Welcome to SewMona.
This is my Florida life. I never dreamed I would live in Florida where it’s warm 45+ weeks of the year! Then, my parents retired and spent a winter in their 5th wheel in Southwest Florida. They loved it so much they decided to move there. Of course then we started visiting and fell in love with being so close to the beach. One thing lead to another and we moved down in 2013. We try to spend as much time as possible outside – at the beach, hiking, kayaking, geocaching, camping. One of the big changes was that camping in Florida is very different! In Pennsylvania, we could find a weekend site in the summer without too much trouble. In Florida, the best time to camp is in the winter and everyone wants to camp plus the snowbirds are here. It makes finding a site at the last minute difficult. I’ve gotten good at stalking the reservation sites and snagging a site when someone cancels.
I enjoy DIY home projects. I love painting rooms and refinishing furniture. I’ve probably watched way too much HGTV and regularly check out zillow. I would love to buy a fixer upper and, well, fix it up.
I also enjoy crafts and sewing. My mom sewed and she taught me when I was a kid. I’m pretty good if I do say so myself. I made my prom dress in 12th grade and four years later, my wedding dress. Few things have stumped me – the main one being a man’s suit. I tried making one for hubby once…I never finished it. I think it sat in my half-done pile for almost 5 years. I finally threw it away and never looked back! My kids have shown an interest in learning to sew too. My daughter made her own Chloe skirt and she made dresses for some little friends from church. To learn more about how to sew check out my How To Sew posts. I use a lot of PDF patterns by Indie designers. I’m always on the lookout for patterns that will work for Florida – shorts, short sleeves, tank tops, dresses.
After we moved to FL, we had to change our wardrobes! One thing I discovered was that I could alter some of our clothes to make them suitable for Florida’s climate. Then I discovered that I could do a lot more – changing patterns (sometimes called “hacks”), recycling/upcycling clothes that don’t fit to something new. It’s a great way to expand your kids wardrobe (or yours) without spending a lot!
Living in Florida means not wanting to turn the oven on in the summer! We keep our eyes out for easy to fix meals that don’t require the oven and are enjoyable during the hazy, hot, and humid summer days.
Have a look around, if you need me, I’ll be on the lanai enjoying a cup of coffee (it’s never too hot for coffee!).
Enjoy,
Mona