say what?

 i know! a post. amazing right. i mean its been a couple years but who’s counting. in an effort to find creative outlets being at home, ive somehow decided to hop back into this space i use to devote so much of my time to. lets face it, i love to write…used to be an avid journal keeper…and maybe just maybe i have an audience out there. who knows, lets give it a try.

 so this is life lately. 4 kids: Ruby just turned 9, Declan 7, Mikey is nearly 5, and Frances is on the verge of 3….going on 16. Ruby just had her first communion, Declan is one day away from losing his two front teeth, Mikey is getting pumped to be joining the STA community next fall, and Franny is dancing and talking up a storm…running the household over here really.

 we recently had a wonderful trip to the beach for spring break and spent some time with my sister which was great! the beach is truly a soul soother. we all need it once in a while. the boys had to hold back from gathering all the crabs they found at this awesome little beach in laguna. they are at a stage of constant bug finding, and wanting to keep every little creature in a cup. i suppose will be sad when they are older and this stage has passed.

 other than that? summer is almost here. well its pretty much here in phoenix, just waiting for school to get out. and for a pool to magically appear in my back yard. if you wish it, it will come right? we’ve been pondering for a while whether or not to move east; the pondering continues…but im just not sure im ready to leave downtown and all that i love about living down here. terrifying really.

 so im thinking about what i have to offer you. what would you like to see here? im thinking some recipes, good reads, local shops i love, dinner ideas, az day trips, deep thoughts from frances, and some musings here and there. perhaps the occasional craft or sewing project. let me know what youre up to and want to hear about! ive been eyeing making this dress for a while. i’ll let you know how it turns out when i get to it!

good to be back folks! hope you still read blogs. hahahaha!

jeanne and the moon.

and speaking of sewing...

i found this lady's sewing projects incredibly inspirational.

unfortunately its all in french, no tutorials, and the books 

are on french amazon, but it is tempting to order one...

i think i still know enough french, with pattern perhaps?

sew lately.

up to any fun sewing projects lately? 

this spring throw was relatively easy...

a few smoothing out difficulties but still happy.

and ps. if you live in phx, sas is full of beautiful thick velvet

ribbon trims perfect for this project. 

 i also picked up some skirt making materials

for post baby wear in a fun stripe and floral. 

for some fun skirt tutorials see here and here.

and then i also realized the blanket was 

also a pretty trusty backdrop for photos.

splash of color.

for some reason, adding a few new pillows to the couch or the 

bed is always a bit of cheer; a quick sewing fix. 

my all white bed was feeling rather boring so

i threw a couple together the other morning. 

ruby joined in the photos by adding cinderella

and then herself...she was quite proud.

peach + polka dots.

so i bought this dress forever ago

at a thrift shop in a very large size, to refashion.

lets just say it took me a rather long time to get to it. 

in need of easter clothes, i pulled it out 

and made it much much smaller for miss ruby.

we shall see how it all turns out. 

finished product pics soon!

maternity clothes.

while wondering if i could possibly find 

any chic maternity patterns out there, 

i actually came across this website with quite 

a few cute ones. hooray!

and was further inspired by some happy fabrics 

over at pink chalk. 

just love grey and yellow. 

any good pointers for maternity patterns out there?

capes for christmas.

ive been meaning to post this for a bit

as i've been thinking seriously about making

one of these and i thought sara (ahem...therese)

might enjoy a circle skirt spiced up for the 

holidays. looks pretty easy right?

find the tutorial here

super heroes.

 some pretty fancy stuff going on here. 

let me tell you.

ruby was overlooking my martha stewart 

magazine and spotted these super heroes

for halloween, which led to some spontaneous

capes, and many a damsel in distress being 

rescued by some very cute little heroes.

 some intense consulting going on here.

so behind.

 so ive been a pretty horrible slacker when it comes 

to blogging...or more precisely being online in general.

i just usually feel like i can always find something better 

to do...dishes, picking up, sleeping, soaking up my kids, 

reoganizing, sewing, and the list goes on. 

so on that note, a little while back i really felt inspired 

to buy some patterns and make girlie dresses...

working up to maybe making myself another dress 

(we'll see shall we).

so ruby helped me to pick out the pattern and fabric

which was half of the fun. 

we ended up with this 'annie' dress

which i am just happy she likes to wear,

b/c there is nothing worse than all that work and effort

and the honesty of a 3 yr old not really liking it. 

so here a some fun pics to share of one of our downtown 

adventures recently. a trip to the market for a few things.

and a surprise pink apple. 

quelle surprise!

oh, and for some reason the water was still on.

oh yeah, it was still kind of hot.

so declan had no problem getting totally soaked.

that crazy guy.

and after.

cut off the collar and sleeves and turned it into 

a more summery fancy free dress. 

i was pretty happy with it. 

sorry for the lame blurry pic. best i can do folks.

a bit of fun really.

 so we had one of those really fabulous weekends i didnt want to end, 

and the slightly cloudy monday is topping it off just right.

we partied like we have not in a long time; 

courtesy of my parents amazing cinco de mayo party.

fun live music and no nursing baby at home let me loose on the dance floor.

 i wanted to wear something fun and bright, 

and happened upon this winner at mercantile, 

which i changed up a bit, 

so i'll share the repurposed dress with you later.

i just love the color and print so couldnt pass it up.

and we recouped a bit with a lazy mother's day.

had a few afternoon milkshakes

and i snuck off to see 'something borrowed' during naptime.

great chick flick. 

hope your weekend was so lovely and happy.

cheers to a new week!

finally finished.

so i finally finished putting the collar on this dress the other day.

now just getting the guts to wear my little homemade number. 

i am always paranoid someone is going to notice its crazy 

imperfections. oh well, its just a fun church dress anyhoo.