Advent Means Coming

Bower Power Blog

When I was younger, it was a family tradition every Sunday in Advent to sit down as a family at the dinner table and read a devotion. My brothers and I hated it. Not so much the concept of having to do a devotion, but the devotion itself. We had the same book every single year and my mom refused to buy a new one. In our opinions, the book was boring and dumb, and we weren't allowed to eat until we had read through it. Aloud. It was absolute torture having to listen to your 9 year old brother struggle through 4 pages of words that were too advanced for his age while your dinner was staring at you from your plate. "Advent means coming" was the opening line of the first devotion. I have no idea what was in the rest of the book, but I'm pretty sure I'll remember that one line forever.

Of course now that I'm older, I actually grasp the meaning and appreciate Advent and the wait until Christmas. In that spirit, I've been working on a little project set to launch December 1st. It's a pseudo Advent calendar - a picture a day of something Christmas/winter related. It' mostly to help get into the holiday spirit because now that Thanksgiving is over it's CHIRSTMASCHRISTMASCHRISTMAS!!!!!1! And my birthday! Which is also important.

Also, I'm debating whether or not to whip up an Advent calendar like the one pictured above. Clicking on the link will take you to a how-to blog post, and it's really tempting even though I'd only have 2 days! But it's so pretty!

Little Fashionista

Stockholm Street Style

A Cup of Jo posted this last week, and I had to repost it here. How adorable is that little girl? Is it bad to want to copy an 8 year old's style? Seriously, I know for a fact I was not that put together when I was her age. I'm pretty sure I was wearing pink and white striped leggings and a huge sweatshirt with ballet shoes on it. Then again, it was the late 80s/early 90s...

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving! I have been so blessed by God and I need to do a better job of remembering that everyday, not just on Thanksgiving. I give thanks for my family and friends, my health, the fact that I have a job, and all the day to day things such as being able to afford to rent an apartment and that I can spend today with loved ones stuffing my face full of turkey, gravy, and pies. 

Getting Off My Lazy Bum

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I recently decided I needed to actually start exercising instead of just thinking about it, so I joined a gym and my friend introduced me to her Body Pump class which I absolutely love. I haven't lifted weights since high school when I was in sports almost year round, and well let's just say that that certainly didn't happen in college. I'm loving the class, but it's almost hilarious how weak I am. I've pretty much been exhausted for the past few weeks and my productivity in the evenings after class has gone way down. I'm definitely looking forward to this becoming easier and getting some muscle!

California Dreamin

I've been missing California like crazy lately. In January it will have been a whole year since I moved back to the midwest. Since I'm broke and there's no way I'm getting back out there anytime soon, my pictures will have to hold me over.

Things I miss about California:

I don't actually remember where this is

Santa Monica Pier

Runyon Canyon, LA

San Francisco 

Santa Barbara

Newport Beach

Coronado

Lombard Street, SF

Adventures in Sewing - Part 1

I've been looking for the perfect tulip skirt forever, but I have this specific idea in my head of what I want it to look like and so far my search has been in vain. I realized a while ago that if I wanted exactly what I envisioned, I would have to make it. The problem is, usually when I get these kind of ideas I have a very precise style and fabric in mind, and more often than not I can never find the fabric I'm looking for. The local sewing shops never have the type of material I need and sometimes even the internet fails me. (Anyone know where I can find an indigo blue ikat printed material to make chair covers with?) So last week after work when I stopped by JoAnn Fabrics just to look (not expecting to find anything at all) not only did they have the exact fabric I wanted in the precise shade I was envisioning, but it was half off! If that's not a sign, I don't know what is. So I bought a yard and a half and I'm going to make a tulip skirt!

I haven't quite figured out how I want the pleats yet - hence the top photo for inspiration - but I know I want pockets and possibly an elastic back because I'm all about comfort. The fabric itself is a dusty rose-ish pink and is a moleskin so it has a little bit of a nap, which will make it a great winter/early spring skirt.

I have to say, I'm pretty excited about sewing again. I really haven't designed and sewn anything in a while, and I've been doing this for 7-8 years now. Want to see a blast from my past? The first thing I ever sewed way back in 2003.

It was a costume. Don't laugh.