Benny takes the Plunge

Mystic Aquarium and New London CT

Copy Cat

I made this little dress for Nora modeled after this one I saw. I made mine button up in the front which I figured out is a lot more difficult than the one that I modeled it after. I think they buttoned theirs up in the back. I made it without a pattern. I just used another dress that Nora has for a basic template and tweaked it to make it more the way that I envisioned it. It looks ok on the hanger but I'll have to wait till Nora gets home from school to see how it really looks...

Progress on the Farmer's Porch

Jim's made a lot of progess on the farmer's porch recently. The columns went up, the steps are in, PVC trimboard is up, and the decking is almost done. We still have to finish the ceiling but we are putting in some recessed lights and we have to run some power lines for an AC unit that's going to go around the side (yeah, can't wait to have central air during those stifling august days!). Then it's paint, paint, paint for me!

Pillows, Pillows, Pillows...

Here are some images from Jack's room. I made three pillows for his bed. I'm loving the orange and blue color scheme. I made the striped pillow sham to match his duvet cover that I got at Home Goods. I had bought two of them for when the beds (Jack and Ben's) were bunk beds so I decided to cut one up and make a matching pillow sham. It was super easy and I'm happy with the way it turned out. The other two are made out of shirting fabric that I found at the fabric store. I think they looks so masculine but boyish at the same time. The prints are from etsy, the squid is Amber Alexander and I'll have to check the other. I painted the lamp dark orange to go along with the orange/blue theme. Getting there but still got a ways to go...

Shade Garden and Birthday Splurge

This is Lady's Mantle that I planted in my garden a long time ago and I think it is absolutely beautiful. I love the chartreuse color of the blooms.

This is a miniature goat's bead. I love how the plant is so compact and the leaves are truely minature versions of the original plant.

Here is a wide shot of the garden. I had to do some rearranging this spring because some Hostas I had got way too huge and were taking over. I planted some foam flowers to fill in some of the spaces.

Here is my birthday splurge. It's bug bane and a very dark version of it. The label said that the color of the foliage stays true the entire summer. It doesn't fade. This little plant was $35 which would make me ordinarily pass it up but since it was for my birthday I figured "why not??" I planted it right between two goats beard plants so I think the contrast will be great when they are all full size.

Star Wars Party

Here are some pictures from Jack's Star Wars Party. I made the cake, cookies, Jedi robes and the light sabers. I made a safer version out of pipe insulation foam, blue hockey stick tape and duct tape. We had three training stations for the kids. The first was the saber skills segment where they had to hit a balloon through the hoop using their light sabers. The second was an obstacle course carrying Yoda in a back pack. The last was using "the force" to move an object. That was really funny. We used a magnet to move a metal object and the kids totally bought it. It was so funny to watch them concentrating so hard. The final test was to fight Darth Vadar who made a special appearance! Thanks Darth!