Real Life: Live & Unscripted

Magic City Classic 2009 (VERY PICTURE HEAVY)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!!! Y'all ready!??!

The Magic City Classic is THE NUMBER ONE BLACK COLLEGE CLASSIC IN THE COUNTRY!!!

  

Just a puff of smoke lol.

 
You KNOW you are in for a good time with the "bruhs" that wear purple and gold are next to you lol

  

Gotta start off right!!! lol. BTW, I was at THREE different tailgates lol. TALK ABOUT FUN! LOL

 
THe kids gotta "catch up" lol

 
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT! LOL

 
Those chickens are standing at attention! LOL

 
Havin a little fun lol

 
Heyyyyyyyyyyy Marvin lol. My brother didn't want me to take that pic lol

 
Food in one hand...cup in the other lol. That's how we do it lol.

 
This pic is more for my mom than anyone else lol. Jaelyn was sooo not happy lol.  Y'all locals should know who that is lol. The Smitherman's have been close with my family for yearssssssssssssssssssss.

 
  

 
 
A TV Crew from ESPN was there and came over to see us lol...did anyone see us on TV? LOL

 
She still not happy...notice the neckwarmer, she JACKED? Ummmhmm <_<

 
Let the games begin!!!! Alabama A&M

    

Alabama State

The Bands...

 
 

  

AAMU KILLED IT ON THE FIELD!!!! THE WHOLE FREAKIN BAND MOONWALKED!!!!!!!! THE. WHOLE. BAND! It was "tight" lol.
 
Ok...I'm so not an ASU fan, but the drummajors KILLED IT!!! The band sucked but the drummajors...they DID THAT!

 

Myspace type pics?? SURE....

 
 

Wanna see some kids?

 
 
He was SO knocked out lol.  But when he woke up and realized his mom didn't have him and I did!?!? My lil nephew acted a fool lol.

 
The Fellas lol

 
Lil Bulldogs lol...

AAMU WINS AGAIN!!!! LOL

 
I LIVE FOR THE 5th Quarter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That's after the game, when the non-band heads leave...the two bands play back and forth for a while...LOVES IT!)

 
Kayla was SO beyond happy. She LOVES the Dancin' Divas! LOL

 
**teehee**

 
What has HE been drinking lol

 
FIREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE LOL...that's a fish fry gone wrong lol.

 
LOL Fire Department anyone? LOL

 
I can't BELIEVE my nephew is almost 16 **faints**

 
WHAT!???????????? LOVE HOT SAUSAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ummm Eileen?? LOL ;)

 
Umm after being up and out since 7-ish am...yeah..he was POOPED lol.

  

He got a ride to the car lol.

GTFOOH CLASSIC 2009 EDITION

Ok I know y'all ready lol

 
Why he got on his Easter suit..IN THE RAIN!?!?!?

 
Chick in the middle.....umm WHY does she have on a belt???

  

Ummm. Yeah ok. OH BTW...it was really cool that morning...in the rain...ummhmm

 
**sigh**

 
SMH

And this was all BEFORE we even got INTO the game!

  

Chick with the belt on.....I WISH I could have gotten a better pic...

 
******CAPTION THIS****** lol Look how she looking at him lol...he loves blue... in his hair AND it matches his jacket lol.

 
Girl in the green pants was SO COLORFUL!!! I wish y'all could have seen her shoes!! SMH.

 
Bobby B.ro.w.n is that you!?!?! Bobbbaaaaayyyyyyyyyy his had a gooooddddddd whop lol. Isn't that what that haircut is called? What year is this? LOL I'm not going back to the 80's lol

But the lady that took the cake?!?!?!

 
TALK ABOUT SCHOOL SPIRIT!!!!

Ok...how is that for a Friday Post?! LOL

Y'all have a SUPERB weekend!! Stay safe!

Toodles!

AAMU Homecoming 2009

I can't BELIEVE I am JUST now taking these pics off my camera!!! This is SO late..ESPECIALLY with Classic RIGHT around the corner lol.

We had a BALL this year..but BOY DID IT RAIN!!!!

 
Let me start off by saying, I DID look halfway decent before the rain started lol....keep that in mind mmmkay? LOL

 

 

The bands...Arkansas Pine Bluff

  

  

Just a snippet of AAMU. LOVE the band...lawd.

Now the fun stuff lol. Marvin just so happened to be in the tent NEXT to ours lol. That has NEVER happened. We had too much fun. The kids used his truck as shelter during the rain. It was MUDDY by the end of the night. Had my nieces and nephews calling him Uncle Marvin before the day was over lol.

  

The kids had a ball. It rained SO much, it was SOOOOOO muddy. Many a shoes were RUINED lol

  

  

Look at Jaelyn showing her true colors lol

 
LOL look at that face! LOL

 
 
Those are Kayla shoes lol. Can you see her socks!? FILTHY. My SIL and I had to make a run to Walmart the following Sunday morning to buy ALL the kids new shoes lol. NO ONE had any extra lol. Mine were ruined lol. I wore flip flops home lol.

These guys are a mess lol. We missed Patrick SO much. Classic is gonna be HARD.

 

I love Kristy's t-shirt. I want one lol.

 

Glad to see Patrick's sister there... :)

 

 

I wasn't drinking lol. Marvin was trying to make it LOOK like I was lol. Ummmhmm you should see the pic on HIS camera lol.

 

A good time was had by all. Mud and all. OH and I WILL buy me a pair of rain boots and keep them with me at all times. That is all.

  

I promise, I know about 10 people named Keisha lol.

 

This is the biggest dummy alive. SO CRAZY, but SO MUCH FUN LOL. He and his wife are a PERFECT match lol.

  

Craziest BIL on the planet. Add the above guy to the picture!?!?? PURE COMEDY.

  

PLENTY of good food. The rain stops no one lol.

 

Now for the crazies....

This year I was off my game lol. I will come with it for Classic lol...

 
Yep, her hair was PURPLE.

 

I WISH I could have gotten a front view of this lol. I try to not be so obvious but umm yeah lol. There was NO way to get it lol. TRUST me when I tell you it was a HOT mess lol.

 
So is this what's up now!? Just throw on a shirt and some shoes!? Ummm no thanks.

 
The front of this was WAY worse than the back. Keep in mind it was POURING down raining and kinda chilly...

 
ummm. yeah. that is all.

 
The thing that makes this SOOOOOOOOOOO funny is that she KEPT pulling her shirt down. Girl get somewhere and "satdown".

 
Ok, so is this the new thing now!? Keeping your tags on your clothes!? I saw sooooooooooooooooo many folks with their tags still on. ESPECIALLY on Polo stuff. Someone enlighten me.

Alright folks..that's it! LOL

Toodles!

Learn to crochet party lol

Lawd, Y'all I didn't realize I am SOOOOO behind in posts lol. I have a LOT of reviews, food, and just STUFF now scheduled to post lol.

OKKKK this weekend I decided to throw a "learn to crochet party" lol. We had TOO MUCH FUN! LOL

Family, Friends, and food always equals a GOOD TIME!! LOL

I forgot to take a pic of all the food lol. Y'all know I love to have folks over and I love to cook and bake! We had potato soup, fruit, cheese cake, and just party foods lol.

  

Just a shot of everybody busy lol. At this point, we realized the book we had wasn't working...had to pull out the laptop lol. Thank GOD for youtube lol.

  

Kayla got a little one on one support lol.

then she was good to go...

 

  

Jaelyn was working away....

  

So was Zanete....

  

and Shun.... we were kinda doing our own thing and looked back up at Shun and her chain was long enough to JUMP ROPE WITH! LOL

 
and yes Jaelyn did jump rope with it. HILARIOUS LOL.

 
Some point during the night, the Nuvo came out lol. Making everything even more hilarious lol. ESPECIALLY those that weren't drinking. *AHEM* lol.

  

The beads came out lol. SOMEBODY had a good time lol.

We had a goooooooooooood time. Laughs all around. Next party will be at my moms lol. She told us to bring the sewing machines lol.

THAT will be PURE comedy! LOL

Toodles!

Weekend Wrapup: St. Louis Edition.....(VERY, VERY PICTURE HEAVY)

This weekend, well last Thursday I went to visit Mrs.Patrice. We had SUCH a ball! I have to start with this pic, because it's one of my favorite of us.

 

It was right before I left :( lol

Soooo where to start? St. Louis is a beautiful city.

We had breakfast lol....

GOODY GOODY IS THE BOMB!!! LOL

 

Once you finish all you need is a NAP lol.

We spent some time at the Arch...

'

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ian was the "equipment/carry all" guy lol. At one point he had our purses and shopping bags lol...WHILE he was taking a pic of us lol. 

We went to the top of the arch:

My hair was BUSTED! LOL I had to MAKE a ponytail holder out of some kinda neck strap that Patrice had lol.

 

 

 

We walked around the museum inside the bottom of the arch...

 

 

 

Stopped to take a pic lol

 

We went down to the City Garden...

 

 

 

 

We didn't realize that this "made noise" until we walked across it lol. We entertained everyone out there lol. HILARIOUS lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you moved your hand like you were going to feed the fish...they came to the top lol.

Patrice took me bead shopping lol...

 

But THIS PLACE....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ian was being all patient lol.

We walked The Loop...

 

 

 

LOL Ian is a mess lol.

WE ATE FROYO

Ok...now I know we have TCBY here, and other stuff and I've had just about all of it. IT CAN'T TOUCH FROYO!!!    This stuff is SO good AND I can eat it and my stomach not hurt afterward! LOL. Just YUM! All kinds of toppings, fresh fruit...my fav was french vanilla topped with strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, blackberries and a DUSTING of butterfinger! LOL SO GOOD! LOL

We went back a few times lol :)

We painted pottery...

 

 

 

Went bowling....

 

 

 

FYI...NEVER play ANYTHING where someone has to win with them. LOL  They had me all competitive and stuff lol.

We hit up an Art Festival...

 

There was actually way more stuff than this, but this was the only pic I managed to get lol.

I went yarn shopping:

 

 

We spent some time on Main Street...

 

Hit up another yarn shop..

 

 

We stopped to take a couple pics lol

 

Hit up a scrapbook store...

 

 

And a quilt shop lol....

 

 

 

I was able to see and TOUCH the Basic Grey quilting fabric. *FOR THE LOVE* ummhmm lol

 

We went to Hancock! This was really nice because we could actually sit down and look through the pattern books together lol. 

 

We went fabric shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

This is what happens when folks wanna play with the camera lol.

Yep...another knit shop ;) They were so fun in here lol

THIS SCRAPBOOK STORE WAS OFF THE CHAINS!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to Jilly's Cupcake Bar

 

 

 

 

 

This is how they pack their cupcakes to go....AND how they ship them lol. I love it.

 

They are OH SO GOOD. Like seriously. Makes me want to make cupcakes. lol

Oh yeah, of course there was food lol...

 

and drinks lol

 

 

 

 

And Patrice cooked one night lol. We ate plenty lol. Seriously lol.

I'll have to post pics of what I brought home later lol. NOT this post lol.

Ok, that's it lol. If you've made it this far woohoo!! If not..I totally understand! LOL

Thank you Patrice and Ian for a wonderful time!!

Toodles!

Happy Birthday Patrice!!!!

Y'all go on over and wish Patrice a very Happy Birthday!!!

Love you girlie!!!! Hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day!!!

Kwik Sew 3333 and weekend update.....

Kwik sew 3333

I wouldn't have ever seen this pattern had it not been for Subversive Sewer's blog! That is one thing I LOVE about blogging lol. Ya just get so much inspiration! LOL

Pattern Description:
Misses' dresses are very close-fitting, have a slightly dropped waist, and flared skirt. View A is strapless and has stitched elastic at the top edge.

Pattern Sizing:
xm-xl
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I didn't use them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
If I could do anything differently, I would have used a wider elastic instead of what the pattern called for. I think it would have given it a smoother finish. IMO.

Fabric Used:
Jersey

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I underlined the bodice using the same fabric because the jersey I used was thin.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I doubt if I will sew it again this season but I highly recommend it.

I think I'm done with maxi dresses for the season lol. This was the last one I REALLY wanted to make lol. I'm doing pants, pants, and MO PANTS now lol.

I just saw that I was/am Pattern Review Feature Member! Neato!

We celebrated Tony B'day Friday night / Saturday morning with a bunch of his/our friends lol...

Marvin made a pit stop.....I love my brothers lol...

So did Andre...who should have shaved *ahem* lol

Getting our laugh on lol

Gettin our dance on lol

I had a GOOD time....had to get my swerve on lol

My folks....GOOD PEOPLE....love em dearly!

T-Boneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee lol Drove all the way from DENVER! lol

My girlsssssssssss lol

 

 

LOVE this picture!

Sam is STUPID. Seriously lol.

Y'all already know how I feel about those shades....indoors...no comment.

 

One of the group shots lol. Derrick (in the wheelchair) was injured when they were in highschool and when I tell you he is silly!?!? I DO MEAN SILLY LOL.

We had such a good time. ALL NIGHT LONG lol. LITERALLY.

Alright y'all have a good one!

Toodles!

Patrice came to visit meeeeeee :-) (PICTURE HEAVY)

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww lol Y'all know Patrice is my best good friend (said in my BEST Forest Gump voice lol)

I was so happy to have her in my lil town ;-)

It was so good to have Patrice here. Y'all just don't know lol.
Of course we ate lol...


We went out for drinks....

She met my folks....and laughed because my parents eat fish at 2am lol

 

We went to paint ceramic pottery

 

TOOOOOOOOOO many choices lol

 

HAVING FUNNNNNNNNNNN lol

 

 

 

We met Kisha for lunch....

 

 

and we ateeeeeeeeee lol

We went to hancock....

 

Had a fun night out....

 

We had to improvise....the original plan ummm didn't work out lol

 

Had some drinks and more food lol

 

We learned how to play phase 10 and we are ALL HOOKED!!! LOL

We went to the Juneteenth Celebration  (Click the link to brush up on your history ;) held at historic Kelly Ingram Park and had a really good time! Wanna see more pics?? SUREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE lol.

 

 

 

And of course....we ate lol

 

LOL we were able to visit the 16th Street Baptist Church

 

The kids really enjoyed Mrs.Patrice :-) ( I think she enjoyed them too) LOL

 

 

The kids got their face painted...

 

 

 

And did some playing lol....

 

I think Aj is tired lol

 

We left to go get sno-balls as she calls them lol. WE call it shaved ice lol

 

 

Fun times fun times! LOL

Took a little breather....and went to my FAVORITE PLACE:

Yep...Sips N Strokes! LOL

 

WE LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED SOME MORE! LOL

Zanete came and since she was coming ANDRE wanted to come. OMG. I did NOT want him to come at first because it was just gonna be all women lol. baaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbyyy he kept us ROLLING!!! lol I'm so glad he came :-)

 

My mom is HILARIOUS...Zanete had some wine she wanted momma to try...she took a SIP out of water bottle top. TOO FUNNY lol

 

It was SO funny when it was time to make our woman look like "us" lol. LAWD all the different shades of brown....whewwwww at one point Andre woman was GREEN lol.

 

 

We wrapped up the weekend with more crafty goodness lol

She taught me to make pecan candy...

 

AND OMG she taught me to make SOAP!!!!! I am SO HOOKED!! LOL

 

Y'all will def see more of this! LOL Y'all already know I have an addictive personality....HUSH lol don't judge me lol

Thanks for coming to see me Mrs. Patrice! LOL Love ya much!!!

That's it for me!! LOL

Toodles!!!

New Orleans 2009 (PICTURE HEAVY) lol

Whhewww let's play catch up shall we?

Every year Tony and I take a trip for our anniversary...

This year since my anniversary and Patrice anniversary are SO close together, we decided to take a joint trip. I AM SO GLAD WE DID!!!

WE HAD SO MUCH FREAKING FUN!!!!

What did we do?

EAT...

DRINK....

EAT.....

EAT.....

Drink...

AND EAT SOME MORE! LOL

This is my favorite picture of us! They are funny as hell lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THERE IS SUCH A HILARIOUS STORY BEHIND THIS PICTURE! LMAO! LOL

Me no likey food that has eyes. That is all. That is the stuff nightmares are made of.

That was the HOTTEST corn I have ever had in my LIFE! I don't do REAL spicy food but DAMN! It was good but my lips were on FIRE!

It was SO COLD! LOL I bought a sweatshirt from walgreens! LOL

THEY KILT that! LOL

 

 

We just HAD to call Stacey! She makes the 3 Michelle's complete lol.

I did get a few pics of us "boo-ed" up lol

**note to self, next time wear DARK jeans lol**

 

I even got the guys to take some pics lol **eyeroll** they are crazy lol

 

And a few of me and Patrice lol

 

New Orleans does NOT agree with my hair lol. I had to take the sash OFF my shirt and do a make-shift head band lol.

 

What in the world were you eating? LOL

Some randoms lol

Tony had a MAJOR case of the "itis" when we got to Patrice Grandma house lol.

These guys were great! AND HILARIOUS! LOL

**THIS MAN** Could say Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaby to me ALL.DAY. LONG lol. He was SO funny and nice lol.

I made some new friends lol *ahem* lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I won't tell y'all how three policemen came to our room around 3:30-ish in the morning while we played UNO lol. Nawww y'all don't wanna know about that lol.

Time to say goodbye! LOL

We had a blast hanging out with you guys! LOL

TOODLES!

Woooo Hoooo! It's MONDAY!!!!

I LOVE Monday's!!!! I have a list of things I need to get accomplished this week so I will be BUSY.

Let me go ahead and break the news....remember green gable that was knitting up oh so lovely? LOL

Your eyes do not deceive you lol.

I threw it in the trash. WHY?

LAWD! I tried it on once I separated the sleeves and never did look in the mirror. Just kinda looked down, saw it fit and took it off and kept knitting.

WELL I was ALMOST finished with it (was knitting for length) and I decide to try it on again and send a pic to Patrice. LAWD when I saw it on me!??! The lace section was just JACKED UP! It didn't continue all the way over to the right side. When I say I BAWLED!?? I didn't notice it was messed up until I looked at it on me lol.

A picture is worth a THOUSAND WORDS! LOL SERIOUSLY!
I BAWLED!! I felt so bad. I just threw it away.

I do believe the yarn I used has bad juju lol. Remember when I tried to do Rusted Root a while back?? That was the yarn I used! I tried to do a couple other projects that did NOT turn out right lol. IT IS THE YARN!!! LOL

Imma get some more yarn and do it again, and it will NOT be red lol.

MOVING ON..... lol.

Thursday Night I went to Sips N Strokes yet again and had a blast! This time I talked my mom into going lol

 

She was all happy paying for her class lol

I got there early to make sure I could grab seats for all of us and I was surprised when I saw they already had us set up!

 

What does that sign say? LOL

 

Wooo hooo lol that's for us lol.

 

Momma was just painting away lol...with her left handed self lol.

 

One of us together lol

 

Didn't she do a great job for her first time? I think her painting was the best of the group!

And here is a group shot lol

 

We REALLY had fun! My mom enjoyed all the ladies and the ladies enjoyed her. She kept cracking up about something or another lol. I finally got to meet Neecha and  Kisha was there too lol. Maybe now she will update her blog lol.

We aren't painting this month. We have something else planned lol. Wheew chile lol.

Jaelyn was also in a play Thursday night and Tony being the wonderful father he is, went and had a good time lol. Cheryl also sent me a couple pics since I wasn't there! YAY! LOL

Friday night I went to a book signing at Books A Million where the one and only E. Lynn Harris was there signing his new book!

 

He is REALLY silly lol.  I have hat hair so ya gotta excuse that lol.

 

And he was REALLY nice. He seemed sincere. It was fun meeting him!

While I waited in line, the kids played in the kids area and picked out some new books.

 

 

 

Jaelyn actually started on her book while we were there and finished it on Saturday. I guess it was REALLY good lol.

Saturday my mom and I took the girls shopping.  *sigh*

 

 

I HATE CLAI.RE'S. SERIOUSLY.

But the girls loved it and I guess that is all that matters lol.

We also went to Fore.ve.r 21 and a few other stores and they really had a good time.

Mom and I went to Hancock too. I actually purchased some spring fabric! It was strange buying fabric but I can get used to it again lol.

Sunday was our Anniversary/Superbowl party lol. We had a house full and SO MUCH FUN! LOL

 

Verdi is soooo good to me lol. And that was NOT all of it lol.

 

Gotta love the budlight. Too bad I don't drink beer. And we had regular BL, but there wasn't enough room for everything in my fridge lol, and my fridge is kinda on the large size I think lol.

Yep that is Kool-aid for the kids. It's not gonna kill 'em lol.

 

Tony was handling that grill! LOL

Y'all see that apron? He made that in the 10th grade lol. He STILL wears it when he cooks lol.

 

He kilt it lol. I did the inside cooking stuff, he did the outside lol.

And since it was our anniversary I made him a red velvet cake. I make it for him every year lol.

It's gone lol.

Along with all the food and drink lol.

Successful party! LOL

Alright, this got REALLY long...LOL

Hope y'all have a SUPERB Monday!

Toodles!!!!

I miss my friends today..... :-(

It is late, and I can't sleep. I miss my friends :-(

Over the years, I've learned you can't be close to errryyybody.  ESPECIALLY the last couple of years.  It was a hard lesson to learn because when I love...I LOVE, so when I hurt...I HURT. I am a loyal friend. I still care about people and wish the best for them, but I do it from a distance. Everybody ain't for you. BELIEVE that. Everyone doesn't have your best interest at heart and EVERYBODY don't wanna see you happy.  THAT is the gospel truth.

When you have good people in your life. Treasure them. People now-a days are just fake. They change with the direction of the wind. Call themselves your friend one day and talking about you the next.  I speaks what I know lol.

Cathy came home in November and I got to spend some time with her and the kids while she was here.   Hard to believe we have been friends for over 20 years.... TIME FLIES.  We have been through the good, the bad AND the ugly lol

*Sigh* Me loves Patrice and Stacey lol. So funny that the three women I love most, and that I'm closer to than anyone (outside of my mom)...all live on opposite sides of the damn earth lol. Did y'all know we ALL have the EXACT SAME MIDDLE NAME?!? All three of us? LOL

Patrice in St. Louis....Stacey in North Carolina and Cathy in Hawaii lol.

I keep plane ticket money on reserve lol. Let me go find my damn candle....lol

Long time friends and a little news.....

These two have been friends FOREVER.....

It makes my heart smile to see them "bond" with each other.  Patrick is sooooooo stupid lol, and so is Tony so when you put them BOTH in a room together!?!? LAWD talk about pure comedy lol.

Treasure your friends...I know I treasure mine :-)

Now for my "little news" and HELL no I am NOT pregnant lol. I almost dropped my phone when I saw that NIK lol..you know better lol.

I am working again!

LOL but not that "mandatory" gotta pay the bills type of job (even though extra cash is ALWAYS nice ). I got a fun part time job working in a local store in the SCRAPBOOKING DEPARTMENT! LOL How fun is that! My ideal job was at Hancock but they wanted me to work evenings AND weekends so that wasn't happening lol.

I wanted to get out of the house a few days a week and still be able to pick up the kiddos, and do school things with them. This one is perfect! I have so much fun, but LAWD THE PEOPLE THAT I SEE..... Whew...look for a new series coming up over here....I think I'm gonna call it "GTFOOH" because that is what I think when I see what they do/wear/say etc. Don't worry, I ALREADY have pictures stored up and ready to go lol.

That is IT guys! Hope you have a superb Thursday!!

Toodles

"Almost" Silent Sunday

Girlfriends make it better when they don't even know it :) Love Y'all!
Oh, y'all killed my battery too lol

Toodles

An addiction and a pattern review :-)

My name is Adrienne and I am SERIOUSLY addicted to Sips N Strokes!!

I went with a few of my girlfriends the other night and we had a blast. They WERE virgins to the entire thing but ummm not any more and yes they are addicted lol.

Kristy was so proud of her work, she kept sending pics to her husband lol

Tamika was doing the SAME thing lol

Kristy thought she was Picasso...you could't tell her ANYTHING lol. She was ready to go back the next night lol

Overall we had a FAB time lol. And I PROMISE I will try not to paint another martini glass lol. I just really like them lol.

Pattern Review:

McCall 5746

My inspiration for this dress was this one by Michael Kors

Pattern Description: Dresses A, B, C are slim-fitting and have lined bodice, front and back darts, back slit and back zipper; dress A has collar with pleats, self carrier and contrast tie ends; dress B has collar with pleats and cap sleeves; dress C has gathered sleeves and ribbon belt; lengths are 1" above mid-knee.

Pattern Sizing: 14-16

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, until you got to the cowl. I didn't like the way they had you make the pleats.

What did you particularly like  or dislike about the pattern? I love the entire pattern...EXCEPT the cowl construction.

Fabric Used: Wool Crepe

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: The only thing I did differently was the cowl construction. I followed the directions to the "T" with this and I didn't like the cowl construction. I used wool crepe and it's pretty thick. The guide sheet tells you to make the pleats in the cowl once you attach it. I tried that and found it impossible to sew down. It was too thick. I ended up folding it down and sewing it in the seam. You can see a picture of that HERE It could have been something I was doing wrong, but that just didn't work for me.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I HIGHLY recommend this pattern. I LOVE it and the darts are so slimming. You can see the darts better HERE Excuse all the wrinkles lol. I took it out of my suitcase and put it on the dressform so I could a review :-)

Conclusion: GREAT pattern!!! I really want the sleeveless version! LOL

Celebrating Sisterhood (VERY PICTURE HEAVY)

Did you guys have a good weekend? I sure did!!
I have told you guys before how much Patrice and Stacey mean to me. These are truly two amazing women! I love them both dearly! Love you ladies :-)

Ok...enough mush lol....

Well, we planned a trip to get together and have a good time. I've met Stacey before but not Patrice...BOY did we have fun!
I hoped in a plane early Friday morning...

To go and see these ladies!  I had a nice little flight so what did I do??

Did a lot of knitting and listening to my ipod. I LOVE that thing!
I STILL don't understand the logistics of my flight..I had to fly to Chicago just to fly down to North Carolina...but OH WELL lol. When I got there I saw these neat Lego displays..


I thought these were so neat! Aj LOVES legos so this was more for him than me lol.

After a little layover I FINALLY made it to Charlotte

YAY! We left the airport and went straight to Bojangles for some nice and greasy fried chicken lol. It was SO good!

We then made our way to the fabric store Mary Jo's

OMG! This store is HUGE...

I am SO glad I made the exception to not buy fabric unless it was vacation fabric when I said I wouldn't buy any fabric until the new year lol.(dang, how many times did I say fabric? LOL)

Serious discussion going on lol

Cutting some fabric! Wooo Hoooo lol

It was OVER once I found the knits :)

Ohhhhhhhhhhh I was in heaven!! I will have to show pics of what I got later on lol.

Yep, we stopped for half a second to take a picture lol

After fabric shopping, we went back to Stacey's place to rest up for a minute and freshen up.

They even had a birthday cake for me!! Awwwwwwwwww. I was doing something on my phone and didn't even notice them lighting the candles lol

You guys are so sweet!!! After those festivities we went out to dinner...

The food was yummy!

and so were the drinks!

Just a group shot...

we had SOOOOOO much fun lol

After dinner we went home..rested for a few then got dressed and went to Blue Restaurant and Bar and had a FAB time!!

I promise y'all we really didn't sleep lol. We left there and headed over to "Kiss"

Whhooooo talk about fun!

We had a blast. Have I said that already? I will probably say it some more lol. Tanisha is in the red hat. She is Stacey's neighbor and she is a sweet heart too! HEY TANISHA!!! :)

Once we left KISS, we headed home and passed out. I woke up at 4:30 despite not going to bed until ummm shortly before then lol. It's my internal clock. Sorry bout that Patrice :-)

Saturday was SO.MUCH.FUN!!!!

We met up with some fab ladies!!!

Michelle who SERIOUSLY needs to update her blog, Nik, Delta Purl aka Jennifer, Toni, Renee and I even met Christi aka Turtlegirl!

We all met up at The Cottage Yarn Shop...

Ohhh so much pretty yarn! I will have to show those purchases later as well :)

Nik was serious about her shopping y'all lol

Yep...SO much fun lol.

We left there and headed over to Big Daddy's Burger Bar

OMG... TALK about GOOD. Like VERY good!

I had a "spiked" milkshake. It was SO good. Even Patrice who is the most picky eater I have EVER known  liked it lol. It was called a Royal Peaches & Cream. SO good. Once I got mine, everyone else at the table wanted one hahahaha. It was the bomb. I want to make some at home lol.

We left there and headed over to Charlotte Yarn

This store was really nice!

Stacey took us to the mall next...it was a nice mall. I picked up some perfume and that was it lol

We left there and I FINALLY GOT TO GO TO TRADER JOE'S!!!!

I now see what all the rage is! Christina would send me tea from there and I LOVED it. NOW I have gone and I am totally hooked. EVERYTIME I go to Atlanta I will restock! LOL Ohhh and I picked up a few bottles of white wine that I've heard so much about! It's SOOOO good!  Ben the wine guy was HILARIOUS...

We left there and rested up for a few minutes and headed back out to another spot called Tempo.....babbbbyyy Michelle you were right..it was "different" lol

People watching was SO INSANE and SO funny it was just CRAZY!!! This one dude...man..and these two girls that looked like men...and well just wow lol.

We had such a good time...I know I keep saying that but we really did lol.

I guess this post is long enough..I will say that before I got on the plane to come home it started snowing in Chicago lol and it was COLD up there!!!! 30 degrees in Chicago and 30 degrees in Alabama is TOTALLY different. Dana and Robin, I don't know how you do it lol.

Thank you Stacey for a wonderful time and for being such a super sweet host! I had a blast!!!

Ok, you guys have a great week! I have ONE more birthday celebration for me tonight and that is it for my  birthday! LOL

Toodles!!!

Hellooooooo

Did you guys have a good weekend!? We did. I love the weekend lol.

I took a ton of pics so here we go lol.

FIrst off, this one is for you Carla!

This was JUST as he got in to my moms house lol. I think it was around 11pm-ish? LOL He thanks you for his CD!

LOVE this pic of Tony and Aj sleep lol. Tony was playing on the computer and Aj was playing with his gameboy lol. I went back in the bedroom and saw this:

I also love this pic of my dad and Aj at church Sunday...YES I take my camera everywhere lol

Yep...will be on a LO soon!!! lol

The kids picked a few things out of the garden. Maria you would be proud lol

And Kayla

I thought I had a picture of Aj but ummm I guess not lol. Here is more squash:

Bell pepper anyone?

With all the crazy crap going on with our food....it's good to grow your own if you can...I'm just sayn' lol I bet I can eat my tomatoes lol.

Aj got a little one on one training using the lawnmower lol. My dad is so ready for him to cut the yard lol

Good thing he still has a good ways to go lol.

This is Andre and one of his good friend. He moved to Vegas after he finished up with the Navy and we haven't seen him in FOREVER....so of course when we found out he was home, we had to go over:

And a few more of his friends:

By the time we left there were a bunch of folks and kids there lol. Too bad my battery died lol.

Last but not least...we made icecream. OMG. TALK about good. I took a TON of pics...like all the step by step stuff but it's for a LO. Here are a couple favorites:

Kayla beating the eggs....she did a good job. Yes she is all tatted up lol but it is gone now lol.

Jaelyn getting the flour ready. Y'all already know I don't like that instant stuff lol. But I had NO idea what was involved with making icecream lol. It's not hard but a LOT of steps. It paid off though:

It was SO GOOD!!!!! Notice those two finger marks in it? Yeah, Tony couldn't wait lol. Glad we weren't sharing lol. We have enough left over for the apple pie that we are making today...YUM.

And Christina...for you...

Au Gratin Potatoes

I also cooked some  Smothered POrkchips
that were fantastic. I forgot to take a pic of those, they were awesome though and mixed grilled veggies. YUM.

I have done some sewing and some scrapping and some KNITTING!!! YES I KNIT! LOL So pictures of that stuff soon!

Ok, this post is long enough.

Have a good one!
Toodles!

What a weekend!

Did you guys have a good holiday weekend!??! I sure did! This post will be picture  and long lol...just a warning lol.

Saturday the kids and I got up early for a trip to Atlanta. Now this is a FIRST for me. I have NEVER traveled more than an hour without Tony (he had to work, so we left him behind lol). Now Atlanta isn't far at all but still...I just DO NOT like to go too far without my man lol.

ANYWAY....I'd planned this trip a while back..why?? So I could meet with Stacey. YAY lol.

Let me tell y'all how lost we got trying to find this store lol. Ok...so maybe I won't but we both got lost trying to find it. It's RIGHT off the highway BUT map quest and I are NOT good friends right now....umm hmmm. 

We decided to meet up at the Fabric store

GAIL K FABRICS first since it opened before anything else...LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS STORE. OMG. It is INSANE...DO NOT GO without a pattern in hand and some fabric in mind. It is COMPLETELY overwhelming. SERIOUSLY

Here is a picture I took. I just held my camera up in the air and snapped lol

.

We had SUCH a great time in the store and my kids instantly took to her! LOL. Stacey was in button heaven and my kids stayed with her (taking pictures of I swear every button in the store...seriously.) and I looked around. TOTALLY OVERWHELMED. I only got two pieces but the ones I got are FAB.

Check out this black and white piece:

Can we all say OMG, that is TDF? LOL.  Mr. Lee showed me a pic in a magazine (can't remember which one) where they used this fabric to make a dress:

How fabulous is this?!!? It was funny because when I saw the fabric I thought about Tany...when I saw the picture in the magazine I wish I could have picked up the phone and called her lol, instead I did the next best thing lol, sent her an email lol. For this piece I am going to try my hand at drafting my own pattern lol. I was thinking one thing but it's not going to work because of the hem, so off to something else. This should be interesting lol. I can see it in my head....lol

I also got this piece of silk chiffon. LOVE IT!

Stacey got button happy in there and will have a button plan next time she goes back lol. I have NEVER seen so many buttons in ALL MY LIFE.

Once we left there we got in my car (so we could get lost together lol) and headed over to the most fabulous and friendly knit shop EVER.... THE KNITCH

Aj even got to help with a customers yarn lol

Stacey even let him use her camera to take come pics lol. My kids love cameras lol..hmm wonder why.

OMG, this shop is FAB! And the staff!?!?!? SUPER FRIENDLY! I have a girl crush on the owner Kim! LOL She was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO super nice. SERIOUSLY. I had a million and 12 questions and she answered everyone of them.

What did I walk away with?

I liked this pic too lol

Nora, I totally thought about you when I walked into the room of Habu...

I am going to try my hand at the Kusha Kusha Scarf

After that we literally walked across the parking lot to this fabulous restaurant

which is the oldest restaurant in Atlanta! It's been there since 1922 and I know why...the food was THE BOMB!

While we were waiting on our food we had to call Patrice lol.

We put her on speaker and proceeded to have a good ole time....we missed you girl...next time..next time lol

Kayla had to call her daddy because she really missed him lol:

I try shrimp and grits EVERY WHERE I go now, so I had to have it from there... just a couple pics:

Before:

AFTER:

That should say it all lol.

The kids ate well lol:

After we finished eating we hit up Why Knot Knit

Jaelyn too all the pics of Stacey and I lol...good job pumpkin. This is a great shop too! So much yummy yarn lol.

We spent all day together...we ended a Wendy's where Stacey bought us ice-cream lol and we  both got our internet fix because they had wifi tee hee, and I travel NO WHERE without my laptop lol. We had a great, great time! 

We kept touching each other saying..you are real lol...it was so funny.

Sunday my SIL and I  took the kids skating and Aj learned to skate...PURE COMEDY!! But what was even funnier was when he had to go to the bathroom...he was still in his skates and I was still in mine but he REALLY had to go so we didn't have time to take them off....baby, when I tell you...he lost his balance...I almost lost his all while helping him pee. Six year old pee went EVERYWHERE but we did not get wet lol. It was HILARIOUS lol.

I love this picture of my nephew:

And JAELYN took it! She is really getting good with the camera!

I managed to get this one of Jaelyn helping Aj lol

and this one...

pretty soon he was skating on his own...he was SO proud!

Then I came back home Sunday! LOL Did a couple of cookouts Monday and now I'm pooped! LOL

See you guys soon!
Toodles!