Hit me with your best shot... badum badum....

I'm going to give this another shot! I really liked blogging but between school and a little one, it was too much before.  Now, 4 years later, I'm going to do it!  (Hopefully).

What's on my mind... Budgeting.

I started using mint.com to set up a budget which ultimately led me to meal planning.  It seems to always come back to meal planning.  We spend a ridiculous amount of money on food out because I"m unprepared for meals during the week.  (Boo on me, I know).  Nothing makes meal planning better than Pinterest and a free downloadable monthly template!  I'm using this little gem...

Because I'm currently living with my parents, I only cook on Wednesday, Saturdays, and sometimes Fridays.

Wednesday, I'm making Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Cole Slaw and Asparagus.

Friday, we are going to be out shopping so we'll have to get something out (sigh).

Saturday, I'm making Slow Cooker Chipotle Steak Quesadillas with Guacamole.

Whose excited about dinner?!!  I am!  Now to calculate up the calories so I can track them.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Cole Slaw- 331per sandwich including slaw

Slow Cooker Chipotle Steak Quesadillas with Guacamole- 715 per quesadilla

Not too bad.  My quesadillas will have to be made on a day that I go to the gym to make up for those extra calories!  But it'll be delicious.  I'll let you know how it goes and if they are fiancé and daughter approved.

Wild Flower Pincushion

I recently made a beautiful pin cushion to add to my sewing tool collection. I made it from free pattern by Anna Maria Horner. It is lovely and can be made using beautiful fat quarters or even some scraps fabric. The pattern and instructions were easy to read and use! I just love using it every time I sew. It looks much better then the old fashioned tomato and strawberry ones.

Summer!

It's Memorial Day! How exciting. This officially means the beginning of summer (well to me, I know the official first day of summer is not until June 21). I have been so busy finishing up my semester at school. I finished on May 1, so what have I been doing since then. Well, I've still been busy. But I have put together a binder of things that I want to make from free tutorials so I will be posting pictures as I make them and providing the link of each of the tutorials that I used. What can be better then free ideas. Why pay for patterns when there is so much on the internet for free.

Look forward to little girl dresses, a summer top for moms, tote bags, hand bags, a cork board pocket, an art folder for little ones, a butterfly mobile, and so much more!

My dream kitchen......

sigh.....

In case you can't tell, I'm day dreaming.

sigh.......





















Maybe someday. Stephmodo wrote about this on her blog. How did she say it? Oh, that's right. a good example of how to "mix modern and country" well.

So.....

I didn't get up pictures of it two days ago like I said I would, but it is finished and here they are!

Her face was hand embroidered. That was a tough one!


Here is her body finished, unstuffed.


And the finished product! Well, somewhat. Her little cat is going to have a ribbon tied around it. She also has a blanket to match the outfit and a change of clothes which I will post later. The other outfit is not quite finished yet and the blanket just needs some silk binding around the edge! Super excited to see her reaction when she opens it on Saturday!

It snowed like crazy today! I'm getting ready to get Kylee up from her nap so hopefully I will have some lovely pictures to post later on.

Oh, by the way, my post times are wrong, does anybody know how to fix them? Currently it says 1:17pm and it is actually 4:27 pm. I can't seem to figure it out.

Discovering new things.....

Getting my sewing machine, my sister and I visited Joanne Fabrics. That was heaven. Then I started finding all of these things on line, this separate world of creative sewers (many of them are moms). Etsy, Burda Style, and other genius women who create, design, and share amazing ideas on their blogs. I'm so thrilled and I can't wait to start some things. I think I'm going to begin a "to do" folder/binder and print out ideas just so I don't forget. So, let the fun begin! I'm so glad I'm on spring break and have time to do this! Oh, so back to the "heaven" thing. Joanne Fabrics is not my go to anymore. Once I discovered designer fabrics I don't know if I can go back. I mean, they're still great for thread, simple patterns, plain fabrics, and so much more, but for interesting, fashionable, wonderful, delicious fabrics, no more Joanne's. So now to get started....

Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks line. I'm drooling over my computer currently. I cannot wait to get my hands on a few yards of these! Oh the ideas that come up!

Oh wait, I'm still working on Kylee's doll for her birthday party this weekend. All of the easy gifts from Dave and I have been given. Okay, so motivation is here to finish it. I'll post pictures of my progress tonight. In the meantime, check out those sites and share any that you all know of please!

Best thing ever....

As I sit here caught up in my lesson plan writing, listening to the sound of the water running in the turtle tank, I am annoyed by the otherwise still silence. Hmmmm, do I open itunes. No, because then I will just be listening to the same things I've heard over and over again. Remembering what my awesome sped bloc group member introduced me to, I went to this website. It truly is the best, and it can read my mind in music. Visit, use, fall in love.