navy BLUE...

   For the winter formal this year, I decided to make my dress. I have always wanted to make a dress, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do so. 

 I got tulle a few months earlier and I got the material that was to go underneath it --which was actually a sheet or curtain of some sort -- a month or so after that. The tulle I got for about $8 and the sheet I got for free. Which means I spent about $10 or less on this dress (because of the dress pattern, which I got at a thrift store, that I used for the skirt; and the thread and such). Not bad :) In October I had drawn out what I wanted the dress to look like. I kept the skirt part of the pattern in mind, and then designed the top.
  

I started making the dress about two weeks before the formal, but I spent maybe 4-6 days actually working on the dress. I had in mind what I wanted the dress to look like, but I couldn't find a pattern for a dress that looked like what I pictured, so... I decided to use a pattern for the skirt part and then make the top by myself. 

It actually turned out really well. The back seam is a bit crooked and I've never seen a dress fasten in the back as this one does; I was afraid I was going to rip it or have some other malfunction while I danced (which it didn't!), but...

 I like it.  And I made it :)

Christmas two-thousand eleven

Fog.

Tradition.

Peaceful.

Owl City.

Cookie.

Bracelet. My friend made this for me.

Picture. From my sister.

Necklace. My friend made this!

Flower. My friend crocheted this for me to wear in my hair :)

Garlic. For the mashed potatoes.

Necklace. My sister made this for me. Isn't it beautiful?

Gift.

Earrings. Given to me by my sister's sister-in-law, Keiki (Psst! She has a Facebook page where you can buy other treasures like this!)

Festive.

Necklace. We did a White Elephant gift exchange with my sister and her husband's family, and I got this necklace which is also from SO Keiki Jewelry.

Book. My sister gave to me.

Doughnut cutter. My sister gave to me.

That pretty much sums up my Christmas. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

~  <3 ichelle

CHRIST.mas

   Each year, when Christmas comes around, its different. Different feelings. Different wishes. Different thoughts. As I've gotten older I've noticed things that I've never noticed before. I know, I make it sound like I'm SO old, but I think you know what I mean. From the small discovery that opening a pomegranate is no more the involved task of getting a rag towel out, laying it out on the floor and carefully separating the seeds from the white stuff. To the bigger longing to be with all of my sisters and have Christmas the way we used to. God knows what's going on though. And that gives me a tremendous peace.

Christmas Baking and cooking...

  Last year, on the 1st of December, I went to my friend's house to bake and go sledding. This year my that same friend's sister and I decided to do this again this year. We tried for the 1st, but that didn't happen, so we ended up setting the date for the 5th.
  We made pesto swirl bread, pesto chicken pasta, and salad for dinner...
 

       

One day I felt like making an apple tart... So I did.

 

18 CANDLES..................

November 19th was my 18th birthday. At first I wasn't going to have a birthday party, but at the last minute (two days before to be exact), I decided to have one.

  The day before my birthday I made one layer of my cake. All went really well except for the fact that our water had stopped working the day before...so I had no way to wash dishes. Then it came to me as I was looking out the window at the snow piled up outside...So, I went out  and scooped some snow into a big bowl, then hurried back into the warm house. One of the girls we were babysitting and I did this a few more times, melted the snow on the stove, and I washed dishes with the water...I felt very hard core ;)