..fabric love..

Changing seasons means Quilt Market and new fabric lines! I always love seeing what the creative powers that be come up with. This year was no disappointment! Granted that most of these fabrics are Spring lines, but you can't get inspired too early, or at least I cant, lol.


Some really fresh and pretty ones include:

Fox Field by Tula Pink

Daydreams by Kate Spain

Mirabelle by Fig Tree & Co.

Storybook by Kate & Birdie

April Showers by Bonnie & Camille

Little Red Riding Hood by Faye Burgos



These are just a few of the many great lines coming out. I'm already thinking of lots of pretty dresses and outfits for my girls, and some cute pieces for my nephew. What do you think, any of these get your creative juices flowing? :)

**All images belong to The Fat Quarter Shop**

..hello november!..

Seriously, where did October go? Well I guess it went to Disney, then to a birthday party, then to Halloween and right on out the door. At least, that's what happened around here! We had a ton going on every.single.week of October. There were two baby showers that I had to sew gifts for. Disney took some planning, and we were there a week. Then as soon as we got home, I had 4 days until the girls' third birthday party. The day after the party was over, decorating for Halloween was in full swing. That also included repairing the girls' Halloween costumes (we really partied hard at Disney!) and creating a costume for my 5-month old nephew. My sister wanted  him to be a turtle, and I couldn't find a pattern, so I just came up with one. It took two full days of trial an error, fitting, expanding and occupying my girls to get it done. But he was one adorable little turtle!

Then Halloween was here, now it's gone and it's November! I also started selling handmade jewelry a a couple of local boutiques, and it's selling faster than I can make it. So one of the boutique owners decided she wants me to do a big jewelry show at her shop on the first Saturday in December. So I've been working on that as well. Add that to the holiday gifts that I've started (I have to, or it would be March before anyone got stuff!) and I'm just about crazy y'all! Whew!

But I do have some projects to share with you soon, I promise. One includes making several pieces of clothing from a $2.50 thrift store find. I just love the holiday season!

..WIPs..

Yep, plural. Does any crafter ever only have one project going at a time? If so, then they are much more disciplined than I am. So here are some of the things I'm working on at the moment..

This buffet is getting a makeover. It was a Craigslist find and will live in my foyer on this empty wall when it's done. 

Those paint swatches are for the buffet. I want the top stained dark and the bottom painted a blue-gray. 

Then there's another one of these I have to finish..

(Better pics will follow. She kept wanting to twirl!)

My girls want to be Cinderella for Halloween. But, we're surprising them with a trip to Disney for their birthday this weekend, and we will be attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. So they both have to be done before we leave on Thursday. And, the hubs, his family (they're going with us) and I have decided we have to dress up too. We wanted something easy and something we could stash in a locker until the party starts. So we're going to be pirates.. And of course I agreed to whip up some costumes. Currently in this stage:

But the concept in my head just involves some bought white t-shirts, this striped fabric and dollar store eye patches :)

Then the weekend after we get back from Disney is the girls' birthday party. Which they insisted needed to be Minnie Mouse themed. So I'm making them outfits for the party, which involves some cute black and pink polka dots. Pictures of those next week. 

So what all do you have going on at the moment? I love seeing other people's works-in-progress, especially if they have as many as I do! Makes me feel better about myself!

..pins of the week..

So like most everyone else on the planet (except for my husband, I don't know what's wrong with him), I LOVE Pinterest. Always something new to see or try or buy. It's an almost endless source of inspiration.. what's not to love? So I thought it would be fun to pick a different topic each week and show you guys some great pins on that topic.

Since fall is my favorite season, and today actually felt like fall weather, let's start there!

 

1. Forever Fall Digi Scrap Album
2. Fall Table Decorations with Martha Stewart
3. Fall Leaves Eye Makeup
4. Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
5. Blues for Fall Paint Chip
6. Fall Harvest Piecrust Cutters
7. $5 Burlap Wreath
8. Pumpkin Planter Decor
9. Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cookies

So if you enjoy fall like me, then maybe these pins will make you want to break out the sweaters and apple cider!

..perfectly thin review recap..

So since I forgot my morning pills twice, I took them one more day and then gave it a couple of days to watch my weight. The lowest I have gone is 161.6, and I started at 164. So in the end that's 2.4lbs lost. Now two pounds per week lost is alright, nothing spectacular like what I've heard from some people who use this product (I have a family member who uses it, which is why I decided to try it). I don't know that I would pay $55 a month to try to lose 2lbs a week. I think that could be achieved via diet. Maybe it depends on the person, maybe some people can lose a larger amount of weight. I can only tell you what it did for me. I would love to hear comments from anyone else who has used it!

..perfectly thin day 7..

Day 7 Morning Weight: 161.8

Breakfast: Meal bar

Lunch: PB&J Sandwich

Snack: Lime Greek yogurt

Supper: Sloppy Joes

..perfectly thin day 6..

Day 6 Morning Weight: 162.0

Didn't get to take my morning pill or eat breakfast. Lots of errands first thing.

Lunch: Pita sandwich with hummus and lettuce

Supper: Turkey & Swiss panini

Weight fluctuated back up a little. Tomorrow ends the 7 days, but since I missed my morning pill two days, that will give me enough to go one more day. 

..perfectly thin day 5..

Day 5 Morning Weight: 161.6

Breakfast: Toast and jelly

Lunch: Egg salad sandwich

Supper: Pizza

Nothing out of the ordinary today either. Like I said, I didn't want to change my diet for this review.. No going "totally healthy diet food" just for the sake of seeing the numbers go down. I want to see what Perfectly Thin does on its own. 

..perfectly thin day 4..

Day 4 Morning Weight: 162.6

Up .6lbs from yesterday morning, but fluctuations are to be expected. Didn't take morning pill or eat breakfast. Was way busy cleaning house and time got away, but it was great because I actually had energy to clean. 

Lunch: PB & honey sandwich

Snack: Boiled egg

Supper: Chicken Teriyaki, homemade

..perfectly thin day 3..

Day 3 Morning Weight: 162.0

Breakfast: Quaker Apple Oatmeal

Lunch: Grilled beef patty with grilled onions and slice of Swiss

Snack: 2T hummus and 6 pita chips

Nothing out of the ordinary today, took my pills on time.

Supper: homemade guacamole and chips

..perfectly thin day 2..

Morning weight: 163.2

Not huge, but hey, if I lose .8lbs every day, that's over 5lb lost at the end of the week. I would take that!

Took my morning pill and waited 30mins. Ate half of a meal bar, and half of a banana. I just couldn't stomach the rest of the meal bar. I don't think it had anything to do with the pills, it's more the gritty texture. My girls shared the banana with me. 

Took my afternoon pill thinking I would get to eat after 30mins, but ended up having to wait an hour. By then I was pretty jittery. Grabbed something quick, and about 15mins later I felt fine. I do NOT recommend taking them without food. Lunch was a Zaxby's Kids Nibblerz meal. I ate all of the Nibbler but couldn't eat all the french fries, and didn't even touch whatever the "dessert" was.  Pretty good considering the kids meals aren't very big. 

Dinner was a bowl and a half of Honey Kix and 2% milk, shared with the girls. 

Day 2, done!

..perfectly thin diary..

There's a whole back story here that I will save for a rainy day.. But this starts my one week diary using "Perfectly Thin" weight loss supplements.

I promise to be open and honest about my experience. I have no connection to the supplement, I don't sell it, I don't know anyone who sells it. So you just get my actual experience, un-skewed. 

Also when it comes to diet.. I try to eat as much good-for-you food as I can. I really try to limit processed foods. They make me feel gross. But my life is busy and hectic and real, so sometimes fast food just happens. I wanted to go into this without really changing my diet, so that it would mainly be the supplement making the changes (or not). So for that reason I'll also tell you what I eat during the day. 

I weigh myself first thing in the morning when I wake up, so that it's consistent. That's usually between 6:45-7:30, depending on how late the girls let me sleep :) 

Starting weight: 164

Per the directions, I take one pill 30min before breakfast and one pill 30min before lunch. 

So here we go, Day 1!

Breakfast: Bacon, egg and cheese biscuit (Bojangles)

Lunch: Spaghetti (Homemade)

My lunch was early, so by mid afternoon my stomach felt a little unsettled, like I needed a snack. So I ate a handful of almonds and some water and felt much better. 

Supper: Two flour tortillas filled with sautéed chicken, peppers and onions (Homemade) 

By supper time I felt really hungry, but I felt like it didn't take as much to fill me up. 30min after supper I ate a lemon cookie and 1c. milk for dessert and it felt like I had eaten way too much. 

Went to bed at my normal time (between 11-11:30) and slept fine. 

Day 1 in the books. We'll see what tomorrow holds!

..super quick smoothie..

I've gotten into making smoothies for breakfast. They're quick and good for you, and you can add in all kinds of extra goodies like protein powder, flax seeds, chia seeds, and so much more. This morning it was banana peach! 

In a blender add:

1 whole banana, broken up

1 peach, peeled and de-pitted

1 Tbs protein powder (optional)

Handful of ice cubes

Blend until liquified! If you prefer your smoothies a little thinner, add a bit of water, juice or coconut water. If you like it thicker, leave the liquid out. 

Tip #1: Add your fruit in the blender first, then ice. It keeps the ice from just spinning around.

Tip #2: Keep your fruit in the fridge, or put it in the freezer for about an hour before you want your smoothie. Makes it colder, and you need less ice!

..feeling feline..

Took some time for myself to do my nails! Nude background with gold and black leopard spots. So easy to do but so cute. Maybe I should do a tutorial?

..meals for this "week"..

I know you're thinking, "It's Tuesday.. Almost mid-week. Why are you posting your meals now?" Well that's because the hubs started a new position at work, so he no longer has Monday through Friday work weeks. He doesn't even have weeks really. I'm not even sure how to describe his schedule other than he works a few days, is off a couple, works a few more days.. And during those working days he swaps between day and night shifts. I can cook just fine for the day shifts. He's home by 7pm, and I have it ready to eat when he walks in the door. But night shifts are weird.. He leaves anywhere from 5-5:30pm, so if I made supper that would put us eating at 4:30pm. Umm, no. So what I've been doing is making a bigger late lunch kinda thing. Paninis, grilled turkey dogs, and piled high sandwiches, stuff like that. But this "week" he's on day shift, so I worked up a quick meal plan and this is what I came up with:

-Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread and salad

-Tuna patties, fried potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce and cornbread

-Beef stroganoff, green beans, pear halves with mayo and cheddar and Italian bread

-Pork carnitas, refried beans and rice, guacamole and chips

-Work chicken. I don't know what else to call it other than this because the hubs found the recipe while he was at work. It's just chicken breasts, black beans, corn and salsa. Add cream cheese at the end, serve over rice. Boom, work chicken :)

..nom nom..

Seriously, this stuff... I used to be scared of guacamole. One too many bowls of grayish-green goo at second rate restaurants probably jump started that fear. Even when I was brave enough to taste it, it was so bland that I wondered what the point of eating it was. Then one day my husband made some at home. The man who can't make macaroni, made guacamole. He said he had found a recipe on the internet and wanted to try it. And it is GOOD! I'm not kidding. I make it twice a week because I crave it. I have tweaked the original recipe that my husband found (I don't even know the website he found it on, just went by what he told me he remembered reading). And I'm also not a big "measure everything exactly, every single time" kinda girl. Except in baking. Because that junk is finicky! Anyway, if you wanna know how I make guac, here you go! 

This recipe makes enough for me and the hubs. But we can put it away, so judge for yourself :) Also, the size of your diced/chopped pieces is totally a personal preference. For example, the hubs is not a huge tomato fan, so I dice the pieces up pretty small. 

2 ripened avocados

1 Roma tomato, diced (I only use half the tomato when the hubs is eating it)

1/8 c. chopped red onion

1-2 tsp chopped cilantro

Juice of half a lime

Garlic salt

Salt

Here's where I get technical with the fancy lingo, you ready? :)

Cut up and scoop your avocados into a bowl. Take a fork and mash those suckers up good. Add the next four ingredients and stir up. Add your salts to taste.. I go a little heavier on the garlic salt. Stir, grab some tortilla chips and stuff your face! Or schmear it on a taco. Whatever, this stuff is good. Everyone's idea of good is different though. If you like heat, throw in some diced jalapeños. Don't like cilantro? Lessen it or leave it out completely. Go guac crazy! 

..meal planning..

Around here we get sales ads twice a week.. The ones that come in Sunday's paper which is mostly retail ads like Wal-Mart, Target, Kohl's, etc. And then we have a free weekly paper that comes on Tuesday that is almost entirely classified ads, but it also includes all of the local grocery ads. The difference is, retail ads are usually valid Sunday-Saturday, and the grocery ads are valid Wednesday-Tuesday. So when I get ahold of each set, I go through, mark things that are on sale for a good price, and then figure out if I need to make one or two grocery runs that week. Sometimes I will go on Monday, and then again after Wednesday, when the grocery ads have changed. It's all about getting the best deal and saving the most money. Once I look at all of the good sale items, I try to make out a menu plan for the week. I NEVER used to plan meals, but now that the girls keep me busy until the hubs comes home, I don't like making last minute store runs, frantically trying to decide what we're going to eat that night. Plus, it also cuts down on our grocery bill. No more "aimless" buying, and it means if I have a list, I can get in and out of the store faster. So I thought that maybe someone out there in www land might want to see an example of what my weekly meals looks like. I figure out enough meals to cover the week, but don't necessarily "assign" the meal to a day. That leaves a little wiggle room if I need it. So the meals I have lined up for this week are: 

{Slow cooker BBQ pork chops with broccoli fritters, baked potatoes and rolls

{Chicken enchiladas with sour cream rice and homemade guacamole

{Sloppy joes with mashed potatoes, fresh corn on the cob and fried green tomatoes

{Spaghetti carbonara with salad and garlic bread

{Turkey and Swiss paninis with homemade guacamole and chips

You see that I've got five meals there and, well, there are seven days in a week. We always have some kind of dinner plans for the other two days. Usually we eat with the in-laws once a week, and there is always one night where I'm really busy, so I'll grab take out from one of our favorite restaurants. So I know that if I tried to plan for seven meals, it just wouldn't happen. Every family is different. Many families are much busier than we are, and many are not. So if you want to menu plan, do the number of meals that works for you! 

During the week, I'll try to post recipes as I make them. I can't promise there will be magazine-quality photos to go along, but I'll do my best!

..new scissors..

As a crafter, I get more excited about new tools/paper/glitter/fabric than I do about a new pair of shoes. Today I bought a pair of Westcott brand 3" scissors for less than $4. They are tiny, and oh so cute! Or as Miss P would say, "How 'dorable!"

..welcome!..

Years ago I started my first blog, KoalaFuzz. I immediately loved blogging. I loved making new web-friends, socializing via giveaways, and getting to share thoughts and ideas with anyone who cared to read about them. That blog will remain my personal space... space to share photos, rants, giggles and whatever. This blog, however, will allow me an outlet to do more things like tutorials, promotions, reviews and giveaways without muddying the waters, so to speak. If you want just the facts ma'am, then you'll be able to get them here without being subjected to mondo amounts of photos of my cute kids, lol! So if you think you want to stay updated on what goes on here, then subscribe! You can also visit my new Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MakeItUpAsYouGoMom