Runway Roundup

The one good thing about being confined to the house in a feverish state is that it allows for catching up on a lot of trashy TV and all of my fave programs. I know I have some fellow Project Runway devotees out there, so let’s talk about this season so far, shall we?

**Spoiler alert! If you haven’t seen this week’s episode, what are you waiting for? Go watch it! Then come back here so we can discuss.

This week’s challenge was to create something fabulous out of party supplies. No fabric, just anything they could grab from what looked to be a crappier version of Party City. I love these kind of challenges because it separates the really creative designers from the well,…let’s just say “not so industrious” designers.

And separate it did. First the bad.

What the what?


Just what is going on here yet again with our Casanova? For the third week in a row he has turned in a “piece” that is questionable in taste and just…not even remotely cool. I have to think that the judges just keep him on the show because he makes for good TV. But really, he does not. He makes for annoying TV. His pretending there is a language barrier one minute and then speaking perfectly fine English the next just angers me. He has got to goooo!

Instead Sarah went home this week. And admittedly her design was not that inspiring. Now, I’m no style maven in my Gap jeans and t-shirt, but I wish she had trusted her instincts and played with her original idea instead of listening to Gretchen and turning in this…

Which leads us to Gretchen.
Gretchen, Gretchen, Gretchen. She doesn’t fall into the bad category because her designs are bad – they are actually pretty great.

In fact she won the last two challenges. But she just needs to keep it quiet. You know the saying, “if you don’t have anything nice to say…?” Well, for Gretchen they should make a new one like, “If they don’t ask for your opinion – KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!” Nobody likes a know-it-all and she is just always spewing her opinion. It never stops. So I’m not a fan of hers. But again, she creates drama, which all good reality TV needs. I expect her to be around until the end.

Now for the good ones.

There was Andy‘s winning design…

It is very cool, and I’m glad he won if for no other reason that it wasn’t Gretchen. I really love the weaving he did with the ribbons to make the silver “ropes” down the front of the dress. And remember – there is no fabric here! Napkins, plates, ribbon, party supplies were all they could use! So impressive, yes.

My favorite one of the night was Valerie‘s. I love her designation as the Susan Lucci of Project Runway, too. Come to think of it she has kind of gotten the short end of the stick the past few weeks.

The entire skirt is made of napkins, which could also be very practical, I guess.

And my other favorite which didn’t even make it to the top three was Christopher‘s.


I LOVE this dress. Seriously I would totally wear this, it is so cute. Flattering, cool color – the more I look at this the more I want a dress just like it!

Ivy‘s dress was Em’s favorite of the night.


It was perfect on the runway, swingy and full of life. Plus there was a really cool little detail on the back of the left hip. When she came out Emma said, “Oh Mama! That is the one, it is so pretty and not too short!” (Good girl!)

And let’s just throw an honorable mention out to Peach, the older “Mom” of the bunch. The past two weeks I was a little worried for her. I really wanted to like her, but her dresses were just frumpy and matronly…even for this mom of 2. This week however, she redeemed herself…


So cute and fresh and…young! So now we know that she can do young. Another outfit I’d totally wear.

Well, if I had supermodel crazy long legs, and someone to hot glue the outfit onto me.

So tell me what you are thinking about this week. This season?

The one where I…

…started this last night to wish my sis good luck today, and then figured my fever would be gone and I could think more clearly today and I would just finish this up in the morning.

Well…the fever rages on. Day three. I feel crummy and my head and neck only stop throbbing when they are in a horizontal position, but I really want to get this up here!

So sending a little GOOD LUCK shout-out to Meesh as she begins her 3-day walk today, although I don’t think she’ll need it – she is prepared! We are rooting for you all the way, and we are so very proud of you. Walk on, sister!

And thank you if you donated to her walk and a great cause. If you haven’t, you still can! She is soooo close. Plus, remember the deal? Still totally stands. Although it might be a few days til this fever finally gets out of town and I can get any sort of crafting done. Even if you can’t donate a lot – remember every single dollar helps.

I wish I could be there walking alongside her, but for me it is back to a fun-filled evening of piling on sweatshirts and blankets only to turn around and need to strip down to underwear because my skin is on fire. Good times, good times.

Good luck, Meesh! Love you.

Dipy Week #29 ~ Morning

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Good morning, all. Although, I woke up this morning feeling a little like I was hit by a truck. A raging flu from our Raging Waters adventure, I’m sure. But Kimberly’s morning (on top) looks like it is going to lead to a stellar day. My usual morning (on bottom) is my favorite time of day. I like getting up early, alone with my thoughts, the crunch of my sneakers, and the unspoiled dew drops. It’s a good way to hit the day running.

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Hosted by Megan and Hip Momma

Raging Tuesday

Despite the promises of more updates and blogging, and the fact that it was Crafty Tuesday, it has been a little quiet around BC Chaos this week, no?

(cue the crickets – chirp. chirp.)

But we have been busy RAGING. We were invited to Raging Waters today by our sweet friends Jamie and Audrey…so we spent the day getting very, very wet and full of sunshine.

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4 Moms, and 15 kids. Yes. 15. Thankfully Em, Ad, Emma Jean and Audrey were the only “littles” who needed constant supervision – the rest of the kids were off and running doing the “big kid” slides and rides.

And the day was perfect, only marred slightly by the near-concussion.

Yeah, we had not even been there 15 minutes, and Addie came out of the kiddie pool screaming with a HUGE, purple, goose egg growing out of the top of her forehead. She kept insisting that she hit her head on the slide, but a little boy said that he had actually hit heads with her. We’ll never know the real story.

As for the rest of the story…I was pleased that I was able to maintain some form of calmness because I was FREAKED out. After an ice pack and an exam by the paramedic, it was determined that she was going to live. And after some cuddling and a little timeout – she was up and ready to go, like it never even happened.

We are up and ready to go, too. Precious few weeks til school starts and I’ve got a web project that I need to finish this week, so I’m not promising anything – but we’ll be back real soon.

In the meantime, “hang ten!”

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London Calling.

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These photos have been calling from my hard drive for the past two weeks. I arrived at the realization that the photos are not going to get edited any time soon, so I’m putting them all up on flickr if you are interested in perusing them. But, be forewarned…there are many.

I just can’t believe it was only two weeks ago that J. and I were gallivanting our way across London sans children. So how was it, you ask?

AH-mazing! It was so very much fun. And a timely little anniversary present to ourselves. (Happy 17 years to us today!)

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It did take me a few days to look at a menu and not automatically think “what should we get the girls to eat.” And I would wake up and sort of listen for them before realizing – “Ha! They are not even here!”

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But, once I got out of mom-mode, it was very relaxing and fun. I was on my own while J. worked for a few of the days and I just wandered around, gave my camera some love and visited all the museums I wanted to. I pretty much didn’t say anything to anyone unless I stopped for a coffee or lunch somewhere – and nobody said anything to me. It was kinda nice. For a day or two.

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Then I had J. all to myself and we did all the things that would have bored the girls to tears.

Like visit Stamford Bridge, home to the Chelsea Football Club…

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We took the tour, so we got to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff…

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And The Shed End…

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We also went up and visited Lord’s – the Home of Cricket…

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And got to watch a match…

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AND, lucky us!  The day we visited they allowed the spectators down on the field, which they haven’t done in like 10 years.  You can’t see it here, but we are walking on the historic grass of Lord’s, barefoot…

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Let’s see. We also visited Abbey Road…

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Yep…that is THE crosswalk

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We had pasties (which were a very, VERY close second to the pasties Aunty used to make – they were so good!)…

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We had a few pints at a few pubs…

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We stayed here…

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And here…

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J. indulged me while I swooned in love with London phone booths…

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And flowers…

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And churches…

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And cute little streets I must live on someday…

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We visited my old stomping grounds…

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And tried to peek in the windows admired the window treatments of the flat we lived in…

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We did some shopping at the Portobello Road market…

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We got in trouble for taking photos of this street (outside Kensington Palace – but it was still worth it)…

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We may or may not have sung a round of ‘Chim chiminey chim chiminey chim chim cher-ee!’ – I mean, tell me this doesn’t look like a scene straight out of Mary Poppins…

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We pretty much enjoyed the best of London…

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Continually falling in love with the architecture…

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The history…

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And all the beauty…

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I can’t wait to go back and share it with the girls.

Dipy Week #28 ~ Moody

Dipy Week #28 ~ Moody

The two most unlikely subjects for the Moody theme this week, eh?

I mean – YES! Kimberly’s photo is incredibly moody – the lighting and the blackness, but that smokin’ Mama? I find it hard to believe that she is moody.

Now the bottom half, that sweet little angelic face? Why would I put that sweet face up here for moody? Well, let me tell you – I can attest that girl is M-O-O-D-Y. Seriously. She is perhaps the moodiest child I think I have ever met. We have black…and over on this side, white. Happy one minute, and a complete 180 degrees the very next. I know someday I am going to admire her extreme stubbornness and her determination and that “self-confidence” is going to take her far.

And I can’t help but keep thinking, “it can only get better.” I mean like in ten years from now. When she is fifteen…oh my God. I’m so in trouble, aren’t I?

teamup

Hosted by Megan and Hip Momma

Crafty Tuesday

Well, let me just say that I have only been crafty out of necessity this past week.

Addie HAD to wear a dress that was a good two inches too short to be wearing out in public. So I rounded up all of her old holey or grass-stained leggings and chopped and hemmed them. Voila. Five new pairs of under-skirt shorts. She is very happy.

Jamie HAS about three more pair of pants that need to be hemmed, so they are next up on my sewing table.

Emma’s old bear NEEDS a new nose. She so very sweetly decided to give her “extra” bear to her best friend Audrey so they could have friendship bears.

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And she graciously decided to keep her original bear (from Aunt Meesh) which is a little worse for wear and has lost his nose somewhere along the way. So new nose for bear. And the “extra bear” has a new home with Aud.

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And most of last week was spent preparing for the little grown-up tea party we had over the weekend to honor my new sister-in-law, (to be), JB!

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We were going for an Anthropology-esque garden tea party.  And I think we got pretty close. At any rate is was a very fun afternoon with our favorite Mary!

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I really hope to tackle my project pile this week. Any inspirations for me?

A Lazy Sunday

Hey there, internet friends. I kinda miss you all a little bit.

Granted I clearly didn’t miss you enough to post more than a Team-Up Thursday here or a Crafty Tuesday there lately, but I do have all kinds of stuff to post. Things are happening and I’ve definitely got photos to share.

It’s just, well…I guess it is just summer, and we all kind of need a break. It isn’t you…it is me. Since coming back from our trip, the realization that it our summer is almost over has hit, and it has hit hard. In 24 days the girls go back to school already.

So we have just been trying to chill and enjoy what is left of our summer.

Today we roamed the flea market a bit and then came home to our hammock and front yard and a pile of books…
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Can you believe I get to celebrate 17 years with this guy this week? I sometimes have to give a little pinch to remind myself how very lucky I am…
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And you had better believe that this will be printed and hanging somewhere in our house by the end of the week. My new favorite photo of Addison…

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Sometimes, it really is hard to do “nothing” but just sit back and enjoy life.  I’m really making a conscious effort to do just that before all chaos hits in a few weeks.

And for me, part of enjoying life is writing this here little ‘ol blog.  So hopefully I can sit down and do a little more of that, too.