Monday December 20, 2010

We finally got our Christmas Tree!!!  This is our first Christmas tree.  Last year we were out of town and so we didn't bother (plus we didn't technically live together) So this year I got to go shopping for some fun ornaments and Tree trimmings!  I went with a very fun, colorful and delicious theme

Colorful and Delicious!

I noticed a pattern after several trips to Target, Kohl's and Walmart....Snowflakes!  Even the tree topper!

Snowflake Topper

I purchased the tree topper, stocking holders, ornaments and a votive holder all at separate times....they are all snowflakes!  Which I guess was a sub-conscious thing.  I finally feel free to be me, the 'real' Christa...unique and unlike anyone else...just like a snowflake!  :)

Look even these Ornament tea light holders have snowflakes on them

Ornament Tea Light Lanterns

Our home finally (less than one week before Christmas Day) looks festive!
Yesterday, BF picked out the tree and brought it home while I was working....at first I wasn't so thrilled with it's egg-like shape, this is definitely the tree I would have talked him out of had I been there, but then decided that if that was the one he liked, and went and purchased with his own money, I would enjoy it...just as he is enjoying all of the Girlie ornaments and decorations that I chose.  Do you think a straight man would have ever chosen bows and candies and purple squiggles?

Shiny Balls, Bows, Candies & Squiggles

Let's not forget the lights....I asked him what he thought about stringing blue lights on the tree (Blue being his fav color)...of course he said yes, then I asked about purple...he nodded and that was the end of the convo.....days later (yesterday) after turning on some Christmas music and putting the Christmas tree in it's stand, I had him plug in the lights so that we could string them on the tree....he looked at me and said "What happened to the blue lights?"...I had made the executive decision to go with the purple lights, but upon plugging them in, it turns out that purple lights shine PINK!  :)  I'm not complaining....and neither did he.  After the egg tree was decorated he stepped back and said "It looks really good" with a smile on his face which totally made my heart smile.  We kissed next to our first prefectly imperfect tree!

Candies & Sparkles, Snowflakes & Squiggles, Shiny Balls & Bows...That's what our Christmas tree is made of!

This tree was definitely decorated by the 15 year old girl that lives within me.

C <3 B

I look forward to a lifetime of happy compromise.  :)  Life is great!

November 24th 2010

 Well better late than never...this was supposed to have been posted on the 24th of November....today is the 20th of December...I figured I'd still post so I had it to go back to one day.

Baby Face started a new job today...an additional job...which requires him to wake up before the sun.  I've always wanted to be a person that could wake up early and start the day off right by exercising, eating a healthy breakfast and just enjoying the peace that a brand new day brings.  And so I did.  My aggressive plan was to wake up at 5am, immediately throw on my sports bra and sneakers and fly out the front door to head to the gym, I could imagine the Rocky theme song playing in the background.  Well that is not exactly how the episode went today.  Instead of waking up at 5am, I woke up at 6am.  Instead of throwing on my sports bra, I headed straight to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup.  Instead of throwing on my sneakers, I opted for my pink fuzzy slippers...And instead of flying out the front door with the Rocky Theme song playing, I slowly strutted my way to the back door wiping the sleepies out of my eyes.  I checked in to the latest of what's goin on in everyone's world on Facebook, and then searched the recordings of Workouts on the DVR.  Instead of the running I had imagined I'd be doing, I chose to do Shimmy and work my hips and legs.  After my workout I had a dried fig and a container of Strawberry Banana yogurt.  I straightened up the livingroom and then hung out with Coco before the rest of the day began.   My day hasn't even started yet and I feel as though I've accomplished all that I wanted to do even if it wasn't how I had imagined.

Coco givin' me kisses

Ahhhhh......Organizing the Storage Closet

The next organizing project.....the Storage Closet.  Apartment living is great...lots of amenities, gated for safety, no maintenance, etc....but when it comes to storage, you're kind of screwed.  We do happen to have a decent sized storage closet (the largest I've ever seen in an apartment complex) however without shelving etc....this is basically what it becomes.

A complete nightmare when trying to find something that is stored.

I'd been ITCHING to get this somewhat organized...can you blame me?  Everytime I went to search for something in there I had to pull everything out, find it, and then shove everything back in.  So I purchased this Wonderful Invention

BF wasn't really on board for the whole organizing project as he thought it wouldn't make a difference.

I'll let you be the judge...

You can actually walk into the closet now....I can even dance in there!  Oh and I can find everything in a matter of SECONDS!

Here's the Before and After side by side

Like a Fine Wine

....so my birthday was back in August...exactly 2 months ago....on the 21st.  There is good reason as to why I have not blogged I promise and I'll fill you in on those details in another post (that hopefully I can get around to before another 2 months have passed!)

Several loved ones decided to surprise me by throwing a 35th birthday party for me at a local establishment.

 Lots of friends came to join in the celebration....

 
There were even a few more surprises thrown in, like my oldest sister, AND....My Mom!

Here is me in all of my birthday fabulous-ness....!

We also celebrated Baby Face and my 1 year anniversary!!

Cause he did ask me to be his girlfriend back on my 34th birthday.....and I said "yes" cause I am not that crazy to pass up all of his precious-ness!

It was a night I will never forget.  I felt absolutely fabulous and well-loved!

Here's to a lifetime filled with lots of happiness and love from my peeps!

This Is My Confession

I have a confession, and this confession was sparked by this Glamour article.

I've been carrying a burden of guilt since I returned from a business trip to Shanghai China in October of 2009.  While doing business there in China, I also managed to squeeze in a bit of "tourist" time.  I hit a "Tourist Hot Spot" with lots of souvenir shops etc. 

While walking along the strip I was approached by a Chinese woman (assumed) holding a small card that was folded.  She unfolded and pointed to this small card.  There were pictures of watches and handbags....knock-offs of designer bags and watches.  She gestured for me to follow her and so I did. 

After a brief  walk down a side road, I followed her into what appeared to be a souvenir shop.  She pushed against a wall which became a doorway into another world.  Behind that wall were several air-conditioned and well merchandised rooms full of knock-off designer goods, totally different from the open-air (equals hot & muggy) shabby souvenir store that I had walked into.  After doing some browsing around, I did not see anything that interested me so I politely thanked them and turned to walk out, but not to lose a sale, she had me follow her to yet another "secret spot".  Again, nothing of interest....we moved on to the next spot....at this point it was more of a thrill to see more of this underground operation.....and finally I found something of interest, after some major haggling, I made a purchase.  I can tell you that I am not very well-liked on the streets of Shanghai, I didn't let them get too far over on me....they didn't "rip me off" in my opinion, they were not happy with me, and their smiles eventually turned into dirty look.....they never thanked me for my purchase, in fact as I walked out, I think I heard someone grunt.

I had dirty feeling of being a fraud & guilty afterward, not to mention thankful that I didn't get kidnapped or worse.  You have to realize that I am an American woman in a foreign country, shopping in an underground secret world....I definitely took a chance.   

I seldom wear the handbag that I purchased that day .  I can probably count the number of times I've used it on one hand....and when I do, I feel like a fake...a liar....a cheat...a fraud and I want to hide the bag so that no one who is wiser can look at me and judge and think that I am a fake.  So here I am confessing (and also praying that the powers that be are not reading this and looking for me now).  While I'm at it I might as well also confess to having purchased other faux-items which were then gifted to recipients who were well aware of the origin and lack of authenticity.

The Glamour article link above relates to a study of how women who knowingly purchase and carry fake designer bags are more likely to lie and cheat on tests...and while it's been a long time since I have taken a test, I do feel guilt....each time I look at it in my closet., just as if I would feel guilt if I had cheated on a test and then passed.

Why do I feel so guilty?  because while I haven't done any reading up on it, I am quite sure that I committed a crime by making these purchases...I am sure that the crime didn't start and end that day that I followed the woman into the underground world....moreover, I question whether people sacrificed their lives at all so that I could carry that FAKE bag?  I know that seems extreme, but it is a BIG business just like illegal drugs, it is definitely a possibility and I just can't happily go on owning this bag with those thoughts in the back of my mind.  In addition, as a self-proclaimed designer, how could I knowingly commit such a crime against my own kind?!?!?!

I've been thinking about getting rid of it for a while..to rid myself of this guilt.  I've thought about giving it away...I've thought about throwing it away...but if I throw it away, I am adding to the landfills....if I give it away, someone else will be carrying it...and it will still be in existence....and I'll still feel the guilt knowing it is still out there. 

Perhaps I should have a burning of the bag ceremony....nothing fancy or cult-like...just a backyard fire with chopped up wood and a fake hand-bag.....but then I may be releasing toxic fumes into our breathing air.....sigh

what to do...what to do....

I think I'll go have a Red-Bull...speaking of Red Bull, did you know that it is illegal in some countries???  Now that is just CRAZY talk!

Things n Stuff

So just as life is an ever evolving process, so is decorating our apartment on a budget.  I recently came into some cash and anytime that happens, I prefer to spend some of it on the apartment to make it homier.  A lot of the things I own(ed) come with the energy of past relationships and so I am trying to replace those things so as to have all new (or new to us) things surrounding us, instead of looking around at the same things I've looked at for 10 plus years.  Several months back I held a garage sale in order to get rid of some of these things.  I figured I'd use the "found" cash to replace things such as decorations and dinnerware and glasses as well as cutlery, etc.

Over the weekend a girlfriend and I headed out to Ikea for some retail therapy.  I went in armed with a shopping list because I knew that if I didn't have some sort of a plan, I would lose track of what I originally intended on going there for and spending WAAAAY more than I wanted and walking out with none of the things I went in for.  Hello A.D.D. brain....does not mix well with the madness and over-stimulation that is Ikea!  Which reminds me, before I left for the day BF said to me in a serious tone "If you do not come back with a new loveseat, IKEA!"  he's too funny and I love his sense of humor!

Thanks to this blog post by Jen over at iheartorganizing, i was inspired to use one of her organizing ideas for our office/desk area.

 Just as Jen did, I used the Bygel Rail, along with the Bygel s-hooks, and the 3 of the Asker containers.  Grand total for this unique and adorable way of keeping things organized and easily accessible?  $21.68

And then it turned into an idea for the kitchen.....I needed SOMETHING above the stove and I wanted it to serve dual purpose of function and fashion....
TahDah!

I used 2 more of the Bygel Rails, along with some more of the Bygel s-hooks, 4 of the Fargrik Coffee Mugs, and the Bygel Wire Basket with a 4-pack of Rajtan Spice Jars that I filled with my own spices and herbs.  I love the look and functionality!  Oh and this project's grand total was $12.75! plus the cost of the spices which I already had on hand.

My apologies for the picture quality being all 2004.  These are from my ancient hand-me-down cell phone camera.  If I remember to do it, I'll take better pictures with my digital camera and update this post, as these pictures do this no justice and you can't really see how those mugs pop against the boring neutral paint color.

From the shopping trip with a girlfriend on a Saturday afternoon in Hotlanta, to the hanging of these new and exciting (to me) organizers, this was an overall fun way to spend money, update, organize and decorate our apartment!  Not to mention it took me all of 15 minutes to measure and install all three of these bad boys!

Next organizing project (I hope) will be the storage closet.....it looks like a bomb went off in there!  I'll take a before shot...only if you promise not to judge.



Hope all is well in your world, and if it's not...keep your chin up!  Things will get better if you keep a positive mind frame.


Love n hugs n kisses!

Catching Up

I'd love to say that my life has been EXTREMELY busy, so busy that I have not had a moment to stop and write.  While it has been busy, it hasn't been that busy.  Sorry my beloved 2 readers.  :)
So let's see, what is there to discuss sine last time I posted?
I made some Lucky Poker boxers for Baby Face.

 Check out the center, there is a pee-hole there but you can't tell because I matched up the fabric pattern so well (pat pat on my back).  They were easy to make and I plan to make more.  From here on out all of the men in my life will be getting underwear as gifts ;)  Just kidding, maybe.
This year for some reason I got the urge to plant a garden.  Not only to plant a garden, but to do so from seeds.  My only problem?  I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment building....no yard.

My solution?

Window boxes!  I purchased 3 of them for $15 each at Wal-mart, 1 for each of the 3 balconies.  I planted green beans & cilantro in one box and beets & basil in the other box.  I planned to plant arugula in the 3rd box, but could not find seeds nor plants before leaving for vacation.
We traveled down to Port St. Lucie, Florida last week for a long weekend getaway.

We only made it to the beach one of the 4 days, but while there got to witness the final Atlantis shuttle launch!  That was a nice surprise!
I met the newest member of the family, my cousin Katie's brand new daughter Madison.  Got to meet her awesome hubby Bill for the first time in their adult life too!

Madison looks a lot like my family, we must have some pretty strong genes!
One of the evenings we borrowed Bill's Cadi and took a ride down to a Tiki Bar in Jupiter to meet up with my friend/co-worker Katie (who I stole the idea to take that weekend to head down to FL) and her friend Kim.

Thanks to Facebook, I got to meet up with an old High School friend who has been living there for quite a while now! 

It was really nice seeing Paola after so long (17 years!!! YIKES!)  The evening was low key and laid back.  I got hit on by a woman who was there with another woman.  This was the first time that someone has ever been so blatant about it.  Her partner was not very happy.  I thanked her for the compliment and quickly made my way back to our table for fear of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

During our trip, I got word from friend/co-worker/neighbor Katt (who was watching the cats and watering my dirt) that some thing started to sprout!  YEAHY!  Though I was a lil upset that was gone for the birthing of my first sprout....I knew it was going to happen.  More things popped up shortly after that.  We have 2 green bean plants (one is missing it's leaves, I hope this won't be a problem).

We also now have the cilantro in that same box.  The other box has beets and basil growing!

The porch is my most favorite place to hang out.  We finally got around to purchasing some real outdoor furniture.

I absolutely LOVE those pillows I made, though they seem to be starting to fade a little bit.  I try to bring them in when it rains, to keep them from molding (because I did not make the covers removable) but there is nothing I can do about the sun hitting them.
This weekend, I finally got around to planting some flowering plants in some cheapo ($1 each on sale!) Wal-Mart planters that I purchased when BF first moved in back in October.  I saw these Double Impatiens at Lowe's and had to have them!

They are so sweet and delicate and add a lot of life to the porch.

They make me happy.  They make the porch smell nice too!

While out and about on Saturday, I came across some Arugula seeds at Target.  I purchased them and planted them as soon as I got home.  Hopefully we'll see those sprouts too!

Well, I guess that's about it for now.  I'll leave you with one last photo of BF and I on vacation.

I have never known a greater love than this!  Finally!

Bad Mood and Attitude

So I am currently in a bad mood, which is a rare thing for me.  In fact last night I thought I was having an anxiety attack and it turned out to just be anger...but I HATE that feeling....sigh...anyway, what doesn't help is that Mother Nature has sent her lil gift to me and it seems my hormones are all out of wack right now.  So with that said, I have decided that I am no longer allowed to sew at this time of the month.  How did I come to this conclusion?  Behold, my first attempt at swimwear:

I'm not thrilled with how it turned out, but I was also lacking patience which is required when you are sewing.  God help my serger which was not behaving at one point, it almost made it's way out the window and into the street....but I think it realized my frustrations and decided to cooperate.  Lucky for it!  :) 

Facing My Fear

Last we spoke about my weightloss, I was telling you about how I reached ONEderland and stuff about goals and milestones etc. I also mentioned near the end of the post that I was scared....so I guess that's what I want to talk about, because it will help me get through.
But before I get into it, check out this picture of me from the weekend....down 20 something pounds....I can't really see it here...I really want to, but I don't.  That doesn't mean I look at this picture in disgust, it just means that I can't see the weightloss.  Though I did notice my forearms are looking slimmer ;)

What am I afraid of you ask? Simple....not going any further in my journey, and reason being because this is always where I get to. Right here, right where I am. This is the weight/size where people start noticing, I get comfortable and then slowly creep my way back up to 220 lbs. I've done this on more than one occassion, can't give it a number but if I sat down to think about it, I'd probably need two hands to count.
But my fears are a little more at ease this week and it's because my At Work meetings are starting again on Thursday. It is REALLY convenient and motivating to have this program at the office in addition several of my work buds are rejoining as well...so we've got a nice support system there.
I do believe I've "got it" this time. This time around it doesn't stop with just wanting to be a smaller size, it's an all around "I want to be better to me" thing. I am demanding respect from people around me. I am not letting anyone walk all over me or bring drama to my life and if they do, I am ridding myself of them. This is a more empowered version of myself that I am dealing with. Nothing is stopping me. But I believe it would be easier to slip back into my old ways of eating if the next session of WW wasn't starting at work, I know this because we've been out for a few weeks already and I am finding that I am not as stict with my food choices. So, I guess I don't really "have it" yet....but I am getting there. I hope.
I am quite sure I've put on a few pounds in the past few weeks. We'll see what the scale has to say on Thursday. I'm not gonna let it get me down though. I've got a whole journey ahead of me and I am not always going to be perfect and I need to continue to accept that. I can't get mad at myself for slipping, just pick up again and move forward.
I went to the gym last night. I always feel great after a workout. Proud of myself for taking care of myself. I deserve it. :D
Hope all are enjoying warmer weather and sunshine!!! Have a great week!

Charlotte Weekend

Baby Face and I headed up to Charlotte this weekend to visit the Fam.  I took Friday off and we headed up early enough to get there by 6pm because we planned to go out to a comedy improv show with Jess.  I traveled dressed and ready to go with just a make up touch up before we got to the venue.  We had a great time at the show, it reminded me a lot of "Who's Line is it Anyway".  It's all about being quick witted...I can't do that on command.  After wards we headed out to another bar down the road with several of the comedians who had performed.  It was an out door patio, no live music, but the tunes that came through the speakers were decent.  After we left the patio bar, we crossed the street to an area where a number of local artists were selling their stuff.  I picked up a gift for Katt as a thank you for watching the cats MJ and Coco.  I also picked up an acrylic on canvas that spoke to me as we were standing there looking at everything. 

When I made the purchase, the artist was thrilled and mentioned how he was so glad that he didn't pack it up earlier as he had intended to do.  I was happy for him as well as for myself.  Oh, I even got him to sign the Eye Magnets that we got for Katt, only he wasn't the artist, he was the husband of the artist, so that what I had him sign "Husband of the Artist" I knew Katt would appreciate that. 
Saturday I had no intentions of doing anything other than visiting Mary Jo's cloth store which is about 35 minutes south of Mom's.  I had heard great things but had NO IDEA!!!  This place is ginormous and had everything I could ever want in the way of fabric!  I felt like i was in Disney World and BF even mentioned how I was Lit up like a kid upon entering this place!  If I hadn't been with Jess and BF I would have been there until they closed, but I knew I had to go and find only what I had intended to buy.

The first 2 fabrics were picked out by BF.  That green texas hold em print cotton is going to be Boxer shorts for him and the blue next to it is Mesh for Basket Ball shorts for him.

The next 4 fabrics are all going to be made into......SWIMWEAR!  and I am too excited to get them started!

I plan to use black stretch as a contrast band for some of the suits.  I loved everything they had, and it was hard to walk away with only 4 yards, 1 of each color.  But there will be plenty more visits to Charlotte and plenty more visits to Mary Jo's now that I know about it and it's along the way to mom's.  I need to get started on what I've got and then replenish when I am running out.  I no longer want to hoard fabric, but rather use it and execute all of the ideas in my head.  BUT MAN....I can't believe I have been driving past this place for 6 years and not knowing a thing about it!
The last fabric in the bounty is a black Stretch Satin that I intend to make a corset for Jessica.  I've already made a flat sketch but need to make some changes.  I've never done corsetry before, but I am confident in my abilities and will see what turns out.
I hung the artwork in the sewing/dining area.  Actually it's no longer a dining area...at least it hasn't been since I broke out the sewing equipment a month and a half ago....oopsie!  That's the life of apartment dwelling.

The new art could really use some company.  I haven't decided what yet, but it's garage sale season, who knows what is out there and ready for me to take ownership of?
I just lazed around the rest of the time.  My allergies hit me while there and so I was headachey and drowsy...but it's always a great time, regardless of whether I am active or lounging.  OOOH OOOH and I got some great unexpected (cause it's not my birthday or Christmas) gifts.  I got a pink reptile embossed granny chic wallet/case as well as a Tote bag!

Both from 2 different people and I love how they are not the same shade of pink yet coordinate so well!

I also managed to convince my mother that the Camper in the backyard is rotting away and that I would put good use to it since I am a lover of camping.  She agreed!  YEAHY!  So now I have a fun new project!

Updating a 1981 23ft Shasta Camper!  I just need to get some new tires for it so that I can get it down here to GA.  This is not the actual camper, I found this picture online, but it's very similar to the one rotting in mom's backyard that I intend to enjoy in the woods.  It's in decent shape for being  nearly 30 years old, but definitely could use some updating as you could imagine!

Sunday was a BEAUTIFUL day and as much as I hated wasting such a beautiful day driving back home, I'd rather drive in beautiful weather than crap, it just makes the 4 hour drive much nicer!
It's a new day and there are so many possibilities!  I can't wait to get home from work today and get started on something fun!!!

17 Weeks, 21 lbs, A Dress Size Down, and the Smell of 10%

Thursday was a big one.....It was the last week of our At Work Session (17 weeks session). In the beginning (back in Nov) I had quietly made goals of reaching a 20 lb loss, which would also take me to being under 200 lbs and just around the corner from reaching the 10% loss mark. Well, I stepped on the scale and had a 3 lb. weight loss this week. This 3 lb loss on the LAST day of our 17 week session is what brought me to reaching my 20 lb loss, my entry into ONEderland (being under 200 lbs.) and the aroma of reaching my 10% as I am only .9lb away from being there. In addition, this is also the week that I am fitting into my size 14 clothing (I started WW on the verge of an 18). One more thing is that this is also the week that multiple people at the office have commented on my weight loss. I guess you can say this is a pretty monumental week in my journey. MANY milestones have been reached and I am ecstatic as you can imagine.


I hadn't set up a reward for reaching these goals. I didn't even think to do it, but now that I am here, I really feel it kinda necessary to reward myself in some none food related way. Even though I am kinda broke (who isn't), I am sure I can scrounge up a couple of bucks for a new pair of jeans or an adorable dress to show off all of my hard work. One of my closest friends and motivating WW buddy and I are going shopping this afternoon. I was a bit hesitant at first, but I am putting it in my head that it is a necessity (really, I do need smaller clothing).

While I am super stoked about all of this I am also scared, and I am pretty sure I have good reason to be, but I need to not let it hold me back from continuing my journey and reaching goals (that I still have yet to make now that I've reached these) and eventually reaching the ultimate goal. More on my fears in another post....stay tuned, I may need your encouragement, words of wisdom, and hand to hold. ;) Have a beautiful day!

Duff Dress.....Almost Done

Just about finished up with the Duff Dress, all that's left is the hem, but I was too excited and just needed to take a picture now.  The hemline will fall just above the knee. 

I won't be able to wear it unless I modify the pattern and re-do the bodice so that the waistline falls below my boobies...sigh....I just don't have the energy nor enough of the fabric.  I need to make another one for a friend and I'm hoping this will work for her just as it is.  She just may be the proud owner of 2 new dresses!

Looking back at the picture on the pattern envelope, I see that I have the pleats folded in the wrong direction.  Too bad, as I have already serged and am just not going to take it all apart.  If I didn't know, I wouldn't know, so neither will anyone else.  :D

Duff Dress

I hate when I start a sewing project and realize it's not going to work out for me.  Again, my bust is to blame.  I started making this McCall's Dress 5575

but that empire waist lands right smack on my apex line.  sigh....I suppose I could modify the pattern, but the bodice is already cut and sewn.
I plan to make a second one for a friend in a different color.  I'll have her try the finished one on before I start cutting hers out.
Guess this pattern wasn't made for a thirty something year old woman with a 40D ;)

I'll post a picture if it works out for my friend....I really hope it does!  Fingers/toes/eyes crossed!

A Dress, A Porch & Two Pillows

I had this very cute summer dress that I purchased cheap and I adored, however it was not possible to wear the dress with a bra.  I am no way able to wear a dress without a bra....though one drunken weekend last April (2009 - Savannah...awesome weekend getaway with my girls for Gretchen's Bachelorette weekend) anyway, I digress....I DID wear the dress and went Bra-less...YIKES!

So yes, this was the last time I wore the dress especially since the straps broke this evening (probably from trying to hold up the girls).
I recently went through some old things and came across the dress, I adored it just as I did the first time I saw it in the store.  "What am I going to do with this, I can't get rid of it", I thought to myself.  Then the light bulb went off!!!
I thought about the porch camping chairs that I have.  I really can't afford new patio furniture, and the camping chairs are just not comfortable enough for the amount of time we spend out on the porch.

 PILLOWS!!!  Easy! And I'll be able to enjoy the pattern of the soft woven fabric on a daily basis!

And here's a close-up

And here is a side by side of the dress and the new pillows!!

I love that I got to keep my dress.  I love that I kept the dress out of the landfills.  I love my new pillows!