Sorry to have been away!

Sorry to have been away for so long. I promise to add entries more regularly. In the past week we have ventured (slowly) into the world of potty training and although we are not there yet- I had NO idea what hard work this was going to be! Sigh..........oh well, while we wait for the potty training thing to click, we cook! Today we are cooking "Easy Peasy" spaghetti sauce. I came up with this recipe when I wanted to get rid of produce that I was scared would go bad over the weekend (on weekends I take dinners easy).

You'll need:

3 tomatoes

Some fresh bail (about a half a handful of leaves, washed)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup of frozen peas (one of the only veggies Laura likes, so naturally they get added to EVERYTHING)

Whole Wheat Pasta

Two cloves of garlic minced

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning

1. Heat a large skillet with the oil, medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the garlic.

2. Wash and dice the tomatoes and add them to the skillet.

3. Heat a large pot of water and cook the pasta once it boils.

4. Once the tomatoes are nice and soft, add the seasoning.

5. Next add the peas and basil.

6. Let the sauce simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes until the peas are a nice bright green.

7. Once the pasta has cooked, drain and add the sauce!

Sure to please your little ones because of its simplicity. My husband LOVES this sauce when I add ground pork. The pork's saltiness brings out the acidity in the tomatoes. It is very fresh tasting! Plus you know exactly all of the ingredients and you are leaving out all of those preservatives! (Someone once told me that if "it" can live on a shelf for years, it can live on your hips for years. Haha Kinda interesting.....)

Bored? Why not go shopping?

I discovered that Laura and Caroline have some inner super model in them! I made Laura try on some jeans at The Gap and she was hooked! She posed and danced and even her little sister got in on the action!

Marvelous Monday Finds on Etsy!

I keep fantasizing about fall and all the new clothes I want! Too bad, that is all it will have to be...fantasies. Ahh....marvelous finds on Etsy!

Sweet Knitted Hand Bag $68

Romantic Jersey Ruffled Cardi $75

Vintage 1940's Polka Dot Day Dress $72

Now for the more affordable stuff :)

Plaid 1950's Mad Men Dress $54

Purple Rose Earrings $12

Bella Satin Ruffle Dress $30

Keyhole Flats $50

Stockholm Navy and Cream Pleated Messenger bag $39

Enjoy! Let me know if you find other good stuff!

Fall has fallen upon us!

A quick post to motivate you to get up and enjoy this beautiful weather! Yesterday the girls and I took a stroll around Daddy's office in DuPont Circle. Laura met a dog named Ziggy and Caroline was memorized by the sights and sounds of downtown.

Laura was ready to dive into the fountain! Oh blue eyes!! :)

Sew Along: Finale!

Ok so now we are to the yoke! Only a few more steps!!

Flip the front of the yoke upside down so that the right sides of the fabric are facing together and sew to the front of the tunic. Repeat the processwith the back of the yoke.

Flip the tunic inside out and sew the tops of the yokes together to create a sleeveless tunic.

With the tunic still inside out, add the sleeves by lining up top of the arch with the shoulder seams. Pin and sew the arch of the sleeve around the armhole. Finally sew the seam underneath the sleeve to create the "tube" that makes up the sleeve.

Laura models the one shoulder look-she is so avant-garde!

The last step is to hem the edges of the sleeves and bottom of the tunic for a polished look. I also added bias tape made from leftover scraps of fabric to the collar.

Sew Along: Part 2

Gosh, sorry I haven't posted in a few days. So here is my progress thus far. I am almost done and have learned a lot while completing this tunic, like attaching sleeves and how to not screw up a pocket haha. Enjoy!

The first step in the section of the sew along is cutting the fabric. I used paper pattern pieces to trace and cut my fabric, but from now on I am using muslin. It is wayyyy easier to move the fabric around if needed.

After cutting the pieces out, I gathered the pocket by setting my machine to the longest stitch with the least amount of tension and then I just pulled the strings together. I also sewed some extra material to the top for a polished look.

Then I zig-zagged the remaining pieces so that the fray would be minimized.

After that, I attached the pocket to the front of the tunic. I did this on an angle for a little different look hehe.

Next, I sewed the front and back together (wrong sides facing out). It was starting to look like an actual top!

My final step in this part of the sew along is creating the gathering for the top of tunic. I used the same technique as the pocket.

I had to stop there because my tiny tailors were begging to go on a puppy hunt. :) We take walks in our neighborhood quite often and we ALWAYS find the same dogs. I think that Laura was hoping that there would be new discoveries on this walk. :) See you back tomorrow!

It's a Sew-Along!

I am completing this sew along right along with you! This pattern comes from a Japanese dress book for little girls. It is the most adorable little tunic that I figured Laura could wear with leggings or tights. I've included a picture below and the ISBN number is 9784529047005, otherwise I would include the title- one problem I don't speak Japanese. The author is Yuuki Katagai.

Today I am just cutting the pattern pieces, boy did that take awhile. I've tried to include pictures of the dimensions so you can sew along with me without using the book. Like I said before, the book is written in Japanese so we are basically in the same boat-unless you know Japanese, then maybe you can help me out! :)

We Made It Wednesday: Little Girl's Hair Bows

Today we made hair bows to adorn our hair These little numbers are sooooo easy to whip up and you can make them very cheaply as gifts or last minutes "must have" accessories. Hehe!

Materials:

ribbon (I like grosgrain the best.)

Quick Grip Glue or Hot Glue Gun (Quick Grip is less messy, but use what you have.)

Snap hair clip

button

needle and thread

1. Wrap the ribbon around the clip and glue down.

2. Cut 4 strips of 7 inch ribbon. I used two types of ribbon on my pink bow and it worked just fine. You can be as fancy or as simple as you want!

3. Lay them printed side down in a star pattern as shown below. Take your needle and thread and insert the needle through the middle of the star so that every piece of ribbon has been pierced by the needle.

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4. Next, join the ends of the ribbon to the middle one by one and sew them down to the center of the star.

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5. Attach a button and glue down to snap clip. :) There you have it! It takes only a few minutes to make a customized hair bow for your little one!

Go Hokies!

Mommy and Daddy took a night off from being, well Mommy and Daddy. :) Since my husband and I went to a small school for undergrad, we have adopted Virginia Tech as our college football team. The Hokies opened their season at nearby FedEx Field so we spent Labor Day with the orange and maroon! We laughed, we cried, and in the end it was upset city to Boise State, but we still had fun!

Get Ready to Purge!

With the fall closing in on us I thought that it was time for me to purge myself (and my poor family) of "stuff" that we don't use anymore. I went to work in our room collecting clothes that I have had since college. I came across several of my husband's polos that he had purchased at Britches. Yes, I said Britches!! Didn't they go out of business back in the '90's??

The embarrassment didn't end there. I found a down coat from high school, 3 copies of "I Love You As Much", 2 copies of "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" and several pairs of flip flops with tags still intact. Geez- perhaps I should do more purging and rid myself of clothing and accessories that have been in my closet or dresser for more than 3 months! Hopefully my mess will inspire others (and myself to keep it up!). Happy Labor Day weekend!!

Today we play!

Today we hosted a small playdate with my sister-in-law and a good family friend. The kids had fun playing with playdoh, toy food, and painting their masterpieces! Next time we meet, we may even venture into water table play! :)

Fabric Yo Yo Wreath

I love Mary Engelbreit and this cute wreath reminds me of her designs and illustrations. It is SUPER easy to make and it adds a nice homemade touch to your front door or wall. (This idea is adapted from one found on Poppytalk.)

Materials:

Two different Colors of Yarn

Foam Wreath Form

Fabric Scraps

Needle and Thread

Buttons (optional)

Super Glue

Step 1: Take the foam wreath form and wrap the yarn around it in any design that you would like. I alternated colors but you could use the same color or intertwine the colors together it is up to you.

Step 2: Make the yo-yos! Use different sizes of circles to make your yo-yos. I used coffee cups, canister tops, and bowls as my stencils.

Step 3: Cut the fabric and make a small fold at the top of the fabric. Pull your needle through the fabric and make loose stitches all around your circle. Pull the thread so that the fabric looks like a little purse and then secure by sewing the middle of the yo-yo to the back.

Step 4: Add small yo-yos to large ones for a flower look or just go with single yo-yos. You can add buttons or other notions if you would like.

Step 5: Use super adhesive glue to secure your yo-yos and display! :)

If you decide to make one, send me a picture and I will post it!