Erika S. outfits

Made By Mommy

My mom grew up in a time and a place where there weren’t a lot of fast-fashion type stores to shop at.  She was born and raised in Vietnam, though my family is ethnically Chinese.  Back then, their version of shopping was shopping for fabric, and they all learned how to sew for themselves.  Even now I think my mom gets a thrill out of finding great fabrics for a good price.  So when my sister and my mom travelled to Myanmar this past fall, she brought home a stack of really cool embroidered fabrics.  She let me pick out the ones I liked the most, and sewed me a couple of skirts.  My mom has always been resourceful and ingenious — I think in her past life she must have been an engineer.  She took my favorite J.Crew #2 Pencil skirt, turned it inside out to show the seams, and used it to trace out a pattern.  After a number to try ons, lots of taking in and letting out seams, I left Washington DC with 2 perfectly fitting skirts in gorgeous fabrics.  I wore one of them yesterday to school and it is now my most conformable skirt, ever.  My mom is amazing.

By the way, my Honors Bio kids have been killing it lately learning about cellular transport.  I’ve never had such an easy time teaching this subject.  They’re making connections left and right, applying osmosis to their own lives and asking fantastic questions.  Lessons that took 3 days to get through in the past took me ONE day with this bunch.  Amazeballs.  Revamped curriculum and honors level kids FTW!

MadeByMommy MadeByMommy2 MadeByMommy3

necklaces: etsy (gift from b) similar and f21 – tank: alternative apparel – cardigan: j.crew – skirt: sewed by my mom – boots: steve madden – fitness tracker: fitbit

Erika S. fun stuffs

things

A few things that have been tickling my fancy lately:

Kiehl’s essential oils I found on sale at the Nordstrom Rack in Manhattan (I think they’re being discontinued, thus the sale).  They’re small, strong and I love the scents mixed together, grapefruit and gardenia.  I once had a saleslady tell me that gardenia was the scent of old ladies there therefore it was not for me.  My mom loves gardenia.  I’ve been keeping these at my desk so that I can roll them on right after my morning coffee.  Right away they smell like you’ve been wearing them all day…like your skin smells like grapefruit and gardenia naturally.

Small dish I got from West Elm on crazy cheap sale.  I got B a “B” one also.  I use mine as a coaster most of the time, but sometimes to hold my little pocket nick knacks, like my Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm.  I’m not a mama, but I like the Mama Bee body oil as a moisturizer.  It smells lightly of honey and lemon.  I just have to remember that I’m not allowed to touch B’s iPad with my “grubby hands” after I use it.

New artwork I got from this Etsy shop called Retrowhale.  I love it, it makes me smile on the inside every time and sometimes on the outside also when I look at it.  I’m totally rooting for Team Darwin, all the time.  It reminds me of Eric Chase Anderson‘s illustrations (the shop also has a lot of work straight from the Wes Anderson movies) .  I want to get this one and this one also.

Cheap $2.50 tanks from F21.  I like the fall colors, the slight 70’s V-cut at the bodice and the soft smooth fabric.  Not to mention the price.  Ridiculously cheap, because they’re probably made in a sweatshop with little tiny children hands.  Joke, but kinda/probably true.  I’m a bad person.

Anchors B and I brought from SF, and a winter creature also from SF.  We don’t really have a decorating theme or anything yet.  Just a bunch of white Ikea furniture.