Dressesssssssss!

The sewing machine at FISCH has been putting in some serious hours lately.  Here are highlights from the fall collection... a little French retro, some bright pinks for my favorite LA client, a classic blue and orange combo with a twist of jungle animals, and who doesn't love polka dots??

Orders continue to roll in and I'm always adding new fabrics to the stash, so please contact me if you're interested.

BTW the blog is still alive, just on life-support until I can get back into a regular routine. Thanks for your interest in my creative endeavors. I hope you are finding creative inspirations as well!

Falling into fall...

Woah, it's been busy lately, right?  End of summer, back to school, the start of new fall activities... add to that painting the living room (yes, we finally agreed on a color)... and oh, trying to maintain a blog and build a children's dress business and keep two kiddos entertained/fed/alive.  More coffee, please!

I hope you've been enjoying these waning days of summertime.  I'm always sad to say goodbye to my favorite season, but the transition to fall with cooler temps and APPLE CIDER DONUTS! provides a comfy buffer to what's ahead.

I'm wrapping up the living room project; photos included here to emphasize the enormity of this DIY project.  Perhaps I'll write about it more in future posts, if I can stand to relive it.  Please, people, if you're lucky enough to have beautiful virgin woodwork in your old home, PLEASE don't paint it.  Just taping around it is insanity!

I'm also tremendously excited about several new dress orders I've received.  It's so fun to hear about the intended young recipients of the garments and choose fabrics to match.  This has already been a great endeavor for me, and I'm so grateful for the interest and momentum!

My goal is to be back to regular posting next week.  Thanks for your patience!  In the meantime, enjoy these entertaining nuggets:

This is how much coffee it would take to kill you.

A little history about not wearing white after Labor Day.  (Pssst: it's no longer a fashion faux pas.)

Incredible and creepy watermelon art.

Favorite candies to buy when traveling abroad.

 

It's a cake!  Maybe I'll try to make one when I finish the living room, in all of my free time, haha.

Cardboard iPad TV Stand

Have a terrific weekend

© 2014 Analiese Miller

Only two weekends left in August, which means it's crunch time for summertime fun.  We're headed to the Great Minnesota Get-Together.  Maybe we'll see you there!

Aren't these photographs by Analiese Miller amazing??  She's MY friend, you know.

© 2014 Analiese Miller

My go-to Ham, Swiss and Tomato Strata recipe (for you, Carol!)

Alarm clock coffee maker.  It's true.  And brilliant.

Classic movies changed to not be sexist.
Snow White, who happens to have a real name (Theresa), tells the dwarves about being stifled by the expectations placed on her by the patriarchal structure of the kingdom’s monarchy. She earns her keep by working alongside the dwarves in the mine.

If you haven't checked out Humans of New York, do.  It's beautiful.

Photo wine labels

Bike planters

My faith in gummies has been renewed

I don't actually remember loving gummy candy as a kid.  I've always had a major sweet tooth, but I hated sour patch kids and the flavor of a gummy worm was never satisfying enough to tolerate its sinewy texture.  Well this week a sweet-sweet package arrived at my door from an old friend in Indiana, which is apparently home to the Albanese Confectionery, which makes the "World's Best Gummies."  As my three-year-old was shoving them in her mouth, I tasted one and then grabbed the bag from her sticky hands.  These gummies are amazing.  Sweet, soft, wonderful flavors.  I'm so glad they can be ordered online.  Perfect for birthday parties and special occasions (like my secret candy stash in the high cupboard.)  Thanks, Libby!

List of artists whose live shows make us nervous.

Interview with pastry chef Dominique Ansel about his work and quirks (and love of gummies).

Story behind what was initially thought to be just another song by just another duo.  (Spoiler alert: it was eventually ranked as having had more radio and television play in the United States than any song of the 20th century.)

Unique coffee gadgets to improve your brew and the look of your kitchen counters.

The Portland Press

This could be the perfect fall bag

I'm on a quest for a stylish and functional bag for fall that meets three core criteria: 1. Matches (most of) my casual outfits,  2. Holds a lot of stuff while still looking sleek, and 3. Offers multiple carrying options (shoulder, elbow nook, maybe even cross-body).  This beautiful Loeffler Randall hobo shoulder bag appears to fit the bill.  (It comes in black and dark grey, too, by the way.)

A few other style bits to check out:

New line of women's clothing and accessories from the Swedish kids line, Hanna Andersson.

How to accessorize like a Parisian.

Two-sided earrings.  And another major fall earring trend (that is waaaay more Parisian than Twin Citian.)

Fashion buzzword to know (or not): "normcore."  And more normcore. 

The best eyebrows of all time.

And this random bit: an all-chocolate bathroom.

Hepburn photo: Dennis Stock/Magnum Photos/Trunk Archive

Inspiration

© 2014 Analiese Miller

Today I went to the funeral of my childhood friend, Leah.  She was a remarkable person who will be tremendously missed by so many people.  The memory of how she chose to live will inspire me for the rest of my life.

I believe that we all want to be inspired.  We seek out creativity, beauty, grandeur, innovation, kindness, resiliency.  And we all want to feel purpose and meaning and the presence of a force that's greater than us, however we may define that personally. 

It's impossible to encapsulate the topic of "inspiration" in a single blog post and I'm not going to try.  I will simply say: I hope you find your inspiration today.  Some days we have to look hard for it.  Other days it's just so very obvious, and it can really change your life.

This beautiful quote was read at Leah's funeral and is a perfect reflection of her memory:

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  -- Maya Angelou

© 2014 Analiese Miller

The photographs in this post were made by my talented friend, Analiese Miller.  Watch for more of her beautiful work to be featured on The Fischbowl.

A day in the life

We all have "one of those weeks" from time to time.  The events of my week have given me lots of material to write about, but no time to put my thoughts into coherent posts, ha.  I'll be back on track with the blog -- and life! -- next week.  Have a great weekend!

The story behind The Beatles "A Day in the Life."
After making his little joke about the Albert Hall, [Lennon] returns to that mesmerizing refrain: “I’d love to turn you on.” This was a time in their careers when drugs certainly played a role in the group’s songwriting, but, as McCartney remembered in "Beatles In Their Own Words," this line had a bit more on its mind. “This was the only one on the album written as a deliberate provocation to people,” he said. “But what we really wanted was to turn you on to the truth rather than just bloody pot.”



Ice cream that changes color as you lick it.

Why you should sleep with your feet outside of the covers.

Cool bookcase curtains for your reading nook.

Mug

Have a happy weekend

The birds are singing, the sky is bright, the sun is shining, and I'm feeling alright (Pete the Cat).  It's a sunny summer Friday and we've reached the end of a hectic and emotional week.  Thousands came out to honor fallen local police officer Scott Patrick as he was eulogized and laid to rest on Wednesday.  The tributes and outpouring of support for Scott Patrick and his family, as well as appreciation for all local law enforcement officers, have been inspiring and remind us how fortunate we are to have such very good people in our communities.

Have a great weekend, and have some fun -- we intend to!  Here are some lighthearted posts from around the web:

Underwater wedding at the Mall of America.

Beautiful Cortona and an Italian outlet mall.

Grab a pack of breath mints and then head to the garlic festival in Hutchinson.  Garlic ice cream!

The man behind the Pharrell hat.   And why clogs will change your life.

Design ideas for small bathrooms.

Worldwide compilation of "Happy" by Pharrell Williams:

Table lamp

Face mugs

Happy Shirts tees

Pink and red are both good choices

Recently I've had several conversations with female friends about raising young daughters and whether or not we fight, or embrace, the girlie-girlie forces that come at us from all directions.  As progressive career women who are trying to raise strong girls, how hard should we work to deflect, or welcome, the perfectly pretty-frilly-sparkly-pink-clad gals like the Disney "princess posse," as my sister calls them.  Will it make any difference?  What's the harm?

My daughters are young, but their interests are definitely taking shape.  Three-and-a-half-year old Riloh loves the color red, bugs, creating art, exploring in the garden, jumping off/onto anything.  One-and-a-half-year old Daphne loves the color pink, sparkles, books, air conditioning, the bucket swing at the playground so her feet don't have to touch the sand.  I'm not raising them differently; I definitely don't push sparkles, or bugs.  And I love seeing them becoming individuals with unique interests.  I'm constantly trying to choose toys, books, TV programs, activities, and even clothing that is at least somewhat reflective of our diversity and the many options that come with that diversity.  Still, they both make fairly predictable choices every day.

So I wonder: are there any actual effects of these strong preferences at young ages?  Does it really matter one bit if she is crazy about princesses, or bugs, as it relates to her future goals or career ambitions?

If I'm providing them perspective ("Barbie is not an actual woman") and encouraging curiosity ("Yes I'd love to help you identify that enormous bug you just found") then perhaps I'm helping create a pathway that can lead to their future ambitions.  And that's what parents do, right?  Personally, having one daughter who leads a nation (with or without a sparkly crown), and one who can solve the bee crisis sounds pretty awesome to me.

I'd love your thoughts on this topic.  Here's a brief sampling of perspectives I came across:

An interview with the author of "Cinderella Ate My Daughter."
But honestly: since when did every little girl become a princess? It wasn't like this when I was a kid, and I was born back when feminism was still a mere twinkle in our mothers' eyes. We did not dress head to toe in pink. We did not have our own miniature high heels. What's more, I live in Berkeley, California: if princesses had infiltrated our little retro-hippie hamlet, imagine what was going on in places where women actually shaved their legs? As my little girl made her daily beeline for the dress-up corner of her preschool classroom, I fretted over what playing Little Mermaid, a character who actually gives up her voice to get a man, was teaching her.

One dad's ill-fated battle against princesses.
When a mom of one of my girls' preschool classmates told me that her daughter, previously ignorant of princess culture, had come home from school with a thorough knowledge of Disney's royal lineage, which she had attributed to my twins, I became concerned again. They were no longer just users; they had become pushers.

9 things I wish I'd known about raising a girl.

Gender-neutral childhood led to a successful career in tech.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor explains "princess is not a career."

Growing up: They get it

There's a sweet video circulating in social media circles that shows a 5-year-old girl becoming very upset upon realizing her baby brother isn't going to stay a baby forever.  The girl is adorable and her emotions are so sincere.  Growing up, growing old and dying are all very tricky topics to talk about with kiddos.

A NY Magazine article today looks at when kids realize they're going to grow up.  One study says children between ages 3 and 5 think that birthday parties cause aging; you don't become another year older until you have a party.  I love that.  Another study finds that even young preschoolers can understand the basic premise of aging.  They might get some of the details wrong, but they understand more than we often give them credit for.

My mother died before Riloh and Daphne were born, so we call her our special angel Grandma Pat.  They can pick Grandma Pat out in photos and Riloh is starting to remember stories that she has been told about her special angel.  Last January Riloh was looking for one of her dolls and we couldn't find it anywhere.  After a few days of searching she said to me, "I think he died, Mommy.  He's an angel now."  Woah.  Yup, she's paying attention.

Some fun extras:

This is an awesome book for recording the wonderful things your kids say.  I keep one on my bookshelf and I've given it several times as a gift.

Here's a beautiful keepsake growth chart to hang on the wall.  And this one.  And these.

Paul McCartney is in town on Sunday.  Vote for your favorite PM song here.

Stylish and motivational wall decor.

Have a colorful weekend

Wine-throated hummingbird

What are you up to this weekend?  We're going to (try to, finally) tackle some indoor painting projects.  The previous owners of our 80 year-old house favored the color pale yellow.  It's sallow and dingy and kind of makes you feel uneasy, and it's everywhere.  Our biggest hurdle for getting painting projects done, however -- of course, after trying to do this with little kids running around -- is choosing paint colors that we both like.  Jesse and I have very different (strong) opinions about wall colors and it takes us forever to agree on a hue that we both don't hate.  Thank goodness for the sample-size jars of paint.  We've bought at least a dozen this time around!

Have a great weekend and here are some fun posts from around the web:

Five mistakes everyone makes (well maybe not everyone, haha) when choosing paint colors.

Getting eight hours of sleep might actually be bad for you.

A wear-everywhere tank dress.

Craft beer bars in Paris.

Eye color may be linked to pain tolerance.

Delicious fruit-infused waters.

Strawberry lime cucumber mint water

Hummingbird photograph by Jose Yee.
 

New fabrics at FISCH

Per my recent post: there is still a lot of summer left to be enjoyed!  But it's hard not to start thinking about fall fashions just a teeny tiny bit when retailers and magazine editors everywhere are already pushing the next season's must-haves.  So, I've started shopping for some summer-to-fall transitional fabrics for FISCH Collection.  Check out these adorable prints; many are from my local fabric shop Treadle Yard Goods.  And I'm pretty sure I'll also have to grab a few of yards of these Charley Harper prints -- love!

All of the fabrics shown here are in-house now and ready to become reversible smock dresses (12mo-4T).  As always, I'm happy to work with clients to find the fabric combination that works best for them.  Please contact me or visit my Etsy shop.  I'll be adding the fall fabrics there shortly.

Pssssssst.... FISCH Collection (ahem, me) is working on a dress style for 5-12 year olds that will complement the reversible smock.   I'm hoping it will be ready in time for fall.  I'll update!

Okay, back to fall fashion, quickly.... Is it really ever too soon to look at fall shoe trends?  And these.  And don't dare forget boots.

Chanel.  Just fantastic.  Perfect for preschool drop-offs!