My trip, and I won a giveaway!

Hello, friends...

We got back from our road trip to Long Beach a couple of Wednesdays ago.  The next day was a blur from trying to catch up on sleep with the kids.  Then, I woke up that Friday morning a little bummed to be back in the grind of schedules and work (husband) and just off vacation mode, to find that I had won an Oh So Sassy giveaway on Facebook!! Can you believe it?! I've entered giveaways before, and this is the first time I've won, so exciting!  I started on this dress for Keira that night and finished it the next morning.

Tessa Dress pattern from OhSoSassy

 The pattern was emailed to me as a pdf, and was easy to cut out.  I made Keira a size 3-4 b/c she's a little petite, but next time, I'll cut a 5-6 size. Love this pattern and I enjoy thinking of all the different dresses I can make the girls now.  OhSoSassy's patterns are only $10 on her website, and it's in your Inbox within a day or so.

I also made her a matching hair clip and incorporated a Hello Kitty book charm that had been pulled off a gift she received a couple of years ago, which made her happy. 

Oh, the black and white fabric is by Riley Blake and the peach fabric is a Hancock Fabric I got on a score-of a-yard-sale day (2 yards for $1)...one lady in the Ranches where I live runs an apron business and was clearing out her fabric, then, another lady was clearing out her sewing room supplies and I got a bunch of elastic for dirt cheap, the same day, there was a huge fundraiser with a bunch of quilting and fabric donations...did I mention I love yard saling?

Here are some highlights from our trip to Long Beach:

Ryan's youngest sister, Miranda's, baby shower. Miranda  is having her first baby boy in a couple months.  This photo is my favorite because it captures reactions to my team's (me and our friend, Pohai) entry for the "draw their baby" game with our seriously cool and rude fetus drawing.  We won : )

Grandpa Jack's Memorial.  Ryan's dad passed away last October, but his birthday was Aug. 1st, so that weekend, Ryan's mom and kids threw a big memorial party for him since he didn't have one when he passed away in St. Louis.  Ryan's mom and dad are super talented (and siblings too).  His mom and dad both wrote music, Geneva has also written several plays and books.  So the production was a recap of Jack's life to songs written by Jack and Geneva.  Here are some photos:

Keira and cousins did a little number to a lullaby Geneva wrote

Ryan sang "Flowers and Candy" a song written by his dad

I also danced a hula number to "Maunaleo" by Kealii Reichel. Those were just numbers my little family was involved in (did I mention Jack and Geneva had 16 kids?). It was a big night, and good to reconnect with and see Ryan's childhood friends and family from Long Beach. As I've gotten more familiar with Long Beach over the years, I've realized it isn't just a place Snoop Dogg's from and for movies like Freedom Writers (that was Ryan's high school)...not to mention the number of Hollywood movies that are filmed there. (I can't tell you how many times we're watching a movie and Ryan says, "That's Long Beach.")  There's a history there that I am still discovering.

Santa Ana Zoo.  I got to spend time with an old college buddy who lives in Huntington Beach. Can't tell you how refreshing it was! The zoo is small (no lions, tigers, or bears), but it was enough to keep the kids happy.

Downtown Los Angeles.  Ryan's sister, Jessica, and I took a trip to a store I'd read about on Dana's blog.  The store is called the FIDM (Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising) Scholarship Store, located in L.A.'s garment district.  The store gets donations from chain stores like Forever21, and most everything is under $10, some $1. There's also a fabric wall in the back where most apparel fabrics are $1/yard.  I got a couple of ties for Ryan for $4 for his birthday.

The End : )