"Thank You"

A big Thank You to snail mail.

A few years ago I found myself writing to my dad on some beautiful hotel stationary. Stationary... that rarely exists in hotel rooms these days. 

It spawned a tradition of writing to my dad from whatever "hotel stationary"

 (open to interpretation these days...sometimes the size of a post-it note) 

I find in my hotel rooms. 

He never responded. Months of writing, almost every weekend. 

My mother assured me he was receiving them and putting them away in a box. 

And then it was my birthday. 

In the mail I saw a card from my parents, and then one from just my dad. 

Inside was a book of stamps, and nothing else. 

It was his way of telling me to keep writing. 

I was elated. 

Hand written notes have become almost non-existent... I suppose the timeliness of emails, text messages, Facebook messages, etc make for faster communication but I still love a letter, in the mail...

So... in addition to the sad state of "hotel stationary" these days... 

I make stationary (cards), and I write in them. 

I made this as a gift. A set of 6 homemade thank you cards. 

Some plain cardstock paper and remnants of whatever I have in the pile. 

Maybe it's my wishful thinking that someday they will be used and the person writing will slow down, choose words carefully and write them with love, and in return....

 the person opening up the mail box, assuming it's filled with more flyers to throw away and bills to pay... 

will feel a little bit of the same thoughtful sentiments that were used to create them and write in them. 

Such. A. Sap.

All you need is love... and stamps. 

Pinterest fail = easy win :)

Time has it's way of sucking me in. I've been known to hide out and read an entire book in one day, even if I should be doing other things. An entire season of Downton Abbey also hooked me and there went one day,  and the next day (you can't stop after just one... hello season two). 

So it's no surprise that when I hear people talk about Pinterest and how easily they lose track of time looking at the cool things you can make, I even hesitated putting that word in my vocabulary. 

But like all good things, eventually, curiosity got this cat. 

The next thing you know I was convinced my house "needed" a wreath made of old book pages. I may have also known my mother was coming to visit and if you know her, you know that if you don't give her something to do, she'll either iron everything you own, including napkins, pajamas and always the center pleat down ALL of your pants... 

So... I tend to have projects ready for her... hoping my underpants don't end up starchy and stiff. 

A wreath of Rosettes made  out of book pages sounded like a good task.

 Fairly time consuming and yet relatively simple and easy. Well... you should also know that we both have a little attention deficit problem. So after a few hours of making these, several burnt fingers on hot glue and the fine print that read we would likely need 200 of these things... the 50 or so we did get made... got put in a box and put away. 

Bleaching something, anything, was more gratifying for her and felt more productive... 

And so the roses sat. 

And sat.

And sat. 

Until... several months (maybe a year + later) when the Pinterest bug got me, likely thanks to someones Facebook post, and a huge FAIL at the original Pinterest project...  a use for these roses was born. 

Glue a magnet on the back. (also in a box waiting for the right time)

and Voila...

food + finance = fun

I don't know about you but I always seem to have a pile of stuff set aside to let my friends go through, send to my nieces or give to the Goodwill. Sometimes I change my mind (tsk tsk) and so my procrastination pays off! 

Fast Forward....A good friend of mine gave me the cutest apron. 

So cute, it actually hangs on display in my kitchen and rarely gets worn. Silly I know, but I just love the way it looks. When I think about gifts for other people I try and think about the things I have that I really love and imagine if said recipient might want something I find useful or awesome too. Well.... who doesn't need an apron? 

(I tend to wipe my hands on my pants or whatever I'm wearing, terrible habit, so I know I need one, and apparently so did my friend.)

The other day I was having a hard time cutting some of my favorite fabric in hopes of turning it into an apron.

 (this is common... and stupid I know)

When I spied the Goodwill pile I took a closer look. It turns out an old dress shirt was already scalloped on the bottom, with cute buttons down the front and so the idea hatched. 

Cutting the shirt apart was by far the hardest part. I didn't want to have to go back and sew what I had already undone. 

 (because I don't have a sewing machine which means all sewing would have to be done by hand with a needle and thread)

Here's where being a little smarter would come in handy... I probably pondered and imagined each and every way to make this work with the least amount of work. 

Some people have said I'm so simple I'm difficult. 

It's true. 

I even tried using the sleeves as the part that you tie around your waist. But you know what that looks like? and old shirt tied around your waist :) lol

Terrible. 

Well after a lot of agonizing, and screwing up one shirt that wasn't particularly cute (white), I cut the beloved purple shirt. 

I used the collar from the white one and sewed it and the ribbon by hand and voila! 

Reincarnation? 

I think a mens shirt wouldn't mind living it's next life tied around a little ladies waist... especially when it's helping to make some food :)