'K' is for #QUILT!

Well, now that she is almost 8 months old, Katelyn's nursery is finally complete!  I set out to make my baby girl a quilt for hanging above her crib before she was even born; one thing or another came up and I inched along at a snail's pace on that project.  But in the last week I have finally been able to set aside some time to start and finish it!  It's my first totally machine-quilted quilt and I am quite pleased with how it turned out. 

Walk Away the Pounds? Yes, I Think I Will!

I have been in need of a good 30-minute cardio routine for my new weight-loss adventure.  It's tough to find something I can do, that I enjoy, and that won't kill my bad knee.  My mom suggested Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds. 

Bandana Dress for my Baby

Derrick, Katelyn, and I are having family photos taken in like a week.  You know what that means!  The search is on for matching outfits - or at least coordinating!  Living in a small town, our options are somewhat limited - I have searched Target and Walmart.  I bought a dress for Katelyn at Target, but spent $13.00 on it and don't like it THAT much.  I mean it's cute, but she'll wear it like twice at most.

Then I remembered a tutorial a ran across online for making a really cute (and supposedly simple) dress for little girls out of bandanas that cost $1 each.

Marinated Baked Pork Chops

This recipe deserves an entire blog post dedicated to it - simple, delicious, and healthy! The perfect combination!  Take two pork chops, mix up the quick and easy marinade from things you always have on hand, pour on top, bake for 1 hour (or until done) and you have some of the tastiest (tangy) pork chops I've ever eaten!  Get the recipe here.

Portable High Chair?

I have never heard of such a thing, but i immediately thought it could be quite useful!  Derrick and I seem to always find ourselves in places that don't have high chairs during mealtimes and Katelyn just can't be trusted in a chair on her own.  So, you know what that means:  Daddy is holding baby (and getting covered in baby food) while Mommy feeds the kiddo.  Tough luck for Daddy!

I stumbled across this idea for a fabric portable "high chair" yesterday and knew instantly I wanted to try it out.  There wasn't really a pattern so I just sortof winged it, helped along by a few measurements from the original blogger.  I didn't realize until after mine was cut and the first piece sewn that she had given finished dimensions so mine is about .5" smaller in all directions than hers but my baby's younger, so hopefully it won't matter.

Something I Never Thought I'd Blog About...

I have had several conversations recently with friends who are pregnant or thinking about starting a family:  To Breastfeed or Not to Breastfeed, that is their question.  And it's a question I faced, too.  I have been on every conceivable side of that fence in the last 15+ years.  As a teenager, I thought, "NEVER!  THAT'S SO WEIRD!"  And yes, it is a little weird.  As a young adult, I thought, "I guess it's OK for some people, but I don't want to do it."  And when I saw a woman in England breastfeeding her son in church I was secretly mortified that she would do something like that in public.  (Granted, there was no cover involved... she just hung herself out there for the world to see... in church... during the sermon.  Greg Pampell, you remember that???  You were preaching!)  And as a married woman, I thought, "I guess I can see the benefits of it, but it's SO weird... I don't think I could ever do that."  Then I got pregnant.

Sucker for Organization

Found this group of CUTE and easy storage solution ideas in a weekly email I get - thought I'd share.  I'm a sucker for organization - especially when it's cute and cheap!

Mini Storage Solutions for Scrapbooking Supplies

Gather your tiny embellishments and put them in stylish, functional mini storage containers that perfectly fit the style of your scrapbooking room.