Baby Blankets

Project 2...actually happened on the same day I made my first two pillows. I was in a sewing frenzy. With two new babies in the family I thought I'd give blankets a shot. They are sooo soft, I really just wanted to cuddle up with them myself.

Super soft fleecey back with flannel fronts...this is baby Connor's

and baby Evelyn's

They are exactly the same except for the patterned flannel on the front. I was really happy with my first baby blankets! And then they sent me this pic and it just melted my heart... little Evelyn sleeping with her new blankie!

On to the next project! :)

Zippered Throw Pillows...so far

Ok...I become easily "obsessed" with hobbies, all sorts of hobbies...ask Collin. It's nothing new. But I think I'm truly obsessed with sewing and (tooting my own horn) I'm actually not too terrible at it (or maybe I just thought it was harder than it is...). Luckily, Joann's fabric store has so many employees because they should know me by name by now.

My sewing cheerleader!

Happy summer present to me!

"Sweet, a jungle gym!"

On Saturday I had the day off and I decided to tackle my zippered throw pillows. Yep, diving right into the zipper challenge.

My starting point...ahhhh

I decided to start with what I thought would be the most challenging pillow too: the 18x18 inch "patchwork" pillow (I don't know if it's actually patchwork...but I had to sew small pieces together so that's what I call it). Some of the pieces stretched and skewed a little and I realized that I worked it backwards so I thought it was going to be all messed up by the time I got the zipper in and the other sides sewn up but it turned out just fine! I was actually darn proud of myself!

A real, working zipper!

Finished product...front

and the back

I was super happy with the final result...so I kept sewing. Pillows two and three were to follow.

Pillow 1 and 2, front

Pillow # three:

And the trio...I still have two more to finish...

Hope you like!

Shelly Visits

My cousin Michelle came for a visit on Wednesday! She had a conference in Boulder this weekend but flew in  a few days early for some visiting time with friends in Ft. Collin's and family (me!). I was soo happy to see her! We decided to go on a hike and being such a gorgeous day I recommended we give the incline a go. It was much hotter than the last time I hiked it and I could definitely tell a difference.

We sort of mapped out our stopping/lowering heart rate points and went for it. We made it to the top in about two hours? and it was worth it once again! Such an amazing view! And we got to catch up since we rarely get to see each other!

It's a serious workout but we had fun doing it!

Shell at the top!

After our 4.5 mile hike back down, we drove down the hill into the town of Manitou Springs and grabbed a snack and a beer in the outdoor patio at a little bar called Townhouse.

Collin was done working by the time we were finishing our drinks so we headed home, showered up, and went to Colorado Mountain Brewery for dinner.

As always, we laughed and had a great time together until we were just too tired to stay awake any longer. The next morning Collin had to work and Michelle had to meet her students in Boulder so we all woke up early and said our goodbyes. I'm hoping it won't be too long before I get to see her again!

Sew Much Family Fun

This past weekend we went up to Denver to hang out with my Aunt Regina and Uncle Rick and Aunt Muffy and Uncle Randy! We drove up Friday after Collin finished with work and met at Christian and Colleen's house before dinner. It was so nice to see my family who I haven't seen in at least 8 months. For dinner, we headed to Larimer Square, one of the cutest streets in Denver in my opinion.

We ate at Osteria Marco, a unique italian restaurant that makes their own meats and cheeses.

We shared an appetizer of chef's choice meats and cheeses, delicious muscles and then for dinner had a variety of gourmet pizzas. Everything was soo good!

Yeah....I don't know what the problem is with our family...

The next day we went to the Cherry Creek Farmers Market with everyone plus Alli and Acey. I bought some lavender oil and got suckered into an awesome Wonder Whisker which the lady claimed was 50% off at $19.99 and made in Denver. Great deal! My aunts each got one too...And then we went online and realized HSN sells them for less than that and in a TWO pack!! Duh.

After the farmers market, Alli and I had a sewing class planned at Fancy Tiger in downtown Denver. Oh yeah,  I bought a sewing machine!! I've been wanting one for a while and I finally went ahead and got one. I have a bizillion projects running though my mind and I can't wait to give them a try. But I thought it might be a good idea to learn how to sew first! So we took Sewing 101 and made some cute pillow cases! We're definitely planning to take more classes in the future.

Later that night after our sewing accomplishments, Collin and I went over to Christian and Colleen's for a yummy cookout. We had a great night and planned to get breakfast in the morning but unfortunately that didn't work out so I can't wait to see my fam when I go home (for a whooping one night) in June.

Now on to throw pillows...and maybe baby blankets for the new babes....I'm realizing fabric is quite addicting!!

New Babes

Within this past week, we welcomed (from afar) a new niece and a new nephew into Collin's family! His sister had a little girl, Evelyn, and his brother/sister-in-law had a little boy, Conner! Ironically, they both had the same due date... yesterday!! His sister went early and his sister-in-law went a day late but both are healthy and happy now! We're going home in two weekends and I am reallllly excited! Can't wait to meet the little newbies!

Alvin Corn

As I've previously mentioned, I've been on a mission to replace my beauty and household products with a homemade (or at least more natural) product when they are empty. My Windex ran out the yesterday and I decided to try to fill the bottle with a homemade version that actually works just as well.

Well, I think I found a winner, ding ding ding!!

It's called Alvin Corn because it is made of rubbing ALcohol, VINegar, CORN starch, and water. He he Ha ha. I didn't make it up but I did take it from this website: Crunchy Betty.

Recipe:

1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 cups warm water

Just combine everything in a spray bottle and shake well. You'll need to shake it before each use too as the corn starch settles at the bottom and it can clog the spray thinger.

The lady who came up with this little concoction also crunched the numbers and came up with an approximate cost for the entire bottle of glass cleaner... $0.48...you can't buy anything for 48 cents!

Less chemicals, less streaking, no fake blue dye, and less than $0.50 per bottle. It smells like vinegar and I haven't figured out how to scent it naturally but I think it beats the cough-inducing-smell of Windex and the smell disappears very quickly (ie your house won't smell like vinegar!)


PS. I had my first shift off of orientation and on my own at work on Monday! It went really well, I had a full patient load, and I didn't cause further harm to anyone, success! I'm a nurse!

Happy Mother's Day!

Some classics for Mother's Day!

Such a lady, front and center.

Been posin' since been posin' since been posin'.

Little butt scratcher on the left...

Lots of love to our moms and grandmoms!! :)