today

+ today’s plans +

swim lessons. we are more than halfway through summer, and i feel like we’re just getting started. the insane heat wave that held the northeast captive in our homes for the last…err..forever (it feels like) has finally ‘broken’ because today it’s going to be only 84 degrees and  feel like only 98 degrees, instead of being 98 and feeling like 132. maybe now we can actually go outside?

+ today’s crazy +

the video for imagine dragons “radioactive”. whatever sick and twisted mind came up with this: i think i love you. (maybe NSFchildren…they could have nightmares mwahahaha)

loved this song before. love it more now.

+ today’s writing +

a post about my experiences last week at a new doctor. it’s a tough one. i’m going at it in bits + pieces. emotions: i haz dem.

+ today’s soundbite +

jeremy to gigi: did you call me?
gigi: no. i didn’t. maybe you just heard it in your head. like somebody talking.
j: yeah, maybe that’s what it was.
g: yeah cause sometimes dat happens to me like i hear people talking in my head.
j: o.O

she has voices. in her head. #notsurprised

+ today’s deep thought +

this post about yelling at our children. had me thinking hard. reallllly hard. i admit: i’m a yeller. i come from a long line of yellers. and i battle it every. single. day.

+ today’s recipe +

summertime = cookouts and hamburgers. new goal: never ever ever buy hamburger rolls again. this recipe is insanely fast and easy and you look like the bomb. oh, these delicious rolls? yeah, i just whipped them up.

enjoy your day, loves. googiemomma out.

love all.

once upon a time i read a study explaining why a little bit of competition can be good for a marriage. their test? pairs tennis. the couples that played on opposite sides of the net, well…let’s just say they had a better time then the couples who played as partners.

works for me.
a little competition. check. keeping the fire burning. got it.
except…jeremy and i maybe compete a little differently than many couples.
i mean, we used to play tennis. but with five kiddos it’s a little hard to find the time for that these days. so there’s less “DOUBLE FAULT!” and more “let’s see who’s got the bigger fabric pile!”
oooooh.
he sends me videos of his sharp new fabric scissors. bragger.
we trade sewing tips.

what can i say? it works for us.

hello, my name is shannon and i’m married to an upholsterer. so yes, my husband has a bigger fabric stash than i do. i’m so ashamed.

but it has it’s benefits—namely lots and lots of scraps. and the scraps you get from large upholstery projects aren’t tiny bits and pieces—they can be anything from 1/2 to 5 or 6 yards or more. unfortunately a lot of them are not really usable for clothing. but every once in a while i snag a piece that can be.

so it was with this purple fabric. i’ve had it sitting in my sewing room for probably three years or more. and a couple of months ago i got around to using it for ava.

it’s pretty heavy, and this is actually the wrong side of the fabric. but i thought the texture was so interesting i went for it. there are flecks of gold and light blue and dark purple running through. i threw the fabric into the washer and dryer before i did anything with it. i figured i’d make sure it could withstand that before i put the time into sewing something with it. surprisingly it came through with flying colors.

also, excessive use of the word through/threw in one paragraph. flag on the play.

i had just enough to make a long circle skirt, and of course the math is from dana’s circle skirt tutorial. i seriously must refer back to her math instructions like 3x a week.

but circle skirts are just so fun for twirling. what more could a little girl ask for?

i used a 1/2 yard of deep purple knit from jo-ann’s for the top. a simple boat neck and 3/4 length sleeves.

fun tidbit: when i attached the skirt to the top it was so heavy it pulled the knit waistband down much more than i expected. i ended up having to hack a good 3 inches off the waist band and reattaching the skirt! the perils of making clothing from upholstery weight fabrics.

the flower was a last minute addition—just circles cut from remnants of both fabrics, sewn together and glued to a safety pin. 

also—i’m super proud of the stitching on that neck. high five.

this dress turned out pretty and very feminine and super easy to wear—it just slips on over her head. and i love ava in a boat neck. plus it cost me about $4, so…yeah.

sometimes workin’ with what ya got can lead to good things! who knew?! :)

also…this child? almost impossible to take pictures of. she’s got no head in most of these, because…well, this:

i’m such a good wife.

my entire life i’ve been a Reader—anytime, anywhere, any lighting. i’d sneak books in my bed, reading by the light from the hallway. and so, my entire life i’ve had people saying to me “you’re going to ruin your eyes!”

guess what. turns out eventually they were right.

i need glasses now. boo. well, sometimes boo. because sometimes they can be cute, too. so when firmoo contacted me about trying out some of their glasses i was like YEE-HAW!
digging on that hipster nerd look? they got you covered. want something more classic? yup, they got it. even sunglasses.

but.

i’m not the only glasses wearer in the house—my mister’s eyes are about 1000x worse than mine. and when firmoo contacted me about reviewing glasses, he was more in need of some new pairs than i was. so, i let him have it, err…them.



yup. i’m totally the best wife.

i <3 nerds with glasses and bowties

okay—pros: these glasses are nice. just as nice as any pair we’ve gotten for him locally. they came in hard cases, with a little kit for repairs. shipping was fast, and the biggest thrill—the price was AWESOME. compared to what we normally pay for his glasses this was a HUGE savings (although these 2 pairs were given to us for review purposes, we did figure out what the cost would have been).

he’s been wearing these two pairs every day for a few months now, and they’re just as nice as when he got them. seriously—dude is blind without glasses, they go on first thing in the morning and don’t come off until he’s going to sleep at night. jeremy has an astigmatism in one eye, so each lens is very different. the prescription was perfect.

cons:  honestly i can’t really think of any real cons. the only thing that was a little hairy was the whole process of entering all his prescription info and measuring his eyes. we couldn’t get the “virtual try-on” to work for us, so we based our choices on just the measurements and descriptions of the glasses on the site. we usually have a terrible time finding glasses for jeremy—he’s almost 6’4, and a big guy. most men’s glasses seem a little…smallish on him. but it completely worked—these glasses fit him perfectly. and in my honest opinion i think the ordering process is something that will be more difficult the first time and NBD every successive time you order from firmoo.

also a con—having to force him to take these photos. he did not want to. at all. stinker. and then he gave me a straight face in every shot. so i made him laugh. i don’t even remember what we were laughing about, but i love these shots (even though his eyes are closed). ;)
bottom line? i absolutely recommend firmoo for glasses. if you know or have your prescription definitely give them a try. for the price it’s worth taking the chance, even if you’re nervous about ordering glasses online and not being able to try them on first. srsly.
got more questions? check out firmoo’s f.a.q. HERE.
disclosure: we were provided two pairs of glasses at no cost for review. but all opinions are my own, and i would never recommend or endorse a product i didn’t trust and believe in! true story.