My Little Turkey!

After I worked SO hard on this project, Kirsten decided that she didn't want to put the outfit on so I could photograph her. Little turkey. HOWEVER, once I got it on her, my little turkey performed like a HAM!! I used a tutorial I found at The Cottage Home to make this shirt and put my own twist on it! Here it is!!!

This ADORABLE clip was inspired by Ashley's adorable embellished tee over at Make It and Love It. Thanks for the inspiration, Ashley!!! Now my little turkey/ham is ready to celebrate Thanksgiving in one-of-a-kind style!!! Sorry for the poor photography...the sun has gone down and we're in our living room. *sigh* Oh well.

A Thanksgiving Project

I came upon an adorable tutorial the other day and decided that Kirsten must have this cute shirt to wear on Thursday! Last night we went to Walmart to get a white long sleeved shirt and could not find one in Kirsten's size that was NOT a turtleneck. As a kid, I LOATHED turtleneck shirts (and still do!) because I always felt as if they were too tight around my neck, so I have always sworn not to put Kirsten in one if I can help it. However, I thought that I would try to cut the neckline and alter it to make it more comfortable. After some alterations and getting the applique nearly finished, I began to alter the sleeves...and proceeded to run out of bobbin thread while still un-pinning. Yes. I thought I was sewing and I wasn't. Crap. So, the shirt will be done sometime later today, but I wanted to post a teaser of the pretty fabric that I got!

I love how all of the textures showed up so well on my little Canon PowerShot A1100 IS in PINK!!! I would have whipped out the Nikon D90 that Ryan and I both love, but for simple shots like this, the Canon is just as good! We read a review from a highly respected photographer (can't remember his name right now) that said he preferred Nikons when it came to SLR's, but Canons when it came to a point and shoot. Wow! We made good decisions! :) Anyway...I am off to re-pin the cuff onto Kirsten's sleeve. I can almost taste Thursday's turkey now...When it comes to me, Grandma and Dad...ol' Tom doesn't stand a CHANCE!!!!! We're like the father on "A Christmas Story" who picks at the turkey while being yelled at by the mother, "Don't touch that turkey, it's got an hour to cook! You'll get WORMS!"

Feelin' Thrifty!

EARLY Sunday morning I was laying in bed and could not sleep. I decided to lay there in the dark and figure out what each of us was going to wear in a few hours and lay it out before Ryan and Kirsten got up to avoid the endless battle of me pleading with Kirsten to JUST. PICK. SOMETHING. I remembered that I had some cute zebra patterned cotton laying around just begging for me to make a skirt out of it and I got to thinking about what shirt I would pair with it. She has a plain black longsleeved tee that she wears, but it's BORING and it needed some pizazz. SO, I got up and made THIS! I am so proud to have whipped it together in about 35 minutes. The skirt was made from scratch and I just added the cute ruffle to the neckline on her Garanimals shirt from Wal*Mart and voila! Super cute outfit for less than $5! SCORE! What do you think of my creation? Please ignore my pitiful photograph. My cute little model is napping. I think I will have her daddy do a photo shoot in this outfit, tho! I think her baby sister needs one of these outfits, too! :)

Now doesn't that ruffle on the neckline just make that plain shirt DARLING?! Next I am going to attempt to make a cardigan with another of these frugal little t-shirts using this tutorial from Ruffles and Stuff as inspiration! :) Happy day, everyone!

Mm, mm, good!

I want to start off by saying a big THANK YOU to our veterans, past and present, living or gone! Without veterans to fight for our freedom, Americans would be slaves to tyranny, because freedom is never free. Thank you to all my friends and family who bravely have and are serving our country!


Today I determined that I was going to make my husband something other than sandwiches or Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for supper.  I am normally an avid cook, but this pregnancy has kicked my butt! So, I set out to make Chicken Cordon Bleu, Green Bean Casserole and Mashed Potatoes. Okay, so the mashed potatoes are coming from a box, but I only have a few potatoes left and want to use them this weekend. Don't judge me. I took my chicken out this afternoon and allowed it to defrost to save myself some energy later. At this point, I also thought how yummy some fresh bread sounded and decided to set my hand to that, as well. However, the kitchen was in such disarray that I couldn't even begin to cook, so I set out to clean the kitchen. Two dishwasher-loads full later, it looks MUCH better! Again, don't judge me, I'm having trouble finding the energy to walk up and down the stairs without passing out right now. While I was cleaning in the kitchen, Kirsten started to complain of a headache. Not a surprise since she had been screaming at me for no apparent reason just before. After a few minutes, I had pity on the poor child--I could tell her head really did hurt--and gave her some children's Tylenol. I kissed her forehead to find that it was hot. Great. Took her temp and it was suddenly at 100 degrees--after having no symptoms and playing all day. Not a horrible reading, but I knew she wasn't feeling well. Giving her some water and covering her up, I told her to lie down and take a nap...she was out in moments. Back to the cleaning grind for me!

After lots of effort, supper was in the oven and smelling delicious! There are few things that will make you feel better than food. Specifically butter and cheese, which I had used lots of! I decided to put a twist on my chicken cordon bleu and use havarti cheese instead of swiss. Swiss is not my favorite cheese and I feel that havarti has a more refined flavor anyway, so rather than buying swiss, I just opted to use the havarti I'd already purchased for ham sandwiches! I also crumbled havarti and sprinkled parmesan into the sauce that I spooned over the chicken...that tasted heavenly when I dipped my finger in to test it! Here's a picture of our simply delectable meal!

 When supper was done, Kirsten was feeling too sick to want anything to eat so Ryan and I ate it all. Halfway through our meal, she tells me that she needs to go to the bathroom...while I'm carrying her, she gets sick. Everywhere. You know you're experienced at kid puke when you can clean up and happily finish your meal. We were laughing pretty hard about that.

I am off to take care of my sweet little girl...

Catching up

Wow, I REALLY don't keep up with this blog. Oops. As most everyone knows, we are expecting our second daughter around April 3rd! We're all very excited and Kirsten is thrilled to death to be getting a baby sister. With the Holidays coming up, we are no less busy than anyone else this time of year, especially since my energy level leaves our house in complete disarray most days. Today I managed to un-load and re-load the dishwasher, as well as make a grocery list and deal with a toddler who's emotions were running even higher than usual. Poor thing, everything is just too exciting for her. I do think that it's about time to drag out the "You'd better behave...SANTA'S WATCHING" trick that all of us parents love to take full advantage of this time of year. God bless Santa. LOL I'm hoping to be able to hit up a thrift shop or two to score a great vintage bowl...if anyone has one they want to get rid of...I'd be more than happy to take it off their hands. Just saying. Anyway, I plan to use this bowl as an Advent wreath. My family always did Advent when I was a kid and Ryan and I have never found the time-slash-initiative to begin this simple, yet meaningful tradition in our home, but I've decided that this is the year. Ryan doesn't have any attachment to it whatsoever since he's never done it before, but I remember how much it always reminded me as a child what Christmas is really about: our Savior. I've managed to procure a copy of Waiting for Christmas by Carol Greene which was the book my mother always used when I was a child and I am greatly attached to it. Since she is too stingy (love you, Scrooge--er--Mom! teehee) to part with it, I happened to find a copy from Amazon for ONE PENNY!!! That's right, honey, ONE PENNY! The shipping was a mere $3.99, so I purchased this "gently used" book for all of $4. It's been shipped, so we shall see how "gently used" it really is soon.

I've also been busy thinking about Hanukkah this year. Since my side of the family has VERY Jewish roots, Hanukkah is special to me and I wanted to do something on our own this year since we always depend on Mom and Dad's Hanukkah party. lol I'm so excited for feta cheese puffs (yes, made with pasteurized milk!) and potato latkes and--holy of holies!--CHALLAH BREAD!!! Among other DELECTABLE food, of course! We Jews know how to eat!! This will be a nosh to remember!

I think I shall leave your mouths watering with the thought of delicious food and get off of my derriere to finish getting ready for church. Hopefully I will remain more vigilant about blogging in the immediate future.

A little ponder

I often wonder about some people and why they are the way they are. Why some relationships work and others don't. It's simple and yet complex. I've learned over the years that I can't let the relationships that don't work bother me, I just have to let them either sink into the background or remain civil. I hope this makes sense, I'm not talking about a relationship in specific, merely the things that I have learned. I know that this is deep subject for a blog, however, I also know that if I write about it and send it into the "void" I will somehow feel lighter. I digress. You have to decide which relationships are truly important to you, as well as healthy for you. For example, is the co-worker who wants to go out to lunch with you and do weekend activities truly a good friend if all they do is gripe about their home life? Sure, we all gripe about the life we lead from time to time, it's normal; but when it becomes a focus, it drags others down. I can't bring myself to be surrounded by people who bring stress to my life. This doesn't just apply to friends, it can apply to relatives, too. It doesn't matter how frequently or infrequently I communicate to someone (or what my relationship is to them) if they stress me out any time we talk/are together, I just don't have the energy or patience to deal with it. Basically, I hate drama. I LOATHE drama in my life. I like to read about celebrity drama or watch stuff like that on tv, but it's not welcome in my life! I know this is random, especially since I haven't blogged in a while, but I guess I've just become so grateful that, in the family of God, you truly choose the people who become closest to you, because those are the relationships you work hardest at. So...thank you to those who hold a special place in my heart...you all know who you are...I hope you know how much I love an appreciate you. You are the people who know that I'm not always a b****-y person and you laugh at me when I am because you know that (usually) I don't ever mean to be. You are the people who push through my shell and make me love you, the ones who don't offer un-solicited advice and treat me like I don't know what I'm doing. The ones who laugh and cry with me, listen to me gush about how AWESOME my husband and daughter are (and agree, because it's impossible not to!! :) ). The ones who we like to sit around a table with and stuff ourselves silly with yummy food while we laugh. The ones who we choose to "do life" with. (to quote Pastor Mark) Whether you live close in proximity or far, whether I talk to you every day, or not nearly as much...you know who you are. You are the ones who bless my life and make my heart smile. I'm so glad you are my "family".

And the re-decorating begins!

We have found and purchased a new sofa!! I am so happy and excited, but I think our daughter is even more thrilled! Every day (only since Tuesday!) since the people who purchased our previous couch and loveseat picked them up, Kirsten has been begging Ryan and I to buy a new one! "Please buy me a new couch, Daddy, I wanna lay down." It doesn't matter that she has a fun little kid's couch, she wanted a real couch and did not hesitate to tell us in a very small and sad voice. The kind of voice that makes you feel like the Wicked Witch of the West and she's Dorothy begging for her little dog. Last night we were finally able to go buy a new couch! Kirsten gaily bounded from couch to couch, leaping upon each one and crying happily, "Is this our new couch?" until Ryan and I had made our choice. The choice-making, however, took longer than it should have since I was frantically chasing our child through the store trying to keep her from jumping on every display piece of furniture they had. I also gave my husband the look that says, "Not on your life" when he asked, boyish grin plastered on his face, if we could get the glass and wooden coffee table with the foosball game encased inside. "Classy and entertaining!" was his reasoning. We left with a couch, a small desk and some tiki torches for the back patio--NO COFFEE/FOOSBALL TABLE. :) Oh, and a large box of Fudge Rounds. :) We trotted out of there a very happy family until it was time to load everything into the borrowed truck...the desk would not fit into the bed of the truck along with the sofa. So...with rainclouds looming ominously overhead and the wind picking up, my dear husband and the gentlemen who helped us with our purchases frantically attempted to dissassemble the desk just enough to fit it into the backseat. After approximately 30 minutes (what felt like an HOUR with a toddler already strapped into her carseat and hungry, to boot!) of "arguing" with the desk, they got it into the backseat with Kirsten! Hooray!! Just as we pulled out of the parking lot, it began to rain. Not pouring, but just a steady drizzle. Thank goodness the sofa was in its plastic packaging and the uncovered desk was safely in the truck! Unloading the items was a LOT less eventful than loading them had been. Thank You, Jesus! :)

Kirsten woke up this morning very excited about our couch and ran right downstairs to jump onto it! She was so thrilled that it was in the living room! She had fallen asleep on the drive home. Here she is on the couch...can you tell she loves it?

Snow White loves it, too. She slept there all night. :)

I ordered some upholstery foam to make the hope chest into a bench. It will be ready for my hubby to pick up on Monday! YAY! :) I also did lots of sewing and crafting yesterday...more on that later. ;)

Out with the old....where is the new???

PRAISE THE LORD, we finally sold our couch and loveseat!! I had begun to wonder if we would ever find someone who wanted them after a few weeks of posting on Craigslist every five days or so when I got an email from a woman yesterday who was interested! I gave her a call and we talked back and forth all day before they came to pick up the items last night. They even paid asking price! Thank you, Jesus!! :) We planned to go right out and pick up a new couch last night until we realized something...something very importante. PayPal doesn't deposit the transferred money into your bank account for three to four days. Crapola. Aaaaannnd.....since we are not made of money (not to mention that I already paid every bill but rent for this month) we will have to spend three to four days sitting on the floor. Okay, well...not totally on the floor. We do have some folding outdoor chairs that we take to the drive in theatre, as well as a comfy chair in the living room that my husband and I fight over...we'll be fighting over who gets to sit in that baby a lot more over the next few days! teehee As for now, I am ordering some foam to pad my grandmother's hope chest and make it into a bench. This is a piece that is so precious to me...it was her 16th birthday present from her parents and she passed it down to my mother, who passed it down to me. Over the years, the veneer finish was damaged pretty badly and I wanted to preserve the piece. SO, a couple of years ago, I refinished it in a country white. It looked like a new piece! Of course, I was nervous to see what my grandmother would think since it has belonged to her, but she loved it! I think what she loves most is that I have such a love for this piece. Now, I am going to put three inches of foam atop the lid and create a removable cover out of some GORGEOUS black and white fabric. Of course, I need to give the chest a fresh coat of paint and put some laquer on it...I never laquered it, so it gets dirty really quickly and doesn't clean well (flat paint for that shabby chic look). That is this weekend's project! I can't wait until the next time my grandmother comes to Kentucky so I can show her how I am preserving this beautiful piece of our family history. I also can't wait to give it to my daughter and see what she does with it. Will it stay the same as I have it now, or will she be full of decorating ideas for it, as well? Only time shall tell!

You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only---two....

Friday night was our daughter's very first dance recital! EVER! She is just two and the youngest in her class, but she did soooooo well!!!! I am just so thrilled and proud of our little girl!!! Here she is just before going on stage!

Little bit "deer in the headlights", huh? teehee She typically HAMS. IT. UP. Kirsten loves the camera. :) However, she fell asleep in the car on the way there and was trying to wake up. lol

Their little group danced to the song "Poison Ivy" and oh my goodness were they CUTE!

Everyone said that she knew the dance moves better than most of the little girls, but my eyes were glued to her the entire performance...so I will just take their word for it. ;) After they finished dancing, they all lined up and the dance studio's owner asked them each their name and age. Each little girl peered into that "giant" micophone and gave her name...some timidly, some vibrantly. I sat there thinking "Kirsten will just stare out into the crowd and say her classic: "Uh...uh...uh..." But NO!!!!! I was pleasantly surprised when she gave her name AND age!!! That's mommy and daddy's little girl!!! We sure do LOVE the stage! Her daddy and I have been acting since we were kids, so she is just destined to love the limelight....it's in her genetics. :)

Regular dance class resumes this week and Kirsten will learn the basics of ballet, along with her normal gymnastics.

Here are some photos from that night. She cracked me up how she was OH SO SERIOUS the entire performance! Once I picked her up off-stage she was all smiles, begging to go again! Christmas recital, here we come!!!!

A miniature Julia Child!

I am tickled pink (ah! Pink! I love pink. :) ) to say that I won an item in Disney's Stella and Dot giveaway over at Ruffles and Stuff! My daughter won this precious set of pearls. I am so excited to see her in them!

Can I just say that I LOVE Stella and Dot's items?! They are so precious, I love the Mommy and Me things, they are really cute without being TOO "matchy-matchy", which I love! The kiddie stuff is adorable and age appropriate, while the items are designed to be a little bulkier and just look more fashionista-ish. I may foresee a trunk show in my future...

I must confess, I am trying to figure out how to get a bunch of money together...I want to re-decorate our house. Teehee!! We have been married nearly four years, which means I have not actually decorated properly since being married. Most of us have this predicament...we want to please our hubbies-to-be by letting them help choose our furniture in a MAJOR way, when they really don't care too much as long as it's comfortable and isn't riddled with pink/flowers or a combination of the two. So, redecorating is something that we really want to do this year being that we have planned since Kirsten was born to have another munchkin sometime in 2011...NOT pregnant OR trying yet, folks!!!! Don't get any rumors started, we just want to do all the stuff we have planned before we even THINK about it! lol We're I'm a major planner. LOL Ryan couldn't care less as long as it's a sensible plan and I only consult him once or twice on the matter. Oh, and I don't spend all of his hard-earned money. :) So, today I am focusing on the living room. I am not redecorating in a HUGE way, just little things here and there. Furniture isn't so little, though, is it? Well, I am WAY tired of our over-stuffed leather couches. They are nice for a guy, but too slouchy-looking for me. Loved them for the first couple of years, though....I guess I am just comfortable enough now to express my true decorating opinion? Anyway, I want something slimmer and less bulky since we are now apartment dwellers. I also want something that isn't quite as deep. If I want my feet to touch the floor, I have to slouch pretty low in these. Not a good confidence-builder. LOL Anyway, I am going to be listing them on Craigslist soon...if you know someone that wants dark brown leather couches, let me know! I am off to do some internet-window-shopping! (Is it bad that I secretly wish I could have a white couch? I mean, I know it's crazy with kids, but I have NOTHING against about 12 cans of Scotch Guard.....)

Dog Days of Spring

Yesterday morning was spent haunting the windows waiting for the mailman to come. Had my package finally arrived? Would it be delayed another day? Dismayed when the mailman was over an hour late, I went to the back door to let Molly, our Cocker Spaniel, outside. Suddenly, I heard two sharp rings of the door bell! Molly entered protection mode and began to bark incessantly, Kirsten--sensing the excitement exhibited by both Molly and me--ran wildly to the front door. Thrilled at the idea that my package had come, I also rushed to the door. Upon reaching the door, I opened it to find the object of my longing...

My first pair of dog grooming clippers! I had to wait until yesterday evening to try them out (we had a funeral to attend yesterday afternoon) and it took me several hours, but I got Molly looking pretty good! She's definitely not professional-looking, but for my first groom, I think I did pretty well! Here are some pictures of our girl.

I just could not get her to stand up for her modeling debut, she wasn't too happy with me by the time I was done grooming her. Molly may not look as if she had much done to her (I forgot to take a "before" photo) but, believe me, there was enough hair on the floor to make a whole new dog! Needless to say, I am pleased that I spent about $10 more than a normal grooming session to do it myself COUNTLESS more times. Don't you just love saving money?!

Dancing drama

Today was a busy day! We made a "pilgrimage" to Paul's Discount (YAY!) so I could ogle their fabric and Ryan could look at handguns. I bought embroidery floss, needles and two bags of little pom-poms. Ryan went back for the handgun. haha We've been meaning to purchase one since we got married almost four years ago, but had never done it. We finally have one. To celebrate Mother's Day, we will be going out to my parent's farm to target shoot. Redneck? Yes. Are we actually redneck? Not at ALL. lol Anyway...I digress...

After our trip to Paul's, we went home to get Kirsten ready for her dance recital pictures. Let me tell you...those girlies were CUTE! I will post pictures of her in her costume soon! After her photo shoot and rehearsal, Kirsten threw a ROYAL FIT when it was time to leave...she wanted to jump on the "jumpoline". Since we knew that it was getting late, we only let her jump for a minute, she was told to lay down for a while as soon as we got home. When she layed down for a good thirty minutes with no contest, we realized just how tired she really was!

Anyway...I mean to have my new scarf finished by tonight so I could post pictures. Instead, I will be laying in bed trying to get it done in time to wear to church tomorrow. Happy Mother's Day, everyone!!!

Aahhh...a moment of serendipity.

I have come to the decision that technology is EXHAUSTING! Last night, I got my blog all set up nice and pretty--just the way I liked it. This morning, I got on to do a little more editing, only to find that I had MAJORLY misspelled my url. The url I actually wanted was taken and--after what seemed like hours of trying to come up with a similar, yet totally different url and title--I ended up having to create an entirely new blog. SO. Here I am. Back at the beginning. Wondering if this is all worth it... Anyway....

Today, I was giving my daughter lunch and she told me the plate was too warm for her legs. (Yes, I let her eat her lunch on the floor in front of the tv. :) This is not uncommon as our plates are pottery, so they do warm up quickly. As usual, I reached for a towel to relieve her little legs, but the towel was dirty, so I grabbed a pot holder. That's when it hit me. I dug through my scraps of fabric and decided to make what I have dubbed a "lap mat". Like a placemat...but for your lap. Not to mention, insulated. :) In about 20 minutes, this little project was done. I did remember (almost forgot!) to take some photos for a quickie tutorial. Not that I don't have faith that people can't figure it out on their own....more for the fun of doing my first tutorial. Ready? Here we go.

I started by cutting out two 10"X15" rectangles of both fabric and batting, just the perfect size for her little lap. Cute fabric, huh? Remnant pile at the store. :)

I then did the obvious thing and put the pretty fabric right side to right side with the batting on the bottom and sewed it together, leaving a hole in one end. Turning it right side out, it should look like this:

Just sew that little opening shut and add some decorative stitching to keep all in place and, VOILA!

An adorable lap mat for your little munchkin! I am going to get some oilcloth and make another that will wipe clean. ;) Here it is in use....yes, we lounge in our jammies lots of days. Too busy tomorrow to care about what we look like today...but you will find out about tomorrow...well...tomorrow!

For now, I am off to find something divine to turn this fabric into!

Happy serendipity!