Girl?! Boy?!

I bought two baby things before we found out what we were having...

This little confection. It's a baby swimsuit, have you ever seen anything sweeter?! I am crazy about the colors and mix of large and small polka dots. I would totally wear this swimsuit...maybe if it was in my size with a little more support up top... 

I also bought a set of light gray and cream bodysuits at Old Navy, with a tiny pair of striped sweatpants and a little hat with ears.

            Well, I won't be using that little swimsuit anytime soon, we are having a boy! I am so tempted to keep it though, it's 6-12 months so there is a good chance a girl born in any season could wear it at some point. We are so excited about a boy, a little brother for P, another mischief maker, someone to hang on my other leg while I'm cooking dinner and beg to go "ahh-sahh-ide" (that's the way P says outside).

I think this soft, little hat is so cute. Can't wait to put it on a fuzzy, baby head.

I'm going to be working on a quilt for this new guy. It will match the one P has (oranges and teals), but with some different colors and patterns. I'm using a few prints from Moda "Grow with Me." These trucks and a really cool light gray geometric pattern. I'll post more on that later. I'm using THIS PATTERN by Jaybird quilts. I think it will be really fun and modern, I'm thinking of doing a self binding (like on my picnic blanket HERE) and doing the actual quilting by hand, YIKES! I've just fallen in love with the look of it and Purl Bee is super inspiring-possibly to my detriment.  Look at those teeny tiny stitches?! It's an art form.

My Skirt Secret

So now that I'm about 17 weeks pregnant (Surprise! If you didn't know it already!) I've been on the hunt for a few new maternity things. I was teaching when pregnant with P, so I have more than I need of basic things like black pants, khakhis, plain t's, and all that. What I don't have is pretty, cool, casual everyday wear.

I saw/stalked an adorable pregnant girl at the dr's office wearing a long, flowy maxi skirt with a fitted black tank--super cute combo over a baby bump--and instantly decided that I needed that skirt as soon as humanly possible. I suspected the brand name of the one she was wearing and knew it might be exorbitantly expensive so before springing for that one, I hunted around for something comparable.

Two skirts, one cost $22 and one $99. Which do you think is the expensive one?

Ok, I'll tell you. The first skirt is Pea in the Pod and it cost $99 (if you know Pea in the Pod, $99 is actually on the lower end for them). The second is from Forever 21 for $22 (Holla!). There are some differences BUT are they $77 dollars worth of differences?! Obviously the Pea in the Pod skirt has better quality materials and I think the print is a little more chic and mod. I have to say though that the Forever 21 skirt is more comfortable, it has that wide shirred waist band which is perfect for the bump and it's actually a better length for me. I wish someone were here to photograph them on me, I think you would be more impressed with the Forever 21 version (the paisley looks a little more "BAM" in the photo than it does in real life).

So  my little skirt secret is that I'm keeping the cheap one. If this weren't maternity garb and I were looking at several seasons worth of investment, I might go with the more expensive version because I do like the print and colors best. But...for one summer of wear and since the style and feel are almost identical--I'm going with the cheaper version and treating myself to approximately 77 Strawberry Limeades from Sonic.

I've got a few maternity-wear tutorials in mind, the easiest shirt ever that would also be cute on a non-preggo gal and a pair of lace shorts (AHHH!). I've been so sad seeing all these adorable shorts everywhere that I can't sport this year, so dang it, I'm going to make some. Then I can sport some shorts too... :)

Aden and Anais Swaddlers Tutorial

My blog has a new home! Come on over to see my Hand Stamped Swaddlers and Tutorial.

Doodle Stitching!

I'm so excited! The items I ordered from Amazon came yesterday!

I was hooked when I saw the fanciful cover and there's something I just love about handstitched embroidery. I imagine it on baby shirts, sheets, pillowcases, pillows (projects that take a very long time to finish). The book is great! Lots of pictures, I love the author's color choices and ideas.

There are really good, clear explanations of all the different stitches with photos.

Here's a really original idea, stitching on balsa wood to make charms for bracelets or necklaces.

There's also a CD in the back with templates for embroidery ideas. With all these ideas, I started thinking about this little shirt I found for Baby P on clearance at Old Navy.

I thought it would be easy to outline a few things with embroidery thread, but where to start! The birds were easy, but I didn't know what to highlight on the dune buggy.

The tires seemed fun and maybe the main body of the car, but I thought that thick orange line on the left side brought out the wrong perspective and looked odd.

So...I took out some things and added some others, but still thought it was too much.

Here's what I ended up with, just a few things highlighted, a few drops of water on the surfboard and light reflecting on the windshield.

Not perfect, but interesting. I think it might be harder to embellish an existing design than to embroider something from scratch. It's too easy to accidentally highlight the wrong parts or overwhelm what's already there.

The other thing I ordered from Amazon is this 2 inch, Clover, bias tape maker. It's humongous! I can't even tell you how big it looks compared to my 1 inch. I can finally finish my quilt!

Here I am making tape out of white muslin for the edging on my quilt...many, many yards.

Anthropologie Score!

I have a bad habit of getting out a stick of butter, barely opening it and scraping off what I need then just leaving it out on the counter so it will be nice and soft for the next time I want to use it. It starts looking a little gross after a while, crummy, greasy, you know how it is.

Over the weekend, I knew I had to do something about the butter situation when my husband looked at it and asked if it was trash. Hm.

This called for a trip to Anthropologie! I'm so excited to be living in a town with an Anthro, the closest one where we lived before was about 2 hours away. I know from browsing that they always have adorable little half-stick butter dishes so that's what I went in for. And bingo!

 Yay! The best thing about it, besides its cheery red glaze was the $3.95 sale price! What luck! It made me go into that, "Don't I need a gift for someone?" frenzy, you know what I'm talking about. There's a deal on something you don't really need but you're just trying to find some excuse to buy it (them...). Well, I only got one butter dish, but I did come out with two of the adorable mugs below, also $3.95 each. I'm a sucker for a cute coffee cup.

Now it's perfect!

Grown up Christmas To Do List

1) Do the Christmas Shopping for friends and family.

2) Figure out when and where we will celebrate with both sides of the family.

3) Get the youth choir ready to sing Christmas music in two weeks and sew costumes for the children's musical this weekend.

4) Buy Christmas flavored coffee and a Santa hat for Baby P.

5) Select the perfect Christmas tree and decorate it.

Well, at least the really important things are done. 

Five recent purchases that I really like:

1) This is a ruffled sweatshirt from New York and Company, but the picture doesn't really do it justice. The collar actually stands up, not flat like in the pic and should never be clipped in the middle. NY&C can be hit or miss, but sometimes they hit it right on. I love a sweatshirt that I can wear with my Target yoga pants or with a nice pair of black pants with almost anything underneath. Also, I can wash it over and over again after a dousing of baby spit up and it bounces right back.

2) This reversible 'puffer' vest from Target for only $15.00! The thing that I love (besides its reversible-ness and the two great colors) is that it's very thin. It doesn't feel or look all bulky.

3) Kroger brand White Cheddar Rice Cakes. I'm sure there are better ones at Trader Joe's (don't rub it in Ashley and Sarah), but I always crave crunchy, salty snacks. These are only 40 calories each, they're cheap and they taste really good so I'm not trying to go back for a round of potato chips later. Being at home long chunks of the day is good for laundry, but not so good for the snacking.

 

4) Dan in Real Life: I love this movie! It's so clever and moving and witty and I'm so glad that I own it now! I like to watch it every other day or so and it's the perfect movie for a farm or lake weekend! I got it used at Blockbuster-that's a great way to buy movies because they're $10 and you can take them back if there's anything wrong.

 5) I'm completely obsessed with this Emmi Swiss yogurt. It is amazing! The flavors are so unique - pink grapefruit and apricot and more, plus the typical strawberry and raspberry- and it's lowfat, but is much more creamy and rich than other kinds of yogurt. I've never been a particularly big yogurt fan, but this makes me crave yogurt and want it for breakfast and snacks and everywhere in between. That's a good thing because Dr. Oz says that it's one of the best ways to boost your immunity and fight off colds. You will love it!

Some things I love about fall and one thing I hate...

1. This soft, blousy plaid shirt I found at Old Navy for $8.00! It's double lined so there's blue gingham inside when you roll up the sleeves. What says fall more than plaid?!

2. Corduroy Skirts: I found one in this style at Old Navy in plum corduroy for $5.00! Perfect with my brown leather boots! I love plum and pockets!

3. Fall Nail Polish: Deep, rich colors that you can't pull off in the warm weather. This is called Miami Beet, a great color and a vegetable pun. Ha!

4. I love Thanksgiving and this cute, funny long-sleeved onesie I got for Baby P today! The turkey is felt and corduroy.

 5. Stew. Like this one that I'll share with you tomorrow! Bistro Beef Stew. Readers: (i.e. Ashley, Sarah, Brittany, Caris ) It will knock your socks off!

6. Fall foliage, of course, and that fall smell of wet leaves, crushed acorns on the ground and chilly air.

7. Fried Green Tomato BLT's at Stella's with friends. 'Tis the season for green tomatoes and they were amazing breaded and fried with delish bacon, mayo and lettuce.  

8. Halloween: I love Halloween candy. I've had a bowl on my coffee table for two weeks in preparation for trick or treaters. Seasonal candy (like Christmas, Easter, Halloween) is always better tasting than normal. I love costumes on little children. Are you looking forward to Baby P's costume unveiling?!

9. Fall tablescapes: Cornucopia, mini mums, silver pheasant (a wedding gift), an owl candle (Thanks, Sally), apples, pomegranates, magnolia leaves and cones, and last year's runner from Pier 1 found on clearance.

 

 10. Outside fall decorations like this wreath. I love rootling around the basement for it and sticking it on the door.

11. My flower chair. In the summer that bucket is full of colorful impatiens, last year I put out a potted mum, this year I didn't want to deal with watering so I rolled up my fall garland from Michaels and stuck it in. It's fake, obviously so no maintenance but I love the colors.

12. My fake pumpkin. It's made out of some real things like twigs and pine cones, but has fake acorns and leaves. I've also used this on the dining room table before, it's very cute.

NOW FOR THE THING THAT I HATE. I HATE THE PSYCHO, DESTRUCTIVE SQUIRRELS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. HERE ARE THE CHARGES :

1) Two years ago they ate my carved pumpkins. They ate the big, chunky teeth right out of their goofy pumpkin faces, but did stop there.

2) Last fall they destroyed the beautiful Indian corn I put out...dragged it all over the porch, nibbled off all the kernels, made a huge mess...

3) This summer I got a package in the mail from one of W's co-workers. It was on the porch for a couple of hours. I went outside and the entire corner of the box was gone, a bag of chocolate chip cookies was open and mostly eaten and a baby outfit was pulled halfway out of the chewed hole. WHAT kind of squirrel chews through a cardboard box and pulls things out to reach its goal?! They were good cookies (there was another untouched bag, I don't eat after squirrels).

4) Remember those beautiful pumpkins we carved in September? Within a day the designs were completely gone and the pumpkins collapsed in a pulpy mess (they were thrown in the trash before I could photograph, sorry). Sick!

5) So, after the pumpkins were destroyed, I thought I'd be smart and stick with fake decor. Good idea, right?! Freaking squirrels!! Take a closer look.

What kind of nutso squirrel (haha, nutso) eats styrofoam berries? They don't even look like something you'd find in nature! There are berries all over the floor today and they haven't stopped trying to eat them.  

My poor, cute little pumpkin! Dang squirrels ate the fake acorns on top. What? That's all I can say. What, what, what?!

Ok, I'll be heading out now to pick up a pellet rifle. Squirrels are going down.