Oh Ridley Boy

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. It's starting to feel a lot like fall around us. The mornings have gotten progressively chilly. I've actually had to don a sweater or robe in the mornings. I'm really enjoying the changing of the seasons. It's a treat for us. If anyone's ever been to Southern California  knows that you can get a sweltering November day or cold July morning. It's great in it's own way but I'm loving the defined seasons here. I'm really looking forward to winter. I'm hoping we'll get more snow this time around. Last year we only got a couple of inches over night so I could play in it.
We finally looked a few used cars this weekend. There were a few prospects but we decided to wait it out. The hubby wants to buy something a bit new and I don't blame him. I think  we're going down to Cali for Thanksgiving this year and are going to look at cars while visiting. I think we'll get a better deal in general. He wants something sport and small. I really smaller trucks. We're not into bro trucks. All big and exaggerated. It's not our style.
My birthday is coming up in a few weeks. I'll be turning 28. Old according to my 19 year old brother. Lol. It's amazing how quickly time goes by. My in-laws are coming up to photograph a wedding and are spending the weekend with us. They're going to bring up part of my present. Oh yeah. Jess bought my present and decided to hide it. Like I'm some  5 year old that's compulsive and will search the entire house. No, I have much more self-control than that.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but for a while now we had noticed that Ridley had really bad cat breathe. I'm mean worse than normal. Like if he yawned you could smell it from a We were brushing his teeth and that helped a little not much though. I finally got an appointment at the local vet's office.     It turns out the Ridley has feline stomatitis . It comes as a surprise but makes perfect sense why he has such bad breathe. Basically, he has an auto-immune disease that causes his antibodies attack his teeth and mucous membranes in his mouth. Luckily, he hasn't had too much discomfort. He got an anti-inflammatory shot to help with the symptoms but they only way to treat the disease it to remove all of his teeth. Jesse and I are against altering animals like de-clawing and tail docking. He's doing good right now. So good in fact, that he gained a pound since his last vet visit.  We changed his food to something with a soft middle and he's doing a lot better. I did some reading too and am going to add some vitamins to help him out. They are all anti-inflammatory and help with digestion.  He's a happy, chubby boy who loves his mommy and daddy. He's eating well and behaving normally.

I've worked on a few projects over the last week and I'll be sure to post photos when I get a chance. I'm working on making Christmas stockings for Jesse, Ridley and myself. I'd love to find a vintage 1950's Chrstmas tree like this . They are gorgeous but there's NO WAY I'd be okay spending money like that. I'd rather put it towards our credit card bill. If I were to find it at a thrift store or a garage sale then I'd jump on it.

I'd leave you with a photo of Ridley  Boy but my email is misbehaving. So I leave you with this quote:

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. "
Robert A. Heinlein 

September is National Sewing Month

It's National Sewing Month! At the end of winter last year, I got a great deal on a wool blend fabric for a coat. I have a few coats that I really like but in some areas they need tailoring. This also gives me a challenge.  I've never made a jacket or anything quite that complicated but it should prove interesting.

Joann's had one of it's awesome sales this weekend and I bought a bunch of essentials: thread, buttons, bias tape, tailor's chalk and a few covered button sets. I wanted some fabric but promised the hubby I wouldn't buy any. I did buy some but it was online. I bought some really cute retro fabric and a chalk cartridge set. It's normally $15.99 in stores and it was $4.99 online so I jumped on it.  The refill sets are hard to come buy too.
Here's the fabric. Isn't it cute?  I haven't decided if I want to make a dress or a skirt. It'll moe than likely end up being a skirt. I do love me a good skirt.
 

Last week, I bought some vintage fruity beads and a floral bunch cherries and blossoms. I was very crafty this past weekend. I made a tutti fruity bracelet and a tutti fruity brooch. I had one saved to my Etsy Favorited but just couldn't bring myself to buy it. So instead I made it myself. I had contemplated buying these beads for a while. I was afraid that I'd buy them and have no idea what to do with them. That happens a lot with me and bead work.  I'm very happy with the way these two items came out. I like brooches but can never find any that I like. This one I used some lace, card stock, and felt. I sewed all of the beads onto the felt to make sure I didn't loose any beads. The bracelet I just stringed it on elastic string. 








 

I've collecting vintage buttons for a while now. I don't have a really big collection but I do have some buttons I really like. Most of them are from the 50's and have a great shape to them.  I finally got around to buyikng some earring posts and epoxy. Let me tell you, the epoxy bought stunk to high Heaven. Like a nasty skunk too. It was weird. I made two pairs and fixed a third. 

This pair was made from some vintage buttons. I had to  remove the shank and glued the posts on. They're a pretty hunter green color.




This is my Bakelite earrings. They originally had screw back posts and I am terrible at keeping those on. I used to hate clip on earrings but now I can wear them with out a problem. 



These buttons I bought at Joann's. I liked the pearly sheen to them and I don't have any pink earrings.



I went on a bit of a craft shopping spree and bought a few bunches of cherries/flowers. I've been wanting to make a cherry floral hair clip. I can never find cherries that I'm happy with. That or they are WAY over priced. I made a couple of hair clips and one cherry brooch.



This is my brooch. I've seen a lot of awesome cherry brooches especially the Bakelite ones but they are much pricier than anything I'd spend. I mean, if I found a bag of money I'd definitely buy it but not at the moment. I took a spray of cherries from one of the bunches and sewed it to felt that was sewed to the brooch pin. Then for good measure I glued the top of it and the leaves to the felt. It turned out pretty nice.


                                                                                                                                           

Today is my hubby's birthday. He's 28. I'm making him a cake and I think we're going out to dinner.  It'll be my birthday in a few weeks. I really don't feel old. I feel like I'm just starting to live my life. It's probably due to the fact that we're both on our own for the first time. I'm enjoying my time with my husband. It scares me to think that at some point in the future we may have children. I'm so afraid that if we have children we'll end up too stressed to enjoy ourselves. We're in no hurry to have children.

I leave you with a photo of Ridley in my petticoat. Every cat we've ever had has loved being in my petticoats. It's like a crinkly, crisp hideout.