Liqui-Sew to the rescue

I written before about the wonders of Liqui-Sew, the fabric bonding agent I've used to hem curtains, make rod pockets on raw fabric to create curtains, and attach beaded trim to a lampshade.  The manufacturer even contacted me after reading my first post about using Liqui-Sew.

I recently pulled out this miracle product to hem a pair of jeans and a pair of pants I wear to work.  Despite being marked with the correct length, both were so long that they dragged the ground when I walked.  So I took a few minutes to cut an inch off both pairs and then turn them under another inch and hemmed them with Liqui-Sew.  It was easy and fast.

Now the jeans and the pants are the correct length and I didn't have to sew or iron them.  I just bonded them with Liqui-Sew and its permanent.  Washer, dryer, and iron-safe!

If you would like to try Liqui-Sew, you can order it here.

Short subjects

Okay, this is really getting weird. Last night after returning from my work out, showering, and eating dinner, Spouse & I sat down to watch "The Queen" and I began to feel my lip swelling up again. Sure enough, before the DVD was over I had another fat lip. Fortunately this time it wasn't huge, so I didn't look like Angelina Jolie or Amanda Lapore. I looked a little more like Goldie Hawn in "The First Wives Club". I had not taken any acetaminophen for a week, so now I know that wasn't the cause of the allergic reaction. But that makes it even more weird, because everything I had to eat Mon night just before my lip swelled up, was identical to what I ate on Sun night, when I had no reaction at all. We had Sunday's left overs for dinner on Mon! I also did a mental check to see if I'd changed any soap/shampoo/moisturizer products, but found no changes. I'm stumped as to what is causing these allergic reactions.

Monica came through! True to her promise, she sent me more Liqui-Sew and 2 travel 'pens' of Sew on the Go. If I carried a purse I'd stick one of those travel 'pens' in there for quick mends. Maybe I'll give one to a friend who carries a purse.

As I was putting away groceries the other day I suggested to Spouse that we think of some way to use the giant bag of mini-marshmallows (purchased just before Thanksgiving) that was taking up so much room in the cupboard. Spouse suggested making Rice Crispies treats. I reminded him that we didn't have any Rice Crispies cereal, to which he suggested substituting Golden Grahams and Blueberry Muffin cereal for the Rice Crispies. I told Spouse I thought the treats would be too sweet, since Rice Crispies are not pre-sweetened but both cereals we had are pre-sweetened. He decided to try it anyway. The Golden Grahams/Blueberry Muffin treats came out so incredibly sweet, just as I predicted, they almost made my teeth hurt. But we ate them anyway.

American Idol starts tonight. Although I'm a fan of the show, I'm not sure I'll watch all of it tonight, as they always start the series off by showing the auditions, which I'm not that interested in watching. I know for a fact that the American Idol contestants have to go through 5-6 levels of auditioning before getting to sing for Randy, Paula, and Simon. All of the "rejects" should be weeded out by then, but the fact that they show unqualified singers during these audition shows tells me they push them through to Randy, Paula, and Simon in order to have semi-amusing content for these audition shows. I'll probably start watching in earnest once they start with the Hollywood auditions.


Crush du Jour: Steve Callahan

Monica

So I called Monica at Liqui-Sew back today. She seemed genuinely happy to hear from me, and complimented me on my blog.

Then we started talking about Liqui-Sew. I told her about the 3 projects I'd used it for (making curtains from raw fabric, hemming existing curtains, and attaching beaded trim to a lamp shade), and again she sounded genuinely excited that the product was useful to me in multiple ways. She also said she loved the fact that I was a man, since the majority of their customers are "little old ladies".

Then she explained a little about the science behind the product. Liqui-Sew is absorbed into the fibers of the fabric and becomes permanently bonded. You can put the fabric in your washer and dryer and the bonding will not come out. Pretty cool!

Then she offered to send me some more Liqui-Sew and some other new products for free! Being the seasoned bargain hunter that I am, I of course accepted and gave her my address. When the box arrives next week I'm hoping to find Liqui-Cook, Liqui-Clean, and Liqui-Laundry. (Thanks, Shirley!)

Monica was super-nice so I invited her to return to my blog. She said she would. You can expect an update on this for sure. Maybe I'll shorten the sleeves of a shirt or hem a pair of jeans!

Crush du Jour: Rupert Everett

Liqui-Sew

I was amused by the following email I received today:
"Dear Mark,
I am the manufacturer of Liqui-Sew and just came across your blog while I was surfing the internet. You are terrific!! Thank you very much for mentioning our product. I would love to send you some more Liqui-Sew free of charge, along with a few more items that we make. Please give me a call any time at the office, XXX-XXX-XXXX (9A-5P CST), and I can get your info to send the package out.
Best wishes for a great new year!
Kind regards,
Monica"
Spouse & I saw Liqui-Sew on the Home Shopping Network and thought it would be quite handy. I can think of at least 3 projects that were completely quickly without the need for a sewing machine or a needle and thread, and must have blogged about them. So now Monica wants to send me some more for free, along with some other new products. And to top it off, Monica thinks I'm terrific! Is this my day or what?
I gave Monica a call but found that she'd already left the office for the day, so I said I'd give her a call back tomorrow. Oh yeah. I'm definitely not above calling Monica back and getting some free stuff. That Liqui-Sew worked great! However, the battery-operated scissors that came with fizzled out after 5 minutes, but who cares - they were "free".

Now my mind is racing with questions about what other free products Monica might send me!

Crush du Jour: Mario Lopez

Winding Up The Week

I forgot to mention that last weekend was our 'entertaining at home' weekend... Our friends Robert & Liz came over Saturday night. Joe made homemade pizzas! But Robert & Liz got stuck in a terrible traffic jam and arrived an hour late. Unfortunately the pizzas weren't as good because they were baked, then came up to room temperature while we waited for Robert & Liz to arrive, then got warmed up again. But we had a great time visiting with them. We ate in the kitchen.

On Sunday our friends Ron & James came over. We had pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, peas, corn casserole, and biscuits. Unknown to us, pork tenderloin is one of their favorite meals, so it was a big hit. James brought a delicious apple pie, which we had a la mode. We ate in the kitchen and had a wonderful time catching up with these friends we don't see as often as we'd like. We also talked about plans for a trip to the shore with them and our friends Mike & Clark in late April or early May. (We've done this before and have always had a blast.)

My American Idol prediction was correct, and with hesitation we said "Buh-bye" to Mikalah. (Am I the only one who thinks she looks like Fran Drescher from 'The Nanny'?) I'm looking forward to this week's competition. I think all of the remaining singers are good, so it is going to be more difficult to predict each week's parting contestant.

We went to the shore this weekend. My company gave me (Good) Friday off, and Joe had some comp time, so we left at 11:30 Friday morning. After a late lunch at our favorite lunch spot Cafe Sole, we went to the grocery store and the video store, then headed back to the house.

We put up curtains in two of the bedrooms, Joe took a nap while I watched a little TV, and then we decided to drive down to Ocean City to have dinner at 'The Wharf', an all-you-can-eat buffet. The food is pretty good and the price is pretty reasonable. The place is decorated with all kinds of nautical stuff, from compasses to fishing nets, to oars, to barometers, to laterns - you name it. It's kind of kitchy, which of course appeals to us. Then we headed back to the house and watched one of our movies "The Motorcycle Diaries". Two pals from Argentina set off on a 5,000 mile tour of their continent on an old motorcycle. Rather than just being a scenic trip, it becomes a life-altering experience for both of them. I thought it was pretty good. Joe loved it. I thought it was too long. It seemed like it could have ended a few times. But perhaps I felt that way because the movie is in Spanish and we had to read the English subtitles.

Saturday we had an appointment to show the Li'l Retro Getaway (trailer) so I experimented with a product called Liqui-Sew to hem the curtains we needed to hang again after washing. It worked like a charm and before you knew it, we were over at the LRG, curtains hung, just waiting for the potential buyer to arrive. The sun had finally come out (even if only for half an hour) and it almost felt balmy, so we sat on the deck until they arrived. They loved the retro feel of the place, and one of them is a teacher who has lots of time off in the summer, so it seemed like a good fit. Tonight they called and said they are interested in buying, and will call us tomorrow to make an offer!

After showing the LRG we made a stop at a store where we picked up some inexpensive fabric and some beading. Revved up by my Liqui-Sew experience earlier in the day, I decided to make a pair of curtains. I couldn't believe how fast and easy it was! In the time it took for Joe to have a nap, I measured, cut, and Liqui-Sewed a pair of curtains AND began attaching the beading onto an old lamp shade. I put up the new curtains and a pair of store bought panels, for a total of 4 pairs of curtains in the house and 1 pair at the trailer. Mission: Accomplished!

After dinner at home we watched another movie "Connie & Carla", written by and starring Nia Vardalos from 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. This was really cute! It's about these 2 girls who do a cabaret-style show in an airport lounge who accidentally witness a murder. In order to not be caught by the murderer, they decided to leave town and go somewhere unexpected... somewhere there is no cabaret-style shows where the killer would find them... like LA. They pretend to be drag queens at a West Hollywood bar and eventually talk the owner into making it a dinner theatre where they perform regularly. There were some really funny moments, and a LOT of Broadway musical renditions. Then we watched "Boat Trip" starring Cuba Gooding Jr. I had never even HEARD of this movie before, but Joe said he'd seen a trailer for it. It turned out to be cute too, but a bit sillier than "Connie & Carla". Cuba Gooding Jr and his buddy get 'accidentally' booked on a gay cruise instead of a straight singles cruise. You can imagine the characters they encounter and the antics that ensue.

This morning we had breakfast, cleaned up the house, and headed back home. We both showered and shaved, and got ready for Easter with the family. Joe's brother Louis and his wife Karen host Easter at their house every year. (Joe & I have Thanksgiving, and his sister Mary has Christmas.) We had a delicious honey baked ham, potato salad, macaroni salad, beans, sweet potato shuffle, green bean casserole, rolls, and deviled eggs. And candy. What would Easter be without candy? We all had a ball. It was really fun to have the family together, catch up on the kids' activities, and enjoy the afternoon.

So ends my week.