Category Archives: Right Now

goals, Right Now, summer

May Wrap Up, and 30 Things for June

Me-Made May was more of a success than I thought it would be! There were only three days when I stepped out in non-me-made outfits. Admittedly, things got a little boring for me, but I did end up with three new tops by the end of the month. That probably would not have happened if I hadn’t been aspiring to fulfill a Me-Made goal.

Still, I was pretty grateful in June 1 when I didn’t have to get dressed with that arbitrary limitation on my garment selection.

I am pretty excited that it’s June! It’s already promising to be a full and busy month, bookended by a trip up to Ashland with my ladies next weekend, and a conference in Chicago at the end of the month.

I took some inspiration, as I so often do, from Elise, and drew up a list of 30 things I want to do in June. These aren’t goals so much as dreams for the coming month. I think it’s going to be a good one.

  1. Laugh with my ladies in Ashland
  2. See some Shakespeare
  3. Drink a delicious beer in the sun
  4. Finish some wedding crafting
  5. Bake some cookies
  6. Make some pickles
  7. Finish my 30 Days of Decluttering project
  8. Make a dress for Steph’s wedding (and finish my Craftsy Couture Dress class in the process)
  9. Have a picnic or three
  10. Grill on our patio
  11. Try out some new recipes
  12. Write more
  13. Ride my bike
  14. Eat lots of fruit
  15. Go to the farmers’ market
  16. Spend an afternoon in San Francisco
  17. Sew up a little linen jacket for summer
  18. Fix my Sencha blouse
  19. Decide on wedding shoes
  20. Plan our rehearsal dinner and reserve a spot
  21. Take a day trip to Sonoma
  22. Work on our photo album
  23. Work on some Drupal/linked data projects!
  24. Eat ice cream
  25. Run
  26. Do yoga
  27. See my cousin and her husband in Chicago
  28. Eat some deep dish pizza in Chicago
  29. Take pictures
  30. Read a few novels
Right Now, sewing, spring, traveling

What’s Happening Here

At work

I’m still attempting to wear something I’ve made every day. So far, there has been only one day when I didn’t, and that’s because I had to wear a suit for a fancy meeting and all of my suitable self-mades were in the wash. The picture above is me, at work, and that skirt is the Kiss Me Deadly skirt I made awhile back. I didn’t realize until just now how flat chested this outfit makes me look. Hm.

Life is chugging along around here. I took a trip down to San Diego last weekend to surprise my Ma for Mother’s Day. She was suitably surprised. It was a great trip, except for the plague that was visited on the house. We all came down with a wicked stomach bug. We fell like dominos: The four year old went first on Friday night, then her Papa, then me, my mom, and my sister in law, then my dad. The only one who was spared was the baby.

Julia in polka dots

She is obviously too cute to get sick.

When I was home I randomly found part of my fourth grade Halloween costume, when I dressed as a 1950s carhop. My mom made me this awesome poodle skirt.

4th Grade Halloween Costume

I had a tray to which she glued a hamburger bun, some “french fries,” and a soda cup, and I got to roller skate around school all day. I totally want to be a carhop for Halloween again. Too bad this skirt won’t fit me anymore…

I’m fully recovered from the Krier Family Bug of 2013 now, and there are lots of fun things coming up for Sean and I, not to mention tons of crafting projects, sewing projects, and some new recipes to try. I’ll be working double time to have more me-made garments to finish out Me-Made May. Now that summer is making itself known around here, I’m definitely looking at lighter fabrics and easy to wear patterns. I have tons of beautiful wool, but I think that stuff is going to stay in the fabric bin for another few months. I’m also planning to make a dress for my soon-to-be sister-in-law’s wedding this summer, and I’ll be using this Craftsy class on The Couture Dress to guide me. I’m planning to share lots of details about the process along the way.

And just as a last piece of loveliness for the day, yesterday when I was in San Francisco, I stopped at Britex for some inspiration and shopping (expect new shirts soon!), and next door I saw this excellent window display.

Sewing machines

goals, Right Now, spring

March, You are Mine

I don’t know what it is about February, but it always feels interminable. I used to assume that it was related to winter in Massachusetts: By February you are more than ready for winter to be over, but you know you still have two more months of the awful. However, here in California, February was beautiful (sorry to rub it in, folks). And yet, it still felt like it lasted an age.

I found myself feeling lackluster. Sluggish. Depressed. I did not want to do anything.

But now it’s March, and March, I am going to own you.

I already feel an extra little bounce in my step. And I’m feeling positive about some of the goals that I’ve set for myself this month. Most significantly, I am going to push myself to write every single day. So you might actually see some posts here, whoo!

I’m heading to LA this weekend to go wedding dress shopping with my Ma, and I’m looking forward to the awesome adventure. Aside from visiting an awesome dress shop (Dolly Couture), we’re planning a visit to the Garment District, and I’m hoping to hit up Mood Fabrics. To top it all off, I get to visit, too, with my brother, sister-in-law, and my girls! I’m looking forward to some baby drool up in this business.

So March, I’m so glad you’re hear. February and I don’t always get along, but you, you and I are going to be tight. I can feel it.

fall, Right Now

Right Now, November

A picture of me with a smiling baby Julia in a blue oneside

working on analyzing loads and loads of MARC serials records

reading many books at once, including The Parable of the Sower, Mosses from the Old Manse, a book on altering and creating sewing patterns, and a book on drawing.

reveling in old issues of Sassy Magazine, recently acquired from eBay

cooking recipes from Everyday Food

studying the newly released BIBFRAME document on library cataloging standards

planning all the things I want to make for people for Christmas (and all the cookies I want to make, too)

sewing a handbag that I LOVE, and giving a failed skirt another try

writing a novel! Yes, I participated in NaNoWriMo this year.

also writing a book on data management for librarians, manuscript due early January

missing my girls, after a weekend of cuddling and playing with them over Thanksgiving (I’m missing the rest of my family, too)

obsessing over vintage hairstyles, vintage clothing, vintage shoes

learning about clothing construction, patterns, jewelry making, drawing. Perhaps I have too many hobbies

dreaming of what 2013 will hold

Right Now

Right Now, September

Making: Sewing a new tank top, fixing the skirt I made last weekend
Cooking: Vanilla bean blondies
Drinking: Juice, juice, and more juice
Reading: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay by Michael Chabon
Wanting: More time
Looking: At fashion magazines, for fall inspiration
Playing: Lots of terrible music
Wasting: Energy worrying
Sewing: A skirt, a shirt, another skirt, so many things
Wishing: For a speedy recovery from this whole wisdom teeth removal thing
Enjoying: The surge of creativity and domestic energy I’ve been feeling
Waiting: Patiently.
Liking: Independent pattern makers and crafters
Wondering: How to be more disciplined about my writing.
Loving: That boy who is taking good care of me right now.
Hoping: That this forward progress I feel is real, and doesn’t stop
Marveling: At how wonderful it is to live in a time when so many people get to put their creativity and their ideas out in the world and have them appreciated.
Needing: Fewer books, or more space
Smelling: Gauze and black tea
Wearing: Purple pants and a navy striped tank top
Noticing: When I need to speak up.
Knowing: That I can accomplish difficult things
Thinking: Writing, and data management
Bookmarking: Clothes.
Opening: Packages.
Giggling: At all the goofy pictures of my niece, Eliana. 
Turning: Upside-down

Right Now, summer

Right Now

I stole this idea from Alison, a.k.a. Spinstah. Here’s what’s going on right now.

Making: A baby blanket for my new niece, Julia
Cooking: Merquez sausages, tomatoes, eggplant, corn, honey bread
Drinking: White tea, East Bay wine, Spoonbender coffee
Reading: Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Wanting: A sunlit open space for sewing, cutting, pasting, painting, photographing, and maybe some yoga
Looking: At beautiful craft papers
Playing: Does dancing count?
Wasting: Time
Sewing: I’m trying to decide between my first quilt and a skirt
Wishing: For next steps
Enjoying: The imminence of fall
Waiting: To get on a plane and touch down in San Diego on Thursday
Liking: Being busy at work
Wondering: If I’ll ever go back to school again
Loving: My growing family
Hoping: That I’m making the right decisions
Marveling: At how much I love Oakland
Needing: New cross trainers, and more running
Smelling: Someone else’s lunch
Wearing: A new polka dotted shirt that I love
Noticing: Moods
Knowing: That love is a decision that you make
Thinking: About linked data and library holdings and making libraries better
Bookmarking: Recipes. Always recipes.
Opening: An account online at Gaiam Yoga Studio
Giggling: At the ridiculousness of Dawson’s Creek
Turning: The calendar pages over to September, one of my favorite months