HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing you all a happy new year 2009! Stay fashionable.

What's new! ?

While browsing the Simplicity website I found this cute dress pattern. I think I would like to make it exactly as it looks in white. Anyway, I browsed all the pattern websites and there is nothing new at all...same blah stuff! What is going on? It is time to bring up the new patterns to start sewing for spring and summer. I can't wait to see the "new collections".

Sex and the City

One of my favorite presents this Christmas was the Sex and the City movie. When I went to see this movie I had to buy a ticket for the 11 pm function because the other ones were sold out. Also my husband went with me to see this movie (Yes he did!). He took me on his Harley bike and it was so funny to see him wearing his "Harley" clothes and asking for a Sex and the City movie ticket. An old guy behind him tough he was asking for the wrong movie or maybe he was out of his mind. Then when we were finally inside the theater women would not stay quiet. It was a madhouse in there. I regretted not hearing at all most the movie introduction with so much talking around me. People did not stop talking. So I am glad I got to see this movie again this weekend, not once but twice!

Yes, I am a big fan of Sex and the City. I have all the seasons DVDs, I read the book, I bought the book with all the pictures from the movie and now I have the movie which I can play whenever I want. I know it is not such a great movie, it is actually silly but with me is not just about the plot and the characters...it is also about the fashion. Is there any other show right now that may influence so much on how women dress like Sex and the City did?

Notice how Carrie wore a vest and then it was a big trend back in August.


This is one of my favorite fashion moments in the movie. The flower dress...not me but it is a very interesting design.


All these dresses scream 80's...80's...80's!

Christmas boxers

It might be too late to do this project as a Christmas gift idea. I worked on it this weekend. But still, it may be a good Valentine's Day present idea. Just buy a fabric with heart or valentine motives.

You will find the instructions for this project on my favorite sewing book SEW (Sew Everything Workshop). There is a pattern included and it is described step by step at page 134.


It took me about an hour divided in two days...20 minutes Saturday morning. Then I went shopping. Came back at night, started again. Continued Sunday. I am becoming the queen of procrastination. :P


This is the third pair of boxers I make from this pattern and sincerely it is not an easy project since every time I start sewing it I need to have the book at hand. But it is worth the results!


Love the reindeer.

Three days left for Christmas

I can't believe the year is almost over! Since I did not finish all my projects, I guess I will do it next year. Also it is time to start shopping for spring fabrics and patterns, or decide which patterns that I already have may be good to sew for the spring.

This weekend was really cold here in Northern Virginia. I went to the mall yesterday and it was just crowded. I spent probably five hours at the mall and only went to five stores. Yes, five stores. It was so hard to walk at the mall that it took me about 20 minutes to go from one side to the other.

I had a great time looking at trends for the next year. I went to two of my favorite trendy stores just take a peek. I visited H&M and Forever 21. I noticed that the H&M here does not have the same merchandise they have right now at NYC. It is a way behind. At Forever 21 I saw a lot of color pantyhose, but the "newest" (but not so new to me because I wore it back in the 80's) were pantyhose with printed flowers.

P.S. I have been sewing a little project that I hope to be able to post tomorrow.

The 80's are back

I was browsing the Simplicity website and I found this ruffle dress under their "New Items". I got a flashback of myself wearing a dress just like the one in the picture Circa 1988. It was pink with big flowers. I fell fabulous on it!

So, it is a fact that the 80's are back. Leggings, color shoes, snakeskin pumps, retro jewelry, harem pants, patchwork handbags, etc. All these clothing items are coming strong for 2009. Yeah, I know leggings had been a hot item since 2007 but they do not see to be leaving us. As I mentioned on a recent post, I saw leggings at every store a visited while in NYC. The only different is that leggings for next year are going to be used in every color or print that can be imagine. Note: tartan and animal prints.

Bubble dress work in progress

I think it is time to start sewing this dress.



I realized that I have not clear my stash and today I received some great coupons in the mail from my local Joann Fabrics Store. I need to go shopping and take advantage of the sales. This is just one of the projects I failed to finish before the year ended.

The Rockettes and New york City

Last Saturday I went on a bus tour to New York City. It is only about four hours from my house. A coworker and I wanted so bad to go to NYC just to do some shopping without any strings attached (husbands), so we planned this trip back in August and we were looking forward for it.

The main reason to go was to see The Rockettes at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. This was my first time going to Radio City Hall. The building is so beautiful. It still have the same characteristics and decor since it opened back in the 30's. The show was spectacular. It starts with a 3D Christmas movie that is great for children and adults. I am not going to describe the whole show, but I will just say that is worth the money I spent.

We only had about three and a half hours to shop. It was a very short time, specially if you go in Christmas time. We went to a couple of stores, not too many since there was not time. My favorite as usual was Aldo's Shoes and H&M.

I also discovered another store called Anthropologie. We have a couple of these stores in Virginia and DC but I never felt attracted to go in. Let me tell you it is amazing all the things they sell there. It is unique!

About the fashion: My fashion report still lots of leggings. The only "new" thing I saw at the stores was animal print leggings and lots of animal prints everywhere. That means jeans, shoes, handbags...I mean everywhere. I also saw a lot of women wearing Uggs boots, including me, but could tell they were all tourists just like me.

I had a great time, I am looking forward to go back in the summer!



I think this chandelier is spectacular.

Simplicity Pattern 4117

Finally, I finished the Simplicity pattern 4117 handbags. I used Belvoa material that I purchased at Joann Fabrics back in September. This fabric comes in different kinds of animal prints. I selected a "Cow" print. I made model "F" and I used 1 3/8yards of the Belvoa fabric and the same amount of fabric for the lining. I purchased black lining material. This patterns calls for interfacing to be used in the whole project. I only used interfacing for the handle since Belvoa is a pretty tick material.

These was a very easy project. It takes approximately an hour an a half to sew it. As usual I procrastinated a long time to make this. I cut the fabrics in October then I put in a Ziploc bag and finally finished both yesterday. As I mentioned before at other post, I am keeping one for myself and the other one is for my best friend in Texas.

Step number 1, cutting

Step number 2, pin

I used black lining material.

Final result!

One for my friend Ivanett and one for me!

Let's talk about fashion

While browsing other blogs I found a good blog about fashion. It has a Fashion Manifesto that I believe is very certain. Go check it out.

Lately I have been discourage about the lack of style I see in Northern Virginia. I am wishing for things to change now that we will have a new president. This may sound crazy to some people, but I think that we also need a change when it comes to fashion specially in this area. We are so close to the capital of the United States but most people I know are so conservative (or boring) when it comes to dressing. Actually it depends on where you may go, the closer you get to DC you may see women are more fashionable. But mostly, it is all about T-shirts and jeans...sweatpants on the weekends. I really miss living in Panama and Puerto Rico. So, I hope Michelle will do a good job setting some trends in the capital area.

I think this was a good choice for Michelle Obama.


Today I finished my handbags. I will be posting a review and the pictures tomorrow.

Total success!

As you may see, the Gingerbread Man muffins were a total success! The children were so excited to see them. There are 22 children in my class so, the rest were eaten by the rest of the Kindergarten teachers.

Look how cute!

This weekend I was so busy. I had a lot of shopping to do. Yesterday I went to my favorite mall in the area which is The Pentagon City Fashion Center. This mall is my favorite because it carries its name very well, I mean fashion is everywhere. It was packed. I went there looking for a pair of UGGS boots that I am planing to wear on my next trip to New York City. Nordstrom seems to be the only department store carrying this boots right now. Other little stores may sell them but do not have the complete collection. Anyway, I had a great time looking at people wearing the latest fashion trends. I just love going there so much. I noticed a lot of girls wearing black leggings with just turtlenecks or a simple top daring to show their figure. It was a total 80's flashback. At the stores, I could feel Christmas in the air. It was great!

I downloaded this picture of the Pentagon City Mall Food Court from google.

Then when I came home it was time to bake. Tomorrow we will have an "Authors Celebration" on my Kindergarten. We picked the children best illustrations and will let them share and it's kind of a Christmas celebration too. Also the classroom Gingerbread Man ran away and he is not coming back until Friday, so I decided to bake Gingerbread Man Muffins for the celebration. They turned out to be so cute! I am very proud with my work. I know the children will love it too.

I baked 36 Gingerbread Muffins.

They are so cute, the children might not want to eat them.

A season for sharing

Lets not forget the real meaning of Christmas. This is the time of the year when we get to share what we have with others who might have less. It is also a holiday to get together with friends and family. It is not all about shopping and putting on the Christmas decorations. It is about giving thanks for what we have. Here is a list of reasons to be give thanks for the wonderful talent of sewing and some ways to share it.:

1. People with the gift of sewing shall be thankful for their creativity and if possible share it with others.
2. If we have spare time, we can make something special for a special friend or family member.
3. We can share our talent with a little person. Teach a child how to sew this Christmas. How about sewing a pillow using a colorful fabric?
4. We can use our talent to make unique Christmas decorations.
5. My favorite: We can alter any "crazy" or "unexpected" present after Christmas if returning it is not a possibility.

ETSY.COM

I am a big fan of EBAY. I am always in search of deals, vintage patterns and I even resale stuff I own sometimes. I consider it a way of recycling. I want to let you know about another website where people can sell things. Today I was looking at a blog and I read about http://etsy.com It is a similar concept as EBAY but without the auctions. So no bids required and things can be posted for a longer period of time.

This website is for people who like things handmade, vintage patterns, bead jewelry, etc. You can use it to purchase or resale. I just wanted to share with everybody because I think it is great. Go check it out!

Dress Up for Christmas

Christmas is here! This is the time of the year when some people can get really sad or really happy. I love Christmas. To me, Christmas is the best holiday of the year. I do love Christmas celebrations in the States, in Panama and in Puerto Rico. Of course each place have their own traditions. Well, for me Christmas just give me an excuse to dress up. I don't have any special plans for this year but here I am posting some cute patterns fashion pictures that I found.

These dresses are great for a cocktail party or a Christmas get together.

This dress screams my name! Love it!


I own this pattern and it is a work in project right now.

Loving the Spanish Vibe of this dress.

Want a more classic look? These are perfect.

I like the 70's influence on these dresses.

This shirt is perfect to wear with black trousers to go to a dinner party. Don't you think 80's are back? I see a lot of 80's and early 90's influence on this design but I still like it.