If you're wondering where I've been, well…

You know when you're getting ready for a trip, all of the sudden you need all this stuff that you seemed to be doing fine without before?  That's what I've been doing.

First of all, swimsuit shopping.  

Let me just set the record straight and let you know that no matter what size you are, it is a chore.

It doesn't matter that I'm the smallest I've been since high school, most swimming suits still made me look fat. They are just really the most unflattering piece of attire there is. No way around it.

But I found one that didn't look to bad (yay!). 

On to the next need.

My girls needed sun hats.

I don't know if you'e ever looked for sun hats for a child over the age of three, but let me tell you, it's pretty impossible to find anything….unless you want to spend an outrageous amount of money at the outdoor store.

So I googled, and found this tutorial.  And it was one of the most satisfying sewing experiences I've ever had.

One thing I wanted to point out about the tutorial….the "kids" size pattern fit my three year old, but the adult one seemed a bit large, so I did end up needing to come up with my own sizing on the pattern for my older two girls.  I just pulled out some ugly old material that was not functional for anything and started sewing up practice hats until I had a pattern that was just the right size.  It only took maybe half an hour, and saved me a lot of frustration in working on a hat that didn't end up fitting right.

And now, the hats…

My girls think it's SO impressive that they are reversible.  I think it's great because when one side gets dirty, we've still got something decent to wear.

The details, because I've been reawakened to my love of embroidery….

with a few extra dividers inside to keep all my dollars nicely sorted.