the first of many

well, as i mentioned a couple posts back, i had a little sewing machine class so i could learn how to use my christmas present. it was overwhelming! but it was great. my teacher was so nice and the fact that i got to have a one-on-one class was awesome. i learned how to thread my machine. how to thread a bobbin. ( what a bobbin even is!) i learned some fun stitches and how to change a foot. i learned so much. i got excited quickly and was ready to do something!

so - yesterday C and i headed to hobby lobby. the place i took my class has some wonderful and beautiful fabric. but i got nervous. i didn't want to buy super nice stuff and mess it up on my first attempts. so, hobby lobby was my place. still nice stuff, but prices i felt more comfortable with. i found some fabric that was on sale and bought my essentials. i went home and watched a little youtube tutorial on how to make an envelope slip cover. once C went to bed, i got to work.

ahhhh! here she is!

i couldn't believe it! i made a pillowcase. me. me!

it kind of took me awhile b/c i had some trouble with my bobbin. of course, the only part of the pillow seam that shows is the part i had to sew first and the part that looks a little wonky. but, it's my first attempt and it's the back and it's for C's room. she'll never notice.


here's a picture of the "envelope" style. i already had the pillow. i just measured accordingly to cover it's size.

i went and showed shaun and he kind of freaked out. he was so proud of me, so that made me even more proud of my creation. he insisted on a picture, so i thought i would add it too. =)

(kona is proud too i guess. and yes, i'm in the bathroom. shaun was installing the light.)

so, like i said, this is the first of many. i went to bed last night with my mind racing with ideas. there are so many possibilities and i can't wait to get better and create more!

thanks for being so encouraging shauny, and for finding me a great machine. do you want me to make you a pillow? ;)

a little re-arranging

i realized that i blogged a while back about some re-arranging in C's room, but then never showed you the after product. well, even though you've probably forgotten about it, i thought i would show you anyway.

so, like i mentioned before, we moved C's room around and had a blank wall. i decided to get a picture shelf from IKEA and i also found some cute bird decals from etsy.


the shelf has the print that has always been in her room. i've also got a little plan to make a canvas with her name on it. i'll probably add that in once it's finished.

i also added a little coat rack that i used in C's nursery in our old house. i think it serves as a perfect little perch for the cute little birds.


and this was one of my favorite christmas presents. i'm really not in to collecting things, but when i saw this willow tree figurine it seemed so perfect. i put it in C's room because i'm in here so much and i really love what this statue is representing. and the picture is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding. i added it to the shelf because i want our baby to know that we are just as in love today as we were on july 21st, 2006.


so, there it is. the first wall you see when you walk in her room. i really love it. and the $5 decals really make it for me.


in other news - i picked out a color for the bathroom wall. it's called summit gray from sherwin williams.


what do you think baby girl?

umm...good - i'll hopefully get it painted this weekend....

update from the weekend

man - i have one hard working husband! have you ever tiled a floor? me either - and this was my husbands first attempt. i am impressed. like super duper impressed. like "look what my husband can do!" impressed.

i can't wait to show the final product and write a real before and after blog. you all really don't even know how bad it was when we started.

also in the update category, my baby is ready for the beach! i mentioned before that we just made plans last week to go on a spring break trip. well, the bathing suit i bought her last fall, with fingers crossed that it would fit this summer, fits! she looks so big in these (bad quality) pictures and i can't wait to take her back to the beach. i know this time will be so different and she will have a blast!



and last - i have my first sewing lesson this weekend. the place we bought my sewing machine gives you 1 free class to learn how to use your machine. THANK GOODNESS! it's just been sitting there, taunting me, b/c i don't even know what a bobbin is! one of my first projects -- curtain for bathroom window!

wish me luck!

lately i've...

been a bad blogger.

finally recovered from bronchitis, upper respiratory infection and sinus infection that hit a week before christmas. (3 doctors visits, 2 rounds of antibiotics and 1 AMAZING husband finally got me through it.)

bought a sewing machine and haven't moved it b/c i don't know how to use it

decided (with the hubs) to do some reno work to our 50's bathroom

decided to tear down the tile walls in said bathroom

decided against tearing down tile in fear of wiring behind tile

bought a new AMAZING shower curtain

watched my husband tear up our ugly bathroom tile floor

watched my husband fight with cement board in our old bathroom

picked out new tile for floor

picked out a new vanity and mirror

attempted to pick out a new wall color for our bathroom, in the gray family

found, bought and got an amazing deal on new faucet for new vanity on amazon (we got it for $55 - i'll let you know if it's sketch)

picked out another new vanity and mirror and medicine cabinet

decided i might need to look into more tile b/c i'm not 100% satisfied with what i've picked out

gone to 2 birthday parties for 1-year-old babies

taught my daughter to "jump"

and made plans to go on a spring break trip to florida!

oh geez....i can't wait until April!!

see why #1 is REALLY true?

here's the bath in progress. i promise to do a big post on the final product!

a little bit of time

i wish i had more time to blog and bake and shop and hold my baby and be with my husband and family and rest. but -- this is a fun and busy time of year! and the free time i do have goes to snuggling, not blogging. i read blogs, i find recipes and look at sweet pictures, but putting one together myself just isn't easy sometimes. so - if there is anyone out there that actually reads this, i'm sorry. i'm trying.

i have a little bit of time right now, so here's a little update.

we put up our tree! i LOVE it. i have really pretty pictures of the mantle and tree, but not on this computer, so here's one from my phone.

she is kind of obsessed with hats lately. when we found this in our christmas decorations she was really excited about putting it one. she just plays like normal, only in a santa hat!

also - i'm on a baking rampage! i took about a week break after thanksgiving, but i couldn't wait much longer. on my list of things to make:

this weekend my 10 year old niece and 5 year old nephew are coming to town. we are going to make and decorate christmas cookies from scratch! i can't wait!!

i'm also going to make this before they get there. i hope. for some reason i'm craving a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. and i found this website that gives the cheesecake factory's recipe. hello!

this might look kind of strange, but TRUST ME - it's the most amazing stuff you will EVER put in your mouth. just make it and eat it. and eat it and eat it and eat it. you'll be mad at me. it's so good. caramel puff corn. enjoy.

hopefully i'll be back soon. i'll definitely be documenting this weekends baking extravaganza!

thanksgiving prep

oh man! i love love LOVE thanksgiving. i love the fact that i'm off work. i love that i get to eat crazy amounts of comfort food. i love spending time with my family. and i love that i get to decorate for christmas the next day! this year i'm super excited for a couple of reasons.

1- our family is going to gatlinburg! my mom rented a beautiful cabin in the smokey mountains and we get to spend 4 wonderful nights enjoying the mountain air, relaxing in a hot tub on the wrap-around porch, hiking, eating, playing games and just being with my family!

2- going to g-burg means 4 straight days with these wonderful people


this is my little brother and his fiance. johnathan and darcy (or as i call them, jo & darc) are getting married next may. they are both really busy, so even though we all live in lexington, we hardly get to see each other. jo is an amazing chef at a local restaurant. darc serves there a few nights a week, but also has a 9-5 job. it's always so great to hang out with them. jo and i are 6 years apart and have always gotten along great. we "get" each other.

3- speaking of jo - he always makes our thanksgiving meals. and they are always A-MAZ-ING! i can't wait to eat his food all weekend long!

4- i get to make the desserts! i love to bake. love to make pretty sweet treats, and (not to brag) i'm kind of good at it. i've been making things lately, trying to test out what i want for thanksgiving day. lately i've made:

paula dean's gingerbread pumpkin triffle

this was SUPER easy and looked beautiful just like the picture. click {here} for recipe

joy of baking's pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting

i'm not a huge pumpkin fan, so i decided to add chocolate chips. they were yummy! and the cookies were nice and soft. i'd call them a muffin-cookie. click {here} for this recipe.

tasty kitchen's oreo cheescake cookies

i have to be honest - these did not turn out as good as i thought they were going to be. still very yummy. i was just expecting more... recipe {here}

and better homes and garden's maple pumpkin cheesecake. this one came out of my better homes cook-book, but i found a scanned version of the recipe here. this cheesecake is amazing and one pumpkin dessert i really, really love. i've made it the past 3 thanksgivings.

shaun of course loves them all. and darc and my mom are big pumpkin fans too. but jo and i really aren't. so, next i'm going to try a pecan pie. pioneer woman has an amazing recipe that i want to try. i love how she titles it "pie that will make you cry". she definitely has me convinced to try it!

she also has me excited to make these - bacon onion cheddar biscuits


i know, not a dessert. but can you imagine waking up and having these for breakfast?? or even with our thanksgiving meal??

man! i'm getting hungry!

so - what are you making this thanksgiving? any amazing recipes i should try?

i'll be back soon to show you some ideas i have for the table setting. another thing i'm excited about this year!!

fun find on etsy

i just found the cutest thing for C's room!

as you may remember from the post about C's room, i have a little bird theme going. well, just recently we moved her furniture. her crib was in a corner and both walls were exterior walls. with the temperatures dropping and only 1 vent in her room, i am trying to figure out how to keep her warmer at night without sweating shaun and i out! so, i rearranged her furniture.

to make stuff on the walls make sense, i had to move things around. now, i have one wall that is pretty bare. it's the wall her crib used to be on. but - i think i've come up with a solution and should have it resolved after i visit IKEA this weekend. i'm going to purchase a few of these shelves.

they are picture ledges. we got some for our master bedroom a couple of months ago and i really love the concept. very easy to install and fairly inexpensive. (duh - it's IKEA)

ok - but back to the title. since i have a little bird theme going on in her room, i could NOT pass up these little cuties -

aren't they precious? they are easy-to-apply vinyl stickers that come in a variety of colors. and only $5!! honestly, i'm not big on decals, but in a little girls room, i think they could be really cute and fun. i can't wait to get them and add them to her room. i plan on having a couple sitting on her new shelves! they come from an esty shop called elaphannie and they are the small ella vinyl decal.

i'll be sure the post more pictures once i have the shelf and birdies up!

and check out this shop. there are TONS of cute decals!