alicia & atticus: another weekend...gone!

i had a full day today. i'd say busy, but it wasn't busy per say. just full. went and got my brakes done this morning. *sigh* i also got a full tutorial on front and back brakes and tires. it was interesting. needless (?) to say, i also got new tires. i needed them. *bigger sigh* however, i do have to say going to goodyear was overall a pleasant experience, unlike going to the honda dealership. i got ULTRA FABULOUS tires (should have taken a picture of them before they got dirty!), and because i did everything at once, i saved 50% on my tire/labor costs. in other words, several hundred dollars. i still spent what i consider way too much money, but if it keeps josie going for another 65,000 miles, then so be it. (josie is my car by the way). i really wanted to take pictures of josie while she was hoisted up with no tires or brakes, but i didn't want to seem THAT weird. i felt dumb enough asking warren (my official goodyear pal) to re-explain how brakes worked yet again, and playing "whats that part?" etc. however, warren gets high marks and was very patient with me.

goodyear estimated it would take 2.5-3 hours to finish all the work. so, i had lunch with my friend/coworker katie. came back about 1.5 hours later anticipating very little time in the waiting room. as katie said: "mmm...rubber". yes, it smelled like tires in there. well, 4.5 hours later, i finally was paying for everything. yes, 4.5 hours. 270 minutes. luckily, i have an awesome phone which i played with for most of that time, but still. i was there for most of my day. ridiculous.

i had planned to do a bunch of shopping today, but after goodyear i wasn't in the mood. i HAD to go to safeway (seeing as i am completely out of any sort of work food), which i should never do when i'm in a mood and/or i'm not hungry. i bought almost all junk food and handy food. and somehow i neglected to buy fruits & veggies (except sweet potatoes for atticus). oh well. at least i dont have to worry about lunches for a couple of weeks.

after that i headed home. i had cut out fabrics for 3 separate projects last night and i had wanted to finish them today. i wasn't in the mood for some serious sewing so i did some fun things instead...

(here is a sneak peak at my fun)...

one of my very favorite blogs is MADE. she is so stinking creative, and takes absolutely marvelous pictures. everything is so bright and cheery. there are a lot of kid-based things she makes, so those things i just admire or bookmark when i see something for the nieces/nephews, but other times she has things that I can make. which is exciting....

SPLIT PEA SHAMROCKS! neat, huh?!?!

although i did have to buy the split peas, i actually had vinyl on hand (i'm falling in love with joann's remnant fabric clearance section....thats where i buy my random things i would never buy otherwise, like vinyl)

but i finally got to use this tool...

my gromet-er!

i do have to say, using it was a big disappointment. my grandmother's gromet-er is a lot easier to use, and that is like a piece of metal and a hammer. but still, i was able to practice using it...

(i gave up taking decently lit or backgrounded pictures. its dark outside and my apartment is really dark. maybe i should use better lightbulbs)

the finished project!! brightening up my entry into the bathroom. :)

heres a cooler view. plus you can't see that i stuffed all the shamrocks differently...

i laid on the floor to take the above picture, and within 5 seconds, a certain dog laid down beside me. he makes me laugh.

stoically accepting belly rubs.

here he was ignoring me completely. i'm standing over him, trying to get him to look at the camera. he knew. never has his concentration NOT to look at me been so fierce.

anyways, second project!! another one of my very favorite blogs to read is mairuru. everything she makes and sells is hand-sewn. its amazing. and she's always coming up with new and creative things. project 2 is her origami drawstring bag.
it was actually very easy and fun to make.

there's one big inside pocket..

and 2 outside pockets.

(i just have to point out here how well the fabrics match....at least colorwise. i'm so proud of that fact. especially because they're not the same designer and i got them at 2 separate places - the outside bird fabric was a fat quarter from pacific fabrics in east bremerton, and the inside fabric was part of my fabrics.com clearance fabric i got the other week. woohoo!)

heres another view. i think its cute! the yellow ribbon was from grandma blessing's days.