Back to School

The best part about back to school as a kid was getting new clothes. Now that I am a mom I realize I am mean. (Duh.) I try to hide some of the new clothes from my kids--like long jeans and sneakers because it's still too hot. Well, I gave in on the shoe thing but I hid the long pants because I don't want to see holes in their jeans by October. And since I am sewer extraordinaire I made Ilene some smocks. How cute are these? But who am I kidding--the best part about back to school is having 2 out of the 3 kids gone 7 hours a day. As evidenced by my favorite commercial of all time--Staples "Back to School".

Pretty Patchwork Pillows

I have lots of odd scraps of linen lying around. So I decided to put them to good use and make the girls some pillows for their beds. I don't think they'll mix 'em up. I love the coordinating stripe and am sad that I am getting down to just scraps of that as well. It has served me well though in making the girls' roman shades and dust ruffles. Always a sucker for polka dots and a good stripe.

Put Your Feet Up

I'm a sucker for a good ottoman. They make my feet happy. My family room ottoman (purchased at T.J. Maxx a few years ago) was looking pretty shabby. So I bought these two little ottomans at Ikea last week (only $43 without the cover!) and made them some snazzy covers. You like, no? Me like.