Still here.

It's been a week and here is what we've been up to:

A whole lot of nothing.

I'm still working on my new project (see this post for more info). Andrew's still working and playing video games.

We're still here. In case you were wondering.

New bag

Yesterday I started making a bag for my flat iron. Didn't have a pattern so I just made one up. And added heat resistant fabric and padding inside so I would be able to stick my flat iron in there before it was completely cool.

Anyway, It turned out really well. I am pleased.

New shoes

DSW clearance!




















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Loft Clearance Sale

Right now. Drop everything and go to your nearest Anne Taylor Loft. Summer stuff is marked down 70% off. I got jeans for $9 and cropped khakis for $15. And they are fantastic.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New project

My current project is still hush hush for the moment but while I'm wrapping that up, I've started a new one. I am making this bag for an upcoming trip.

Using this fabric for the exterior:

And this fabric for the lining:

And I'm thinking about piping the whole thing in this color:

What do you think? I really like this Amy Butler pattern and have been wanting to make it for a while. Now I have an excuse.

I'll post pictures when its completed.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

A few weeks ago, this movie showed up in our mailbox. We watched it and sent it back. And within a few days, we owned it. We love it. Now normally, I am not a fan of animated movies. You wouldn't be far off if you said I hated them. Not the old classic movies that we watched growing up, but all the new crap that they're putting out these days. What I hate most about these movies are those supporting characters (you know the ones) that say all this stuff that is supposed to be funny but really is just annoying as hell. They're trying too hard. But this movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox, it's not like all the rest. It is enjoyable. And its funny. Subtly funny. And that's the best kind of funny.

First off, Wes Anderson directs it. It seems weird that Mr. Anderson would direct an animated movie but he did a terrific job. The voice actors (George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray) are perfect. And the more I watch it, the more it reminds me of the Royal Tenenbaums, and that makes me love it even more. If you aren't a fan of Wes Anderson movies, you have no idea what you're missing.

I've heard some bad reviews about this movie but I think those people just aren't Wes Anderson kind of people. And I really think a lot of the really hilarious parts of this movie go right over some people's heads. It'll do that if you're not paying attention. Plus some of the people who walk around saying negative things about it haven't ever really seen it and just made up their minds that they weren't going to like it.

Well we like it. Andrew is currently obsessed with it. And you will be too once you see it. So take a look at the trailer and then go rent it, buy it, whatever.





P.S. I should also mention that the Roald Dahl book this movie is based on is incredible as well. If, growing up, you somehow missed that (or any of his other books) I suggest picking it up. Its never too late to (re)introduce some Dahl into your life. I suggest reading his autobiography, Boy. It has some really hilarious tales to tell.


P.P.S. This film's soundtrack is phenomenal as well.

Jane Austen Book Club + Italiano!

My newest read, Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler, is pretty good so far. I am enjoying it because it is about a group of people who all love Jane Austen and sit around and discuss her books.

Here a summary:

"In California's Central Valley, five women and one man join together to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens.
With her finely sighted eye for frailties of human behavior and her finely tuned ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Karen Joy Fowler has never been wittier, or her characters more appealing, while the complex dance of modern love has never been so devious -- or so much fun.
Dedicated Austen readers will delight in unearthing the echoes of Austen that run through this novel, but many readers will simply enjoy the vision that, despite two centuries of separation, unite two great writers of sublime social comedy. This is the novel that Jane Austen might indeed have written had she lived in twenty-first-century California."

Now, while I don't agree this author is in any way a modern day Jane Austen or that she is even the teensiest bit worthy of the comparison (I hold Ms. Austen in the highest regards, if you haven't noticed), I'll agree while only a few chapters into it, I am finding references to Jane Austen's books and characters -- especially Emma.

I heard the movie based on this book was dreadful. And while I haven't seen it yet, I can almost guarantee that the book is better, as all books are. So if you've seen the movie and barfed silently through it, give the book a chance. Maybe it will get rid of that taste in your mouth. Because really, you should never leave anything associate with Ms. Austen feeling that way, I don't care what Mark Twain says. That's not even his real name anyway.

P.S. We are only 3 days into our Italian lessons and already I am amazed by how much we know. Our vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds every day. Pretty soon we'll actually be able to have real conversations instead of just sitting around asking each other's names, saying where we live, and spelling random words. I'm excited to actually make sense.