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Hello everyone! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve updated my blog! So much has gone on over the past several months and it’s been one rollercoaster of a ride! My attention is divided between so many different things, but I do love blogging and I miss it, so I am figuring out how to keep a healthy balance with blogging and everything else I have going on.
The hardest balancing act right now is with the kids. Since we are in lovely Southern California, our kids are still stuck in virtual school which means they are home ALL. DAY. LONG. There have been some advantages to this. I love my kids more than anything and it has been nice to have them around a little more; having lunchdates, spending time together during breaks. But they miss being in school and their extra cirricular activities there 🙁 It’s also challenging with everything else I am trying to accomplish with my personal/career goals.
For one, I can’t exactly hold sewing classes throughout the day when they are at home doing school (although our governor’s rules don’t allow me to teach my charter classes right now anyway). I really do miss teaching and I’m trying to figure out how to incorporate it back into my life, but my kids have and always will take priority. Hopefully they will be back in school in January, although if I’m being completely honest I think that’s unlikely to happen at this point. Either way, I would love to incorporate some of my Fun Friday classes back into my schedule, at the very least (whether the charters will accept it or not!)
No classes also means no income 🙁 Right when I could feel the wind in my sails, everything came to a screeching halt. We are fortunate that we can get by on one income, but it’s nice to have a little extra and not be so tight all the time. My income helps with all the extras: music lessons for the kids, weekend trips in the RV…not having to transfer money from savings when we go over budget (that never happens to you, right??) I know those things aren’t exactly a necessity, but it sure makes life a little more fun, and boy can we all use a little extra “happy” in our lives right now! I started a new hustle selling beauty and wellness products after my friend introduced me to the best hair care I’ve ever used. I’m not crazy about sales, but I do enjoy sharing things that I love and it’s been a fun and creative outlet for me. My hair looks better than it ever has, which has helped to boost my confidence a little. It has also allowed me connections with other women which has been desperately needed during this time!!
If you follow me on Instagram then you’ve seen some of the other projects I’ve been working on. In May, I participated in the Me Made May Challenge. I wrote a post sharing the first half of my makes, but never followed up with the second half (oops!) Participating in this challenge really helped me to get my mojo back. It motivated me to get up and dressed everyday (those first couple of months of quarantine were depressing) and it reawakened my passion for sewing clothes. I learned how to use my new cover stitch machine and have really been enjoying sewing on knits; something I’ve been frustrated with in the past (a good machine makes all the difference!)
I’ve also been continuing to sew/blog for Minerva’s blogging network. They have a new website launching this weekend, so I’ll update this post next week with a link to check out my blog over there! It has been so much fun being a part of their blogging network, where I get to pick out fabrics each month (for free; or rather, in exchange for a blog post) and I get to sew myself a wardrobe. My only problem is that there aren’t enough hours in the day to sew!!
This past weekend was Halloween, so I thought I’d leave this update with some pictures of our costumes, and a fun little video that I created and posted on my Instagram page.
Most of our costumes were home made, except for my youngest son (the skeleton). He found this costume at the Halloween store and wouldn’t let it go. I, on the other hand, love piecing things together on my own and doing more of a DIY on costumes. My older son had a hard time figuring out what he wanted to be this year; nothing was appealing to him. He’s my funny guy, so when my daughter sent him the idea to be out outhouse, he had his mind set. Needless to say, he got a lot of attention this year with this costume!!
My daughter’s mermaid skirt and wig were both bought off Amazon. Neither one of us were comfortable with her running around in only seashells, so I drafted and whipped up this top for her.
I have always wanted to go dressed up as The Sanderson Sisters, from Hocus Pocus (my all time favorite Halloween movie!) This year, my 2 neighborhood besties and I decided to do a DIY Sanderson Sisters costume. I got super lucky and found these 2 dresses at a thrift store.
After a little refashion, it made for the perfect Winifred dress! Naturally, I had to dress my husband up as Winfred’s lover, Billy. We reused parts of his Jack Sparrow costume that I made for him several years ago. I think it turned out really cute!
And just to commemorate the year 2020, we had to get these Sanderson Sister facemasks that we found on Etsy!!
Now that Halloween is over and the holidays are in full swing, I’m gonna be busy sewing for the holidays. But I’m really hoping to squeeze some time in for blogging because it’s something I really do enjoy. Plus, I have some fun tutorials to share!! Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for updates!
