if anyone out there was missing this blog while i was on maternity leave, then you should probably cross your fingers that raechel at finding my feet doesn't do a blog post about how to jump off of bridges. because, if my past behavior is any indication, i'll be flying 9.8 newton-meters per second toward terra-firma within minutes of her post and won't be blogging much from then on.
see, i'm a fan. i straight up LOVE her blog. it's got it all: jesus, photography, sewing, adorable kids, wit, design, etsy and more. i follow tons of blogs, but hers has been at the tip top in my heart for over a year now. it's one of those, i know we would be besties if i could ever meet you in real life situations. see also: tina fey (whom i might be married to if we could just get around to meeting).
through a sewing twist of amazingatude, raechel actually found MY blog and eventually even linked to it on hers. let me tell you about that day, friends. i was just scrolling along her most recent post and i looked over under her blogroll. our blog was listed there. um, did you catch that?!?! i literally got the same feeling that i used to get at the start of every volleyball game in college: a little nauseous, a little sweaty, and about 10 million butterflies doing swooping kamikaze maneuvers in my stomach. i was also 7 months pregnant and almost shot layla out right that second.
only jesse and lena had a grasp on how much i loved her blog at that point so they were the immediate recipients of the following email (this is slightly embarrassing, but less so(?) because it was 6 months ago and i can distance myself from the screwballs-version of myself who wrote it):
oh you know, there is our blog, on the same list as MADE, NieNie and MckMama.
LOSING MY SHIT.
i took a screenshot so that i'd have proof after she has to delete me off of there because of my foul language.
hyperventilating
the arrow is mine, not raechel's.
so yup. i love her. then it won't surprise you to hear how much i love her tutorials, shopping recommendations, recipes, fabrics and all else. the ratio of projects she suggests to those that i try is high. and i have yet to be disappointed. a smattering:
let's see, first there was her leggies tutorial. i think i waited 2 hours before heading to target and buying 12 pairs of socks to make my own. i have since made about 40 pairs (exaggeration) for layla and now sell them on etsy.
then there was her rundown of favorite etsy sellers wherein she profiled the pattern shop, heidi & finn. i made it about 10 minutes from reading her post to completing the checkout on etsy for 3 of their patterns. this one worked out SO well because when i commented on her blog about buying them and then posted the results on here, we became bloggy sewing buddies (as opposed to the "real" buddies we are now. in my head at least).
my latest was taking her family's christmas bleu-est of blue cheese appetizer recipe and making it for us. for dinner. it was all gone in 2 sittings by 2 people. yikes. if you have a thing for blue cheese, or sustenance of any kind, TRY THIS RECIPE. forever bleu.
her pics are way better. always. i never stood a chance though: note that our nice camera is IN the picture instead of TAKING it. my photographer's eye chose cameraphone for this shot instead.
this isn't one of those recipes on a blog that disappoints. for example: one night i made the crock pot steel cut oats according to a recipe on another blog that i follow. i was supposed to wake up in the morning to delicious hearty oats. instead, i got to sample the fare i would dine on if i got unplugged from the matrix. Runny McGruelYuckerson.
but not raechel's recipe. she is 100% trustworthy in my experience ripping her off taking inspiration from her. so much so that i was about 2 seconds away from ripping all the carpet up in our house with my bare hands just to achieve a piece of the amazingness she and her hubby made here, but alas i was 37 weeks pregnant and fell asleep instead.
*(i started writing this post on 1/6/11. i could add about 5 other inspirations i have gleaned from raechel's blog since then. but i wont. i feel a restraining order coming on)*
one more hilarious example:
as you know, i STINK at anything style-related. i can barely dress myself and not look like an escapee from american eagle's 2002 clearance mannequin depot of horrors. so having a baby girl made me even more nervous: another chick's clothes to be in charge of, SCADGE! but i took myself by surprise a little when i put together this outfit for layla when she was just a few weeks old. i was thinking this might actually be sort of cute and coordinating, but not traditional or too girly.
oh my gosh her poor skin was so bad back then.
just as i am reaching around to pat myself on the back for this outfit it hits me: every one of these things was found, made, or stolen from raechel. leggies: idea and tutorial taken. headband: i made it as a knock off version of her cutie pie, hazel's version. necklace onesie: straight up made by and given to layla as a birthday gift from raechel (along with a gorgeous chenille burp cloth and some magical travelling pants whose inception almost made me pee mine).
so of course. "my" awesome style moment wasn't mine at all. i was just channeling raechel. if you haven't taken the hint yet, i think you should go check out her blog NOW! if you do not LOL at her recent post about her son's unforseen haircut , then you and i can never be friends. but i don't need any more friends anyway now that i have raechel. okay, totally joking. nobody get uneasy.
moral of the story: i am a crazypants stalker. no wait. that's not right. the moral is, step out of those bloggy shadows, folks, you never know who you could end up being buddies with! (you're next, tina fey! unless that sounds threatening.)
**to the christine who commented yesterday about wanting a boppy cover made, just email me at putapuredukes (at) gmail (dot) com and we'll work out the details. that goes for anyone else too!**
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