Always a Project

Welcome to the former entrance to our master bedroom.

Pretty grand, huh?

Among the many bizarre things about this house was the decision to route traffic to the master bedroom through the laundry room.

But, we'll talk about the master bedroom in a couple of weeks. Let's go straight to the dirty laundry (room).

I know this is not what you might consider an inspirational makeover. There is nothing "frills or fancy" about it. But I am so proud of my husband for making this super functional change to the house!

I left the house for work one morning and came home to find this!

The cabinetry in this room was repurposed. See where the cabinets are hanging on the right side of the room. Want to take a guess how many times I ran smack into those when I wasn't paying attention?

A little paint, new flooring, and we're all done with this room!

It's actually the only room in the house that we can really consider "complete." I'm so tired of living in a construction zone that I may just move in here for a while!

If you keep up with me on Facebook at all, you may recall {deeeeep within the recesses of your memory} that I began Vogue 1183 in October of last year.

I made some decisions to cut corners along the way (such as omitting the skirt lining) and ran into some construction issues.

{Hey, at least I'm consistent!}

I've experienced a lot of guilt over this dress - as it's stared at me from its sad little pile in my studio - so finally decided to complete it this weekend.

The problem with waiting this long to complete a project is the weight you may or may not have gained during the months that have passed... say, 10 pounds or so...

{Summer is ice cream season!}

So, I can't wear it, but at least it's done for when I can.

Overall, I'm not pleased with my result. Not a total fail, but definitely not a winner.

I'd say this pattern is fairly simple. I used a shantung sateen. It was easy to cut and handle {thank goodness!}. The construction and finishing certainly suffered from my inconsistent attention. It might look better once I give it a proper pressing.

PatternReview.com always asks the question, "Would you sew this pattern again?" I think I actually would make this pattern again - the right way. I learned a lot as I worked through this.

Maybe I can wear it next summer...

Fall is in the air, my friends!

We awoke to a picture-perfect, cool, crisp morning. While I certainly LOVE this time of year, I'm sad to see summer go. It has been an amazing season for us!

Primarily because we're used to record-breaking temps and humidity that forces Southerners to hibernate during the summer.

No hibernation for us this summer, though! Here are a few of my favorite memories.

We camped (a lot)...