Book I Read in January

I only finished one this month (because I spent the first half of the month attempting to read this!), but here are all the rest, if you're looking for book recommendations.

Night by Elie Wiesel
Perhaps the most famous Holocaust memoir out there, Night is the autobiographical account of a teenaged Jewish boy's experience during World War II, as his family is removed from their village to a ghetto and soon end up as prisoners in several Nazi concentration camps.  My goodness, this story will haunt you.  It is harrowing, graphic, and heart-crushing, as you would imagine that it would be.  Interestingly enough, there has been a considerable amount of criticism over how much truth is found in this book, and whether it can rightfully be classified as a memoir or if it should be labeled as fiction.  I think it doesn't really matter.  Even if the specific events of this story didn't actually happen to Elie, other survivors' and witnesses' accounts have assured us that these things did happen.  That much cannot be argued.  Also, though this book is translated from its original Yiddish, Wiesel's naked, stark method of storytelling remains intact, and makes for an entrancing read.  Tissues needed.

New Tutorial on Shrimp Salad Circus!

I've got a new tutorial up over on Shrimp Salad Circus!  This time, I knew I wanted to make something super cozy since winter is (unfortunately) nowhere near over.  I noticed that I was seeing cardigans in stores and online that were basically just envelopes of fabric and warmth, so I tried my hand at making one of my own.  I'm pretty happy with the result!  And I called it a Cocoon Cardigan.  Because that's what it feels like.  In a really good way.

Click over here if you'd like to see how this one was made.  And the rest of my tutorials can be found here!

Our First Pets

The mail room in our building sometimes doubles as a giveaway room:  people bring books or furniture or whatever they don't want anymore and leave it there for someone else to pick up.  So I was surprised, but not that surprised, when Scott showed up with an empty aquarium, fully equipped with a filter and a heater and a net that he nagged in the mail room!

After cultivating our ecosystem for the past week, we were ready to bring home some fish last night!  Meet our five new guppies (the colorful guys) and our two mollies.  Only the mollies have names at this point (because we can't tell the guppies apart yet), and they have been affectionately called Agent Dale Cooper (Coop) and Killer Bob (Bob), due to our recent watching/obsession/fascination with Twin Peaks.

I've never had fish before (actually, I've never really even had a pet before!), so we're hoping these guys not only survive, but really thrive.  I love them already.

Dottie Adele: Photo Shoot

What we've all been waiting for (or at least me!)...

Here are the final results of the photo shoot we did back in December.  It makes me incredibly grateful to see my designs so wonderfully worn and stunningly photographed.  Please enjoy!  (And let me know your favorites!)

Photo shoot was a collaboration between:
Photographer:  Kate Ignatowski
Hair:  Janice Latorre
Models:  Rachel Novick and Lilly Alanah
Clothes:  Dottie Adele


My shop is "on vacation" until March 1, but if you see anything you like, check back in March!Heart-Shaped Waistband Skirt, Polka Dot Top (sold out), Roses Skirt, Blush Pink Maxi Dress, Pleated Polka Dot Skirt, Lace Back Blouse, Peter Pan Blouse, Printed Shorts, Sweetheart Dress, Mustard Sweater Top (coming soon!)

How to Be Insanely Productive

3-day weekends are the best, aren't they?  Sometimes I like to use that extra day to relax, and sometimes I like to use it to get stuff done.  This past 3-day weekend fell into the latter category.

I have been abundantly blessed in the last few months with opportunities for sewing things for people and contributing to their lives and memories.  I love this.  It's what I want to do.  However, since I also have a regular 8-hour-a-day job, it's not that hard to fall behind on my sewing obligations (even if I really wish I could just be sewing all the time).  This weekend, I set my sights, and I set those sights high, on sewing up a storm.

My friend Brittany and I have similar dreams-becoming-realities-outside-the-regular-working-hours things going on right now, and on Friday when we talked about how much we both wanted to accomplish this weekend, I half-jokingly said that we should e-mail each other our progress as accountability partners.

On Saturday morning, I woke up to just such an e-mail from Brittany, which started an entire weekend of productivity accountability THAT WAS AWESOME.

Here are some excerpts from our e-mails:

"Day's long term goal: minimize the amount of ice cream I eat. (eep.)"

"Closing report:  I accomplished the minimum I said I would do.  Didn't make it to bed by midnight, but that's because I was watching Jennifer Lawrence on SNL, which I feel is a somewhat valid excuse."

 

"I needed reinforcements, so I'm bringing in Devil Wears Prada and ice cream. I'm aiming to be done with this by 3."

 

"Immediate plans:  shower, lunch, put away laundry, vacuum, do the ironing, change the bedsheets before 2 PM.  If I do all that, the only thing I have left to accomplish today not sewing related is making dinner.  I will be watching last week's Downton and the remainder of all my week's tv shows while doing all of the above."

 

"My plant from my boss is not dead (yet)!!! Small victories."

 

"So it turns out that even though The Impossible was extremely painful to watch, it helped quite a bit today when I went on my walk and the wind was blowing at, oh, 30-40 miles per hour.  About 5 minutes in I was like, "I should just go home," but then I remembered how Naomi Watts' entire body was basically destroyed and she still swam through debris-filled tsunami water, so surely I can walk up this hill.  And so I did."

Somehow, laying out everything that I needed or wanted to get done that day - from housework to cooking to exercising to working on my sewing - and then knowing that I was going to check in with Brittany again in just a matter of hours made me work so much harder without even feeling like I was working.  We virtually high-fived one another when we got things accomplished, and used each other's victories as our own motivation to get more stuff done.

Call me a productivity nerd, but having an accountability partner in all of it made things fun.  Next time you have a gigantic, intimidating to-do list, I highly recommend getting yourself someone to report back to!

Hearts on My Sleeves

I made plans for this top almost 3 months ago, and finally followed through!

I don't have too much to say about this one except that it's cute and it's silky and it has a pocket and it's fun and out of my norm and I love it!  (Guess that was more than I thought I had to say.)

And just because I must show you this print in close up:

So cute, right?  (Soh kyoot.)

Details:
Fabric - Heart of the Matter Crepe de Chine from Gorgeous Fabrics
Pattern - New Look 6148
Time to complete - 4 hours

NYC List: Intrepid Museum

Although we've been there many times before, the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum is still one of my all-time favorites (which is strange, considering I don't really are about planes or military stuff at all...and the entire museum is actually an aircraft carrier).  I think I love it so much because I love seeing and learning about ways of life that seem so out of the norm to me.  Living on a gigantic ship carrying planes and never setting foot on land for months at a time?  I'm intrigued.  Sign me up!

We also had this on our "Things We Must Do Before We Leave The City" list because in all the previous times we've been, we had never gone on the submarine or seen the recently-arrived space shuttle, so when Blake and Julie were visiting, we made our return trip.

Submarine spaces are tiny.

 

Who wants to bunk with the torpedo?  Not it.

Here is Scott on top of the submarine with the city in the background.  With his eyes closed.

You probably don't want me running one of the machine guns on the deck.

Ready Room!  I love this room because it reminds me Top Gun and also I learned these are the most comfortable chairs on the ship.  They do look pretty loungey.

All four of us decided to ride in this G-Force Simulator.  I get motion sick, but thankfully I had some Dramamene on me and we had a 30-minute wait in line for it to kick in.  While in line, Scott told me he wouldn't go upside down or crash on purpose, a promise he broke about 4 seconds after the ride started.  Still, I didn't puke.

The shuttle's area got damaged during Hurricane Sandy, so they are currently rebuilding and you can't go walk around it right now, but we at least got to view if from afar.

Navigation Bridge, where several quotes from Titanic came to mind.  "Take her to sea, Mr. Murdoch.  Let's stretch her legs..."

A plane on the plane elevator.

Helicopters and skyscrapers.

I love this place.