Last week of Summer andBack to School.

My suntanned Dad at Dinner

The pleated Skirt made from One Yard wonders

Goodbye Summer Vacation!

Jean Christophe and Baby Kissa

Friends at the Baby Shower

An art filled wall at Darla’s

The view from the glass walled dining room at Darla’s

Fist Day of School.

It’s been a busy week. Yesterday, Wednesday was the first day of school for my three older kids who are now in the 11th grade 10th grade and second grade. My friend Monique and her husband Jean-Christophe and new baby Kissa are also in town from Paris and they also spent the day with us yesterday. We had a little dinner party last night so I spent all day Tuesday cleaning the house because between having the  kids and their friends home all summer and all my  projects things were really a disaster, kind of like the inside of my sewing box . I also spent the evening trying to find school supplies at  Target and Office Depot. All the other schools started a week before ours so everything was picked over. Isabelle was thrilled to find the last Harajuku Girls notebook at Target. Lily had to settle for a Barbie Folder. Oliver being a teenage boy is way too cool for character stuff and bought plain black and khaki green everything. Upon leaving school Lily informed me that her really “kawaii” meaning cute in Japanese school pencils we bought in Little Tokyo were too flashy for her teachers’ utilitarian taste and she is supposed to have the plain yellow ones. So last night after our dinner party we did a KMart run and there wasn’t a plain Ticonderoga pencil to be found. Isn’t wearing  a uniform enough for her school? I sent my kids to private Catholic School for many reasons but can’t they have a little freedom to choose their own pencils? Monday I took Lily to  Vons to sell the last of her candy bars because our first meeting of American Heritage Girls was that afternoon. And what might you ask, is American Heritage Girls? I guess you could call it an offshoot of the Girl Scouts only with a Catholic vein running through it. And guess who co leader is for the 6 to 9 year old Tenderfoot Unit? That’s right yours truly. We had a great time making peanut butter pinecone bird feeders. The leaders have to wear khaki bottoms and red polo shirts. I wasn’t inspired to make myself something as drab as all that but I did find a cute khaki straight pencil type skirt at the Ralph Lauren Outlet. On wearing it to the meeting I found it a little hard to walk in though. Oh well! Sunday was also a busy day. After going to morning mass the whole family, except 16 year old Oliver who went to the beach with his friends headed down to Venice Beach for a Baby Shower for my friend Monique held at her friend Darlas place. Darla owns a boutique on Abbitt-Kinney in Venice and her significant other is an artist who built their house which was modern and interesting . It was half made of glass and filled with funky art. We had fun at the party and ended the day having dinner at I Cugini on Ocean Avenue, our old standby for delicious Italian food which we have been going to for 20 years. We also checked out the newly rebuilt Santa Monica Place which is now an outdoor mall. It was beautiful but felt really touristy without the charm of the Third Street Promenade next door. Last but not least I started working on my first patternless garment since I’m tired of patterns that don’t fir right. I draped it on to my dress form. I call it the Barbie Dress. I also made a little girls simple pleated skirt from the book I bought One Yard Wonders. It was super easy  to make. You draft it right onto the fabric.