8 Weeks
Showing posts with label 8 Weeks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 8 Weeks. Show all posts

8 Weeks to a Better Me: Week 8

Final week of 8 Weeks to a Better Me! I've really enjoyed completing these small, targeted goals and I'm excited that I've accomplished a lot of things that have been on my "to-do" list for awhile!
Last week's goals:

1. Go through my fabric and weed out any pieces that don't fit what I consider to be my "personal style". Accomplished, however, to be honest, I couldn't part with too many pieces.

2. Plan my sewing projects for the rest of the summer and fall based on what holes I have in my wardrobe. Planned for the summer, still working on the fall. Might be loosely based on this lookbook from Kate Spade that was just featured on the Sew Weekly.


3. Weed out bags and accessories that don't match the rest of my wardrobe. Didn't happen but hopefully will this weekend...


This week focuses on "Unleashing Your Creativity", such a fitting way to end this challenge!
My goals are to:

1. Take a Hipstamatic pic of something that inspires me every day this week.

2. Use the example of the "Make This Look" section of Sew Weekly to plan out some of the inspiration pieces I've tagged on Pintrest.

3. Visit a museum or other site that inspires me and take pictures.

In other news, the lovely Dibs of Dibs and the Machine sent me a copy of the June 2011 Burda! I've never used the magazine before and had been thinking about subscribing, but I wanted to see one first. After studying it thoroughly over the weekend, I've decided I'm definitely going to buy a subscription for my birthday. There are so many things I want to make! Thanks again to my girl Dibs!

(PS, I know I'm a huge dork but I had to show everyone the mailing envelope with the cool "Royal Mail" postage! I'm such an anglophile! How have I not visited London yet?)


Unfortunately there won't be much sewing going on for the next few days as the boyfriend is leaving on a month long, 4 continent spanning trip on Saturday and I'm trying to steal his attention as much as I can between now and then. However, I'm hoping that once he's gone, instead of moping and pining away, I'll channel my energy into my sewing machine and get tons of projects finished!

Happy Tuesday Shoesday!
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It's Friday!

So happy it's Friday! This week has been nuts at work! You can always tell how tough my week has been by the number of Dr. Pepper cans on my desk!


So a few thoughts for Friday...

1. I'm working on my 8 Weeks to a Better Me goal of planning the rest of my summer sewing. I would love to have had some organized, cute theme like the Colette Spring Palette challenge but instead I basically pulled a bunch of the summery looking fabrics out of my stash and planned around them. Hopefully I'll end up doing more sewing than this, but it's a start. Plus I made an impulse/early birthday purchase of the Sewaholic Lonsdale Dress pattern (pre-order for free shipping until Monday!) this morning, so that will go on the list too but I haven't picked a fabric for it yet. I am working on planning my fall sewing based more around holes in my wardrobe and some sort of color story, we'll see how it goes...

Here are the fabrics I'm planning on using for the rest of my summer sewing:



Top left is a sheet I picked up from Goodwill, probably going to use a vintage pattern I have to make a sleeveless wrap dress with a ruffle neckline. Middle left will be a pair of short shorts. I've never tackled shorts or pants before so this should be interesting. No plans for bottom left yet but it's such a fun summery pattern I have to use it!


Also, I'm going to try to tackle a few knits this summer. I've made two dresses with knit before but I didn't know what I was doing so I'm going to use tips from Gertie's blog and make the Kimono sleeve top from Burda with the top right, vintage polka dot knit. The middle right is another vintage knit I picked up a garage sale in high school, way before I knew how to sew. I was really drawn to the goldfish and the fun teal color. I really want to make a dress but I only have a little over a yard, so it might be a stretch! (get it!) Lastly, the bottom left is a thin, dark denim for a pencil skirt. Yet another case of only having a yard of fabric. Any suggestions for a good pencil skirt pattern that only uses a yard? I can always use a different fabric for the facings if I'm cutting it close...


2. Love the Sew Weekly Challenge this week! Forcing me to finish a dress that I've put off for over a year and all it really needs is a hem!

3. I've noticed the last few days that I've been putting on my "me made" clothes without thinking of them "me made". This may sound weird but until recently, I've been conscious of the fact that I'm choosing to wear something I made versus something I bought. However, the last few days I've just thought "I want to wear that dress", not "I want to wear that dress I made". I think it's because my handmade clothes are finally just becoming part of my regular wardrobe, not my "handmade" wardrobe. Has this happened to anyone else or am I just crazy?

4. Welcome to North America Princess Kate. Your arrival and choice of outfit was fabulous as always!


5. The new Matchbook Magazine is out this week. If you haven't checked it out yet, you must! I just wish they made a print version, I would subscribe in a heartbeat!


6. Not much sewing will be happening this weekend due to celebrating family birthdays and a MUCH needed trip to the river! I intend to sit on a deck chair and read trashy novels for hours! (and swim a little too...) Also, the boy and I are celebrating 5 years together on Monday. Here's to 50 more!

Have a great weekend everyone!
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8 Weeks to a Better Me: Week 7


2 more weeks! I feel like I'm really get stuff accomplished through this challenge!

Last weeks goals:

1. Clean out and organize cabinet in bathroom. Working on it right now, stopped to post!

2.Weed through my books. Done!

3. Buy flowers for my house. Bought a rose plant so that I'll have flowers for more than just the week!

Week 7 is Personal Style. The guest blogger on Sometimes Sweet was Elsie from A Beautiful Mess, a blog I ADORE! Since I'm a sewing blogger, the "personal style" goals are going to relate more to sewing than anything else.

1. Go through my fabric and weed out any pieces that don't fit what I consider to be my "personal style". Just because it was cheap and cute doesn't mean it will work for me and my wardrobe!

2. Plan my sewing projects for the rest of the summer and fall based on what holes I have in my wardrobe.

3. Weed out bags and accessories that don't match the rest of my wardrobe. I go through my clothes and shoes fairly often but I never go through bags and accessories. I'm sure there's a ton of random stuff in there!

On to the dress for the wedding...

I finished it in time and I have to say I love this pattern! (Opera Dress from Chic & Simple Sewing) It went together quickly and easily and it looks great on the inside too because I finished everything with french seams! (So glad I finally mastered that technique!) Love that it doesn't have a zipper, even though I have to do some interesting yoga poses to get in it. Didn't intend for it to be so boob-a-licous but I don't think it's too hoochy... Of course I didn't manage to get any pictures at the wedding, so I had to recreate back home...


Also, because I pretty much only knew the groom and groomsmen at the wedding, I had a lot of time to bum around Houston by myself while they were doing wedding things this weekend. I never shopped for fabric at Goodwill before but I ended up scoring some great fabric. The two pieces on the left are top sheets, the piece in the middle is cotton lawn and the grey piece on the right is a sweater knit. I've never sewn with this kind of knit before, or even really seen it for sale in stores so I'm a little nervous but it has cardigan written all over it...


Happy Tuesday Shoesday!
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8 Week's to a Better Me: Week 6 (plus a lot of other stuff...)

Week 5 down! Here's how I did...

1) Send an "I'm thinking of you" text everyday. Most days...

2) Go on a fun, crazy date! Last night was Bingo night! The boy actually remembered the crazy date goal and had to remind me! PS Bingo is the new weekly obsession...


3) Take a cute picture! Accomplished at a Missions baseball game last Friday!

Week 6 is Home Sweet Home! The idea is to make your home more functional and make you happy when you walk in the door. What a lovely idea! I'm not going to have much time this week as I'll be out of town this weekend for a wedding, but I'll try to get some serious stuff done!

1. Clean out and organize cabinet in bathroom. I have a black hole of a cabinet that is full of medicine, travel size shampoos, curling irons etc. It's an awkward shape and has never been organized since I moved in so I'm planning to get that taken care of!

2.Weed through my books. My mom's a librarian and I have inherited the trait of collection books but they're now overflowing from my 3 bookcases. I need to weed out so I can buy more!

3. Buy flowers for my house. Peonies are my favorite and they're in season. Plus they make me happy when I come home!


Now, on to the Sew Weekly Challenge! My first challenge and my first true vintage pattern! I used McCalls 7827 (which I got at an estate sale and did not pay as much as that link!) and a satin backed crepe from JoAnns. I LOVE this pattern. I am having some problems with straps, they're a little far apart for my frame but that's what I get for not making a muslin...
Love the low back!


Close up of the bow detail on the back. Wasn't sure I was going to keep these on beyond the photo shoot but they so nicely cover the waistline and top of the zipper, which I don't usually think look that great on my garments, so they're probably going to stay. Wish I had been at Ascot myself!

Finally, I need your help! I'm hoping to get a dress finished for a wedding this weekend. I don't know much about the wedding, other than the fact that it's not super casual. I was thinking about making this dress from Chic and Simple Sewing with this red satin fabric. I'm thinking this pattern will go together pretty easily, especially because it doesn't have closures and my time to work on the dress is limited. Does this look appropriate? Can't decide if red is too much for a wedding...
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8 Weeks to a Better Me: Week 5

Week 5! Loved "loving myself" week! It really ended up mostly taking place in one night, but it was a glorious night of eating, bathing and "soaking in" (pun intended) a beautiful museum!

1) Take 2 bubble baths. Just made one but when you add Norah Jones and Vanity Fair, it's perfect!

2) Go to a museum. Visited the McNay Museum, which is an incredible museum in the home of a great San Antonio modern art lover, Marion Koogler McNay. It houses several Picasso's, Rivera's, O'Keefe's, Monet's, Renoir's, etc. And the house is GORGEOUS! Visit if you're in SA!

McNay Sculpture Garden

3) Cook myself a real meal. I made roasted chicken with potatoes and onions, green beans and bread and strawberry balsamic crumbles with vanilla ice cream!

Week 5 is about Loving Life and Having Fun! I'm definitely liking these weeks more than the work out and eat healthy weeks... I think I want to use this week to focus on my relationship and enjoy having the boy in the same town as me!

1) Send an "I'm thinking of you" text everyday. I used to send him a cheesy knock knock joke almost everyday but I've let it drop off, so whether it's a joke or just an "I miss you", he's getting one everyday!

2) Go on a fun, crazy date! Pretty self explanatory...

3) Take a cute picture! We used to take pictures all the time but I'm not sure why we stopped... I want an updated pic!



Happy Tuesday Shoesday!
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8 Weeks to a Better Me: Week 4




Half way through the challenge and I think I've had an "Aha" moment. I'm realizing that setting these mini goals every week works better if they're one time goals I can cross off my list, rather than attempts to build habits. Even if I keep up with say, doing yoga 3 times in the fitness week, by the next week I'm concerned about the new set of goals and I ignore the habit I tried to start the week before. I think it's more impactful to do one action that supports the weeks theme.

With that in mind, last weeks results (all pretty bad):

1) Drink only one Dr. Pepper a day and drink a full bottle of water. Mission NOT accomplished. In part because I was traveling and exhausted last week so I needed more caffeine and in part because I just didn't think about it... Guess I'm not ready to break the habit...

2) Eat three to four servings of fruit and veggies per day. I'm pretty sure I did this most days but I didn't pay attention to it like I planned to. I think this week was too distracting to complete any of these goals adequately...

3) Finish reading Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel. Mostly finished...


Week 4:

This weeks goal is "Loving Yourself" and Sometimes Sweet focused on body image issues. I have to say (hopefully without sounding too obnoxious) that I was lucky to grow up without too many body issues. It's not that I have a perfect figure, in fact I was probably overweight in junior high and high school but somehow it's never bothered me too much for some reason. Probably because my mom always told me that my teens and twenties were probably the best I was ever going to look so I should enjoy them. So for this week's theme of "Loving Yourself" I'm going to work on taking time for myself to do indulgent things that I don't normally allow myself...

1) Take 2 bubble baths. I love them but I usually feel like I should be doing something more productive...

2) Go to a museum. I LOVE the art museums in town and I used to go to the free community nights a few times a month but I haven't been in forever!

3) Cook myself a real meal. I also LOVE to cook but since I started living by myself in an apartment with a tiny kitchen and no dishwasher I usually don't do any large scale cooking. I need to take the time to make a good, full dinner (with dessert) and really enjoy the cooking process.

Celebrating Tuesday Shoesday with my blue suede shoes!
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8 Weeks to a Better Me: Week 3


So, on to Week 3...



But first, last weeks goals:

1) Take a ballet class. Didn't happen. The studio I have a Groupon for only offers adult ballet once a week and I couldn't make it last week. Hopefully this week, but, if not, my Groupon expires at the end of June so I'll have to hurry!

2) Take at least one yoga class at my studio. Made it! I went to class with my favorite 93 year old yoga teacher! She is the best marketing tool my studio has. Over 50 years of taking yoga and she's still going!

3)Do yoga at home 3 times this week. 4 times actually. Gloating just a little...

Also, my studio is starting to offer hoop dance and this video is seriously making me want to go...




Week 3 is about healthy eating. I consider myself to be a pretty healthy eater, in that I really like to eat fruits and veggies and I cook most nights, but I'm sure in the grand scheme of things I'm rubbish, so here are this weeks goals...

1) Drink only one Dr. Pepper a day and drink a full bottle of water. Instead of an addiction to crack, I have an addiction to Dr. Pepper. And it's probably just as bad for me (and maybe as expensive). I usually have 2 cans a day and although I'm not ready to give it up altogether I do recognize that I need to cool it a bit and drink more water.

2) Eat three to four servings of fruit and veggies per day. I may already be doing this most days but the problem is that I'm not sure and I need to work harder at being mindful or eating healthy things.

3) Finish reading Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel. I'm not trying to lose weight right now but I think her approach to being mindful and balancing what you eat is a good one and something I need to put into practice daily...

This was officially my only full day of work this week! Half day tomorrow and then off the rest of the week for a family graduation! Hooray for days off!


Happy Tuesday Shoesday!
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8 Weeks To A Better Me: Week 2

Obviously I am not capable of getting this post up on Sunday or Monday so maybe, for the purposes of this challenge, my week starts on Tuesday...







As far as last week goals go:

1. Find a design I like for my blog. Done! I like this one a lot for now, but you never know, I could hate it in a week!




2. Create a banner. Done! Love it!




3. Practice taking pictures. Sorta. I took a ton of pictures with my Iphone and various photo apps and I feel like I'm taking good pictures on those, but I still need to work on photos with my camera for outfit posts...






Week 2 is about fitness and health and the guest blogger on Sometimes Sweet was Amber from I Love You To The Moon, a blog which I've recently discovered and absolutely adore! (And Amber's a fellow Texan which makes me love her more ;)

My three goals this week are to:

1) Take a ballet class. I took ballet for 8 years as a kid and loved it but I haven't done it since I was 14. I have a Groupon for dance lessons but I haven't used it yet so I'm hoping to start this week.

2) Take at least one yoga class at my studio. I LOVE my studio but I never seem to make it over there, so I'll try to at least once this week.

3)Do yoga at home 3 times this week. Yoga is my workout of choice and I try to do at least 20 minutes everyday but I'm not always consistent. It really calms me down and makes me feel stretched out and great so I really need to work on doing it more often and, as my yoga teacher would say, with "intention"...

Also, I know I haven't sewn in FOREVER, but I did make a necklace last night with beads I picked up at Michael's the other day, so that counts as crafty right?









Happy Shoesday Tuesday!
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