Madelines Room: Ruffle Curtain

Tags

room redo, decorating, curtains

For Madeline’s birthday (coming up in March) I’m going to re-do her room. Technically her room has never been “done” before, but I did have some baby stuff in there from when I first had Susannah.
Lame, huh?

So…I want to make it more of a big-girl room and something she’d like. I couldn’t settle on a theme but I did find some brightly colored bedding that I think she’ll like.
It has hearts on it, and I had some fabric that coordinated perfectly, so the first project I decided to tackle was a curtain for the window.
Here’s what I came up with!

I think it’s adorable!
The ruffles are so cute and girly.
Hopefully she’ll love it, too.

I’ll try to post a tutorial in the next few days.
It wasn’t hard but took a little bit of time (about four hours total).

I can’t wait to start the next project for her room!

Fill-in-the-blank-Friday

Tags

random questions, travel

1. My favorite place i’ve ever traveled to is:

Brazil.  It was an awesome place to visit.

2. A place I’d like to visit someday is:

India, to try the food, ride on an elephant, and shoot a cow (kidding!), Hawaii and/or another tropical destination because I love beautiful places, Ireland, because everyone wants to go to Ireland, and an East Coast tour because I’ve always dreamed of doing that.

3. I pass the time on a plane (or bus, or car ride or train) by:

If I’m in a car I can’t do much without feeling sick, but I once passed a memorable nine or ten hours on a plane torturing my sister with cards (rummy, I think?).  If there’s anyone there with me I love to play games.  I always bring a book but never read it.  Guess I just love lugging the extra ten pounds around with me on trips.  Right now I’d probably bring Lucy’s quilt along to embroider.

4. My three must-haves when I travel are:

Hmmm….just three?  Jacket, camera, and phone, I guess.

5. My favorite travel companion is:

Er….I guess I’m obligated to say Jeremy.  ;)

6. The craziest thing that ever happened to me while traveling is:

Hmm.  I’ve traveled a lot so I’m sure there must be something crazy that’s happened.  Lots of frustrating things, you know like puking in the matchbox-sized airplane bathrooms, standing in the check-in line for an hour and a half and then getting yelled at by the ticket agent for not being there early enough (that flight was suuuuuper delayed), having every single bag I’ve ever checked or carried on taken apart and inspected piece by piece, etc.  Which reminds me….I once brought a big package of taco seasoning back (Does that surprise anyone?) from Alaska and they must have thought I was smuggling drugs or something cause I had to open the seal and everything, they were so suspicious of it.  Guess not many passengers pack taco seasoning in with their facial moisturizers.  Whatev.

7. The most exotic food I’ve ever tried while traveling is:

Hmm…not too adventurous when it comes to food.  I do remember a horrible mucus-y-looking fruit that I was forced to eat tried in Brazil.  It was awful.

8. If I could live anywhere else, I’d live in:

Well, as much as this is going to shock everyone, I’ll just come right out and say it.  Alaska.

9. I have been to this many U.S. states:

I really don’t know.  I remember Oregon (obviously), Washington, California (I think), Oklahoma, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas (no way!), New Jersey (okay, all I saw of it was a mall and some freeways), New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Alaska (duh), Indiana, and I’m probably forgetting some.  If airports count I’ve also definitely been in Georgia, Utah, Minnesota, and Tennessee.  I’d have to ask my dad about others cause I was pretty young when we traveled a lot.

{this moment}

Tags

family, Kids, photos

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~SouleMama~

Tuesday Letter

Tags

family, Hobby Lobby, humor, letter, peonies

Dear self, next time you randomly decide to roll up the passenger side window, make sure Jeremy has his hands inside the car. Dear everyone I know, I’m very sorry that you all have the plague. But please don’t share it with me. I’d like to pass this time around. Dear Picnik, I’m mad at you for shutting down. {pout} Dear Susannah, it makes me feel like a bad mom for even noticing this, but you are SO much easier to live with when you don’t feel good. But I miss your dancing. Dear peonies, maybe you missed the memo, but it is WINTER. Stop sprouting! Dear self, next time you want to go to Hobby Lobby, don’t take the husband. He’ll use your 40% off coupon on a slot car track. Dear husband, sorry about the fingers…

Recipe: Symphony Bar Brownies

Tags

brownies, chocolate, recipe, symphony bars

Since I’ve been limiting myself to sweets once per week (or at least trying really, really hard!) I’ve been very carefully selecting what to make for my cheat day.

And then I spend the entire week anticipating that day.

Sad, I know.

But what else is a sugar-addict-trying-to-lose-weight to do?

So this week chocolate was calling my name and I settled on these Symphony-bar-filled brownies.

And they were well worth the wait.
In fact, I could probably eat them for my treat every single week…

Symphony Bar Brownies

Ingredients:
3 (4oz) Symphony bars with toffee
Brownie recipe of your choice (I’ve personally never found a homemade brownie recipe that I think is better than the Betty Crocker box mix, so I used that)

Make brownie batter according to box (or recipe).
Pour half of batter into greased 9×13 pan.
Top with Symphony bars.
Pour remainder of batter over bars.
Bake according to box (or recipe) directions.
Cool for a bit, then cut and enjoy the chocolately deliciousness.

Seriously, a Symphony bar wrapped in brownie?
Yes, please. I’ll take three.

I better go.
Time to plan out my next sugary-sweet happiness.

Parties I link to: Craft-O-Maniac, Lines Across My Face, Sew Can Do, Talking Dollars and Cents, Sew Chatty, C.R.A.F.T., Mad in Crafts, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Creating My Way to Success, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Joy of Desserts, Moms Crazy Cooking, The Girl Creative, The Southern Institute, Sew Happy Geek, Chef In Training, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sweet Little Gals, Vintage Wanna Bee, Sugar Bee Crafts, Nothing But Country, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, The Kurtz Corner, Todays Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Reasons to Skip the Housework , Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Mandy’s Recipe Box, Running with Glitter, Rook No. 17, the Sasse Life, the Stuff of Success, Trendy Treehouse, My Girlish Whims, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Sew Woodsy, This Chick Cooks, Sew Much Ado, Sweet Peas and Bumblebees, Polka Dots on Parade, Night Owl Crafting, Ginger Snap Crafts, Southern Lovely, Seven-thirty-three, House of Hepworths, Katie’s Nesting Spot, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Momnivores Delimma, Somewhat Simple, Something Swanky, Luxe Boulevard, Frugalicious Me, A Glimpse Inside, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Fireflies and Jellybeans, With a Shot of Brandy, 5 Minutes Just for Me, Delicate Construction, Simply Sweet Home, Tidy Mom, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Fun to Craft, Creation Corner, Kojo Designs, Simply Designing, Thirty Handmade Days, Sassy Sites, Tatertots and Jello, Bacon Time, Flamingo Toes, Homemaker on a Dime, Six Sisters Stuff, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, The Sweet Details, Candace Creations, Cooking at Cafe D, Passionately Artistic, Naptime Creations, Crazy for Crust, Frugally Sustainable, A Little Nosh, Lolly Jane Boutique, Head2Head Showdown Saturday, Between U & Me, My Favorite Finds

Tutorial: Pompom necklace

Tags

DIY, tutorial, necklace, jewelry, ruffle

I’m not a huge jewelry fan, never have been.
But lately I’ve found myself liking some of the new styles and taking a little more interest in accessorizing.

I knew as soon as I saw this post that I wanted one of these pretty little necklaces and I finally sat down this weekend and made a couple.
I even did my own tutorial in case you want to try it out for yourself.

Here’s what you’ll need:

fabric (I used one of Susannah’s outgrown t-shirts)
hot glue gun
round charm and chain (found one at a thrift store for ten cents…and they probably thought I was weird for buying it since it had a picture of someone else’s kid in it)

Step 1:
Use the charm to trace circles on your fabric. They don’t need to be precise or perfect.

Cut them out on the inside of the pen markings.
I cut 10-12 circles out.

Pinch the circle at the center and glue down to charm, starting at the center.

Repeat until the charm is covered. Trim any long or oddly placed pieces.

Pretty cute, right?

This one is a tiny bit bigger than I’d have liked but I still like how it turned out. Now I just need to find some more charms so I can make more colors.

Parties I link to: Craft-O-Maniac, Lines Across My Face, Sew Can Do, Talking Dollars and Cents, Sew Chatty, C.R.A.F.T., Mad in Crafts, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Creating My Way to Success, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Joy of Desserts, Moms Crazy Cooking, The Girl Creative, The Southern Institute, Sew Happy Geek, Chef In Training, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sweet Little Gals, Vintage Wanna Bee, Sugar Bee Crafts, Nothing But Country, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, The Kurtz Corner, Todays Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Reasons to Skip the Housework , Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Mandy’s Recipe Box, Running with Glitter, Rook No. 17, the Sasse Life, the Stuff of Success, Trendy Treehouse, My Girlish Whims, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Sew Woodsy, This Chick Cooks, Sew Much Ado, Sweet Peas and Bumblebees, Polka Dots on Parade, Night Owl Crafting, Ginger Snap Crafts, Southern Lovely, Seven-thirty-three, House of Hepworths, Katie’s Nesting Spot, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Momnivores Delimma, Somewhat Simple, Something Swanky, Luxe Boulevard, Frugalicious Me, A Glimpse Inside, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Fireflies and Jellybeans, With a Shot of Brandy, 5 Minutes Just for Me, Delicate Construction, Simply Sweet Home, Tidy Mom, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Fun to Craft, Creation Corner, Kojo Designs, Simply Designing, Thirty Handmade Days, Sassy Sites, Tatertots and Jello, Bacon Time, Flamingo Toes, Homemaker on a Dime, Six Sisters Stuff, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, The Sweet Details, Candace Creations, Cooking at Cafe D, Passionately Artistic, Naptime Creations, Crazy for Crust, Frugally Sustainable, A Little Nosh, Lolly Jane Boutique, Head2Head Showdown Saturday, Between U & Me, My Favorite Finds

{this moment}

Tags

family, photo, this moment, christmas tree

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~SouleMama~

Just because I’m a total nerd and I want the world to know it

Tags

Darth Vader, humor, Pinterest, random

I’m sorry in advance.

Really.

I am.

Source: gocomics.com via Connie on Pinterest

Source: plus.google.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: 9gag.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: starwars.cheezburger.com via Eric on Pinterest

Source: immortaltechnique.co.uk via Jasper on Pinterest

Source: themetapicture.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Recipe: Taco Soup (super easy!)

Tags

recipe, soup, taco soup

This is probably the easiest soup ever made.

And the best.

You know, cause it’s taco.

Here’s what you need:

1 lb ground beef/turkey/moose/whatever
2 packets taco seasoning
5 cans beans – black/red/kidney/pinto/chili/whatever
2 cans corn
1 can Rotel

Brown the meat, then dump everything together in a pot. Add the taco seasoning and cook until heated through.
Garnish with sour cream and cheese.

This makes a gigantic pot and will easily last 2-3 meals for our family. It also freezes well.
I love it (and could probably eat it every day)!
But that’s just how I roll.
Me + tacos = true love

Tuesday Letter

Tags

24, cake, family, humor, letter

Dear Martin Luther King Jr., how is that you’re the only person in our history that gets his own federal holiday?  Doesn’t seem quite fair, somehow.  Although I’m not going to complain because it means Jeremy gets the day off.  Which is nice because we can finish up all of our arguments from the weekend.  Dear Madeline, guess I know where all the hair bands are going.  I found thirty-one of them under your bed.  Thirty-one!  Dear 24, I know, I know.  I sound like I’m obsessed with you.  But I’ll never forgive you for killing off Bill and turning Tony into a traitor.  Luckily you’ve already been cancelled so I don’t have to do anything rash like boycott.  Dear Ang, as it turns out I’m really slow at embroidery.  And not very good.  If I continue at my current rate of speed, Lucy should have her quilt by the time she’s three.  Dear moths, stop eating my nice wool coat!  Wretched little creatures.  Dear gigantic truck pulling the world’s longest trailer, what on earth were you thinking driving into the Walmart parking lot and in what world could you have ever made that turn?  Did you really not notice when you hit that mini cooper?  I seriously considered going all Chuck Norris on you and running you down.  Lucky for you I pulled hamstring just thinking about it.  I hope that employee got your license plate number because I couldn’t read it.  Jerk.   Dear lemon cake, you were the death of my weight-loss challenge last week.  Thanks a lot. (But you were so stinking good.)   Dear Susannah, for the sake of my sanity PLEASE stop swishing your milk around in your mouth before swallowing.  So gross.  Dear husband, my arguments and I miss you.