Sunny Days, Keeping the Clouds Away

Officially, it's been spring for almost a month, but it's only starting to feel like it in Sacramento. This beautiful, sunny Sacramento weather has inspired me to walk the dog more, spend more time in the sunshine and exercise more.

So far, I'm doing well on accounts, and my new giant trampoline is certainly helping with resolutions two and three!

The trampoline was a gift from a friend who is moving and didn't want to take it with her. Aaron and I put it together yesterday, and I'm having a lot of fun on it ... in small increments. I'm just too out of shape (and with heart problems) to bounce for very long.

Aaron and I, and by that I mean mostly Aaron, have been working hard to ready our large yards for human use. We tend to ignore the backyard all winter, until the grass grows so high, Gizmo gets lost in "the jungle."

 

Now the jungle has been tamed into nice, short suburban blades. Roses have been trimmed, weeds pulled and the yards sprayed for bugs.

Soon we'll go through the exhausting process of dragging the patio furniture out of the shed and setting up the shade canopy. I can't wait until I'm sprawled across the patio couch, reading a good book.

First roses of the season.

Our resident squirrels seem to be enjoying the weather, too.

Maybe we'll even plant some flowers along the fence, finally!

Hello, Spring!

T-Shirt Surgery FTW

I used to be skinny, and now I am not.

Back in my itty-bitty days, I amassed a collection of rock band babydoll tees I haven't worn for years because I'm not an x-small in juniors anymore. Plus, I'm over the babydoll style.

Give me something loose so my pits can breathe and and my muffin top isn't popping out for everyone to see!

Not wanting to see my band tees go to waste (and too cheap to spend money on more), I long ago hatched a plan to repurpose them and finally made good on it this evening.

For my first project, I snipped away at my Ramones "Road to Ruin" babydoll I've had for over 10 years.

Yea, my camera phone sucks a big one.

This picture from January 2008 probably shows one of the last times I comfortably fit the tee. (That skirt, too.)

This outfit was for The Secretions' "That Kind of Girl" video shoot.

I cut the graphic into a patch. My paper slicer was handy for this.

I then hand-stitched the patch on this awesome black cold-shoulder tee I treated myself to for my birthday. At $7.99 on clearance from Delia's, I consider that a score. I got one in teal, too.

 And, voila!

To christen my new favorite tee, I wore it to The Dollyrots show at The Blue Lamp.

Because I'm Awesome!

These semi-skinny jeans were also a birthday present to myself. They have a rhinestone button and were $10 from Ross. Once I got them home, I realized they are a little loose on my legs for skinny jeans. The Ross mirror tricked me, I guess. Still, $10 for Lee jeans I've seen at department stores for $30+? No complaints.

And yes, that's our bathroom trash on a table. It's the only way to keep the dog out of it. Isn't it cute? My mom decorated it with craft foam to match my shower curtain. It looks identical to the one JC Penny sold for a ridiculous amount. The thrifty and crafty genes are strong in my family.