Jennifer Andrew

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instaweekend: so much coffee

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This week was an A+ according to my instagram. I enjoyed a lot of coffee this week, which is normal, but… I crossed the line. My friends and I had breakfast and coffee at Bloom Coffee & Tea on Sunday. Their breakfast is so good it’s unreal. Then we went to Broadacre Coffee in Sac, where we bought more coffee. As we were about to leave, a barista brought us a Chemex of even more coffee and we couldn’t refuse it because it was so delicious. In the morning, my roommate and I had the worst headaches. So we went out to coffee after class to fix that withdrawal symptom. Coffee once a day is fine. Three times a day is not. 
French toast (covered in yummy goodness) and oatmeal
I wore my bee necklace a lot this week! 
Began my sewing e-course this week :)
And I made a chunky circle scarf. The first one I’m really pleased with. 
On Tuesday, my World Religions class participated in a Seder feast. It was great!
I would like to have another one in a few months. 
Tuesday was also my dad’s birthday, so my sisters and I went out to dinner with him
Look at Danali’s face! She never keeps her eyes open. They’re my favorite little people :) 
On Wednesday, my vintage fabric scraps came in the mail! I purchased them from Rubisco on Etsy
I decorated a sketch book for my other e-course! Fun, fun
Today, my friend Kaitlin and I went antiquing and I walked away with a suitcase for $24
Finally! I love that thing.  
I’m giving up wheat and sugar for…a week. Maybe longer. 

What an eventful week! You know what wasn’t included in any of those photos? Homework. I’d better go and get to that…

Happy Friday :) I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

blog makeover & new shop additions

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Hi there! As I mentioned earlier, I have not been able to decide anything about my blog layout. Until today. I am pretty happy with it :) Lots of the vintage fabrics came from the appropriately named blog, Retro Age Vintage Fabrics. This three-column layout is different and new, but I’ll give it a try.


This week, I added a bunch of fabric flowers to my shop! They are brooches/barrettes.







fabric, blogging, & the future

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This week, I have been inspired beyond belief. I talked to my dad a few nights ago about what I want to do after college. It’s totally contradictory to my degree, though I love psychology and would love to pursue my masters eventually. Right now though, handmade is where I’m at. And I feel that it is where I’ve been for a long time. So why not turn it into something bigger? My dream jobs are all blurred into a messy (but pretty) picture that I can hardly put into words, but I understand it well. I’m thinking that besides surviving my last semester, these next few months will also have a lot to do with scribbling ideas down in notebooks and breaking the animosity between my sewing machine and myself.

Right now I’m taking two e-courses offered by A Beautiful Mess, one of my favorite blogs in the entire world. Elsie and her team are so inspiring and learning about their journey in the handmade industry makes me feel much more at peace with my goals and my hopes for the future. The courses I am taking are Blog Love and DIY Dress Up. 



Don’t they look fun? I’m 5% of the way in and I can already tell that these purchases were worth it.

As far as blogging goes, I have resolved to be more intentional. It’s hard! Sometimes words just don’t come naturally especially when I am caught up with school work or other stressors. But blogging is something I love and I would like to be more consistent. And then sewing. Oh goodness. It’s a love/hate relationship, really, but right now I’m 100% in love with the idea of sewing well. During a few thrifting adventure this week, I realized that I’m head over heels for vintage patterns and prints, but I’m too much of a minimalist to wear most vintage items. What if I could create clothes that I would actually wear, using the same fabrics? Such a lightbulb moment.

I’m also obsessed with this idea. I don’t have a wedding to plan, but someday I will, and there will be fabric. Lots of it :)

source
Speaking of consistency in blogging, today should be Color Wheel Wednesday. Whoops. Next time. 

shopping: woes & triumphs

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Shopping is one of my favorite things to do. I love it so much. I feel like that isn’t something I talk about too often because I am usually in denial, but anyone who knows me knows that I practice this hobby frequently (and might have a bit of a problem…?) I like to shop for clothes, for antiques, for crafts, and for school supplies. Oh, I love the smell of school supplies. Sifting through flowy dresses, admiring patterns and colors, suggesting the ugliest items to my best friend…it is one of my absolute favorite things to do. In high school, I loved to thrift in Berkeley, in those stores where the mannequins have the most creepy, realistic faces and everything smells completely nasty. But then, after high school, I left those vintage shops behind for more simple and consistent fashion – Gap, Anthro, Urban. Yay sale racks! 

Of all the stores in the world, Anthropologie has always been my favorite. Its cultural, whimsical atmosphere makes me want to pitch a tent and live right in the middle of it. Three months ago, I called working at Anthro my dream job. Total, complete dream job. You know, until I could climb the crafty ladder to Once Wed or Design Sponge (ambitiiioonnnss).

One day, I was sorting clothes at Anthro and I realized how completely not crazy I am about retail. Why is everything so expensive? Why do people treat clothes like precious children? Why is it cool to over accessorize and wear a hundred prints at once? What am I doing here? Ramble, ramble, ramble. 

A few weeks after I stopped working at Anthro, I was talking to a friend about my love for shopping. It’s a hobby, like anything else. But it’s an expensive hobby.

Now for my main point. I’m finishing college and going out into the real world. I would like to not spend money at crazy stores like Anthro and Gap, but rather, return to my first love of thrifting!  

(I am also super inspired by a couple of e-courses I’m taking, which I will blog about soon.)

Yesterday, I found this vintage skirt at Freestyle, and I love it so much! It was $10, but really $0 because I sold a bunch of my stuff to the store. 


Then just for the heck of it, I went to the Goodwill. And I scored big time. 


I love this plate! This was so cheap, I couldn’t believe it. I think it will make one of my walls very happy. 


So much fabric! I’m a happy girl. 

I want to make a habit of getting rid of old things continuously and making room for new, super cheap stuff. 

I’ll post exciting thrifty finds, as they come :)

PS. my blog is looking very cutesy right now! Perhaps in honor of February? Expect the layout to change all the time because I just can’t settle.

crochet: french press cozy

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Happy Sunday! Today I want to share the french press cozy I crocheted last week for a friend. I am so happy about this, because I had to make it a ton of times and take it out in order for it to finally fit the french press. Someday (soon!), I will make more. For now, I am making some comfy cowls. 
I’m usually not a fan of tweed yarn, but this color is pretty cozy and neutral. 

Mmm, can’t wait to use my own new french press soon and make it a nice sweater. :) 

collection: vintage (style) buttons

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I love buttons. Too much.

A few years, I was convicted after I organized my buttons by color in little stackable mugs. I didn’t do much with any of them, except for occasionally glue one onto a notecard or envelope. So I gave them all away (to my mother, which means I still have easy access to them…).

Now, I actually use buttons for crochet items and other fun crafts. I am in love with plastic, vintage style buttons and I have been on the (slowest) search for my own. My first success came at the Antique Trove, where a nice lady named Carol helped me find these:

Then! I happened to find some cute ones today. In between classes, I snuck off to the Green Tangerine, a store filled with scrapbooking and craft supplies.

Not exactly vintage, but still a beautiful find! 
Now, I’m off to make more stuff for the shop :) 
I am hoping for this to be one of my biggest focuses this year, as I have resolved to stay more active in crafting. I also want to share more original craft-related posts.
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