no one told me about all the itchiness....
i'm desperately trying not to itch my little belly, but it is beyond itchy.
it's ridiculous.
just sayin'
30 January 2012
27 January 2012
Envelope Pillows
Every time I go to Joann's or Fabric Depot, I ALWAYS come out with way more fabric than I intended. This weekend, a lot of Joann's fabric was 40-50% off.
Heaven!
I went in looking for fabric for the little peasant dress I made, but also found quite a few yards of fabric to re-do our living room pillows (since we painted the grey stripes, we HAD TO do the pillows too, right?). Time (...and Lily!) had really destroyed some of our older pillows. Our silky purple pillows, are actually nice down feather pillows, but I'm totally sick of the silk purple fabric.So I took off the cases and made the easiest thing on the face of the planet to sew....envelope pillow cases.
I basically already knew what I wanted to do, but I used this blog to reassure myself.
I only made 2 for now, but I'll likely make a couple more. Plus, I've got plans for a few small pillows in the baby's room.
25 January 2012
Grey stripes
We are addicted to grey stripes.
Right before winter break was over, we made a mad rush to clear out the guest room and start converting it to a nursery.
 |
| The coral cribskirt isn't made yet, just a potential option. :) |
Our extra room is ridiculously small.
At this point, basically only the crib fits and a piece of re-purposed furniture we are using as a changing table/dresser/shelves combo.
Obviously, there is much to be done it terms of wall decorations, fabrics, etc.
Amazingly, thanks to great finds and a donated crib, we've only spent $7 on the whole room so far! Dan found a gallon of a great neutral grey on clearance at Home Depot for $7.
$7!!!!! I don't think anyone can beat that.
(Okay...so that's not counting all the fabric I've purchased, but we'll get to the cost of that later...)
Anyways, we loved the grey stripes so much, we decided it was time to finally do something in the living room.
We like it.
It makes the room a bit more modern/chic (or something like that...)
:)
23 January 2012
Little Peasant Dress
Now that the end of January is arriving and track season is quickly approaching, I've come to realize I really don't have that many free weekends until she is here. WHOA!
Okay, so I have 1 more weekend in January, plus most weekends in Feb/ March - but after that I am solidly booked April-May, not only on weekends, but during the week too!
Doesn't sound too bad, but I'm starting to feel a little nervous about the fatigue and uncomfortableness that is supposed to hit in the 3rd trimester, combined with my already busy track schedule and a due date of May 27th.
So instead of fretting about what April/May will be like - I've decided to turned up the gears on all baby related projects.
 |
| The bad lighting from my phone camera does not do this fabric justice ! |
This tutorial from Sew Much Ado was amazing - and made the whole process super easy. I'm definitely going to make a couple more (plus, it was super cheap ~ $4-5 with fabric I got on sale!).
It's even an easy enough project for a future baby shower gift.
So glad I found this on pinterest!
22 January 2012
Weekly Menu
Menu planning is still a success!
We didn't follow the schedule to perfection, but made most of what we planned for. The Baked Potato soup turned out AMAZING!
Monday:
Tuesday:
Potato, Sausage and Spinach Frittata per Real Simple recipe + green salad.
Wednesday:
We loved the Baked Potato soup so much, I'm going to make it again. Plus, Dan's school schedule changed on Wednesdays, so he won't get home until about 10:30pm! I need to make something that will be good reheated (soups!)
...and find someway to entertain myself while home alone :(
Thursday:
Going to give this another try, because we didn't get to make the Apple Salsa part. Might also make shrimp instead of chicken?
Black Beans & Rice w/Chicken and Apple Salsa (per Our Best Bites)
Friday/Saturday:
Eating out with friends and weekend relaxing.
We didn't follow the schedule to perfection, but made most of what we planned for. The Baked Potato soup turned out AMAZING!
Monday:
Chicken quesadillas + Spanish Rice
&
Grilled guacamole + homemade tortilla chips.
Tuesday:
Potato, Sausage and Spinach Frittata per Real Simple recipe + green salad.
Wednesday:
We loved the Baked Potato soup so much, I'm going to make it again. Plus, Dan's school schedule changed on Wednesdays, so he won't get home until about 10:30pm! I need to make something that will be good reheated (soups!)
...and find someway to entertain myself while home alone :(
Thursday:
Going to give this another try, because we didn't get to make the Apple Salsa part. Might also make shrimp instead of chicken?
Black Beans & Rice w/Chicken and Apple Salsa (per Our Best Bites)
Friday/Saturday:
Eating out with friends and weekend relaxing.
15 January 2012
Weekly Menu - Round 2!
We successfully made a planned dinner every night last week! I don't think we've ever done that - so proud. :)
We also made a delicious fruit dip to take to a church activity on Friday. It is from a recipe that our friends Sharon and Ben shared with us during New Years Eve. I couldn't find the exact recipe, but we attempted it anyways and it was SO delicious! It's a combination of cream cheese + marshmallow creme + orange juice + pinch of sugar and it seriously tasted like an orange creamsicle! We brought strawberries, grapes, oranges, pineapple and apples to dip in it. Luckily...we still have some left to snack on.
Now, it's time to think about this week's menu....
Sunday: Dan is making delicious homemade Shells n Cheese again (we've added some SPAM and veggies too!)
Monday: (new recipe!)
Black Beans & Rice w/Chicken and Apple Salsa (per Our Best Bites)
Tuesday:
Slow-cooker pulled pork sandwiches with cabbage slaw (i never get sick of this...)
Wednesday:
Fish stick tacos (with the most delicious tartar sauce ever!)
Thursday:
Baked Potato Soup (I've never made it before and have been wanting to make it for awhile.) Also from Our Best Bites.
Friday/Saturday:
TBA - It's Dan's first week back @ school...so we'll see how we feel. It'll probably be leftovers one day/fend for yourself or maybe we'll make some Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes (YUM!!)
**I wish I could think of some more ways to use my frozen garden veggies this week- but I'm just not thinking creatively right now. I have however been thinking a lot about what it means to eat seasonally and how I could get my garden to potentially feed our soon to be family of 3 nearly year round.
We also made a delicious fruit dip to take to a church activity on Friday. It is from a recipe that our friends Sharon and Ben shared with us during New Years Eve. I couldn't find the exact recipe, but we attempted it anyways and it was SO delicious! It's a combination of cream cheese + marshmallow creme + orange juice + pinch of sugar and it seriously tasted like an orange creamsicle! We brought strawberries, grapes, oranges, pineapple and apples to dip in it. Luckily...we still have some left to snack on.
Now, it's time to think about this week's menu....
Sunday: Dan is making delicious homemade Shells n Cheese again (we've added some SPAM and veggies too!)
Monday: (new recipe!)
Black Beans & Rice w/Chicken and Apple Salsa (per Our Best Bites)
Tuesday:
Slow-cooker pulled pork sandwiches with cabbage slaw (i never get sick of this...)
Wednesday:
Fish stick tacos (with the most delicious tartar sauce ever!)
Thursday:
Baked Potato Soup (I've never made it before and have been wanting to make it for awhile.) Also from Our Best Bites.
Friday/Saturday:
TBA - It's Dan's first week back @ school...so we'll see how we feel. It'll probably be leftovers one day/fend for yourself or maybe we'll make some Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes (YUM!!)
**I wish I could think of some more ways to use my frozen garden veggies this week- but I'm just not thinking creatively right now. I have however been thinking a lot about what it means to eat seasonally and how I could get my garden to potentially feed our soon to be family of 3 nearly year round.
08 January 2012
Weekly Menu
| After all the holiday grocery shopping, cooking and baking + winter break laziness, I've been in a dinner rut. Add on the stomach flu and there hasn't been a good meal around here for days... So the goal this week:
Step 1: Plan dinner meals (meals that I don't really have to grocery shop for...since we had to frantically get our shopping done in the midst of the stomach flu and returning back to work)
Step 2: Make dinner (within 15 minutes of getting home)
Step 3: Eat dinner!
It starts tonight.
Sunday:
 |
| shrimp lo mein. (going to use yakisoba noodles instead)
Monday:
|
 |
| Homemade Pizza: Dan will make the crust while I'm at work :) Use lots of veggies (tomatoes, spinach, onions) |
Tuesday:
 |
| Slow-cooker chicken curry (a coconut milk free version (because we just don't have any!), like the recipe pictured above) Add slow cooker ingredients together the night before, turn on in the morning, make rice after work.
Wednesday: Homemade Mac n Cheese
Thursday:
Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken + roasted garden carrots + baby spinach salad
Friday: Church activity (need to make an appetizer!) Okay, Step 1 - COMPLETE! |
04 January 2012
2012
Being home sick today (some awful stomach bug attacked me the past couple days, ugh!) I've had some time to reflect on 2011 and of course what 2012 will bring.
In 2011, I blogged more than any other year. It's amazing how the blog-o-world and social media has become such a huge part of everyone's lives.
So to recap:
A new camera lens!
A commitment to be more crafty and productive on weekends (so glad I chose to do this!)
An amazing trip to NYC with my sister! It was seriously cold, but we managed to see a ridiculous amount of the city. Can't wait to plan another trip (this time with Dan).
A new car
A new garden - never thought I would get so much enjoyment from growing vegetables. But this was one of the best things about the whole year. I happily watched my garden grow most of the year. Now, I'm completely obsessed now with planning my 2012 garden.
Still to this day we are enjoying our fresh (or frozen!) garden produce!
We enjoyed a relaxing summer full of:
braces (okay, so this part wasn't relaxing...)
Dan did a lot of painting while I was at a 2 week Project Lead the Way training in Klamath Falls
Sara Bareilles
Trip to San Francisco
A beach trip
A vacation, visiting Mt St Helens and camping at Orcas Island in the San Juans. Hmmm...just realized I never posted pics of that trip! Oops!
.....and far too much time on
!!!
And of course the fall and the end of the year brought about what we are most looking forward to in 2012....
Overall, 2011 was one of our best years together!
And we are happily awaiting all that will arrive in 2012.
To list our goals or "resolutions" would be a little overwhelming at this point, as we have A LOT planned for this next year...
In 2011, I blogged more than any other year. It's amazing how the blog-o-world and social media has become such a huge part of everyone's lives.
So to recap:
A new camera lens!
A commitment to be more crafty and productive on weekends (so glad I chose to do this!)
An amazing trip to NYC with my sister! It was seriously cold, but we managed to see a ridiculous amount of the city. Can't wait to plan another trip (this time with Dan).
A new car
A new garden - never thought I would get so much enjoyment from growing vegetables. But this was one of the best things about the whole year. I happily watched my garden grow most of the year. Now, I'm completely obsessed now with planning my 2012 garden.
Still to this day we are enjoying our fresh (or frozen!) garden produce!
We enjoyed a relaxing summer full of:
braces (okay, so this part wasn't relaxing...)
Dan did a lot of painting while I was at a 2 week Project Lead the Way training in Klamath Falls
Sara Bareilles
Trip to San Francisco
A beach trip
A vacation, visiting Mt St Helens and camping at Orcas Island in the San Juans. Hmmm...just realized I never posted pics of that trip! Oops!
.....and far too much time on
!!!And of course the fall and the end of the year brought about what we are most looking forward to in 2012....
 |
| tiny tiny baby bump! |
Overall, 2011 was one of our best years together!
And we are happily awaiting all that will arrive in 2012.
 |
| a tiny profile |
01 January 2012
baby Baby BABY!!!!
We are being consumed.
By everything baby.
Our poor friends and family. It's all we're talking about these days. If you've seen my pinterest pins lately, you'd understand.
baby's ultrasound .baby girl. baby's name. baby crib. baby's room. baby in belly. baby kicks. baby clothes. sewing for baby. crocheting for baby. when baby is here.....
OH MAN.
And we've got just under 5 months to go! I'm not even to the 'huge as a whale' part and I already feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER [not complaining].
We are blessed that everything is going perfectly so far, but I am getting SO anxious to meet her.
I walked into Baby's-R-Us yesterday with $20 in coupons and I was utterly stuck as to what I needed. Generally, Dan and I are excited for parenthood (okay...we are ECSTATIC!!!!) and we feel pretty ready to take on this HUGE challenge....but it's nerve-racking going about it for our 1st time.
No idea what to expect.
So this is what I've been keeping myself busy with (yes, i'm inundating you all with MORE baby stuff!):
Planning for the nursery:
Taking inspiration from:
Making all sorts of stuff:
By everything baby.
Our poor friends and family. It's all we're talking about these days. If you've seen my pinterest pins lately, you'd understand.
baby's ultrasound .baby girl. baby's name. baby crib. baby's room. baby in belly. baby kicks. baby clothes. sewing for baby. crocheting for baby. when baby is here.....
OH MAN.
And we've got just under 5 months to go! I'm not even to the 'huge as a whale' part and I already feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER [not complaining].
We are blessed that everything is going perfectly so far, but I am getting SO anxious to meet her.
I walked into Baby's-R-Us yesterday with $20 in coupons and I was utterly stuck as to what I needed. Generally, Dan and I are excited for parenthood (okay...we are ECSTATIC!!!!) and we feel pretty ready to take on this HUGE challenge....but it's nerve-racking going about it for our 1st time.
No idea what to expect.
So this is what I've been keeping myself busy with (yes, i'm inundating you all with MORE baby stuff!):
Planning for the nursery:
 |
| Fabric Depot! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Source: ohdeedoh.com via Carlie on Pinterest |
 |
 |
| Fleece baby blanket (from my Black Friday purchases!) |
 |
| Crocheted baby booties (need to finish tonight!) |
Finally giving in and buying clearance baby onesies:
