feel free to join us

over at the good old book club this month

It's my turn to choose and I think I want to locate my inner sleuth.

Melissa gets a shout out for obvious reasons.

And Seth Aaron. For less obvious reasons, but still, it works.

Jackie Kontoes, I feel you should be involved somehow. So there's your shout out.

It's gonna be fun!!

have you ever read this book?

There are a lot of questions surrounding the Mormon or LDS faith.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love it. I love the peace and happiness I feel when I attend the temple, regular church meetings and activities, in my personal and family prayers and also when I read the Book of Mormon.

The sister missionaries in our area came for lunch on Saturday and we always have a great time with them. When they left they gave me a brand new copy of the Book of Mormon and told me I could give it to anyone I want.

Who do I love enough to trust with something so personal to me? Something that changes my life daily and brings me such joy?

It's a nerve racking thing to give such a gift.

Here's the thing: I would LOVE to give YOU a copy.

Are you curious what this whole Mormon thing is all about? You really should learn for yourself and learn from the source.

If you would like a copy I have one for you- no strings attached and totally free. It would just make me really happy to send you one.

Email me: stephaniexrobertson(at)gmail(dot)com and I will mail it to you PRONTO!

This book has changed my life and even if it doesn't change yours in the same way, at least you can know what this whole Mormon thing is all about. :)

conquering the dreaded birthday sewing!

What do you think about birthday sewing?

If you live around these parts birthday sewing can be a full time job. There are so many sweet little friends and from about February to June or so there are so many birthdays that we all refer to it with fondness and dread as "Birthday Season."

Around the new year I was doing a lot of personal projects and not getting them done fast enough and as I saw "Birthday Season" looming on the horizon I declared to my husband and friends that I would not be sewing a single birthday present this year because with all of our personal projects going on I didn't have the energy to come up with multiple projects for kids of different ages, genders, oh yeah and not duplicate what someone else is already making (and probably making better than me - let's face it), or something a kid would actually want or use!

and worse yet

there is always the dreaded un-finished birthday or shower gift promise....

You've probably said the unfortunate phrase yourself a time or two.

I know I have.

And I know I have had it said to me- sometimes more than once by the same person! haha!

"I have a gift for you..... I'm making it..... it's almost done!"

And sometimes it's true and sometimes you have a great idea for it and more times than not.... that fateful gift is never delivered.

Easy come easy go in "Birthday Season," but since I knew I would be making that lame promise more than once with all we had going on I REFUSED to put myself in that position and decided we would mostly be buying art supplies and the like for gifts this year.

Well, this week I had a stroke of genius!

And it comes in the form of inspiration from another one of our treasured society members Rachel Bennett. If you don't know her already, you will, she is a very crafty lady.

She gave Ambrose a camping bag at his camping birthday and it had a book in it.

I said, "Ambrose this can be your library bag!" because we always have stray library books lurking around our house and as we trudge to and from the library I am trying to make sure we have them all and keep them together. Now we have a special re-usable bag that he can bring them home in, keep them in when not being used, and take them back in to return.

AH HA! I love making bags! So, I am on the hunt for some great fabrics and will be printing "My library bag" on the front.

They will be mass produced.

They will be adorable.

They will be functional.

They can be used by boys and girls and all ages because all kids should have an active relationship with their local library.

I'm so stoked!

Too bad "Birthday Season" is almost over, but I will be well prepared for next year.

Whew, I'm such a planner. It feels great to have that all settled!

Now all my friends know what I'll be giving their children for the whole next year! hahaha!

Oh how I love to sew and enjoy making something for people I love because you get to think about them while you make it.

What about you? What do you like to make for gifts or do you prefer to shop for the perfect gift?

Where do you fall in the handmade gift spectrum? :)

missing out

Don't you just hate being sick!?! ME TOOOOOOOOOO!

I miss out on all the fun stuff when I am sick.

Like the girly movie night she organized:

and I love girly movie nights and all the girlies that went!

AND a fun beach day or two with these fine folks:

and I love fun beach days and those fine folks!!

AND a delicious North Shore baby shower for the mama in this picture who is pregnant with her third and still manages to maintain those cute little legs:

and I love delicious North Shore baby showers and that gorgeous mama (and I'm jealous of her skinny legs!)!

AND the ultimate 60s surf beach party first birthday for these two twiny twins:

and heaven knows I have the old Gidget movie memorized and seriously love those baby kiddos!

AND just ask my kids, I have been missing out on being their nice, patient, fun mom over the last couple of days.


In fact, please don't ask them. Maybe they'll forget how horrible I have been and still love me.

AND Thomas. Even when you get in from a late and into the early AM show you still rise and shine with the kids in the morning because you know I have been up sick in the night. You, sir, are pure gold. Love you!

I give this hacking cough one more day and then...... and then..... (insert threat here. Can't come up with a realistically suitable one because my brain turned to mush at about 1AM when the coughing kept me and all the neighbors awake.)

BOO for being sick but to all the people mentioned in this post and my students who have had to listen to a raspy whispery man voice for three classes now- I will get better soon! Thanks for putting up with me.

Hack hack. Cough cough. See you soon!

their lives in fake polaroid

Finishing the floor takes priority over fixing the computer - oh yes it does! They have been working so so hard on that floor!! Good job you guys!

So this update is brought to you by iPhone fake polaroid.

Asher loves lids these days. Lids and lids and lids.

And as for Ambrose boy?

according to the pictures I've been taking he's really into sleeping in weird positions lately:



but truthfully I think I just have a slight obsession with taking photos of my kids as they sleep:



It's just so precious. And quiet. :)

And if MAGICALLY you get a little shut-eye in yourself? Heaven. Hardly happens. This might have been the third time we all napped at the same time. If that.

Anyway, this isn't an accurate representation of what we have been up to, but it'll do.

Oh wait, Asher wants to give you something:Mwah! Have a great day!

when something about sewing isn't quite your cup of tea

It's 9PM and I am listening to Thomas and his parents sanding and sawing away upstairs.... ahhhh the sweet sounds of progress! That bamboo floor is already looking so gorgeous and professional and they are doing it all by themselves! Talent!

The floor is a really big deal and means we are getting that much closer (HOORAY) to move in time, which made me feel a sense of panic that I have a 90x90 bedspread for our new room nagging at me to get a binding on it already.

It's, like, one of those projects for me.

The one that is calling your name every time you sit down with a bowl of ice cream in front of a movie, the one in the corner of your eye as you curl up with a good book, or the one you are thinking about as you buy yards and yards of fabric for other projects and get the nagging feeling that you should finish one project before starting another.....

Do you know what I am talking about?

Ugghh, binding. Yuck.

Do you have a project that's calling your name as you read this?

What is it?

i'm just wondering

If you go to awesome 80s baby showers too?


No? Guess you better get cooler friends.....

If you ate five brownie bites for breakfast?
(not pictured, cuz they're gone......)
No? Guess you're a real adult. Good job.


If you got your membership card yet?
If not, give it a few more days... and then if not again tell me. I'm not always as organized as I pretend to be.

If your son is now at the stage where he wants to go to Happy School all by himself so badly that he made you wait nervously at the very bottom of the driveway, squinting your glassesless eyes to make sure he made it in the door safely "ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!"?

Yes, you've been there!
Isn't it a nerve-racking, but proud little stage all at the same time?
(When I got into first grade I used to cry to my mom, "Why can't you work like all the other moms so I can go to daycare with my friends?!?!?!" and make her wait around the corner from my school so I could pretend I was walking home alone..... I'm sorry Mom. Thanks for keeping me.)

If you are also deciding to take the rest of your week at an unapologetic contractors pace?
You've never had the privilege of working with one so you aren't sure how to do it?
Well, why don't you try weaving the general attitude into your everyday life.... like, take six weeks to make dinner for your family, go missing for several days somewhere in there so they start wondering if perhaps you are now cooking for other families, and then come back and be really friendly and charming so they can't hold it against you and so they then look like the unreasonable ones for being so starving that whole excruciating time........

oops.

Was that a rant?

Sorry.

Happy Thursday y'all!!

get ready to be inspired

Remember my ridiculously talented BFF Diana?

You know, of Yan Photography?

Well, she's putting on a workshop, wait no, HEARTSHOP they are calling it, with none other than thee Becky Earl! What an amazing, powerful duo!

The minute I heard about it I clickity clicked all over that link to see if they would be doing it while we are on the mainland this summer and alas, they are not. It's June 4th and 5th (come on ladies, wanna push it back a month and a half later??)

Oh and the schedule is so AMAZING! A campfire? Really guys? That's enough to make me want to look for flights.

Fly me out Yan and Becky! I'll model a shoot for you. It can be, like, a learning experience for your attendees: how to shoot someone awkward, and let's face it, not really photogenic. Whaddaya say? Anyone? Bueller?

Anyway, browse around the workshop site if you live anywhere near Utah and I think you'll get as excited as me and lucky you- you live in driving distance if you are anywhere on the mainland.

Here's some of their recent work:
YAN-





I had to stop myself- I could have picked like every photo from her blog she's so dang good. AH!
and we can't forget Becky Earl-





Is anyone freaking inspired yet?

I also love how it is a workshop about getting back to the art that you love and making it shine. It just seems like two days packed with brilliance and positivity. I so want to be there and I am not even a photographer!

Please attend this heartshop and then call me and tell me all about it. I'll be jealous, but happy. :)

i start monday

I got a call tonight.

I don't remember it word for word.

It went something like this:

The Composition Coordinator (a dear lady whom I really like): "Hi Stephanie. I know you couldn't do First Term but how do you feel about teaching English 101 this Spring. You would start Monday. We really need someone and we thought of you. Sorry it's so last minute."

Me: (inside my head) "Ah crap" (Thinking about all the reasons it didn't work out for my family so well last semester. 1. Leaving my kids in the morning 2. Thomas gets a late start to his day 3. I get a late start to my day with my kids and it throws us off)
"Well......"

Comp. Coordinator: "Before you say anything let me tell you the bad things about this offer."

Me: "Ok....."

Comp. Coordinator: "We are still looking for a classroom for you since we had to add this section due to large enrollment and it would maybe have to be an evening class, but we could try and see if--"

Me: "WHAT? No, no, that's actually a positive! A big one. I might actually be able to do that. The evening class? Oh, good . Yes please. Let me talk to my husband and I'll let you know ASAP."

Comp. Coordinator: (A little incredulous) "Really? Seriously? OK..... Great. Good. Call me back."

Me: "OK!"

And Thomas, that dear man, he was so excited for me (since I cried like a baby on my last day of class this semester) he told me he really thinks I should do it and that it would not be a problem at all.

What a guy.

What a job.

Perfect timing.

Still get my whole day with my kiddos and my nights with my man.

Seriously?

I swear. Sometimes things just work out.

Yes they do.

my cup of tea sewing society starts

wouldn't he be a cute mascot?
find him here i want everything in the shop it's so precious.
adorable site.

Anyway, hey all. Let's get this party started shall we? If you are confused about what we are doing just wait till you get your letter and card. But, basically we are just doing whatever we want.

We're gonna talk sewing on here in between random posts about my life. No separate blog to check and no requirements. Separate blogs tend to die out and we just aint that serious ok. Plus, do you really need another blog in your life? Me either.

Anyone can chime in and please do because we would love to hear from you.

Maybe we'll meet up locally once in a while, but most of the action takes place here until we morph into something else or fade away.

Got it?

Let's start with something simple. I want to know what inspires you.

Me?

I have lots of crafty friends who amaze me with all their creations.
My mom and all the sewing she did for us growing up.
Vintage fashion and finds.
Sewing books, sewing books, sewing books- I don't often make the projects in them but I absolutely adore looking through the projects and getting all fluttery and excited.
Our new apartment that will be- I could design and dream all day for that masterpiece.
My family. I like to make them proud of me and think about them if I am working on a piece for them.
Nature. Plain and simple.

aaaaaand

PROJECT RUNWAY!! Duh.

Who do you want to win?




(Me? Seth Aaron. I thought he was trying too hard with his hair and clothes...etc. when the show started and now I LOVE. Sorry Seth Aaron, I misjudged you. haha But I like all their designs.)

Yes, that's two questions to answer: Who do you want to win (if you watch the show) but more importantly WHAT INSPIRES YOU??

all new.

We have counter tops upstairs now. And cabinets, and paint colors, and framed windows and doors...etc. It's getting closer!

And putting together millions of little paper letters with membership cards for the sewing society is so frivolous and relaxing at the same time and the semester is done now so I CAN and I don't have a thing to grade, ahhhhhhh...

I feel like I had a great experience and now I am on to the next adventure, whatever it is, and it is all new. And frankly, pretty dang exciting.


What's next for us little family?

Hopefully better blogging.

Did I tell you my parents came for a week and totally spoiled us? Or that Ambrose had a really fun camping birthday party... until it rained on us?

All these pictures and more... someday!

I am excited for new. New is nice.

just to clarify for the confused :)

Yes, yes, even if you live far far away you can join- this is kind of like an online discussion group and sometimes people in hawaii will meet, but mostly we'll just talk all things sewing here and, well, just join and I'll send you an invite and you'll see!



email mailing addresses to: stephaniexrobertson(at)gmail(dot)com!!

calling you out

YOU are missing from the society cool people list:

MOM

Matti Parker

Diana Palmer

Kristen Eskaran

my sisters (oh, you don't sew but who cares!)

Thomas (just kidding, but still)

and YOU reading this. I can't read your mind, but I do have an invite for you

etc. etc.

We have a fun group going so far and I'm gonna address these babies tonight so get your name in!

In similar news, I have had some sweeeeet emails from folks I didn't even know read this blog, or just don't know period- haha! Excited you are in too!

Ok, missing friends, here are all your little tea cups waiting for you:

Let's be sewing pals.

Calling any interested My Cup of Tea Sewing Society friends!

I finally got my act together and the invites are just about ready to go out to you and yours!

The membership cards have been sitting on my sewing cabinet for, like, forever.

All I have to do is print the invites and address the super cute envelopes I just got.

Has it been so long that you don't even remember what I am talking about?

The My Cup of Tea Sewing Society!!!

ARE YOU STILL IN?

Here's what I need you to do:

1. if you live by me just comment that you want to join and I will hand deliver your invite and

2. if you don't live a short drive or even canoe paddle from me then email me:

stephaniexrobertson(at)gmail(dot)com

with your mailing address

and POW! You're in!

This is open to anyone who likes to sew or just even talk about sewing

-all skill levels
-all ages
-male or female
-even if you're not much of a blogger
-if you know me in person or we have never met
-even if you don't really sew but you happen to love Project Runway so that counts right? (cough, Diana)
-if we blog comment each other regularly or if you just creep around here and are too shy
-if you just like silly little society invites and membership cards. You can put it in your wallet next to that pesky Old Navy card you got talked into once again.
-if you are even barely considering it. Just do it. I promise I will be tickled instead of freaked out if I have no idea who you are and you want to join. This is just for kicks people.

Hit me up! I have like a million of these membership cards- it's really no sacrifice and I would love to get a lot of fun people in on this so we can talk all things crafty

and it's FUN

and you need more fun, admit it.

CAN'T WAIT!

making big choices. feeling important. sputtering.

Hi.

I only have one more week after today and then my semester is done and then I am back.

*back to regular stay-at-home mom life, which I love

*back to blogging I am sure

*back to sewing- and we'll start that sewing society oh yes we will... if you still even want it

*back to getting things ready for our new apartment

*back to getting good pictures taken of my family and sharing them of course (no offense iPhone)

*back to exercise. Of any sort....

And I'm excited because I love to prioritize and last month, interestingly enough, I was offered TWO jobs that I didn't even seek out.

1. Teaching Eng101 again- first term this time

but i said "no thank you" because I want to see a bunch of you on the mainland this summer and so that is that.

2. I am not even sure I am allowed to discuss it but it was a major job with a major paycheck

but I said "no thank you" because, well:

these two babies are tasty and this time we have together is sweet, and fleeting, and sometimes frustrating, but so so precious to me.

And truthfully, I think I fill the job best even when I am losing my patience with them because Heavenly Father loaned them to me and I've promised him I'll give it my all

each and every day.

And I am accountable for them.

So far we have grown-up a lot together.

I don't want to give up a minute of that job to anyone else, which I would have had to do if I took the job. I'm too selfish! :)

Little boys of mine, if you ever read this sometime in the future when you undoubtedly think I am out of touch or that I "just dont understand"- hear this: we started fresh each day and I chose YOU first... time and time and time again.

This is starting to get off track (what's new?) but I have a good friend and fellow English part-time teacher who once told me (after we discussed how she lucked out and got to teach the once weekly evening class) how about every six months she has to re-choose to be a stay-at-home mom. I believed her but I thought, "That's crazy. How could that possibly be true?"

And now I am beginning to get it. Offers come up and if they don't sacrifice nurturing my little ones GREAT, but even the extremely-part-time teaching job I loved was getting in the way of our days and starting to feel like a distraction from what was most important.

And that big job, well, truth be told I felt stupid turning down that paycheck and maybe even secretly (I'll admit it) the importance I would feel in the position I was offered.

But you know what?

I nervously turned it down- sputtering out all my reasons in an overly apologetic voice,

got off the phone,

went into the bedroom where Ambrose was playing,

got down on my knees to help him finish his block tower,

and he looked up at me with his twinkly eyes, big smile that hugs those little pearly teeth, and said "Oh mama, you're back to help me?!" and I just had to hug him close and cry a little.

I felt a rush of freedom and relief.

And you know what else?

I've never felt more important in my life.