a dress

I've also not been blogging because I've been working on a dress. Dan's sister Sara is getting married soon. She's not having bridesmaids so I get to pick my own dress. I decided to make one out of all that linen I bought a few weeks ago. I found a pattern for a dress I've been dying to make since I saw it in J. Crew a long time ago (like maybe 10 years ago).

Here is a similar dress (though the one I cut out of the catalog was white linen). I'll also added sleeves.

Here's the pattern I found. I didn't want the skirt as full so I used a skirt from another pattern. I also widened the band around the middle so it looks more like the J.Crew one. I also added a little more to the neck near the shoulders.

So far it's turning out well, but I forgot about sewing linings and how you should make a separate dress instead of sewing the lining with the dress. I don't know how to explain it but I did it wrong and now I'm having to take most of it apart and resew it another way. It's a hassle. Maybe I'll show you a picture when it's all the way done. Here's what it looks like so far.

taxes

Usually I look forward to doing the taxes because we always get a good chunk back. This year we got 3 different W2s for 3 different states. So I've been putting it off as long as I could. I decided to finally do them this week. (Hence part of the reason for my absence).

Sure TurboTax makes things easy, unless you had 1 measely stock sale. (There is a TurboTax for investments, but it's at least $30 more than the one I got. I actually had 2 stock sales, so I didn't feel like spending the extra dough on just that. It also wouldn't have helped me at all, now that I've finished and figured it all out.)

Besides the confusion on the type of stock sales I had, I also had the 3 different states' taxes. TurboTax only offers 1 free state tax and you have to buy the extras for $40 each! (For one state we had to pay $15 and for another we got back $48 - so another $80 on top is not really worth it.) I downloaded the wrong one on TurboTax and it wouldn't let me go back and change. So I did all the state taxes the old fashioned way. (Except I could fill them out and print them online, that was nice.) And - after I figured out the stock sale thing, I realized I'd done them wrong last year. So I did an amended return and got back another $150.

The moral of the story is - maybe I should just do my taxes without the "help" of TurboTax. But either way - I'm glad I'm done for this year. (Except I still have to make copies and sign and mail everything in. Ugh.

that's my valentine

If you want to know why I like Dan - you should read this post. I feel the same way I did last year. I'm glad he's mine.

random weekend photos

Our friends got a new puppy and brought him over to visit us! The boys loved petting him. Luke was a little nervous, but he really liked Jasper (the pup.)

Luke never keeps anything on (which is why he's naked in this picture) but he kept these goggles on long enough for me to take a picture. He's also been asking me to put scarves on his neck so he can walk around with them. Maybe he's really Italian.

Katie, Andy, and Ashley came to visit us this weekend. We went to a play (which was very funny - I was crying in a few parts), we played Rock Band a little, we made a big Indian Feast, and we made Valentine cookies. Dan and I also worked on fixing the door knob/lock on the bathroom door and we fixed the toilet (which has been broken since we moved in.) All of this made a large mess.

These were my favorite cookies. I used the recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies and the Royal Frosting recipe from the same book (which I have been dying to try since the first cookies I saw that were iced like that.) It was A LOT of work! But after practicing on 40 or so cookies, they started looking pretty good.

Luke loved playing in the boxes. I hope he doesn't dump the contents out every day to get in them.

Here's what I sacrificed/neglected to have such a lovely weekend: Cleaning off every available space I have in my house (except the piano area, which I felt obliged to clean/pick up so I could show you a picture.) While I'm being honest, some of these areas have been neglected for several months and maybe even years.

benches and boxes (yahoo!)

First of all, my lack of blogging has been due to 2 things: 1. I've been hanging out with the fam and working hard on several projects (cooking a huge Indian dinner among them), and 2. my eyes have been hurting/aching, I think due to too much looking at the computer screen? (Not sure, I'm going to have to look into it.)

Anyway - among the projects was finishing up the infamous benches and boxes! Here are the final results.

sam the ham take 2

Last night after twisting and pushing back and forth, Sam's other front tooth relented and came out. (That tooth fairie's getting good - she came again on the actual night!)

the goals for today

1. paint (the last coat) on the tops of the benches

2. wash one load of pants (which will be difficult because the paint I'm using for the benches is oil based and if I dry anything while they're drying, it makes the clothes smell like lighter fluid)

3. go to home depot and get some pulls for the boxes

4. drink only water today (no diet pepsi) I was doing so well and then Dan got his nightly refill and it's just a habit that I take a few sips. So there went that goal, right out the window.

5. take a picture of sam and his new missing tooth

6. take a shower (i just threw this one in because i haven't taken one yet and i'll be sure to cross it off my list at some point in the day)

7. read a little bit of the book i'm supposed to be finished with thursday (for book club) (finished!)

bonus. install pulls on boxes

that's me - making lobes more lovely

Thanks so much to marta of m. writes. She's doing a giveaway for me today so head on over and try to win yourself a pair of earrings!

p.s. I also added a few valentines to my shop, so go over and check them out.

oh yeah

I'm so happy that I've finished most of my unfinished quilts! This last one needs a bunch of strips sewn together and then needs to be quilted and bound. I'm so excited to start something new! (I might not be able to wait until this one is done.)

sam the ham

Sam lost his first upper front tooth the other day. The tooth fairy even came the same night! He was loving taking these pictures and being pretty silly.