Welcome Spring

Growing up, I always loved Fall time. Then, after collage I moved to the desert and that all started to change. Fall time is no longer that magical time of year full of crisp air, and fun. In the desert it is just slightly cooler summer weather. I never cared much for Spring time because there was so much rain, but now I love it. I love being outside in short sleeves, and no longer having to wear a jacket. The kids love it as well.

We have been spending a lot of time outside over the last week or so. We have even started eating lunches outside. Our yard is greening up and we are planting and planning. Ahhhhhh, it is so nice.

I hope all of you are enjoying the change of season as well.

The Hundley Dress

For those of you who don't know, Hundley is the dachshund from Curious George. Miss O is a huge fan of that silly little monkey.

When I went on my fabric shopping spree a couple of weeks ago I found this fabric, and I fell in love. I knew it had to become a dress for Miss O. I bought two yards and already knew what pattern I was going to use before I even got home.

Upon seeing the fabric, Miss O begged me to make her a dress. Not later, but right then! I got it made as soon as I could. My girl, she is a skinny one, but she is tall as well. I made this dress in a 3T, and it almost swallows her in the width. I will have to go back in at a later date and shorten the straps a little. 

Next time, I will make the dress in a 2T and add some length for those long legs of hers.

I Love Cheese!

Back in the summer while DJ was gone, the Schwan's man became a good friend of mine. I was pregnant, and I had a squirrely toddler on my hands. What could have been better than someone delivering delicious unhealthy food straight to my door? Along with popsicle and mini pizzas, I discovered the garlic cheese bread.

After Short Round was born, and DJ got back from his training, we reestablished our grocery budget of $400 a month. Miss O and I also went back to our normal eating habits, which does not include so much junk food. We had no problem giving up any of that junk, with the exception of the garlic cheese bread. However, it was something that was not in our budget, and packed full of unhealthy additives and preservatives.  Then, one day something amazing happened. While watching an episode of The Pioneer Woman on The Food Network, she made garlic cheese bread, in order to freeze it. I was so excited that I had to look up the recipe and write it down.

Last night I decided to give it a try. I made some French bread from scratch and then proceeded to make The Pioneer Woman's recipe.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

It was everything I dreamed it would be! Plus, it was way cheap and easy to make! I thought I would share this recipe with you guys this morning.

 

Garlic Cheese Bread:

• 3 1/2 c. Grated cheddar cheese
• 3/4c. Monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 c. parm cheese
• 1/2c. Mayo
• 4 whole green onions, white and light green parts minced
• 1 dash salt
• 1 loaf of crusty French bread
• 1 stick butter
• 4 cloves garlic

Mix cheese with mayo and green onions. Add Salt. Cut loaf of bread in half, then in half again. Working with 1/4 loaf at a time, melt 2T butter in skillet and add 1/4 of the minced garlic. Place one of the 1/4 loaves face down in the skillet, swirling it to soak up butter and garlic. Allow bread to toast. Spread cheese mixture on warm loaves and bake at 425 for about 10 mins.

 

 

We paired this wonderful treat with some homemade Carrot Tomato Soup! I will even admit, that I had left overs of both the bread and the soup for breakfast this morning, and it was still great!!

 

***Ok, so earlier if I gave off the impression that because this was homemade it was healthy, I don't want to lead you on. This is a super un-healthy treat. However, it does not have the additives and preservatives that store bought garlic cheese would have.







Unfinished Project Updated #2

Why yes, I always look this cute first thing in the morning! Ok I will admit, this is not first thing for me. By this point I had already gone to the gym, had my coffee, and watched the morning news. I always post pictures of the items that I make, but this time I thought you guys might like to see what some of these projects look like on a person. So, DJ and I waited till it got light outside, opened up our curtains, and snapped a few.

Both pairs of these pajamas were in my unfinished project pile. The purple pair for a very, very long time. ( like over 3 years) I cut them out before I had either of my children, and I will be honest, I was shocked that they fit!. I thought they were going to be way to tight in the thighs and booty. I am happy with how these pants turned out. They are super comfy, especially the heart pair, which are made from a thrifted sheet. The fabric is so soft and already broken in.

Now that I have finished some more projects, I don't feel so bad that I have already cut into some of my new fabric. Photos of that will come, so stay tuned!

Oh yeah, Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

I hope you all remember your green!

Birthday Pie

 

DJ celebrated a birthday this week!!

When I was growing up, we made a big deal out of birthdays. By this I don't mean that my parents spent lots of money on presents and birthday parties. I mean that they made it a point to let me and my brother know how special we were. It was always a day of family, and food. We always had the choice of what we wanted for dinner that night, and we could pick out any desert that we wanted. It was always homemade of course. My mom never bought a store bought cake. These are memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.  In fact, to this day my Mom makes sure she calls me first thing on the  morning of my birthday regardless of the time, and still makes my favorite meal and desert! I love it! I know that the day I was born was a truly special day to my loved ones.

These are the memories that we hope to create for our children as well. Their birthdays were the days that our lives changed forever. The days that our identities changed from husband and wife, to Mom and Dad. Those are blessed days.

DJ and I always try and make sure we keep our birthdays special as well. The same thing applies as above, we don't do this in a monetary way. You can show you love someone without spending a dime. We do however make sure we show the other one how special they are.

DJ requested steak, baked potato salad, and lemon meringue pie. (I also made some green beans to round out the meal) I wanted to get an early start in making the dinner so I would not be rushing later on. Miss O woke up that morning and saw that I was in the kitchen working on something for Daddy's birthday and she wanted to help. I love it when she wants to get in the kitchen and work with me! I made a pie crust that is a family recipe. YUM! Miss O and lion helped me mix things up! That lion is a huge help!

When I pulled the pie out of the oven later in he afternoon, I called DJ into the kitchen to see the finished project, and he just gave me a big hug and told me how much he loves me. Wow, that really made all the work worth it!

My parents joined us for dinner that night. They treat DJ's birthday with just as much specialness as they do my own. They brought him a half gallon of mint chocolate ice cream and two air fresheners made into necklaces. DJ absolutely loves mint chocolate ice cream, but I never let him eat it because there is something about it that makes him super stinky!! Steve also jumped in there and grilled our steaks for us! It was a wonderful evening. There was lots of laughter and great conversation as well! I love birthdays!!

DJ you are special and I love you so much! You are a great father and husband.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

This Week In My Garden: March 11

What a wonderful weekend it was! We got things started for our garden! I am so excited, I have been waiting for this all winter. We missed the opportunity to plant a fall garden, so I have only been able to dream about growing my own food since November.

Over the weekend Miss O and I got some flowers and herbs potted, and we got some of our seed started. So far we have okra, eggplant, basil, and chamomile seed planted in little paper pots. It is not quite warm enough for these seeds to be planted in the ground, so I put them out in the sun in the morning and move them back inside in the evening. Last year we loved the okra so much that this year we are going to plant three times as much! Yum I am getting hungry just thinking about grilled okra! I am also planting a bunch of basil in order to have more pesto. We still have a bunch of seeds to get started, however, we just ran out of time and energy this weekend.

DJ worked on getting the yard cleaned up, and tilling the garden. He got all the leaves raked and shredded, and they are now in a pile in the corner of the yard. They will be used for mulch in the garden.

We bought some kale, spinach, lettuce, and strawberry plants that we are going to put in the garden  to hold us over till we can get the summer garden going.

Oh yeah, I also received a huge surprise when I went to check on my pots with herbs in them from last summer, and discovered that the plants are still alive and starting to grow back! I was amazed! Those plants have not been watered in like 6 months! I am super excited to not have to replant these!

Wow, I am so glad it is gardening season again. I can't wait to share it with you folks again this year!!

Unfinished Project Report

See DJ, I am working on unfinished projects! Slowly but surely.

The dress and skirt are for Miss O, and they are made from pillowcases that I got at the thrift store for 30 cents!! They are super cute on Miss O, and they were so easy to make! For the skirt, I just cut it to the length I wanted and then added elastic. Bam...It was done in no time! Those pillowcases were sitting on my cutting table for what seems like for ever. It feels great to have them finally finished.

The pants are of course for Short Round. I love these pants on him. This pattern keeps the waist bands from cutting into his belly and he looks so comfy in them. If you look closely at the photo, you can tell that I accidentally made one leg shorter than the other! OOOPS! Lucky for me he can not walk yet, so it should not be that noticeable.

I have some more unfinished projects that I have been working on, They just need some finishing touches. So, stay tuned for a post on those as well!

Sweet Goodness

Last week, my good friend Lissa and I went on an adventure. Lissa has children the same age as I do, and our oldest two are the bestest of friends. We decided to let DJ say at home with those two crazy kids and we take the babies with us to the most awesome, amazing and wonderful fabric store! Lissa had been telling me about this place for awhile, and we both started saving up our money.

The store is called SAS fabrics. I wish I had taken pictures for this here blog, and in all honesty I planned on it; but I got so distracted once inside the store. I walked in and could not believe my eyes. There was tons of fabric, ribbon, and trim. I could have spent a fortune!

I can't wait to cut into some of these! Of course DJ is already making fun of me, saying "I thought March is your month of unfinished projects!?"  So, I guess I am going to have to wait awhile before the cutting starts.

And We're Back!

Yep, my baby girl who for so long would not pose for pictures is now showing off once again. Oh she is going to kill me when she gets older for posting these pictures!

I was in the process of getting her dressed for the day, and she is showing off her leggings for the camera.

I love these moments! This is a super fun little girl.

Hello March

Sorry for my absence over the last week. Things have been crazy around this little house of ours.

In the midst of the craziness around here, I looked around and noticed all the unfinished projects cluttering up the place. Now, that is not an uncommon sight. For every craft project I finish, there are at least two projects that get sat aside and abandoned. This usually has nothing to do with the project or the patterns, but mostly I just lose interest quickly and am always ready to move on and try something new. Yes, I have a major problem focusing.  Because of this, I am officially declaring March unfinished project month! I am going to focus much of my spare time on finishing some of these super awesome projects. Oh yeah, what is pictured above is only some of the unfinished projects, so expect a blog full of super crafty post coming your way this month.