Catch Up

Okay, it's been like four months since I've posted anything....I know, I know....bad blogger....slap on the hand....sigh.....I had been on a roll, posting pretty regularly, so I am on a new mission to reform, and cure myself of "Bad Blogger Syndrome."

These last few months have been pretty busy, with summer activities, and then school starting again, it has proved harder than I expected to get back into a "normal" routine. I think I'm almost there, though. Sabrina started fourth grade this year, which she really likes....so far. I'm hoping she will keep that enthusiasm up, as the months go on. Chloe has also started communication therapy, and is doing great! She is getting to be a whiz at the computer. I'm pretty amazed at what she can do, given her limitations, pretty cool.

To my dismay however, both of my lovely girls are obsessed with Webkinz. In case you are not in the know, as to what Webkinz are, they are virtual pets. There is this whole Webkinz phenomenon, that apparently, I need to get in on, but so far, I have preferred to participate on the DL, helping Chloe manuever through Webkinz World when she needs help. I complain quite heartily about the annoying-ness of all things Webkinz, but secretly, I fear I am becoming a tad obsessed with the little devils myself....shhh...don't tell the kidlets!

Wicked

In my youth and singlehood I was quite a planner. I have tons of pictures documenting the places I would drag Oscar to on a regular basis. After we got married and had kids, I was not as...how should I say....industrious, in my planning. Translation equals outings became few and far between. This year, for whatever reason, I have gotten back into planning mode, and we even took a small mini vacay to Arizona a couple of months ago.

I have been clamoring to go see a play of some sort. We live in SoCal, close to LA and lots of other neat-o places, so there is really no excuse. I have been particularly itching to see Wicked, as it's playing at the Pantages Theatre, and I'm not sure how long it will be in town.

I just had a birthday a couple of weeks ago, and my sweet cousin Araceli, gifted me with two tickets to Wicked. I have been beside myself, anticipating this outing. This past Sunday, Oscar and I headed to the Pantages, and witnessed the most spectacular show, I cannot even begin to describe it! We had fantastic seats, front and center, and it was absolutely FAB-U-LOUS!

I know it's been around for awhile, but I thought the story was so clever, the acting believable, and the songs, so beautiful! Ack! Go see it...hurry...before it leaves town forever!!

Thank You Araceli for the AWESOME birthday gift!!

Kawaii Guy and The Moco

Okay, ordinarily "mocos" (boogers in Spanish), are not anywhere near my favorite topic of conversation.....BUT, I recently acquired a new roomie for Kawaii Guy, and I have to say, I have not laughed so hard in a loooong time. God bless the Mucinex people, especially the marketing genius who, when asked to come up with a freebie to promote their product, brilliantly said "Hmmm, how about a small stuffed mucus?" Hey, sounds good to me, LOL! I do not blame my niece Brooke for kicking the Moco to the curb, as most small children do not associate Mocos with being cute and cuddly.

When Monica originally shared the Moco story with me, I thought she was pulling my leg. We were having breakfast at Marie Callendar's, as she casually began to recount the Moco saga. I had just put a delicious bite of chilaquile in my mouth, when she got to the "gist" of the story. Luckily I had just swallowed my food, because I laughed hysterically for what seemed like ages...maybe a couple of minutes. I could not imagine what a stuffed Moco looked like, and begged her to give him to me.

Mother's Day weekend we all got together to celebrate at my MIL's house. I had mostly forgotten about the Moco by that time. After dinner, Monica presented me with my birthday present (it usually falls near Mother's Day) or maybe it was a Mother's Day present, who knows , but I opened the bag, pulled out the lovely gifts, and graciously thanked Monica. She furrowed her brow, and said "Is that all that was in there?" I reached into the bag one more time, and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in tissue. How could I have missed that? I held my breath, slowly unwrapped the tissue....and found none other than the Moco.

He is now happily ensconced in his new home, my fabric cubby, with his new friend Kawaii Guy.

Ahhh....The Professor

Anyone who knows me, will tell you that I love Pop Culture, and usually can spout tons of useless facts about random people, places and things. As a kid growing up in the 80's, when cable TV was "new" and my parents didn't believe in having to pay to watch television, I spent countless weekend hours watching the telly in my living room. Our local TV stations loved the re-runs, and there were some pretty cool ones! The Monkees, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Laverne and Shirley, and Gilligan's Island, just to name a few. I loved these shows! So when the Vende Girls decided to do a launch based on the character's of Gilligans Island, I thought it was brilliant!

My first idea, was to make a fabulous dress inspired by Ginger, the "Movie Star." That chick was hot! She was always made up to a tee, and looked like a pretty "together" lady. I had big plans for my dress, and spent a good amount of time working on it. To my dismay, and stupidity, I screwed it up right at the end, and deemed it "un-sellable." I had also planned to make a "Preppy" set, since I love that look as well (I have some cool pink and green plaid fabric, that reminds me of the "Preppy Eighties" look). I was pretty disgusted with myself, by this time, but was committed to the launch, and had to make something to list. I always thought "The Professor" on Gilligan's was pretty hot too, so I ran with the "Preppy Professor Chic" idea, and this was the result...



I love this picture! Emme's expression is priceless! Click on the pic to see the auction. It's not your typical "boutique wear" set, but the colors are so pretty, and you cannot beat the price for what you are getting!!

So, that brings my Gilligan's Island saga to an end. I'm working on some simple, yet stylish dresses for a new VendeMia launch coming up called VendeMia Market Place. You won't want to miss this one! The listings will be up in a couple of weeks...I think! I'll post more about that later!

Happy Hump Day!

Fabric Intervention

My name is Vanessa, and I am a fabric addict. There. I said it. It's true, I am hopelessly addicted to fabric. I can't help myself. I love the stuff. Don't get me started on trims, and embellishments either. I can't really explain or justify my fabric addiction, it just is.

This past Saturday, Monica and I took a trip downtown, to L.A'.s garment district, and paid a visit to Michael Levine's. If you live in L.A. or any of the surrounding suburbs, you've probably made a few trips downtown. It is not pretty, or really that safe, but it is so worth the trek into L.A.'s urban jungle. I have been to Michael Levine's before, but it's been years. This enormous fabric store has been around for years. My grandma, who is in her eighties, and was a professional seamstress, remembers shopping at ML's for all of her sewing supplies. The only way to describe this place is one word....heaven... for fabric addicts like myself! I have never seen so much fabric in one place. I'm talking about the good stuff...every designer under the sun. Bolt after bolt of deliciously beautiful fabric. It took us a while to orient ourselves, but once we did, it was the most fun. We spent almost three hours in there, and probably could have closed the place down. I came away with about 25 yards of fabric, and probably close to the same amount of trim...

Here's my booty...

It doesn't look like much, but it is!

It will be joining the rest of it's fabric siblings soon, LOL!









It seems like alot of fabric to me, but I'm sure some of you could blow me away, with the amount of fabric you have! I really need to clean this out soon....ah well, maybe tomorrow.

Happy Monday!

Polka Dot Spots

For as long as I can remember, I have loved polka dots. I guess they give me a nostalgic feeling, and make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I'm not sure why, but they crop up alot in my sets. They go with everything, and just work, ya know?!?

My latest set is aptly called Polka Dot Princess...

You can find it here

As usual Monica's pictures are beautiful! This my favorite.


Happy Monday!

P.S. Thanks Amy for your blog help!

Monkey See Monkey Do

Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys...it seems they are everywhere! I must confess though, I have never really loved them, but after my girls were born, I found myself liking, even loving things, that wouldn't even have given me a giggle, in my life "before kids."
Big purple dinosaurs, a singing group of grown men wearing different colored shirts, and a little "explorer" girl whose best friend is, you guessed it, a boot wearing monkey. My point being, that monkeys have slowly grown on me over the last few years, and though I may not looove them, I find them cute, and highly enjoyable!!

That buildup, brings me to share my latest set...I call it Tropical Princess, Monkey Princess doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but hey, you get my drift!



I wish I could figure out how to link the picture to my auction listing..!
If you want to a peek at the auction, click on the VendeMia auction link on the side of this blog. If you love monkeys, or just like them alot, you'll find some fun monkey stuff listed.

I must say, I do love Monica's pictures. The girl has some serious skills. This is my favorite from this shoot.


Happy Tuesday!

Daisy Crazy

Not too much going on around here lately...in a good way! Things have been pretty quiet, the girls are happy, and the weather's been nice and warm...and my sewing machine's been workin' overtime!

This is my latest set.



I love these fabrics, and all the bright colors...I may just be the only one though, LOL!
I also love Monica's pictures! Man, they are so gorgeous!

Here is another one of my favorites from this shoot...



Happy Monday!

Arizona Holiday

My brother and sister-in-law live in Arizona, and I have been promising, since they moved there about three years ago, to go down for a visit. The logistics of going on a five and half hour (which really took us seven hours, stops and all) car trip with the girls, was something tricky that required some serious planning.

Oscar took some time off from work, the same week as Sabrina's spring break and we headed to the Grand Canyon State for a quick getaway. We stayed at the most rockin' place called the Kierland Resort and Spa, and had a blast. The resort is in North Scottsdale, a super nice suburb, a few miles outside of Phoenix.

I am not the best photographer (not even close), but nevertheless, snapped a few pictures along the way.


Sabrina, in the hotel courtyard, steps away from the golfcourse.


Oscar


Chloe


Me and Sabrina

Already thinking about the next trip!

Ode to Oscar

I love my husband. He is the coolest...but I'm not one to sing his praises from the highest mountain to anyone who will listen. I usually find myself a tad annoyed when I am subjected (or when I subject myself) to women who openly gush about how great their man is. I mean, mine is great too, but well, you know...
That may sound harsh, though I don't mean it to, it's just a thing I have.

OK, that being said, I am about to become one of those annoying husband praising women!! Oscar is pretty handy around the house, and I always just assume he can do everything, well because, he can. Lighting project? He can do it. Plumbing issue? No problem. Re-tiling the bathroom floor, piece of cake. The thing is, that for the last few years, his workload has become increasingly large, and the time for household projects has become less and less. Where I am going with this?? Oh...the husband praising! Almost there.

We live in a tiny house, about 1150 square feet. With two kids, and all of our stuff it can get crazy cramped, but I have become a master as utilizing every inch of unused space. I have my sewing "studio" and I use that word loosely, set up in my dining room. With no storage, I have stuff everywhere, fabric, patterns, thread scissors etc. It kinda takes over. About two weeks ago, I was at Ikea, shopping for who knows what, when I got the brilliant idea, to use the wall space above my sewing station for some much needed storage. Oscar is very particular, and when I called him from the store, he agreed it was a good idea, but insisted he be the one to tackle the project. Wondering when he would find the time, I resigned myself to a storage-less existence for a while longer.

Fast forward to the point of this long winded post. My awesome, wonderfully handy and hardworking husband, completed this project for me over the weekend! I wish I had a picture of the space before...oh well, just picture a blank, painted blue wall.






My Muse (j/k but he sure makes me smile)

I am thrilled with the storage, and have vowed to try and stay organized. The pictures I snapped this morning, are not that great, and it is not very neat, as I am working on some things, at the moment, but I am so happy with my space, and my man.

OK, husband gushing is officially over.

Squirrels and Cheetos

Ok...I know I haven't posted anything since November. What is my problem? I really am not sure, but I aim to reform (again) and change my inconsistent blogging ways. I have had lots of blog-worthy moments since November, but have not kept up with posting. Ugh, what's a girl to do? Any-hoo, it's all water under the virtual bridge now.

What's with the squirrel you might ask? On New Years Day, Oscar, the girls and I spent a lovely morning at one of the local parks near our house. We were minding our own beeswax, enjoying a bag Cheetos, when Sabrina spotted a tiny squirrel, not too far away from where we were sitting. The crazy thing was that the squirrel, kept inching closer and closer to us, or possibly to the Cheetos. I was kinda worried, since squirrels, though cute, are still wild rodents, but we stayed put, and continued to crunch away.
After several minutes of squirrel watching, Sabrina, pipes up and says to Oscar, "Daddy, I think the squirrel wants your Cheeto." I quickly told her that squirrels don't like Cheetos, but she persisted, and Oscar, being a big softy for both of the girls, proceeded to put the Cheeto in his hand, to see if the squirrel was interested. Lo and behold, well...you see the picture. The squirrel ate not one, but like five of those darn things! Luckily, no rabies shots were required, after this Cheeto love-fest.