a nice saturday project.

You can make this. Really. Today.
If you sew at all you probably have everything you need.
It took me a couple of hours tops...and that was because of the 2 1/4in squares.
But after you get the cutting done it goes quick.

I added the cute (Velcro) ruffled collar. :)
Just a little something for my sweet little niece
that I get to see in a couple of weeks.

Get the free pattern HERE.

Let me know if you have any questions.
I will answer them in the comments on this post.
And here's another peek at that something I am working on.

xo

i dare you...

not to smile at this sweet little boy.
I love this photo...a sweet frame with his nose scrunched, lips curled up in a belly laugh
and a chubby little chin drenched in drool.

He loves all things soft...here he is having a thumb moment with a touch and feel book. :)
When we put him down with his lovey at night he will turn it over until he can get his face into the soft part. He is our little cuddle bug.
He is also our little mischievous one.
He is climbing everything...and have I mentioned that he is walking?
He also knows which parent will fall for his fake cry.
And he eats everything in sight.
He definitely gets way more "real" food than Moses did at this age.

I can't believe he will be one in two weeks. So fast.
We are planning a co-celebration with our nephew Blake who is two weeks younger.
Well, Blake isn't planning much. :)
But we're planning a weekend with Doug's siblings, parents and Uncle B to head to Baltimore!
We are SO excited to see them all and to take Moses and my niece to the aquarium!
I grew up nearby so I have been a ton but I love it...

...and this happy guy is going through a shark phase.
So he cannot wait to see "sharks at the aquarium" and to see "kyee" and all his other relatives.
I don't know that there is a more perfect age to take a child to the aquarium.

Need something that goes great with your morning coffee?
Try this Cardamom coffee cake...it is heavenly!

2 c. soft butter
2 c. light brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla
2 c. sour cream
(I only had 1 cup on hand so I did 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup vanilla yogurt)
4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. powdered cardamom
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamon, and salt. Add sour cream and flour mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in each addition just enough to blend. Don't beat or over mix!

NUT MIXTURE:

1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (Doug doesn't like nuts so I did choc chips instead)

Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts.

Spoon 1/3 of the batter into a well buttered tube or bundt pan, then 1/2 of the nut mixture, then 1/3 batter, then remaining nuts, then remaining batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until brown on top and dry when you insert a probe all the way down. Turn onto a plate after 10 minutes of cooling.

YUM!

And lastly...here's a peek at something I am working one. :)

Happy weekend. :)

in no particular order...

Some of my favorite Etsy purchases.
Sweet little chicks. From HERE.

We like to say Hooray! From HERE.

Say hello to me. Get yours HERE.

Obviously this one is not mine. But I have one with the whole family's initials.
I wear it every day. You can get one HERE.

Love this. Get one HERE.

Love this one. Want this one. Buy them HERE.

Buy potholders HERE. I use my to death. They are super thick and wash well.

Print found HERE. She has secret sales on Facebook.

Get it HERE. Order a size larger than you normally are.

blizzard #2 part two.

This was how we ended Saturday.
We had no power for about three hours.
It was the quietest that I can ever remember hearing.
My ears were actually ringing from the silence.
After the boys were asleep that is.
We had to put them to bed without their fans...and that completely freaked Moses out.
But a flashlight helped him there.

Then the next day we woke up to this.

A blue sky, marshmallow world.

Aaron celebrated by dumping his entire bowl of oatmeal onto his tray...
I fed him right off the tray.

Lucky for him, he is cute.

I have been trying really hard to just look at the beauty.
And refrain from gagging every time I look out the window.

This guy helps.
He loves it. Of course he does, he is three.
It really is fun to watch him play.
I would love to take him sledding but there are no sleds to be found.
Have one you want to donate?

After we came in, I made
Buffalo Chicken Dip.

Ingredients

• 2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup Ranch dressing
• 3/4 cup pepper sauce (I used some Chick-fil-a sauce I had plus some Tabasco)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used mozzarella)

Mix all ingredients together except shredded cheese.
Put into a baking pan...top with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20-30minutes.

I had it for lunch and dinner.
Thanks for the inspiration April!

20 minute crafter. felt polaroid.

Ready for some funky polaroid fun?

Today's 20 minute crafter is Katie from katie.cupcake.
I first saw this sweet little jewel when Julie forwarded me a link...
...being the mommy sieve that my brain is I promptly forgot.
Happy I stumbled upon it again and thought it would be perfect for this segment.
Katie originally made this as Christmas ornaments...
but I think they could be good for year round crafting.
I added a sweet little heart to mine making it perfect for this time of year.

supplies needed:
white felt. [the 9" x 12" rectangles from craft stores are perfect!]
scissors
pencil/chopstick
iron
sewing machine & thread
picture(s) [i used 4x6 inch pictures]
ribbon

***ETA: if you're making these for small children, i recommend adding a piece of thin chipboard [like a piece cut from a cereal box] to your ornament to prevent it from getting bent as easily. just cut it the same size as your photo, glue it to the back of your photo and slip it into the Polaroid felt sleeve.]
1. cut your felt into a 9 inch by 4 1/4 inch rectangle.

2. fold in half, hamburger way. [lol] and sew a straight line 1/8 inch on two sides, creating a little pocket, with the folded edge at the bottom. [i used dark thread to show you which two sides, but you can just use white.]

3. turn it right side out, and poke out the corners
with a chopstick or the eraser side of a pencil.

4.iron on the lowest setting on your iron.

5. cut out a square on one side for your picture. mine ended up being approximately 2 3/4 inches. set aside the felt polaroid.

6. trim your photo. [mine ended up being approximately 3 3/8 inches by 4 inches, but it will vary on whether or not you have portrait or landscape photos and where your seams ended up.]

7. insert into your felt polaroid sleeve. if it doesn't fit, trim off 1/16 inch pieces until it does. set felt polaroid with picture aside.

8. trim your ribbon to the desired length. [mine ended up being about 8 1/2 inches, laid flat.]

9. start in the upper right corner, and sew a straight line down to corner, making sure to back stitch at the beginning. turn the polaroid, while the needle is still inserted into the felt and the presser foot is raised, sew along the bottom [folded] edge of the polaroid. turn again, and sew up the other side.

10. when you get to the top left corner, stop you sewing machine, and get your ribbon. cross the cut ends, so that it creates a loop for the polaroid to hang from.

11. insert your ribbon, so it is centered on the ornament. be sure to put it behind the picture, but in front of the back layer of felt on the polaroid.

12. sew across the top of the polaroid. back stitch over the ribbon to make sure it is secure. when you get back to the upper right corner, back stitch again.

13. sew a straight line across the bottom of the picture square and hole,
back stitching at the beginning and end.

14. trim strings and enjoy your polaroid ornament!

just remember, that your polaroids don't need to be perfect.
i think that's what gives them their charm, just like real polaroids. :)

blizzard #2 part one.

more snow. and not just a little.
at this point...there is a good 2-2 1/2 feet out there.
above is what you would see looking out of my front door.

For THIS blizzard we fought over took turns shoveling snow every few hours to try to stay on top of it. Sometimes, by the time we did the sidewalk and driveway there would be an inch already covering where we started.

It was a good day for hot drinks and Norwegian pancakes.

This is the recipe.
Doug says I can't share it until my mother in law
or father in law says I can.
I think he might be serious...so I'll wait until I get the go ahead.
Yes, it does say a stick of butter.
They are good.
They are not crepes.
:)

Doug says I make them just like his grandma.
To me that is like the Emmy's of my world.
The kind of award I want to win.
It's a messy, buttery production but SO worth it.

And it is the only meal that we have to tell Moses to slow down on.
Yes, his shirt is backwards...he dresses himself.
And in case you are wondering...he is a totally different three year old.
Loving, sweet, parent pleasing...still all boy but we can handle that.

At the end of the first 24hours we even got to see some blue sky...

And I got a sweet little guy done for the shop...

AND they are calling for snow on Tuesday.

AND this morning the weather man didn't want to talk about next weekend?!
So who knows what we are in for.

To be cont...