Nothing says I love you...

Nothing says I love you like finely tailored clothing.

Diane's boyfriend Grant is a swell guy. Very nice personality, very friendly, down to earth, bright, etc. He really makes Diane happy...which makes us happy. And he gets along really well with our family. So we figured this was the year to give him a present which tells him just how much the rest of the family really likes him.

But what to give? The time and purpose called for finely tailored clothing. But with the economy in bad shape, it also seemed like bad timing. Until we decided to make him something...but out of materials readily available and affordable.

But what to make? We wanted to make him something stylish, avant-garde without being garish...using bleeding edge materials and construction/tailoring techniques..and something to keep him warm during the winter. Then it hit us one day while shopping at Hy-Vee...

We found these "pizza" bags at Hy-Vee...
...which would keep items warm/cold for up to 3 hours...
...we figured we could use these as the material..

Then we searched high and low for a stylish design pattern...
...note Sammy's trains rumbling by...

We chose a colored-matching adhesive material...
...we opted for the "Professional" quality as the label states...

We cut-apart the 6 bags we purchased...

Then we removed the clear covering...
...(which had the labeling printed on it)...

A single bag handled one section of the jacket...

Cutting out the pattern...

Michele sewed portions together...
...then on the inside, we sealed the seams with Duck tape...
...to prevent cold wind from getting through...

The almost finished product...
...we later added a silver bow to the same spot to identify our craftsmanship...
...similar to the Ralph Lauren galloping pony...

When presenting the gift...
...Paul explained all the fine tailoring and detailing which went into this work...
...note our signature silver bow...

Grant modeling his high fashion winter coat...
...it's ultra light, thin, windproof, waterproof...
...and according to the product labeling, recycle-able...

What would Ralp Lauren® do? (WWRLD)

We had dinner again at Sammy's Aunt Annie's last week. This time, we got to see Anne, Diane, Brian, Grant, Rose, Chris, and Mike. The day before we went, Macy's was having a sale on children's clothing. We saw a RL shirt which was a "twin" of one Michele had recently bought. Since Mike works in a high level position for the RL organization, we couldn't resist buying it for Sammy...and so Michele and Sammy showed up as "Bobbsey Twins."

The food was tasty, although yet another scandal erupted when we realized that Diane's hand-made lasagna used pre-made tomato sauce!

So at the end of the evening, Michele and Paul were asking themselves the following questions about Ralph Lauren...would he:

• sneak in pre-made tomato sauce into an otherwise hand-made lasagna?
• line his refrigerator and with what?
• let a stuffed dinosaur drown his sorrows away in alcohol?
  

The tasty but troublesome lasagna made by Diane...

RL Bobbsey Twins...

Rose holds Sammy...and any work secrets she knows about Diane...

Mike and Chris are always fun to visit with...

Sammy's cousin Brian smiles (finally!) for the camera...

Aun Annie's fridge....shelves lined with paper towels!

Sammy's dinosaur drowns his sorrows...
...when he realizes there is no RL line for stuffed dinosaurs.

Mr. Fancy Pants!

One of the kind and very stylish gifts Sammy received was a Ralph Lauren outfit from Chris and Mike. Sammy has received quite a few compliments for his snazzy outfit. His mother also looks good in her RL clothes. And Paul?...well he wears jeans he buys from where else...Wal-Mart. We now know where Sammy gets his good looks from!

We took these pics during our Spring 2006 vacation .

Thanks Mike & Chris!!!!!

Such good looks...such good clothes...no wonder the smile.

Sammy has his dancing shoes on too.

Sammy gestures as he convincingly states his views.