Made my first quilt today! Pretty proud of myself so I thought I'd share a picture or 2. Front:
Back:
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
4th of July Firework Cake and Cupcakes
Sometimes you just need to bake things. It's like peanut butter for your soul; and if you know that movie reference, we're gonna be bffs. ;-) Well with baking comes decorating when you talk cakes and cupcakes. And honey, I love to talk cakes and cupcakes! My family reunion is this weekend so we will be attempting to drive up several mountain roads for 8ish hours with our 9 month old little girl. Fun stuff. Anywho I made a cake and several cupcakes for the occasion. Here's some fun pictures! 
Monday, July 1, 2013
No sew tutu!
Hey all! I thought I'd share some knowledge I came across about how to make a no sew tutu with step by step with pictures included. First thing is first, decide what color scheme you want to follow. I've found the more colors the better so I'd advise a minimum of 2. For Addison's tutu I decided on 4 colors of tulle since its for her 1st birthday party. You also need to pick a ribbon since this is essential for the "no sew" part and allows you to let the tutu grow a little with your little one. These are the colors I picked and my ribbon: 
I promise it is so fun looking and cute! I pulled the pink strips up to the top after this picture and is so girly. So run off to Hobby Lobby and get started!
The most tedious part of the process for me was cutting the ribbon into strips. I cut each ribbon into 2 inch strips. 
Don't worry if they aren't perfect - no one will know, trust me. The next step is to measure your little one's waist with the ribbon and add another foot and a half for the bow. You can always cut off a few inches later when it's all done. The easiest way to put the tulle strips on the ribbon is to tape the ribbon ends to the top of 2 dining room chairs. Then just go to it and start adding the tulle to the ribbon. 
Honestly I forgot to take a picture of the actual tying part but you can tie it how you feel comfortable. I used a loop knot: take the tulle folded in half and place the ends at the bottom behind the ribbon and the folded top above but still behind the ribbon. Bring your left hand up and pass the ends through the "loop" and pull it tight and secure on your ribbon. Keep adding strips varying the colors so it looks like this. 
And tie tie tie until your arms are numb. 
At some point I thought trying not to sew was crazy and I should bust out my Brother but I foraged on. And ended up with THIS! 
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Fire truck cake
So I have the best friends in the world who also happen to be my neighbors...Lucky me! ;) They are great to call for spider-killing, dog-sitting, help moving things, ect. They are just awesome people. The last thing they did was dog and house watch when we went to the Fire Convention in Myrtle Beach and though I looked, I couldn't find any "My neighbor is a fireman" shirts or stickers. From previous posts you know I'm taking a cake decorating class so I decided to make my first official cake a fire truck cake to thank them for all they do. They love it! Pictures below.
Friday, June 7, 2013
New recipe
So tonight I tried a new recipe. Just threw a bunch of things from my pantry and fridge in a crock pot earlier today and it turned out pretty spectacular so I thought I'd share. Here's what you need: chicken breasts cut into inch wide strips about three inches long, 2 cans of chicken broth, 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 2 packets of Italian dressing seasoning, 2 cups of rice. (After trying it, Josh and I decided carrots would make a nice addition too.) Here's what you do: throw it all in together and mix well, put lid on and cook on low for a few hours. Took me 4 to decide it was done. The chicken comes out super tender and perfectly seasoned. Make a veggie if you didn't add carrots and tada! poor mans meal and leftovers depending on how many you're serving. Enjoy! ;-)
Friday, May 31, 2013
Fire Trucks, Cakes and Baby Toes
Alright, now that my home-life is starting to settle into a regular routine I believe I'm going to be able to be a regular blogger again. At least, I'm going to try to recommit to y'all. Trust me blogging hasn't dropped from my mind I'm just really committed to trying to sleep at night now that Addison has been waking up every few hours again. It's like going back to the every 2-3 hours of a newborn once we've been spoiled with a baby who slept 6-8 hour stretches just a short time ago. Well, actually it's been a month like this! Ah!
Anyway, Josh has been taking QRV days like it's going out of style. QRV days are 12 hour shifts on the Squad Truck. Basically he gets to go joyriding with a few other guys and assist on calls when needed for more than just one station. He loves doing this as a part time job. Same paycheck as working part time in a pizza joint or where-ever but he gets to come home at night to a late dinner after doing what he loves to do but in an even more free way. Miss Addison and I will be joining him for lunch tomorrow in fact. It'll be his last QRV day for a few weeks. I talked him into a break as the hot months start picking up. Firefighting is pretty intense labor-wise, especially in North Charleston where they are cutting up cars and dealing with fully involved buildings regularly.
I inquired about a job today that looks all on the up and up. 1) They are flexible with Josh's fire fighting schedule; meaning that on station days I can continue being a stay-at-home mom but on his off days I can work a few hours. 2) The pay is fairly decent for part time hours, which isn't common for this type of work. 3) I love that I can contribute just a little more to our family without it taking away completely from my SAHM status or breastfeeding Addi!
Also, Monday I start an official Wilton cake decoration course at Michael's! For those of you who have seen my past posts and know that I'm kind of awesome with a Ziploc bag and some scissors to make my flowers and leaves, you know how completely syked I am about using real frosting tips and bags. I will be posting pictures of all my beautiful creations, cakes or cookies. I'm mainly taking this course because growing up my mom made and decorated all our birthday cakes at home and Addison's 1 year birthday is quickly creeping up on us. I am giving myself plenty of time to take 2 courses over the course of 2 months if it all works out for me so I can learn (officially) how to make gorgeous buttercream flowers for Miss Addi's princess cake in September. (Yes, I already decided the theme when she's only 8 months old. Get over it.) ;P
Speaking of Addison...she is a speed crawler now in a variety of ways. She will criss-cross crawl with her opposite leg and arms pumping while on her knees, or she'll do the same thing but while on her tippy toes for more speed or traction. She is really working on balancing on her own little feet. She will pull up on everything verticle and has been letting go (grimace and panic inserted here) to see if she stays up. I don't think it'll be the end of July before she's walking in some form. She's getting so big so fast!
Well, I have to run. It's past my bedtime and I feel like painting my nails with Fushia Bling Bling - new color I picked up. It's hot! Keep an eye out for frosting on Monday!
Anyway, Josh has been taking QRV days like it's going out of style. QRV days are 12 hour shifts on the Squad Truck. Basically he gets to go joyriding with a few other guys and assist on calls when needed for more than just one station. He loves doing this as a part time job. Same paycheck as working part time in a pizza joint or where-ever but he gets to come home at night to a late dinner after doing what he loves to do but in an even more free way. Miss Addison and I will be joining him for lunch tomorrow in fact. It'll be his last QRV day for a few weeks. I talked him into a break as the hot months start picking up. Firefighting is pretty intense labor-wise, especially in North Charleston where they are cutting up cars and dealing with fully involved buildings regularly.
I inquired about a job today that looks all on the up and up. 1) They are flexible with Josh's fire fighting schedule; meaning that on station days I can continue being a stay-at-home mom but on his off days I can work a few hours. 2) The pay is fairly decent for part time hours, which isn't common for this type of work. 3) I love that I can contribute just a little more to our family without it taking away completely from my SAHM status or breastfeeding Addi!
Also, Monday I start an official Wilton cake decoration course at Michael's! For those of you who have seen my past posts and know that I'm kind of awesome with a Ziploc bag and some scissors to make my flowers and leaves, you know how completely syked I am about using real frosting tips and bags. I will be posting pictures of all my beautiful creations, cakes or cookies. I'm mainly taking this course because growing up my mom made and decorated all our birthday cakes at home and Addison's 1 year birthday is quickly creeping up on us. I am giving myself plenty of time to take 2 courses over the course of 2 months if it all works out for me so I can learn (officially) how to make gorgeous buttercream flowers for Miss Addi's princess cake in September. (Yes, I already decided the theme when she's only 8 months old. Get over it.) ;P
Speaking of Addison...she is a speed crawler now in a variety of ways. She will criss-cross crawl with her opposite leg and arms pumping while on her knees, or she'll do the same thing but while on her tippy toes for more speed or traction. She is really working on balancing on her own little feet. She will pull up on everything verticle and has been letting go (grimace and panic inserted here) to see if she stays up. I don't think it'll be the end of July before she's walking in some form. She's getting so big so fast!
Well, I have to run. It's past my bedtime and I feel like painting my nails with Fushia Bling Bling - new color I picked up. It's hot! Keep an eye out for frosting on Monday!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The TMI Post
Well, you saw the title, last chance to turn back and save yourselves... Nope? Ok, here we go. Let me start by saying that I love my daughter. She is perfect and I loved being pregnant with her. I was one of the lucky women who manage to come through pregnancy mostly unscathed from varicose veins, extreme stretch marks, or that flabby pudge. Yay me! I'd also like to add that pregnancy is a wonderful, magical experience that changes a woman. Now when I talk about changes, I'm not just talking about the whole growing a human being from scratch thing, I'm talking about all the disgusting things that no one tells you about pregnancy that scar your body and brain forever like a horror movie you continue to have nightmares about.
It's all blamed on hormones and I say blame whatever you want, it's gross. To start, the cliche everyone has seen in every movie about pregnant people. Once your body realizes you are carrying such a precious material in your nether-regions, it floods with hormones that make you sick and filled with nausea at all times. It's not caused by food or smells though they can definitely help the trigger. One of my biggest fears my first trimester was upchucking in my car. And I'm one of the few people you meet who can sit in the backseat of a vehicle and read for hours without being sick. Turning around a parking garage trying to find a space was going to cause some nasty consequences I was sure. Luckily, I never did get physically ill in my car. Unluckily, it hit me right afterwards when I stepped out of the garage's elevator. The jerking motion of slowing to the ground below and the windows that looked into the street were a bad combo. I made it to a bush and that was that.
From your head to your toes, some interesting things occur to your outside person. Your hair falls out. Not in big cancerous-type clumps, but pretty close. Stepping out of the shower and combing your locks might leave you staring at the brush in panic and thinking of running to a wig shop or taking that beach cap out of the top of your closet. Don't worry. It's not noticeable to others and is normal. (I hope?! Just kidding!) Though some books and websites say that you'll retain your hair and it'll be flowing thick and shiny, in some cases it's a crock. Put it in a pony and wait it out.
If you wear contacts this next one is a doozy. Ready? The shape of your eyes change. No, I'm not kidding. The size of your iris shrinks so you're contacts will cover too much of your eyes. Don't go running out to change your prescription either because it will change back. In the meantime you'll either have to put up with it or switch back to your glasses for a while. I dealt with it because I had just purchased a years worth of contacts before the stick said yes. Just be aware that if you do chose that route as well, your eyes dry out twice as fast as they normally would and sometimes this gets painful.
Since I'm working downwards, I'm going to make a quick circle back to the mouth. Not only does nausea hit, and I'll go ahead and tell you chicken is the first meat you'll nix cause the thought of cleaning fat off it will have you running to the loo, but ironically, you'll drool like crazy. All the time and for no reason. Just brush your teeth over the sink.
Here's a scary thought, your boobs will have a mind of their own. Not only will they grow, sometimes rather rapidly causing those horrible stretch marks to appear, they might leak colostrum, a golden liquid that will nourish your baby immediately after birth. There's nothing you can do about it. It's just your body's way of gearing up to care for your tiny human once they're on the outside. Again, feel free to stuff pads wherever you want to stuff pads. Who thought you'd make it out of the teen years and still practice the art of stuffing your bra?
Speaking of stuffing pads places, you'll be buying more than one kind. One intensely awkward and embarrassing side effect side effect of those fun hormones is discharge. Yes, a white, filmy, sometimes sticky discharge from your va-jay-jay. Experts in books recommend using a sanitary pad to catch it and save your undies. Ew. Moving on!
Though it's freaky, it's also slightly a positive: long, strong fingernails. If you've always had weak ones relish in this and paint them fun colors to brighten your mood. If your nails are in pretty good shape already, they may appear to grow overnight and it'll get old clipping them fast. Especially if you have the forgetful part of pregnancy and lose the file. Take heart that once you stop the prenatal vitamins things should return to normal.
Lastly, I'm going to leave you with the thought that you could be leaving as well...to go to the shoe store. I'm talking big feet. Those lovely hormones cause your bones to relax and spread so that your tiny human can find their way out of your body and the side effects of that lead to big feet and possibly permanently bigger feet. If you're an optimist like I am, take it as an opportunity to renew your shoe collection. :)
It's all blamed on hormones and I say blame whatever you want, it's gross. To start, the cliche everyone has seen in every movie about pregnant people. Once your body realizes you are carrying such a precious material in your nether-regions, it floods with hormones that make you sick and filled with nausea at all times. It's not caused by food or smells though they can definitely help the trigger. One of my biggest fears my first trimester was upchucking in my car. And I'm one of the few people you meet who can sit in the backseat of a vehicle and read for hours without being sick. Turning around a parking garage trying to find a space was going to cause some nasty consequences I was sure. Luckily, I never did get physically ill in my car. Unluckily, it hit me right afterwards when I stepped out of the garage's elevator. The jerking motion of slowing to the ground below and the windows that looked into the street were a bad combo. I made it to a bush and that was that.
From your head to your toes, some interesting things occur to your outside person. Your hair falls out. Not in big cancerous-type clumps, but pretty close. Stepping out of the shower and combing your locks might leave you staring at the brush in panic and thinking of running to a wig shop or taking that beach cap out of the top of your closet. Don't worry. It's not noticeable to others and is normal. (I hope?! Just kidding!) Though some books and websites say that you'll retain your hair and it'll be flowing thick and shiny, in some cases it's a crock. Put it in a pony and wait it out.
If you wear contacts this next one is a doozy. Ready? The shape of your eyes change. No, I'm not kidding. The size of your iris shrinks so you're contacts will cover too much of your eyes. Don't go running out to change your prescription either because it will change back. In the meantime you'll either have to put up with it or switch back to your glasses for a while. I dealt with it because I had just purchased a years worth of contacts before the stick said yes. Just be aware that if you do chose that route as well, your eyes dry out twice as fast as they normally would and sometimes this gets painful.
Since I'm working downwards, I'm going to make a quick circle back to the mouth. Not only does nausea hit, and I'll go ahead and tell you chicken is the first meat you'll nix cause the thought of cleaning fat off it will have you running to the loo, but ironically, you'll drool like crazy. All the time and for no reason. Just brush your teeth over the sink.
Here's a scary thought, your boobs will have a mind of their own. Not only will they grow, sometimes rather rapidly causing those horrible stretch marks to appear, they might leak colostrum, a golden liquid that will nourish your baby immediately after birth. There's nothing you can do about it. It's just your body's way of gearing up to care for your tiny human once they're on the outside. Again, feel free to stuff pads wherever you want to stuff pads. Who thought you'd make it out of the teen years and still practice the art of stuffing your bra?
Speaking of stuffing pads places, you'll be buying more than one kind. One intensely awkward and embarrassing side effect side effect of those fun hormones is discharge. Yes, a white, filmy, sometimes sticky discharge from your va-jay-jay. Experts in books recommend using a sanitary pad to catch it and save your undies. Ew. Moving on!
Though it's freaky, it's also slightly a positive: long, strong fingernails. If you've always had weak ones relish in this and paint them fun colors to brighten your mood. If your nails are in pretty good shape already, they may appear to grow overnight and it'll get old clipping them fast. Especially if you have the forgetful part of pregnancy and lose the file. Take heart that once you stop the prenatal vitamins things should return to normal.
Lastly, I'm going to leave you with the thought that you could be leaving as well...to go to the shoe store. I'm talking big feet. Those lovely hormones cause your bones to relax and spread so that your tiny human can find their way out of your body and the side effects of that lead to big feet and possibly permanently bigger feet. If you're an optimist like I am, take it as an opportunity to renew your shoe collection. :)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
