Our Little Band "The Shel-Tones"

I didn't start playing any musical instruments until I was about 21.  I've always been really into music, but I was too scared to put myself out there when I was younger.  It's honestly taken me a lot of years to get the point where I truly love playing in front of people.  For whatever reason, that confidence hasn't come naturally for me.  It's been a journey of learning to believe in myself.  Sometimes I'm great at it and sometimes I still have to give myself all the pep talks.

Johnny and I have been doing The Mixtapes for about a year now, and I didn't realize how spoiled we've gotten!  Playing in a band setting has its difficulties, but I love the unity and energy there.  This weekend we dusted off the ol' song lists and did a 3 hour night just the two of us.  We figured out it's been 3 years since the last time we played an intimate set, and boy, was it different than our usual gig.  I really loved it, but talk about putting yourself out there.  Acoustic singer/songwriter folks, all the love to you.  It really feels like pouring your heart and guts out.


Our friend Dillon has very appropriately named us "The Shel-Tones".  (Our last name is Shelton, get it?)  I love it because it sounds like a band straight out of "That Thing You Do", which is one of my very favorite movies of all time.

Anyway, it ended up being a really great night.  I'm really looking forward to doing it more and more.  Sometimes it's nice just get out there and play just to play!

Also, thanks to my sweet friend, Lauren, for snapping some pics for me!  Next time I hope to get a little video to share with you all!  Happy Monday!

Little Girls Like Haircuts (Or Something Like That)

Yeah, yeah... she's lucky she's cute.  Or, she's lucky she's so funny and spunky.  Whatever it is that makes Poesy so darn charming, I'm glad she has it.  As I was getting dressed upstairs the other day, Poe starts yelling for Hope.  Like most afternoons, I reminded her that Hope was at gymnastics.  The rest of the conversation went something like this:

P:  "Well I want to show her my new haircut!"
K:  "She'll be home in a little while, you can show her then."

**pause**

K:  "Wait.  You mean hairDO, right?  Did you fix your hair all pretty?  Poesy, please tell me you did NOT cut your hair!"
P:  "Well, I made my hair pretty and I want to show Hopey."

**pause**

K:  "Can you come up and show me?  I'd really love to see it."

This is the new hairstyle she gave herself.  With scissors.  That I just properly taught her to use this week.  I seriously didn't know whether to laugh or scold her, so I calmly explained (again) that only Mommy or our friend Phillip (he owns a hair salon) can cut her hair.  The damage had been done, though, so I started hacking away to try and help it.  (And yes: I did paint that shirt on in Photoshop.  TALENT.)


Once I brushed it out I realized the bangs were gonna be okay.  I could just hide those tiny pieces.  The sides were super short, though, and so the really sad part of all of this was cutting off her sweet baby curls.  I kept every single one because that's a weird thing moms do.


Anyway... it's just hair, we had another good talk about scissor safety, and that little alfalfa spring on top kinda kills me.  Oh, Poesy.

Make Your Own Canvas Patches With An Ink Jet Printer

I love a good patch, I really do.  They are so great for customizing jackets, bags, cardigans... basically anything you can sew a patch onto.  I have a pretty good stash of patches that are almost too precious to stitch (or glue) onto anything.  I know, I know... that probably seems ridiculous considering the whole point of a patch, but some are too pretty to go on just anything.  I've been wanting to make my own for some time now, and after researching the different ways I could go about it, decided printing them at home on my printer sounded pretty interesting.  So I tried it.


The supplies needed for this project are pretty minimal.  You will need some cotton/canvas fabric, freezer paper, an iron, scissors, and an ink jet printer.


To begin, trace a piece of normal printer paper onto my fabric.  This fabric has to run smoothly through a printer just like a piece of paper would, so be as precise as possible.  Once the paper was traced, I cut along the lines and had an 8.5" x 11" piece of fabric.


Next, I ironed the piece of fabric to the freezer paper.  Make sure the shiny side of the freezer paper is up and you have the fabric on top of the paper.  For some types of fabrics you may need to prep it with this product.  I skipped this step and mine turned out great anyway.

Once the fabric was fully adhered to the freezer paper, I loaded my sheet into my printer's paper tray and sent the images I made in Photoshop to print!  I was a little nervous about this step because, well, this is fabric and not paper, but the patches printed out wonderfully!


After I was done printing, I heat-set the images by placing them face down and pressing them again with the iron.  (No steam when you do this.)  Easy-peasy!


I made a lil pizza patch, a Google kitty patch, and printed some of my favorite lyrics onto a vintage scarf.  Once I got started I kept dreaming of all the different images and phrases I could print for friends.  I think I'll be making a lot of patches for gifts this holiday season!


As you can see, I went straight for the Google patch on my jacket.  I ended up having to print one for Hope and one for Poesy, so now we are matching in the most fun way!!  xo.

Welcome, Fall

Okay, okay... I'm finally ready to admit that I'm a little excited about fall.  The weather has been nearly perfect and we're back to enjoying nightly walks and dinner outside.  I know you were worried about it, so I thought I'd let you know.  (Kidding, of course.)

Hat: UO;  Dress: UO;  Shoes: Free People;  Bag: NastyGal;  Watch: Free People

These are some of my favorite fallish items I've happened upon recently.  That dress is probably going to find a home in my closet very soon.  I can't even think of a more perfect fall pinafore.  This week is flying by, but happy Wednesday, friends!  xo.

Snapshots

As you can see, we've been spending lots of time around the house lately.  Actually, that's only half true-- I think I've stopped carrying my camera around with me when we go out lately.  I haven't been very inspired in the photo department, which is just fine.  For me, that comes in waves, and I'm sure it will come back soon(ish).

**Poe wanted to paint her nails herself this week.  Big kid.
**The weather has cooled and we've been spending many cozy nights on the porch again.
**I treated myself to Lykke Wullf overall shorts because it was necessary.
**Our band has been learning lots of new songs lately, so this is a pretty regular sight.
**Tea party girls (from a few weeks back).
**Citronella candles are a must this time of year.
**I've been borrowing this beauty of a guitar from our best pal lately, and I never ever want to give it back.  We've bonded.  ;)

What is your photo inspiration like?  Does it come in waves like me, or do you have things to help you stay constantly inspired?  If you have any tips for staying motivated, I'd love to hear them!  xo.

Vintage Skirt ReStyle

I don't know if any of you have this problem, but when I'm scrolling through my IG and someone has just updated their "shop my closet" account, I MUST pop over.  WHAT IF THERE IS SOMETHING REALLY GREAT IN THERE AND I MISS IT?!!!  It's a problem.  I actually had to unfollow almost all the shop accounts I once enjoyed, because just as I've learned from eBay, my competitive side comes thrashing out.  I've over paid for a lot of things in my lifetime.  Anyway, I bought this great vintage skirt from my pal Amanda a couple weeks back, but just like tons of vintage stuff I snag online, it wasn't that flattering on me.  The print is really great, though, so I was determined to find a way to make it work.


Here is my "before" shot.  As you can see, it was a little too long, the mid-section a little too high, and it had pockets that really accentuated my hips.  In the not-great way.


The first thing I did was chop those pockets out.  I know, I know, skirts with pockets are terrific.  They had to go, though.  I stitched up the sides where the pockets once were and chopped part of the waist off.  I folded the band down and used this tutorial I did over on ABM to create an elastic waistline.


Since I shortened the waistline, it brought the skirt up to a great midi length.  I'm excited to have this beauty in my wardrobe for fall.  I'm dreaming of all the things I can pair with it!

I hope this inspires you to give a little love to something in your closet!  Happy Wednesday!  xo.

Apply Less Pressure Here

I'm pretty sure this has been one of the busiest/most eventful years of my life.  With all the blogging and sewing and playing music and homeschooling and just being a parent/friend/daughter/person in general, sometimes I feel like SuperWoman.  And sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind.  I had what felt like a mini-breakdown in August.  It was a hard month.  There were more things going on than I felt like I could handle, paired with some heart-breaking family news and some more family drama on the other side, and I just decided that something(s) had to change.  The question for me was: How do you give up one of your "things" when you are passionate about all of them?  And that was tough.

First, I assessed all the things that were keeping me busy night and day.  What was I willing to let go of?  I think this is the part where I'm supposed to tell you that I took a deep breath and eliminated some things from my life... except, I mostly didn't.  All of the "work" things that keep me busy, I love those things.  Oh, yeah... and they also help pay the bills.  For me, cutting out half of what was going on wasn't really an option.  So, what next?

Johnny and I did a lot of talking about how we could change some things around to make life a little less stressful.  As we planned and planned and redistributed responsibility, I realized that the thing that really needed to change was the amount of pressure I was applying to myself.

*You don't have anything to blog about today?  Well, now the world is ending and everyone is disappointed in you.*
*You fell asleep instead of answering those emails?  Well, now you've offended everyone waiting in that Inbox.*
*You didn't finish that project within your self-inflicted deadline?  Well, now everything else is going to suffer while you try to make up the time you've wasted.*

Anyway, you get the general idea.  I was placing so much pressure on myself, that I was feeling more than overwhelmed.  Like, only sleeping 3 or 4 hours a night, just so I could get all the work stuff done and still be a great mother and friend.  The SuperWoman feeling had left and I was just spent.  So, where do we go from here?

At some point I had a moment of clarity.  "This is stupid.  I have to love myself better and forgive myself more.  Or, even better: stop beating myself up all the time, and then there's no need for forgiveness."  So, here's what I've been focusing on:

*MORE SELF LOVE.
*Patting myself on the back for a job well done instead of focusing on what I didn't accomplish for the week.
*This one is hard for me, but saying no to friends when my week is feeling too heavy.  I can't always be everything for everyone and that's okay.
*Making sure I have time to decompress everyday.

I get a lot of comments asking how I "manage it all" and I hope this gives a little insight.  No one has it together all of the time.  Sometimes I "manage it all" pretty well (like a badass, really) and sometimes juggling is a joke and I drop all the balls I have in the air.  The thing is, when that happens you just pick them up and give it another go.  It's all gonna be okay.  xo.

Weekend Wishes

Here's to a really wonderful weekend, friends!  We've got back-to-back shows this weekend, mixed with a fun Oktoberfest at our favorite local brewery and a fun party with our pals, so it's shaping up to be quite an eventful weekend.  Whatever you end up doing, whether it's working or hugging your cat or reading in the quiet, I hope it's great for you.  Happy Friday!  xo.

Weekly Wears: Endless Summer

Even though I'm in total denial about summer coming to an end, we've had a few cool days here and there and I'm finding that soft spot for fall again.  Truth be told, I like all the seasons, so even though I feel bummed about summer wrapping up, fall is wonderful and there are so many things to look forward to.  In the future.  But not right now.  Because summer's staying forever, right?  ;)

Shirt: ModCloth;  Jumper: c/o Motel;  Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell;  Bracelet: Shlomit Ofir;  Hat: Marshalls;  Necklace: 1813 via Etsy

This dress is a piece that will be easy to transition into fall.  Jumpers (the dress, not the sweater) are great because you can switch the pieces that go underneath.  This particular jumper is a reworked vintage piece by one of my favorite clothing companies, Motel.  They have a whole section of darling vintage pieces that have been restyled and reworked.  I kinda want all of them.

Well, I hope your week has been treating you well!  xo.