Currently / 10.1.18

We spent the weekend in Corpus Christi after having to cancel a couple weeks ago due to the almost-tropical storm. But the joke was apparently on us, since it feels like it’s been raining for months and months and we still ended up having to drive home yesterday afternoon through two hours of pouring rain. (Jose did all the driving, because he is awesome like that.)

The rest of the weekend was fun! We got to celebrate Jose’s cousin’s daughter’s birthday on Saturday (she was turning 6), and then celebrate Emma and Charlotte on Sunday with a party thrown for them by my mother-in-law. Everyone had a great time!

There are several other big family events this fall so we’ll be back in Corpus at least 3 more times before the end of the year. Making the drive always feels like a hassle, but the girls are old enough now that I think the anticipation of the trip feels worse than the drive actually is.

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All this seemingly non-stop rain has resulted in a half-broken umbrella and a lot of wet shoes, so today I finally ordered a new umbrella and rain boots. So of course once they arrive, it will be dry for weeks!

It was suprisingly difficult to find rain boots that were 1) available in size 11 and 2) not super expensive. I’m not generally opposed to spending $50-$100 on shoes if I think they are good quality, but for rain boots that I won’t actually wear very often, it seems like a lot. I ended up finally settling on these, so hopefully they fit well enough when they arrive. $50 was more than I was hoping to spend, but at least they are cute?

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In a few weeks, I’ll be teaching my first-ever quilting class! Our Gulf Coast MQG president recently opened The Sparkly Elephant Sewing Lounge about 15 minutes from my house, and she asked if I’d be interested in teaching a few classes. I’ve been wanting to give teaching a go, so I said yes!

We chatted about a few different ideas, so there will be more to come, but I’m starting with a simple class on Friday, October 19 to make these cute wonky tree blocks based on the pattern by Amy Smart. She has both a free tutorial and a paid PDF pattern available on her website. (The pattern will be included if you take the class.)

If you’re local and interested, you can sign up through the Sparkly Elephant calendar!

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And now, a brain dump:

• I have never in my life put a political sign in my yard…but there’s a first time for everything. Thus, I’m getting a Beto sign. It may end up getting stolen within days if NextDoor posts are to be taken seriously (which is a whole other ball of wax) but we shall see.
• It’s October 1 but Halloween costumes are already taken care of — hurrah! I am not making any part of them this year, which makes me partly sad but partly relieved. Emma fell in love with this Wonder Woman costume (that I had to order from Amazon after not finding her size at Target), and Charlotte has wanted to be Daniel Tiger ever since wearing a hand-me-down costume for literary day back in the spring.
• On Friday night when we arrived at Jose’s mom’s house around 10:30, Charlotte woke up…and wouldn’t go back to sleep. She kept getting out of bed, and we tried to put her in our bed, and she wiggled and giggled, and when all was said and done it was 3:00 IN THE MORNING before she finally fell asleep for good. Jose and I were both like WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. I don’t think we’ll be transitioning her out of her crib just yet. Good grief.
• When I got back from Cleveland I had this paper piecing book waiting for me and I am super excited to jump into it. I know how to paper piece and there are some fantastic patterns in this book, but what really sold me is that it goes through some of the steps involved in making your own complex paper piecing designs. I’m looking forward to trying it out for myself!