purchase booboo remedy...

 I bought 2 tops from a low-cost store the other day.  It's not a thrift shop and it's not an outlet store either but they have a number of goods which are branded.  The top I got, according to the salesman, is from H&M's left-over stock from previous seasons.  But I'm not that sure.  As I was trying the clothes on at home, I noticed small stitches at the upper right part of the top. My face fell. I know I won't be able to return to the store and have it replaced because it's the only one left in my size.  I really love it's color and fit though.  I showed it to my husband and he suggested that I put a brooch or something to hide the stitch and I thought that was a good idea.

 8 riyals top

unnoticeable stitch (at first glance)

 I remembered I have a fancy pair of earrings which I don't get to use.  I got my left-over lace and made a flower out of it and stitched an earring at the center.  

I need to improve the flower's shape...

 At first I wanted to permanently attach the DIY flower to the shirt but decided to just pin it with a safety pin for easy washing.

finished product!

it's not that bad after all!

"When not-so-good things happen, you can only give praise and thanksgiving to God that nothing worst occured.  It makes you feel a bit better!"

That's what i posted in facebook today...

Earlier, we discovered that our car window was broken and that our car stereo was stolen...it would have been a really bad day except that since we joined this certain community, our perspective about things have been gradually changing..and i'm thankful for that. So instead of wallowing and having our day ruined, we just look at the positive side of things and be grateful that after all, it's just a minor thing if you think about it..

Anyway, i have finished another DIY project..it involves hubby's old shirts (again) and transformed them into my very own shirt dresses, haha..

they used to be hubby's office shirts

i used only back stitches for the sides and the arm hole edges..

i finished handsewing it on thursday night and by friday i was already wearing one of them..  a couple of friends noticed it and were surprised to find out it's DIY. It makes me happy that they find the idea interesting and told me they're gonna try it on their hubby's clothes (old clothes, that is! haha). =)

the boys and i...

Have a great day everyone!

I'll rest the case (pillow cases) and rest my hands as well!

I wasn't feeling well yesterday and only dragged myself into getting the important daily routines done (like cooking, feeding the kids and attending to their needs while they study). For the rest of the afternoon i just sat in front of the tv set and while i find it hard to move around, I got bored and decided to just make use of the idle time to do something productive.

This is our spare pillow which has been sitting in the closet for 2 years now..

I cut it into two to make decorative pillows..

then I put out the fabric we bought from IKEA last April (2 dollars a yard) and hand-sewn 2 pillow cases..

I was so into sewing that i was able to make 3 more pillow cases for the boys' small bedroom pillows..


After almost 3 hours, my eyes were tired and I had tons of needle pricks which made my fingers hurt..but i was happy!

I'm thinking of buying a portable sewing machine since i discovered sewing satisfies me a lot..plus, i'm planning on making my own clothes and repairing old ones. Actually i made a skirt about a month ago but it doesn't fit right since i don't really know the basics of cutting fabrics. But i'm excited to start again since i got a good tip from a pretty blogger named Linda when she posted a DIY skirt tutorial in her blog. Here it is.. http://littletinsoldier.tumblr.com/puffyskirt (note to self: must learn how to insert links!)

Have you done some DIYs? =)

outfit post: JUSTIFICATION

at 31, sometimes I cringe at myself for posting pictures of my outfits (before, in facebook and now here)..but hey, before i was a mother and a wife, i was first a girl who loves to dress up so that i could feel good about myself and show my confidence to others..besides, blogs (fashion blogs and outfit blogs in particular)were not yet known during my teens and early twenties..by the time all these things popped up in cyberspace i was too busy building the foundation of a loving family i have now plus i don't have the luxury of time to go online that time with 3 young kids less than 2 years apart, plus a very demanding teaching job..

so bear with me for this is the only way of amusing myself (being a stay-at-home mom and tutor to 3 homeschooled kids and loving wife to my husband plus ironlady, cleaning lady(except for the bathroom-my husband does that)and the fact that we live in Saudi Arabia) and somehow retain the person that i am, hehe...obviously, this blah, blah, blah is followed by outfit pics, lol...





what i'm wearing: department store white top, hubby's old pants converted into my shorts =), maphisto white shoes, brown longchamp le pliage cabas bag, cheap watch i got from shola shopping center, fresh water pearl bracelet from kulturang pilipino...

men's shirt

Whenever I go out, I usually feel excited because I love dressing up or dressing down. I usually decide on what to wear a day before and sometimes I have my 'pre-wear' (I fit in my clothes before i actually wear them for an event or an occassion -don't know if there's a right term for that.

Most of my clothes were left in the Philippines since I only stay here every other six months. With limited clothes, I usually become bored with my outfits..that's when I had the idea of transforming my husband's old clothes into mine.

The first pic shows my husband's short-sleeved polo turned into a sleeveless shirtdress. I wore it with a high-waisted shorts (formerly my husband's black long pants).

The second pic also shows the shirtdress, i even made the cut-out sleeves into a belt, haha.

I'm enjoying this project so much that my husband fears of losing all his clothes to mine, lol...