Another Japanese Halloween

This year we decided to do another Anime Halloween.  Last year Russell and Sam dressed up as characters from Naruto.  This year it's Pokemon.   

We ordered Russell's Ash costume from ebay.  It was only around $25.  Not bad.  And after materials and my time it cost the same to make.  Russell and Sam were skeptical that I could make the Ash costume.  Whatev.

I made this pokeball bag and finished it today.  I started it a few days ago and was all proud and stuff but then I found out I made the ball upside down with the white on top.  It took me a day or two to get over how upset I was before I fixed it.  For the circle I just traced the bottom of Jade's exersaucer.  For the black circles I traced Beqi's bobbin container.

This is the Pikachu costume that took me 2.5 hours to make.  I made the first part Friday in two hours then it took me 30 minutes to embroider the face and add the tail.  I just totally pulled this one out of my ass because I had never made a baby one piece before and never made anything with a hood.   

I totally would have ordered this costume online for a reasonable price but I couldn't find any.  Originally I was going to be a (slutty) Pikachu and baby was going to be a Pokeball but I felt like Pikachu for the baby made more sense.  While we were at Boo at the Zoo we had the theme song for Pokemon playing on the iBaby.  Sam and I haven't made costumes yet for this year and we probably won't.  Ofcourse we could be Brock and Misty but I don't have red hair and it'll be too cold to wear shorts and a tank top. 

Please Sir Can I Have Some More

Here are a couple of shoes that have really caught my eye

Most likely, I will get the silver brogues if I get any of them at all.  I JUST bought brogues in September too.  Ugh.  And I double checked that you can't buy either of the JC ones up top at any local store.  Does that mean I'm a bad person?  Hateful of people that have money, maybe.  Who do I think I am? 



Green Patterned Wall

I am FINALLY finished with my green circle patterned wall.  I started on this wall April 2010.  The wall stayed unfinished since August 2010.  When I started on the wall last year, I knew I wanted to be finished before the school year ended.  Now that another school year is almost over, I wanted to hurry and finish the wall.



Hammer Time

My nails remind me on MC Hammer.

My Baby's Bassinet

So, since I'm doing the whole "Montessori" esq thing I'm not buying a crib since the baby will be sleeping on the floor eventually.  I found this crib on Craigslist for $20. 

(Sam was really worried when we picked this up from a church that children died of malaria in the crib.  I told him that the woman that sold it to us used it for all of her kids.  He said that he didn't see any kids when we picked it up so that means they all died while sleeping in this crib.)

It's a vintage crib with super ugly lace around it.  Just thinking about lace makes me itch. 

So I knew I was going to recover it but I didn't know what fabric to use.  I forgot I found a twin flat sheet at Goodwill originally from Target.  I love all things colorful and graphic so I decided to make a cover for the lace.  If for some crazy reason I wanted to have the lace back then I could just rip out the seam of the new fabric piece.  I also made a fitted mattress sheet with the same fabric.  I've never made one before so it looks kinda crazy underneath but it will last through washes and such. 

 

I love this print and would paint my walls in this pattern if I had the time or the money to pay someone to do it.  Now I just need some baby pop art to go with it.  I'm sure it's what Maria Montessori would have wanted.

My Coupon Experience

So I started on the coupon bandwagon.  I have been doing it for about 3 weeks now.  It's super awesome and a great hobby to have.  Everything pictured below I got for either free or close to free.

These are JUST the toiletries.  And I have wayyyy more coupons that I haven't even redeemed yet.  Also there are 48 rolls of toilet paper that I didn't photograph.  I didn't get the toilet paper for free but it was only $0.16/roll.  I am used to paying around $0.70/roll.  Last Thursday I went to the grocery store and saved 50%.  I am definitely going shopping more often (nearly every day) but I am not spending anything except gas.  I don't even consider myself aggressive as far as the couponing goes.  This is super mild.  I don't go out and buy newspapers.  I print coupons at home and there is usually a limit of two coupons per computer.  Definitely not extreme.

Also, yesterday Sam and Russell bought me an Azalea bush for my Mother's Day present.  So sweet of them.  I used to have one in the back yard that my dog ripped out of the ground when we first got him.  Russell's so cute.

Nadine's Gin Joint

Yesterday I went to Nadine's Gin Joint because it was my friend's birthday celebration and that's where she picked. It's in Soulard on 12th Street. You have to make a U-turn off of Gravois to get to it. It's better to get there via Russell. She picked this place because the website said they have Karaoke.  They don't have Karaoke.  Or dessert.  The food was good. One of their specials was a steak with a twice baked potato that was deep fried on the bottom. I didn't get it but I heard it was good. It was also only $10 which is a good price.

I ordered wings and french fries. Their french fries were homemade and were great. There was no added seasoning salt. The wings were good. Much better than Blueberry Hill. But they weren't great. The hot sauce was kind of watery.  There were only 9 of them in one order that cost $6.75. I don't know how much the wings were. My total with tax was $11.25. And I ordered an unsweet tea. They only have unsweet tea. A plus.



Overall the place was AAIIGHT. The patio was big but it was crappy. The clientele was awful. Just a bunch of backwards caps, Nike's, cargo shorts, and Polo's with the collar popped. Everyone was tripping on this ramp going up the patio. One lady actually fell and her husband had to pick her up. One of the cement blocks came off and someone just put it back on. It should have been removed for the rest of the night. Oh well. I'll probably never go there again. The food was good though.

Oh yeah, and this is what I wore there.  I like to blend into the crowd.  Dressing myself is becoming a challenge.  Sam stopped me from wearing bike shorts.  I think bike shorts is acceptable for wearing in public. 

I've had this dress since 10th grade.  I bought it at the vintage store in Chapel Hill, NC.  It was originally a romper but I turned it into a dress.  I wish it was still a romper.  But if it was then I couldn't wear it pregnant.  I miss rompers.  I bought two good ones last summer and I can't wear them till after July.  Breastfeeding will be difficult in them.