Things That Rock My World

Sometimes there are things in life that I just can’t get enough of, and my excitement oozes out and onto this blog. It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts…and this one was inspired by my breakfast this morning.

1. This cereal was on sale at Target last week.  There were about 402 flavors to choose from, and they all looked amazing.  I settled for this one, Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut Biscotti, because I cannot at any level ignore the urge to eat something chocolate at every possible meal.

It.is.amazing.

There is just enough chocolate to make it sweet, and the bits of chocolate kind of melt in your mouth.  And the hints of hazelnut and biscotti and the crunch of granola…it is everything that cereal in my life should be.  It was pricey, but so is Jon’s Captain Crunch when it’s not on sale.  This is the best impulse buy I’ve made in a long time.  PLUS, as if the taste wasn’t enough, the container has a plastic flip top lid.  LOVE THAT!  No crinkly plastic bags.  Best ever.

2. Aveeno Baby Cleansing Therapy Moisturizing Wash.  After trying what felt like every single baby wash option on the market, we have finally discovered one that doesn’t give Abby a little bumpy red rash.  Her sensitive skin has looked two thousand times better since we discovered this product.

3.  The Frugal Girls.  Learned about this site a few months ago, and fell in love with it right away.  I’ve recently “liked” them on Facebook, which has been seriously life changing.  In addition to offering fun recipes and crafts, they post freebies and deals that are very appealing (unlike a lot of other pages I “like” on FB).  There are usually at least a couple of free e-books every week, along with deals for ordering/printing photos, FREE magazine subscriptions (right now we’re receiving Field and Stream, Martha Stewart, and Popular Science in our mailbox…all for free!), online coupons, and on and on and on.  Amazing.  Super helpful.  Love it.

4. The Pioneer Woman’s show on the Food Network.  It took me a few episodes to warm up to my favorite blogger’s cooking show…but now I am 100% head over heels for it.  It’s totally refreshing to me to watch a food show that isn’t afraid of recipes that involve insanely huge amounts of butter, cream, and beef.  I love her style of cooking, I love her style of writing, and I love her style of living.  She is my hero in every sense of the word.

5. The 100 Workout.  First came across this workout plan on Pinterest, and thought it could be an interesting class to offer at the fitness center. Here’s the lowdown: 100 jumping jacks, 90 crunches, 80 squats, 70 leg lifts, 60 jumping jacks, 50 crunches, 40 squats, 30 leg lifts, 20 jumping jacks, 10 minutes jogging.  As Candice says, it sounds like torture, but it’s really not that bad.  I led it as a class for the first time last week, and it is an awesome workout.  Super fast paced – I think we were done in 15-20 minutes.  Love short workouts!  If you’re looking for a workout that will add some toning and a little cardio, give it a try. 

A Porch-Painting Kind of Weekend

A nearly empty can of exterior primer had been sitting near our back door for a few weeks.  Thursday afternoon I finally started a project that has been two years in the making: priming and painting our back porch.

White porches make me happy.

A few years ago, Jon built a new porch for the back door.  He did a super duper job on it.  He also put some white lattice on the bottom part of the porch, to keep our mutts from running in and out and all around it.  I appreciated it because those dogs were driving me batty with creating little dog trails that went under the porch.  Argh.  But the white lattice against the wood porch made me nutso.  So it began waaaaaaaay back then, my desire to paint the porch white.

It intensified last fall when we got new siding and trim on the cozy house.  The white edging around the windows and doors was so cute, and the wood porch just didn’t fit in.  At all.  But I didn’t want to paint while I was preggo, so I put it off for a LOOOOOOOONG time…until last week.

Let me tell you, I totally underestimated the effect that a fresh coat of paint can have on something.  It’s like we have a brand spanking new porch.  And I think it looks stinking cute. I keep finding excuses to go outdoors just so I can look at it.  I know that some people don’t care for painted wood porches…but I love slapping a coat of paint on anything wood.  Wood + paint = a happy Jen.  I’ve been kind of neglecting my house lately, and it feels so good to have tackled a project that makes it look nicer.

In other porch news, Jon brought home this little red chair a while ago – he found it in one of the buildings at work and they were just going to throw it away, so he decided to bring it home.

Isn’t it cutesy-wootsy?  It’s little bitty – only about three feet tall.  I know I’m going to repaint it, but I kind of like the rustic look of it, too, so for now it’s going to stay as is.  It will definitely come inside when the weather turns yucky and cold, but for now, I’m excited to give it new life on our freshly painted porch.  Maybe add some mums and a pumpkin or two.  Love, love, love!

Thrifty Gifting

I’m planning to make quite a few Christmas gifts this year.  Thanks to Pinterest, I have discovered a TON of cutesy little projects.  I usually end up making a couple of everything because I love them all so much and want to keep one for myself. 

So in the interest of not ruining Christmas for my loved ones, I’m not going to share what I’ve been making here.

Which is killing me, for real.  I’m bursting to share them with you and it’s only September.  Three more months to hold the secrets in.  Sigh.

What I can say is that one particular little project requires dried lavender.  And I was at a loss as to where to buy some until I remembered…

I have some growing in the flowerbed by our bedroom window.  Duh, Jen.  Sheesh.

It’s a little flowerbed that is stunning when taken care of…full of black-eyed susans and white daisies and lilies of all colors and of course, lavender.  But this summer it has been mostly ignored.  Until now.

We are talking about a HUGE lavender bush.  It comes up to my chest level, so it’s not like it’s been hidden underneath other plants or anything.  Not sure how I’ve ignored it and not noticed it.  Well, I’m definitely noticing it now.  And every chance I get, I’m clipping lavender twigs to hang and dry indoors.

Oh, how I heart lavender.  Especially when it’s growing outside my window.  And especially when it can help turn an “okay” gift into a super duper gift.

Organizing the Craft Corner

Space is super limited at the cozy house.  As a result, craft/sewing projects (of which there are usually many in the works at any given time) kind of overtake the dining room on a pretty regular basis.  I call it the “craft corner,” which is just a nice way of saying it’s a huge dumping ground for everything from fabric to glue guns.  Thank goodness my in-laws came over for Sunday dinner last weekend, thus forcing me to unearth the table and chairs for the first time in a few weeks.  It was nice to see my table again.  I’d missed it.  Over the next few days I worked on a few projects, and as the table started to be overcome with stuff again, I decided I couldn’t take it any longer.  The craft corner was due for a makeover.

So here are some “before” pics.  Keep in mind that this mess is mild compared to the mess that was pre-Sunday dinner. Yikes! (Please ignore the attention- and water-deprived plants in the background.)

 

I didn’t have the motivation or funds to go out and purchase any nifty storage solutions, so I had to make do with what we had.  Until that point, I had been storing fabric in a couple of plastic totes.  Not ideal, but it worked.  I decided to do an overhaul of the buffet thing that was home to our nice silverware, table linens, and spare curtains.  None of those items are used all that often, so I decided to use the buffet to hold my sewing and craft materials.  Yay!  Amazingly, everything that had been stored in the drawers fit into the tote that I’d had fabric in. LOVE that.  So fabric-turned-table-linens tote got banished to the basement and the fabric got organized by color (kind of), folded (kind of), and shoved into the buffet’s bottom drawer, along with some sheets that I need to rip into strips for rag rugs.

The other large drawer became home to miscellaneous sewing notions, pattern paper, felt, some fleece, and a few other random items.

The three smaller drawers became home to yarn and knitting needles, glue guns and sticks, and the items I use most while sewing – tape measure, scissors, pins, and a few patterns.  (Oh, and some socks to turn into baby leg warmers for the kid.)

When I was sorting the fabric tote, I ended up with a huge heap of scraps.  I found a long skinny under-the-bed tote and made that my new scraps container.  It fits nicely underneath the buffet, and my little tabletop ironing board fits nicely right on top of it.

I still dream of one day having a sewing room, but for now this will do.  I’m just excited to not have piles of projects and materials all over the place now.  It feels good to get organized!

Pinterest’ing Day

I finally jumped on the Pinterest train. I avoided Pinterest for quite a while because I just didn’t see what the big deal was. Curiosity finally got the better of me last week, so I accepted an invite to join and my world hasn’t been the same since. Pinterest…oh, where to begin. At the very simplest level, Pinterest acts like a gigantic VISUAL bulletin board for all of your internet favorites. Find a favorite recipe on a blog? Save it on Pinterest. Come across a great Christmas gift idea for your father-in-law? Save it on Pinterest. Basically it’s a fabulous thing if you’re like me and have a bazillion sites and projects bookmarked on your computer. It turns your bookmarks into a photo treasury that’s fun and easier to search through that simply a loooooong list of who knows what. The fun begins when you start seeing what other people bookmark…and then you add to your board based on their boards and on and on and on it goes and it becomes the most EXCITING TIME OF YOUR LIFE! Ok, maybe it’s not the most exciting, but it is pretty great, especially if you’re like me and love craft projects/home decor ideas/new recipes, etc. (Sidenote: You have to be invited to join, so if you’d like in on the fun, just let me know and I’ll email you an invite. Or you can sign up and be placed on the waiting list, but I don’t know how long that takes.)

And there is a Pinterest app for my iPhone. Best.thing.ever. Hello, time-killer.

So, when I’m trolling the internet and find a sewing project that I must make for Abby because it is too cute for words, I hit the “pin it” button on my toolbar, and it instantly saves that project to my Pinterest. Amazing. Not sure how I lived without this, but my crafty side will never be the same again.

I made a few simple Pinterest projects this weekend that I thought I’d share with you. One was this ruffle butt onesie. I love ruffles oh so much. And thanks to Pinterest, I have found a truckload of ruffled projects. I took an old plain onesie that I always avoided because of it being so boring, fancied it up with some ruffles, and voila! A cute baby bottom. I think it took me maybe 20 minutes to sew. (I’m not very exact when it comes to ruffling. You can spend more time making ruffles look neat and tidy, but I like the rustic look.) Next time I think I will put a ruffle underneath the lowest one, because I’d like her bum to be a little bit more ruffled. Easy peasy!

I also came across a few ideas for using old t-shirts. If there’s one thing we have loads of in our house, it’s old t-shirts. Love the idea of re-purposing things that we already have, so I was really feeling the t-shirt craft ideas. The first idea I tried was this one for a produce bag. Oh my goodness. I love these bags. I made three of them already. I plan to take them with me to the store, along with my other grocery bags, and will use instead of the plastic bags in the produce department. These would also be great for collecting produce out of the garden or for books/shoes/towels at the pool or beach, or for a thousand different other things. You can make them any size you want. I know they aren’t fancy or life-changing…but I like them.

Then with the scraps left over from the produce bags, I made t-shirt flowers. These are even easier than the rosettes I showed you a couple of weeks ago. You just cut a strip of fabric, sew a gathering stich down the middle length-wise, ruffle it up, roll it up, and you are left with these fabulous flowers. Stick them on headbands or clips, purses, shirts, or anywhere that you want a little extra pizazz. Love! I know blue flowers are weird, but I was just playing with scraps. I’ve since found pink, red and orange shirts which I think will make fantastically gorgeous flowers.

Can I just say that prior to cutting up and sewing t-shirts, I was terrified of sewing knit fabrics. I avoided them like you wouldn’t believe. And I now think I’m starting to fall in love with them. I LOVE that you don’t have to hem them, because knits don’t fray. I went through every drawer in our bedroom looking for more t-shirts to sew. I think part of it that the material is just so stinking comfy cozy. It’s easy to shape, easy to smooth, easy to cut. And another reason is probably because I discovered the overlock stitch on my machine which finishes edges similar to a serger, thus making knits so much easier to sew. I love that stitch almost as much as I love Pinterest. And that’s saying something.

On the Menu: Meal Plan for (the rest of) August

I went on a cleaning binge this weekend.   Kind of.  Actually, I guess it was more like a de-cluttering binge…I attacked the piles of junk that have popped up on every spare surface in our house.  It was not a project for the faint of heart, let me tell you.  And I can’t even blame the mess on my husband…98% of what needed to be straightened up belonged to this girl.  Sigh.

Anyway.  Before putting away the pile of cookbooks/recipes that I dragged out last week to menu plan (and have ignored ever since), I made myself sit down and at least plan meals for the rest of August.  I ended up making a master list of our favorite meals, side dishes, and desserts, and then picked from that list to plan meals.

My goal is to use freezer meals or crock pot recipes on the days that I work, and leave the “cooking from scratch” meals for the days I’m at home.  Desserts may or may not happen, depending on the kind of day we have.

Something about having meals planned out makes me feel a whole lot more organized and more prepared for day to day life.  So I’m going to enjoy and revel in the feeling while it lasts for the next two weeks.

Extra bonus:  the Lion’s Club peaches will be here on Thursday.  YAAAY!  That means lots of yummy peachy desserts and some canning in the near future.

Sooooo….

August 22-26

• Monday: Swiss steak, noodles, asparagus (freezer meal), banana bread
• Tuesday: Crispy chicken, homemade mac & cheese, green beans
• Wednesday: Fish, coleslaw, rice, snickerdoodles and ice cream
• Thursday: BBQ pork chops, corn, mashed potatoes (freezer meal)
• Friday: Pot roast, potatoes, carrots (crock pot), peach cobbler

August 29 – September 2

• Monday: Tacos, beans, rice
• Tuesday: Homemade pizza, bread sticks, salad, triple chocolate dessert (crock pot dessert!)
• Wednesday: Spaghetti, garlic bread, asparagus
• Thursday: Ham and cheese ziti, green beans (freezer meal), fruit salad
• Friday: Round steak, potatoes, salad (crock pot)

Yesterday we had lunch with Jon’s parents, so I wanted to take a little something for dessert.  I saw this idea on a large tub of strawberry yogurt that we have in the fridge: mix strawberry yogurt, some whipped cream (Cool-whip), and a package of prepared vanilla pudding together for a yummy dessert.  It was super fast and easy and delicious…Jon had a serving before lunch, after lunch, and by the evening he had finished off the rest of the bowl, so it has my husband’s seal of approval.  I think it could be yummy with chocolate pudding and vanilla yogurt, too…may have to try that sometime.

CJ’s Love

Sooo occasionally Abby has a little red bottom. Nothing serious, but I was in need of a diaper rash product that is safe to use with cloth dipes. Normal diaper rash stuff isn’t recommended because zinc oxide can cause repelling and build up and that is no good.

Our doctor told me about CJ’s BUTTer, which is great for skin care in general, but is really great for diaper rash. Its all natural. And, extra bonus, it’s cloth diaper safe.

So I found some online at Abby’s Lane, a fab place to buy cloth diaper goods, and discovered that CJ’s comes in a tub or a stick, and about 357 scents to choose from. I decided to order the stick for easy application to the diaper area, and finally settled on trying the Pink Sugar scent.

It arrived yesterday, and I think I am going to be using it myself as much as Abby. It is the best smelling stuff ever. Seriously. I tried it on my hands as a lotion – love. And Abby had some dry skin patches that I applied it to – cleared them right up. LOVE. The child will be wearing it head to toe soon. Well, we both may be, actually. It’s divine. I found the company’s website, and they sell mini-sizes of all the different scents. I think you can get 8 for $10 or something. I think I’ll try that it the future, and then I’ll have little CJ’s to have in the car…and at work…and at the fitness center…oh, and in the baby’s room. That’s right.