Pillows.

Blog updates two days in a row!??!?! Could it be? There is an easy explanation for this: MED SCHOOL EXAMS. My husband is taken over by these lovely little devils nearly once a month. This happens to be test week...and thus I have lots of "Christine" time. Instead of booking every friend I know for a happy hour or dinner, I've taken it a little easy this week and chilled at home. Anyhow, thats why I've posted two days in a row. Wish I was like that more often!

For this post I wanted to show y'all my newest creations/new found hobby....sewing pillows!!! I originally started sewing back in middle school but never really pursued it much. I pretty much mastered the art of PJ-pant making, made about 100 pairs, and called it quits after that. A) I had enough jams to last me a lifetime, and B) come high school, homemade PJ-pants were suddenly not near as cool as I had once thought....haha.

More recently I've discovered that "living" is expensive. Specifically, living with MY shopping habits is expensive (actually down right unaffordable). Pillows especially...man those suckers add up! Even at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.... Marshall's...whatever--they are still pricey! So, after reading some random tutorials online, I decided to make some pillows instead. I'm pretty picky on what I like, so I figured this was a fun and easy way to solve my problem.

Reader discretion advised: If you gag at the sight of ruffles, do not read further.

HERE IS WHAT I DID:

1) Bought 1 yard of fabric (any color/pattern) at Hobby Lobby. I got mine on sale for $3.99/yard. 1 yard will generally do the trick for an average size throw pillow.

2) Cut the fabric into two equal sized rectangles, slightly larger than your pillow form. If your pillow form is 10x10 for example, cut two 11x11 squares which gives you allowance for a 1/2 inch seem on all edges. 

3) Ruffle time! Get creative with this part (I still have a TON of ideas I want to try). To make your average ruffle, cut a strip of fabric about twice as long as you would like the ruffle to end up. Sew a seem straight down the middle, and pull on one thread when done to ruffle the fabric. Go slow and be careful to not break the thread (that really sucks) though! Here is what one will look like.

4) Once you get a bunch done...pin them on the pillow cut-out, and carefully sew down the middle of the ruffle to attach. The end result should look something like this.

5) Turn inside out and sew a 1/2 inch seem around three of the edges. Turn right side out, and stuff your form into the pillow case. Complete pillow by doing a whip stitch on the final edge (I'm really awful at this part). And tada! You have a new pillow :) Here is a picture of the two I have completed so far. 

These really are not very hard, I promise! I'm not a very good sewer at all (please don't inspect my work if you come over, haha)...so trust me, anyone can make them! I'm working on khaki and yellow ones next, so stay tuned for updates!

Doggies.

This is going to be an all picture post for the most part. The images say it all! Morgan and I without a doubt have some of the cutest pups in the entire WORLD! And they model for us on occasion.... ;)

Starting the photo shoot off with a classic head shot.

Workkkkk it Bailey, looking off into the distance like a natural. Sammie, clearly smiling with her eyes.

Getting a little tired--fantastic candid!

Mid-photo shoot snooze.

"Lean on me...when you're not strongggg!"

Is he not the cutest lil' thing ever?

Ow owwwww! Get a room guys!

And Bailey being sleepy again....notice what he is laying on (Sammie girl's tail)...awwww :)

B-ville.

Back in B-ville for the week! I have a love/hate relationship with this little town. Let me give you a little background.

Starting with the love....rewind to fall 2008. I found out I got an internship with ConocoPhillips and would be interning (i.e. living) in Bartlesville, OK for the summer. What did my dad do? On his trip up to Nebraska, he detoured biiiiig time, drove through Bartlesville, took some pictures, bought me a gift, and went on his way. Now, I didn't find out about this little escapade until that Christmas when I opened an adorable scrapbook he had made for me. My dad was not the crafty type...you must understand. So, instead of using regular tape...he used double-stick tape for the entire book! The whole thing was stuck together! It was the cutest thing ever. To this day I have that book by my bedside. The pictures aren't great, its falling apart a tad (though I did fix the tape situation), but I still LOVE it. What else do I love about B-ville? The amazing weather. No traffic. It's rich history. The people. The bakeries. And most importantly that you can take a stroll around town...and see MOST of the town!

Now for the hate...This list is short, well one item to be exact. Bartlesville is not Houston, and therefore is not where my husband, family, pups, and friends are. Hence the love/hate relationship. Oh, and no Mexican food. Well, no decent Mexican food at least. BIG PROBLEM. So I lied...two problems with B-ville.

So about those strolls around town....I know y'all are just dying to see this adorable place. So, let me introduce you to your tour guide, and let the tour begin!

oh hayyyyy.

Downtown Bartlesville. For real, this is it. It's ALL ConocoPhillips buildings--I bet you guessed that though. I usually work on the 15th floor of the Phillips Building, which is the tall one on the left. 

Your typical street in the 'ville.

I've always loved this wall. It reminds me a bit of one of the places Morgan and I took engagement pictures. I would love to get some cool shots in front of it! Too bad I'm usually alone when I walk by...fail.

Frank Lloyd Wright's "Price Tower". He designed a couple sky-scrappers, yet this was the only one that was ever built--and in Bartlesville of ALL places! Nuts! This building does not have a single rectangular room...all are a hexagonal. Even the elevator, its the craziest thing! The tower is now a hotel and museum more or less.   There is also a bar on top :)

823 1/2 Dewey Street--Kate and I's home last summer. Isn't it presh? It's a bit deceiving from the outside, as the inside is more than rundown. Nonetheless, I miss this lil place.

St Johns Catholic Church--where Kate and I went to church last summer. The priest was from Nigeria...not what I expected when I walked in the first Sunday! One of our fellow interns also got married here last summer...good memories :)

On the left: The Phillips Hotel. It's one of those places that is old, but has no character. Its just plain OLD. Thank goodness the image on your right was built a year ago: The Hilton Garden Inn. I am currently laying in my plush King bed there, enjoying a cold diet coke (compliments of the private ConocoPhillips floor), and writing this blog. SO SO glad I'm not in the sketchy, haunted, ghetto, old, non-wireless Philips Hotel.

And to conclude...my favorite bakery, The Rolling Pin! This place is fantastic, and it takes all my will power to not go there everyday after lunch to grab a brownie, coconut bar, or lemon bar. MMMMMMM

So that's B-ville! Next time im here, COME AND VISIT ME!