First off, this is not a post about Prince, his song just popped in my head when I was trying to think of a title. But don’t go away yet! I have a little something for Prince fans so you won’t be totally disappointed:

I was a huge Prince fan in high school and remember dancing to “1999″ thinking how sad it was that when it turned 1999 I’d be in my 30s and too old to celebrate. Somehow 30 doesn’t seem as old now as it did then. Go figure.

But I digress…

This post isn’t about Prince, it’s about a purple wedding shower; hence the name “Purple Rain.” I do realize that’s terrible and I’d like to say I’ll never do it again, but I probably will.

Princess’s Auntie Lainie offered to throw a wedding shower for her since all of her bridesmaids were in school at high school or college and couldn’t do it. Auntie Lainie has a reputation for putting on a classy party and this time was no exception.

The buffet was covered with lots of yummy snacks, including Princess’s beloved Chex Mix. There was a nice balance of healthy and naughty treats; Auntie Lainie is a certified dietician but doesn’t get all crazy about only serving super-nutritious foods. Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell? She’d rather have ice cream for supper and won’t eat anything green – especially green veggies! Shhhh, don’t tell!

This is my idea of a snack table! All the desserts tasted as delicious as they looked. I know because I tried all of them – twice, just to make sure they were as good as I thought the first time.

Auntie Lainie had ordered cupcakes and cookies from a local bakery. The cupcakes were exactly what she’d ordered… the cookies not so much.

Batten down the hatches; there’s a storm a-brewin’!

Auntie Lainie picked up the cookies but didn’t stop to look at them until she was home. When she opened the box she was livid. Instead of the beautiful cookies she’d imagined the cookies were simply frosted white and airbrushed with a little purple.

She called the bakery manager; “This is not what I ordered – I could do this myself! I am very disappointed and will never shop at your bakery again.”

The manager was quick on her feet and offered to have the bakery redo them and deliver them when they were done. So Auntie Lainie returned the cookies to the bakery and two hours after closing time they were delivered to her home – gorgeous as you can see. In fact, I think these are the prettiest cookies I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

Of course the first thing we did was eat, and of course I had to get a shot of Princess eating – it’s required. She obviously saw me coming and took a dainty bite. I’m never as observant and am always caught stuffing my face.

Peanut loves strawberries and stuffed a whole one in her mouth. She totally takes after me. Nom nom nom!

Once Peanut saw the cupcakes she was so done with strawberries. She has a huge sweet tooth and will chow down sweets like there’s no tomorrow. She takes after me in that respect too.

After eating Auntie Lainie brought out the games. First we had to match famous people with their sweeties.

“I don’t know half these people!” Kathy and Eileen are sisters and have been Princess’s best friends through thick and thin since we moved to the neighborhood more than ten years ago. Eileen will be Princess’s Maid of Honor and Kathy will be one of her bridesmaids.

Cowboy’s sister Heather bribed Peanut to peeking at her grandma’s answers. Heather’s grandma knew all the classic pairs: Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Liz Taylor and what’s-his-name…

Heather is another of Princess’s bridesmaids and will be escorting Peanut, the flower girl, up the aisle.

Janice’s friend Leah and Janice worked together to match up the pairs. They knew a lot of the newer ones, but really rocked the second game; Bridal Word Scramble. I stink at word scrambles. Once I see the messed up word I can’t think of anything else. Who says “dribal” isn’t a real word somewhere?

My mom and Kathy and Eileen’s mom both did great at both games. Both of them have been so important in Princess’s life and have been strong supporters since we first learned that Peanut was on the way. We’re all lucky to have them in our lives.

Angel Face is Princess’s other bridesmaid. She’s always been at an in-between age: younger than Kathy and Eileen yet older than their younger sister, Meredith. When we first moved to the neighborhood Angel Face was too young to be interested in what the older girls were doing so she played more with Meredith but over the past few of years she’s matured and now hangs out with the older girls.

Look at those gorgeous smiles!

I don’t want to brag, but I got the most matches in the first game so I got to pick a prize, and Peanut helped me decide. I thought I wanted the measuring cup/spoon set but she let me know that I really wanted the storage containers.

Last but not least, Princess opened her gifts. They had registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond which ended up being the perfect choice because not only did they find everything they needed, the gift boxes and ribbons were purple.

Once she was done opening gifts all the guests left and I helped Auntie Lainie clean up a little Eating another cookie – or two, or three – does too count as helping to clean up! Then we headed home where Teacher was channeling Rick Bayless again.

But that’s a story for another day.

Love,

OK, I lied – I’ll give you a little peek…

As you probably know, we’re planning a wedding here. If you know anything about weddings you’ll know that one of the most important things – to the bride at least – is what she and the wedding party are going to wear. Tears are shed, wars fought, entire worlds destroyed over bridal attire.

One of the first things we did when Princess and Cowboy announced their wedding date was start thinking about Princess’s wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses. Since I’d made Princess’s prom dress a couple of years ago she asked me if I would make her wedding dress.

Of course I said yes, even though my insides were quaking and turning to jelly.

A prom dress is one thing, but a wedding dress is one of those things that can turn a normal girl into Bridezilla faster than you can say “sequined lace.” If you’ve ever seen “Say Yes to the Dress” you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Those women walk into the salon all pretty and smiling but it’s not long before their perfect manicures become claws, eyes become bloodshot, and mouth twist in snarls and tantrums. One bride had tried on over ONE HUNDRED dresses and still hadn’t found The Right One.

What? Oh, sorry, I digress…

The first thing Princess found was her wedding dress pattern. She spent several afternoons looking at wedding dress patterns online before she found The One on the upper right. It’s simple yet elegant, with a little sparkle to make it special. We love sparkle.

My mom found a gorgeous creamy peau de soire fabric which is heavy enough to keep its shape yet drape gracefully to the floor.

We couldn’t like any of the lace medallions that found in the local fabric stores or online so instead we started looking at lace to “fussy cut” instead of a pre-made medallion. We found a spectacular lace, already embellished with pearls and sequins. It was easily the most expensive fabric I’ve ever purchased – $25.00 a yard! – but our coupon made it much more reasonable. Score another point for coupon clipping geeks!

Here’s a detail of the lace. Isn’t it absolutely gorgeous?!

Next we turned our attention to the bridesmaid dresses. Princess didn’t want a formal wedding so we suggested tea length dresses for the bridesmaids. My mom helped Princess choose a pattern with variations that would look good on all of her bridesmaids. Each was asked pick her own bodice style from any of the sleeveless variations.

Princess had chosen a deep plum color for the wedding and we were lucky enough to find a gorgeous glittery satin the perfect color in our local fabric store. Even better, it was on sale! My mom had made three of my four bridesmaid dresses when Teacher and I were married, and offered to make the dresses for Princess’s bridesmaids too.

As I write this the wedding dress is halfway done and two of the bridesmaid dresses are completely done; two more are almost done.

They’re all going to be incredibly gorgeous – I can’t wait to show them to you!

Princess knew exactly what kind of wedding veil she wanted.

She wanted a simple veil in off-white or ivory to go with her ivory dress. Shoulder-length, with a plain cut edge; no lace, serging, or anything.

Most of all, she wanted a tiara.

The tiara was easy to find. My mom, Princess and I went to the local wedding shop where I’d shopped for my wedding. We all had a blast watching Princess try on every tiara they had. Some we knew wouldn’t work but it was fun to see her try them on anyway. We knew this was the one though; this one made her eyes sparkle. When a girl’s eyes sparkle you know it’s the right one.

I learned about the sparkly eye thing when Princess was five or six years old. My mom and I took her swimsuit shopping, never guessing what an ordeal it would be. Princess tried on just about every swimsuit in her size but didn’t like any of them. Finally she tried a teal one with flowers and a little net skirt. She looked at herself in the mirror and hopped up and down to make the skirt float.

“I’m a pretty little girl!” she exclaimed with a huge grin and sparkling eyes.

We could tell by her face that it was the right suit. She wore it until it was so small I had to take it away it was tragically lost and never found again.

I learned my lesson: Sparkly eyes means it’s the right one.

We decided to keep the veil and tiara separate so Princess could remove the veil but still wear the tiara during the reception. She was very excited to find a pattern that had the veil she wanted – the one on the bottom left.

My mom took her to the fabric store to look for tulle. They fell in love with a gorgeous tulle that had metallic gold threads woven in. There’s the right amount of sparkle and shimmer to catch the light without being disco-tacky. I couldn’t wait to turn it into a breathtaking veil.

The veil is simply two ovals gathered on one end, sandwiched inside bias tape, then stitched to a comb. I figured I could easily get it done in one night.

I was wrong. It took three nights.

The first night I cut out the veil. It was so big I had to lay it out on the playroom floor. Loki helped me, which means it took three times longer than it should have. He left kitty claw holes in the pattern so we’d always remember what a good helper he was.

I finally had to banish him from the playroom and close the louvered doors between the playroom and dining room. He just about turned himself inside out trying to get in but I had no pity. Eventually he lost interest and wandered off.

The next night I figured I’d have the veil done in an hour, maybe two at the most.

I was wrong again.

Instead spent two hours trying to figure out the instructions. I made several little veil mock-ups that were were awful. Thoroughly frustrated I threw them in the garbage and took a break.

I ate some chocolate. I checked out Facebook. I ate some more chocolate.

I took the mock-ups off the top of the garbage and looked at them again. Then I threw them back in and decided to do the veil my way. Instructions are only suggestions, right?

The third night I made the veil my way.

I simply gathered the areas indicated on the pattern and basted them together. Instead of bias tape I cut a piece of wedding dress fabric on the bias and pressed it to the right size. The gathered tulle was sandwiched inside and top-stitched along the edge. Then I sewed the veil to the comb by hand. Finally, I added some flowers from the lace we’re using on the wedding dress.

The flowers are hand-stitched in place. I’ve been told fabric glue works too, but I’m used to doing things the old-fashioned way.

Want to see it on Princess?

Sorry, you can’t! No photos of her in her wedding finery until the big day.

It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.

Just one more week!

I’m the kind of person who likes to make things herself. If I buy a handcrafted product I usually try to figure out how I can make it myself and how I can improve it. That’s actually how I got started in the cloth diaper business: I purchased some handmade cloth diapers and after inspecting them I thought “I can do this – better!” So I did.

That’s how I started to make mesh produce bags. One night at the grocery store I came to the horrifying realization that our reusable grocery bags were filled with plastic produce bags! How un-green is that? As soon as we got home I was on the internet researching reusable mesh produce bags.

There were tons and tons of mesh produce bags in different fabrics, sizes, with and without accessories. But I couldn’t bring myself to buy any; I looked at them and thought “I can do that – better!” So I did.

It took a little while. First I had to go through the painful “product development” stage where you try out different ideas and end up with a bunch of crap before you discover what works best.

Finally I came up with what I think are the perfect mesh produce bags. They have that fantastic little pleat that I love in plastic produce bags, are lightweight, are see-through, and best of all – they’re reusable!

Supplies to Make a Mesh Produce Bag

In addition to the usual sewing implements; scissors, thread, pins, etc, you’ll also need:

• Scrubby mesh – don’t use regular tulle or petticoat mesh, they won’t hold up.
• 1/4″ ribbon – I prefer grosgrain, but you can use anything you have lying around.
• Medium-sized safety pin
• Iron and ironing board
• Sewing machine (Obvious I know, but I want to be thorough)
• Serger if you have one – if not you can zig-zag or overcast with your sewing machine.

Ready? Then let’s get started!

Make a Mesh Produce Bag – Step by Step

I did my best to explain each step clearly, and hope the photos help, but if you have any questions please contact me or leave a comment below; I’ll be happy to help!

Step 1: Cut your Mesh

With the mesh folded in half, cut your rectangles so the fold is on the bottom. You can make your mesh produce bags any size you like, but keep in mind that after sewing the finished size will be about 1/2″ narrower across and 1″ shorter than you cut. Here are my cutting dimensions:

• Small: 7.5″ wide x 11″ tall (folded in half – if you unfold it the rectangle would be 7.5″ x 22″)
• Medium: 10.5″ wide x 12.5″ tall (unfolded: 10.5″ x 25″)
• Large: 13.5″ wide by 16″ tall (unfolded: 13.5″ x 32″)

I color-code my bags. Some of my rejects included cute little ribbons with snaps to wrap around rolled-up produce bags, and snap-on carrying pouches for neatly folded or rolled mesh bags. It didn’t take long before I realized that after shopping and putting away groceries I wasn’t about to sit and roll up all these mesh produce bags, or fold them neatly into a pouch. What I actually did was stuff all the produce bags into one of the large mesh produce bags and toss thems into the van with the reusable grocery bags. Color-coding make it easier to grab the right size while we’re shopping.

Step 2: Side Seams

With the fold at the bottom of the bag, serge or stitch up the sides of the bag. Stitch top-to-bottom on one side, but on the other side stop about two inches from the top. This will make the opening for the ribbon closure. If you serged the seams you’ll need to keep this end from unraveling by tying the threads together, or whatever method you use. If you stitched the seams with a sewing machine you may want to zig-zag or overcast the seam for added strength.

That was easy, wasn’t it? Now turn the bag right-side-out.

Step 3: Top Casing
Before ironing your mesh take a scrap piece and do a test to make sure it doesn’t melt your mesh. Mine was fine, but I don’t want you to end up a melted mesh mess.

If your iron and mesh pass the test, carefully press the top edge under – to the inside – about 1/4″. Then fold that edge to the inside so it just barely overlaps the side serging/stitching. Pin in place then press the edge.

Carefully stitch along the fold to create a casing for the ribbon.

Good job! I’ll bet your bag looks something like this one!

Step 4: Bottom Pleats
Most mesh produce bags on the market are simple rectangles like you’ve got now. If you want you could skip ahead to the last step and be done. Personally, I like the bottom pleats because they expand to hold more produce, they allow the bag to sit upright, and they pull the sides of the empty produce bag in so it’s smaller.

To add the pleats you first have to mark bottom fold in the middle. The easiest way to do this is to fold the bag in half side-to-side and make a mark there.

Keeping the back right-side-in, push one corner toward the middle mark, so the seam is directly under the mark. It’s a little tricky, but I know you can do it.

Pin the pleat in place.

Then repeat with the other side so both pleats are pinned in place.

On the right side of the bag, stitch across the bottom about 1/4″ from the fold, catching both pleats in the stitching. Piece of cake!

Yours looks like this, right?

You’re almost done – just one more step.

Step 5: Adding the Ribbon Closure

Measure your ribbon against the bag. You need enough to go around the whole top of the bag plus about 2-3″ on both ends for tying.

Attach the safety pin to one end of the ribbon and insert it in the opening of the casing. Carefully work the safety pin through the casing until it comes out the other opening. Be careful not to pull the other end of the ribbon into the casing. If you do it’s not the end of the world, just pull it all the way through and try again.

Hold the ends together and tie them together. You can cut the ends on the bias (slanty) so they’re less likely to unravel.

Step 6: Done!

To finish my bags I like to lay them out on the ironing board and give them a light pressing to set the pleats and make them nice and flat. You can totally skip this step if you want though.

Using your Mesh Produce Bag

Fill your mesh produce with fresh fruits or veggies and pull the ribbon tight. The grosgrain ribbon has always held well for me, but satin ribbon might slip. You can also tie the ribbon after you pull it tight: just fold it so the knot is against the bag, creating two loops on either side. Take those two loops and tie them into a knot. Pretty slick!

When my mesh produce bags get a little dirty I just swish them through the water when I’m washing dishes and air dry. If they get really nasty I wash them with my laundry on cold then air dry.

Congratulations, you just made a mesh produce bag! Go show everyone you know what a cool produce bag you made, then take a photo and send it to me so I can see too. Go green with mesh produce bags!

Excuse the random code, I’m once again trying to prove to Technorati that I own My Happy Crazy Life. Hopefully this time it’ll believe me…

NMRE49KRMM9K

Maybe if I put the code in a lot of times it’ll help…

NMRE49KRMM9K
NMRE49KRMM9K
NMRE49KRMM9K
NMRE49KRMM9K
NMRE49KRMM9K
NMRE49KRMM9K

If this doesn’t do it I’ll need y’all to send tons of emails telling them that I am indeed the owner of this blog. Maybe they’ll believe you…

Crossing fingers.

Update:
” My Happy Crazy Life- http://www.myhappycrazylife.com/
Feb 25, 2010. We are evaluating your claim. It may take quite some time for evaluation.”

It’s looking hopeful!

Crossing fingers and toes.

I wonder how long “quite some time” is.

Crossing fingers, toes and eyes.

I hope it’s not long, I can’t keep this up forever.

Crossing fingers, toes, eyes, and legs. Looking very silly. Hoping no-one takes a picture.

Z-Man and Little Guy love celery, thanks to the Wonder Pets, who munch celery at the end of every episode.

Z-Man and Little Guy also love Ants on a Log, thanks to the Noggin segment that taught them how to make it themselves.

But what do you do when your kids are clamoring for Ants on a Log and your raisins are dried up like week-old rabbit turds?

You get creative and use M&Ms instead – they’re magic, you know.

And they taste sooooo much better than raisins!

Not that I have anything against raisins, but who would eat raisins instead of M&Ms?

Not me!

When Teacher and I were married I ordered a unity candle from the local wedding shop. I don’t know why we didn’t make it ourselves; maybe we were too busy to think of it, or because back then handcrafted just “wasn’t done.”

Times have changed, and not only is a handcrafted wedding smart and frugal, it’s in style!

Making a unity candle was ridiculously easy and took about 10 minutes. Seriously. It took Princess longer to decide plain white or iridescent glitter than it took me to make the candle. Seriously!

She chose plain white.

I approve.

We picked up a tall white pillar candle and two tapers in a craft store. Glitter in the scrapbooking/stamping section was expensive so we raided the children’s crafts section instead and got enough to glitter the entire house.

I didn’t actually glitter the entire house – just the candle, the counter, the floor, and myself.

At home I printed two hearts from the invitation background onto tracing paper, then carefully cut out one of the hearts, leaving about a 1/4″ margin all the way around.

I found some Mod Podge from a past child care project in the basement, but I’m sure watered-down glue would work as well if you don’t have any Mod Podge.

Before attacking the candle with Mod Podge I painted some onto the heart that hadn’t been cut out to test if the ink would run. It didn’t, unless I really scrubbed with the brush, so we were good to go!

I painted a thin layer of Mod Podge on the candle and smoothed the cut-out heart on, careful to avoid wrinkles. Then I lightly painted another layer of Mod Podge on top of the heart, and all the way to the top and bottom of the candle.

Tipping the candle backwards over a piece of scrap paper I poured glitter over the Mod Podge’d area.

Is “Mod Podge’d” a real word? Doesn’t matter, I’m using it anyway.

Moving around the candle I continued to Mod Podge and glitter sections of the candle until it was all covered in glitter.

I learned that you have to be careful where the sections meet so you don’t get a ridge of glitter. I also learned that glitter ridges can be gently flattened with your fingers.

When I ran out of dry, un-glittered places to hold the candle I carefully held on to the wick, hoping it wouldn’t pull out or break off. It held, whew!

Once the candle was all glittered I let it dry for about half an hour before touching it. Then I was afraid to touch it because I didn’t know if the glitter would flake off or not.

It stayed on, whew again!

Isn’t it pretty?

I love glitter!

Even when I’m covered in it.

And the counter is too.

And the floor.

You know, there’s tons of glitter and Mod Podge left.

I think I need to buy more candles…

I am mortified.

Embarrassed.

Ashamed.

And other words I can’t think of now.

I just discovered that I’ve been irresponsible.

Careless.

Negligent.

This afternoon I set up a Facebook Page for My Happy Crazy Life.

Then I decided to set up an email account through myhappylife.com, and discovered that there already was one!

Not only was there already an email account that I’d obviously forgotten setting up, there were a bunch of emails there.

You emailed me and I never got back to you.

I am so, so, so sorry.

I can’t begin to tell you how upset I am.

I sincerely, deeply apologize.

And I promise that I will never, ever forget about that email account again – cross my heart and hope to die.

Forgive me?

Please?

Pretty please with sugar on top?

Sugar and a cherry?

OK, two cherries.

P.S. Now that I’m forgiven, have you joined my FB page ?

After much searching and tasting we’ve discovered that Simple Simon Bakery is the bakery we want to create Princess and Cowboy’s wedding cake.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner; when I was a kid my mom bought baked goods from Simple Simon regularly. In fact, when I was ten or eleven there was a Simple Simon outlet a block and a half away from my house. When we ran out of bread my mom would send me there for a loaf or two. I always felt very grown-up biking there by myself and returning with fresh bread in the white plastic basket between my handlebars.

But I digress…

On Saturday morning Princess and Teacher went to meet with Jenny from Simple Simon Bakery. I’d planned to go too but had caught a stomach bug and ended up spending most of the day in bed.

It was a sucky way to spend a Saturday, and that’s all I’m going to say about it.

Teacher and Princess had a great time talking with Jenny and came home raving.

“They use butter in their frosting mommy! Did you know some bakeries use lard? Jenny told us that. Oh no – do you think the other frostings were lard?”

Princess, who doesn’t eat beef or pork, was horrified by the idea that she might have accidentally eaten lard.

“No, it was probably shortening.” I reassured her.

“She was very impressive and positive. She spoke very highly of Fox Banquets. I actually worked with her husband for a while.” Teacher was more impressed with Simple Simon than either of the other bakeries.

Fox Banquets is where we’re having the reception, but I’ll save that story for another time.

“We can bring flowers to her and she’ll arrange them on the cake for us! And there’s no extra charge for flavors and fillings! Plus delivery and equipment rental is cheaper than anywhere else.” This was sounding better and better.

“Did you get some samples?”

“Just a couple…” Teacher said, tongue in cheek.

Not only did they bring back vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, Jenny also gave them a box filled with flavored cakes. Apparently whenever she makes a cake the extra batter is baked in a loaf pan then frozen to have on hand for wedding cake sampling. Our box contained mocha, strawberry, cherry, lemon, almond, and red velvet samples.

Teacher and Princess waited politely all day, hoping I’d feel up to cake sampling by nighttime, but there was no way so they went ahead without me.

“Mmmmmm, mommy, this is so good!” Princess licked her fingers.

“Is it moist?” I’m usually too busy diving into a cake to notice if it’s dry or not but Teacher notices details like that.

“It’s very nice – has a good texture and is moist.” Sounds like he approves.

Finally Sunday night I was ready to eat some cake.

It was sooooo good! The frosting was sweet but not hurt-your-teeth-sweet, and it didn’t leave that greasy feeling in on the roof of your mouth. The flavors were subtle and natural-tasting – sometimes flavored cakes have an artificially-flavored taste or overwhelming flavor, but these didn’t at all. Each was a little dry around the cut edges, but it’d been sitting for over a day and a half waiting for me; the middles were nice and moisd

We’ve found our cake place!

The new problem is that the flavors were so good that Princess is rethinking their original white/chocolate/marble idea.

“We could have each cake be a different flavor with different fillings. Or have two different flavored layers in each cake with different fillings. Or we could have…”

Yes, you can have all that and more, but hurry up and decide, it’s four weeks and counting until W-Day!

I first met Rachel of Threebies Knits in 2007 when we were the “new kids on the block” at Lily Pad Landing. She knit amazing longies, shorties, and soakers to use with cloth diapers. Even though I didn’t use wool on the boys I drooled at her awesome knitting and gorgeous colorways.

A couple of years ago she started making Java Jumpers. At the time I wasn’t as big a coffee drinker as I am now, but I’d been drooling over her knits for so long that I just couldn’t resist; I got one in the “Lily Pad Landing” colorway pictured on the bottom for myself and one in primary colors the one on the top for Teacher.

Since that day my Java Jumper has become one of My Favorite Things. My cappuccinos and macchiatos usually aren’t too hot, but Teacher’s Americanos are scorching! I can’t hold his cup without a Java Jumper or gloves. Since I get weird looks when I wear gloves in the summer I opt for the Java Jumper.

I keep them folded in my coat pocket or the bottom of my purse so they’re always ready when we need them. They make great gifts too – just tuck a Jo to Go or Starbucks card inside and you’re done!

What are some of your Favorite Things?