Archive for January 2013

How to Make A Tag Baby Blanket (Simple Sewing)

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My neighbor is having a baby soon (like any day now soon) and I wanted to sew her a little present.   A few ribbons, some flannel, a free afternoon,  and I had a cute, soft tag baby blanket for her!  It would make a cute baby shower gift too.








Toile Valentine's Day Pillow

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Hi Friends!  I was inspired this morning to get my Valentine's Day decorations ramped up a bit.  Here is a pillow I came up with.  It was a quick project with a little sewing and a glue gun, and it was just the right boredom buster for a free Saturday. Hope you likey!




4 Berry Parfait Sauce (Healthy Dessert !)

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Who is ready for a healthier dessert option?  Who wants all the sweet flavor but none of the guilt?  Who wants to eat a parfait made with luscious berries?  I DO! I recently decided to change the way we have been eating. My lifestyle before my marriage was healthy and full of fruit and vegetables, lean proteins, and the occasional sweet. My lifestyle after my marriage has slowly deteriorated. Jim and Molly each have a huge sweet tooth and I have found myself not only eating more sweets but more processed foods as well. I have decided it's over and I want to return to a healthier lifestyle and eat more wholesome foods.  But my own sweet tooth beckons!  So I cooked up a sweet berry sauce to put over light ice cream or low fat yogurt and have been enjoying yummy parfaits every day for a snack!



A New Favorite of Mine: Urbane Jane

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I came across a blog I am falling in love with.  Have your visited Jane over at Urbane Jane?  If not, please do. She is a really nice person and she has beautiful taste. Take a look at her nursery reveal!



Shabby Chic Pillows (Simple Sewing)

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I made pillows!  I needed to do some simple sewing projects so I whipped up some shabby chic, cottage style pillows with envelope closures. It was like therapy. Why did I need therapy?




The flu has come to visit

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Ellie has the flu (or something with flu like symptoms). She is miserable and we have had a tough week. I haven't been on the computer much because she really needs tons of cuddles!  Here are some pictures of how we spent our days. Granted this was in between crying jags and naps (her, not me. Really. )



Installing Simple Shelves and Organization Favorites

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Jim and I are in the throes of reorganizing our home. When we moved in we just put everything in the basement thinking we'd unpack and put everything in a place. Wrong. We have no place. Oh yes, we have a big unfinished basement but we have no pantry, no shelves, no cubbies or little nooks. Nothing. So we are starting to get our stuff together and get some things made to make organizing easier.




Stuffed Owl Doorstop (Sewing Project)

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Don't you love when you see something in a store you would like to buy but you think to yourself, "I can make that!" and then you actually do make it?  Success!  That happened to me recently. Ellie's door doesn't stay open and I have been looking for a cute, child friendly doorstop for a while. I saw the cutest stuffed owl doorstop at Home Goods the other day and it was cheap enough. I put it into my basket, happy that I would no longer have to stuff Jim's old tshirts under the door to keep it open.

I kept looking at it and realized it was so simple in construction that I bet I could make something similar at home. Plus, I have to start using up some of my fabric stash. So I put the little owl back for someone else to buy.  And then I went home and made this.




Top Posts of 2012

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I am so grateful to be able to post my 10 most popular posts of 2012!  I'm grateful because when I started this blog I wasn't sure where it would go or what I would do with it. And here I am, a full calendar year of blogging finished, and I am still happy doing it and sharing whatever I manage to create with you all.  Thank you for reading and for your supportive and inspiring comments!  



 The Pinterest response to these pillows blew me away!



Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

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I had a can of pumpkin puree just hanging out and my mom gave me a doughnut baking pan for Christmas. What's a girl to do?  Bake pumpkin doughnuts, of course! And while it isn't fall anymore, pumpkin is a yummy cake, doughnut, cookie, coffee flavor any time of the year!




Manicotti Recipe

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My mom has the best homemade manicotti recipe in the whole world. She makes them only once in a blue moon, usually at Christmas,  because she led us to believe making the pasta manicotti shells is hard. I decided to try them this year and guess what?  EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY.  And Mommy, the jig is up!!!