SEW cool!

First I have to explain that two weeks ago we bought our kids the BEST summer outdoor toy ever. It's the Little Tykes Sand & Sea Play Table. It's two sections of table, one filled with sand, one filled with water in a moat. There are little shovels and strainers, and a water wheel that makes little boats move around the moat. Good stuff. There's even an umbrella overhead.

We bought this because my kids always wanted to be outside but there was really nothing for them to do. Well, this was the best money we ever spent. They play with it four HOURS. I don't mean 5 minutes or even 20. I mean, literally, hours on end. I have to practically tear them away to go potty, eat, sleep, and breathe. And because I put it on my deck, right outside my kitchen door, I can watch them while I get on the internet get really constructive things done around the kitchen. There is a downside to this fabulous toy, though. It's messy. It only takes about 2 minutes before the kids get sandy, and another 2 before they're wet. So I've been changing their clothes as many as 4 times a day. (And sweeping the floor numerous times a day as well. Because as much as I like the feeling that I'm in Cancun every time I walk across the kitchen, I don't like the feeling that I'm sleeping in a sandbox at night when all that sand magically ends up in my bed.) I knew it was time to think of a new plan when I was on my second load of kids' laundry in two days, every outfit they own having been doused in gritty water.

Enter my mom. One of my mom's most impressive skills is her ability to sew. As far as I know, she can sew anything. She sewed a lot of our clothes growing up. She sews curtains, bedspreads, furniture upholstery. She sewed my sister's wedding dress, my baby's Christening gown, my dad's 3-piece suits in the 70's. And I'm pretty sure she sewed her own diapers as a child. So when I told her I wanted to make some waterproof aprons for my kids to play at their sand table in, she waved her hand and looked skyward as if to say "Oh, that would be a cake walk."

Next stop, the fabric store. Our only fabric store in town is pretty small, dark, and cramped, kind of like a seedy bar but with bolts of cloth where the mugs of beer should be. Stil, they managed to have about 8 different patterns of plastic coated (i.e. table cloth) material. The John Deer tractor fabric was tempting, as was the Relief Society luncheon plastic-coated lace. But in the end I chose the blue checkered Winnie the Pooh pattern. Not my favorite. I'm generally opposed to my children wearing cartoon characters. But my husband would not have appreciated my kids wearing plastic lace.

So here's how they turned out. Oh, and I should add that I actually did 90% of the sewing MYSELF. I figured it was time I learned. Yeah, I did sew my own jams in 1987. But I'd forgotten all that sewing brilliance since I began stooping to store-bought clothes.




Now if I can just figure out how to keep all the sand from ending up in the water side of the table, and arrange for a daily delivery of sand to replace all the sand that gets dumped on my deck, my happiness will be complete.

Cotton Pickin' Pillowcases!

I need your help, you guys. Here is the backstory:

So a few years ago, Big Daddy and I decided to redecorate our bedroom. By that I mean, change out the bedding and window coverings. So we bought a pale gold (maize, not metallic gold) comforter and pale yellow sheets, gold microfiber suede curtains, and dark red accent items (shams, curtain swag, etc). I bought 2 sheet sets. One was 300 thread count cotton, one was 220 thread count cotton. Then, I was at Target one day shortly thereafter, and I found some adorable sheets that were just the right shade of pale yellow and they had an embroidered border on the top sheet and pillow cases that was dark red leaves. I LOVED that pattern, and it brought in the dark red accents. But they were only 180 thread count cotton. So I passed on them. But twice more I went to Target and drooled over them. So I finally gave in and bought them.

Well, as it turns out, those 180 thread count cotton sheets have ended up being the softest, smoothest, coldest sheets of them all. You know what I mean by cold, right? When you lay your head down on cold sheets, it almost repels your body heat. There is no friction or fuzz. It's just crisp coolness. Back to my story.... How could this be? The 220 thread count set we bought are horrible. Very rough. The 300 thread count ones are OK. They're reasonable. But when we put the 180 thread count set in the wash and put on the other ones, neither of us can sleep on those pillow cases. They're just not cold and crisp and smooth enough. Only the 180 thread count ones will do.

Well, flash forward 3 years. My pillowcase got a small tear along the seam where the edge pattern meets the main pillow case. I tried to sew it up, but it tore again. And after another round through the wash, it became a huge t-shaped tear, half the length of the pillowcase and along the whole seam at the top. So it's not fixable. The cotton is just too fragile now. But none of my other pillowcases are soft enough. I've tried buying higher and higher thread count pillowcases (400 and 600), but none of them are as slick and smooth as my tattered one, not even after several washings. So what gives? There must be something other than thread count that makes cotton linens soft. Does anyone out there know? Has anyone worked at Linens 'N' Things and been made privilege to this secret information? Because it is secret. I've spent several hours on the internet trying to find an answer to this question, and all I can come up with is that some weaves are softer, some thread lengths are softer, etc., but no details. Nothing to guide me to making a fantastic pillow case replacement purchase.

HELP!

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I'm In Love!

Living in the center of Happy Valley doesn't really put you in a hot spot for quaint little cafes, one-of-a-kind boutiques and charming mom-and-pop restaurants. If you've ever lived in my county for any length of time, you've noticed that only big chains thrive here. Many is the time I've come to love a darling little shop or unique restaurant only to find it has gone out of business in the first year and been replaced by a Chili's or Kohl's. If you can't get it from Hoboken to Houston, Talahasee to Tacoma, Utahans don't want it. So although I'm glad we have a few restaurants in my little town now, albeit chains, I was absolutely delighted when I stopped by a new bakery that just opened and found it a charming, quaint, mom-and-pop, original. It's called Flour Girls and Dough Boys. They bake breads and all kinds of yummy treats, and they make really creative sandwiches, wonderful soups, and even made-from-scratch pot pies (don't drool, Jennie). Their wedding cakes on dislay blew me away. They even do breakfast! And the place is so cute inside too. I took quite a few pictures because I was just blown away to find someplace so original in Smalltown, Happy Valley. I felt like I'd walked into a little cafe down a small street in Paris or Florence! Should I pinch myself?

I'm going to have to eat there every day to keep this place from going out of business. And it shouldn't be a problem as I saw at least 15 things right off the bat (and that's not counting desserts) that I'd like to try. (Today I ordered a Turkey & Brie sandwich with creamy cranberry sauce on cranberry walnut bread, chicken orzo stew, and a peanut butter brownie) .If you ever come to see me and it's lunchtime, I promise to take you to this place. In the meantime, tell everyone you know in my neck of the woods to try it. If it goes out of business, I'm holding you all responsible. And I'm blowing up Chili's.

The cute orange checkered floors...


I'm not sure why there's a door and windows on the inside--I guess the building is an add-on. All the more charming, I think.


I loved this wall of clocks and mirrors and frames...


And there were four of five antique chandeliers, all different.....


I wish I could get married again so I could have them do my wedding cake. Aren't they stunning?

Who Are You?

I reailze sometimes when I read people's blogs, especially ones that I've linked to and don't actually know, that I rarely read their "this is who I am" section on the side of their blog. And even if I do know them, it's interesting to see the things people highlight about themselves. So I thought I might start a tag for anyone who wants to play to copy and paste their little section about themselves into a blog post, just to make it easy to read and to see who's playing along. Maybe I'll learn a few new things! Tell me if you learned anything. Here's mine....

Omgirl
I still have some misgivings about airing my life out on the internet, but for my friends, I will do it. If you don't know me, here's where you can get your fill of Arianne trivia: I am from Detroit. I love baked goods, 80's new wave, sleeping, dancing, the woods, growing green things, traveling, trivia games, pasta, sushi, making soap, reading the classics, learning languages, old musicals, and NOT doing math. I hate following trends--I march to my own bass. I have two kids and one husband. Big Daddy(the husband), is awesome. He makes me laugh constantly and could be nominated for Father Of the Year every day. Daphne, my firstborn, is nearly 3. She is smart, fun, curious, loves animals, and perfers an all sugar diet or nothing at all. And she loves to sleep, just like her mommy. Beck is almost 18 months and FINALLY walking. He is all boy. He prefers splashing in toilet water and emptying garbage cans to toys, hands down. He loves to sing and be sung to, has a giant head on a tiny neck that he bobs wildly to any music within earshot. And I think he weighs more than his sister. Flossie, our cat, still avoids the kids as much as she can. Ok, I think that sums it up nicely.

A Taste of Italy in Sin City

I can't believe I forgot to blog about the best part of my trip to Las Vegas--Maggiano's. You know how when you go to Vegas, you generally have two food options--good and super expensive or cheap and crappy? Well, on this last trip, Cara and I found a secret jewel on the strip. Absolutely fantastic food, completely reasonably priced, and easy to get to from almost anywhere on the strip. Maggianos is on 3200 Las Vegas Boulevard, attached to the Fashion Something Mall, right across the street from the Wynn. We ordered the Rigatoni D--rigatoni, button mushrooms, and tender rotissari chicken in a creamy marsala wine sauce--(served family style so the portions are gynormous) and just about died the food was so good. What's more, we had no wait. And we only paid about $15 for our split entre, not $50 like most places in Vegas. I consider it a total find, and I can't wait to go back there again next time. I thought I'd share since enough of my friends/readers live close enough to Vegas to use this tip. If you try it out, let me know what you think! In the meantime, I've GOT to figure out how to recreate this recipe. I guess I better start working on the spit to roast my chicken.

Peeing Scared

You know what makes me so scared I almost get stage fright and can't pee? Restaurant bathrooms that are only one room--no stalls--right off the main dining room. Because those kind of bathrooms ALWAYS have the kind of door locks that are a little button you push in on the handle. That kind of lock just doesn't say "security" to me. You can't jiggle the handle to check that it is locked, because the mechanism that makes it unlock is turning the handle. And they only go in an imperceptible amount when you push them so that there is no really clear sign that they are locked. So you have to pull down your pants and face the door that opens directly into the dining room and pray with every fiber of your being to the Almighty God that no one will try to open the door while you're using the bathroom. Because even if that door lock holds when they try to open it, which I'm always sure it won't, it still will give you a heart attack when the handle jiggles from the outside. WHY CAN'T RESTAURANTS JUST PUT A NICE BIG SLIDING BAR OF METAL ON THE DOOR THAT CAN'T BE BUSTED OPEN WITHOUT CALLING THE FIRE DEPARTMENT? And, get this, I ate at a restaurant the other day that had the stall-less ladies room opening directly onto the dining area AND IT HAD A SMOKED GLASS WINDOW ON IT!!! Are you freaking kidding me??? I held my bladder for an additional 15 minutes and then missed the first 4 minutes of my movie just so I wouldn't have to go pee pee in that bathroom from hell. People, seriously. Is this bathroom thing so hard?

In Case You Missed It

We saw the cutest movie last year, "Waitress." It was just darling. Very well acted and just a great movie. You might not have seen it because it only came to the art house theaters. I'm not sure why--maybe because it was independently produced. Anyway, it's out on video now, so I'm just letting you know if you missed it that you should rent it. I think you'll really like it. Oh, and don't watch it on an empty stomach. You'll be craving pie all night!