All I want for Christmas…

(or wanted for Christmas) were tickets to a New Orleans Saints game in the Super Dome.  Well, life happens: my hubby’s schedule is nuts, my sisters and parents are busy people, and—of all things!—the Saints were off to their best start ever making the demand for tickets sky high!  So on Wednesday, Daddy gently informed me that this Christmas wish just wouldn’t happen this year.  But a girl should never give up hope!

Then, on Friday, out of the blue, my baby sister “found” some tickets.  For this weekend’s Saints vs. Panthers game.  Like in just over 48 hours.  Could I get to New Orleans for Sunday at 3?  Uhm, Yeah! (Never mind that NO is a 5 hour drive at it’s quickest, my hubby didn’t get off work until 8:30 Saturday night, and I had a presentation at 9 AM Monday morning!  We’d figure that out later. Ha.)

For the next 2 days, I floated bounced flitted barely made it through everything we had to do:  homework, a swim meet, grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, etc.  Then finally, after sweet talking a supervisor, my hubby got off work an hour early and we hit the road to NO at 7:30 Saturday night.  We swung by my sister’s in Lafayette, grabbed the tickets and then hit my other sister’s in New Orleans around 2 in the morning Sunday morning! 

The entire experience was almost indescribable.  The crowds were nuts.  The fans were diehard.  The traffic was intense. The game was a nail biter. The Drew Brees-Pierre Thomas combination was on fire.  The defense was tough on Jake Delhomme.  The Saints were awesome.  And the Dome was rocking!  The best part:  one of my dearest friends and her family were one section over, Bobby Hebert’s autograph, the tailgating, 30-20 win over Carolina, the way the floor vibrated when every fan in the place chanted “Who Dat!” as the Saints went 8-0 for the first time EVER!!

Enjoy the game through my camera lens!

The Tickets:The Fans:The Tailgating:The Crowds:Bobby Hebert (Did I mention I’ve been a fan a LONG time!):Becca, Me and Jane:  The Crowd: The Offense.  Some Shockey, some Bush, some Colston and a lot of Brees and Thomas:The Defense that rocked the second half! Us:The sidelines: The Final Score.  8-0! The Dome: 

Who Dat!

 

I was going to sew this weekend…

And then my sister called and offered me a chance to do this: 

More pictures tomorrow when I’ve caught up on my sleep!

Simplicity 2568-Easy, Trendy, and Short!

Simplicity 2568- A Sew Stylish pattern for Misses’/Miss Petite Pants and Dress or Top with Neckline Variations.

I picked up this pattern at a 99 cent sale because I loved the top and pants of View C. After looking at my fabric stash, I decided to make View A. But—since I didn’t like the pockets so much, I used the tabs off View C. I further modified the pattern by omitting the zipper, hemming the neckline instead of using facings, and lengthening the hem. I used a purple boucle out of my stash. I used purple thread, but there is A. LOT. of topstitching on this dress that would have looked cute in a contrasting color (or silver). I found my round buckles at the local Hancock’s. I can’t comment to the quality of the instructions, because I didn’t follow them. Because this fabric frays so badly, I serged all my seam allowances. You can see a picture of the inside below. (Yes, I used pink thread. Why? Two reasons: 1)I was too lazy to change and 2)I kinda like something sassy on the inside.)

I have the habit of making a pattern up 2 or 3 times before moving on to something new. This one is pretty trendy, so I don’t know if I’ll do it again or not. If I do, I’ll use just the top, probably with the higher neck and maybe with the sleeves. My bigger concern right now: booties or knee boots???

Front:

Close-up of Tabs and Buckles:

Inside (just to show that the inside looks just as nice as the outside):