Whaaa??

Today's weather was a bit OOC, no? I couldn't believe it was so dark out that the street lights came on at 11am! Oh thunderstorms, ruining our plans for the day. No velodrome, no trails... at least we rode to the gym. I really wanted to go swimming too ;(

After feeling a bit down about my botched Frock by Friday sew-along effort, I decided to make a much easier frock from Presser Foot and it turned out super cute. I absolutely LOVE it!!

Based on this tutorial.
I got so many compliments at a friend's party that I was practically shouting from the rooftop "I MADE IT MYSELF!!!" Clearly it went to my head and I was feeling a little too confident... so much that I decided "hey, let me try another dress!" and it turned out horrible. Granted it was a completely different style, more of a shirt & skirt combo. I didn't even take a photo it was soo bad. Once I finished the hem I tried it on, took it off and cut it in half. I'm a fan of the top but the skirt was absolutely horrible. I looked like a kid with an inappropriately large behind. I'm not sure what to do with it now, it's wayy too short to wear as a shirt but I love the detail in and around the collar:

Inspired by Lex.
I am seriously addicted to sewing now and I want to sew ANYTHING & EVERYTHING humanly possible, even the things I know I'll kill myself trying to make!

Double Ugh

Andrew's been training for the track and it's so exciting/addicting! I keep reminding myself baby steps, Jaimielee, maybe next year... His new road bike isn't helping! It has to be one of the most beautiful frames I've ever seen. If only I had the money…

I'm totallyyyy jealous.
I need to focus on getting passed 22mph & going further than 22miles in a single ride. Then riding fixed. Baby steps, Jaimielee. Baby steps.

Also... I'm not participating in the sew-along anymore. I'm not a pattern maker and the edits I tried doing left me pretty stressed. How complicated is adding an a-line skirt and peter pan collar? Not hard at all, but for a n00b, VERY MUCH SO. Plus, buttons and plackets? Pfft. Then I came home to find the dogs had broken out of their gated area and Muscles had eaten my potted moss (which was covered in aphids/whiteflies - GROSS), my organic fertilizer, as well as my dress pattern. If that's not a sign, I dunno what is...

It's been a minute...

Whoops. I keep losing track of time and things and projects and so on... I still have a mini quilt to make which I am NOT happy about or even remotely interested in making. So to further procrastinate on that project, I'm joining a sew-along!

It's hosted by Grosgrain's Kathleen: A Frock By Friday.
It's not 100% my style, so I'm changing the skirt to be a fuller, a-line skirt. I really hope it goes well because this will be my very 1st garment, e-v-e-r. I've only made little projects up to this point, pillows, totes, phone cases, wallets, zipper pouches, etc... But I'm really excited to try! I went crazy and bought a bunch of fabric from Vogue on Roosevelt but I don't think any of it will work for this dress. I'm thinking of making it out of a bed sheet for now and if it goes well, making another one out of awesome fabric.

In other equally exciting news, we're getting the apartment painted Wednesday! The previous tenant literally moved out 5 minutes before we moved in which really bothered me because the place was never cleaned or painted and we never even had a walk through. No major issues to deal with though (luckily), she just nicked the crap out of all the walls. Yay for painting!

All done!

Well, not quite, but at least the move is over. I cannot even express the happiness Andrew and I felt Saturday night. We had two movers from U-Haul plus a freight truck! It was literally insane. Packing/moving left us making horrible food decisions and we were really feeling it by the time Monday rolled around, not to mention the sore arms, knees, calves, and feet.

A sight that will never be seen again! Not in the new apartmenet, not everrr!
After finishing up the kitchen yesterday, I finally made our 1st home cooked meal in the new place. I made Shakshuka and it was divine. I was so tempted to make pitas as well but I didn't have half the ingredients or time, so pita chips took their place. I was so nervous I'd crack the yolks, I took 2 minutes to add 6 eggs...

Very satisfying meal.
I'd never heard of Shakshuka before but this is definitely going to be a staple in this kitchen. Jalapenos, onions, feta, tomatoes, eggs? What more could anyone ever ask for in a meal? Super cheap and quick to make, spicy and hearty but healthy... I wish I was eating another bowl right now, but I have to stop blabbering about it already. Tonight's class is going to be part lesson, part lab and I'm so behind! I need to get to work so I can finally catch up. I'll be posting photos of the apartment as soon as we've gotten more unpacking done. So excited :)