It Was Ten Years Ago Today.....

Before I launch into what I have been up to since I last popped on here, I'd like to reminisce a bit on having a blog for 10 years. 10 years! I can hardly believe it has been that long, and yet when I scroll through my archives, I see a lot of life lived in those ten years. I miss people actively participating on personal blogs like they use to when I started back in 2008. I think the blog that started it all for me was Alicia's blog, "Posie Gets Cozy." Her blog sparked my desire to start my own and document my ordinary life, and also to share some recipes and sewing projects. Having this blog has come in handy many times when I want to remember what I did for a holiday or a flower arrangement I wanted to do again etc. I have also made many good virtual friends as well!  Do you also remember when blogs were super popular and we had giveaways? I loved participating in that. I won some pretty good stuff and  I also gave away some great prizes. I also loved "corners of my home" posts, because who doesn't like to snoop in homes and see how others live? Instagram really put a big hole in people writing personal blogs. I do love Instagram though, but I like writing my thoughts in this format a bit better. I would have liked to do a giveaway of sorts for my 10 year anniversary, like I did in the past when I hit a milestone with this blog, but I feel that people are shy to leave comments and participate  on here, so it would be a bit odd to do one. I just want you to know that even though I struggle to get on here and write posts, I will continue doing my best even though it seems like I have disappeared for an eternity.

Ok, enough on that topic. Since I last posted, I had friends over for dinner, which I haven't done in a while so that was fun. I made Osso Buco, and an epiphany cake. This cake didn't turn out as good as last year. Not sure what happened with the pastry, but the flavor was tasty at least.  The main reason for my absence is mostly because I have been working on Caitlin's baby shower. I can't post very many pictures of what I have been working on, except the little flower letters that are pictured. That little project was super fun to make, and I'm impressed with how far silk flowers have come! I usually shun them, but for a cute little project like this, they can't be beat. This will be part of the decor for the shower and later for little miss Ruby's bedroom. I can't wait to show you all the details of the shower when I can. As you might have already guessed, I'm also sewing up a storm for baby girl too. I'm trying not to get too carried away, because I want to see what her coloring is and how big she is so that I can better gauge what to make, but of course I have to make something tiny for now :)

This past weekend we went to St. Helena for brunch with Caitlin and Cyrous, to a place called  Archetype. It was pretty good, and I loved the decor of the restaurant. You can click on the name and it will take you to their site.  I really love the drive to St. Helena, because you get to see all the beautiful vineyards and everything is in bloom right now. Fields and fields of mustard flowers and cherry blossoms. I was hoping that the horrific fires we had this past fall didn't damage too much. I was pleased to see mother nature has began to carpet the landscape with green grass and wild flowers. You still could see the scorched trees, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would look. On our way back home, we stopped in Napa to visit the "Ox Bow Public Market." I had no idea this wonderful place existed! Now I know where I'll be going for lunch next time I'm roaming in that neck of the woods. The photos above show a little bit of the market place. There are quite a few restaurants that will have to be tried. We were short on time when we walked through, so I can't wait to go back and take some more time looking around.

The patterns pictured are a couple I purchased last week, and I can't wait to sew a little something for myself once I finish my Ruby projects. The pattern on the right, I'll be making the blouse version instead of the dress. For the "Tea House" dress I'm trying to find some nice rayon or really soft linen. I'm not sure yet. I bought some cotton lawn ages ago, and I might practice with that fabric before I commit to something on the more pricey side. The fabric store I go to in Berkeley, sews up samples of these indie patterns and it's so fun to see how they turn out. I really loved the Tea House dress, so I'm looking forward to making it. The liberty fabric came the other day in the mail. They had a sale of sorts on Fabric.com, so I decided to grab some of the ones I have been wanting. Also, there was a print called "Lillian's Berries" that I use to have, and made a little top out of it ages ago. I loved that print, but sold the shirt and thought I could get more. Nope, it was no where to be found in all my searches. So, I decided to ask around on Instagram to some fabric IG people to see if someone had some in their stash that they might want to sell. Bingo! Some sweet person in England had a yard and sold it to me, and I received it today. I'll be hoarding that for bit, and will be making something for Ruby in the future.
Well, I'm off to watch a bit of the Olympics.

10 years people......10 years. Lets hope I'll still be on here for a bit longer!
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