New Sewing Project

I have been messing around with a few ideas for scarfs and other accessories for my spring wardrobe. Things that I can easily make in a few hours that I can wear with many outfits. I ran across a blog that challenges you to make new clothes out of your old clothes. Recycling things to make them look fresh and new! It really inspired me! I took the challenge.(For 2 months) Basically you commit to 2 months,4 months, 6 months or life, that you will not buy any new clothes, but change the ones you have. I want to see what I can come up with!! LINK TO BLOG I dug out my sewing machine (that I won in an essay contest back when I was a 4-Her) and had some issues with it. It's an old machine and ever since I have had the darn thing, it has never done what I needed it to do. I called up my grandma to ask her what to do and she suggested I trade her for one at her house that actually works. My grandma was the one that taught me to sew in the first place, so I am sure she can fix it. My mom in the mean time let me borrow her portable machine to mess around with. Thanks mom! Yesterday after MOPS I stopped in at Old Navy and picked up some inexpensive large jersey knit tops that were .99 each. Took them home, cut some squares and zig zag stitched them together to make a cute scarf. It didn't turn out exactly how I pictured, but it is cute! I saw a pattern online for a different type of tee-shirt scarf that requires elastic, that I may try next. I am hoping that I have time this week to do a few projects. I have discovered that I am a bit rusty when working with a sewing machine, but hopefully soon I will get back into the groove. I took a few pictures of my project, sorry the picture quality isn't so good. I quickly snapped some pictures in my dim lit hallway quietly in between nap time and feeding time with the two babies (I watch a 4 1/2 moth old little girl 3 days a week). Hope you like it!




This is the shirt before.




Cut in squares and pinned together.




The end result!

The Highlights of my week

Since the beginning of this year I have been searching for a diary/journal that I could scribble things in whenever I wanted, and not have to feel pressured to write in every day. I have written journals as a kid, but it has never amounted to much. I think that since I have had a baby I have become more sentimental about life. I also have a lot more time to relect on my life as I have transisioned to the stay at home momma role. I am loving my new job and the perks that come with it! Here is the dairy I came across and HAD to have. It's called Philip Keel's Simple Diary. I ordered it online and when it arrived I was overjoyed to begin. Check it out!







Things I am thankful for this week:

1.) The sound of Liam's first laugh. I am convinced that it's the most glorious sound I think I have ever heard. I am so thankful for a happy baby who lights up when I speak to him. If I could bottle up the sound and share it with you, I would!

“When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies”
- James Matthew Barrie

2.) A cup of my new favorite, Pomegranate Green Tea!

3.) Sunshine - The days are slowly getting longer, showing me that spring is just around the corner. Thank you Lord!

4.) A husband that loves me so much that he brought me home a little box of heaven, for no reason, but to make me smile! Chocolates by Lilly





5.) Spending time with my sisters. Thank you Lord for the woman in my life.

6.) Quiet moments like these:

Thrifty

Another one of my favorite hobbies is to bargain hunt. Tom teases me all the time about my excitement to try and stretch my dollar farther than the time before. He has been known to call me a fox hound, sniffing out the red stickers. ha ha I have been working since I was 16,... babysitting, scooping ice cream at the local ice cream parlor and cleaning house for family friends to earn extra money. With five kids in your family, money was always tight and it wasn't as if I could ask my parents to buy me a new dress or a pair of shoes whenever I wished. Don't get me wrong, my parents bought me new school clothes, and shoes every year (necessity items). But whenever I wanted something new, I had to buy it myself. I became a working girl so that I could do extra things,...I bought my own car, paid for my own gas to drive it, took a trip to Europe (I saved all summer for that trip) and put myself through college. (With a little help the first semester from the parents)It's always been fun to see how far my dollar can stretch! I am a true believer that if you want something bad enough, you can get it for/close to, the price you want to buy it for. You just need to wait for the appropriate "time" to buy it. With the internet, it's even more so true. Be creative! Right before my wedding I went out and tried on loads of different wedding dresses, found one I loved, but didn't love the price tag (2,000.00) and went on ebay and bought it for $250.00. Same dress, different price! When I knew that I wanted my wedding colors to be red, I went to Target a few days after Christmas and picked up all my silver wedding flower holders, red ribbon etc. for 75% off. Classy, yet affordable! So now that I am no longer pregnant and slowly getting back into my clothes, I am once again out searching for new pieces to add to my wardrobe at an affordable price. Periodically I will post some of my bargains that I have found. This weekend Tom took me out to a few of my favorite stores for Valentine's day (He knew I needed to get out of the house) so we drove out to the East side and I stopped in a few. I was so excited to find that my weight loss isn't a part of my imagination and that the dress looked cute on me, and not just cute on the hanger. Here are a few of the great deals I picked up! Dress, shoes and spring hand bag. *Please note that the handbag doesn't match the outfit, but I threw it in the picture so you could see it.
Total price for all three items: $15.00

Note Cards

So this weekend the weather was anything but ideal. The snow has been falling (which is beautiful, but not to travel in) and I find myself once again finding things in my craft closet to occupy my mind. My dad's Birthday was Friday and after looking through my card box, I noticed that it is slowly looking more empty. I decided to make a few to add to it. If you receive one of these cards in the near future, please take note that it was made with love!

Adventures in the Kitchen

So like I said before, I'm going to try and cook more in 2010. I have noticed that my confidence level when it comes to cooking is very low. I think it's because I don't cook as often as I should. I haven't reached that point in my skill level to say I am good at it,...but I'm improving. Tom seems to think that I need to loosen up a bit. I follow the recipe exactly, which bugs the heck out of him. He is the kind of cook that throws in this, or that to taste. Maybe that's why baking is my strong suit. Baking has to be exact, in order to turn out right. Give me a mixing bowl with spoon and I am happy. :)


Well last night I decided to try a new recipe that that I found online for Irish Stew. It was amazing, even Tom thought so. I thought I would share the recipe with you all. The only thing I found that I would change/add is a little bit of water. I found that I boiled down the liquid too much at the end, so I added about 1 1/2 cups of water and it fixed the problem, and didn't change the taste. I baked a loaf of Beer Bread with a little butter to go along with it, and the two went really well together. Bon Appétit!

IRISH STEW