Kaoru Marie

I made a friend in Italy :)))))) In what feels like forever, I finally just relaxed this weekend. No guests, no parties to host or attend, no gifts to frantically finish making, no commitments! Sometimes it's nice to not have anything on your schedule. Recently I met someone in my industry who sews! (Hi Shannon!) We met at a professional organization luncheon last month and then soon after she came across my blog . We had already planned on having lunch with colleagues to talk shop before she found my blog. We met for a business lunch this week with our colleagues, but it was fun to get in some sewing talk. I'm pretty sure my college was like, ' wtf.... ', when he heard us talking about sewing near the end of lunch. He made a weird comment like, ' did you guys finish catching up? ' I'm not sure if he thought we already knew each other or wanted to have a business meeting as an excuse to talk sewing, but whatever. Thankfully Shannon didn't mention m...

Happy Monday! Or rather, ' Ugh, Monday!' . Yeah, that's more like it. I meant to post this on Friday, and then Saturday, and then Sunday.....but I had better things to do, like finally watch Season 2 of The Great British Sewing Bee! I didn't even realize there was a Season THREE until I was looking for videos online of S2 and saw I was so far behind in this show that a whole additional season was also online. Unfortunately I couldn't find episodes 5, 7, or 8 (THE FINALE!) of Season 2, but I did watch episode 9, which was a reunion/flashback episode so at least I saw highlights of the final challenges and who won. I gotta say, I really liked a lot of the contestants on S2. So many of them were really, really likable. And who isn't totally inspired by Chinello's way of dressmaking? I want to learn how to sew that way! Quite fascinating indeed. Then I got started on Season 3 and I wasn't really feeling it a couple episodes in. No offense to the cont...

Ahhhhh, this workweek was even worse than last week. I pretty much reached my breaking point Thursday evening, but I shook it off and had a good time at happy hour yesterday. Getting drinks with former coworkers to bitch about work and catch up on life is always a good stress reliever. The no-good, very bad, horrible project is still alive, but will hopefully end this week. It better. I also can't believe we're in the home stretch of July. When did that happen?? Craziness! I have another happy hour scheduled for this week, a mid-week all-gals one, which should be fun. Happy hours....the best way to make it through the work week. Our new kitty is doing better. Her eyes have stopped watering, we're heading to the vet as soon as I publish this post, and she is a major cuddler! Nothing beats waking up to a tiny kitten snuggling next to you. I haven't done any sewing in awhile, but hopefully I'll sneak some in this weekend. I bought a large spool of thread for $1 in...

Gaaaah, I'm so glad this week is over! It started with a meeting with a client that absolutely did not go well and I've been busting my arse trying to finish a lot of work in a short time frame. I really only have myself to blame, so lesson learned. Hopefully this time next week this particular project will be over and I can move on from it. Instead of beating myself up over this project, whenever I start to sense that I'm getting frustrated and overwhelmed I focus on how I will feel once it is over. I will feel so relieved. and happy. as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. That feeling is driving me to finish this project and it's keeping me surprisingly sane and in good spirits. So let's move on to what I've discovered the past two weeks. Hope you enjoy some of these links. Did you catch Norma's tip for working with lingerie elastic? Steam It! This was the first time I've read about this and now I can't wait to try it on my nex...

Happy Fourth of July Weekend, Fellow Americans!!!! Hope you have a wonderful holiday tomorrow and hopefully you have today off to enjoy doing whatever pleases you. We have a friend in town this weekend who is staying with us tonight and then with another friend tomorrow. We have a lot of eating planned this weekend as we take him to our favorite restaurants. My current plant-based diet will be on Holiday this weekend. But I gotta say, I haven't been missing meat or desserts this week and this is coming from someone who is probably addicted to sugar (candy). My husband told me about some ridiculous dessert he had the other night and I was like, "meh....not interested, that shit's so bad for you." Here are some articles and fun tidbits I read this week. Enjoy! 1. I always think it's odd when Eastern Cultures build structures that are so Western looking, and vice-versa. So I was totally weirded out when I came across this article that highlighted some global c...

This photo was taken a couple years ago. I came across this little guy chilling on the corner directly outside my apartment, when I went out to go for a walk. I quickly ran inside to get my camera because I didn't think anyone was going to believe me that a raccoon was just quietly sitting in the gutter in Hollywood! Several months later I almost came face to face with another raccoon when I was walking to the bus stop early one morning. I quickly ran across the street and was so paranoid the raccoon was going to chase me. Can I outrun a raccoon? I never want to find out. 1. I bring up my Hollywood Raccoon Stories because this week I came across an Instagram account of a PET RACCOON!!!!! I couldn't stop watching every single video clip. My husband was less than enthused when I kept texting him links to the videos. His exact quote: "This lady is teaching her 'pet' basically everything it'll need to survive after it kills her and eats her face". ...

Weekly Links!! Argh, I haven't done one in so long. I used to try and do them on Sunday nights, but let's try Friday evenings, so you can have something to read during the weekend. 1. I first learned about this story via the Start-Up Podcast (which is FANTASTIC, by the way). Listen to the podcast or read the article and then you decide: is it 'Sexual Harassment'? My opinion? Hells Yes! { Is it Sexual Harassment? // CNN Money} 2. This article highlights exactly why I have been so reluctant to take any "boutique" fitness class. While broadcasting your salary is still taboo, boutique fitness is an almost stealth way to display one’s conspicuous consumption. I'm fearful that I'll feel like I *have* to keep going and I can't afford to have that kind of habit. { Why Fitness Classes are Making you Broke // Racked} 3. Good on Melissa McCarthy for attempting to bring larger sizes to regular stores where they can be sold side-by-side with all th...

It's been awhile since I've done a Links post. Enjoy! 1. Southwest recycled old seat cushions and turned them into handbags and weekend bags. If you like the leather/denim combo look and are into the re/up-cycle lifestyle, then these bags are for you. { Southwest Handbags // Quartz} 2. At first I thought this article was about people putting hair salons into their homes to make some extra cash. I was so wrong! Are in-home hair salons the new luxury item of the 1%? One of the in-home hair salons that was photographed is almost as big as my last apartment! I only get my hair cut 2-3 times per year because I'm too lazy{and cheap} to get my hair cut on a regular basis. I'm also so lazy about getting my hair cut that I hate making an appointment so I go to a place where they only allow drop-ins. So I suppose I understand why some people would want a hair salon in their house {because of the convenience}, but it just seems so extravagant....{ Home Hair Salons // Wa...

1. I've started {and stopped} a bunch of blogs over the years. Of course none have ever gained any strong readership, but it's something I enjoy doing. Every single time I started a blog I had the most difficult time coming up with a name. I once re-branded a blog because I was so over the original name. I enlisted my brother for help and I think he eventually came up with the winning name. I've gone back and forth many times over what I want to call this blog. I don't want to pigeon-hole myself into one specific craft (sewing, photography, lettering, etc.), which is why I didn't create a pun on sewing or include 'photography' in my name. I also knew I most likely wasn't going to become a hardcore photographer anyway. I use my name because it's an easy option and I haven't met anyone else with the First-Middle name combo so I'm assuming I'm the only one with this name so I think it has some uniqueness. For awhile though I gave this bl...

I skipped a week because I haven't done much online reading recently. Here are 5 things that caught my eye the past two weeks, including some non-sewing links. 1. I've been very fascinated lately with how nail salons do some of the intricate nail art these days. The other weekend I got sucked into the nail art YouTube and Instagram blackhole for several hours. I was really into painting my nails and using nail decal art when I was around 12 years old. My mom was super strict when I was growing up, but she begrudgingly let me do this. Although, I distinctly remember her saying I looked like a prostitute one time because I used pearly/silver nail polish. LOLZ!! THE HORROR!!! {Buzzfeed// Nail Art Tutorials } 2. All you sewing bloggers talking about making your own lingerie has almost convinced me to try it too. I've always wondered whether I'm wearing the correct bra size and I was shocked, SHOCKED to find out my size based on this bra size calculator. { The Sophist...