I’m finally done!! Last Tuesday was my last day of class for my Master in Health Administration (MHA)! Now only a trip to Washington DC to present my capstone stands between me and graduation. It feels so strange to be done. On one hand, the last two years seem to have flown by – being pregnant and having a baby will do that to time. On the other hand, the start of my program feels like it was forever ago. It feels like such a great accomplishment to have completed this rigorous program while working full time and being a full time mom. I am most grateful for the connections, both faculty and students alike, that I have made during the course of this program. It’s been a wonderful experience to be able to directly apply the knowledge I’ve gained to my current role at work. The completion of my program represents the first of 4 major milestones for our family this year – I will graduate with my MHA, hubby will graduate from nursing school, little man will graduate from preschool and start kindergarten, and little princess will start preschool. It’s a big year in our home! Can’t wait to add more degrees to our nerd wall 🙂

I haven’t been able to share until now, but I’m super excited to show off what I’ve been working on! I spent my first week off testing the new Foras pattern from Sofilantjes Patterns. This sweet little drop waist dress offers two skirt and three sleeve options to create amazing looks for all seasons. The no trim pattern is incredibly quick to put together and the superb instructions make it a very simple sew. And the best part…it has pockets!!

I think one of my favorite parts is that it’s not only versatile in terms of options, but also in the types of fabrics that can be used to give the dress a slightly different feel and look. All three of the versions I made had the circle skirt and 3/4 length sleeves.

For my first dress, I chose this adorable rainbow butterfly French Terry (FT) from 42 Custom Fabric for my little princess. For the color block panels and pockets, I chose the coordinating butterfly wings also in FT from 42 Custom Fabric. The medium weight fabric gave the Foras skirt great form and bounce. This dress made little princess feel super pretty and she discovered the twirl!

For the second dress, I chose a super preppy blue plaid cotton/lycra (CL) from 42 Custom Fabric with a simple and clean accent using white CL from Purple Seamstress Fabric. The medium weight fabric gave the dress a bit more structure, which came in handy for little hands digging in the pockets (which I may or may not have filled with Cheerios as a yummy bribe for pictures). This dress was a gift for my little niece.

For the final version, I chose this adorable elephant double brushed polyester (DBP) from So Sew English. The lightness of the DBP gaves the dress a more flowy look. Great for running in the sun! I had a pretty funny (at least to me) epiphany as I was getting little princess ready for the photo shoot when I thought it would be really nice if I had some matching leggings. In fact, I have been making a fair number of dresses for my little lady despite the weather being slightly chilly, so it made sense that I would need to go to the store and buy her some leggings to help keep her legs warm. I was thinking of when I would have time to do that as we were having the entire family over for dinner and we still had a lot to do. That’s when it dawned on me! I have some amazing fabric at home and lots of it! In less time than it would take to schlep the entire crew to the mall, I could just whip up a pair of leggings for her! It’s funny how my first instinct was to buy. So I used some of the coordinating navy DBP from So Sew English that I had used for the pockets and made her a quick pair of Halla Leggings, which are free using a code from their Facebook group. Perfect fit!!

My kids are lucky to have a cousin live so close! The girls have almost developed a twin-like relationship since they are only 7 weeks apart. I love watching them play together!