Entirely Smitten

Shirr Thing {another simple dress tutorial!}

I love, love, love shirring!  It's so easy to do and doesn't require a whole lot of thinking.  I've had an awful headache all day and this project was actually soothing.

The Perfect Summer Dress {Make it}

I'm a huge fan of re-purposing clothing.  When an item from my wardrobe gets tired and I find myself not wearing it, I think about ways that I can reuse it.  A sexy silk top can easily be turned into a sassy pillow.  A skirt that has seen better days can be hacked into a cute top for one of my girls.  A sweater that has accidentally been shrunk (hubbbby!) can be chopped down into a pair of cute toddler legwarmers and a matching vest.  I love bringing new life to something that might otherwise be headed to dumpsville, so when my friend Kate approached me asking for my expertise, I was PUMPED!

The Dilemma:

During their annual spring cleaning, both Kate and hubby Marc decided to pare down the items in their closet.  They decided to make a pile of items that haven't worn in over a year.  To Marc's shock he had over 20 dress shirts alone that had gone unworn!  (Way more than Kate's 12!)  Since most of Marc's dress shirts were in great condition she felt bad throwing them out and was wondering if there was a way to re-purpose them.  I practically jumped all over her!  

The Solution: The Perfect Summer Dress

 

Life is Highway...

As you are aware, our family has been pining and planning for big changes.  We've gone from thinking about moving to The Berkshires to Italy to Northern California to one of the Carolinas to staying here and downsizing and living in a minimalist haven to planning a commune (let's do it Erika!) and eventually putting it all on the back burner- because, let's be honest, once winter is over we forget how miserable we are here in New England. 

After a few weeks of taking life one day at a time, we realized how quickly life is going to pass us by if we don't spring into action.  In the last year we've spent countless hours thinking about the way life should be.  We both feel that this way of life is emotionally unsustainable.  Financially, we could stay here indefinitely, but how much sense does it make to live a completely unsatisfying life just because you feel secure?  None, thankyouverymuch.

 

So, without further ado, the plan:

I'm just a regular everyday normal guy {nothin' special bout me...}

Leaving work today I ran into an old friend.  We did the typical "Omigod!  How ARE you?!"  and things {thankfully} went smoothly from there!  (For those of you who were unaware: I am as socially inept as they come and typically when I run into someone unexpectedly my brain suddenly turns to mush, finds its way to my mouth, and reincarnates itself in the form of verbal diarrhea.  I usually wind up walking away with my foot in my mouth or with a big dopey grin on my face and the words "Idiot, Idiot, Idiot..." playing in my head with every step.)  I was so proud of myself for being able to carry out a normal human conversation without being too awkward.  She mentioned that she loves my blog and follows it obsessively.  I was genuinely shocked because I kind of just do this as an attempt to motivate me to get my shit together to keep track of the projects I've done/want to do and possibly inspire people to try new things along the way.  I suddenly felt embarrassed for the few meaningless rambling and ranting posts that I have done.  (ha! kinda like this one)  She told me how creative I am and wanted to know how I get everything done and how I ignore the downers in life and said how lucky my kids are to have such an awesome mama and how I'm living the dream life... and that's when I burst into laughter and almost peed my pants (which is usually reserved for sneezing fits during pregnancy.)  

Yes, my blog shows some fun, neat projects that I've done.  Yes, some of them are complicated and take practice.  Yes, I have three kids and a husband that are amazing.  Yes, I do a lot... HOWEVER, I'm not over here whipping up 8 course meals for my children's lunchboxes while ironing hubby's dress slacks and teaching my toddler Mandarin chinese.  I thought that the havoc in our household just went without saying?!  We don't call it "The Pimental Asylum" for no reason!  So, in light of recent events I decided to compile a list-

Five Ways You can Tell I'm Just a Hot Mess That Only Appears To Have It All Together (there's PLENTY more, just chose 5 because it's easy)

Stealing Second {Quarter Life Crisis?}

In the past year Jarrod and I have found ourselves so deeply connected.  We hear each other.  We respect each other.  We appreciate each other.  I have never imagined living a life so finely in tune with another human being.  We have the synergy that we were trying to force for so long.

Our relationship hasn't always been so balanced.  Becoming parents in high school, we found ourselves in an intense environment of stress and anxiety.  Maturing into adults, growing and changing in our relationship, and raising a child amidst new responsibilities {bills, jobs, school, household duties} was a relationship death-wish.  Yet here we are in pure synchronicity.  How?