to say the event did not disappoint. Each of the girls come up with their own roller girl name, and most are pretty funny. The top from Saturday night were:Olivia Shootin John, Beth Threat, Peppermint Bratty, and Scrape Mrytle....

Here's a picture of Patrick and my dad with "Rita Men Weep".

Sewing class with mom

Since my Junior League activities have slowed down, I decided to try learning a new skill.... I had taken sewing classes a couple of years ago, but had put it down to focus on the MBA, a new marriage, etc. It was time to get back into it, so I talked my mom into taking an applique class at a super fun place in South Austin. The founder started the classes in a shed in her back yard, and now has a super fun place called the Stitch Lab in an old house. These creations are a work in progress, and we learned a couple of techniques. What mom and I have in our hands are hand embroidery on applique, and the next project will be on the machine. I'm super motivated with all the little ones that our friends have to go to town on applique projects (my project is for one of those friends).

I do have to admit that I was the "special student" in class because I had forgotten how to thread my sewing machine... Oh well, mom was there to help and she has the same machine. :-) Needless to say I'm now signed up for the crash course to refresh my memory, now that I have some more time to focus on sewing.

I'll post the final product when complete, but here's our work in progress:

A visit from the Waterford Gods....

Well, my sweet husband let me finish out our Waterford set, and they finally arrived just in time for the new dining room table. I'm so excited I just had to take a picture of the remaining pieces!!

Now the china cabinet full and we have a full Waterford set. Bring on the dinner party... well in a couple of weeks when our new table gets here!

Ashamed...

We should be ashamed of ourselves for the blogging at the end of this year, but there really was a ton going on. Here's the recap of what we've been up to since the last posting...

Aggie football. Bleh, what to say about this. We kept our season tickets, but I think we both almost developed an ulcer thanks to our second half issues throughout the season. However, we're thankful that they were able to pull together a bowl win over the New Years weekend.

The Junior League of Austin kept me very busy after our last post. I took on the role as a PR co-chair for our annual four day Christmas market called A Christmas Affair. Patrick often referred to this as my second job, and it really was. Despite being so busy with the event, I really enjoyed the experience and the amazing women that I met through Junior League and in the community through my role. The first night was a black tie gala and silent auction (yes, we auctioned this scooter, but we couldn't resist a quick joy ride), and here are some pictures of all of the fun:

We had over 200 merchants from around the country and multiple events each day, so needless to say it was pretty exhausting. These photos don't due the decorations justice, but you get the idea

Third Anniversary. Patrick and I decided to go to NYC for our 3rd anniversary, and we had a blast. Christmas time in New York is just so magical, so it was a special trip. We stayed right at Rockefeller Center, and we were able to fit a lot into just a quick long weekend trip. We had the opportunity to see the Book of Mormon, which won all the Tony's this year, and it was fantastic, as well as the Rockettes holiday show. The holiday decorations are just larger than life, so I'll just post a few: Being the Top Chef fans that we are we took the opportunity to visit one of Tom Colicchio's Riverpark restaurant for our anniversary dinner, and it was amazing. We spent time strolling up and down 5th Ave admiring all the amazing windows. With the overcast night, we couldn't resist how well lit St. Patrick's was, so I was the tourist who stops in the middle of the street to snap this shot ( I think it was worth it): We did take time to go to the top of the Empire State building, and we couldn't have timed sunset any better. We were able to get some great photos of the city before the sun completely set. We also had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 memorial which was a somber but amazing exhibit. They did such a wonderful job ensuring that it wasn't crowded, and that visitors had time to complete the experience.

Christmas was full of travel to Houston and back to Austin, and I had the opportunity to travel to the DFW area to catch up with my wonderful friends. We spent the New Year holiday with family and friends, and hope that 2012 brings us as much happiness as 2011.

Cheers to the New Year, and I pray that I am a much better blogger in 2012!