~ Fancy Pants ~

A wonderful friend of mine is expecting and had a shower over the weekend. I was so upset that i didn't get to attend cause i was out of town! :( I did however mail her gift to the shower location. I didn't want to be a total looser friend and not have anything for her on her special day. I have been working on several things for her and her new baby girl. But i wanted to show you the "Fancy Pants" i made. I have always loved the fancy pants on my little girl. When she was under a year she always had a pair of fancy pants on. Usually with her name but that is all i would let myself buy...those things are not cheep. Now that i have my own embroidering machine i can make all kinds of fancy pants. I knew how much i loved them and i wanted to make some for my friends little girl. I first found the SOFTEST material. Then i rounded up my bloomer pattern and got to work. When i was done i couldn't believe how tiny they looked. It was kinda hard sewing such tiny clothing. I had 3 pair ready for something to embroider on them. First pair i wanted to make for Thanksgiving. I was trying to think of what i wanted on them and "Gobble Gobble" came to mind. So that is what i went with......

They turned out wayyyyyy cuter than i ever imagined. :o)

Then i wanted to do something for Christmas. So i made these......

I have only one word for these....CA-UTE!

Now the story of the third....long story short....my machine ate them! HAHA!! No really when i went to embroider them...my machines tension got off and all the sudden a thousand stitches in one spot. And that leads to the material getting stuck in the machine and then when i tried to pull the out the oh so soft material....ripped! I was so very upset to say the least that this happened. Cause i was out of time. But i did manage 2 cute pair of fancy pants and sent them on their way. I can't wait to see them on sweet baby girl!

I still have TONS of this soft material left. So if anyone is interested in purchasing a pair of these darling fancy pants...send me a quick email for pricing. :o) They would make great gifts!!

I'm BACK!

From vacation that is! Is it bad that i don't even know what day it is? HAHA! Ok...i know what day it is but everything is running together. Lets just start from the beginning. Hubby surprised me with a last minute Beach Vacation! Bless his heart he knows how much i love the beach and summer and he could see me starting to get sad that summer was almost over and so he hauled me and the kids back to the beach to soak up the sun and sand one more time this year. :o)

Honey Bunny...I LOVE YOU! We had a BLAST! The weather was perfect and i couldn't ask for a better vacation. I'm all roasty toasty tan and have a mean sunglasses tan line. hehe!


Our view from our room. This was took late and at dinner time....that is why it looks kinda dark.
View from my chair! I always take this pic. :P

Kids playing in the sand! She is so much like her mommy. She loves the beach and sand and sun!

Her little "babin" suit here is sooooo cute! it is like the old school bathing suits and is kinda like a dress.

View from my chair....we had some over cast this day and some wind. Great day for flying a kite!

We ate at Fudpuckers one night. Got to see TONS of gators! 74 of these little guys to be exact! This happened to be feeding time. Yawzzza!

Now we are back to reality. Today is laundry day and get the kids back on some kinda schedule day!

2 Good Things ~

Holly Molly! The past several days have been stressfully busy! I'm just about to fall on my face. So i thought i would take a well needed coffee and General Hospital break today. :o) And i also thought i would post about what i have been up to. First i have been plugging in LONG hours in on the bonus room. The paint is on the walls and the trim is fresh and bright white. I worked long and hard on the large built in and it still isn't done. I even got to church last night with paint in my hair and a few places on my arms where i couldn't get it out in the shower {haha}. It needs at least 1 more coat of paint. Then i need to have the hubby put the doors back on and i will show you what we have so far. But i'm sure that will be some time next week. But phase 1 is about over. And THAT makes me happy!!

Next i wanted to share with you 2 tasty treats. :o)
First....I just had a Oreo Brownie {Hello tasty goodness}! Have you tried one yet? I'm not an Oreo fan but these things are dangerously Divine.

I looked for a recipe so that i could make some myself and i found this.....

Outrageous Oreo Brownies Recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
2 cups chopped Oreos (16 to 20 cookies)

1.Preheat the oven to 350F degrees (180 C). Line a 13×9 inch metal pan with foil that extends beyond the pans edges on at least two sides and spray the foil with cooking spray.
2.In a large heavy duty pan over very low heat, melt the butter, chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate, stirring constantly. Remove pan from the heat before the chocolate is fully melted and continue to stir until it is melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
3.In a large mixing bowl stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar.
4.Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and cool to room temperature.
5.Whisk 1/2 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl until it is well blended then add it to the cooled chocolate mixture.
6.In a medium bowl toss the chopped Oreos with the remaining 2 tablespoon of flour. (This is supposed to help prevent the Oreos from sinking to the bottom of the pan.)
7.Scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly.
8.Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted about 3 inches from the center comes out clean. Do not overbake!
9.Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool, then cover the brownies and chill them in the refrigerator. Lift slab of brownies from the pan and cut into desired size and shape. (Since these Outrageous Oreo brownies are rich, I like them cut into small squares.)
Makes one 9x13-inch pan of Outrageous Oreo Brownies.

I hope it is as good!!

The next good thing i found was this recipe for...

Cheesy Artichoke Dip

2 cups Mayonnaise
1 (16 oz.) carton Sour Cream (may use light)
1 (8 oz.) Cream Cheese (may use 1/3 less fat)
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
2 cups grated Cheese,(Colby-jack or Three-cheese blend)
1 box frozen, chopped Spinach
2 cans Artichoke Hearts, quartered
1 bunch Green Onions, diced
2 Roma Tomatoes, diced

Stir the mayo, sour cream, and cheeses until well blended. Defrost spinach in the microwave, until completely thawed. Use hands to squeeze out water, then separate the spinach into small pieces. Stir into the mixture. Dice the quartered artichoke hearts, then stir in. Spread mixture into 2 glass pie plates, (stoneware or glass). Bake at 350 for 35-45 or until about half of the surface is golden brown. Remove from oven and garnish with chopped onions and tomatoes. Serve at room temperature with tortilla chips, veggies or crackers. NOTE: If you refrigerate it before serving, then warm gradually in the oven until soft and slightly warm again.

And here is what it looks like.....

I have been wanting a good dip and I FOUND IT! Yummo!!

Well my coffee is almost gone and my break is almost over. The kids are napping so i need to get some work done.

Hopefully my next post will be my bonus room!

xo

FALL ~

It's almost official. Tomorrow marks the first day of fall. I just can't believe it. Why? Cause here in the south...the temperature is supposed to reach 98 degrees today! Tomorrow {the first day of fall} is supposed to be 98 aswell! ALL this week it is going to be in the upper 90's. Fall...Schmall! It is still feels like summer time and i love it! :o) I'm sad summer may be over but let me tell you a bit about what i am looking forward to this fall......

* Fall Decor
* Fall Colors
* Shopping for new fall clothes {hello boots and skinny jeans}
* Candied/Caramel Apples
* My hair not flattening as soon as i walk out the door
* Hot Apple Cider
* Going to the Pumpkin Patch and picking out our pumpkins
* Modern Family, amongst other shows I love, returning to primetime!
* Cute Halloween costumes
* Pumpkin pie, pumpkin dip, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin spice lattes...
* Stew and Chili
* Oktoberfest

What are you excited for this fall??

Consignment Time ~

Well it is that time of year....consignment time! I love it. I get to go through all my kids clothes and sort out what i want to save, hand down and what i want to sell. Re-Sale is awesome cause i turn right around and get to spend that money on new cute clothes for the season. AND because i consign at the sale i get to shop early! It is a win/win if you ask me. :o) I found several nice things this sale.

Here are 3 smocked outfits i found for my sweet little girl. The first on the left is a sweet little lady bug. The middle has a purse, sunglasses, and hat smocked on it. And the one on the right has a fairy smocked on the top.

This is THE place to find cute-e-patootie pj's for the kids. I paid only $3 each or these and they are from Old Navy and Gymboree. I grabbed the princess jammies for my little princess. Then i got it home and she couldn't wait to get them on. She was so excited and gave me a hug and said "Oh thank you mommy for my princess"! :o) {side note...yes i did wash them before i let her sleep in them}

These little rompers are so cute. I can't wait to Monogram his little name on them!

One of the things on my list was a coat for baby boy. I found this sweet teddy bear coat and it is so warm and snuggly. I almost can't wait for winter so he can wear it.

Ok...these three pieces i was super duper excited to find...but then i saw the price and was even more excited. I paid $5 each. The pink minky dot jacket is Kellys kids. The brown coat was something i saw last year at a children's boutique after Christmas and wanted to get it so bad but i couldn't bring myself to pay $48 {on sale} for it. And i snagged it for $5!!


I usually make my daughters bows but i found a few that were so cute i couldn't pass them up.

I just L.O.V.E. the turkey!!

This little vest and sweater just put a smile on my face. It is Gymboree...$3 price tag. I got it.

I went ahead and picked this dress up. It is alittle big but will fit her next year. I thought it was CA-ute!

And the back is just as cute! :o)

This dress needs a cute pair of tights and some brown shoes.

My daughters favorite cartoon! You can't beat $3. Saving 2 of these for Christmas and going ahead and giving her one to watch on our next road trip.

I only found 2 pair of shoes this year. The blue boys shoes are Squeakers {they squeak when he takes a step}. And the black girls shoes are L'amours. They are perfect {they look to have some sticky sticker stuff in this pic} but are practically new.

And last but not least....i found 2 new Fun with Dick and Jane books for $3. My little girl loves me to read to her and has even picked up a few words she can read. So when i saw these i thought they would be perfect for me to work with her on her reading. I just love these old Dick and Jane books...they are so cute and fun to read!

And that is it for this sale. There are 2 more sales in the upcoming weeks that i like to attend. I have a few more things that i would love to find for my little boy. Little Miss....has PLENTY! Sorry this post was all about what i found at the consignment sale. But i was pretty excited at what i found and how Little i spent. HEHE!

Well it is Friday and i'm off to start my weekend. I had a few guesses on what color i'm painting my bonus room! :o) Thanks for the comments ladies! I'm still hard at work ...i got some of the trim work done last night while the hubby hung out with the kidaroos. Yippee...progress!

Happy Friday!

xo

Color Splash ~

Hello There!
I feel like i have been delinquent in my posts. I keep getting deeper and deeper into projects and nothing has been getting finalized. But i'm working really hard at changing that! :o) So this post is about what i have done. Remember this post? I have actually been doing some of it along the way. I may have skipped around BUT i have been working on it. Week 1 {kids rooms} did get a good cleaning and organized. Week 7 {master bedroom and bathroom} Check! Week 9 {guest bathroom and linen closet} CHECK! Week 4 {books, cd's & dvd's} check! Week 11 {entryway & livingroom} CHECK, CHECK! Week 13 {kitchen/dining room} Kinda.....i did go thru and get rid of everything i don't need or want. But that area is a disaster zone right now. :/

So there you have it....i have been working hard. No pics today but i will work on getting them took so that i can show you.

And now on to my latest project....the BONUS room! This picture says it all...

I'm trying really hard to have some patience....and trying to tell myself that this is gonna take some time. But it will get done. This room is kinda big...and kinda a disaster. It is one thing to just "repaint" a room it is another to paint and FIX another persons crazy mess! I picked out a color and started in painting this weekend. And i LOVE the color. It is pretty BOLD for me but i think David Bromstad ...

....{HGTV Colorsplash} would be proud! HEHE!! I can't wait to finish this project and show you. And i will...just give me a few weeks. :) Any guesses as to what color i picked out???

Goodbye Summer ~

Goodbye Summer you are my favorite time of year.

Goodbye late afternoon sun.

Goodbye long lazy days out by the kiddy pool and rosy cheeks.

Goodbye sweet little "babin suits" and Hawaiian shirts.

Goodbye necked babies with only a diaper.

Goodbye little white sandals and sweet summer dresses.

Goodbye front porch tea parties, lemonade and picnic blankets.

Goodbye Beach.

Goodbye summer. We will miss you and can't wait to see you again next year!

Budget Baby Shower ~

I was so excited to be hosting a baby shower for a good friend of mine. But let me tell you...showers can get pricey QUICK! Here are some ways i was able to keep everything in budget.

First i enlisted 4 other ladies to help. That way there would be some split cost. And also we put our money together for a really big Hostess Gift!

Second we set the shower to be mid-afternoon. Why? Because it is in the middle of lunch and dinner. We were able to do small amounts of finger foods since most had already had lunch. On the menu was Baked cheese sticks, fruit tray, veggie tray, smoked bbq weenies, cheese tray and we also had fondue dark chocolate {yummy} and we had all kinds of goodies to dip in it. I of course made my red velvet cake balls!!

Third i asked some of the older ladies at church if they would let me borrow some items like.....nice white table cloths. Looks way better than cheep store bought ones and they were happy to let me borrow them. I also was able to borrow nice glass dinner plates and real silverware and silver punch bowl and glasses. SCORE!

Forth i asked the expecting mommy to be to let me use some of the onesies, socks, baby bonnets and sleepers that she already had. I simply hung them on twine with laundry clips and used that as some decoration. BTW...she loved that idea!

And one of my favorite money saving tips. Cup cakes instead of a traditional cake. NOW i didn't make the ones i brought. I got them at walmart. They are so very good and very UNexpensive! If you make them yourself they are even cheaper. Cupcakes are so big right now for parties and i think they go over very well. Plus we put together a way for them to look really GRAND! ;o)

Here are some pictures.....

The gender of the baby is unknown {i actually know} so i got pink, blue, yellow and green cupcakes. Isn't the Wrapped boxes an awesome way to display the cupcakes!!? It makes them look like a 3 tier cake!!

Here is another pic from the other side.

Food table.

This punch was DIVINE! It wasn't your regular punch. No carbonation. It was called Pineapple Float.

Baked cheese sticks...so yummy!


Table of things to be dipped in CHOCOLATE.

Same pic as above...didn't feel like deleting it. Isn't the punch bowl beautiful.

This picture turned out terrible. I don't know what happened here. Anyway....the cute little baby sleepers are hung here.

It was a good shower. She got tons of nice things. I'm so happy for her and her hubby. They are gonna be great parents.

A Frog Prince ~

I'm in the middle of a really busy {stressful} week. Tons to do and not enough time to fit it all in. But i love being busy. I'm hosting a baby shower this weekend and i want it to be perfect. Got lots planned..and i'm in the middle of putting it together. I woke up Wednesday morning at 3:00 a.m. with all the planning going round and round in my head. So i got up and wrote down everything i was thinking of and tried to go back to sleep. Fat lot of good that did. I didn't go back to sleep. SO i got up and started sewing. Sewing is something that helps me relax. I have some projects already cut out so i started on one that i couldn't wait to get done. A frog Prince Dress....

Ohhhh...i love this fabric. It is THE cutest print i have EVER seen. It tells a story. I made it kinda big so she can wear it longer. I will be so sad when she outgrows it. When she saw it she screamed
"Oh mommy a frog princess"!! She put it on and twirled her little heart out. Makes mommy happy! :o)

Here is a close up of the front. To cute for words!

Here is another close up of the skirt part. The prince saving the princess.

Ok on to the next project. I was going through the kids closets this week cause it is almost CONSIGNMENT time. I pulled out all the outgrown items that i don't want to save and hung and tagged. I also took this time to look through what i have for the upcoming season. I have a friend that gave me Tons of little girl clothes back several months ago and i had fun going though that stuff again and pulling out what would fit her this fall and winter. I took that time to make a list of what she will need so i can look for these items at the consignment sale. On my list is ruffle pants. But i will be making those for her. Remember THIS post? I used my own pattern that i made and TADA.....

CA-ute little ruffle pants. I am so proud of these pants. And yes...they look crooked....but that is the way they are hanging. They are perfectly straight and look sooooooo cute on. She loved them...she wore them to church last night. :o)

Here is a {{fuzzy}} close-up of the pattern. Sweet little fall pattern. Fall colors. Luv'em. Can't wait to make more of these for her.

Those two items took less than an hour to make. And after i finished ...totally ready for the rest of the {busy} day.

Indian Okra ~

Someone recently gave us a TON of okra. I love okra.....i love FRIED okra. I don't think i have had it any other way. But last night i wanted to see if i could find a new way to cook my okra. So i looked on one of my favorite websites {allrecipes.com} for an alternative. I quickly found something that struck my fancy. AND i had all the ingredients. It is called Indian Okra. The hubby loved it. And i thought it was pretty tasty. So i thought i would share the recipe.....

Indian Okra

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound sliced fresh okra
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste

Directions
1.Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender. Stir in the okra, and season with cumin, ginger, coriander, pepper and salt. Cook and stir for a few minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover the pan. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until okra is tender.

Sorry no after pics...we gobbled it up before i got a chance.