What week are we in?

Ok, so hey there.  I’m back.  What a whirlwind of a month and a half.  I’ve been working more and we’ve been getting outside and enjoying the wonderful sunshine and weather.  I’ve also done quite a few Pinterest projects, but just haven’t wanted to sit down and blog.  Forgive me?

I forgot to take pictures of some stuff, but I hope you enjoy the ones I did take!

Super yummy chocolate cake and frosting

Mother’s Day Spa Gift (brown sugar scrub, lemon sugar scrub, Kate Alvis spa washcloth)

All wrapped!

Tablet Cover from Crochet One-Skein Wonders

Wine Cork Monogram

Berry-topped Cake with vanilla buttercream frosting

For Mother’s Day I also made oven-roasted cauliflower, roasted garlic pasta salad, and rosemary and garlic roasted pork loin.  We feasted for Mother’s Day!

It seems I did more projects, but can’t seem to recall all of them right now.  If I remember, you’ll be the first to know! 😉

Pinterest Projects Week 16

Hey y’all!  Last week was I was quite productive with my Pinterest projects.  I even have a couple crafty ones in the mix this week!  So, without further ado…

Sweet Tea Jelly

Southern Style Biscuits

Crochet Bunting

Crochet Bunnies

Rhubarb Curd Tart with Strawberries

I think the tart was our favorite thing this week!  The crust was so yummy and the curd was just right and those strawberries added such a bright flavor.

Discovering

This week has been one of many discoveries.  I love the image that comes to mind when I hear the word discovery.  I imagine Christopher Columbus sailing across the Atlantic to the New World, a baby putting one foot in front of the other, an almost 30 woman realizing what she wants is to stay home and take care of her hubby and home.

Ok, that last one was about me.  You caught me.  But seriously, I love staying home and taking care of my hubby and turning our house into a home.  I love the freedom of choosing a new daily adventure, whether it’s reading Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, spending time with my aunt and making sewing machine covers, or cleaning the bathroom.  Ok, maybe I don’t love cleaning the bathroom, but it does add variety to my day.  I love trying recipes and finding new favorites.  And spending time with you lovelies.

I’ve also rediscovered my love of reading.  I’ve always loved reading and have been a pretty avid reader most of my life.  But recently, I had fallen off the wagon and maybe read two books last year.  Two! MAYBE!!  This rediscovery is partially due to me new toy – a Nook HD.  My brother won it and didn’t want it, so lucky me!  I’ve been wanting a tablet or something for over a year.  Like I said, I love trying new recipes and a lot of them come from Pinterest.  I hated lugging my computer into the kitchen, so this was the main reason for wanting something else.  Who knew this Nook would get me reading again.  I LOVE that I can check out books from the library system.  It’s going to keep me busy for a long while.

And I love crafting.  Especially sewing and quilting.  But the discovery I made this week is that I’m afraid to jump off and try new things.  I would love to learn to sew clothes, but I’m terrified I’m going to suck at it.  Or ruin something.  And I wish I would have asked my great grandmother to teach me.  She’s made a ton of clothes!  But, I have a couple projects I need to do, so hopefully that will motivate me and get me to step out of my comfort zone.  And I’m sure everything will turn out fine, it’s just the initial jump.

I also miss my friends terribly.  I feel as though I’m drifting away from some of them.  I’m not sure what it is, but it’s not a good feeling.  I don’t live near most of them, in fact some live half way across the country.  But that’s never been an issue before.  Sure, we didn’t see each other all the time, but we’d talk on the phone.  And no matter how long we would go without talking, we’d always pick up where we left off.  But it feels like something has changed and I’m not sure what to do.  Any advice?

Phew…what a week.  So many discoveries.  And probably some I can’t remember off the top of my head.  I love the feeling of discovering something, or rediscovering something.  It makes everything new, even if it’s something you’ve been doing forever.

Here’s to making discoveries everyday!

Pinterest Projects Weeks 6 & 7

It’s been a little crazy the last couple weeks.  My aunt was here, job interviews, snow, cold, etc.  But there’s no excuse for my lack of communication.  Please forgive me.

Anywho, here is the round-up of the last couple of weeks.  And I’m sorry, there isn’t much to share…

Crochet Bow

Hat Pom

I had this hat pattern and thought the bow and pom would be super cute!  I think I was right! 🙂

Cheesy Sausage Pasta

Pieced Batting

Well, that was about it for the past two weeks.  Oh yeah, the hubs and I have been keeping up with our 52 Week Money Challenge!  A woo-hoo!  I also read Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns).  I loved Mindy Kaling before I read the book, but even more now.  I love when I can read a book and imagine how the author would be saying it to me.  Anyway, if you’re looking for a light, funny read, check it out!

Pinterest Projects Week 3

Here’s the round-up:

Fabric Covered Bulletin Board

Fried Rice and Crock Pot Asian Pork

Air Freshener

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

10 Minute Infinity Scarf

Craft Room Makeover

I’m so excited to be in the new year and all the possibilities!  First, my wonderful hubby said I could redo my craft room and make it more user friendly.  How wonderful is he!?!?  He even went as far as to say we could spend a few hundred bucks on the space.  What?!?  Well, after the initial euphoria, I decided to use what we had and go from there.  So, ladies and gents…here it is (or at least the beginning) my craft room makeover on a budget!

Today (and a couple hours yesterday) was all about sorting through the junk I could see.  And rearranging.  Here are some before and afters:

Before starting…ugh

Before

Last Before pic…I. Can’t. UGH.

As you can see, it was a mess.  And the hubs wondered why I didn’t actually craft in the craft room…

But I had some good pieces to work with.  A sturdy table for sewing.  Great shelf units that I customized (think spray paint and fabric).  And some other storage containers.  And like I said, I started by going through the junk I could see.  I threw away some things.  I moved our box of wedding stuff to the office to be stored in the closet.  I also moved all my stationary to the office and other random things like phone chargers, camera cords, etc.

I then decided how I wanted the room to function.  I moved my sewing table to the northwest corner, moved my shelving units to the north wall and added a folding table we had in the garage.  So far nothing spent.  Except some calories.  And I can spend a lot of those!  So, here’s where we are now:

I know, I know.  There’s so much more to be done.  But I have plans!

Do you see all the windows?!?  It’s wonderful!

It’s been great being able to start going through things and create a space I actually want to be in.

Stay tuned for more updates and how I’m saving money by using things I already have!  What a concept, right?