Moving...Blegh

My husband pulled in late Sunday night with a U-Haul full of things that I thought we needed but now I'm not so sure. You know how that is? Packing and unpacking really make you re-think what you need to live...for me unpacking is the worst. Maybe we should have just sent the whole "kit and kaboodle" to Goodwill. (Tangent: Whatever happened to Kaboodles?)

This is going to be P's bed and playroom, right now it's just the overflow of everything we don't have a place for yet. I've pinned some great inspiration photos on Pinterest, mixed in with a few other home ideas and some nursery pics. The color I picked out for the walls is gray with some blue undertones, I love it!

Empty moving truck: Check! Watermelon break: Check!

My sewing machine is sitting neglected on our kitchen table beside plastic boxes full of fabric just yearning to be shaped into something great!! Soon...I'll be back!

Summer Stuff

I don't know about you, but once we hit June, it really felt like summer. 

Giant hot dogs and french fries

Mama making you pose for pictures

Turning two

Cupcakes and Thomas the Train

Playing in creeks 

Fruit snacks and bonding with best buds

Swimming and saggy diapers and neon pink nail polish

Golf carts and getting spoiled by the fam

Boating and sunglasses

Lifejackets and sun-bleached baby hair

First swim in the lake

Getting worn out in the sun 

First time standing up on water skis

Miniature baby turtles

Being utterly fascinated, yet utterly frightened by miniature baby turtles

And lots more summer still to go... 

Maternity Shorts

As I've mentioned once or twice (and as is evidenced by my pinterest boards), I love these cute lace shorts that are everywhere right now. Well, obviously, I'm not wearing anything 'non-maternity' this summer and maternity wear is shockingly limited (with a few expensive exceptions). So, I decided to make a pair.

You need:
A pair of shorts to use as a pattern (or a pattern for shorts)
1 or 2 yards of fabric (I used lace so I lined it with muslin)
1/2 yd of poly interlock or other stretchy fabric to make the belly panel 
Matching thread, sewing machine, scissors, etc...

Swim Time!

Yesterday was a beautiful day, perfect for the pool...then I remembered that P doesn't have a pair of swim trunks. He outgrew everything last year. During nap time, I sat down at the machine and whipped up a pair from a pattern I had drawn up about a month ago (traced from Target, Circo brand shorts). I've had shorts for P on my project list for a while now.

These are made out of a cotton/poly blend from Hancock's, love this fabric. It's kind of water repellent, stretchy and non-wrinkly. I did a simple casing with wide elastic then I quarter pinned, stretched out the elastic and sewed a few more rows of stitches to give it that waist band look and keep the elastic from flipping over. That's the worst!

Label in the back, plaid matches up (woot-woot). 

Flat felled seams on the sides for durability and cute factor...

Faux fly and button closure.

Little man who is never still... we are ready for the pool. 

Family Photos

I just finished up an Etsy order for a family (some of my extended family actually) who is having pictures made. Three boys and a girl. A GIRL! I got to do ruffles...

Lots of ruffles...

And use some fabrics with flowers and pinks thrown in there. It was so fun!

 I used Simplicity 2171, I think it's a little Matilda Jane'ish. Love it! I liked the pattern, I'll do a review soon and let you know what I changed.

My aunt also ordered a baby photo book (See others HERE and HERE). She requested that I add 'taggie' details, a great idea, I thought.

Fun textures, bright colors, faces they know and love...it's a baby's paradise!

Have a great day!!

Knitathon: Chevron Baby Blanket

I have been super busy this past week: working on Etsy orders, hanging out with P, and packing for a move several states away. It's full-on summer here in NOLA, 100% humidity and in the 90's most days. We go outside, but it's quick and usually either a sprint from car into other air conditioned places or playing in the water-popsicles are required.

I'm also busy with a project. I have to confess, this is something that I've been obsessing over for months and months now. It's a chevron, knit baby blanket. I haven't been able to stop looking at the pictures and glancing over the tutorial since it first popped up on Purl Bee.  I pinned it right away, then again when Dana at Made was knitting her own version. I finally took the leap and ordered 8 balls of worsted weight, cotton yarn when it was on sale at Joann's a few weeks ago, along with a pair of size 11, cicular knitting needles. I have been a devout supporter of crochet up until this point, so it was an absolute miracle to me when I started to see the pattern emerging in those first few rows.

Now, I'm completely addicted and I might never go back. While crochet might be easy to shape, there's something about the feel and look of knitting that is beautiful and rewarding. I am seriously thinking about making a garment or some socks next...yikes. Just because I'm thinking about it doesn't mean it doesn't scare me! One thing I love about knitting is how portable it is. Sewing is not portable, even embroidery requires all kinds of tools, different threads, needles, etc... But this! I can stick it in my purse and take it anywhere! I am looking forward to knocking out several stripes during a long car trip next week!

Isn't it awesome! There's a little something retro about the colors and pattern, but still modern. This picture doesn't really do justice to the colors. The orange is "hot orange" and the yellow is almost neon. Is anyone NOT obsessed with neon colors right now? I just bought hot pink highlighter nail polish yesterday! 

These are the other colors. Stripes in graduating colors from hot to cool, I am trying to find a nice light gray to go between the white and robin's egg. I think that will make it absolutely perfect. Since I'm using 120 yard skeins instead of the 150 yard that Purl Bee's tutorial calls for, there will be 8 different colors instead of 7.  

I'm in love...

The best thing I ever ate...excepting Praline Bacon

Last week, I was grocery shopping and realized that all the organic baby spinach was sold out. I started scouting around for a replacement, and spotted some greens called "Organic Girl." Still no spinach, but they had a baby spinach/arugula mix that looked good. That's a pic of arugula on the right, kinda looks like oak leaves.

SOURCE

These greens are soo, soo good. I hope I can find them when I move back to KY. They have stayed fresh and bright (no slime) for more than a week, no gritty stuff to be found, and I am now a humongous fan of arugula. I've eaten it like twice a day since last Monday on sandwiches, in salads, all sorts of green goodness. (good for little baby too).

You might not know this about me but I love sandwiches. I could eat one for lunch and dinner every day of the week and not have even an inkling of 'ennui.' Hot, cold, grilled, sweet and savory...you name it. Arugula on a sandwich was a bit of a revelation. One day last week I made this...

That bright, crisp, herby, almost anise flavor of the arugula was absolutely to die for paired with hearty wheat, oven roasted turkey, fresh, perfect tomato slices, salt, pepper and plenty of mayonnaise. I really can't say enough. I've been recreating this sandwich, every day around 12:00 pm for the past seven days.


Yes, there is a large bite out of that sandwich.

Well...how else was I to know it was one of the "best things I ever ate?"

Anyway, get ya some arugula and don't forget the tomatoes.