We celebrated Maddie’s fifteenth birthday recently with a simple day. She wanted to go shopping, something we don’t do very often, so Maddie and Zach and I drove to the nearest mall (45 minutes away). I don’t remember the last time I spent a day with just the two of them. While Zach was a little out of his element at 1). a mall and 2). stores with clothes and 3). stores with clothes for girls, he managed to find alternative stores (browsing games and books and sunglasses) while Maddie and I shopped all sorts of sparkly, scented and girly things. A quick lunch stop was next for us, and then home for pie! Yes, pie. This girl has never liked cake. A few gifts to unwrap with each of the little girls making something to give (a handmade doll with a broom from Emma and a collection of watercolors from Sophie).
As part of her birthday gifts I sewed a bag for Maddie with some fabric I found at a little roadside shop in Boothbay. Her bag is stitched with heavy duty home dec fabric on the outside and a soft chambray on the inside. I only put three pockets inside the bag, measuring to be certain that her Kindle will fit in one of them. I used the same tutorial as I did for Emma’s bag, and it stitched up a little easier the second time. She declares it to be very soft and easy to carry, with room for all her treasures and art supplies. As often as this busy girl is out and about, she needed something to keep her things at the ready, and we’ve already been rewarded with beautiful drawings she’s created as she goes from place to place.