morning shadows

morning shadows cast by two bald cypress trees and a birdhouse

on post-Ike and pre-Ike fence sections

yellow week :: day 5

breakfast - the most important meal of the day

yellow week :: day 4

one of these things just doesn't belong

yellow week :: day 3

laundry day is a very dangerous day

yellow week :: day 2

umbrellas and canes at the dance studio

yellow week :: day 1

a fresh bunch of bananas for hubby's morning smoothies

MY pleated beauty

Even though I haven't finished sewing up the remaining items on my gift list (I've completed only one out of three), I took a break to make something for myself. Inspired by this Pleated Beauty (from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing), I made one of my own using fat quarters from a stack of My Folklore fabric I purchased a while back.
I've made only one Pleated Beauty previous to this one. It was really big (like tote bag big), but that was fine because dear daughter used it for a dance bag. I made this one smaller so it would be more of a handbag. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It's interesting how the design details evolve as you go along. I added an extra pocket to the interior, as well as a little ribbon and clip to secure my change purse inside. It was so much fun and now I'm looking forward to making more handbags.

This is Spring Break week for my two Juniors, and it's good to have our girlie home for a week. Before we know it, the spring semester will end and she'll be home for the summer (yea!) -- and then there will be non-stop Astros coverage at our house. Looking forward to baseball season. Yes.

hullabaloo

We had a great weekend. On Saturday, son, hubby and I had lunch with Deb and Judy at Chuy's. Great Mexican food! They were treating the three of us to lunch for our recent birthdays. Then we all went to a piano performance my son participated in, where the students perform and get a critique from a judge. He was great, of course!

On Sunday, hubby and I went to visit our beautiful daughter. We had lunch at the Hullabaloo Diner, which has been featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The outside was as entertaining as the inside. We saw roosters, hens, peacocks, a "fish" in an interesting spot, and a smiling tree.
After waiting outside for awhile - since they were really busy at lunch time - we got to sit at the counter, which was fun in itself. Once we smelled the coffee inside, we were all in the mood for breakfast even though it was lunch time. So we had eggs, biscuits with sausage gravy, omelets and home fries. Yumm!

Then we strolled through downwtown Bryan and topped off the day with scoops of Blue Bell ice cream at a cute little soda shop.

friday : : what's that?

Can you guess what this is? I know someone out there can (you know who you are). Leave a comment. C'mon!

And lookie there! My first day out with my new camera I found an Art Car in the parking lot while dropping son off at HCYA Sports Day this morning. What luck!

a birthday cake

After two chocolate cakes in two weeks (and three of us to consume it all instead of the usual four), it was time for a change. So I asked for my favorite Orange Cornmeal Cake for my birthday today, and hubby obliged (topped with cream cheese frosting). Delish!

I got The Sixth Sense DVD from my son (we love M. Knight) and my faaaaavorite Easter candy, Robin's Eggs, and . . .
a new camera! Yea! Son is especially happy since this means he regains ownership of his camera. Bless him for sharing it with me for so long and putting up with my blunders (don't ask). And I get to take my camera on the road now, which should be fun. Yesterday I saw a pretty good Dead Cart (see "amusing blogs" on right sidebar). Next time I'll be ready with a camera! And I'll take it with me this weekend because I get to celebrate with my sweet daughter when I go visit her.

So I was trying out some of the features and took this shot of piano practice.

(Feature: panning shot used to express speed of subject in motion.)

It was a Happy Day!

a blanket and burp cloths

I finished a baby shower gift this weekend! A scalloped edge baby blanket (from Bend the Rules Sewing) and a stack of burp cloths (from this tutorial). The blanket was so much fun to make. I wasn't so sure the scallops would be easy, but they were. Now I'm searching for just the right fabric for the next gift project on my list.
Happy Monday!