~Flower Beds~

My front flower beds:



A close up of the hosta:


I have hostas, cone flowers (echinacea), bleeding heart, and a few flowering annuals that I've planted. I had a few alyssum plants last year, and left them over the fall. They reseeded and I transplanted them around the front flower beds. The beds need some weeding, but otherwise I've been so pleased with them this year. I'm working on buying perennials and planting them so that I don't have to spend so much on annuals every year.

~Muffin Tin Lunch~

I recently found the Muffin Tin Mom blog. Shortly after, I found a 6-cup muffin tin at a thrift shop which has been perfect for lunches! Today was "one of those days" and having a fun muffin tin lunch seemed to make things much better! :-)

top: Goldfish, raisins, Meijer Organics graham bears
bottom: sugar peas from our garden, Hormel Natural Choice lunch meat, yogurt



All was eaten, except for the raisins for some reason. The peas are devoured with relish. My daughter was quite excited to have "peas from our garden" with her lunch.

~Food Face~

Taco Salad for a 2-year old.



Plate can be found here (this is not an affiliate link).

~Gardening~

//roma tomatoes//

This summer I have a garden (besides the volunteer squash plants)! I haven't mentioned it on my blog yet, I don't really know why! The garden isn't in our yard, but I feel blessed to be able to have a gardening spot made available to us that isn't too far away!


//bell peppers//

What are we growing?
Tomatoes! lots of them! We have 15 regular tomato plants and 2 cherry tomatoes.
Green beans - again, lots of them! I'll be busy canning later this summer!
Red bell peppers (4)
"Jalapa" peppers (4) - these are hot peppers but not jalapenos, so I don't know what to expect
Lettuce
Radishes
Sugar Peas


//hot peppers//

It takes planning to get our garden watered and weeded since we have to go to it, rather than just walk out the door. But really, we don't have a spot in our yard that is ideal for growing the quantity of vegetables that we desire. So this is working out really well!

~The Great Squash Mystery: Update~

I know, all of my blog readers are on pins and needles, waiting to find out what my mystery squash plants are. Well, it's still somewhat of a mystery!

We have three plants. We've determined that all three plants are different. Two plants are growing like a "bush" but the other plant is sending out a long "vine". I don't know the proper terms, so excuse me if I'm wrong. ;)


One plant is growing these:


At first we thought they were acorn squash, but now we're leaning towards decorative squash. I did buy a few of those last year.

The plant with the long vine is growing these:


Maybe watermelon?

And the third plant is just starting to grow fruit, so we'll see what happens! It looks kind of round. Maybe pumpkins?

~Itty Bitty Toddler Dress~

After making the Itty Bitty Baby Dress for my coming niece, I was itching to make another one...only bigger! I used the Itty Bitty Baby Dress Enlargement pattern found here. It is enlarged to 3T and I would say that's accurate. My daughter is still in 2T, so I'm guessing this dress will fit her for a while...maybe even next summer! While it is large on her, it is still perfectly wearable, and she wore it to church last Sunday.



No outfit is complete without bloomers!




The little tag...I machine embroidered a design down twill tape. I *heart* my new machine. :D

~Itty Bitty Baby Dress~

I am going from 0 to 4 nieces and/or nephews in a period of 4 months! That means lots of sewing! :-)

First up is a baby girl due in July. It was really fun to put this little outfit together.

First, the Itty Bitty Baby Dress by Made by Rae. I used a good quality quilting cotton from JoAnn's. I made it in the 0-3 month size, to ensure that it will fit. The newborn size was tempting, but I thought the slightly larger size would be better.


It was the first time I've done piping, which was a lot of fun. I see more piping in my future! :)


It is super hard to find solids to match prints! Have you had that problem? I had to go to another fabric store to find a matching solid. It was a lightweight batiste, which works well for bloomers:


For the pattern above I used Rae's Newborn Baby Pants pattern. I cut the leg about 1 1/2 inches below the crotch, and added elastic.

And then, a headband, of course.


All together:


I've been dying to post about this, but had to wait till after my sister's shower, since she occasionally reads my blog! Now that she's had her shower, I can share!

Next in line is my husband's half sister. She's due in August and isn't finding out what she's having till she has the baby. I haven't made anything for her yet, I'll probably wait to find out what she has before I make anything!

~Phew! I found it!~

A while back, someone recommended a book to me. I checked it out of the library. It was a paperback fiction, and I didn't care for the writing style and some of the content, so I never finished it (though I did read the end! LOL).

It disappeared.

I renewed it twice.

I asked the librarian if it had been returned and not checked in (thinking I had returned it and forgotten that I had returned it). Nope.

I determined to look methodically through every room in the house. Particularly in the low spots. ;-)

Bathroom: No

Hallway: No

Kitchen: Hello lost book! It was on top of my crock pot, in a lower cabinet.

I'm so glad this book wasn't thrown away or permanently lost! I wouldn't have minded so much if it were a book I'd actually enjoyed, but I didn't really want to replace a book I didn't even like! :P

~Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!~

We went to visit Kevin's sister and her husband recently, and Kevin's mom came too. It was a great family time! While we were there, we went to the Milwaukee County Zoo. It's a pretty impressive zoo! Kevin took the following pictures.

~A Little Update~

Ants: all gone. I'm not sure why they are out of our house. I swept and mopped and they came back...and I threw my hands up in dispair and ignored them. I think I went outside and weeded or something. Kevin did put some ant bait around our house, and if that is what worked, it worked magically fast. All I know is that they're gone, and I hope they don't come back!

I thought they weren't getting in through the basement, but I am seeing little piles of dead ants around spider webs down in the basement. So I guess they are coming in through the basement. For once the spiders are working for me! Go spiders! (Just the little spiders. The big spiders can stay AWAY thankyouverymuch.)

Squash:
I see something forming here:


What do you think?

And what are these? Squash bugs? Yeeks.

~The Ants Go Marching One by One~

For the first time since we've lived in our house, we have ants. It also coincides nicely with having a 2-year old who leaves a trail of crumbs!

Last night I thoroughly vacuumed the living room, pulling all the furniture from the walls. Then I mopped, using vinegar in my water since ants supposedly don't like to walk on vinegar residue.

A half hour later the living room had ants crawling all over the floor. And they were carrying food. Where did they get it??? It reminds me of when my daughter was 9 months and I'd sweep, swiffer, mop on my hands and knees and she'd still find all sorts of things to stuff in her mouth!

We haven't found a point of entry, and there isn't a trail. I've read all kinds of things online that are natural ways to eliminate ants, but it's helpful to know where they are getting in or find a trail. Maybe next I'll shake pepper all over the place. ;)

~Pint Jar Soap Dispenser~

I saw this tutorial and had to make one for myself! So I rushed down to the basement, grabbed a used lid, and went to work with my husband's drill.

The finished result:


This particular tutorial suggests covering the lid with decorative paper. In my house that wouldn't last long. Maybe I'm a messy handwasher? At any rate I'd have water splashed all over it the first time I washed my hands!

I highly, highly recommend clamping your lid onto a scrap of wood before drilling. I was practicing on a different lid, and it was spinning around. I reached down to stop it from spinning, and the spinning edge cut my finger. Thankfully it wasn't a deep, but it could have been much worse.

I already had the lid, soap pump, and jar. Fun, free project!

~Your Guess is as Good as Mine~

Last summer and fall, we had one of those rotating compost bins. It broke, so Kevin dug a hole in our side bed and dumped the compost into the hole. Then he covered it with dirt, grass clippings, and weeds.

I now have these beautiful plants growing in the bed:


I'm hoping all the plants are the same, so they don't cross polinate! It could be cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, butternut, buttercup...pretty much anything from the squash family!

Any guesses what they are? Right now, your guess is as good as mine! :) I'll report back when I find out!

~Eleven~

Eleven years ago, I said "I do." I'm so blessed.

~Simple Scalloped Edging for a Receiving Blanket~

This pattern works well as an edging for a receiving blanket. You could use a purchased receiving blanket or start with a piece of flannel. I use a 36" square of flannel and round the edges, then narrowly hem it.

Crochet Pattern:
Round 1: With crochet cotton and a size 6 hook, *sc, ch 2*, repeat from * to * around blanket edge. Join with sl st to first sc. It would be a good idea to count your ch 2 spaces and make sure there is a multiple of two.

Round 2: sc in next ch 2 space, *5 tr in next ch 2 space, sc in next ch 2 space*. Repeat from * to * around. Join with sl st in first sc. Fasten off and weave in loose ends.



This pattern is reposted from an entry from last March. Feel free to enjoy this pattern however you like, including items for sale. However, please do not copy text or pictures without my written permission. Thank you!

~Cookies for Breakfast?~

Yes!


Recipe here.

~Green Grocery Bag~

A while back I purchased Keyka Lou's Grocery Bag pattern. I really liked the pattern, and some of my reusable grocery bags are getting worn out. I've been using the same reusable grocery bags for 3+ years now, so I guess it's about time to start replacing some of them!

I used two vintage pillowcases to make my bag. Squee!


I thrifted the green outer fabric and was given the inside fabric. Not counting the pattern, this bag cost just over $1 to make! It's green (in color), green (earth friendly), and didn't cost too much green (cash) to make. ;-) Green just might be my new favorite color! Haha.

It is shorter (much shorter) than my other grocery bags. The checker didn't want to put it on the bag holder for some reason, but I tested it and it fit nicely. She packed my produce in it, which I must say works really well for for its size. When the checkers use plastic bags, they put a measly two or three things in each bag. When you have reusable bags they think you have super powers or something and stuff them full. Which isn't always the best if your grapes are at the bottom. Just saying.



I have plans to make more of these, but I'm going to fiddle with the pattern a little and make them a smidge taller.

~Crochet Pattern: Girls Ruffle Socks~

You'll need:
a pair of socks
#10 Bedspread Weight crochet thread
crochet hook (size 4 or 6)

I crochet pretty tightly but if your crochet is a little looser that's ok too. There really isn't a gauge for these since it is just a ruffle on a pair of socks.

I really like the socks from Wal-mart, made by Faded Glory. They're in the baby/toddler sock section. The socks are nice and stretchy and it is easy to crochet around them. The sizing seems to run a little on the small side, so you might want to go up a size if your baby is at the end of the size range (for example, if your baby is in 12 or 18 month size, instead of purchasing the 6-18 month size socks, get the 18-36 month size).

Turn sock inside out. Start crocheting on the center back of the sock. Here is a picture to illustrate where you will be stitching along the sock edge:


The stitched part of the sock that bumps slightly downward is the stitch you will single crochet in.

Round one: Make a slip knot, and single crochet in center back of sock. Chain 3, *skip one stitch on sock, single crochet in next stitch. Chain 3*. Work from * to * around. Join with slip stitch in beginning single crochet.

Round one complete:


Round two: slip stitch into first chain three loop, chain 4, 5 triple crochet in same loop, *6 triple crochet in next chain 3 loop*, work from * to * around. Join with slip stitch at end of round.

Round three: chain 1, single crochet in same stitch, single crochet in each stitch around. Join with slip stitch at end of round, fasten off and weave in end. Turn sock right side out, and repeat for second sock.

I recommend machine washing, and drying flat. The cotton thread will shrink a little in the dryer.

Enjoy! You are free to use this pattern however you wish, including items for sale, but please do not publish text or pictures without my written permission. Thank you!

~Gray vs. Brown~

Is it "grey" or "gray"? I know they're both correct, but which one is the preferred spelling? In spite of referring to the dictionary, I still don't know which spelling is preferred, so I'm sticking with "gray" for this blog post. ;-)

So. Gray vs. brown. Brown being my hair color. Gray being the color that is starting to grow in. Yikes. About 3 or 4 months ago I decided to stop pulling out the stray gray hairs because there were too many coming in to pluck! So far I haven't colored my hair. I haven't really decided what I want to do.

I've been pulling out random gray hairs since I was 22. Every so often I would look in the mirror and be shocked to see one long gray hair, so of course I would pull it out!

The hair that is growing in "gray" isn't really gray. It's more like clear white. Goodness me. They glisten. LOL

I told Kevin I'm going to dye my hair pink. He doesn't believe that I'll ever do it. But I will show him, one of these days I really will go pink. Hehe.

I am torn. I don't want to start spending the money to color my hair yet I don't really want to go gray either (I have QUITE a while till I'm gray, I probably have 15-20 gray hairs at this point. I give you permission to laugh at my consternation. ;-) ). I don't want the chemical exposure, the endless coloring. And yet those sparkly hairs mock me when I look in the mirror. For now I'm doing - nothing. What to do...what to do...

~Really?~

The other day I checked my spam box and I had an intersting email. Usually I don't open spam emails but this one looked interesting. I know, I should be more careful with spam, BUT I didn't click on any links!

Oh dear! My credit card was going to be suspended unless I provided them with:
account number
my full name
address
social security number
mother's maiden name
and on and on - basically all the information you would need to do whatever you wanted with anyone's finances

What to do but give them all that information delete the email? Seriously, does anyone fall for this? They must because why would crooks still be trying???

~Yellow Calico Top + Denim Shorts~

You may recall this dress:


Made from this pattern:


I made the top, Butterick 4176, view A, and the shorts, Simplicity 7189, view D:


For this outfit:




I changed two things on the top. First, I made an interlined facing instead of finishing the neckline with bias tape. It's so much neater that way. Secondly, I installed a zipper instead of the opening with a button and loop. It's just preference, but I like the way this looks so much better. :)


I don't have fancy printed labels, but when I sew bottoms (pants, shorts, bloomers, skirts) with a front/back, I sew a little loop of ribbon into the inside back to mark the back. It makes getting dressed easier!


I made this about two months ago, but because of our cloudy weather I never got around to photographing it till just now. My daughter has worn it twice now and it fits her well with room to grow. She's a petite 2, so the shorts fit her more like culottes, which I like.

~Spazzed Out~

Sunday morning, at church, I was standing by the sink washing my hands and all of a sudden my upper back started hurting. It was pretty painful! I was in a lot of pain all day, in spite of taking some pain killers. On Monday I went to the chiropractor, but he couldn't get a good adjustment. By yesterday my shoulders/upper back were killing me. I couldn't move my head from side to side without pain. I went back to the chiropractor and he still couldn't get an adjustment in! He said I'd had a muscle spasm and my muscles were still too tight.

I was in the reception area and the office manager came out and was talking with me. She mentioned Formula 303 to help manage the pain and relax my muscles. They sell it in their office, so I bought some to give it a try.

Shall I break out in poetry? Formula 303...how do I love thee? Let me count the ways! LOL Seriously though, this is helping me SO MUCH. I can tell when I need to take it again, my muscles start tensing up and the pain gets worse.

Thankfully I went back to the chiropractor yesterday afternoon and between the Formula 303 helping to relax the muscles, and the heat and cold I'd applied, he was finally able to give me an adjustment! Whew. Was I ever glad to hear those pops!

My neck and shoulders are still in quite a bit of pain but it is subsiding. This is the worst my back has ever hurt, with the exception of labor pains! I just can't imagine how people with chronic back pain do it!

After this week, I would highly recommend Formula 303. Of course, do your own research. But if you need to take muscle relaxers, this is a natural way to go. :-)

~Swagbucks~

I haven't posted about Swagbucks for quite a while (since last August, I checked! :D), so I thought I'd mention it here today.

Have you heard about Swagbucks? It's an online search engine, and you randomly get awarded "Swagbucks" for doing searches. There is an online store which you can exchange your Swagbucks for many different things. My favorite is the $5 Amazon gift card.

I'm saving up for a Kitchen Aid mixer. I've been so tempted to just go on a spending spree with my Amazon gift cards that I have built up but I'm being patient, and one day my patience will pay off and I'll get my mixer for FREE!!!

If you sign up using my link, Swagbucks matches the first 1000 Swagbucks you earn to my account. It doesn't effect your account at all, and it's a little bonus for me. :-) If you haven't given it a try yet, why not? It's fun! and free! and did I mention you get free things? Cool! :D And once you have an account you can get people to sign up under you.

~Faux Chenille Blanket~

While I was sewing my daughter's Easter dress, I was mentally making a list for my next projects I wanted to sew. Namely, a skirt (for me), a purse (for me), a pair of pajamas (for me), and last but not least, a reusable grocery tote (for me). This was not on my list:



Pillow case and faux chenille blanket (not for me).

But somehow, before I even knew it I was sewing for my daughter again. *Happy sigh* I just can't help it!

It started with purchasing a crib pillow for our daughter. Well, she needed a pillowcase for it, right? So I got to work making that, with fabric from my bins that matches the valances in her room. Then of course she needed a matching blanket too, right? For the past winter she's used a lovely polka-dot blanket that I was given at my shower. But it is getting small for her and she was quite attached to it. Switching blankets on her wasn't going to be easy. Until I started sewing this blanket! While I was making this, every time I tucked her into bed she asked for the "pink blanket".



For the pillowcase, I just started sewing. :-) For the faux chenille blanket, I followed these two tutorials: tutorial by Dana at MADE and tutorial by Anneliese at Aesthetic Nest. I used lightweight cotton for the back (or front?) and three layers of white flannel for the chenille. This project is tedious. Quite ridiculously so. But fun. ;-) While I was sewing and cutting and thought, "I should just buy chenille at Joann's and be done with it." But when I ran in to get binding for the blanket, I took a closer look at their chenille, and it is not soft like this faux chenille. However soft this blanket may be, this will probably be the first and last faux chenille blanket I make!



I used my walking foot for this project. I don't think you'd want to make this blanket without a walking foot! I just pin basted the layers together, and started sewing. The front and back were nice and smooth. No puckers!

I finished this last week, and my daughter has been using it ever since. She loves it, and so do I!

~Saying Goodbye to My Old Sewing Machine~

*Sniff, sniff*



As elated as I was to get my new-to-me sewing machine, I'm kind of torn about selling my old Singer. It sure was a great machine for me! She shows her years with her name - "Slant-O-Matic". The funny thing is, there's nothing automatic about the machine, except that the needle goes up and down when you push the pedal. :D I have a lot of happy sewing memories with this machine, but I'm looking forward to all the memories I'll make with my new machine!

I'm planning on putting the money I make from selling this machine towards an IKEA desk that will hold my new sewing machine. This one:



So it's a good thing to sell my old machine! Just a teensy bit hard!