carrie girl

diy invitations

ted and i made our first wedding purchase yesterday--10 gocco screens and 20 bulbs for our save the dates and invitations. i'm convinced we're going to need more, but the exorbitant price of the now discontinued supplies prevented us from totally stocking up.  although as i type this i realize that they will only get more expensive, so maybe on payday i'll bite the bullet and throw down for another set of 5.  i'm really excited about designing our own invites, programs, save the dates and all the other little paper things that go into a wedding. i'm really inspired by these invitations, and along with my handy paper source swatch book and gocco experience i think we can come up with something fun. 

the trip to new york was wonderful, but it has taken me the last couple days to get back to normal. it seems like the longer i'm away from the city, the harder it is for me to keep up the pace while i'm there. we met with blanca about the rings and after a lovely chat and swooning over her gorgeous pieces, we decided to go ahead with a pair of rings.  she is in the process of making one and looking for the right diamond for the other. i'm going to be stalking the mailman for the next few weeks, that's for sure.

while in new york i also got some vintage fabric at brooklyn general and snagged a new japanese craft book at kinokuniya. also, can you see the fabulous french curve in the picture? that little lovely was sent to me by the sweet antoinette in exchange for a few plastic mushrooms--i love swaps!

simplicity 2591 in progress

i love, love, love this dress and i'm not even finished with it yet. despite the zipper experience from hell (i'll figure those things out sooner or later) the construction was trauma-free.  i still need to do the collar facing, finish the arm holes and hem the bottom, but as of now it fits like a dream. the pockets are so cute and the darts and waist line are all in the right spots (without alterations.)

i wanted to finish this for my trip to new york, but by the time i got this far it was already 10:30, and rather than rush through it and make stupid mistakes i decided to put it away until i get back on sunday.  

i am so excited to be back in brooklyn i can barely breathe! i had a hard time getting to bed last night because i was thinking about all i want to do and all the people i am going to see in the next few days. but also i'm excited to have some time to be by myself in the city, too.  when i moved to new york in 2004 i knew one person, so i spent a lot of time by myself exploring the city and wearing holes in the bottom of my chucks in the process. i grew up a lot in that first year and learned a lot about myself, too, which makes it a city that will always have a special place in my heart.

you know you're behind on posting when your mom asks why you haven't been updating your blog.  actually i haven't been doing much blog-worthy lately. i didn't finish my dress in time for ted's graduation, but i am making progress and hopefully i'll have it finished in time for our trip to new york. ted's last event as the events coordinator/fundraiser for 826nyc is this thursday, so we're flying out to be there. we're also meeting with blanca of blanca monros gomez fine jewelry to talk about a potential wedding ring design, as well as checking out various vintage ring shops. ted and i never really got into the ring talk before we were engaged, so he wanted me to be a part of picking it out--he wanted it to be something we did together, and what better place to search than the city where we met and fell in love. i do miss brooklyn, a lot, so it will be nice to spend some time there together.

to make the trip even better, reid, my very generous future brother-in-law, gave me gift certificates for christmas to my favorite restaurant, supper, the mecca of japanese craft books, kinokuniya, and the new/vintage notions store, tinsel trading, so i'll be doing some shopping and eating as well.  probably lots of shopping and eating...

thank you!

i've been so overwhelmed these past couple days by the sweet comments, emails and phone calls from friends and family.  it just makes me that much more excited to get everyone together for the wedding. i've been lucky enough to attend quite a few weddings, and have a lot of friends who have done the whole planning thing already so i'm not at a loss for resources. we found out that we get to stay in iowa city one more year, so it looks like we're planning a good old fashioned mid-western wedding! this wedding, from snippet & ink is such an inspiration and in iowa city, too!

on a sewing related note, i've cut out all 10 of the pattern pieces for this dress. ted's graduating from the writers' workshop next weekend, so i'm determined to finish it by then and hopefully wear it to the ceremony. i've only ever worn one of my handmade clothing items in public, so this is something i need to do (if not on this occasion then sometime this summer.) i'm a little intimidated by all the steps, but i'm determined not to mess this up too badly!

oh, and if you need a new band for the summer i highly recommend the harlem shakes. i can't stop listening to this song and am obsessed with the whole album. also, this song has infiltrated my brain and refuses to leave...

well...i didn't get any sewing done this weekend because right after work on friday ted whisked me away for a weekend up in door county, wisconsin.  i had no idea, and i don't do well with surprises, but this one was absolutely amazing (the first question i did ask him, though, was if he packed me any underwear...i told you, i don't do well with surprises!) after being reassured that he had taken care of everything, i was totally able to relax and have an amazing time. long (lovely and romantic) story short, he proposed and i believe my response was, "yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

we're not in a hurry to jump on the wedding planning train quite yet--we're happy to just enjoy being engaged and take it easy for the next couple months.  we're supposed to find out this week where we're going to be living next year. it seems like it is down to washington d.c. or staying here in iowa city, and honestly we are happy to go either routes.  i think where we end up will determine a lot about the wedding, but we do know we want to make it as handmade as possible, so the wedding stuff might creep in here just a bit...

now i've got to try and concentrate at work today!

*photo via the lovely the small object 

let the spring/summer sewing begin! i picked up simplicity patterns (from left to right) 2725, 2593, 2587 and 2591.  the middle two are cynthia rowley patterns that i am really excited to try out. the first one includes instruction for a twisty headband that totally reminds me of cherie's from punky brewster. i could probably wear that headband to work out at the gym i'm going to join today. when you walk in you are immediately transported back to 1984. the first thing you see is a pink and blue neon sign that says, "fitness" and in the aerobics room there is another glorious neon sign simply stating the obvious, "aerobics." all of the walls have wood paneling, and there were maybe 10 people total in the entire gym when i toured it yesterday. what i have just described is the perfect gym for me. i am totally uncomfortable with the gym scene anyway, let alone the giant chains that have juice bars, tanning beds, tons of toned people and super high tech equipment. i prefer to work out among the regular people, or no people at all and if there is an 80's theme involved, well,  you can count me in.

this is the fabric i've picked out for some of the spring/summer sewing. the bottom three are from joann on super clearance, and the top three are thrifting finds. there's plenty of seersucker, stripes and plaids to go around this season!

weekend update

this weekend was sunny and amazing. i got to hang out with some good friends, see some family and even get my shop update finished. let's hope this week is just as lovely.

nine and a half hours of sleep

the weather around here has been rainy and chilly, so it goes perfect with my week of coming home from work and doing nothing but watching tv! for example,  last night i got home and watched my tivo-ed jeopardy, an episode of law and order, ate dinner and then went to bed at nine. it was lovely. it seems like taking a mini break was just what i needed to get back into the swing of things. i feel motivated and ready to get back on the sewing train this weekend. this morning i ordered some fabric swatches, and when i get home i'm going to work on a summer top i cut out last week. there is also a possible wholesale order of my fabric covered button rings in the works, which was something that came out of my less than successful craft fair last weekend.  there is always a silver lining.