Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Ruffle T-Shirt Dress

Now that the weather is warmer, my curly girlies are so excited about playing outside and exploring nature.


These curly girlies absolutely love wearing skirts and dresses, which definitely suites their fun-loving girlie personalities. I have tried several times to encourage them to wear little shorts to the playground, but they refuse, they only want to wear bright twirly skirts.

 

So, after many months of a sewing hiatus, I am back to plugging away at the sewing machine, making skirts and little play dresses for the girlies!

I'm excited to present this, as it is my first sewing tutorial on this blog. I saw a dress like this a few weeks ago at Target selling for $15.99 and I knew that I could make the same thing for much cheaper. I'm calling this the Ruffle T-Shirt Dress: 

This is such an easy project! It takes only a small amount of fabric and a simple little girlie tee. The best part, which I phrase in stay-at-home-mom terminology, is that you can complete the entire project in just one little rest time!

So, if you have about 12 inches of fabric laying around, an old tee that doesn't quite fit like it used to, and about 2 hours, then you have got yourself a great little play dress for your favorite girlie!

See below for the full tutorial!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Six Years

This weekend my husband and I celebrated six years of marriage! It was a great weekend and thanks to my parents, it was curly-girlie-free! Now, don't get me wrong, we did miss our little girlies while they were away, but we really enjoyed our time together, just the two of us. We reminisced about our dating, engagement, and our fun wedding. We dreamed about where we would be in 10 years, challenged each other in ways to grow both personally and as a couple, and talked about goals for our family in the next coming year. We laughed A LOT, ate at some really great restaurants, bought ourselves a new pair of shoes, and even fit in an amazing movie ("The King's Speech").

This year was a special celebration for us, as our marriage has been challenged and yet strengthened because of all that has happened to our family these past few months. So, we splurged and had a fantastic meal - what am I kidding - it was the very best meal I've ever eaten in my life - at Bacchanalia in Star Provisions. If you live in the Southeast, you must go! I started with the crab fritter, devoured the pork sampler, ate up the yummy apple salad and cheddar cheese and finished off with the chocolate souffle and the other three desserts that they brought us, compliments of the chef. The best part of the night, wasn't just the food, but it was the entire experience - being served for 2 1/2 hours, trying delicious new tastes, sipping on delicious wine, chatting while slowly eating, and savouring our precious time together.

I'm so thankful for my dear husband and the six years we have spent together. He truly is my best friend! I love that when I am feeling insecure, he speaks wisdom to my heart, reminding me that Christ loves me and makes me secure. When I am overreacting or irrational, he speaks quietly to me, reminding me that Christ is in control. When I am feeling condemned and want to "run away" from my sins, my precious hubby pursues me and accepts me for who I am. He reflects Christ to me. Marriage is sanctification. Marriage is what the Lord uses to mold my heart and make me more like Him, by revealing how selfish, controlling, and unloving I am. And yet, marriage is also how the Lord reveals just a hint of His love, grace, and compassion to me, through my husband.

I am thankful for six wonderful years of marriage. I am so thankful for my amazing husband.