Domestic Diva

For my long weekend, I seemed to crave activities that were all things domestic. Dave's parents were kind enough to put up with me for the weekend, and I helped out a bit with wedding planning and prep for Jennifer's upcoming nuptials. I tied labels onto small silver bells, ribbons onto bubble containers, and even decided to try my hand at making a square cake.
This one is a four layer yellow cake with vanilla pudding. Since I didn't have my piping kit with me, I just snipped the corner of a ziploc bag to decorate the cake. Still, I think it turned out nicely.

I made the mistake of visiting Michael's and Hancock Fabrics. At Michaels, I found a "teach yourself to knit" kit, complete with booklet and knitting accessories. I have done a little knitting before, so I went ahead and bought it, along with the supplies for an Old Shale Afghan. Don't think for a moment that knitting will replace my love of sewing...it's just hard to sew when I'm in a hotel room with an ocean between me and my sewing closet. Here's the afghan pattern I'm working on:On the sewing front, Hancock was having their fabulous 99 cent sale on Simplicity patterns. Simplicity makes all the historical costume patterns that I love, so I helped myself to six patterns that I have been eying (I may or may not make them...but I couldn't pass them up at 99 cents). Here's one of four civil war patterns that I picked up, and the other two were regency patterns (dress and undies).Finally, I did something that some would argue was slightly impulsive considering the current uncertainty of my future living arrangements (DC or Brussels). I bought furniture. I don't even have an apartment to put it in (though I do have a place to temporarily stash it thanks to my fabulous sister-in-law), and if I'm sent back to Brussels I'll have to arrange storage, but I just had to have it. It's perfect. It caught my eye in the sales catalog, and after several days of longing I finally decided to go check it out in person. It passed the comfort test, Dave checked it out on the internet and decided he liked it, and it was 50 percent off. Plus it has a chaise. Did I mention, I now own a chaise?? I got the sofa in blue, the chaise in white, and the chair in brown (I also got the cube ottomans). This was my first 'grown-up' furniture shopping experience (as opposed to thrift stores and Ikea) so I was very proud and excited.

On the medical front, if this weekend is any indication I seem to be regaining my previous activity levels which is definitely a sign of improvement. I'm waiting for some lab results this week, and I'm also being sent out to a specialist to check for ulcers and a few other stomach issues. Yuck. I can't tell you how much I'm not looking forward to that.