Acts of Kindness

Well, December is here,

and with that, I’ve begun my month of Kindness project

as a part of my 30 before 30 bucket list.

I finally finished making my list of the 30 things I will do this month

in order to spread a little extra kindness to strangers

and the ones I love most.

I have to say, this took some research.

I wanted to keep this project low cost,

and I wanted each item to be easily attainable.

Now, I’d love to shell out a ton of money to brighten a stranger’s day

but that would leave me broke and not feeling so kind and cheery.

So though some of these tasks seem minor,

to me, they are enough to push me out of my daily routine

and do something nice and/or thoughtful for someone else.

Day 1: Send a note in the mail to a friend, just because.

Easy enough, right?  Shockingly, the hardest part was deciding who to send it to.

I have so many great friends that it was hard to choose just one person.

I have to admit, it felt a little funny writing a note to a friend

when it wasn’t her birthday, and she wasn’t getting married

or having a child.

But honestly, who doesn’t enjoy getting mail?

Like, actual mail, not bills, credit card offers or a catalog?

Here’s hoping this brightens my friend’s day.

Day 2: Surprise grandma with a visit, just to say hello.

My abuela has been on vacation in Miami since the beginning of November,

and it’s been strange not having her around.

She got back last night, and I knew a call to welcome her home

would have been sufficient.

But I knew an unexpected visit would have been that much better.

So this morning, I drove to her house and didn’t call her until I was around the corner.

Greeted by tons of hugs and kisses and squeals of delight,

I knew this was much better.

I showed her the skirt I sewed all by myself weeks earlier

for her to admire and praise with her ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs.’

She shared all the adventures of her travels

and I ‘oohed’ and ‘aahhed’ in jealousy.

Before we knew it, an hour had passed.

A phone call probably would have been quicker,

and probably, still, would have made her day.

But this meant more.

I could have gone to the hot yoga class I wanted to attend,

and called her on the way,

but this was more important.

Welcome home, Abuela!  You were missed!

Sewing Adventures

 

This break has been a little on the boring side.

Granted, I am mighty thankful for the week off from school

but my school break are usually filled with all kinds of plans.

This one, for some reason, has fallen a little short.

Today I forced myself to make things a little more exciting

by taking a trip to the fabric store and sewing at Abuela’s.

I figured a little sewing inspiration might do the trick

of bringing this break a little sparkle of fun.

                   Kwik Sew Pattern 3513

I seriously have had this style of skirt in mind for weeks now

but I’ve left the fabric store empty handed a few times now.

Whether it be that I couldn’t find a pattern idea

or a knit fabric that I liked,

I wasn’t having too much success with this vision.

Today must have been my lucky day though,

because I found both my dream pattern and a cute fabric to go with.

Another sewing project all by myself goes in the books.

Abuela will be proud.

(She’s been out of town for a month now,

luckily I have the keys to the house just to use the sewing machine!)

Sorry I’m not including directions today,

but here’s a little slideshow of my sewing adventure.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.