Baby,It's Cold Outside!

Hey Everyone!
Is it cold enough for you? We are getting our fair share of cold here in OC.  Maybe my blood is thin but regardless of why, I  have low tolerance for this kind of cold.
Living in So.Southern Calif brings about a feeling of mild weather that we all come to expect.....

Laguna Beach Sunset... {pic taken by Jack!}

According to the news, we are to prepare for a deep chill.  Like 29 degrees! I want to chuckle a little because I know my cousins in Michigan and all you Canadian folks are thinking we should just suck it up. My son is home for the month, working locally instead of in NY. I believe it's warmer in NY right now.  I think most people here do suck it up although the problem is, we don't really have the proper clothing unless Skiing is a big pass time. {I gave that up a decade ago}. This is where "Layering" comes in.
Besides the cold..... everyone is sick! Nothing like being inside a warm coffee shop with a bunch of sneezing, coughing humans. I have a visual of germs festering on door knobs or counters and floating in the air. Ewwww. Not good. Luckily, it's only temporary. Hope you all got your flu shot this season.

Whale Watching Boat spotted in Laguna Beach

One of my Instagram photos above. I snapped this one the other day at lunch. Hope I'm looking when the whales swim by! According to surf-forecast.com, the water is about 52 degrees right now. I'm pretty sure the whales are not happy campers. It might be a while before I see anything swim by.
In my last post, I shared that my youngest brother {and his Bride} are having a baby in July. We are so excited....here's the first blurry ultra sound picture.

My New Niece/Nephew looking like a Tad-Pole.  *Love*

They'll know in a couple weeks if it's a boy or girl.  I'm wondering,does pre-natal care consist of several ultra sounds these days?  I only had one and that was to rule out twins in my first and third pregnancy.  We needed a reason before getting the little blurry picture. I'll have to ask why they had one earlier this week and having a repeat in a few more weeks.
Humm..... 
I can't wait to start sewing little baby things! This is so cool because I'll get my baby fix. I worry that my new daughters can sense my anxiousness to be a Grandma! No pressure or anything. Haha. No, I don't really bug them although the entire world knows I cannot wait for the big moment.
Wouldn't you rather see my grandbaby pics instead of my furbaby pics?

Mia's Mani/Pedi. We got polish all over the place that day.

See? Don't  you agree that I need a little "mini-me" to sew and do fun things with? Everyone loves Spa Sunday at my house.
Here's to less cool weather and a wonderful weekend.

A warm drink for those chilly days!

Until Next Time,
  

Hey Everyone!
Thanks to my friend Laurie at CREATED BY LAURIE, I've learned a new way to discover awesome blogs! It's a "meet and greet" opportunity where other bloggers link their blog to the Host page and everyone visits and follows each other.  Doesn't that sound easy?  It wasn't to me at first.  I had to email Laurie for personal instructions... which ended up sounding just like the original directions.... but you know how it is when it's the first time for something.. you don't want to embarrass yourself right off the bat, so I had to get that extra hand-holding. Laurie is so sweet like that!  I'm happy to say that I was able to do it without additional emails begging for help :-)
If you'd like to join in, Click right here to be directed to Laurie's blog, including complete {easy} directions.  She does this on Sat/Sun/Mon so hurry on over before it's too late!  I think you can do it again next weekend if you miss this one.
I hope your New Year is going along well... all seven days of it! 

Until Next Time,
 

Happy New Year!!

Hey Everyone!
I hope that you all had a safe night celebrating the end of 2012. I can't wait to see what the new year will bring. For our family, for sure another wedding....

Melissa's Ring! They announced their engagement on New Years Eve.

and a new baby... no, not my boys this time but my little brother {who isn't so little anymore!}.

Lil' Bro "modeling" crazy jacket. Another Instagram Moment.

I'm always SO excited for babies. I get to make little clothes and baby quilts. Maybe even a Raggedy Ann or Andy!

Raggedy Andy {minus cap} | made for my little Nephew 2008

Good thing I like hanging out at JoAnn's Fabrics. I see lots of crafting in my near future.

This year might also bring some changes to my shop.  When I started it a little over two years ago, my intent was to have a place to channel my crafting & sewing obsessions while I recovered from surgery. Much to my surprise, I became hooked on Etsy and all the wonderful people I met while learning the "ins and outs" of the site.
When a friend or family member has a birthday, often I'll make something if time permits. I'll usually make duplicates and list in my shop.  While it's good to have variety, I'm thinking I should focus on just a few items that people want and make a variety of those items. Another thought was dog items, mainly coats or cold weather wear. I'm being gently nudged in that direction. Afterall, we do have two rescued Italian Greyhounds that I may have mentioned once or twice to you in the past!! Those sweet girls just love to model the things I make for them!! NOT!  Ohmygosh, they act like they are frozen statues when I put their jammies on. The jammies are different than their usual outer wear because all 4 legs are covered. For some reason, that makes it so they can't move. It's hilarious. {One way to keep them out of our way when company comes over!!} Here's a picture of Abby from last post, wearing her jammies.

Abby, frozen in time. Aka, wearing her Jammies.

Here's another outfit that apparently allows more freedom of movement for my little timid Fur-baby...

Abby, wearing her faux-fur trimed vest style cover up.

You can see above, that Abby's head is held a little higher in second outfit. No restrictions and she can run, jump and leap off tall couches with no issues. That is, as long as nothing gets broke... otherwise there will be issues!

Not too many people make dog clothing.... I know, I know, not too many people make their dogs wear dog clothing. But I do because they are little and unlike me, they hardly have any body fat!  And since So Cal is out to prove there is no such thing as global warming... haha and as long as we continue to dip into lows of 34 degrees, my girls will wear clothes!
Oh, and after the past summer house remodel, we no longer have carpet. For me, as I wander aimlessly through the hot-flash time of my life {that's a whole other story...hormones, ugh} I'm very happy without carpet. Since the girls do not like wearing their socks, this winter they seek out the throw rugs!

It'll be fun to see how things change and evolve as time goes on.  For me, right now the house is quiet so I should sneak off into my sewing room before my opportunity vanishes.
Wishing you and your family a very happy New Year! Thanks for stopping by.

Until Next Time,
 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone ! I wish you and your family a very Merry and Blessed day.

I've been really busy here, like most of you have been. I did make a couple outfits {jammies}for our girls. They are so soft and cozy. These are a bit different than the outfits I usually make for them because these have "legs"... and I'm sure they really appreciate the warmth provided, even though they stand or sit sort of frozen when as soon as the outfit is on.  Those doggies make me laugh.  And you might too, when you see this...

Abby sporting her new jammies.

These were taken right after I snipped the last stray thread. It took me a little longer to make Mia's because I always have to expand her stuff. Gusset Girl is her latest nick-name.
Also new in my shop is a phone holder. I used an easy pattern from a favorite fellow Etsian
 MichellePatterns on Etsy .

These are easy and everyone could use one! I might add a few that aren't so Pink for the males.
One other quick item In My Shop is a drawstring bag.  My plan was to give a gift card a nice presentation when giving.  No pattern was used and at 10x5 inches, it's a tad bit bigger than your average gift card but cute anyway!

I told you I'm pretty obsessed with INSTAGRAM,

You know how it is when the creativity is flowin' and one thing leads to another....I started thinking about adding a ruffle and coordinating contrast, then I thought it would be best to line the bag.   The good thing is that it's totally reusable. It could also be a make up pouch or sunglass case. The possibilities are endless for items that are 5" wide and a little less than 10" long.

One last photo before I go. A partial family picture... we went to Newport Beach, CA two days ago for the annual boat ride with dinner and a perfect view of all the Christmas lights!
All three of my boys, one new daughter and a brother of my other new daughter. We had a great time.

Of course I had to embellish with INSTAGRAM .. i love the cute frames and colors.

Merry Christmas!

Until Next Time,

Dec. 6th And An Edit.

Hey Everyone!
So a week ago, I tried something new. I posted from my phone.  I thought it would help with my absence during these busy times. I also had some pictures to add from company that visited around Thanksgiving and a wedding we all went to.

You know it's not all that easy typing from the phone for the blog. I do prefer the computer and the larger screen to make sure it all looks okay. Well wouldn't you know, I type for 30 minutes {I had to make sure it was perfect because my choices were Publish or Cancel. Not save to draft... grrrrr}.  I was finally satisfied with the text and then it was time to add my photos.  Anyone who came to visit my blog between Dec. 6th and now, only saw pictures.  No words.  Not sure what happened that day but I suppose I should brush up on Blogging on the run.  This time of the year can be super busy and with work too, time is always short. I was also waiting on an appt with a specialist and really stressed about a poor diagnosis, but thank the Lord, I will be okay.!!
 
In 3rd or 4th grade, I had two really great girlfriends and we've stayed in touch this whole time. One lives in Oklahoma and the other in Texas. Well last month they both came to California!!! The one in Texas did live in Cali for a long while and decided to get married here, on a ranch inland from me.  It was a wonderful reunion!!! 

I think I mentioned before that I'm hooked on Instagram.  It's embarrassing how hooked.
I can't even post to my Facebook without a funky frame or cool collage of some sort.
Below I've shared the Ranch Wedding and also our visit to Laguna Beach with my girlfriend from Oklahoma and her grand kids.

These pics are from my Twitter page. I got to play tourist with them in Laguna Beach.

A collage from the Ranch in Corona, CA. An awesome place tucked away up on a hill.

Group Kodak Moment! We all had to wear white shirts and our cowboy boots. It looked so cool with the whole crowd dressed the same. I went for the denim skirt while they went for the jeans so side saddle wasn't so comfy on my pony!

More In Laguna. I think my iPhone is more reliable with pictures than it is with Blogging. Or is it the Operator?

Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy this season with family and loved ones.

Until Next Time,

Tammy

Let The Holidays Begin!

Hey Everyone!
I hope you're all doing well. The holidays are right around the corner... so hard to believe. We finally are having fall weather in So Cal. We had a little rain and one morning while I was on my way to the office, the temperature was 56 degrees. I don't know about you, but that is a little chilly!  It does help to set the mood though for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I can wear my new boots :-) That's what it really boils down to!

Thanks to one of my FB friends, I've joined LISTiA .  It's a new website that you can auction off things you no longer want. You get credits and you're also able to bid on things you want that others are listing.  "One man's junk is another man's treasure"  Not sure who I'm quoting but I truly believe that. Lol.  And I like shopping online while still in my jammies sipping coffee!  You can earn credits by referring friends if they join as well as other tasks you can do for credit. I listed a few craft items I no longer needed. I had some brand new decorative patches.  I knew I'd advertise "free shipping" so I wanted something that would fit into a standard envelope and not cost me a fortune to mail out.  Bingo. Well all four of my listings ran 4 days {you pick the length of auction} and all 4 sold. It went swimmingly well.  I also bid on a pattern and won.  YaY Me! So my first week went well. I will attempt to post a Badge to MY Listia page ** H E R E ** and also on my blog sidebar for easy access.  One gal I spoke to via email, said she does really well and she has already purchased most of her Christmas gifts and got a few luxury items for herself. The best part is the de-cluttering of her closets, etc.  I'm not sure if she charges s/h. The website itself is 100% free. It could be a pretty cool way to clean up a bit!

I had the best Mom Surprise this week. My son in NY is visiting me this weekend! His company flew him out on Monday to work in the LA office. He's staying in a nice hotel in Venice Beach right on the sand. He checked out last night and came home for the weekend. He's able to work out of the local office today and he'll head back up to LA on Monday morning for two more days. I am so lucky that he's able to come home as often as he does. There is a chance that they will send him back out early December too! He already has his planned vacation a few weeks around Christmas. This is one happy Mama :-)  

In case I'm unable to post before Thanksgiving, I hope everyone has a very thankful Thanksgiving and has a wonderful time breaking bread with loved ones.

Until Next Time,