Tax time: how to blow my money

Yea! we are getting money back and now comes the fun part. Well actually here comes the dilemma do I do the adult and responsible thing and pay off some bills so that in the long run I will have more money to spend. Or do I do the thing we do every year and spend it frivolously?

Responsible me would do the following:

Pay a portion of Leila's outstanding medical bills
Pay off my smaller credit cards so we have those for emergency only
Pay off the furniture we bought this summer

Frivolous me:

Some sort of steam press
Contract out a website from Arianne
Spend a large chunk at reprodepotfabrics

While frivolous me will justify the purchases to responsible me by stating that these purchases are to help my business.

Stay tuned to see which voice wins in my head...

My second home

I am a bad mother, well not a bad mother just an opportunist I suppose. Leila is 8 months old and about 4 months ago after listening to my husband complain for the last time about my sewing taking over the whole house I decided to take the room that was to designated to Leila (she has always slept in our room even before this) that it would be my sewing room until she is old enough to justify having an entire room to herself. That isnt horrible right? She wont remember a baby room I tell myself and besides I know she wont mind when she gets older because I have vowed to make sure she has a studio/bedroom of her own as she grows.

Though I am now in big trouble since a bigger area for sewing means more stuff *smile* my stash has a mind of its own now and vintage fabric has taken over what once was Leila's room and is now designated as my "craft room"

To make sure I remember who's room this is really for I keep all of Leila's pandas in the room. Before Leila was born we decided not to find out her sex so as a nickname we called her Pan-Pan since I knew I wanted to decorate the baby's room in Pandas but didnt want to call her Panda so the nickname Pan-Pan came about and with the nickname came the abundance of stuffed pandas. They are now the protectors of the fabric until Leila is old enough to call them her own and hug the stuffing out of them.

I just dont know what I will do if we have a second child, we just may have to buy a house since we cant add onto our apartment as much as we wish we could. And I cant image going back to sewing in the living room!

What a great weekend...

Well sort of. I got a lot of sewing done that I absolutely love and Leila was in a good mood most of the weekend so that is always a plus.

I was also able to start sewing my newest line. I have started to create a home decor line it is just at its earliest stages but it is a HUGE step for me!















I am really happy with how these all turned out. I have a few more that I didnt post pictures of but they will all be listed on Etsy soon. So check back often!

Leila got a new hat from Etsy this weekend from a great store called AmigurumiKawaii

Though she doesnt look like a little devil with the hat on (it is still a little big for her) she does look awfully cute!


As to the reason this weekend was a sort of good weekend, I was given some awful news early this morning as well. One of my uncles was just diagnosed with stage 4 skin cancer. I dont know much more than that just that it doesnt look good and to really prepare for the worst. It is a hard blow in his family in general just due to all of the health problems that have recently plagued them. I am really in shock and the numb stage right now sort of at an out of body feeling right now, it is just surreal. I just hope he can be as comfortable as possible in his last few years and do those things he always thought he would do some day but never had the time in the past to do. I wish that for everyone really, live your life and live your dreams this isnt a dress rehearsal you only get one shot.

Custom orders are the best

I love doing custom orders. This last one I did was especially fun because my customer sent her own fabric. I always love to see what people will put together she did a great job and the purse gives off an awesome vintage feeling.

The truly amazing thing about this purse was it was the fastest purse I have put together. I had cut out the fabric last night while Leila was in a good mood.

This afternoon while Leila went down for her nap I started to sew it together, mind you I figured I would get half way done since Leila is famous for 15 minute cat naps. She actually took a decent nap and I was able to get it completely done in one sitting as well as get it photographed AND loaded onto Etsy. I feel so productive, I have been more productive this last week then I have in months.

I am hoping this will be a good weekend to catch up on even more sewing. When I first started sewing only 6 months ago I would never had thought I would be so in love with it and so obsessed. I cant wait to see my progress in even the next 6 months since I have grown by leaps and bounds already.


Leila is also growing in leaps and bounds she is pulling herself up and propping herself up against things and now believes I am the human jungle gym. Though the greatest thing is she has learned to give kisses however they are usually open mouth and she likes to lick our cheeks in the process. My baby girl turned 8 months yesterday my god how time has flown.

I admit I collect clutter

To my husbands dismay really I have always been a person who collects things. Though I have never been a person to just collect one certain thing.

I have an obsession with vintage/antiques and scatter them throughout the house though right now I can only afford smaller things and it basically looks like our house is a 24 hour garage sale.
I like that feeling my husband does not he is a minimalist and while I would love to say I am as well I know that in my heart I could never be one.

Because of my collecting disease eBay is my enemy (well, my best friend my husbands enemy) I am always finding something to float to my mail box to be added to my collection. To me eBay is like the best garage sale EVER. I hardly go on there for actual needed things besides cute outfits for my daughter normally it is just to collect more things that I really dont need.

I know that there could be worse things in life, and my husband was well aware of my habits well before we got married (we lived together for 5 years before we got married) but I know he still thinks that one day *poof* they will disappear.

Poor man, I dont think he will ever learn.

I miss my wedding day

Well actually the planning of it (believe it or not) . Wedding plans are in full swing all around the country ( I read somewhere that the holidays are a big time for proposals) and I have the fever again. Don't get me wrong I loved my wedding and how it turned out but it was rushed and I am counting the years for our 5, 10, 25th anniversary so that we can have a vow renewing (it will be our 25th I am sure since it silly to do it any earlier I suppose) .

I did everything for my wedding by hand or by the hand of someone else who had the skills/knowledge (ie my seamstress who took a $100 eBay find of a dress and added a corset for me to turn it into my dream dress) and I wouldnt have it any other way which is why I am so glad I posted this on my Etsy site. Since I am already married I love that I get to now be part of other women's dream weddings.

I would LOVE to be a wedding planner but I know I dont have the knowledge or the experience yet to make a mark in the market though it is something I may still look into one day to pursue.

Back to the reason of this post *smile* I met a wonderful soon-to-be bride who wanted to get a cost quote and I whipped up an arrangement for her based on our email conversations and the vibe she was going for. I whipped this up while the baby napped. Thankfully my teething baby didnt take only a 15 minute cat nap like she does so often now!

Hopefully the bride likes the arrangement and we can go forward with the order, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Till then doesnt this bouquet scream spring? Funny I can create this with 8 inches of snow out my window! Just like on my wedding day. Maybe I will create a new trend with the 5 year wedding vow renewal....

Ugli tastes great!

How can something so Ugli taste so good?
Recently at my best friends local grocerry store she showed me their newest exotic fruit. It is called Ugli
and rightfully so, this is a pretty ugly fruit and it is gooshy to boot!

Once I got it home I just kept looking at a few days wondering what I got my self into. I found their website and read about the taste and got excited about the possibility of trying this new fruit.

Once I cut it open it was a beautiful yellow. I had decided to eat it like a grapefruit with a spoon. However once I started to eat it I couldnt stop and didnt want to waste a bite so away went the spoon and out came my trusty fingers. It is an interesting flavor it is sweet but with a small spicy bite, I cant explain it very well it is nothing like I have ever tasted .

I am hooked, I need to get back to that store...

Artist block BE GONE!

Thanks to my dear, dear sweet husband I had enough time this weekend to do a whole bunch of sewing.

I made two purses today...


I have named this retro tote Doris, after Doris Day I suppose though I dont know why! I have always liked having funky magazine/library totes. I recently found my favorite one at an estate sale and thought that there must be more people in the world who need and what beautiful one of a kind magazine totes. So when I found the black and white fabric I knew EXACTLY what its purpose was! I have a feeling this one may be hard to give up!


I also created a purse that really took over itself when I started sewing it together, it didnt turn out the way I was thinking it would but I still really love the end result and this fabric is so pretty. It is weird to work with fabric that reminds me of spring and summer when I am looking outside to a neighborhood blanketed by snow.

Well this down right sucks

I have artist block...still....

Though I did work on making anti-valentine day cards for the girls at work *smile*

I am avoiding sewing, but I cant for long.


I have a few custom orders that I need to start this week.

this sucks.

Cooking is my new art

I dont know why really but sewing has lately taken the back burner. I think is has a little to do with my daughter, she is going to be 8 months and is full in the teething stage and right now there isnt really much I can do besides walk her around the apartment she doesnt want to sit or lay down just walk. Its hard to sew on the go. Though I am trying to figure out a way!

The one thing I am able to do is to cook though they have to be quick meals. It has been a few years since I actually cooked on a regular basis thanks to my husband being an excellent cook and wanting to make me dinner.

I found this great recipe for Spaghetti Squash which I have wanted to try forever and I finally made it:

Cheesy Spaghetti Squash

1 lrg spaghetti squash (you want to pick one with a hard shell)
2 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup of chopped tomatoes (I cheated and used a can of tomatoes that were seasoned with basil, oregano, and garlic to give it an even more Italian feel)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Pierce squash several times with a fork or knife to allow steam to escape. Microwave on HIGH for 10 min or just until soft, turning over after 5 min. Let stand for 5 min.

Cut squash in half, remove and discard seeds. Using a fork scrape the insides of the squash to form strands, place in bowl. Add remaining ingredients; toss lightly with a fork. Spoon into one of the squash shells; discard remaining squash shell

Microwave on High 2 min or until heated through.

Its a quick and simple meal, it has great texture and wonderful flavor even as a left over.

It is times like this when I think I could become a vegetarian again.

I've missed snow

Within the last three days we have gotten about 5 inches of snow. I have really missed snow but I didnt realize it until it was back. I love it before the plows get a hold of it and the snow turns to this brown goop.

The view out of our bedroom, it really doesnt get better then that.

Well it gets a little bit better, in my efforts to prove my wonderful husband wrong I have started cooking again. I have raved about how I make a good meatloaf, well I didnt have the recipe I usually use so I found a different recipe that turned out pretty dang good.




1 beaten egg
1 slice of whole wheat bread (or white bread if you prefer) tear into pieces
1/4 cup milk
1/2 of a medium onion finely chopped (we prefer bigger chunks so we just chopped the onion)
2oz can of mushrooms drained
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pound of ground beef
catchup to top

1. Combine all ingredients but the catchup in a large bowl ( I usually do this by hand you could use a spoon I suppose if touching raw meat isn't your thing)

2. pat mixture in a a loaf pan

3. Bake at 350 degrees. Bake the loaf for 45-50 minutes. When finished baking smoother catchup on the meatloaf place back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

This meatloaf makes a great leftover and is wonderful for meatloaf sandwiches.

One giant leap for me!

I have created a website. Thanks to a software program that at about 1 am last night I wanted to throw out the window I have my site up and loaded.

http://www.artsymomma.com

Right now I only have it up for a month just to see how it does for me if I like it I will keep up with it but let me tell you the last two days I was about ready to pull my hair out. THANK GOD for google and the way I can type just a small phrase in and get the answers that I need. Seriously what did people do before the internet and Google?

Check out the site and let me know if there are any road blocks you come up against.

I am so proud of myself one more thing I have accomplished without spending TONS O MONEY, ahhhh the spirit of a broke women wanting to make it! *smile*