a million tiny little things

Raglan Tee

2012-01-31T22:16:00.000-06:00

For my 30th birthday I invited some friends over for a little day of craftiness. It was absolutely perfect. One friend got out her colored pencils, another knitted, another cut out some sewing projects and I sewed.

Crafting among friends is one of my favorite things. It was a perfect way to celebrate my birthday!

That day I worked on this raglan tee. What a simple and fun project! I got my inspiration here.

I used an old graphic tee from Jesse and drafted my pattern using these instructions..

The sleeves turned out a little tight above the elbows. I'm not sure how that happened, but I'll need to tweak my pattern the next time around.

It's hard to see the pattern in the pictures above. Here's what it really looks like.

Don't mind the yogurt stains. I was too lazy to wash it and take the pictures on another day.

Urban Hoodie

2012-01-15T19:20:00.005-06:00

Whose kid is that? He's adorable. Oh, that's right. He's mine and I tell him everyday that I'm a lucky mama.

It's mostly true until he throws a fit in public, at church, while I'm holding a fresh cup of coffee and can't wrap my arms around him to force him in the right direction. In those moments I just tell him very quietly and sternly that he'd "better get up right now and listen to his mama" and try my hardest not to make a really big scene, although that's impossible. Nothing like the pastor's wife and the pastor's kid getting into a scuffle in the lobby.

I'm still lucky.
So, I've had this little pattern floating around in my brain for while. It's the urban hoodie pattern and come to find out . . . it's only $6! The pattern comes in sizes 6 mos to 5T. I think it would look great in all of those sizes. In fact, I can find this little number useful in every season. So $6 is a great deal for one size and it's like I robbed the place to get 6 sizes in one pattern. You should go buy it now, you really should.

I put this picture in here just because I'm in love with it. You really can't see the sweatshirt at all.

I used the leftover red knit from his Christmas pajamas last year. And, I lined it with some great khaki stripe that I found on sale at Joann's awhile back.

I used the 2T pattern and on his small 20 month old body (26% for weight/40ish% for height) it fits him well. It's a little long in both the body and sleeves, but it should fit well for a good 6-9 months I would think. It probably will get us through summer.

What a great, casual style. I'll definitely be making more!

P.S. Jude recognized himself and said, "Jude!" while I was creating this post! It's the first time he's used his name without a little prodding from us. How fun!

A Christmas Knock-off

2012-01-09T16:30:00.005-06:00

This Christmas I had the pleasure of sending gifts to my twin sister, Em, and her husband. She's fun to have for Christmas because I pretty much buy whatever I would love and it's well received. Course, the same could be said about any of my sisters, really.

Around Thanksgiving she was here and we were "pinning" together. We ran across an image of this. So cute, right?!

Even though I would love to support the American handmade artist I couldn't swing $100+ for a Christmas gift. So, I thought, "I'll make that". (Why do we sewers do this to ourselves? It's like a competition to see how crazy we can make ourselves.)

I drew up a pattern and ended up making four versions. The third was right and that's the one I sent to her. The hood and collar don't look exactly like the original I was going for and I couldn't figure out how to get them "wider" and still keep it all one piece. Still don't know the answer, but I like the pattern I came up with.

The one I'm wearing is version 4 - I made it after Christmas and am keeping it. Merry Christmas to me. It's a perfect winter piece - comfy for lounging or casual for work.

By the way, you would die if you knew how many pictures I took of myself in the mirror. More often than not it was a picture of the door knob with me smiling, out-of-focus in the background. Good times.

Harry, Ron & Hermione

2011-12-25T13:00:00.000-06:00

Here's a little gift my friend commissioned me to make for her son. He's 8 and he's obsessed with Harry Potter. She saw this picture while browsing Pinterest and wondered if I could recreate them.

My answer was an immediate "YES!" I'm a Harry Potter fan too, so these were a no-brainer. I think I smiled happily the whole time I was making them.

I pieced together fabric to make the scarves. I used felt for their hair. And, I freezer painted the glasses, scar and freckles.

Each of them have black buttons for eyes. They also have zippers in the bottom and are stuffed with a pillow insert.

Didn't they turn out so fun? I kinda wish it was socially acceptable for me to have these pillows on my own bed. Merry Christmas, friends! Enjoy!

Bedroom Completed

2011-12-23T16:00:00.000-06:00

I brought out the duvet cover and down comforter last month, which finally brought my bedding set all together!

I'm not sure if you remember, but I sewed my duvet cover last April. Not too much later we moved and I sewed my summer bedding & pillows in September. Finally, in November I was able to bring the whole set together for the first time.

I even bought flannel snowflake sheets (although mine have two-toned gray snowflakes) for a super steal at Target last year. They're totally cute with the set.

Right before Thanksgiving my mother-in-law helped me paint our bedroom. I chose "knitting needles" from Sherwin Williams.

I was really worried about a monotone bedroom - as you can see I have zero color in the room. But, turns out, I really love it. I may add a pillow or two throughout the year, but surprisingly I think that's all it needs.

Lastly, here's a close-up of my dresser just because. Actually, I had to brag on my dad who made that beautiful jewelry chest for me. He made three others for my sisters and sister-in-law too for Christmas last year. Incredible, right? I have amazingly creative parents. But, funny that they wouldn't admit it themselves, I'm sure.

Christmas Pajamas

2011-12-18T23:38:00.003-06:00

Here we are in year number two of our Christmas pajamas tradition.

One of my favorite traditions from our childhood was our Christmas pajamas. Mom made each of us jammies every year to unwrap and wear on Christmas Eve night. I'm starting the tradition with Jude and having fun with it. (see last year's)

This year I picked out this adorable flannel with whales. It's SO cute. The traditional look of button-down flannel pajamas wins me over every time so I couldn't help myself. I even added some piping to the cuffs just because.

My friend Angela and I made these together. She was making a pair for her niece. Let's just say the pattern was a bit more complicated than I anticipated and we were up until the wee hours of the morning finishing these. I'm not sure if I'll ever pick up the pattern again, but thankfully the pajamas turned out.

Look! He got poked by the tree. Too funny.

We went upstairs where there was better light and he started playing a game with me where he would give me a big grin . . .

look away . . .
then give me a big old sweet smile again. Funny boy.

The jammies are wrapped up now and under the tree waiting for Christmas Eve. Only 5 more sleeps.

A New Coat for Jude

2011-12-16T12:46:00.005-06:00

"A New Coat for Jude" makes me think of this book from my childhood. It sticks out so prominently in my mind yet I don't think we even owned it. Is it familiar to anyone else?

Anyway, over Thanksgiving my Mom showed up with this new coat and hat for Jude!

She prepared me ahead of time that she had "out done herself", which is saying a lot since my Mom is the most talented sewer I know. But, she wasn't kidding! This coat is quite honestly the cutest thing I've laid eyes on - minus, of course, my fabulous husband and darling son. Did I need the disclaimer?

You might have to click on the pictures to see them a little larger. The details are absolutely stunning!

Somebody in blogland recently said that the difference between girls and boys clothes is in the details. Boys clothes tend to be plain in fabric choice, but make up for it with interesting additions like snaps, extra pockets, etc. It's so true! See these shorts, for example.

The bands on the back, shoulders and sleeves totally take make this coat sing!

And, here's the kicker . . . do you see that lining? Oh my. It makes it cozy warm for our cold winters and adds such a touch of dressiness without losing the masculinity.

I love everything about it, Mom! What an honor to have these beautiful pieces to pass down to my kids. I'm overwhelmed by your talent! Thank you!

Where Have I Been?

2011-12-07T21:13:00.007-06:00

Wow. You can tell when my life is going 100 mph because I suddenly vacate this little bloggy space and give no inkling as to if and when I will return. Well, I'm back. And, watch out, because winter is upon us in Iowa and with extended time inside I might be back with force! I've got a lot of catching up to do!

Over the Thanksgiving week we were lucky to host my sister Emily and her husband Cory AND my parents! It was really really lovely, life-giving and, I'll admit, somewhat exhausting. But, I loved it! It was especially fun to show off our new house and have our guests stay right here with us.

In preparation for their arrival my awesome mother-in-law helped me paint my guest room, bathroom and master bedroom. I'll be updating you with pictures of those rooms. They're finally at that "I think this is pretty well done for now" stage, so I'm ready to show off some pictures. In fact, I don't think I've shown any pictures of the new house here yet, so I'll do what I can to show you some snippets here and there.

For now, though, here's a little bit of our Thanksgiving . . .

Em & Cory with Jude.
When we get together we can't help but match our clothes occasionally. Our husbands shake their heads at us, but we think it's really funny (and awesome).

I made my first turkey! This one I made on Monday for a feast at the local Boys & Girls club. I used this recipe both that day and on Thanksgiving. The turkey for Thanksgiving wasn't nearly as pretty. Luckily I had my dad on hand to carve it. I'm not sure if I could have rescued that one quite as well. Tasted good though.

Table set for 11. Emily and I had fun digging through my storage bins of home decor items to put the whole thing together the day before. It's a mash up of random stuff, but it worked!

Here's the Thanksgiving turkey after it was carved. A "before" picture just wasn't worth it.

After dinner and before dark a few of us went on a walk around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful evening!

Here's my mother-in-law, my mom, Jude and me. What fun to all be together!

And last, but not least, a darling picture of my dad and Jude. Plus, a sneak peek of the hat and coat my mom made! Yep, I said that right. She made it! You'll be amazed. More on that to come after I take a couple more pictures of it.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:14:00.006-05:00

What a great Halloween! I conned Jesse into carving pumpkins with me last night. We made yet another trip to a different farm to pick out pumpkins for both Jesse and Jude. Luckily when you live in Iowa "the farm" is only 10 minutes in one direction or another, so it's easy to fit three different farms into one season.

We got to carving those pumpkins as soon as we got home. Jesse went for a new design this year by carving the outline of a leaf based on the Molson Canadian logo - I have no idea where these ideas come from so don't ask; I'm just grateful that he joins me! I, on the other hand, went for the scaredy cat and the angry jack o lantern.

Here's our doorstep all ready for the big night! Those pumpkins greeted about 350 trick-o-treaters tonight. I've never seen such an array of fairies, princesses, ninjas and spidermen.

Our friends Ang and Craig came over to join in the festivities. Jude helped give out candy, and I loved every minute of it!

Of course my very favorite part, though, is dressing up this little guy. Oh what fun I have. This year we went with Woody from Toy Story. I was so giddy about dressing him up that I started and finished his Halloween costume at least a month ago. I've been looking forward to it ever since!

The leather boots were in a hand-me-down collection we received awhile ago and the hat came with Pete the Horse. So, the outfit was destined from the beginning.

To complete the outfit I purchased a dress shirt from a thrift store and dyed it yellow. Then, I sewed the little vest out of a cow print and made a tiny bandana that could tie underneath his collar. Lastly, I rounded it out with a badge and a pair of jeans.

Just look at that tiny little cowboy! Makes my heart melt.

And, just in case you are starting to think it's all "puppy dogs and ice cream" around here . . . this is how our photo shoot ended. I think he was upset about me trying to get him to wear his hat . . . but, honestly, it's hard to say. Who knows. Really.

Snail Mail

2011-10-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

Last week I was sending some quick notes off to my Mom and sister. Sending a white sterile envelope didn't seem right when it was going off to people I love so much. So, I added a little twist.
Envelopes made from Google Maps! Isn't that fantastic? I got the idea from Pinterest. Are all of you also wasting your evening hours on Pinterest too? It's crazy.

Anyway, I looked up directions from my house to theirs in Google Maps. Then, I zoomed out on the large map and took a screenshot. I pasted it into a Word document and cropped/resized the picture until it was 5 1/4" wide and about 10 1/2" tall. I centered the picture and printed it.

Then, I grabbed this envelope template, printed it, cut it out and laid it over my Google map. Trace, cut, paste and done. Totally easy and adorable.

Speaking of snail mail, I received this lovely gift in the mail from one of my favorite people this week! She knows me so well. In fact, I had just put this book on my "want" list after seeing these pants.

(Did I lose you at that last blog for a little while? I found it recently and I'm so glad I did. She's quite inspirational and her son's name is Jude! How fun is that?)

Anyway, I'm giddy every time I open this book and I can't wait to get the projects started.

Feather Your Nest

2011-10-21T21:50:00.000-05:00

A lovely friend of mine hosts an event called "Feather Your Nest". This is the second time she and her friends have done this. They clear out one of their houses and turn it into a shabby chic boutique filled with handmade goods from the people they know.

I never thought I would sell any of my things because I'm on of those who sews and creates for my own thrills rather than to make any sort of profit. Plus, it's really hard to make a profit on an item that took you 3 hours to make, but is only worth about $15.

But, after Kristin asked me I thought I would jump in. Why not? So, I made up some labels, tags, etc. and went to work. I made fabric flower rings in apple green, teal, gray, coral and steel blue.

I made three pairs of cloth shoes in sizes 9 months, 6 months and newborn.
I made three bibs (my own pattern) - one bike pattern and two silverware bibs. Look familiar?
For the first time, I made three pillows from this inspiration.
I also made three little tutus. Those were fun to make again. Unfortunately my pictures weren't great, so I'm not including them in here.

I sent the stuff off this week. If they sell I'll be donating my profit to our church's campaign - A Better Story. Donating the profit makes the long hours/small pay off worth it in the end. We'll see if it sells!

Enjoying Fall

2011-10-14T21:00:00.001-05:00

We're having incredible Fall weather around here. Last weekend we did our best to soak it up. And, what's a better way to do that than visiting Iowa farms? Nothing. So, we did two in one weekend.

On Saturday we did the pumpkin farm. We had three older children staying with us and this was the perfect destination for entertainment. They had it all - bounce houses, haunted cornfield, hay ride, pumpkins being shot out of a canon, farm animals and of course - a pumpkin patch. We had a great time. In fact, it was so hot and lovely I actually wished I had worn shorts! That never happens in Iowa in October!
The next day we visited a friend's family farm. They were in the middle of harvest and we got to ride in the combine. I'll admit - I totally enjoyed it more than Jude did!
If you look really close Jesse and Jude are in the combine together. Can you see them?
We even took a little drive in an effort to appreciate the Fall foliage. Got a picture of my boys together. Sure do love that combo.
And at the end of all this there is a crafty project to show off. That doesn't surprise you, right?

When the kids and I returned from the pumpkin farm we painted our pumpkins with acrylic paints. I saw this idea of the bats on a white pumpkin in a magazine article my mother-in-law gave to me. Now I can't remember the magazine. Anyway, it was fun to pull out the paints and paintbrushes and create on the fly with the kids.

Won't be long until we're carving pumpkins now. Halloween is on its way!

Two Little Boys

2011-10-07T22:15:00.000-05:00

My older sister's boy, Tommy, just turned one. And, lucky for all of us, she just had another little boy, Matthew David, three days ago. I can barely hold in my excitement! I just wish I could hold that little bundle in my arms.

I sewed up a few little things to send their way this week.

In the package was:
Two new bibs. I found the bike print at Pacific Fabrics while we were in Seattle. It makes me think of David since I think he's been biking a lot recently. Plus, I bought it while we were visiting them so it only makes sense.

On the second one I freezer painted utensils on the front. I don't know. Just seemed like the thing to do.

And, secondly, I included my version of the Big Brother, Little Brother shirts.

For Tommy I painted a bike on the front of a long sleeve shirt from Target.

And, the baby got a tricycle on his. Awww.

I'm pretty proud of myself for that little combo. I'm totally patting myself on the back right now. So cute, right?

Paint Chip Skirt

2011-10-04T22:51:00.005-05:00

My little niece, Jane, just turned two, so, as usual, I whipped up a little gift and sent it late. I'm afraid I'll never get a birthday gift to those kids on time.

I had this skirt in my project list for a couple of years now and finally had a chance to sew it up.

I just love the simple style and color palette - totally up my alley. I used the simple skirt pattern from MADE and changed the measurements a bit to fit a 2T.

Originally it was only the three pink colors, but as I was putting it together it started looking REALLY short and knew my brother (Jane's dad) wouldn't let her wear it. Apparently he's fairly opinionated that her skirts must touch her knees. (I guess I can see where he's coming from.) So, for him I added the white to the top and like how it turned out.

By the way, did you notice my labels? I just printed my little logo onto printable fabric and cut it up into tags. They probably won't last through many washes, but it's a cheap thrill.

I hope you had a fabulous birthday, Jane! We love you very much, little one!

Pintuck Obsession

2011-09-01T20:32:00.005-05:00

After many many hours my bedding is now complete! This is definitely the biggest project I've tackled and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

It started with the completion of the duvet cover back in April. That was the boring part (and I knew it would be). Now I have two pillows and a blanket to spice the whole thing up a bit.

I bought 10 yards of gray linen from Denver Fabrics online for a great price. I really really love it. It's soft and cozy. Plus, I love the way linen wrinkles.

I was going to do box pleats like this for the entire length of the pillows and blanket, but I just couldn't figure out how to iron and sew those lines perfectly straight on such large pieces. I knew if I couldn't do it really well it was going to look really stupid. So, after a few hours of trying to wrack my brain around that I finally landed on pintucking instead. And, I'm so happy that I did. I like it even better.

I don't think I've pintucked anything before. I did 52 lines total. Crazy. It was fun but quickly tedious and exhausting. I'm glad it's done.

Here's to a big project finally getting completed! Feels good.

Toddler Backpack

2011-08-06T13:37:00.006-05:00

This turned out to be one of my favorite projects of all time.

We're on our way to Seattle for vacation soon. I was thinking ahead about preparing to take Jude on a long flight, and it occurred to me that the whole thing would be better if he was carrying his own little backpack. That's logical, right? Okay, it's not. But, it is adorable.

I've been admiring Made By Rae's Toddler Backpack Pattern for awhile now, so I splurged $6 and bought it. The pattern requires home decor weight fabric in coordinating colors. Since I didn't have time to purchase online I went to Hancock Fabrics and this yellow chevron fabric was the only boyish fabric I could find. Well, besides solid colored canvas and camo.

Jesse would have appreciated the camo WAY more than the chevron stripes, but I disagree. And, my opinion counts twice as much as Jesse's does in this scenario.

The pattern was in the medium to difficult sewing range - considering the zipper, piping, etc. But, it was easy to follow and fun to put together.

Jude actually wears the backpack quite well - like it's not even there. It looks so cute and so funny on him. I can barely stand how adorable it is. I think it will keep me smiling in the airport terminals.

Watch out, Seattle, here we come!

"Horsey Horsey On Your Way . . .

2011-08-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

. . . We've been together for many a day. So let your tail go swish and your wheels go round. Giddy up we're homeward bound."

One of the things I was looking forward to the most about moving was a bigger living room space where we could show off our family heirloom rocking horse. His name is "Pete" and Jesse's Great Grandpa made him.

Not too long ago Jesse's Grandma moved from her house into a smaller apartment. At that time she handed down the beloved rocking horse to her oldest grandson (Jesse). I'm just the lucky wife and I'm giddy over it.

Here's Jesse enjoying him when he was about Jude's age.

And here's our little Jude who is finally coordinated to ride the horse without falling off.

Did you notice that we also inherited the adorable cowboy hat? Oh, and did you also notice how much he looks like his dad? Ridiculous, I tell you.

I love it. I hope Pete the Horse can be in our house for as long as he was in Grandma's house. We'll be sure to take good care of him.

The Big Move

2011-07-31T21:54:00.006-05:00

Well, it's official. We're all moved in to the yellow house across town. It's been quite a process. But, we're finished and we're so happy!

Jesse wrote about it a little at his blog. (By the way, if you want updates about Jesse's perspective on what's going on at the Waterloo Campus you can subscribe to that blog.)

In the post he talks about how we feel like we're emerging from the fog. I couldn't agree more! It's amazing how all-consuming the house selling/buying/moving process is. There hasn't been much going on around here except packing, cleaning, unpacking, painting and resting.

The gist of our move is this . . . about a year ago Jesse became the Interim Campus Pastor at Prairie Lakes Church Waterloo. A couple of months later he realized he wanted to stay. So, we've been driving across town to attend the Waterloo campus and Jesse was commuting a little longer to get to the office over the last nine months. Since the beginning we've been ready to become Waterloo residents - we just didn't know which part of town we were supposed to land in.

Through a lot of soul searching and God interventions we decided to move to the urban part of Waterloo, which is quite literally "on the other side of the tracks". I don't think I have all the words to talk in detail about how and why we're here, but to sum it up . . . we are. God has been clear and faithful, and we're doing our best to be obedient. So far, we couldn't be happier.

We live in this beauty. She's obnoxiously yellow with a wishing well in front. She's twice the size of our previous home and less expensive. She's a two story colonial with a finished basement. And, her backyard is fenced in to house our little Scout.

She needs a lot of cosmetic work, but I'm eager to start the projects. I look forward to watching her transform into a real looker!

Bow Tie

2011-06-13T22:05:00.007-05:00

We just returned from a lovely wedding this last weekend. Our friends Lauren and Stephen got married and boy was their wedding just beautiful. What a treat to be a part of it. Honestly.

Jesse, Jude and I got to spend the weekend away in Des Moines. How wonderful it was to be away! We loved it.

Thank you Lauren and family for hosting such a fabulous party! It was so fun to celebrate with all of you!

Lauren is one of Jude's favorites. So, I wanted to make sure he was extra handsome to celebrate with her at her wedding. (Okay, really, any excuse would have worked.)

We started with the bow tie made from Delia Creates Mister Bow Tie tutorial. Then I picked up the dress shirt on sale at Kohls. I thought the color combination was just perfect.

And, finally, I added the newsboy cap. I couldn't help myself.

Just look at that handsome little thing. He got many many compliments.

Birthday Bash!

2011-05-29T14:33:00.019-05:00

Yesterday we celebrated Jude's 1st Birthday! I had so much fun both preparing and partying! We went with the "banner" theme since I'm kind of a sucker for them. Emily helped me pair the red and the aqua/teal together and I love it! We designed the invitations by sending them back and forth over email. We decided to put aqua/white stripes on the back of the card which was so cute. But, when I printed them I was in such a frazzled state of mind that I forgot to print the design on the back. Stupid.

A couple of weeks ago I made the fabric banner to hang in my dining room. Looks adorable. I would probably keep it up there for a good month if I didn't have to figure out a way to rationalize it to Jesse.

We set up two tables - this one inside and another outside - since our house is too small to fit all of Jude's admirers. Most of the party happened outside. I decorated the other table too, but didn't get a picture of it in the midst of the celebratory chaos.

I saw this tutorial for party hats and just had to do it. I only made enough for Jude, myself and the other kids who were attending. They're somewhat time consuming but totally worth it in my opinion. Although, let's be honest, my opinion is pretty skewed.

I printed stripes onto cardstock and used that for my hats. The pom-poms are made from red tissue paper. I used elastic thread rather than ribbon for the tie.

Rather than fussing over a large cake (which usually don't turn out for me) I settled for cupcakes instead. I made little flags for them and they fit my theme nicely. Easy. I used a frosting tip to decorate the tops. I much preferred to frost them that way and I think it looks better in the end. Who knew I would like using these frosting tip thingys so much?

In my head I thought it would be fun to break out the bean bag toss game and maybe put together a championship bracket. I never got around to the bracket (maybe I'll use a similar idea for something else in the future), but I did make some bean bags to match the party theme, and they did get used a little.

I used this idea for the numbers. I thought the idea was intriguing and maybe we'll get some use out of them in the future.

I love this little picture of the birthday boy. Such a happy little thing.

He ate his cupcake in good form. Used his classic pincer grasp for the first 3/4 then had a couple of good fist-full shove-ins near the end. Atta kid.

He received many toys and I believe our toy options have now doubled. My favorite was the red wagon he got from his grandparents and aunts & uncles. We dumped out all the parts and began assembling it on the spot. We had four former/current John Deere employees in attendance, so you might as well take advantage of the engineering expertise, right? It almost got the best of them, but they did it!

Course, as we were all centered in on the wagon Jude crawled out of the circle to find a plate that one of his cousins left behind. He went straight for the cupcake and had round two! Funny boy! Got himself all frosted up and required a change.

After he was all cleaned up again we took him for a spin in the new wheels.

I think he likes it!

Brides To Be

2011-05-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

At the end of April I helped host a bridal shower for two lovely ladies. I got to mentor one of the girls over the last year and a half. She is exceptional. She helped to watch Jude in his first six months when I went back to work, and did it for free! What a gift. Seriously.

I couldn't be happier for both of them. They are walking into beautiful and lasting marriages that are worth celebrating! I love that.

My friend, Angela, and I made gifts for the brides-to-be. It was a kitchen shower, so aprons were a no-brainer.

Ang found the tutorial online and I can't seem to find it again. We altered the size of it quite a bit, but what we loved about it were the box pleats at the bottom and the extra long tie that puts the bow in front.

Cute, right? We paired the aprons with some recipes and a few utensils that they registered for.

They loved them! And, they look great on them too!

One Year Old

2011-05-20T15:54:00.000-05:00

Two days ago our little munchkin turned one. We celebrated at home just the three of us. Next weekend we'll have the big party with our family and friends.

I got balloons for him earlier in the day. I love how fascinating those are for children! He stared at them and played with them all the way home. We opened cards during dinner and then we brought out the cake.

I love that face for some reason. He is so entranced by that candle.

Then, we started to sing and he threw a little mini fit. This picture makes me laugh a lot. Isn't it just classic?

And, just as quickly as the fit came on it was over. Appeased by frosting, I guess. I made a carrot cake that I got from the wholesome foods website. It was so stinkin healthy that it just wasn't very good. Jude ate it fine, but Jesse and I could only do a bite or two. Tasted like a bran muffin with frosting on it. Sometimes I try too hard and this was a perfect example. At least we got a good laugh out of it!

This is the face of the Jude that we know and love. It's like he always has a thousand things he would communicate if only he could talk! He's been that way from the beginning.

And, just as we predicted, he meticulously picked at his cake - using the pincer grasp for every single bite. He does this with all of his meals. He eats a lot, but very very slowly.

Last but not least we opened the gift that Nana and Papa sent.

He was immediately engaged in it. Isn't that train so cute?

All in all, we had a very happy birthday. Preparations have started for next weekend, and I'm looking forward to showing you what I've been up to. Happy Birthday to Jude!

Kitchen Floor!

2011-05-09T21:31:00.008-05:00

As you know, we are selling our house! We're hoping to make the big move across town this summer. We have our eye on a big yellow house and we're crossing our fingers that it will all work out. Only time will tell.

My wonderful Mom came out to visit in the middle of April. It was such a lovely trip. I was very happy to have her here. As usual, though, we put her to work. How come we can't seem to avoid doing that? Is it because there is not much else to do around here except read magazines and go for a walk? (Which sounds lovely actually)

Thankfully she is always up for a project - no matter how big or small. So, we tackled the kitchen floor.

This is what it has looked like for the last five years.

Ick. No one should have a white kitchen floor. Especially if it's the main entrance to the house and you own a dog. This floor looked dirty all the time. Eventually, I just had to stop caring or I would have made myself crazy obsessing over it.

So, we decided on the sticky, vinyl flooring system to solve our problem. And, after about 10 hours of hard work it now looks like this.

Isn't that fabulous? The project came together quite well. Miraculously it was one of those DIY projects that didn't get the best of us. The most time consuming part was cutting the edges of the exterior pieces. Thankfully we had knee pads and my Mom's company. Both were much needed and appreciated.

The house is officially on the market. And, now we just need a buyer.

Newsboy Hat

2011-04-30T16:44:00.013-05:00

I love Easter. It's one of my favorite holidays - a week to remember the gift of grace our God has given us and to celebrate the hope that springs from that gift. It's fabulous.

I love to dress up on Easter and this year I got to dress up my little one too, and boy did I have fun. I was giddy about it at least three weeks before.

Isn't he precious?
The sweater vest was a garage sale score. I love it when that happens. The pants I made out of an old pair of corduroys that Jesse wore a hole through. And, the hat just seemed like the perfect addition.

I made it from this pattern.

Yes, this photo is from our actual egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's. Jude clearly didn't get the point but loved it nonetheless.

I loved the hat so much that I actually made two. One is corduroy/blue. The other is khaki/orange.

We have several weddings to attend this summer so I'm looking forward to the frequent use of each. I'll be sure to post pictures of my dapper boy. I won't be able to help myself, I'm afraid.

Feeding the Baby

2011-04-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

A few months ago when Jude began eating solid foods I started making my own baby food at home. I was inspired originally when my sister-in-law gave me the book, Super Baby Food. I hadn't thought much about it until then, but once I started reading I loved the idea of the variety of baby food options and that making baby food at home is relatively inexpensive.

At six months we started Jude with oatmeal, apples and pears, which he still loves very much. Little by little we kept adding new things. Now there is such a list that it would bore you to death to read it all. I've been surprised with how easy it is to prepare and store these foods at home.

The other day we made a large batches of food that included pears, peaches, white potatoes, sweet potatoes and pineapple. The pineapple is pictured here. I frequently use the Super Baby Food book to look up how I should prepare the foods. The author provides really great detail on just about any food you can think of.

I should say, however, that I don't follow all of the instructions in the book. In fact there is so much detail and instruction that it's completely overwhelming. I don't even recommend the book as a whole at all.

A simpler (and free) guide I've found is www.wholesomebabyfood.com. They have a wonderful variety of lists appropriate for different ages and instructions on preparing foods. It's fabulous.

Once I steamed the pineapple I put it in my Cuisinart until chunky (since we're pretty well passed the smooth puree stage).

Then, I place it in ice cube trays to freeze. Once frozen I store it in freezer bags. And, when it comes to meal time, I warm up the right amount for each meal. Easy peasy.

One cube equals one ounce, and approximately three cubes equals one jar of baby food.

And, for those of you who need an updated picture of my little punkin, here he is. 10 months old now.

I captured that little grin on the same day I captured this little moment. It was a good day.

New Bedding In Progress

2011-04-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

Over the last month I've been working on a big project for the bedroom. This project has been in my head for awhile and is finally coming into fruition - slowly but surely. Nothing like putting your house on the market that will catapult random projects like this to the top of the list. Why is that? No idea.

Our old duvet cover/bedding set was a nice classic khaki. It was one of those that we met in the middle on when we got married. I was quite surprised how opinionated my husband was when we were picking out things like bedding. It seemed like he had several stipulations - the main one being it couldn't be too feminine, which really meant any pattern whatsoever. So, we ended up with khaki.

The khaki was nice and for the most part I liked it. Unfortunately, however, the khaki didn't wear well. And, in the last year it started looking pretty shabby - and not in the "chic" sort of way.

I looked and looked and looked for new fabric - trying desperately to fit within the strict bedding stipulations. I finally picked up two pairs of gray curtains (a linen hopsack) at Ikea last year with the intention of sewing a new cover. Yes, it took me this long to actually sew something together.

I made up a pattern.

And, then crossed my fingers and started cutting and sewing.

For each "strip" across the width I topstitched with double stitching. Gives it a nice detail up close.

The end is closed with black buttons. Simple.

The whole plan is to add a king size blanket to drape over the bottom half of the bed during the winter and to use as a comforter during the summer. I'll also add king size pillows and small decorative pillows. The fabric is coming in this week. I wonder how long it will take me. We'll see.

So, out of 4 projects total for the bed. One is complete. Check.

Basement Face Lift

2011-04-02T20:39:00.007-05:00

This is totally uninteresting to everyone but me. But, I will proceed anyway. Suckas. It's your own fault you're here reading this anyway.

Last weekend we did a little basement makeover.

You see, we're going to put the house on the market in May (no worries . . . we're not leaving the area), but the move is leading us to complete a few projects here around the house. One of them being a basement face lift.

Here's how it started . . .

Disclaimer: this is not Jude's normal play space. He was only in the basement with us while we were scraping the floor. He has a room of his own, remember?

Anyway, back to the project at hand. Yes, it's your typical unfinished basement. Not glamorous, but functional. Unfortunately, ours also had paint peeling off the floor. Nice. I should admit that there are other things we were addressing too, but none quite as significant as the floor.

So, last Friday, we brought the little boy with us to the basement and we scraped, scraped and scraped some more. Then, we swept, mopped and mopped some more. And, finally, after A LOT of prep work, we got to paint.

The end result looks like this . . .

Still not the most beautiful place in the house, but a big step up!

The epoxy paint kit came with these little paint chips that we spread around on the wet paint. It was like sprinkling seasoning all over the floor. My mother-in-law and I had a grand ol' time with this. Couldn't have had more fun, honestly.

Also, did you notice my new ironing board cover? I saw these polka dots at Hancock Fabrics recently and I had to have them. I knew immediately that the fabric was just right for an ironing board. Not sure why, but it sure was speaking to me. I'm glad I answered.

I got this project done during Jude's afternoon nap. It felt good for a project to come together that simply - I need more like that.

Bag of Blocks

2011-03-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Jude received some alphabet blocks for Christmas and I've been meaning to make a drawstring bag for them since then. I finally got around to it last week. In fact, I was giving a friend of mine sewing lessons and I decided this would be her first project. So, we sewed identical bags together.

I'm finding that I love to sew with my friends by my side. It might be one of my favorite ways to spend time. In the last couple of years I've now taught four of my friends how to sew. How great is that?

I added some letters to the front of mine and I left the edges raw because I'm lazy.

Does the blue, black, white combo make anyone else think of cookie monster? It's bothering me a little.

Dirty Thirty

2011-03-13T20:13:00.007-05:00

Last week Jesse turned the big 3 - 0!

Every year I make his favorite - homemade chocolate cake with homemade white frosting. It's a recipe from his mom or grandma - I can't remember where it originated exactly. It's not my favorite, but he loves it and that's all that matters. I made it into a 9" round double layer and took it to his mom's where we celebrated.

This cake really gave me a run for my money. It's only by the power of a praying wife that it came together in the end - seriously. Both cakes stuck to the bottom of their pans and broke in two. I had to pry them out and glue them back together. I'm tellin' ya . . . it didn't look good.

You can tell it turned out a bit lopsided, but all in all, not so bad especially considering the mess that was on my counter.

This is the very first time that I've decorated a cake - you know, like with a real pastry bag, decorating tips and such. And, surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as it seemed. I might just do it again sometime.

It was a really fun celebration that involved not only that beautiful lopsided cake, but also a surprise iPad 2. Very fun.

Wall of Fame

2011-01-31T12:00:00.000-06:00

I have a wall in my house with several family pictures. It's my way of keeping those who we love the most close to us. (And, let's be honest, my way of decorating cheaply.) Every January I pick my favorite photos from the year before and I switch out the pictures. I guess I don't want them to ever feel stale and it's also a fun way to reminisce on the previous year.

My goal is to include at least one picture of every extended family member. I never have space to fit ALL of my favorite photos. But, here are some of my favs from 2010. They all just got hung in my living room yesterday.

They look great! What a beautiful family.

I've also been busy this month putting together a photo book in Snapfish of our photos from 2010. I've been thinking for a long time how I can print our photos so that we can not only have a digital memory of our past, but also a tangible, physical memory for us. I loved flipping through our family photo albums (each of us kids had one of our own) when I was a kid and I guess I want to create the same type of experience for my family too.

I created the book off and on throughout the month and just ordered it today - taking advantage of their 25% off + free shipping on photo books offer! I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail! Our first family photo album. (Insert "awww" here.)

Birthday in the Mail

2011-01-30T12:00:00.000-06:00

I sent Emily her birthday gift this year . . . late, as usual. I swear at some point I'll get better at that.

What I like about her birthday (and Marie too) is that I can send something very random and it's always received well. This year was no exception.

I was browsing on Etsy for something handmade, quirky and fun. I ran across this little necklace and knew she had to have it. We were both in Seattle for Christmas this year I was feeling a bit nostalgic for the homeland and I knew she would be too.

It's made by a designer that I can no longer find there. That's weird. Anyway, it's simple and really fun.

The inspiration for the ring came when I ran across this blog (via delia creates) and saw that she had turned a mini fabric rose into a ring. Are you kidding? So cute and so Emily. I don't think I can pull this off, but she totally can.

Gifts at Christmastime

2011-01-29T11:48:00.012-06:00

Yep, that's right. Christmas gifts. I've been putzin' around here in Iowa this January. I have been working on a few things here and there, but clearly none of them are blog related.

So, now that I'm getting around to it I figure I should post about Christmas before I move onto anything else. And, nope, I'm not ashamed. So, here goes:

We got to go to Seattle this year to visit my family for Christmas. I loved it. A whole ten days to hang out with my family. It was really good.

We rotate who we buy gifts for at Christmas and this year we had my sister, Marie, and her family. So, of course, I can't help but sew a little something. I lost a couple of pictures (really not sure how that happened), but I can at least just tell you what I made.

photo courtesy of soozs.blogspot.com

Marie got a beach tote - made from this tutorial. For some reason my logical sense didn't coincide with the author's and I had a VERY hard time with this seemingly simple tutorial, but it turned out pretty cute. Seriously, it should have taken about 60 minutes and ended up taking at least 3 hours. Marie's was a blue/brown print with a white linen/canvas on the inside.

Her beautiful new son, Tommy, got a couple of things. First, were a couple of bibs. His were orange polka dot (love that fabric) and another with numbers all over. Really cute, but lost the picture.

He also got this ball. I got my inspiration from house on hill road, and she got the pattern here. This was fun and easy.

Jude, in turn, received a beautiful knitted hat made by his Aunt Marie. It's gorgeous and fleece-lined. I hate to say it, but I think we got the better end of the deal.

Isn't that amazing? You can click on the picture to look at it up close. I'm telling you - wow.

And, last but not least, we gave Tommy a childrens' bible. I must recommend it to you all just in case you're in the market to purchase one for your own child or a child you love. It's seriously the best and everyone should know about it! We received it from some dear friends when Jude was born and every time I read it to him it makes me cry. The words and the pictures capture God's story so well. I'm not kidding. It's fabulous.

Here's an excerpt from the intro:

"No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne - everything - to rescue the one he loves. It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is - it's true.

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling on Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them . . . "

I'm telling you . . . it's beautiful. You might even want it for yourself. Because everyone should know about a Jesus who loves them and wants to rescue them. Don't you think? I do.

All Those Christmas Cards

2010-12-29T12:00:00.000-06:00

I LOVE traditional Christmas cards. Isn't it so fun to receive so many beautiful cards during the month of December? I very much anticipate the mail's arrival in December just to see who I'm going to hear from. There's just something special about receiving updates in an old-fashioned way from those you love.

In the back of my mind I've hoped to find a way to display all of the cards, but I hadn't settled on anything until this year.

I ran across this project on a blog I've really been enjoying recently, delia creates. She got the idea for the wreath here. It's such a simple idea - only requiring a piece of cardboard, x-acto knife, wrapping paper, tape, clothes pins, hot glue and ribbon.

I whipped it together one evening in about an hour while enjoying a movie. It's so easy and so cute.

Jammies for Jude

2010-12-28T23:19:00.008-06:00

Each Christmas one of my favorite family traditions was receiving a new pair of jammies to wear the night of Christmas Eve. My mom is quite the seamstress and she would sew all of us a new pair every year. Often times we got to go to the fabric store with her and pick out our fabric and design. We waited with anticipation to see what she created.

I've decided to carry on the tradition at our little house. So, this year, for his first Christmas, Jude received his first pair of homemade jammies.

I made a onesie and a pair of pants, which I felt was the easiest way to avoid a one-piece that either zips or snaps all the way down the front. Too complicated.

I scored at Walmart recently and bought a couple of bolts of fabric for only $5/bolt. Did anyone else score in this deal too? So exciting. Anyway, the red knit is kind of vintage-y, soft and perfect for a long john look. It was a challenge to sew with, but as I struggled with it I kept telling myself it was "good practice". Which, it was. I ended up making two onesies and two pairs of pants until I could get the right fit all the way around.
I used my onesie pattern that I drafted. I also used this pants pattern, which I've used several times before. To add to the long johns look I added cuffs to both the sleeves and legs. Again, these additions were a bit of a challenge, but worth it in the end.

When it was completed I drew the little trees and freezer painted those to the front. I have to say my little guy sports the jammies well, although you might not be able to trust me on that. In this case I'm not only a biased mother but also the biased sewer. The main thing I guess is that I really enjoyed starting this tradition with him. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Christmas for Three

2010-11-28T12:00:00.003-06:00

Yes, it's true. We've gone from Halloween to Christmas at this space in a matter of 4 days! Time flies, I'm telling you.

Well, Christmas is going to be a little different around here this year because we've added this little cutie to the mix. I'm looking forward to it!

By the way, did you notice he's wearing the hat my cousin knitted for him? Isn't it the cutest? I can't get enough of it. Or him, let's be honest.

My first order of business (before the real Holiday craziness begins) was to make sure Jude had his own Christmas stocking. And, while I was at it I made four! Oh my. No, I'm not exactly trying to estimate the number of our future children. I just thought that as long as I still had some of the fabric on hand I better make a whole lot so I "should" not have to make another set until I'm totally and completely sick of this one. Right? Right.

I made two each of these style (yes, they're a little different . . . look closely):
I couldn't bring myself to photograph all four. It made me appear crazy even though in my head I can justify that I'm not. Is this how I live my life? Yes, I'm afraid so. Hiding the craziness.

I made these two red stockings for Jesse and me back in 2007. I used the McCall's 3777 pattern. If you link to the pattern you'll notice that it looks a little dorky because of the fabric they used (I don't know who decides those things!), but I liked the shape of the stockings. So, I went with it. I tweaked with the top a bit until I liked it.

That year I also made a tree skirt. I was hoping they would all correlate without being too matchy. I think I did it. I'm happy with the way they turned out and I love pulling them out of the Christmas boxes each year. That's a good sign.

And, here are our stockings all lined up and ready. One for each us plus Scout.

Three cheers for holiday sewing! I love it.

Birthday Girls

2010-11-27T10:08:00.011-06:00

My little nieces, Reagan & Peyton, celebrated their birthdays last week. Reagan turned 4 and Peyton turned 3. God bless their mother who had them just 13 months apart! She combines their birthdays every year just for sake of sanity and we encourage her to keep all the sanity she can.
I really debated on what to get the girls this year. I didn't think I was up for making anything, but once the ideas came I couldn't help myself. Reagan is our little girly-girl and Peyton pretty much wants whatever Reagan does. So, I started with some purses. I purchased the seersucker brown polka dot fabric at Hancocks recently. I think it was Hancocks or maybe it was Hobby Lobby. Anyway, I couldn't pass it up. The possibilities with it seemed endless. Turns out it was perfect for this project. Plus, I have some left over that I can use for a summer shirt. I think that will be so cute!

I ended up making the Buttercup Bag from Made by Rae. It's a fabulous pattern and a quick one to put together. I learned my lesson from last time and put some interfacing in it. Bright pink satin fabric seemed perfect for the liner. Because, really, what little girl doesn't love pink satin?

The purses had to look identical otherwise the girls would fight over them. So, I found some plastic letters I had on hand and sewed their initials on the inside. I figured it would be a nice little surprise for the girls especially because Reagan is just learning how to spell her name. Plus, my sister-in-law now has a way of telling them apart when a fight breaks out.

I stashed two headbands inside the purses for each girl.

The first was a pink headband with a simple pink bow hot glued to it.

The second were little roses that turned out exactly like I was hoping they would. I got my inspiration here - and she got her inspiration here.

I tried it out first with the original pattern and I ended up with this rose:

It's really pretty, but it was way too big for a little girl. So, I used only half of the pattern for the girls' headbands. Worked perfectly. But, of course, I still had this big beautiful flower on hand and nothing to do with it. At this blog (the original inspiration above) you can see that she added hers to a stocking cap. Fabulous idea.

Unfortunately, this style is beautiful in theory but it can only be pulled off by a small number of the population. Am I right? I tried it on, but it just wasn't me. Course, I knew that before I even put it on.
So, I packaged it up and sent it to my darling cousin, Eden - a beauty who can pull off this sort of thing like it was meant to be.

Halloween on Thanksgiving? Yep.

2010-11-25T09:09:00.014-06:00

Boy oh boy has it been awhile since I've been around here. The last month got away from me somehow and I'm now forced to write about my Halloween weekend on Thanksgiving day.

I think my absence is because writing can feel exhausting for me. When I get tired or overwhelmed I choose not to write. I've been doing a bit of a transition at work and it has required lot of my brain power. I feel like I have had very few brain cells left to commit to anything much less this space. I think things are bit under control now, so here I am and here we go.

Over Halloween my Mom came into town. Oh my, was it fun to have her here! We shopped, laughed, cooked, talked, rested and took a lot of pictures of this little munchkin (how could we not?).

We took a trip to the pumpkin patch. Actually, we took three trips to the pumpkin patch and the first two trips were duds (as I made an embarrassing mistake of getting us all there when the patch was not actually open). However, when we finally made it it was worth it. We got some cute pictures. And, all of us together picked out three pumpkins - one for me, one for Jesse and a baby one for Jude.

After the trip to get our pumpkins I forced Mom to make strawberry jam with me. Strawberries not in season you say? Well, this little momma purchased some strawberries really cheap in May (before Jude was born) - was it part of my nesting? I don't know. But, I cut them all up and froze them knowing that I wouldn't be able to accomplish this task until I had a couple of months of mommyhood under my belt. So, October was time. Time for a bit of jam making.

Mmm. Mmm. Lots of mashed up strawberry goodness. I didn't follow the directions on the package exactly and that seemed to worry my rule-following mother. I must admit, I tend to be a better cook than a baker simply because my recipe-following behavior is a little free-spirited. It makes Jesse laugh when I predictably pull out of the oven a less than perfect batch of cookies. For some reason, though, I can't seem to reign in the free-spirit in the kitchen.

Look at that massive amount of sugar and pectin. Strawberry jam coming right up!

Batch one. Done.
And, here's the whole lot. Toast and jam for breakfast? Yes, please.

The next day we dressed Jude up as a dragon for Halloween. Mom and I decided he was not just any dragon, but "Puff, the magic dragon" no less.

We sang the song "Puff, the magic dragon lives by the sea . . . " all day long. And, although the costume was a bit hot for Jude he played his part well.

Roar!
He was the cutest dragon I ever did see!

A Waterloo Baby!

2010-10-19T19:11:00.006-05:00

Our friends, Kim and Jerry, just had a baby about 10 days ago. They named him Jett. Isn't that such a great name? Kim is the office coordinator at Prairie Lakes Church's Waterloo Campus. And, the Waterloo Campus now has a special place in our hearts because Jesse just became the official Waterloo Campus Pastor! Yay! Very exciting.

Everybody who attends the Waterloo Campus has been given a t-shirt. The address to the blog is on the front and there is a great design on the back - makes for good advertising. And, everyone likes a free t-shirt, right? Of course, the church made sure there is a size for everyone ranging from a child's small to an adult x-large. But, unfortunately, even a range like that still leaves out our littlelest members. So, I took it upon myself to transform a child's small t-shirt into a onesie just for Jett.

I added some built in long sleeves because the weather is just getting colder from here. Ack. It pains me to say that. Plus, it's about a 3 month size, so he won't be wearing it for a couple of months.

And, well, you shouldn't be surprised because I decided he needed some gray pants and some booties to go along with it. Sometimes I just can't help myself but to keep on sewing!

I used the nightgown pattern again and turned it into a onesie - just like I did for Jude. I added snaps to the closure this time instead of velcro. Turned out really cute I think.

Well, I better move on quickly so I don't get into a rut with this whole onesie, gray pant, booty thing. It's going to get embarrassing.

Hoodie for Jude

2010-10-10T12:00:00.001-05:00

Fall seems to have migrated here to the Midwest. I'm embracing it with open arms. I love Fall. Crisp, clear and sunny with a touch of cold. It feels so good after the heat and humidity of summer.

As the weather gets colder though I'm realizing my little boy needed a very basic hoodie. Mostly because the other long sleeve, zip up sort of things he has are designed to go with specific outfits, which means they look a little ragamuffin (a term my Mom used to use when we would attempt to dress ourselves and do a very poor job) over any other outfit they're not designed for. Did that make any sense at all? If it did, great. If not, who cares.

I picked up a pattern at Hancock Fabrics. It's Kwik Sew 3811. Turned out to be a very good pattern. The jacket was a bit complicated - many separate pieces, some facing and a zipper - and there was one step in the directions that had me stumped for a good 45 minutes. But, overall I was very happy with the process and the result!

I used an old sweatshirt that I had thrown into my fabric stash. It provided just barely enough fabric.Which means, I had to get a little creative with it. For example, you'll notice there are seams that go down the length of the sleeve. And, there is an extra seam in the hood. But, these aren't too noticeable in the end. I also lined the jacket with gray. I like the contrast.

Now Jude has a simple hoodie for those crisp, Fall evenings.

Isn't he such a sweet boy? I think so.

Baby Thomas

2010-10-09T13:01:00.003-05:00

I have a sweet new nephew who was born 3 weeks early on September 23! He belongs to my older sister, Marie, and they named him Thomas. It makes my heart melt to think of him. I'm so in love from so far away!

I whipped up a couple of outfits and sent them out in time for a baby shower early in September. It's a good thing I had an excuse to send something early because he sure surprised us by arriving 3 weeks early!

I made him some newborn basics. Mostly because I loved Jude's newborn clothes and I feel like he wore them far longer than I had been told he would. I think Jude wore them for a good 4-5 weeks. Plus, I always like newborn clothes that actually fit.

So . . . Thomas got some newborn clothes. He got some orange booties (similar to a pair I made for Jude. Thomas' are cuter though. Oh, and it was Emily's original idea to put the buttons on the side rather than the top, center. I love that!), two onsies that I freezer painted and a pair of gray sweats. Can't go wrong with gray sweats at any age, right?

The onesies are a sailboat and a baseball player. I don't have a good reason behind the sailboat. It's not too cutesy and it reminds me of Seattle. Those seemed like good enough reasons. The baseball player is specifically for David & Marie. They LOVE baseball! And, I sure love that about them. So, it only seemed fitting.

Here's a picture of the little munchkin as he was leaving the hospital. I believe he had his baseball onesie on. Look at him all scrunched up! Don't you just want to squeeze him, kiss him and tell him how handsome he is? I do. Christmas in Seattle couldn't come soon enough this year.

I Got My Hairs Cut

2010-09-01T13:45:00.005-05:00

Look at me!
I must admit I was beginning to look a little frumpy. That's what happens when I don't have a haircut pre-scheduled in my calendar - I end up waiting until it's a DESPERATE situation before I fix it.

I was in luck when I found out that my new friend, Mandy Sherwood, is a cosmetologist with an expired license. Yes! This means she's freaky good, she comes to my house, we have a lovely girlfriend chat, she understands my need to bottle feed Jude under the cape while she cuts, and she's ridiculously inexpensive. $20, people!

Now, I got just what I wanted. Looking like Emily. Sorry, world, sometimes twins can't help themselves.

Handmade Clothes

2010-08-31T18:56:00.007-05:00

Well, as soon as my creativity came back it looks like it was gone again. I have a feeling this won't be the last time I cycle through this. Oh well. Here's to adjusting to a new baby!

Today we pulled out some new clothes to wear and it looks like the onesie I made back in April is actually fitting! Yay!

Take a look at this cute little thing . . .

When I was putting it on him I realized the neck is a little small, so I may need to be careful of that in the future. The body of the pattern is slim too, but it happens to work out well because my little man is tall and thin. Fits pretty darn well right now - just in time for football season. Go UNI!

And, I can't resist sharing this last picture too. We sure love our little friend, Scout. I get a kick out of watching them take interest in each other.

My Creativity is Back!

2010-07-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

In the last week I started dreaming up things to create again. It felt so good! I had quite the hiatus there, and it feels good to be getting back on the horse again.

I was very motivated when I saw this recent post by Made by Rae (just a really cute blog I found while working at the place that didn't give me enough to do and resulted in me roaming the internet for hours on a daily basis).

For some reason that little bonnet was just calling out to me. Rae didn't post a pattern, but I somehow had enough energy to just give it a whirl without any instructions. (Very brave on my part because such a task usually results in lots of swearing. And, Jesse laughing at me from the living room) But, somehow, it seemed worth it.

I have a beautiful niece who is at the perfect age for a little bonnet. And, her mother is kind enough to receive such random, handmade gifts. Perfect combination for a little project, if you ask me.

Of course, I couldn't just make a bonnet. That would be weird - and maybe a little too House on the Prairie for me. So, I added to it a little summer dress (pattern by Made by Rae) and a pair of bloomers (pattern in Amy Butler's Little Stitches book). Cause you can't have a bonnet without a summer dress and bloomers, right?

Here they are . . .

All of them made out of thrifted sheets.

Like I said, I made up the pattern for the bonnet based on the picture on Rae's blog. My first attempt was very small . . . only big enough for a newborn, and there is only one way for me to know this. Yes, I tried it on my son. Poor child. Don't tell his father.

He did respond perfectly, though, right? Anyway, I scrapped that one and made a larger one.

For the bonnet I had to "gather" fabric for the first time. I can't believe I've never had to do this before. But, I found this video on You Tube, and it was extremely helpful. So, if you're in need of a little lesson, it's a good one.

I made the dress reversible, which is not in the instructions. But, I somehow figured it out in my head and it worked! I was very impressed with myself. Okay, I still am.

My only issues with the reversibility were the side seams on the skirt. I sort of forgot about them until I was finished and turned the dress the other way around. Oops. Thankfully, I had used a french seam, so it didn't make the seam look hideous and it works out just fine. Not ideal, but fine nevertheless.

On the front side I used piping for the first time. I'm not sure why it took me so long to try out this magnificent stuff because it was super easy and it looks so professional when it's done. I loved it!
I have to mention (just in case anyone wants to try this pattern) that Rae's pattern is probably ideal for the newborn size, which it was created for, but I had to rework it a little for the 9 month size. The straps on the bodice were too wide and too short the first time around for the knots on the shoulders to work right. I ended up throwing out my first version and recreating the pattern so that the straps were about 4 inches longer and at least an inch skinnier. Worked MUCH better the second time around.

And, lastly, I made a pair of bloomers. Pretty darn easy pattern. The directions in Amy Butler's book were really straightforward. Nothing too fancy here.

So, all in all, little Jane has a new summer outfit and I learned some fun new things in the sewing department. All around success!

A Memory Book and Two Awkward Transitions

2010-07-22T21:45:00.004-05:00

I took this picture of our little punkin last weekend while we were out of town for a wedding. Ahhh. It was a wonderful weekend! Perfect weekend getaway. It reminded me that we need to do that more often.

Anyway, I took this picture of him wearing this cute onesie. Jesse's cousin gave it to us, and I just love it!

Look closely . . . it's the sheet music to "Hey Jude". Isn't that perfect?

(Awkward Transition #1) So, right before Jude was born Em and I were chatting about Memory Books. I knew I wanted somewhere to document my pregnancy, preparing the nursery, the hospital stay, and Jude's milestones. But, I also hate scrapbooking. I know. It seems a little shocking. But, I hate it for a couple of reasons, actually.

1. It's like a constant guilt trip of trying to keep up. Because the events are always happening, and there is just never enough time to design the pages in a timely manner.
2. It requires a constant flow of creativity. So hard sometimes.
3. It's inevitable that I will hate the way I designed the first half of the book by the time I get to the end of the book.

So, "scrapping" just isn't for me. Let's be honest.

But, Em and I tried to come up with a better solution - a book that wasn't too cheesy and not a scrapbook. What else is there? I was about to bag it, but she convinced me that it's worth the effort in some way, shape or form. So a little while later I thought to peruse Etsy, and I'm so glad I did. Because here's what I found:

A beautifully designed memory book. Not too cutesy, and not overwhelming.

Simple and modern. Yum.
I've been writing a little about my pregnancy, choosing his name, our hospital stay, his dedication, his first month, etc. And, I've been cutting out little thumbnail pictures to adorn the pages. I think the mini pictures make it interesting and fun. It's a little like scrapbooking but without the fuss.

(I took the picture below in terrible lighting tonight to show you some completed pages.)

If you're interested in purchasing one for yourself and your little bundle or if you need one for a gift I found it here. The seller was wonderful to work with. She made me a very happy and satisfied customer!

(Awkward Transition #2) Sorry about another awkward transition. But, I have to at least show this off to Nana and the Aunties. Jude started "playing" today - batting at the toys on the play gym. It's his first sign of any interest in toys. So fun!

(Look at Scout look on from the back of the room. See, Nana, he can behave himself. Occasionally.)

An Overgrown Garden

2010-07-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, I do have my garden this year! Jesse was so kind to get out there in April and get it ready, and we planted the seeds together. Awww.

Then, my Mom so graciously pulled weeds while she was here - just after Jude was born. Somehow we picked the hottest day of the year for her to do it, but she did.

However, even with all the help, the garden still ended up looking like this by the end of June:

What a sad looking place. So, I got out there and put in my time and later that day it looked like this:

And, now, I'm afraid, I've let it grow again and we're probably back to it looking more like the first picture. Ugh. Oh well. We ARE successfully growing beans, squash, zucchini, rhubarb, tomatoes and bell peppers. So, that's a plus. Now, I just need to pick some and actually do something with them.

Somewhere in there I also planted strawberries and pumpkins, but I haven't seen those come up yet. I still have hope for the pumpkins, but not the strawberries. I'm afraid the strawberries probably got lost in the mix some time ago. Maybe I'll try those again next year.

Announcements

2010-07-19T20:00:00.001-05:00

I just recently finished up my baby announcements and got them sent out. I was part way through the process of designing and printing when Mom and Marie came to visit. They helped me tremendously by cutting, folding, stuffing, addressing and stamping. Boy, did I need the help badly!

I totally stole the design from Tiny Prints. They have really cute announcements there, but if you know me you know I'm a cheapskate and wasn't going to pay full price. So, I stole the design and recreated it at home. Ha! Suckas.

Here's the design I stole. It's too bad I'm letting you all in on this because you probably thought I was all creative and such. But, I'm not. I'm a fraud who just had a baby.

My friend, Diana, took the pictures when Jude was 8 days old. The little peanut wouldn't fall asleep, so she had to work hard to capture some good wide-eyed expressions. That can sure be hard with a baby!

I had a ton of blue envelopes leftover from a previous project, so I knew I wanted a design that would fit in those envelopes. And, of course, I wanted the cards to match the envelopes so I scanned one and figured out the exact shade of blue so that I could use that on the cards.

A long time ago I downloaded a free tool called Color Pix, which can be used to determine the exact color of any object on your computer. After finding the color I went to this website to find some colors in the same color palette. From there I settled on the green for an accent color.

I also downloaded a couple of new free fonts from Font Squirrel (which I like to do in order to get away from all the generic Microsoft stuff). The font I used for his name is called "monika" and the font for the text is "cicle".

All in all, I spent about $20 for the envelopes, $25 for the paper, $20 for an ink cartridge and $25 for stamps. For all you English majors, that adds up to less than $100! Had I purchased them online (at their original price) it would have totaled about $300. So, I'd say that's a pretty good savings.

Such Sweet Gifts

2010-07-05T18:16:00.011-05:00

Wow. It's been awhile since I've been in this space. It feels good to be back even if it's just for a second. I feel like I have plenty of things to say, but writing actually takes more energy for me than it may seem. So, it doesn't tend to be the first thing I do when I have a free moment. I like to have some of these things documented though, so here I am.

Life in this household is going well. Jude is a wonderful baby, which makes it easy to enjoy parenthood. He's seven weeks old today! Wow. On one hand that seems like it can't be true because it sounds so old to me! But on the other it doesn't seem like I was in the hospital only seven weeks ago.

He's been growing like crazy these last couple of weeks, and even started smiling. He also practices standing as much as he can. So proud of himself!

Well, because there hasn't been a ton of creativity going on with yours truly I thought I would brag about some of my friends and family who have sent incredibly wonderful handmade gifts.

This first one is from my friend Kristin. I'm pretty sure she didn't make this stamp on her own, and I have no idea where it was made, but isn't that just too cute? The blurred out part is our address and zip code. It's just the right size for a return address label. She also made personalized thank you notes that I forgot to photograph before I used them. They were stinkin' adorable. This would be a cute idea for newlyweds too, don't you think?

Here's a creative gift that came from my brother and sister -in-law, Ben and Ali. It's a personalized story book for Jude. Came from this website, I believe. It's a gorgeous book that I think he's going to love! I do, at least.

This is an "aviator" hat made by my cousin Jennifer. Are you kidding me? I can not wait for it to fit him. I think it will be perfect timing because it should fit just as Fall is rolling around. I'm imagining pairing this with a little sweater and jeans. Ahhh. So fun. Can you believe this is only her third knitting project?!

This is the boppy cover that my sister, Em, made. See, it's similar to the one I made right before Jude was born. She and I are usually on the same wave length - that's what twins do. She tried applique for the first time and she even added a perfectly sewn zipper to the back. It's absolutely adorable.

Em also made these little booties. Ahhh! I can't get enough of them. The stripes and the off-center buttons are killing me. These will be so cute on him . . . hmmm . . . maybe even paired with the aviator hat.

And, lastly, my older sister, Marie, knitted him this beautiful blanket. It's the perfect size! It's only big enough to wrap him in right now, which makes it perfect for cuddling in the swing or in his carseat. Later it will be just the right size for his little toddler arms to carry around and snuggle in.

All of them are wonderful gifts. They will be treasured.

Thank you, lovely friends and family! Your creativity is so inspiring!

Jude Thomas

2010-05-28T21:11:00.008-05:00

He's here! As of today he is 10 days old. He was born on Tuesday, May 18th at 10:44 PM - weighing in at 8 lbs 8 oz and 21 inches long. He's far more beautiful than I was anticipating (so terrible, right?) and he's just has healthy as can be. We feel so blessed.

Our due date was May 10th, but that date came and went with no sign of him arriving anywhere near it. Of course, I was hoping he would hold out because my Mom was not able to come into town until May 16th. And wait he did. We scheduled our induction to begin on Monday night, May 17th. That evening, Jesse, my Mom and I had a nice dinner on the patio at a nearby sports bar and then we were off to the hospital.

By Tuesday morning I was dialated to 1-2 centimeters and we started pitocin at 8 AM. To my relief the doctor gave the go-ahead to start my epidural at the same time. So, in went the epidural and the contractions started and continued without me feeling a blessed thing. Ahhh. Modern science. What a beautiful thing.

By about 1 PM my water had broken on its own and I had dialated to about 5-6 centimeters. Seemed like I was well on my way. At that point we stopped the pitocin thinking that my body would naturally take me the rest of the way. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and we spent the next 4 hours regularly contracting, but not dialating any more.

At 5 PM we started the pitocin again. However, we began to see that as we increased the pitocin Jude's heart rate would drop. It seemed like we couldn't get the pitocin to a high enough level without it affecting Jude. So, after another 5 hours I was still contracting regularly but only dialated 5-6 centimeters.

At 10 PM my doctor came in suggesting that we do a c-section. After 14 hours of labor Jesse and I readily agreed. It was pretty clear that we just needed to get him out soon. So, my epidural was increased and I was given several other medications including some anti-nausea. Even so, as they wheeled me to the operating room I felt pretty crappy. I remember thinking that it was too bad I was going to deliver my baby while feeling so crummy from the inside out.

They moved me to the operating table and prepped me for surgery. Throughout the procedure I was able to be awake - just numbed from the chest down. The anesthesiologist was fantastic. He stayed near me and coached me throughout. He was incredibly informative, encouraging and reassuring.

Jesse sat near me and watched as they pulled him out. I could feel some pressure, some tugging and pulling, but no pain. And, eventually, I heard the beautiful cries of a healthy newborn.

The nurses checked his vitals in the operating room while I was being put back together. Jesse got to join them and enjoy those first few moments with Jude. I was feeling very sleepy and could barely keep my eyes open. I laid there with my eyes closed just listening to his cries and to the activity around me.

Eventually they asked if I wanted to hold him. I desperately wanted to, but I told them "no" in fear that I would just drop him. Thankfully, they didn't listen to me. As they put him in my arms I instantly perked up, and I was able to hold him as they wheeled me back to our room.

We stayed in the hospital until Friday, May 21st. We had fabulous nurses and enjoyed our stay very much. It has now been a week at home and we're getting the hang of it (feed, change, console, sleep, do-over) and enjoying it as much as we possibly can.

Welcome to the world, Jude Thomas. We're excited to be your parents.

**The photos were taken at the hospital by my good friend, Diana. I'm so happy with the way they turned out. Just perfect.**

A Quiet Nursery

2010-05-14T15:45:00.009-05:00

Well, my friends, this is it. Pictures of a completed nursery that is readily waiting to hold and comfort the world's soon-to-be newest little boy (he hasn't arrived yet). The boy's room is a very tiny room in our very tiny house. This space used to be our guest room - just big enough to fit a queen size bed and a floating shelf that acted as a nightstand. Now, it's just barely big enough for a baby.

The above picture is what you see directly to your left as you walk in the room. Notice that the mobile ended up above the chair rather than above the crib. You'll see below that the crib sits adjacent to a slanted ceiling, and once the mobile was completed it hung too close to the edge of the crib. That's not good for either a baby or a dainty little mobile made from sewing thread and paper circles - so it found a new place above the recliner.

The bookshelf behind the chair is one of those 9-cube shelves from Target. I love it. The bins conceal pacifiers, swaddling blankets, receiving blankets, wash cloths and toys. The bottom three shelves (which you can't see) are open and hold several books.

This is what you see as you scan the room from left to right. Notice the snazzy little dresser? The first drawer holds disposable diapers, wipes, socks, shoes and hats. The second and third drawers hold neatly stacked jammies, night gowns and onesies sizes 0-6 months.

The lamp was purchased a LONG time ago at a thrift store in Cedar Rapids called Stuff, Etc. Anyone been there? It's fantastic! Anyway, I love it's classic style and when I picked it up I knew it would be perfect for a nursery someday. Recently it got a makeover in blue. I love it.

I've got two garbage cans next to the dresser - one for cloth diapering and the other for trash/disposable diapers. I decided against a conventional "diaper genie" and just went with two regular garbage cans. My sometimes too simplistic thinking concluded that it's all poop wrapped in plastic sitting in a can, right? So, we'll see if I regret that decision. Anyone have experience or thoughts on this?

The curtains were one of my last projects to complete. I whipped them up two weeks ago using the same fabric that my Mom had used for both the recliner and crib skirt. I had just enough fabric to do these (turned out to be the perfect amount of fabric, Mom! Who knew?). This was my first time using grommets for curtains and I was very surprised at how user-friendly they were. I picked them up at my local Hancock Fabrics, and noticed the directions were quite simple. I did swear just a little while trying to snap them together, but I think they gave me a wee bit more trouble because my fabric was home decor weight and I was trying to snap them between 2 or 3 layers. They would have given me no trouble at all had my fabric been any thinner. Anyway, I highly recommend this technique for curtains. I also like how they subtly complement my "circle" theme.

This is the wall that's on your right side as you enter the room. You've seen these shelves before - except at that time they had cloth diapers stacked on them. Now the diapers are concealed in bins. The far left contains the nighttime diapers, in which all the diapers hold two inserts. The middle has daytime diapers and the third bin holds the wipes, diaper cream and Vaseline. I don't love, love the bins, but they are practical because they can eventually fit onto the bookshelf seen in the first picture, when necessary. So, I decided to stick with them.

Also, notice that in the back there is a "real" door hanging there. Jesse and his dad were able to disassemble the god-awful pocket door that used to hang there and replace it with a beautiful new door in its place. For anyone who lives in an OLD house you understand the risk of taking on such a project. You see, in an old house you just never know what kind of weird stuff you will run into when you begin disassembling and rearranging. I have to say I was a bit nervous as he took this project on only two weeks ago. Thankfully, it all came together beautifully. And, I am one proud wife.

I threw together these little guys last night. I needed something on the right side of the room to pull in the blue and the fishies. So, I used some leftover circles from the mobile project and then just cut out some different sized fishes and glued them together. Good enough, I say.

And, lastly, the widest shot that I could get of the room. I'm standing near the recliner in this picture. As you can see we're just waiting in anticipation.

Nana arrives here on Sunday, so you're welcome to arrive anytime you want to, bud. We can't wait to meet you, hold you, kiss you and love you forever and ever.

Going Home

2010-05-08T16:51:00.006-05:00

I have heard through the grapevine that it's important to have a "going home" outfit for your little munchkin when you leave the hospital. Up until about two weeks ago I had no idea that such a thing was important at all. Apparently, clothing your little baby, placing him in the car seat and taking the official picture is a moment that people look forward to . . . who knew? And, where have I been?

It's a good thing I have friends who would tell much such a thing before I go to the hospital. Had it not been for the good advice I would have had one poor, pitiful, naked baby in a car seat. Well, okay, maybe not naked . . . I do have a brain . . . but he wouldn't have been nearly as cute as he should be AND, God forbid, maybe not as cute as the other babies.

So . . . what's a pregnant lady to do? Well, make a couple of going home outfits, of course.

No, I'm not expecting twins. I just also heard that having a "back up" outfit was a good idea as babies are prone to vomit, poop or pee all over their clothing AND their mothers are prone to cry when said baby ruins his going home outfit. See? I have good friends who tell me such things. I'm very thankful.

The onesies are a newborn size that were handed down to me from my sister-in-law. I used the ever-useful freezer painting technique to paint the icons on there. Get it? A little "house" icon because he's "going home?" Oh, I know. I'm so clever! The whale? Well, it's not nearly as clever, but it went with the striped hat that I already had on hand - also another hand-me-down from my sister-in-law.

I made the little pants too. One is gray, the other is navy blue, although they look black. They're not my best work, but they will do. And, then, I used the pattern of the striped hat to make the gray hat. I don't usually do that kind of thing because I typically screw it up and then swear a lot. But, this time the stars were aligned just right and I figured it out! (patting myself on the back) Now, here's hoping it actually fits him.

Mobile

2010-05-06T17:22:00.008-05:00

Ahh, the mobile. How do you say that word, anyway? It's so awkward. I frequently use the "moble" or "mo-byle" versions rather than the "mo-beel" version. But, all of them are kinda weird, don't you think?

So, this little project has been swimming around in my head for a really long time - pretty much since I got pregnant - or maybe before. I'm not sure what took me so long to actually create it. I think I just kept grabbing all these different things and colors that could be added to it and eventually I wasn't sure if I liked it anymore. I definitely lost the vision somewhere in the mix and it took me a long time to come back around full circle. Aren't some projects funny like that sometimes?

Thankfully, I was saved by my good friend Lauren who talked me through the possibilities and we settled on a very simple version. It was exactly what I needed.

(Do you love how dramatic this story is so far? It's like my whole life is hinging on how well this "moble" turns out. That's funny.)

Anyway, my inspiration came from Pottery Barn Kids' butterfly chandelier.

And, here's how it turned out.

Yep, very simple. I spray painted two embroidery hoops and used them as the anchor rings. Then, I painted three curtain rings that my mom had on hand for the circles at the top. When it came time to put it all together, Lauren cut out the paper circles while I attempted to engineer the embroidery hoops to cooperate with one another and hang parallel. Had I been better at physics in school I may have been more efficient, but it worked out okay. Eventually, I hot glued pennies between the circles so that they would be heavy enough to hang straight, and then tied them all on using sewing thread. Worked beautifully.

Hopefully the little guy finds it somewhat amusing. I suppose even if he doesn't, I do. I like the way it flutters when the fan is turned on in his room. Not that I sit in there and stare at it or anything . . . oh, wait.

Auntie Love

2010-05-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Our little boy is one lucky fellow. He is already so loved by our family and friends that it makes me want to cry just thinking about it. We have received such wonderful gifts, and one of the most special is this little treasure that I've been meaning to show off for sometime now . . .

It's a bear that Aunt Marie knitted for him. Are you kidding me? It's so stinkin' adorable. I only photographed one side of it . . . the other is blue. And, she knitted it with the softest and cuddliest yarn that you ever did see. I love it.

Oh, and in the background you can see a sneak peek of his "going home" outfits. Those will be for another post soon.

A Belly and a Boppy

2010-05-04T22:15:00.007-05:00

We've been just working away here over the last couple of weeks trying to tie up as many loose ends as possible. My sewing machine took over the dining room table again for at least the last month and has been faithfully churning out many projects.

I've got a couple of favorites to share with you from the last week. But, first, I must show you the belly progression from week 37 to 39. I can't really tell much difference, but maybe you can.

37 weeks

38 weeks

39 weeks

See what I mean? I'm totally protruding forward more and more everyday. The belly might be getting lower too, but I can't tell for sure.

Anyway, one of my projects was to create a boppy cover because who wants to spend $20 on a cover when you can make one yourself? Well, okay, a lot of people would, but not me. I made one with just a simple little design to match the nursery decor. I did some freezer painting and then sewed it together. Unfortunately, the pattern I used is no longer available online, but I just stumbled across this one . . . if you're interested. The only change I made was to secure it with velcro rather than a zipper. But, of course, that change would have made more sense with the old pattern than the one I linked to. Oh well, you still get the idea.

I'm so excited because Em will be making one for me and the little guy too - and I can't wait to see her version. Will they be freaky similar, or no?

Blocks and Bibs

2010-04-20T18:50:00.000-05:00

Wow. Another post about babies. Unfortunately, this little streak is not going to end soon. I'm sorry. Eventually, I'll get beyond it and onto something else I promise. But, bear with me for the time being. It won't last forever.

A wonderful friend of mine just had her little baby boy - on April 8th to be exact. Of course, he needed some handmade gifts from yours truly (because how else does an aunt like me so far away send her love?), so about a month ago I sent a set of blocks. Not quite as extensive as the set I made for my niece, but a cute little set nonetheless. I used the Amy Butler pattern from her Little Stitches book - remedying it a little by adding bells to the inside and tags on some. Hopefully, little Lucas will enjoy them.

The striped fabric actually came from a set of dishtowels that I had on hand. My mother-in-law bought the set for me a long time ago, but unfortunately they weren't super absorbent, which rendered them kind of useless in the kitchen. I kept them in my fabric stash, though, knowing that they would be perfect for a project. Turns out they make really cute blocks AND bibs.

I also sent along this bib . . .

It will only be humorous to a few readers of this blog. Funny, no?

Oooh . . . I should point out that I have been having a lot of fun with the twin needle function of my sewing machine. You can click on the bib pictures to see a close up of the stitching. It's so easy and I think it gives some pieces a nice polished look. I'm kind of obsessed with it right now. Watch out.

While I was at it I made a block set for my little guy too. You can't tell that I'm loving polka dots right now, can you? Oh . . . it's that obvious?

Of course, I couldn't stop there. So, he got some bibs too.

And, one last one to finish it off.

I think Jesse deemed this last one "cliche", but I'm ignoring him. I like it.

Just Another Update

2010-04-13T21:26:00.000-05:00

The picture above shows 35 weeks. See, you know you're approaching your 9th month when you can actually hold your belly from below rather than just rest your hands on top of it. This week I'm actually at 36 weeks, but I'm lazy about posting anything in real time. Plus, nobody really cares about that little technicality except myself. So, there you go.

I would have to say that the belly is now taking on a basketball shape. I feel like it's protruding forward more and more everyday. Which, I have to say, I prefer to it protruding wider more and more everyday - ever-widening would be worse, I think. Thankfully I'm still fairly comfortable - still sleeping through the night, etc. I'm very grateful for that.

I've been having trouble getting up out of the couch, though. Jesse usually has to give me a nice nudge from behind to get me up and on my feet again. Getting out of bed in the morning is a similar experience. Feels like a work out right when I get up in the morning. Roll over, scootch to the side of the bed, focus really hard before lurching the legs off the side then heave the midsection to an upright position and finally step off onto the ground. Whew. Seriously, I hate mornings, and this little routine is not helping.

I'm also craving foods more so now than I was in the first trimester. I didn't think that was normal (it probably isn't). But, I've been eating LOTS of bagels with creamcheese, yogurt with fruit and granola, oatmeal squares cereal and ice cream. Mmmm. Gotta love all the dairy and carbohydrates I'm consuming. Poor baby.

This is sort of random, but I had to document it somewhere. We got golf ball-sized hail last week! Look at that. Do you see the golf ball in the picture above? I threw it in there just to give you something to compare it to. We had some damage to the house roof, siding and even two storm windows broken. It was insane! I've never seen anything like it.

And, last, but not least I sewed my first onesie for the little guy. I used the nightgown pattern that I had used before and then traced the bottom half from some onesies that I had on hand. Unfortunately I didn't have any small snaps, so I ended up with velcro instead. I'm not sure if that will hold, but we'll see. I picked up the shirt at goodwill, and it turns out this is his first UNI outfit. His dad was proud.

Hopefully I'll have time and energy to continue experimenting with these. They're fun to sew and I can imagine all sorts of possibilities.

Little Booties for Little Feet

2010-03-28T20:16:00.006-05:00

Is there a plethora of babies being born in everyone else's lives too . . . or is it just me? My word. It's like we've got something in the water around here. There are four women (not including myself) that I work with (or are married to men that work with me) who have just had or are having babies in these next couple of months. It's like a baby frenzy around here!

Anyway, it occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that I better get some baby gifts ready because I just might be in no place to actually make them, buy them or give them when I need to due to the arrival of my own little one.

So that led to massive amounts of bootie-making last weekend. I found several scraps of fabric, some cute buttons and this lovely and easy pattern. They went together beautifully.

The burnt orange pair was my first practice pair, and they will be for my little guy. The stripey pair is for another little boy due around the same time mine is. And, then there are three cutesy floral ones for the girls. Oh how I love the girly stuff . . . it's so fun!

By the way, you get ten bucks if you can see my reflection in the window.

Cloth Diapering

2010-03-24T12:00:00.002-05:00

This week marks 33 weeks. Only two months to go from here. In the last week or so the back achey-ness has turned a corner to frequent back soreness and the baby movements in my belly have turned from a delightful little flutter to full on twisting, kicking and punching. It's cute and fun during the day and then slightly annoying as I lie down to go to sleep at night.

I'm very much enjoying pregnancy. I even told Jesse the other day that I think I'm going to miss it. There is something about carrying this little guy and feeling his movements - stuff that only I get to experience - that is really special. I love these weeks of anticipating what he will look like, what his personality will be like, and how it will change Jesse and my life together. This is such a wonderful season to be in. Ahhh.

Wow . . . okay . . . let's transition from that sentimental mommy-to-be sugar-coated thoughts to cloth diapers, shall we? So . . . a long time ago (in an age where I used to work at a place that gave me too little work to do and free reign of the internet) I began researching cloth diapering. Actually, a friend of mine was pregnant at the time and I used to dole out my time-wasting abilities for free, so she asked me to do some research for her. What I found was intriguing.

Turns out . . . there are A LOT of people who cloth diaper nowadays. And, the ways of cloth diapering have drastically changed from the old prefold, pin and cover days. What I learned is that an up front investment of about $250 will save you about $2000 in the long run. Amazing! All it seems to require is a little courage, an initial investment and a willingness to do more laundry. So, I've (we've) committed, and we'll see how it turns out . . . poor Jesse.

I recently purchased 15 new diapers from Bum Genius (a brand that is highly recommended among many websites). And, I've made 20 cloth wipes out of an old jersey knit sheet to go with them.

Now, all I need is some laundry detergent advice (thankfully I'll be sitting down with a cloth diapering friend this week to discuss that) and a little bum to wrap in diapers (7 weeks and counting).

I'll let you know in a few months how it's all going. I'm hoping for the best.

I Love My Life

2010-03-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

I was putzing around on a Saturday a couple of weekends ago when I looked up from my computer to this lovely scene.

It's silly moments like this when I realize I totally love my life.

Finally . . . A Quilt for the Baby!

2010-03-22T21:30:00.008-05:00

I've spent the last month or so just sewing away around here. The sewing machine has become a permanent fixture on the dining room table and I couldn't be more thankful for how accommodating Jesse he has been to it. He truly is wonderful and patient because we all know that where there is a sewing machine there are buttons, threads, bobbins, scissors and scrap fabric strewn about everywhere.

We did, however, have to have a clear "boundary setting" conversation where Jesse requested that my sewing stuff not migrate from the dining room table to the coffee table. The coffee table (as I now understand it) is an appropriate place for remotes, magazines, food and sometimes feet. That's it. No sewing . . . or at least it can't be left there. I guess I can live with that.

Well, my son now has his very own quilt. It's an oversized crib quilt (measuring about 45 x 60). From what I understand from other moms in my life a crib quilt is pretty much useless, but for some reason I couldn't help it. It just seemed like this child of mine needed a quilt from his mom. So, here it is. I'm justifying the time I spent on it by assuming I'll be able to use it to throw it on the hardwood floor in the living room or eventually we'll use it on his toddler-sized bed. We'll see. For now, it's mostly just for sentimental value, and I think it's worth it.

The fish print is an Anna Maria Horner print called Mendocino Swim Class. It inspired the color scheme, and this is the color scheme that I've decided on to compliment the khaki and white in the nursery. The quilt design is roughly based on the Lap Quilt in Amy Butler's In Stitches book. I think I'm liking how it all came together.

The binding gave me fits again. Ugh. I don't like the way it turned out. It's very possible that the severely anal part of me that I try to keep hidden away will come out and re-do it. So far the more logical side of me has been able to talk it's way out of it, but I'm not sure it will last. Beware, oh seam ripper. All it will take is one more snowy day and I'll find myself aggressively seam ripping away. I'll hate the process, but I might be very happy I did it in the end. We'll see how it goes.

Nighty Night

2010-02-18T21:09:00.009-06:00

28 weeks along. That means I've officially entered my third trimester. What?! Doesn't seem like it has been that long. I'm starting to get a tiny bit achy by the end of the day, but I'm still very much enjoying pregnancy.

I spent a couple hours on Tuesday night this week working on this fun project. I can't remember how I ran across it, but I got the idea here and instantly fell in love with it.

It didn't take long until I was off to goodwill in search for a couple t-shirts. I'm not sure how I ended up with two music related shirts . . . that wasn't intentional. But, it's okay because I think there will be more where these came from . . . I won't be able to help myself. So fast, so easy and so dang cute!

Looking forward to seeing him wearing these!

Nesting

2010-02-13T12:00:00.000-06:00

Moving on to project number two for the nursery . . . While in town, Mom helped me finish the crib bumper - I needed serious help - and she created a crib skirt to match the recliner.

The idea for the bumper came from a long weekend phone conversation I had with Em a few months back. The design is loosely based on some bedding I saw at Pottery Barn Kids - oh how I love that set. Unfortunately, my paycheck doesn't agree. So, we invented our own version cause that's what we do.

Now, before you scroll down to look at all of the pictures and then blurt out something like "could this be the most boring nursery ever?" or "doesn't this child need some stimulation?" just hear me out, okay?

For the big pieces of the nursery (i.e. recliner, crib bumper, crib skirt, curtains) I wanted to go super neutral because just in case Jesse and I enjoy this child-rearing thing (the jury is still out - I don't want to get all presumptuous) and we have any more children I don't want to remake these large, time-consuming items . . . while chasing a child around my house. So keep that in mind, and give me a little grace. Cause, I could totally pull this stuff back out for a girl's nursery if I needed to, right?

So, here's the final product (you may need to click on the pictures to see it closer).

Oh, how I love the way it turned out. So clean, so modern. Mmmmm.

I very loosely used a pattern from Amy Butler's Little Stitches. Her pattern helped with the measurements and it gave me the idea of the pockets (see those on the ends). The rest I just sort of made up, which isn't difficult for a bumper.

The part that got difficult for me was the binding. Oh, the binding. I had no idea how to do it, and I needed to put binding all the way around the edges to secure it all together. Boy was it a disaster before my Mom came in to rescue me! I was so lost! She took over and used my sewing machine to bind it, and she did a beautiful job, as always.

To finish it we attached the velcro, which I'm loving. I like it so much better than ties. It's so clean and simple. Ahhh. Just the way I like it.

Alright, from here on out I promise we'll get more exciting with the nursery stuff. Thanks for bearing with me through the boring world of brown, light tan, white, khaki, etc. I love it so far, but that's probably because I've got the bigger picture in my head.

I've got a crib quilt in the works. Plus, a mobile and some wall decor lingering in my head somewhere. It's all itching to be made . . . must find time!

The First (and Last) Recliner

2010-02-12T21:30:00.000-06:00

My Mom came into town a couple weeks ago. Actually, just in time to celebrate my birthday with me. It was a real treat! I got to have her all to myself for nearly a whole week, and it was so good, and so refreshing. I loved it.

We planned this trip knowing I was going to need her help around the house to prepare for this little nugget who arrives in May, so we planned for her to come and manage a couple of BIG projects that were over my head.

I have a knack of overworking her when she comes to town, and I didn't let her down this time either. Poor thing.

Here's the first of the projects - before Mom worked her magic.

It's a super comfy recliner that we got from Jesse's parents. They conveniently decided a couple of months ago that they didn't want it in their living room any longer. Score one for the nursery!

It's going to be a little big for our tiny nursery space, BUT it is a perfect size chair for my 6'2" husband. So, I'm making a very strategic decision to accept an oversized chair for the nursery (rather than a small, cute one that would look better, but surely cramp his back/neck) so that he can sit in comfort while holding a screaming child at 3 AM. Because that's what's really important, right? Husband's comfort trumps cutesy nursery at 3 AM.

Well, over the course of 2.5 days Mom wracked her brain, cut, sewed, wracked her brain some more and sewed some more - wrestling with it until it was done. Here it is. Just gorgeous!

I went with a very neutral color - "light tan" is what they call it I think. I bought 12 yards online from Hancock Fabrics - great quality and fast shipping, by the way. I figure once we're done with it in the nursery I'll be able to bring it into any other living space in the house (course that would require us to move . . . as there is no where else to put it at our current place), but the concept is still true.

Anyway, Mom worked REALLY hard on this project (did I say that already?). So much so that she passionately vowed that she would never recover another recliner. Hmmm . . . I don't blame her.

She covered each piece of the chair separately, so I can remove and wash the pieces as necessary. Isn't that amazing?

She's really good. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. Thanks, Mom!

A Purse for Em

2010-02-01T21:30:00.000-06:00

I get the privilege of sharing my birthday with one of my very favorite people. It sounds a little weird coming from someone who shares her exact same DNA, but I could go on and on about her. She is fun-loving, instantly lovable, kind, generous, incredibly competent, responsible, joyful and she always gives others the benefit of the doubt (including me). I love her with my whole heart and I can't imagine my life without her.

Every year I think . . . this is the year that I will be able to put together a package and send it just in time for our birthday . . . and every year (for some reason or another) I fail. How is that possible? Thankfully, this year (and maybe for the first time) she also sent a gift to me late too. Whew.

For several months, I had intended to make a purse for her, but I just hadn't decided on a pattern, that is, until I came across this one. I think it's perfect for her. Just dainty enough and just practical enough.

I picked up the Amy Butler print at a local quilt shop, and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. I used a pretty stiff pellon/interfacing to help the purse keep shape. For some reason, though, the only kind of interfacing I could find was REALLY stiff. My mom and I laughed and laughed as I forced it through my machine - I think she was actually just in shock. And, then we laughed again as I attempted to turn it inside out when it was completed. Let's just say it took a lot of muscle and some bizarre contortions to make it work.

Course, it wasn't until I was finished that I realized I sewed the handle on inside out. Ugh! The navy blue on the outside of the handle really should be the lining, but after all that effort my mom and I collectively decided (or somehow just convinced ourselves) it looked just as good on the outside. So, shhhh, don't tell anyone.

Happy birthday to you, Em. I love you.

It's A Boy

2010-01-10T22:11:00.008-06:00

Well, my belly is growing more than ever recently. Thankfully there is a little person in there that is causing all this growth, otherwise I would be alarmed! I'm 22 weeks along now and still feeling great. (Yes, I know how lucky I am!)

I wasn't sure whether I would post these here or not cause Jesse and I agreed we aren't the types to waive our ultrasound pictures all over the known universe. But, I'm pretty sure at least my Mom and sisters will want to see them. So, here are the first pictures we have of this little nugget.

Aren't those feet just too cute? I couldn't stop crying during the ultrasound . . . I'm such a crybaby when it comes to anything sentimental these days. It was such a wonderful experience. I told the technician that I wished I could do it everyday, and I really think I meant it.

So, we found out that our little human (as I like to so lovingly call it) is a boy! We are so thrilled. Now, we would have been thrilled to have a girl, too, so don't get me wrong. But, I have had an inkling all along that it was a boy. It seemed like every time I thought about the baby it was a boy, and it seemed that boys names were the primary ones we were discussing. So, finding out kinda felt like confirmation in a way.

I love this feeling of knowing, though. I wasn't sure I was going to be excited about knowing the gender cause I'm a huge sucker for surprises. But, knowing that I'm carrying a little boy seems to give him more of an identity and it makes the anticipation so much greater. I'm loving it.

Well, the nursery decor and accumulation of baby "supplies" is in full gear. The storage space is quickly dwindling, and I hear it's going to get worse before it gets better. I'm dreaming up plans for the nursery, and they are starting to come together.

The first project was the dresser. I had been searching for a long time for the perfect dresser. We have a very small room for the nursery, so it had to be just the right size. And, it had to be cute, you know? Finally, I found a really old one at goodwill for only $35. The drawers are a bit wonky - I'm not sure it was even worth 35 dollars, but I bought it anyway. Somehow I couldn't resist.

It took a lot of wood putty, sanding and paint to bring it up to snuff. But, I think I did it.

Okay, sorry for the lack of effort in the "after" shot. The dresser is still in the garage, and it was really cold outside - it's Iowa in January, give me a break. I made the best of my lazy effort. You'll see more of it when the nursery starts coming together, I promise.

More Pillows

2010-01-07T18:50:00.008-06:00

My mother-in-law bought this gorgeous Vera Wang bedding this year. I love it. It's a bunch of rich, silky goodness. So, for Christmas she asked me to make her some throw pillows that will go with the set.

The bedding speaks for itself, so I decided to go with some pretty simple designs to complement it.

I found this brown floral in the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby. It turned out to be a perfect accent.

I added some "stripes" (you may have to click on the image to see them), which mimicked the design of the pillow shams that came with the set.

I ended up making three white covers just in case she didn't like the brown floral. But, the brown turned out so pretty that I partially wish I could have made three of those!

Anyway, she opened them on Christmas, and she loves them! I think she's trying to figure out how I can make more pillows for her . . . the living room next? Don't tell Jesse. We all know how he feels about too many pillows.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-27T17:00:00.000-06:00

I hope y'all enjoyed Christmas. The weather was a bit nasty around here, and although I would have loved to be with my family, I'm very thankful to not have had to travel (farther than 10 minutes to the in-laws) this year. That made for a perfect day to sit around, relax, open gifts, eat cookies and drink coffee though. Yay!

So, here's what Santa's elves (i.e. me) cooked up for the darling niece and nephew this year:

For Marsh - a reversible superhero cape and mask

One side is a lightning bolt with the letter "M", and the other is the same skull and crossbones that I used here. Amazingly, he is still into pirates after all this time!

I used the cape pattern from The Long Thread again. Though, this time I replaced the entire collar with some binding that can just be tied in the front. I like the look much better than the awkward bunching that the velcro was causing before. I sort-of made up the eye mask - I hope it fits. It's red on one side and black on the other, so he can match it with either side of the cape.

I can't be sure he's even into this kind of thing, but hopefully he likes it!

You will see below that Jane received a drawstring bag for her toys, so I made one for Marshall too.

For Jane - blocks made from Amy Butler's Little Stitches

I ended up making 8 different blocks that are about 4 inches big. Half of them have bells tucked inside for a little fun that's not too obnoxious, and the other half have ribbons attached. Hopefully, she will find some entertainment in the "tags."

The pattern comes with directions to make a drawstring bag to store them. I had fun with it by adding extra fabrics and ribbons. I love the way it turned out.

Well, those were the big projects of the season. I sure had fun making them, and I hope the kids enjoy them. The only other project was pillows for my mother-in-law. I'll post those soon.

It's Christmas Time in the City

2009-12-24T09:57:00.011-06:00

Christmas is shaping up around here. It's been a busy, overwhelming, and a kind-of fun season so far this year. Wow, is that scrooge-ish or what? I think the deal is . . . I started a new job right after Thanksgiving, and, my brain power for anything outside of work has significantly lowered in the last month making Christmas preparations far more overwhelming than usual. Anyway, I have been working on a few things, I promise - I just can't reveal a few of them until tomorrow, but I can show you the other things I've been up to.

I woke up on Saturday morning with what felt like a LONG to-do list. To be honest, it wasn't that bad. Nonetheless, I woke up, had some breakfast, was enjoying some time reading my Bible, and then out of nowhere got into one of those moods that was like "Ugh, my life is so hard. I need to take a nap because that sounds far more doable than my ever-growing to-do list." It was a very sad state, so I succumbed to it and I napped - at 10:00 AM!

Once I woke up, though, I had a come-to-Jesus moment, realized my life wasn't so bad and that I could carry on. Good grief! I hope other people do this kind of thing too. It's got to be normal, right?

First thing I did was finish up the Christmas cards. I really enjoyed that process this year. Here's all the different kinds that came off the assembly line:

Once again, Jesse wrote the recap of our year for the letter inside, which always makes me laugh. I love that man.

Later, I did a little baking. I started with molasses cookies. Yum! For some reason I was craving them last Christmas season, and I found a yummy recipe. Here it is:

Yummy Molasses Cookies (with icing)

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Mix together butter, sugar and egg. Stir in molasses. Combine the last 6 ingredients in a separate bowl. Blend flour mixture into the molasses mixture. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in a small bowl of white sugar. Place the cookies onto ungreased baking sheets - beware, they will grow! Bake for 8-10 minutes, until tops are cracked.

Once the cookies have cooled, make some icing.

Icing

Ingredients
1 egg white
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat the egg white until frothy. Then, beat in the sugar and vanilla until thoroughly mixed. Spread onto cookies, wait for the icing to harden, and . . . enjoy!

Lastly, I got inspired by a friend to make some biscuits for the pups in the family. So, I did some baking and then sent some packages out to my sisters and their sweet dogs.

They also got some strawberry jam, which I had been promising to to Em for a long time now. Mom got a package too, but she got molasses cookies for her pup (Dad) instead of biscuits. It sounds like he's already enjoying them - having claimed the whole bag before Mom even saw them. Now, before you think I just left Ben and Ali out of this mix completely, you'll have to see what I made for the kiddos . . . but not until tomorrow!

Pearberry Pie

2009-12-10T12:00:00.000-06:00

We had one of the most wonderful of all Thanksgivings here in Iowa this year. My parents and my sister and her husband came to visit, and boy did we have a good time. We ate a lot and shopped a lot! And, that is what Thanksgiving is for, right?

For our fanciful feast we were in charge of bringing the sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pie to my mother-in-law's place. I had a great time planning the menu! Here's what we brought:

Sweet potatoes - a wonderful recipe from Em. She used the recipe last year and raved about it, so I had to try it this year! Who knew that sweet potatoes could be even better with chopped pecans rather than marshmallows? It was awesome!

Mashed potatoes - an easy peasy recipe that I threw together. Kinda the basic sour-cream-mashed-potato combo that most people do.

Stuffing - an interesting recipe from Oprah. Kind of a random place to get a recipe, I know, but it's Oprah's favorite! Anyway, the orange juice in it gives it an interesting kick. The girls seemed to like it and the boys thought it was a little weird. Isn't it kinda true that men don't like citrus-y things?

Cranberry Chutney - another one of Em's winners. This sauce has pears, golden raisins and cranberries. Seriously, it's better than any cranberry sauce I've ever seen or tasted.

Pearberry Pie - this was the big risk of the evening, but it turned out to be a hit! I needed to try something that was a little "out there". Cause I'm like that . . . and . . . my mother-in-law was providing wonderful standbys like apple crisp and pumpkin pie, so I knew that if mine failed we would still be eating well. Turns out the pear and cranberry mixture is the perfect combination of "sweet" and "tart" in a pie. Did you see the crust in the picture, too? I'm getting better at my crimping. Still not a pro, but better. Here's the recipe. Thank you, Betty Crocker.

Look - see, Em and Cory are enjoying it.

And, so is Dad. He was the one that affectionately coined it "pearberry."

Here's all of us after our tummies are quite full.

For the rest of the weekend we just shopped, played and shopped some more.

Em and Mom while having lunch.

Playing on main street.

And . . . one last picture to show you that Scout was probably having the best weekend of us all. Cory and Em spoiled him like one of their own. He was quite smitten with them.

Capes and Crowns

2009-12-09T17:19:00.013-06:00

Wow. I had no intention of taking a blog break like that. November must have been a little busy! I'll see if I can catch you up on the creative happenings from this household in the next couple of posts.

First, we have the second installment of the nieces' birthdays. Reagan's birthday happens at the end of October and Peyton's at the end of November. In an effort to keep their lovely mother somewhat sane we celebrated both birthdays in the middle of November.

Now, you may remember the birthday gifts given to the girls before Reagan's birthday - just in time for Halloween. Ah, what cute fairies they were. I posted a couple of extra photos from Halloween on that post, if you want to see the update.

For Peyton's birthday I decided that capes and crowns were in order. What little girl wouldn't want to dress up as royalty or as a girly superhero whenever she would like? Thankfully, just in time for making these gifts The Long Thread posted a tutorial for a crown that goes with her previously posted tutorial for a cape. I love it when that happens!

Here's Reagan, her majesty.

And, here's Peyton.

The crowns came out too big. Bummer! And, the neck portion of the cape is really weirding me out. Why the bunching at the top? I think I need to either cut it differently or it should be replaced with binding that can just be tied. Course the girls wouldn't be able to tie them on their own - hence the beauty of velcro. Hmmm. I tried to correct it by reducing the neck portion in half, but it didn't seem to work.

Reagan really hammed it up the entire day. She was the cutest little gift-receiver that I ever did see - making sure to sucker her relatives into giving her everything under the sun.

Peyton, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much about the gifts, or the relatives, or the cake, or pretty much anything. She kicked and screamed nearly all day, which stressed out her mother and really amused the rest of us!

As a result, Reagan blew out her candles with her cousin Aiden rather than her sister. Oh well.

Here's to being 3 and 2! Happy birthday, sweet girls!

Overdue Birthday Gift

2009-11-02T14:42:00.009-06:00

I just sent a late birthday gift to a dear friend. It was about a month late, but she didn't seem to mind. Sometimes your birthday should last a whole month, don't you think?

I used the same fabric combo that I did with the bag that I made awhile back. I can't seem to get enough of it.

I used the apron pattern from Amy Butler's In Stitches. I think it's so cute! It has cutesy pleats in the front and long, luxerious ties. And, it's easy to make!

I coupled it with some homemade strawberry jam and apple butter. This friend is hippie enough to appreciate a gift homemade with lots of love.

I like that about her.

The Pumpkin Carving of 2009

2009-11-02T14:10:00.007-06:00

Every year Jesse and I carve pumpkins. I absolutely love it. I'm not sure if he does, but he acts like it, and that is good enough for me.

This year was a little different - we didn't make a trip to the pumpkin patch. Instead, at the beginning of October, I walked out to our backyard and just plucked these pumpkin beauties from our garden. As you already know, I'm just so pleased with myself and that little garden. I've really enjoyed it - makes me smile.

Jesse is hilarious - he was practically laughing at himself while carving his pumpkin - thinking he was so clever. Which, he is, admittedly. You can't really tell in the above picture, but mine was a little ghost. Not terribly beautiful, but oh well. I cut out the entire ghost, carved around the outline a little and then stuck it back in with toothpicks. I've never done that before, but it worked out okay.

So, on Halloween night our little neighborhood trick-or-treaters were greeted by the ever-frightening display of a ghost saying "hi". Classic.

Freaking Cute Fairies

2009-10-24T12:00:00.012-05:00

My nieces' (on Jesse's side of the family) birthdays happen during the months of October and November. They will be 3 and 2, respectively. I've been dreaming up plans as to what to make for them for a little while. I want to make it special, but not over the top, you know?

One day the idea just came to me . . . toddlers like to dress up, right? So, I decided to make things that could add to their dress-up collection - hopefully to be used over the next year. Or as long as they will fit.

I saw this skirt that was posted awhile ago and thought of my older niece immediately. She is the sweet, slender, princess, drama-queen type. Perfect for fairy goodness.

I have another idea for my other niece's birthday, but I will post about that separately when it's completed (sometime in November).

So, within a week of deciding what to make for Reagan's birthday, my sister-in-law calls me. She asks if I would be willing to make fairy costumes for the girls for Halloween this year. What? Why of course. I happened to be planning on making one for Reagan already. So, I rearranged plans a little and decided to give them both presents on each others' birthdays. That way I can still give them fairy costumes for Reagan's birthday and then I can give gifts again on Peyton's birthday in November.

The skirts were so simple that I recommend them to any mom who has a girl. Seriously, you can buy the supplies for about $5 and complete the project in 30-45 minutes. It's so fun! Here they are. Pink for Reagan. Purple for Peyton.

The wings were another story. I swear they shouldn't have required that much brain power. But, my goodness. I racked my brain real hard over those. I got some cable at Lowe's hoping that they will survive several episodes of the girls' trying them on and throwing them on the floor. Who knows - but I tried. I used floral wire and floral tape to hold the cable together, and then I wrapped them in tulle. That was probably my mistake - the tulle. I should have used something stretchy. Nonetheless, it worked with enough hot glue and enough jewels to cover the glue spots.

Here's Reagan in her costume. (Peyton was napping . . . hopefully I can get more pictures to post when they wear them on Halloween.)

Here are two pictures from Halloween (taken by Rachael's sister-in-law).

Pretty freaking cute little fairies, wouldn't you say?

Hooked on Apple Butter

2009-10-23T09:00:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking about apple butter for awhile . . . like months. I'm not exactly sure what prompted it, but it hasn't gone away. Maybe it started when I made the strawberry jam, I'm not sure.

Apple butter makes me think of my Grandma 'Kowski. She always had a jar of it on hand . . . as well as old fashioned donuts, tin roof sundae and butter pecan ice cream. Anyway, apple butter is one of those things that reminds me of my childhood, and I think there is a part of me that is trying to grasp those little memories so that I might carry them into the traditions of my own home.

Well, I knew canning apple butter was going to be something I would try come fall (i.e. the apples are really cheap). So, two weeks ago I picked up a couple bags of apples and I went for it. I searched www.allrecipes.com and found this recipe. Fantastic. So simple. I changed the recipe a bit . . . only used 3 pounds of apples, 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar. The rest was the same.

The only real issue is that I don't have an apple corer slicer thingy. That contraption always gives me wonderful memories of Mom. We always loved the long curly cue of apple peel that came off those apples. Yummy.

So - as a result - I cut all of the apples (at least 10 to 12) into 1/8ths and then used a paring knife to cut the peel off each slice. Wow. If that doesn't give someone arthritis at a ripe old age of 27 I don't know what will. I had to alternate between peeling and folding laundry (while watching HGTV, of course) just to get temporary relief. Took a long time.

Nevertheless, I have to admit, it was totally worth it. I made waffles the following morning and I haven't stopped eating apple butter and waffles for two weeks straight. I can't stop. Just pop a waffle into the toaster, spread it with apple butter and walk out the door. So good.

I still have one more bag of apples to core and peel so that I can make one more batch. I just can't quite get the motivation to do it. Just not yet. Maybe next weekend.

Fall Pillows

2009-10-08T12:00:00.001-05:00

Sometime around May of this year, I went on a redecorating spree in our living room. This led to an abundance of pillow making, which you might recall, ended in Jesse banning me from making any more pillows. Hmmm . . . maybe at the time I just told you that he had made fun of me for sewing 10 pillows in one week, which was only partly true. He did make fun of me, and he did ban me from making any more. You know, I suppose, if I consider "the ban" from a holistic approach, then I could conclude he is concerned for my overall health . . . or he was just sick of my sewing machine and the fabric cluttering the dining room table. Either one.

Last weekend, I decided it was time to pull out the fall decor. Probably because the weather here decided to make the quickest turn toward cold that I've ever seen. All of a sudden it was goodbye summer; hello fall.

The fabric is Joel Dewberry's Ginseng Orchid in spice. The orange is just a color I picked up at my local Hancock Fabrics.

I felt like the orange pillows needed a little bit of detailing. I bought some contrasting orange threads and just sewed horizontally across the pillow cover before I put it together. I really like the way it turned out. (You might have to click on the picture to see a close-up.)

Last year I picked up some placemats at Target for $.74 each. What?! I couldn't pass that up. Here they are making their first fall debut.

And, look at these napkin rings I scored from Grandma Tink. Perfect.

I sure love fall. I just wish it wasn't followed by winter.

From White to Gray

2009-10-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

Jesse does our laundry. Isn't that awesome? I love it. And, quite honestly, he's really good at it too. He separates the colors so nicely, adds just the right amount of bleach to the whites, he doesn't mind that I make our own laundry soap and that sometimes the supply runs out just as he is trying to finish up, and he carefully hangs any of my clothing that he thinks just maybe shouldn't go in the dryer. Ah, he is good.

So . . . we were both quite surprised, and kind of annoyed, that when I was folding our laundry and putting it away recently I noticed that one of my favorite new sweatshirts had been tainted with bleach. How could it be? We don't know. It seemed to be the only victim of random bleaching that day.

It took me about 24 hours to mull over how I wanted to cope with this new loss. The fabric is cute (a nice white and gray horizontal stripe), should I cut it up and make something else out of it? Do I just throw it away? Then, it came to me . . . I should dye it!

Not too long after my new realization, I spent an evening boiling up some dye brew.

I had black dye on hand, and thought that would be fun to experiment with. I also went to my closet to see if I had anything else that needed an uplift. Turns out I did! Here's what came of it:

The sweatshirt. Turned out a little blotchy (from where the bleach had been), but not too bad. Definitely wearable on the weekend.

Hmmm . . . the picture makes this shirt look like the bottom is darker than the top. That's not the case. Anyway, this shirt used to be white and was just getting a little dingy. I still love the shape and style. So a nice shade of gray is a good way to keep it lasting.

Same with this shirt. It used to be white and was just getting . . . I don't know . . . old. It also is now a nice shade of gray. Plus, I love the way that the dye didn't pick up the stitching on the blouses. Adds a really cool effect!

All in all, I'm very happy about the transformation. A little bit of dye can go a long way.

Sweet Jane

2009-10-06T09:21:00.006-05:00

On September 11 my brother and his wife had a beautiful little girl. She came a whole month early and that means I was not even close to being done with her gifts. I was doing a very good job of starting on her gifts early too . . . and then she surprised us! Of course, when it comes to adding a gorgeous baby into the family, we'll welcome a surprise like that any day. They named her Jane. And, I just can barely get over how cute she is.

Only a couple of weeks late, here's what I sent:

In the last few months I've been teaching a couple of friends of mine how to sew. Oh my goodness, have we been having fun! I didn't know how much fun it could be to sew with good friends . . . I guess I have been so used to doing it on my own. Last month's project was sewing baby bibs. Of course, I had little Jane in mind - and a perfect combination of fabrics in my stash. We used some free tutorial that I found online (I can't remember which). I guess we tweaked it enough that it doesn't matter much now.

One of my sewing friends, Diana, is a mother of two and she recommended the side closure and the snaps as opposed to velcro. Gotta love the insights of a mother.

I also sent along a little onesie. Look familiar?

I have to tell you . . . I had originally planned to send a pair of booties to Jane. They were really cute ones from Amy Butler's Little Stitches. Just adorable, I tell you. However, I learned a valuable lesson while putting them together . . . Be very careful when trying to make two things that are supposed to look identical. Don't expect perfect results. In fact, it might be wise not even to try it. Because . . . I got done with the second bootie, and low and behold, it was a full size smaller than the first.

Not funny at all . . . except it kinda was. Let's just say those didn't make it into the package.

Eat Your Veggies (Part V)

2009-09-17T12:00:00.001-05:00

Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Living, May 2008

I think my garden is the best I've ever seen! I might be a little biased (and naive), but I can't believe how many beautiful vegetables I've been able to grow. It's probably beginner's luck, which will make me very sad when I try and recreate the same goodness next summer, but I'll definitely give it a whirl in 2010. Here's a picture of what I was able to glean just one day last week:

This is only a glimpse of what has been going on. Let's see . . . throughout the summer we've gotten 5 or 6 cucumbers, 30 something carrots, 3 or so bags of lettuce, 5 or so acorn squash, 2 watermelons, 5 or so tomatoes, gobs of cherry tomatoes, 2 beautiful green peppers, lots of green beans and 2 pumpkins that will be ready just in time for carving. It's been so fun!

The only things that haven't been particularly successful are the peppers. I have two green pepper plants, one yellow and one red. Out of all four plants we have only had 2 green peppers (which were beautiful!) and a yellow pepper-that hasn't turned color yet.

Next year I think we'll swap out the cucumbers for zucchini (since it's so yummy on the grill and I can use it in bread or cake), and I probably won't plant many carrots, if any. I don't have anything against carrots, but they have been hard to pull out of the ground And, it's kind of hard to plant them without planting thousands. What if I don't want thousands? What if I only want 10, can I have just 10? Okay, okay, I'll stop this little rant on carrots. I just won't plant them next year, that's all.

Things I have loved, though, are the tomatoes (especially the cherry tomatoes), the squash, the peppers (of the ones we've gotten), and the pumpkins. And, of course, I'm looking forward to seeing how the watermelons turn out too. They might make the list.

A New Bag

2009-09-15T14:10:00.012-05:00

Wow. It's been awhile since I've been here on this blog. I swear I've been working on things, but maybe I just haven't completed much recently. I'm very excited about the most recent project. This one has been in my head for awhile, and it turned out just exactly as I wanted it to.

It's a new bag that is perfect for Fall . . .

I got the idea of the bag here. I've linked to her blog before - it's so inspirational for me. I love the style of the bag, and especially the fabric. Shortly after seeing it I went online and bought a yard of it - it's Heather Bailey's Pop Garden Rose Bouquet - hoping to make my own. The sad things is, I couldn't bring myself to pay $12 for the Amy Butler pattern. I'm so cheap it's embarrassing. So, instead of shelling out, you know, a whole $12 I found a free tutorial online for a bag that is similar in style and maybe a little more practical in terms of size.

The directions were a little wonky, especially when it came to the pleats and the pocket (which I never could really figure out and omitted completely), but overall it worked well.

The first time around I completely screwed up the handles, and I didn't realize it until I was done! So annoying! So, I did just about as much seam ripping as I did sewing on this bag.

Thankfully, I feel like it was worth it (I definitely debated for awhile before I went back in and fixed it).

Anyway, like I said, overall it worked well. So, I'll definitely be making more.

Marie, take note of the earrings I'm wearing. They're so cute, don't you think? Well, I do.

Rainy Sunday

2009-08-16T11:07:00.013-05:00

We had a glorious Sunday last weekend. The kind where it rained all day long. I love those kinds of days in the middle of summer because I don't feel a bit of guilt about not being outside to enjoy the sunshine. Instead, Jesse and I just laid around the house and rested. We loved it.

The Saturday before I had gone thrift store shopping with my sister-in-law, and it was the really successful kind too! We both came home with a variety of different odds and ends. So good! We also came up with a quilt idea for her home and we searched high and low for fabrics to go in it. But, that's a different story. Hopefully I'll be able to post a completed quilt by the end of the year. That would be fun! But, in the middle of our shopping trip I picked up some t-shirts at the dollar store.

I've been in need of a few more good t-shirts to wear for lounging in the evenings and on weekends. So, I used my wonderful, rainy Sunday to put some designs on my new dollar store t-shirts. I used the same freezer paper technique that I have used here, here and here.

Here they are:

a shout out to the homeland

the bike I don't even own

and, a bird for good measure.

Such an easy and fun project. I highly recommend it.

Festivities

2009-08-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about this project for a little while. I've run across the idea on several blogs, and thought it was cute, so it's been on my list to create. It's perfect party decor that I can pull out for any casual party. Last week, I finished it just in time to use it for my mother-in-law's retirement party that I hosted at my home.

Here it is: a really long flag garland . . .

I was able to use fabrics that I already had on hand, which made this project cheap. Love that. I also made binding for the first time (using a tutorial here to figure out how to connect my strips together) for the "string". Hopefully I can put that knowledge to further use with a quilt down the road.

Someday when I have kids I think it would be fun to make a garland like this (although probably shorter as this one took me a lot more time that I expected) for each child. Wouldn't it be fun to bring it out each year to decorate for their birthdays? Seems like it could be a fun tradition.

All in the Family

2009-08-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a new project in our living room over the last couple of weeks. Jesse and I were inspired by a Designed to Sell (love that show!) episode on HGTV where they needed to cover a large amount of a wall space on a budget. I include Jesse in the sentence above only because he happened to be sitting next to me and he actually responded when I commented on how much I liked the idea in the show, but I can't be sure he was nearly as "inspired" as I was. Just want to make sure the record is straight. He has a reputation to uphold after all.

For the last couple of years we have hung a collage frame that we received as a wedding gift and a couple of sconces above our couch in the living room. It's been fun for me to replace the pictures in the collage each year. I do this routine in January where I pick out all of my favorite pictures from the previous year and put them in the frame. It's kinda funny how something so simple (and free!) makes the space feel fresh. At least to me.

Anyway, the inspired idea was to replace the collage and sconces with a large compilation of frames. It's a simple idea, and I'm not the first person to do this obviously, but I must say the result is giving me a nice, easy and cheap solution for something new and large enough to cover my wall space.

I have to admit I was also itching to take down the collage and sconces because I had hung them too high in the first place. It had irritated me just enough each time I looked at it that now, 2 1/2 years later, I can't handle it anymore. I hear that hanging pictures too high is a common problem for people, so thankfully I don't feel alone in my mistake. But, it's annoying nonetheless.

I had several frames in storage, so I pulled those out and then made a quick trip to Goodwill to complete my set. We decided on painting the frames a very dark brown. Now that it's done I think it looks black, but oh well. Black will do too. I spray painted all of the frames and then added photo mattes that I had found pretty cheap at Hobby Lobby. I had to spray paint the mattes too because they didn't sell very many in plain white. That surprised me.

Anyway, here's the fun part (and pure genius if you ask me), I pulled a Martha Stewart trick out of the bag for this . . . I traced around each frame onto paper. Then, numbered the papers and laid out my frames on the dining room table in numerical order.

Then, I taped all of my papers to the wall to determine where I wanted each frame to hang. Once the papers were on the wall I was also able to measure out where each frames' hangy bobber was and mark the spot on each paper so that I would know exactly where to place my nail in order for my frames to hang straight.

Once the nails were in I just tore off my papers and hung my frames.

All in all, I'm happy with the way it turned out. I think I'll keep my annual January routine of switching out the pictures. Jesse did notice the other day that the compilation is a little heavy with my family . . . apparently, I can't help it, but I might have to work on that.

Spring Pillows

2009-07-10T09:22:00.012-05:00

Well, I'm glad I showed you an update on my vegetable garden just the other day because we got a HUGE thunderstorm that rolled in at 3:30 AM last night that left my garden looking rather mangled. I think it will all spring back, but it is surely in no photogenic state! I do have a little ripe cucumber that looks like it will be ready to be picked in the next day or so. I'm very excited about that.

Here I go making an awkward transition from gardens to living rooms. I hope you'll stay with me. I've been making some small tweaks to my living room decor. Here's what our living room has looked like since we moved in 2.5 years ago.

I still love the blues, greens and browns. But, the rug was starting to get to me. I'm discovering that I'm the type of person that needs variety and needs it often. I kept feeling like the rug was hindering me from changing out the pillows, accessories, etc. because it was hard to coordinate with.

So, I guess a couple of months ago I just came to the conclusion that I would remove the rug altogether and maybe save my pennies and purchase a more neutral one for the living room. I picked out some fabrics online that coordinated with our room colors, but not necessarily the rug, that I used for pillow covers. I bought fabrics that we will use for spring/summer pillows and another set that we will use for fall. I'll just show you the spring/summer ones now. And, when I redecorate in the fall I'll show you the others.

I used a very simple tutorial for pillow covers - adding an extra 1/2 inch to each side to accommodate the "edging." I ended up having a few old pillows in the house that I could recover, so there was no need for pillow inserts. Here are the spring/summer pillows. The fabric is Amy Butler's Lime Tree Peony and Full Moon Polka Dot:

Here is the new room (minus a rug):

After Jesse got over the initial shock of a lack of rug in the living room (I happened to remove it one evening while he was away, which resulted in him waking me up at 3 AM when he got home to discuss it) and after he made fun of me for sewing 10 pillows covers in one week (which cluttered the living room and dining room tremendously for a long time) he seems to like the change too. Whew.

Eat Your Veggies (Part IV)

2009-07-08T11:59:00.008-05:00

Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Living, May 2008

Time for a veggie garden update. After A LOT of weeding last weekend here is what my garden looks like now. I was able to pick a green bean from the plant and eat it. It tasted a little like it needed to stay on the plant for another week or so. (Whatever that tastes like.) So I left the others there. Hopefully we can enjoy them next week with dinner.

The pumpkin is the plant near the front. It is huge! This is from just one pumpkin seed. I can't believe it. I was warned about the potential size from many people, but chose to ignore them and try it out for myself. Turns out they were right.

The beautiful flowers behind my garden are my neighbor's. She does a delightful job with those beauties. I'm so glad we get to enjoy them. In fact, she let me pick some of those white snowballs just this week to bring into the house. Yay!

Here's my first tomato! So far, so good.

Strawberry Jam

2009-07-06T14:32:00.014-05:00

This one starts with a new years resolution. In the last couple of years I've been trying to keep my resolutions simple so that I actually feel like I accomplished something by the end of the year. For 2009 my resolution was to . . . pick berries and make jam. I should say right now - if this is all I accomplished in a year then all of you reading this have the right to come to my house and kick my rear end. And, especially, if that's the excuse you need to visit then I will welcome it.

I started this adventure by inviting a friend of mine and her kids to join me in picking strawberries. We chose a lovely farm nearby, and of course, got lost on the way! It took us nearly an hour to get there.

Her youngest, Luke, is 18 months and especially enjoyed picking the berries and squeezing them between his fingers. I don't think my friend even attempted to get the stains out of his clothing!

The picking went quickly. But, it was a little hot outside so our time concluded with meltdowns from both kids. But, by that time our boxes were as full as we needed them to be anyway. Success.

I came home with 11 pounds of strawberries costing $1.47 per pound. I cut up one pound and divided them into sandwich bags to freeze. That way when the margarita urge comes my way I can just grab a bag from the freezer and throw it in my blender. I cut up another 1/2 pound to just put in the refrigerator to graze on.

A couple of days later I gathered some canning supplies and hoped to make jam with the rest of the berries.

There is a strawberry jam that sticks out in my memory from my childhood. I wonder if Em remembers it too? Our pastor's wife made the most wonderful jam. She used to stockpile it in the freezer and pull it out for Sunday lunches. It occurred to me that it probably wouldn't be difficult to find a similar recipe and make some of my own.

Then, serendipitously, House on Hill Road (one of my favorite blogs) posted about her strawberry jam making process. I love it when that happens. I ended up using her recipe and made 12 jars of my own.

Boy, does it have a lot of sugar in it. But, it is so good! Just in case you're at my house (you know . . . in case I'm spending far too much time on the couch and you need to kick my rear end) be sure to grab some jam on the way out the door. You'll be glad you did.

Faribault Flowers

2009-07-06T14:27:00.008-05:00

This one is really for Mom. Just wanted to show you how happy my flowers are on the front porch.

Jesse convinced me to buy the terracotta pot rather than a black flower pot. I'm loving it. So simple. So classic. He tends to be right when it comes to those kinds of decisions. I better keep trusting him.

Cabinets = Stained :: Mom = Best Ever

2009-06-11T11:48:00.023-05:00

Last month we tackled a project that I had been dreading ever since we moved in. In fact, since we moved in, I have tried to come up with a variety of excuses as to why we shouldn't do it. But, in the end, Jesse won, and we re-stained our kitchen cabinets.

Let me begin this post by saying I have the most wonderful mother in the whole world. Now, I know that other people think the same thing about their moms. And, that's okay. I just . . . you know . . . in the end . . . I know I'm right about mine.

My mom came to visit for a whole week in the middle of May. It's the longest she has stayed . . . and we filled up the week having the best time together! I had to work for three of the days that she was in town (ran out of vacation time) so before she came she kept telling me that she wanted to help with some projects around the house while she was here to keep her busy. Well, one of those projects that kept coming up was re-staining the kitchen cabinets. Like I said before, I tried to come up with many excuses to not have my mom working her butt off while she was on vacation (really I did). I truly felt bad in having her do this. But, in the end, it only seemed logical that if we were ever going to do this project, now would be the time.

Here are the cabinets before their makeover . . .

Before Mom came into town we took the cabinet door fronts and drawers to a strippery . . . a place called Ye Olde Strippery, which is in town . . . what? Yes, I'm serious. Doing that was more expensive than I thought, but probably well worth it, as it saved us many hours.

After she arrived we had this list to accomplish:

1. Strip and sand the varnish from the bases of the cabinetry
2. Decide whether to stain or paint
3. Choose stain color
4. Apply wood conditioner and two coats of stain
5. Apply three coats of varnish to bases of cabinets
6. Re-hang the cabinets and insert drawers
7. Apply three coats of varnish to cabinet doors and drawers
8. Re-hang cabinet hardware

Did I mention we have 34 door fronts and drawers? Ack! That's a lot of work!

We did steps 1-3 together (with the help of my wonderful mother in-law). Then, Mom put on the first coat of stain all by herself while Jesse and I were at work! It took 8 hours. Oh. my. Mom and Jesse applied the second coat together the next day. By the time she left we had done part of the varnishing. During the following week Jesse and I finished it up. Here's the project completed!

I made some curtains for the windows. We had some leftover king size pillow cases that we don't use. Those became curtains. I hope they like their move from the linen closet to the windows.

Still have some painting to do. I would like to paint the doors white to match all of the other woodwork in the house. And, we still need to address the floor and the oven . . . eventually.

We're so happy with our (new) cabinets. They came out just as we had anticipated. I'm loving the contrast of the cabinets with the wall color. Perfect.

Thanks for your help, Mom! We love it.

Eat Your Veggies (Part III)

2009-06-11T11:09:00.010-05:00

Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Living, May 2008

Well, I did it. I pared down my garden shortly after I wrote the last post. Although it was difficult to start it wasn't so bad once I got in there. I had to keep reminding myself that we couldn't possibly eat all the vegetables that those plants were going to produce anyway. Eight tomato plants full of tomatoes? Not likely.

On the same day we finally were able to pull some lettuce from the garden and eat it. So exciting! It went nicely with bleu cheese burgers. (Bleu cheese purchased in Fairbault, MN with my mom!) Yum.

Eat Your Veggies (Part II)

2009-05-29T11:56:00.007-05:00

Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Living, May 2008

This post has been a long time coming. It's almost 3 weeks overdue. I've been distracted this month with having my wonderful mother in town for a week, and a cabinet refinishing project that came along with her. (Pictures of that project coming soon.) I can't talk about that, though, until I share more about my little garden. First things first.

As of three weeks ago tomorrow all of the vegetables have been planted, a lot of the extra dirt (mentioned in the previous veggie post) has been removed and a little fence has been put into place to divert the bunnies - thanks to Jesse for encouraging me to put one in place. It would have been so like me to put in all the effort of this garden, forget the fence, and then cry when the bunnies came and ate my new veggies - he is so good at gently helping to prevent any breakdowns. So perfect for me.

Things are coming along well. I planted too many of each vegetable with the idea that I would pull out the excess plants once they have had time to sprout. I figured at that point I would be able to select the strongest plants and allow them to grow well. Now that they have been planted, though, I realize that pulling any plants out will be very sad for me. Humf. Because it's necessary I think I'll need to somehow grow a smaller/harder heart and muster up the courage to do that soon. The next post about my garden will come after I've done that. Maybe that will give me the motivation I need.

In my garden I have (from top left): pumpkins, green, yellow and orange peppers, beefsteak and grape tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, beans, watermelon, carrots and acorn squash.

I'm loving watching it grow so far . . . so fun.