What's Jennifer Sewing?

NOT MUCH!  We are moving this upcoming weekend and I have had NO time to sew.  I kept the sewing machine out for as long as I could, but alas it was time for it to go into it's box last night.  I was so sad to see it disappear, and I don't know what I am going to do this week without it.  Honestly though, I have zero time for sewing this week, what with all the packing and organizing and cleaning dust bunnies.  I am really looking forward to Friday when I bring my machine to her new home and maybe next week I will get to break out some fabric and finally start my tunic before summer is over.   I have a slew of great Fall fabrics I really want to get started on as well...although it will be quite some time before anyone in Savannah can wear wool or corduroy so I might wait to sew them.  I mean who can work with hot wool in July???  Not me!  So, for now I am stuck with reading sewing blogs, sewing websites, and stalking online stores for inspiration and I will have to wait a little while before I get to put any of the knowledge I gain from these sites to use.  I also received some new books from a co-worker who has family in the fashion business and were getting rid of some of their clutter.  I can't wait to read them!

I hope everyone is having a great Monday!!!!

Not too much to report today.  I have really been posting lately about nothing but sewing and wedding planning it seems, and not too much about my day to day life.  One of the reasons I have a blog is because I like to keep a virtual scrapbook of sorts, just like many of you.  I am going to try to be better about telling y'all about what's actually going on in my day to day life and continue with the sewing, wedding, and miscellaneous posts.  Sound good???

So, this summer has been all about working and planning my wedding.  I really haven't had much to report!  Same old, same old!  I realized today that in about 3 weeks I am going to be starting my Senior year of college!  Wow!  I am excited, but I am also really scared.  I have to take this Senior Thesis class in the fall, and I am extremely nervous I am going to fail or something.  I know, I know, I say that a lot and then get like As and Bs, but I just work myself up a lot!  Once Fall semester is over though, I will be breathing easy and taking like 2 or so economics classes and 2 or so fun classes!!!  This Fall semester I will create, complete, and be graded on my Senior Thesis, take my departmental exit exam (which actually counts in my department unlike the others at my school!), and pretty much be done with everything minus a couple of upper level electives and lower level electives!  I am so glad that the year worked out this way!  I am going to be a ball of nerves until December because of Senior Thesis...but really there isn't much wedding planning left to do until the day gets closer.  I am nailing down a florist by next week, and picking a makeup artist/hair person sometime this month, but other than that I really don't need to book quite yet.  I will not have to think about wedding stuff (like I can ever not think about that though!) until about January with the exception of little things like Save the Dates and my engagement pictures.  Come January, school will basically be done and less stressful and I can focus on the last few months of planning and my showers and things like that! 

In other news, have any of y'all been watching Big Brother???  I never really got into Big Brother until Ashton suggested we watch the season with Jeff and Jordan on Youtube.  I got really into watching it and it was so nice being able to watch the whole week all at once and not wait for it like when it's live!  Anyway, I got hooked and now I am watching this season.  This is the first season I have ever watch live.  I have to say that so far I really like how it's going.  My favorites in the house are "The Shomance" and "The Brigade".  It's so funny how first impressions can be so deceiving though!  One night one, I like Brittany, Kathy, and Brendon.  Now I cannot stand Brittany, but Kathy is fine and Brendon is one of my faves!  I just knew Brittany was going to be this sweet, pretty, Southern girl from Arkansas...and she just got engaged!  OH, I loved her!  Then she opened her mouth!  WOW!  Mean girl!  I have never in my life heard someone talk like that about people...well only on reality t.v.  I think that Rachel made the right decision though putting Matt up as a pawn.  Andrew might have gone out otherwise since he is an outsider.  I definitely think Monet is the bigger threat than Brittany because everyone in the house knows about how mean and nasty she is and I don't think anyone would make an alliance with her unless they had no other choice.  I can't wait to see how it plays out tonight!  I really think it will be Monet with out a doubt, but then again you never can tell! 

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday!  I have an appointment today with a florist and poor Thomas is being dragged along since it is near our workplace and our homes are about 30 minutes away and we ride together to work.  He brought his PSP and he said he is going to play it in the meeting!  Haha!  I don't blame him, but I think that might look bad!  We are going to have to talk about it at lunch! 

Wedding Wednesday

Well, I want to keep this light and fluffy because that's what wedding planning should be...but I have had MAJOR wedding drama this week.  I just wrote out a long post explaining everything that happened, and then I promptly deleted it.  When I look back on my blog, I hate when I see the posts where I was upset or down in the dumps.  Yes, occasionally we all have those posts and I think it is good because it does "keep it real", but overall I figure that I don't really care to hash out every detail of this wedding drama on here.  In the grand scheme of things, it isn't going to matter that I have had to change my wedding date 3 times in the last week and coordinated with a million and one people to make sure this works for them.  No, what matters and what I am going to remember ten years down the road are the good things and that this is a special time where Thomas and I are going to become a family. 

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Anyway, just to let y'all know what the drama is in a short version...as I said above, I have had to change my wedding date 3 times in the last week.  Talk about stress!  Between renovations at our 1st choice church that made a June 2011 wedding impossible, a booking on our original date at the 2nd choice church, to an accidental double booking at our reception venue for the back up date they gave us after the 1st date didn't work, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off!  Between my planners and me, we worked it out and now I have a contract and a deposit on the reception venue and church for the official new date.  Still, can you imagine all that stress going on in 1 week!!!!  Our new and OFFICIAL (at least it better be or y'all are going to have to call that show Bridezillas and have me become one of the brides) is June 11, 2011.  I have been dating this man for going on 8 years, and I am ready to call him my husband and I am not pushing it back after June!  So, I'm sorry this isn't a fluffy and fun Wedding Wednesday.  I had planned to talk about bridesmaid dresses and the florists I am interviewing, but such is life.  I said I didn't want to remember the bad things, but I just had to get this out today.  Have any of y'all had such a thing happen during your wedding planning?  Any stressful situations you went through?  How did you deal with them?

Blogger Meet-Up

So, I told y'all a couple of weeks ago that I ran into a blogger from the Savannah area recently.  It was such a neat and surreal experience!  My mom and I were going to see the Eclipse movie after work and decided that we needed to grab a bite to eat beforehand instead of spending an obscene amount of money on popcorn and cokes.  We ended up at the mall food court which is across the street from the movie theater.  I walked over to the Chic-Fil-A and immediately recognized Victoria from her picture on her blog!  I didn't really know what to do, but I did really want to say hi!  I quietly asked her if she had a blog because I believe that I read her blog, and she said yes.  Then she said, "Wait, a sewing blog?" and I said yes.  I knew I knew who she was! She was so surprised because, like me, she has never run into or met a fellow blogger. Then we ended up chatting in the line for Chic-Fil-A about sewing, inspiration, and our favorites sewing blogs.  It was such a neat experience!  It just felt surreal standing there talking to each other about blogs on the internet!  Although I was nervous to introduce myself, I am glad I did because Victoria could not have been nicer and we both thought it was a fun experience to run into a fellow sewer and blogger!  I have to say that she is one of my favorite sewing blogs and I have gained a lot of inspiration from hers, so that was an added bonus of getting to meet her.  She is an extremely talented seamstress and is constantly trying new things to make herself better.  She just finished making her own swimsuit!  WOW!  If you get a chance, be sure to run over to Victoria's blog Ten Thousand Hours of Sewing and tell her Jennifer sent you!  :)

ETA: It actually slipped my mind when I was writing this that I ran into my good blog friend Megan from Perfectly Imperfect when I took my dog to the vet...which she happens to work at.  I feel so bad that I blogged I had never met a blogger before when I have met Megan!  I just want to set the record straight that I have actually met two bloggers: Megan and Victoria!  I want y'all both to know that I feel very blessed to have had the chance to read your blogs and make your acquaintance in person.  Can y'all tell this wedding planning has made me super scatterbrained lately????  :)

Fall Vogues

Hey everyone!  I thought it would be fun to do a video about what I thought about the Fall Vogue offerings.  I hope everyone is having a great day and enjoys the video!

It's Official!

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday!  I was having a real life Wedding Wednesday!  It's OFFICIAL!  We are getting married June 25, 2011.  We had some major snafus trying to book the church we wanted!  The church we were planning to marry in is undergoing some renovations for the next YEAR!  Apparently they will not be done until June 2011...and won't be booking weddings for a few months after that.  I was a big girl though and didn't even cry!  I moved on the plan B!  Unfortunately, our plan B church was booked for our original date June 18.  After working it out with all of our vendors, we are officially set for June 25!  I am sending off deposits and contracts as I type this!  It's so so so exciting and finally feels real! 

Dress: check!
Photographer: check!
Reception Site: check!
Minister: check!
Church: double check!

Up next are meetings with florists and shopping for bridesmaid dresses this Saturday!  I am also going to decide on a veil while we are at the bridal shop and I get to try on my dress again!  It's finally coming together!!!

On a sidenote, I am not planning on saying on the blog where the ceremony or reception are taking place just because of safety reasons.  If you would like to know where everything is taking place, I would be super excited to tell you if you email me!  Also, I am thinking since we are 11 months and counting til the big day, I am going to start trying to do Wedding Wednesday posts.  If you have any ideas of something you would like me to talk about, feel free to let me know!!! 

180 Degree Turnaround

I changed my mind.  I do this quite often.  Once I get something in my head, I suddenly think of something else I would rather do, buy, create, etc.  I am BAD about this.  With sewing this has been something I really need to work on, but in all honesty I haven't.  I will pair up my patterns with my fabric and put them in the Rubbermaid container until I get to them...but then everything will change in a month.  I will buy new fabric that I like better with a pattern, I will buy new patterns and change up all the fabrics, I will get a wild hair after looking at something online and decide to create it...whatever it is, it I will suddenly change my mind.  I have really been loving the color combination of Robin's Egg Blue and Bright Red!  So fresh!  So clean!  So now!  My dearest bloggy friend turned BFF Jen-Marie over at The Tale of a Southern Belle has been on the other side of one too many emails with me discussion color combos for Thomas' and my first place...which is an absolute necessity in my mind to color coordinate NOW...a year out!  :)  I have to register people!  I have had it in my head for a while now that I wanted my kitchen to be this color combo, but I was a little leery of so much color in my house!  I will gladly put every color of the rainbow on my clothing...maybe even all at once, but my house, that is different.  With a little remorse, I decided while I love to see brave color palettes in other people's homes, I just don't think I want that for my home.  That hasn't made my itch for something in this color scheme go away though!  OH NO!  I have thought about it over and over again trying to figure what I should buy, create, decorate, etc. with those colors.  Then today while perusing the interwebs it hit me!  I can create an outfit!  Why didn't it come to me sooner????  I will gladly wear that precious color combo!  Then I got to thinking what I should create...and wouldn't you know I have the PERFECT cotton print! 

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Michael Miller's Garden Trellis in Aqua

I am envisioning a nice tunic made out of this print with red ric-rac incorporated into the design!  What do we think?  Sorry for those of you who were excited for the knit dress.  It will get made eventually, but this little number just pushed it to the back burner! 

Sewing With Knits

I recently acquired a teal and white striped piece of knit that was on super sale at Hancocks.  It looks a lot like the below picture, with a similar width with the stripes, but obviously it isn't pink...I just didn't take a picture of the knit before I started this post.  Maybe I will go take one later and fix this.  Any-who! 

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This knit is similar to that of a flowy t-shirt fabric, and I was envisioning an easy, breezy pullover dress to wear with it.  You know, cute enough to wear out to a movie on a Saturday afternoon, but so comfy you feel like you are wearing your pajamas!  I am calling it "Pajama Chic"!  haha!  So I know what I have in my head, but the problem is...What pattern should I use???  Normally, if I don't have a pattern in mind, I don't buy the fabric, but I was just so drawn to the stripes and I walked by it a number of times in the store thinking I really wanted it, so why not?  It was 40% off!  So, dear readers, I am going to leave it to y'all!  Here are a few that I really like, but if you know of any that aren't in my list, feel free to let me know!

S2865 - This is the one I am really leaning towards.  I really like that it has buttons on it, which jazz up a boring striped t-shirt dress.  It also has some interesting lines on it, which you can see in the line drawing.  I have seen some reviewers on Pattern Review do some interesting laying out of the stripes with it.  Of course, in my hoard of patterns, I don't own this one...so I would have to buy it!  haha!  Oh well, I can spare 99 cents!

M6112 - I do actually own this one, but I really don't know why I bought it since it isn't really "me."  It was a total impulse buy.  I do like view A and with a white cami underneath, I think I could find a lot of wear in it.  However, the stripes will be horizontal on that somewhat tight fitting skirt...which might make me look bigger?  I am not really loving this one, but I could envision it with this fabric...but when I look at it, it grows on me.  Maybe I would like this in a colorful print more?   

B5489 - I really like this option too.  I like view A.  This is another one I would have to go buy, but again, that's not a huge deal.  It is simple, but this fabric is busy when you actually sit down and look at it, so I don't need too many lines which would be hard to line up and even more distracting!  I didn't really think about it until the lady at the cutting table at Hancock wished me luck matching up all these stripes.  I laughed...and then the worry set in!  Maybe this would be good for the print!

That's all my ideas!  Can anyone think of something I didn't???  Also, I have never sewn on a t-shirt type of fabric (only matte stretch jersey)...and I don't own a serger!  haha!  I might be setting myself up!  I am planning on using my side cutter foot to overcast the edges and cut them even since I don't have a serger yet (Thomas are you reading???  I want one for Christmas!)  Or maybe french seams would be better???  I will have to experiment see how bulky it ends up getting!  I also read once about someone using stitch witchery on the hem to help it stay put when sewing the hem.  I am going to try that as well.  I am really looking forward to trying out some new things on this dress, and fingers crossed it will work out great!  Any tips on sewing on knits? 

Favorite Bible Verses

I have so enjoyed reading all the bible verses people have put on their blogs today with Kelly's blog hop!  I know I have already blogged once today, but I just had to join in!  I have quite a few verses I really like and try to live my life by.  Here are a few and the reasons I love them! 

Philippians 4:6-7
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This is such a good verse to remember the power of prayer!  My favorite part of the verse, and the one I try to remember the most, is "with thanksgiving"  It is so important that I as a Christian remember all the many blessings the Lord has given me, and when I pray to him I try to always start my prayers with thanking him for those blessings.  I find so much peace in this verse when I am troubled by those simple words.  WITH THANKSGIVING!  Through all circumstances we can find ways that God has blessed us.

Ephesians 2:10
10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This verse sits at my desk at work to remind me everyday that the Lord has a plan for my life.  I get anxious at times with all the big changes coming in my life in the next year and this makes me feel at peace.  God is in control and will lead Thomas and I in the right direction.  I also love to read this because it reminds me that in that perfect plan he has for me he wants me to do good works.  I am reminded that God wants me to think of others first and doing good for them over myself. 

Ephesians 5


22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[c] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

My church did a sermon on this in the past couple of months and I gained so much insight from it.  Being at a place in my life where Thomas and I are building the framework to having a healthy marriage, I so enjoy sermons talking about how Thomas and I should be to each other in our marriage.  I know this section of the bible may not be everyone's favorite (especially us women as many people have tried to use it to say we shouldn't have rights), but that is not the true spirit of this scripture in my opinion.  The Lord is teaching us that we should love our husbands with all our hearts and want to do everything and anything for them, just as we do with the Lord.  I don't mean this means we should be excited and "submit" to him when he asks you to run to the store at 11PM to get him some Coca-Cola or something, but rather that we should love him so much that we want to be good wives to him to make him happy.  Isn't this how we love the Lord?  We love him so much that we would go to the ends of the earth for him.  We put him first!  It isn't always easy, and many times we fall, but when you look at your life as a whole, you put God first...and because it is what you want!!!  Same thing for your marriage, when you look at it as a whole,  you are putting your husband first because you love him that much.  The Lord doesn't force you and neither should your husband!   If you have about 40 minutes one day, or if you want to listen to it while you work, the sermon is online here.  It is the week 1 sermon entitled We are Family.  It is such a great sermon for those who are getting married, or have been for a long time! 

I don't usually talk too much about my viewpoints on Christianity or faith, but I do love Jesus Christ with all my heart and wanted to share with y'all my favorite verses.  These verses give me strength and make me happy and maybe they will for some of you as well.  Sometimes...like right now as I am typing this...when I read these verses and think about God's love for me, I just feel like I could burst into tears of joy for being so undeserving, but so grateful.  God is good all the time!!! 

Inspiration

WOW!  That's all I can say about the outpouring of comments I got about my post yesterday!  This bedding project is something that I am very excited about, but I was really nervous as well.  Yes, it is only fabric...and with my handy dandy seam ripper by my side, I am sure I can conquer it.  BUT, to hear everyone with their uplifting and kind comments that I can do this made me feel on top of the world!!!  I can do this!  Your tips and encouragement are truly appreciated!  I will be sure to keep y'all up to date with my progress on this endeavour.  I have the yellow fabric, but I still need to buy the zebra, so I am not starting quite yet.  I will keep y'all posted and try to do some sort of walk-through of what I did in case any of y'all ever decide you would like to try to do something like this too! 

Inspiration, that's what this post is titled and that is what I really want to talk about today.  Since revealing my purchase of a sewing machine to y'all last December, I have received numerous comments and emails saying that I am an inspiration.  Another big WOW for that!  I never would have seen myself in that way had I not put this new hobby out here on my blog.  Truthfully, I seriously contemplated not putting it out there when I bought the machine.  Sewing is one of those things I have had a interest in ever since I was little.  My mom made majority of my Halloween costumes and lots of cute clothes for me when I was growing up.  I was always in awe, even from a young age, with fashion and the fact that my mother could simply buy fabric and a pattern and make something wearable!  A cute aside and family story...when I was a toddler my mom and I went into a department store and I brought a little dress up to her and said, "This is a cute little dress mama.  Buy me this dress!"  haha!  I have always had the clothes bug!  Anyway, my mother has always been one to let me "play" with her sewing machine.  I say "play" but when I was little, of course that wasn't allowed, but around middle school, she taught me a few basic things and let me play with the scraps of fabric.  I would make pillows like crazy back then!  Then in high school, my Sunday School teacher Mrs. Jeanie asked me and my best friend to work with her at her purse shop!  It was a lot of fun!  We actually made the purses, ribbon belts, key fobs, and other fun stuff and then take it to the craft shows to sell with her!  It was great and I learned a lot!  Ever since that little high school job, I have had an urge to learn more about sewing.  However, I really put it on the back burner, and there were legitimate reasons like being in high school, going off to college and living in a dorm with no room, no time when I started college, moving home, working different odd jobs, not having the money to buy a machine I really liked, etc.  BUT the big reason that I didn't admit to myself until recently if FEAR!  What if I wasn't good at it?  What if I invested all this money buying a nice machine and then didn't really like it?  How would I ever learn everything about sewing?  Wouldn't I mess up and make everything look like a 4th grader made it?  Then in December, I just bit the bullet, ordered the machine, and never looked back!  Yes, there is a lot to learn and by no means do I know all of it.  I know about an ice cube amount on the glacier sized world of garment sewing!  But you know what?  I am doing it!  I am learning!  I am making mistakes, and I am learning what is fixable and was is not!  I am learning how not to make those mistakes again!  And most importantly, I am having a blast!!!  To hear so many people say that I am an inspiration to them and to say kind and complimentary things about what I made or I am working on and to have readers emailing and commenting looking for advice on sewing...it is just making me feel awestruck!  Who would have thought that me jumping into a hobby like this would also spark something in other people!  I cannot say how appreciative I am of every single comment, email, tweet, facebook message, or card I receive in the mail from close bloggy friends (I'm looking at you Melinda)!  You may say that I inspire you, but your nice words really are what inspire me to keep moving forward!  I really sat down today to write about an encounter I had this past week with a sewing blogger here in the Savannah area, but as I wrote all these feelings I have had over the last few months just came out!  I will be blogging about that encounter, but since this is getting long I will devote a new post to her!  I just had to get out how much y'all have inspired me through this new endeavour!  Thanks for the inspiration readers! 

Making My Own Bedding...Am I Setting Myself Up For Disaster???

I might be a little bit crazy, but I am planning to make my own bedding for Thomas and my first home!  I have to preface this by saying that I am prone to deciding to do things such as reupholster dining room chairs, paint furniture, and MAKE BEDDING at the drop of a hat.  I might be setting myself up for disaster, but maybe not! 

How about let's hear back story on this adventure.  I can't remember if I have told y'all about this before, and truthfully I am too lazy to sort through old posts trying to see if I have said anything about it, so I am going to tell you again!  All my close friends can attest to the fact that I tell every story to them at least 2-3 times because I just can't remember what I tell to what people...bad memory I guess!  So, this obsession with a yellow and chocolate brown room started about 2 years ago when Pottery Barn introduced their lovely Painterly Paisley collection.  They had all the normal colors, but then I saw the sunny yellow!  I just had to have it right then and there. 

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Problem is I am a hard working college student that had no need for $300 worth of bedding from PB when my Target bedding was doing just fine.  I looked and looked at the site and planned out everything in my head for my perfect "grown-up" room for when I got my first place that didn't include living with roommates or parents.  I just fell in love with the bedding, but I decided I would watch the prices and see when it finally went on sale.  No need to buy it full price when I probably won't be using it until a few years from that point when I would be done with school, working in the "real world", and living in my own home.  I was very happy with that decision, but we all know how life gets and I forgot about the perfect bedding!  GASP!  I know, I can barely believe it myself!  When I got engaged, about a year after I found this beautiful bedding, I went back to PB's website to see what items they had that I might want to register for.  I saw the Painterly Paisley set and remembered that I had to have it!  I was so excited, except that it was still FULL PRICE!  Uh, NO!  This girl knew it would have to drop eventually!  Over the past year, I have looked at the website from time to time waiting for it to be moved into the sale area of the site to make my move.  Then it happened!  And guess what???  Under Full/Queen duvet, it read NO LONGER AVAILABLE!  I felt like my world was crashing down...or maybe I didn't, but I was upset!  I have been trolling the internet for months now trying to find anything that came close to my original vision, or something different that I like equally as well.  I have found absolutely nothing!  You may recall a post a while back where I did find a fabric I liked online...but unfortunately I went to Hancock in my town to check it out and found the texture to be similar to that of a Lands End tote...not so snuggly!  I have really been having a hard time trying to decide what I would like to get even since we got engaged just because I really wanted the Painterly Paisley.  I checked Ebay, but it was priced a little high for a duvet cover and shams at like $200-300 and I figured if I could find something I liked better, then I could register for it! 

Then I got a wild hair that I could make a duvet fairly easily!  I mean really, all it is is a few straight seams.  LONG straight seams, I will give you that, but straight seams not the less!  I have made much more challenging items since sewing, I can certainly sew a straight seam!  So, in addition to looking for bedding I like, I also started looking for fabrics I might like.  The other day, I was looking online at some quilting fabrics and found Jennifer Paganelli's Sis Boom website...and wouldn't you know it but there is a beautiful yellow fabric with a great design that I dare say I like better than the beloved Painterly Paisley! 

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I quickly tracked it down online, and found it ON SALE I might add, and ordered myself a lot!  I measured out how much I would need and then ordered a little more just for good measure.  I was a little worried about ordering a quilting cotton to make a duvet, but I found Jennifer Paganelli's flicker account and saw many duvets that looked stunning made out of her fabric.  I figured it I hated the feel when it came, I can always return!  By the way, it came in yesterday and it has the same feel as the duvet that I have had for the last 3 years, so I am a happy camper!  So, with all that said, I am embarking on quite a journey.  I am planning on creating a duvet and shams out of the JP yellow fabric, euro shams out of JP chocolate zebra fabric (or something similar since it is discontinued), and throw pillows in the two fabrics. 

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I am also thinking I want to have a chocolate quilt for the end of the bed, some chocolate silk throw pillows, and chocolate silk drapes held back with some type of coordinating tassle.  Yes, I realize that I have this planned out way too early for most people, but I am always planning things early!  I have had this wedding mentally planned for years before we even got engaged!  haha!  Plus, all these things take money, so I can make the bedding, register for the things I won't be making, and save up for the things that we don't receive!  I tend to be very optimistic, so I am feeling good about this project.  Plus I have a year to work on it, so I am sure I will find time somewhere in there.  What do y'all think?   Will this be a good project, or am I biting off more than I can chew???

What's Jennifer Sewing?

This past weekend I was a busy little seamstress!  I am currently working on Vogue 8570, which is in the Very Easy Vogue series.  Looking at this picture it looks a little mature, but I think with the right accessories and hair I will be able to pull it off.

I bought the fabric for this little number a while back when I first started sewing...before I discovered Jo-Ann and Hancock coupons and discount fabric retailers online.  I think I spent a good little bit of money on the fabric for this since it is linen and I didn't buy it on sale.  I am doing the body of the dress in a teal linen and the straps in a white linen.  I have a gorgeous button I am going to use on it that makes my heart flutter just thinking about it! :)  I have been working very diligently on this dress and it is coming together quite nicely.  However, I have one tiny bone to pick with Vogue Patterns...their Very Easy Vogue collection isn't always what I would consider "very easy."  Some of the directions don't make much sense and matching the white pieces to the collar takes extreme finese.  I am certainly glad I didn't tackle this dress back in February when I bought the fabric!  The collar is giving me some headaches, but it will come together by the end of this week!  I have some really cute fabrics that I am planning on whipping up into skirts and some new cute patterns that I am excited to try.  I am thinking I NEED to make a tunic before this summer is over!  I hope everyone is having a great week and had a wonderful 4th! 

CSN Review...Coming Soon!

I have been thinking and dreaming of home decor ever since the second I got engaged.  Along with sewing, jewelry making, and blogging, decorating is high on my list of things I love to do!  A while back the lovely Adelaide at Sweet, Sassy, Southern, and Classy hosted a giveaway for CSN stores, and I won!  I was lucky enough to win a set of picture frames that hang in my office and make it bright and cheery!  I cannot tell you how many compliments I have received!  When Jessica from CSN stores approached me about doing a review on my blog, I was over the moon excited!  I will be doing the review post in the very near future, but I thought today I would let all of y'all know about the awesome stuff available through CSN stores! 

So, back to home decorating!  I have been dreaming about what Thomas and my little nest is going to look like for a long time now!  I can't tell you how many countless hours I have spent on the internet looking at fabrics, and furniture, and accessories, and wall art, and...you get the picture!  :)  I love to come home to a house that feels like home!  I have so many ideas floating around my head for decor!  Here are a few things that CSN carries that I would simply adore having in my home! 

Wouldn't this hall tree look gorgeous in our foyer!  I can envision putting a few colorful throw pillows on the chest part! 

One thing Thomas and I know that we for sure are going to have to buy is a living room set!  How gorgeous is this???  I am planning to buy a neutral sofa like this set has, and do a gold and red color scheme throughout the room.  The additional chair and the pillows shown in the picture are not quite what I am personally looking for, but those sofas are spot on perfect! 

One thing that I would love to have room for in our home is a bedroom vanity!  I always had one when I was a little girl, but as I grew I needed a desk in my room more than a vanity.  When the day comes for Thomas and I to have a large enough house to have things like this, I will most definitely buy a vanity!  I think it is so much fun to have all your beautiful perfume bottles on display in your bedroom.
Thank you CSN stores for letting me have the chance to review one of your wonderful products!  If you are looking for something for your home, be sure you look at CSN stores website first and see what products they have! 

*All photos from CSN stores websites