lazy, girly saturday afternoon

so after my shift at bodywise was over, i had about an hour to kill before meeting up with my friend r for lunch. and i knew exactly what i wanted to do - i'd read in pasadena magazine about common thread studio, a new-ish sewing shop in south pasadena that looked pretty cool. when i plugged it into my google maps, i found that i was only a few miles away, so i hopped in the car and headed over.

it was on a super cute stretch of mission boulevard, right by a stop on the metro gold line. there were all sorts of fun looking shops nearby - a yoga studio, hair salon, baby gear store, cupcake shop. but i only had time for one stop, so i breezed in the door here:

i was greeted by this adorable dog, who sniffed at me for a second or two before going back to guarding the door.

the shop owner looked up from what she was doing to smile, welcome me in, and invite me to tour the tiny but uber cute studio.

the sewing area, where lessons are offered and sewing parties can be had. yes, sewing parties! i know several friends who might be interested in such a thing.

silkscreening lessons are available too, although i can't imagine having this giant contraption in the house.

and rather than using a boring old sink and faucet for washing the silkscreening components, this vintage tub was installed. i dig it.

of course, supplies can be bought here.

there's even a little walled-in area for kids to play while their moms happily stitch away. you can't see it too clearly, but there are clear walls and a door. i think this little nook would benefit greatly from a little tv/dvd player setup myself, but it's not my shop. either way, it's really cute. love those little orange and white plastic chairs!

there are handmade clothes and kids' books and this display of so-freaking-adorable crib shoes. i'd have loved to have some of these for the bean, but we all know she's far too old for them now.

there's a small selection of modern, colorful fabric.

i couldn't leave without taking a picture of this sweet face. she reminded me a lot of lilcee's teddy and yoshi.

i'd picked up a bobbin saver thingy that solved a minor storage issue, and these fabric remnants - they're only 1/4 of a yard each, but i'll figure out something fun to do with them. the prints were so happy, spring-y and bright that i couldn't resist. i was only bummed that there wasn't any more of it. maybe i'll make this skirt for the bean.

as i walked back to the car, i saw this sign and wondered when it would open. i'd heard of cereal "cafes" before, and although it's actually kind of a stupid ass idea, you know i'd go at least once.

i headed over to la grande orange cafe, where i was meeting r. it had been a really long time since i'd seen her - life has been pretty shitty for her lately, and i was so happy that she'd reached out and invited me to meet up for lunch.

we went big and ordered prime rib hash (me) and eggs benedict (her). brunch is so yummy.

as we munched and chatted, catching up on each other's lives and just enjoying being together, the time absolutely flew by. and three hours later, after a lot of laughs and maybe just a few tears, we finally got up, grabbed a chocolate chip cookie on our way out, and parted ways. it'd been wonderful to see her, and i'm so glad that things are slowly getting back to normal for her.

i capped off my day with a nice, two-hour nap snuggled with the bean. she and the hub had been to the los angeles zoo with the ILs, and she was as tuckered out as i was.

every weekend should be this lovely!