Be Nilla

I made homemade vanilla a while back and just now I was scrolling through my iphoto and saw the picture I took of it. For a moment the world paused as I gazed upon this image. Then I realized that I had to stop what I was doing and tell you about my vanilla. It is incredible. It's basically brandy and three vanilla beans. I let it soak for about 4 weeks before using it, and had to use the store-bought stuff as a stand in. Once I switched... man! There's a huge difference. My baked goods (and granola) now taste like I know what I'm doing. Yum yum!

Books I Want (to read or own)

About 2 years ago I read the book Serve God, Save the Planet and was motivated to make some big changes here in the Raz household. Matthew Sleeth was a successful doctor who gave up his career to save the planet. In the process, he and his family became Christians because he brought home a Gideon bible from work one day (after reading text from all major world religions, the Bible was the last thing they read). How about that? Well, the Sleeth family is at it again and this time Nancy has put out a practical book about exactly how their family went green and her book is pictured above: Go Green, Save Green.




Yes, I know. Some of you hate her, some of you love her, and quite possibly there are some people on the planet who have been hiding in a cave and don't know her name (yet). My husband was recently sent a subscription to Martha Stewart Living - insert laugh here. I'm guessing it has something to do with his profession or it was a crazy marketing scheme to send out free subscriptions in hope that they would be renewed. Well I have to admit that though I thought I cared nothing for this publication, it's actually pretty good. And 'ole Martha has done it again (or her staff, anyway) and produced this encyclopedia of sewing book that I am coveting at the moment. At some point, when my life slows down (will this ever happen...) I am going to get this book and read it!

Totally unrelated:
- Have any of you tried making a sesame crunch? Every health food store I've ever been in has a really expensive version of it and I was looking for a good recipe. I've googled it, but mostly got the candy/brittle recipe. I'm looking for something "healthier" but, you know, still sweet. Does it exist?
- I'm loving my Lands End Canvas shorts I got recently! Actually, I bought them and had to send them back for a smaller size. Fabulous! They stretch out as you wear them, but are ridiculously soft and quite comfortable. I love the length since I now have two kiddos and don't want to show off my panties when I bend over to get them off the swing. However, I did get some new panties at the Gap (on sale) a few months back that are quite pretty.

We interrupt the regular program...

I have been taking forever to get several things posted (Ellie's big 3rd birthday, for one) because of computer/technical issues. Apparently I have too many pictures on our laptop and have had to find the time to clean off the computer before I can put more stuff on it! Oh the woes of the technical era! I think I should write a poem about it, or maybe a sonnet. Or maybe not. Or maybe I should put a desktop on the list of things we need to buy. It'll have to be under a car seat, however, because we're about to have to move Julia into Ellie's and get Ellie a big one. Ah. Anyway, there will be more stuff soon!

Lemon Outfits

I've had this fabric for a while now with the intention of making my two girls and my niece some matching outfits. It took me a while, but I finally decided on what outfits to make and I put them together while visiting family a month ago. The patterns were all one's that I had used often and was very familiar with, but for whatever reason, I had serger issues and wanted to throw these puppies out the window several times. However, they turned out really cute!

Elephant Tops

I was going to make this top for Ellie for Valentine's Day, but since we were so busy getting things ready for ski trip (and I was making a backpack) I didn't get to it. Woopsie! Dan was on a 30 hour shift Saturday and I just sat down and finished these after putting my girls to bed. They turned out really cute... guess I'll just hang on to them until Easter.

Backpack

After carrying around my current diaper bag for the past 6 months, I have thought to myself "this thing is too big." And not only is it too big, but it's insides are also not very well planned. I made the pockets too deep and narrow and one giant pocket that is just too big. Back to the drawing board! I'd been eying those vera bradley backpacks and decided to make something similar. I actually followed a few pre-teens around the mall one day because they had on mini vera backpacks. I took some mental notes and started drafting (and re drafting) the pattern in my head. When I was ready to put it on paper, I made a few measurements down and across my back and got started. I played around with things on paper and after a few days I just decided to go for it.

I've carried it around for about two weeks now and I love carrying a backpack! Here's what I think about this particular bag:

What I like:
- The size is great, not too big and not too small.
- The interior pockets (which you can't see...) are a great size
- I made the shoulder straps out of belt fabric covered in the backpack fabric and they are nice and sturdy. Need to reinforce them in the seam, though.
- I love the fabric! It goes with everything.
- Love the quilting that I did, the lines are very fluid and don't follow a pattern.
- The handle at the top is quite useful and how I transport the bag when not wearing it.

What I don't like:
- Too flimsy. I quilted the fabric and should have used a thick interfacing so it wouldn't be so floppy.
- I used the incorrect zipper and it shows. Should have used a smaller (easier to sew) zipper on the front and side pockets.
- The side pockets aren't near deep enough. I didn't allow for enough room when assembling the bag... oh well.
- The back open pockets are pretty but not very useful. I didn't want the back to be bumpy against my back so I made these pockets to be flat, but I just don't think they will amount to much.

Overall I will most definitely make another backpack again, probably soon. Maybe this time I'll just find some already quilted fabric so I can omit that rather laborious step.

Purple House Dress - Update!

So I finished Ellie's purple house dress the day or so after I posted about it back in January... I guess that's been 2 months ago. Geez, I'm behind on posting! I just cut out a new bodice and sewed it together and voila! Done! She loves it and has worn it several times. I went ahead and made a matching pair of pants, because, why not? And then I went ahead and made an "E" shirt since I had an extra shirt laying around. Now she has two things to wear with the pants.