Wes & Erica's Vacation Photo Album - San Francisco, CA (Golden Gate Park) - August 2022

We spent our first afternoon in San Francisco at the Golden Gate Park. We originally planned to visit the Japanese Tea Garden so that's where we had our Uber drop us off. It was less than an hour until the tea garden closed when we got there, so we decided to come back another day. Another part of the park I wanted to see was the Dutch windmills & tulip garden. They were on the complete opposite side of the park, so we set out for our very long walk. It was nice to be outside and moving after spending the majority of the day stuck in the airport and then cramped on the plane.

The weather was very nice (almost chilly, which was wonderful!!) so I didn't mind the walk from literally one end of the park to the other. I liked seeing all the trees & plants that we don't have in Oklahoma. 🌳🌻🌼 Wes was less impressed and complained that we should have somehow packed a moped or Vespa instead of walking. 😒 There were lots of small lakes and wildlife scattered throughout the park. The most random thing we saw was a buffalo conservatory. I think that is my favorite part of the park just because it was so unexpected! 

We finally made it to the Dutch windmill and tulip garden after probably 1.5 hours of walking. It was a quiet spot for us to sit and take a break. Very beautiful! 🌷 There were tons of people at the park, but no one paid us any attention. I know Oklahoma is stereotyped (and even made fun of) for being overly friendly, but I sure did miss all the random hellos and smiles from strangers. About 1 in 5 people had a dog with them and even the dogs weren't social!! If it was a park here, I would have stopped to pet 10 different dogs and chatted with lots of strangers.  

I was about to hail an Uber to take us back to the hotel when Wes suggested that we walk to the ocean. 🌊 It was only a few blocks away. We didn't get very close because we weren't dressed properly, and it was really cold. There were several people out on the beach and in the water...must have been locals. We saw Alcatraz prison! It wasn't the best view since it was so foggy. We tried to see the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was too foggy to see it as well. 

We didn't go to the Golden Gate Bridge, but we tried several times to see it from where we were. I saw it a few times from our Ubers. The best view we got was when we were at the art museum. It was still obscured by trees, but I can at least say I saw it & got a photo. I would have liked to walk across it, but we just didn't have time during the day. It got cold and wet in the early evening, so we didn't spend much time outdoors after dinner.  

We returned to the Japanese Tea Garden on our last day. It seemed so much bigger from the outside. It is actually pretty small. We walked around the entire garden in less than half an hour. There was no set path. I think the point is to just wander and let the scenery guide you. I really enjoyed it, so I insisted that we walk around it twice. I would have liked to wind around another time (there was so much to see!) but it was getting crowded and more difficult to easily maneuver around. My favorite feature was the Zen garden. The beautifully clear water in the koi pond was also very nice. Curiously, there was only one koi swimming around. There was also only one squirrel. He hopped up onto a rock and a crowd of tourists (myself included) ran over to take a picture of him. (Photo above)

The garden had a little café that served tea and light refreshments. We were going to stop in, but the line was outrageously long. Instead, we wandered over to the museum side of the park and explored over there. We saw a dance instructor giving ballroom dance lessons to his pupil on the bandstand stage. I wanted to ride the Ferris wheel but it was foggy out (again😔) so I knew I wouldn't be able to see much. We made it over to the de Young Musem and got into the café just as they were closing! We both ordered a coffee and went to relax on the patio. ☕After finishing our coffees, we walked through the museum's sculpture garden. 

We spent several hours walking around on both of days we visited the Golden Gate Park but it didn't feel like I was there that long. I can actually say that I enjoyed the exercise! 🏃 I'll walk Athena and Zephyr around the neighborhood and be completely out of breath like I just ran for my life. I didn't think I'd survive walking up & down the hilly roads. I guess the cool temperatures in San Francisco made all the difference. 

Wes & Erica's vacation photo album - Tulsa, OK - September 2021

We're travelling again!! It was a short "practice run" trip this time around but we are hoping to take actual road trips soon. 😁 Since everyone loves (#sarkmark) looking at their friend's vacation photos, here's our Tulsa vacation album. 

NOTE: I know it's annoying to share vacation & food pictures, but these have really helped us out. There have been so many times when Wes or I will say, "where was that awesome brunch place we went to in Texas with the blah blah dish and the great coffee," and I've been able to find pictures/descriptions from previous blog posts. Great for my failing memory! 

We went to Tulsa mainly to go to the Philbrook art museum to see the Dalí's Alice in Wonderland exhibit.

We started with lunch at the museum café. Wes got the s'mores pancakes (with eggs and bacon) and I got the pimento cheese toast. It was a gigantic sandwich instead of toast. The pimento cheese was good... the rest of it was not. 😒 I've never had challah bread before... and I learned that I do not like it. There was also a red pepper jelly on the sandwich that I wasn't too fond of. The tomato soup was amazing, though. 

After lunch, we strolled the museum's garden (before it got too hot... which it was already hot but there was a breeze and, luckily, a majority of the gardens are under shade). We went in search of all the sculptures and cats. We saw one cat and all but two of the sculptures. My favorite part of the garden was the cabin. It is a beautiful modern log cabin with stained glass windows and a glass roof covered in colorful papier maché.

We also ventured through the Victory Garden. The café's menu offered a Victory Garden salad and I was curious about this garden. It mostly grew squash.

Garden stroll is over... time to go inside!

The Dalí's Alice in Wonderland exhibit was so good! At first, I was surprised at how small the exhibit was, but then I realized that he only illustrated one book... and one book can only have so many pictures. LOL The drawings and concepts are a perfect blending of Salvador Dalí's work and the telling of Alice's time in Wonderland. I liked that Dalí blended his signature elements into the drawings. 

Since we were already there, we took some time to browse the remaining exhibits at the museum. I'm sure I'm biased, but I think the Oklahoma City Museum of Art has a better permanent collection. But, then again, the Philbrook has a mummy so maybe it wins. LOL 

After we finished up with the museum, we drove about half an hour out of our way to get boba tea at Boss Tea. It was soooo worth it! I brought my mask from Babble (boba tea in OKC) on our trip and I thought, "oh no, I'm going to go in wearing a competitor's mask... oh, but we're in Tulsa, no one will know what Babble is." The first thing the barista did when she saw us walk  in was ask if I was wearing a Babble mask! 😮 Turns out, she is originally from Oklahoma City and loves Babble, too. LOL I got the brown sugar matcha milk tea with boba and it was probably the most delicious one I've ever had. Their cups are made from a thicker plastic than the regular boba cups and the lid has a cap, which is great for people like me who take forever to finish their drinks.

Next stop was resting at the hotel. I'm old and can't pack my days with activities like I used to. 😆 Oh, we went to Barnes & Noble when we first got into town so I could buy my Unicorno. I started a tradition of buying a tokidoki Unicorno figurine from every place we vacation... and the first place I bought one was at this Barnes & Noble when we saw Judas Priest in 2018. After resting up, we headed out to dinner. As we were walking to dinner, we passed this art space with a very interesting-looking exhibit.

But, no time to stop in... we had reservations at Sisserou's and it was time to eat! Sisserou's is a Caribbean restaurant. I've never had Caribbean food and was eager to try it. We started with bread and a very spicy habanero sauce. The waiter said it was "no joke" and he wasn't lying. I couldn't handle it but Wes loved it. We wanted a bottle to take home but they didn't sell any. Wes got the shrimp curry and I got the house burger. Both were fantastic! The cocktails were tasty, too! The elotè was the best part of the meal.

Our extremely friendly waiter suggested a tiki bar or a posh bar "where you can go if you want your bartender to talk down to you" for after dinner but instead, I rushed us back to the art space with the interesting dresses. The exhibit closed at 9pm and we were those horrible people who show up 15 minutes before closing expecting a tour. 😅

We had to run through the exhibit pretty quickly so I didn't really get to learn about the artist's vision or message. I believe it was one of those "stick it to The Man" protest pieces.  I thought the dresses were really cool and sort of haunting at the same time. 

DAY 2 - The Cave House!!!

The main reason why we stayed overnight in Tulsa instead of just taking a quick day trip was because I wanted to tour the Cave House. Our tour was at 12:30pm so we had some time to kill in the morning. We had breakfast at Savoy and did some shopping at The Farm Market (I think that was what it was called... I didn't take any pictures). We stopped in a yarn shop, Get Stitchin', and I almost bought a ton of wool merino yarn for a sweater Lacey & I have on our "things to crochet" list but I stopped myself. 

Wes got the traditional two egg breakfast, which he thought was good, and I got the eggs benedict. I'm glad I like hollandaise sauce because it was literally covered in it. Savoy is known for its cinnamon rolls but we were so full after breakfast that we didn't get one. Next time!

The Cave House was the highlight of the trip for me! Linda, the owner and tour guide, is a wonderful host and great storyteller. She bought the house on a whim and learned all about its history. It was formerly a speakeasy and warehouse for bootleggers. It's now decorated with finds from "curbby's boutique" which is things Linda has picked up from the curb on Big Trash day. LOL The house's renovations relies heavily on Elmer's glue (which she says is the only thing that works with the house's natural moisture). She's added crumpled up Wal-Mart plastic bags to the wall for a textured effect. It looks so good... maybe I should try that for our next decorating project! 

Linda collects keys and I wish I knew because we have a random set of keys that the previous owner left in our house that don't go to any lock. I would have totally brought them for her! She installed a slide that goes from the bed room to the sun room. She slid down and pointed at me to slide down next (she singled me out as the "cool kid" 😎). I would have slid down even if she didn't pick me! At the end of the tour, she had us all sign the guest book and say what our favorite thing about the house was. I said the mastodon tooth and Wes decided on the collection of bones. She also insisted on taking our pictures. 

We had originally planned to visit the Vintage Sewing Machine Museum but it was temporarily closed due to the pandemic so instead, we drove along Route 66. We stopped in Decopolis per Linda's suggestion. It is a local gift shop with fun statues around the perimeter. We also had lunch in the Mother Road Market -- a local food court. I know this is me being biased again, but The Collective Food Court in OKC is way better. LOL We got lunch at an Asian fusion restaurant. Wes got the kimchi burger and I got the satay Thai  fries. I don't even remember what it was called but neither of us were impressed with our meal. And, that's a wrap on Tulsa. It was a nice two days filled with art and food... two of my favorite things! 

Wes & Erica go see LP in concert

I was super excited when I saw the wrist bands because it matched my sweater. Cheetah print for life! 🐱

So here it is, guys, the first travel blog post of the year. It only took until March for Wes & I to find a reason to leave town for a weekend. I found out that LP was coming to Dallas and decided that we had to go. An added plus - Wes likes her music, too! You might not recognize her name but I'm sure you are familiar with her music. Apparently, her songs have been in a several tv shows (I don't know which ones because I don't watch tv) and a few years ago, one of her songs Night Like This was the featured weekly download for iTunes (I think it was also on an Apple commercial but I'm not for certain). We also ventured to Dallas to revisit Malai Thai Kitchen. We went for dinner when we stopped at Ikea last December and saw that they have a really delicious brunch menu. Since the concert was on a Sunday evening, we thought that would be the perfect opportunity to also get brunch. 

The forecast showed winter weather (light snow & some icy spots) for the day we drove down to Texas so we left home super early. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, I was cold and sleepy. The big bowl of congee that I ordered off the brunch menu was just what I needed. Congee, or Chinese rice porridge, is one of my favorite foods. Sadly, the only place where I can find it in OKC is at dim sum. We don't go out for dim sum much so I rarely ever get it. My mom isn't a fan so she doesn't cook it, either. I was SO DAMN EXCITED when the waiter brought out my steaming bowl of chicken, broth, egg, bread, scallions and rice. It was warm and hearty and tasted like everything that was right in the world. Wes ordered the Thai omelette. He liked it but said it was a little too sweet. Oh, and there was zero snow/ice on the roads. Our weather forecasters suck. LOL

I only took pictures of the lobby because the rest of the hotel did not look this nice.

I didn't plan anything else for the day so after brunch, we just checked into the hotel and lounged around all afternoon and into the early evening. Wes booked us a room at the Highland. The lobby looked super swank and upscale but the rest of the hotel wasn't all that great. All other parts of the hotel were Wild West-themed to the extreme. Every piece of decor in our room was cowboy-related and it looked sooooo tacky. And our room had zero amenities. No microwave, no coffee maker, nothing that could be used to make food. They did have room service menus lying around everywhere... hint hint. 😏 I wasn't a fan of our room but what made me give the Highland a bad rating was the valet service. Parking was valet only. And there was only one valet attendant. And he was not very attentive. If you require all of your guests to use valet, then you should probably hire more than one grumpy guy. The valet attendant was never visible when we pulled up and he didn't answer when we called for the car from our room (we just kind of stood around outside for several minutes hoping my car would eventually get parked or pulled around). Maybe I'm too middle class to fully appreciate valet parking.

For dinner we ate at Aw Shucks, which was the second restaurant of the day where I absolutely loved my food (fried oysters and coleslaw) but Wes did not enjoy what he ordered (fried catfish and fries). We usually share the same culinary tastes so this was weird. The place was known for its take on shrimp cocktail. The shrimp was mixed in an avocado, lime, cilantro and tomato relish and poured into a beer mug, which was very Instagrammable but not easy to actually eat. The restaurant was basically an open kitchen surrounded by patio seating. The patio was enclosed in a tent-like structure but it was still ridiculously cold. The staff was super friendly and the security guard complimented Wes's hair (which happens way more often than you'd think).

After dinner we walked across the street to the Granada theater for the concert. I was not a fan of the Granada's aesthetic. I think it has potential to be a really nice event space but it chose to keep its old and dirty look. I guess it mostly hosts indie artists so the building's vibe was very grunge. What bothered me the most was the unfinished paintings on the walls. It seemed as if the artist had original intent for a sprawling mural but then said, "Oh f*ck this", and went home. LP's opening band was a husband and wife duo named Sam & Jim. Wes and I agreed that they were awful. Think of the most annoying, sugar coated, married couple you know. Now think of them on a stage singing. That was Sam & Jim. I think they only played for 45-minutes but their cutesy anecdotes and songs about their life together seemed to last a hellish eternity. 

All tickets were general admission and we didn't get there super early to be in the front so my pictures aren't that great. Sorry.

LP finally took the stage and she was everything I ever wanted in an artist, and more. Her performance was sooooooo good. Her vocal range is amazing. She is the only person I know who can rock out on a ukulele and make whistling sound sexy. This was one of the few concerts where I felt, wholly and genuinely, the intent of the music. I actually felt sad when she sung a sad song. I felt truly joyful when she performed a happy song. She performed mostly from her latest album Heart to Mouth and barely any from Forever For Now, which is my favorite and the album where I discovered her. I thought she sounded better live than on the albums but Wes disagreed. His favorite song she performed was Recovery, which she did acoustic. I liked every song she performed and I got a kick out of her cover of Kings of Leon's Sex on Fire. She didn't talk to the audience much but she did interact a ton with the front row. People were handing her cell phones so she could take selfies and record herself singing. Fans also handed her letters and signs. At the beginning of the show, someone threw a bouquet of white roses at her. They didn't throw the roses to her but at her. Another concert goer threw their phone at her. Who does that? So rude! She took it all in stride and kept on performing. 

This is usually where I end day #1 of the trip and save the second day for another blog post but we didn't do much on day #2 of our trip so I will just keep the two days together for one journal entry. We had lunch at the Original Market Diner. It had good reviews online but neither of us enjoyed our meals. I think the restaurant survives off its regular customer base who have been eating there for so long that they don't realize that the food is not good and over priced. Wes got the raisin bread French toast, which he said tasted like bargain brand bread you get on sale at the grocery store. I got their blue plate special, which was meatloaf on Mondays. I love meatloaf and have never had one that I didn't like... until now. The "meatloaf" had the texture of SPAM and it tasted like fast food hamburger patties. It was all filler and preservatives. Instead of ketchup or barbecue sauce, they poured this runny tomato broth (with soggy vegetables) on top of the meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It tasted fine over the meatloaf but it completely ruined the mashed potatoes. 

Our last stop was Buc-ee's. There's a new location in Denton now!!! So we will for sure be stopping in every time we go to Dallas. LOL Buc-ee's is the best convenience store in existence. We always meander around for  way too long and buy too many snacks but its a good thing. I always want Buc-ee's merchandise but we're trying to keep our house minimalistic. But, man it was hard to resist that stuffed animal! Besides the hotel and lunch, I thoroughly enjoyed our first mini-vacation of 2019. I am really glad that I saw LP live. She is one bad ass rocker chick!

Erica & Wes go to New Orleans, pt.1

In late April (yes, yes, I know this is old but I haven't been on my laptop much lately), Wes and I traveled to New Orleans for the second part of our wedding anniversary vacation. (We went to a Judas Priest concert for the first part of our celebration but I haven't gotten around to writing about that, either. I really need to stop procrastinating, don't I?). While a majority of people gather in New Orleans for Jazz Fest and partying, I went for the Alexander McQueen fashion exhibit at the art museum. Oh, and to see The Darkness perform a small intimate show at the Civic Center (more on that next week).

Look at all that powdered sugar. Soooooo yummy! 

We also chose to visit New Orleans for the food. We were only there for three days but we managed to eat our way through several restaurants. My favorites were the beignets from Cafe Du Monde (Wes' favorite was also the beignets) and the oysters from Acme Oyster House. I could go on forever about food but I won't. Please ask to see my vacation pictures if you're interested... we all know how much everyone loves showing off their vacation pictures. LOL

Welcome to New Orleans, Mr. Kirtley! We're honored to host your special occasion and have no doubt it will be a treasured memory. Our dedicated team wishes you a very happy anniversary and marvelous adventure as your explore our vibrant city. Cheers to a lifetime of love and happiness. Warm regards, The Holiday Downtown Superdome Family.

When making our reservations, Wes mentioned that it would be our third wedding anniversary the first night we arrived in town. The hotel slid a handwritten card with two complimentary drink tickets under our room door.  That night when we were at the bar, we met a couple who were also in town for vacation. They got to talking and the woman decided that they needed to be wed before the end of their trip. Her boyfriend agreed and an impromptu wedding took place. The bartender officiated and Wes & I were their witnesses. Our signatures are on a very official bar napkin/wedding license. LOL

As I mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons I chose New Orleans as our destination was the A Queen Within fashion exhibit. I've been interested in contemporary and avant-garde fashion for some time now (thanks Project Runway and your crazy design challenges) and the exhibit was everything I wanted it to be and more. While many fashion houses were represented, I was most drawn to the Alexander McQueen pieces. I'm not a student of fashion so I can't really elaborate on the pieces and their significance but they were pretty dang interesting and so so pretty! 

According to the exhibit, its main objective is to "investigate symbols of womanhood and expand the theme of fashion as art." There are seven archetypal personality types that the designers used as muses - Sage, Magician, Enchantress, Explorer, Mother Earth, Heroine and Thespian. Each archetype had its own section in the exhibit.

Designs for Enchantress - femme fatal, sexy, lustful, passionate, and mesmerizing. 

I don't identify at all with the Enchantress archetype but it was my favorite of the sections. Its display consisted of several dresses, shoes and accessories placed inside of a large corrugated plastic room. The walls of the room had round windows for museum patrons to stick their heads in to view the fashion pieces. Both the floor and ceiling inside of the room was filled with imitation flowers. It was very delicate and imaginative and beautiful. The rest of the New Orleans Museum of Art was entertaining-- it had a nice variety of art and a lot of oil paintings, which I like-- but I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much without the fashion exhibit. 

So the highlight of Day 1 was the bar wedding, the highlight of Day 2 was the fashion exhibit and the highlight of Day 3 was this totally rad concert we went to. The concert was so great that it deserves its own blog post. Talk to you guys next Monday!!

Erica takes a sewing class at Francis Tuttle.

Throughout the month of April, I attended a garment construction course at a local vocational center. In my entire life, I have only sewn two pieces of clothing. But, I've always wanted to make my own clothes... just never got around to it. This would be the perfect opportunity for me! I figured that since I already knew how to sew, I would be proficient enough to skip the beginners' class and enroll directly in Sewing II (Intermediate). Um, no... that was a horrible assumption on my part. Sewing pillows and stuffed animals from scrap fabric was definitely not sufficient experience to carry me through basic garment construction. I have never even read a pattern or worked with any notions (such as zippers, clasps, elastic, etc.) or a piece of fabric larger than half a of yard. There was going to be a serious learning curve involved.

Luckily, I was surrounded by amazing classmates and a wonderful instructor. Our teacher was Betty, a retired sewing machine saleswoman and small business owner herself. She owns a custom embroidery company (I forgot the name) and teaches a wide array of sewing courses. There were only four students- myself, a young gentleman named Joshua, a retired woman named Pat and another woman named Nina. Nina is hearing impaired so she had an interpreter; I guess, technically, there were five of us in class. I was the only student who has never sewn clothing. Everyone was extremely talented, especially Nina, and very eager to help me learn! On our last night, Pat taught me a really simple quilt block technique that I will definitely be incorporating into RagsReborn's pillows. (Not garment related but I found this new technique to be really exciting so I had to share!)

I'm gifting the purse I made to a friend as a birthday gift. 

On our first class, Betty taught us the basic technique for sewing in zippers. We were told to make a small pouch. I decided that I wanted to make a purse instead. Betty was passing out extra zippers so I went home and immediately made the pouch we were originally assigned. (I didn't want to be a bad student and also decided that I needed something to store my sewing supplies in.) We randomly returned to zippers on our third or fourth night when she taught us two more zipper techniques - the centered zipper and lapped zipper. I was able to utilize the centered zipper just fine but I still need work on the lapped zipper. She was also going to teach us now to insert an invisible or concealed zipper but a couple of us didn't have the proper zipper foot attachment for our machine.

The real sewing began on our second night. I was unaware that we were to bring our own patterns and projects to work on. The course description erroneously stated that each student only needed to bring their sewing machine and would be provided all other necessary supplies to make a shirt and either a pair of pants or a skirt. The beginners sewing class provided group projects but the intermediate class was for students to work on independent projects with guidance provided by the instructor on an as-needed basis.

Since I was completely unprepared, Betty graciously provided me with basic supplies and I was able to construct the skirt that all the other students had already made in her previous class. She took my measurements, another first for me since I've never had clothes tailored for me, and I began working on the skirt. The skirt was an original pattern that Betty designed which consisted of several panels sewn together and held together by an elastic waistband. The skirt took me two nights to complete. (How the contestants on Project Runway construct their amazing ballgowns in 24-hours is beyond me!) I was picking up on all these little tips & tricks such as to always sew your fabric pieces from the bottom to the top because the clothes wear better that way. And to make sure all the inside seams are facing the same direction. I've been hemming my own clothes almost my entire life (#shortgirlproblems), but Betty taught me a new and much cleaner hemming technique that completely blew my mind. LOL

I brought the red fabric from home but I did not have enough to pattern and cut the nine panels that the skirt required. Betty let me rummage through her scrap fabric and I found the lighter fabric with almost the exact same print. Betty brought the wrong width of elastic for the waistband so instead of inserting one thick piece of elastic, my skirt's waistband is three skinny pieces of elastic inserted next to each other. I think I became pretty good at working with elastic after that. LOL I wore the skirt to work and to our next class; everyone complimented me on how nicely it turned out, especially for a first project. I was feeling good leading up to my next project... a maxi dress.

Betty chose the pattern for me after assessing my skill level. She said the dress was a good pick because it incorporated sleeves, gathering, and pockets (all new techniques I'd have to learn). She suggested that I purchase a two way knit jersey fabric. As soon as I opened the pattern, I was immediately lost. I had no idea what the words "stitch length," "selvage," or "grain line" meant. Since I was the new student of the class, Betty spent a lot of the class time helping me. I felt a little bad for monopolizing her time so I began to work a lot with Joshua. He was working on a dress for his mother. Since we were both sewing dresses, it was easy to help one another out.

At first, working on the maxi dress was great fun. I traced and cut the pattern just fine. The bodice construction was fairly straightforward. The sleeves were a bit confusing but I managed. (I plan to reuse the bodice pattern to make some cute shirts and crop tops.) Then came the skirt... which was not great fun. The skirt used about a yard of this light and flowing jersey fabric. I've used jersey a bit before this class but it was only a few 10" x 10" pieces. Working with an entire yard of the stuff was a different story. It took me a couple of nights to sew the two skirt pieces together and sew the hem. Then when it was time to gather the skirt and attach it to the bodice, my sewing machine broke! The jersey kept getting caught in the machine. Betty, Joshua and Pat each took turns inspecting my machine but couldn't diagnose the issue. Betty even went so far as to clean my machine for me. No one wanted to tell me to my face but the problem probably wasn't with my machine, instead it was me and my lack of experience. (:_:) I struggled a little longer but then Pat took pity on me and let me use her super fancy sewing machine--which was amazing; that machine sewed all on its own--for the remainder of the class. It took me a couple of hours and many many redoes but I finally managed to attach the skirt to the bodice and complete the maxi dress. There are errors all over this dress but it fit when I tried it on and I'm claiming that as a victory.

It looks so frumpy and shapeless on a hanger but I swear that it does look a lot better when I'm wearing it. 

Even though it is so incredibly far from perfect, I plan to wear my dress out in public. It is my first ever fully constructed garment and I am proud of it. Each time I made a mistake, I was able to receive instruction from Betty, Joshua or Pat on how to correct it and sew it better the next time I tried. I have even more respect for designers, seamstresses, tailors and other sewists after struggling through this dress. I've always known that I'm a hobby sewist trying to play with the big girls but I feel a little more accomplished after this class. While I enjoyed using a pattern and following instructions, I much prefer making up my own patterns and sewing according to my imagination instead of prescribed techniques. But I'm not giving up on garment construction just yet. I am seriously considering taking a pattern drafting and design class that Betty also teaches and I've already signed up for a sewing retreat with the Oklahoma chapter of the American Sewing guild. Pretty soon I'll have a closet full of Erica-made clothing!