All posts filed under: Furry Friends

A Travel-Inspired Gift Basket

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Black Dog Animal Rescue. I haven’t mentioned them in a while, but this little (but always growing) organization will forever hold a special place in my heart. I volunteered for them, fostered for them, and got my sweet baby boy from them when we lived in Wyoming. Now I’m just a member of their Constant Companion Club and make a gift basket once a year for their silent auction. Something is better than nothing, right? ;) Also it’s been a lot of fun coming up with basket ideas. Last year, it was right before the new Gilmore Girls came out on Netflix, so I went for a Gilmore Girls theme. This year I guess I’ve been dreaming of getting away, so I went for a travel theme. :) What’s included: Southwest Airlines Gift Card (thank you, credit card points…) ;) Lonely Planet Ultimate Travel Book (it’s a really fun book with lots of inspirational travel photos… I might have to get one for my own coffee table) Cozy socks (always necessary for the plane ride… these …

Straight Stitch Designs View Ridge Top

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I recently got a chance to test the latest pattern from Straight Stitch Designs and as per usual… surprise, surprise… it’s a wonderful pattern! :) There’s just something about Kimberly’s designs that I’m really drawn to… it’s all in the details, and the View Ridge is no exception! For my tester version, I used this plain black cotton voile from Fabric Wholesale Direct, purchased back in September at the same time as all of my fabrics for Super Girl ;) It was pretty thin, so for the main body of the tank, I cut two of everything and doubled it up – which worked wonders. I did that for everything except the ruffle, where I figured I didn’t need the extra layer of bulk.     The whole thing came together fairly quickly. And of course, no black shirt (or any shirt for that matter… or any meal) would be complete around here without a little white dog hair, thanks to that little one there on the right. See… even Finn can’t take a picture without having a chunk of …

Miss Matatabi Noodlehead Divided Basket for the Dogs!

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Okay, okay… I had one last project to complete before jumping into Halloween! You’ve probably heard me mention BDAR on here before (just a time or two…) ;) If not, they are a super great organization I volunteered for back in Wyoming. They take in dogs from shelters all across Wyoming… lots who are “high risk” of being put down including those who either don’t photograph or show well in the shelter (i.e. black dogs or those who stress out too much in the shelter environment) or are just unlucky to be in high kill shelters that fill up too fast. They are pros at adopting out these “less-adoptables”. They also brought this guy into my life, so that’s a win right there :) So anyway… a while back I found this wine while on a wine tasting adventure and thought it absolutely needed to go to BDAR :) Perfect for their annual Bark & Wine fundraising event silent auction, don’t you think!? I made something for the event 2 years ago but missed last year. …

2-Year Sewiversary + A Tour of My Sewing Space!

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“I’ve learned so much from my mistakes… I’m thinking of making a few more” -Unknown I love that quote. I feel like it describes my sewing perfectly. It’s been a full two years now of learning from my mistakes and I’m still completely hooked. Over the past year, I’ve completed more than 40 projects (see them all here) and accomplished most of my sewing goals from last year… I think. Let’s take a look at those goals, shall we?! 1. Make a structured garment of some kind. Okay so I admit I haven’t ventured too far into wovens yet. Or structured anything. I made a structured basket, does that count? My blazer had a little structure. It seems the majority of the sewing community recommends starting with wovens and venturing into knits. Needless to say I’ve definitely gone the opposite direction. BUT, to be fair, about 98% of my RTW wardrobe is knits, so I like to think that I’m just being realistic and making things I’ll actually wear. 2. Become one with zipper installation. Hmm… let’s …

Cream of Wheat: Sweet or Salty?

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Danny really doesn’t like oatmeal. He says it’s a texture thing. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine not having oatmeal in my life (I mean… come on! It’s so healthy and delicious… am I right?!). I tried buying some steel cut oats thinking maybe that would help with the texture issue. He will eat it, but he’s still not a big fan. So cream of wheat is a nice sort-of substitute for us. I know, it’s not the same, but equally delicious. As long as it’s not instant. That stuff is weird. Back in our beginning days, Danny was sweet one morning and made us some cream of wheat for breakfast. I took one bite and wasn’t sure what I had just put in my mouth. I made a face. He looked at me funny. It was salty! I’m sure I said something along the lines of “Who in their right mind puts salt in their cream of wheat!?” and/or “What did you accidentally put in this cream of wheat?!” but then I soon learned that he meant to …