homemade.

Sometimes, I sew things.

I guess you could say it's kind of a newfound hobby. And it's come in pretty handy, like when my $10 plastic, bought-it-on-the-cruiseship-because-I-forgot-to-pack-my-purse bag just started falling apart.

I started with a $4 roll of remnant fabric from Ikea and this (free!) pattern from Made By Rae. I enlarged the pattern by about 130% (using the extremely high-tech method of zooming in Microsoft Word and then tracing onto tissue paper directly from the computer screen... not sure I should admit that!) and tweaked a few things here and there to make a completely customized, just the way I like it, brand new purse.

My favorite part of the whole process was getting to put pockets exactly where I wanted them, in exactly the size I wanted them to be (no more fishing around for my keys!!).

I added a divider in the middle to keep the diapers and toddler paraphernalia separate from the wallet, checkbook, etc. Thanks to my friend Aubrey for that idea! You are officially thinking like a mom ;).

I also reinforced all of the lining with heavy weight interfacing and added padding to the strap, since I tend to be a bit rough on my bags (How many snacks, toys and books can we stuff in one bag to get the kid to sit through church?).

And there you have it! A completely one-of-kind, made just right for me purse for under $5. I just love being thrifty!

time for a little catch-up.

I call this marathon blogging. If you're interested, here's what we missed in April and May:

Easter (yes, I really am that far behind!)

Aunt Lindsay

The Aquarium 

Micah's Graduation

Katy's Birthday

Enjoy!

Letters.

Dear poor, neglected blog:
It's been a while. And I don't have an excuse, really, for not writing, except that I'm so far behind on posts that the thought of trying to catch up makes me want to go do something else. But for the sake of posterity, and our family and friends who don't hear from me often, or maybe just my own creative sanity, here we go. Expect lots of random posts from the last six months to pop up soon.

Dear Daddy:
I miss your garden this year. Wish we were close enough to take some fresh veggies off your hands.

Dear Madison:
You're growing up too fast. Slow down!

Dear Dishes:
Let's make a deal. You wash yourselves, and I'll go take a nap. And we'll all be happy.

Dear Texas:
My hair has issues with you. MAJOR issues.

Dear LDS Nursery Leaders:
Bless you. Oh, bless you. All of you.

Dear Friends and Family:
I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people. I mean really, really terrible. That doesn't mean I don't think of you often. And I'm honestly trying to get better at it. So this is me attempting to get our blog up-to-date and keep it that way so at least you'll know what we're up to. And I'll try harder to read all of yours. And I may even call or write, if you're lucky. ;) Regardless, please know you are all missed dearly!