Blessings and a Curse

Well, really we aren't cursed but we do have very bad luck. Our car was in the shop again due to an unexpected run in to a median. Everything is fine now and because of some unexpected Christmas money we aren't really going to be behind financially at all. Thanks to all who were involved in that, we really appreciate you:)

I have to admit the older I get the harder Christmas is for me, but I am learning to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and let the little things go. Presents are becoming less and less important and good quality family time is what I look forward to the most. I am very grateful to the Savior and for his birth and his sacrifice. I often feel like I know better and that I can handle everything but if I just "let go and let God" so to speak then I know things work out and that His timing is so much better than my own. I must learn to enjoy my journey with all its twists, turns, and bumps in the road.

I hope we can remember this season that our blessing are many and our burdens few as long as we have the right point of view. Let us all count our many blessings.

I can't write anything spiritual without thinking of the LDS mission I served in West Virginia so in that spirit let me say let's "keep on keepin' on"

Hello Stranger;)

I know, I know, it has been way too long since I've posted but honestly as far as my personal life goes not much has happened. I had an amazing Thanksgiving and my Christmas Season is going well but I just haven't done that much for Just Me.

I thought I would entertain you with a few of my ideas for the future. I am still going to make a twin quilt though it didn't happen this year and I'm already thinking on my new year resolutions but I am one of those selfish people that REALLY look forward to their Birthday and mine is coming up in a little over a month. I want to do something fun but nothing too much since my funds are a bit low so I came across this idea and I think I can make it happen.

A Hot CHOCOLATE Bar! For those that know me best you know three things about me that haven't and won't change, I LOVE pigs, my favorite color is purple, and I LOVE Hot Chocolate! So this seems to fit my personality. We will see how it comes together but I'm excited for it. I'll keep you posted:)

Grocery Bag Holder

I've been wanting to buy or make something for a while that would hold our plastic grocery bags. We don't get nearly as many as we used to since I switched to reusable grocery sacks probably over a year ago but we still need them and get them from time to time. We used to just have them under the sink but then for our ward Super Saturday we were going to make them and I realized I had almost everything to make my own already so I asked for the tutorial and made it before Super Saturday since knowing me I will spend all my time chatting instead of doing a craft. The bag turned out HUGE! A lot bigger than I thought but it works great and I love it. Next time though I would have made one a little smaller like 16" by 20" instead of 20" by 25".

New York City

I got a great opportunity to go to NYC for a pretty inexpensive trip. It was really fun and I went with three fun girls from my ward who have all been before so I was in good hands. We had a blast and it was the fastest, and most exhausting 36 hours of my life!

Early morning train:) The train was really great to ride

View from the Ferry

Me on the ferry

My first cab ride:)

My first real Broadway show! Mary Poppins was awesome!

Yummy food at an awesome restaurant in Brooklyn

Our NYC tour guides

Dinner was amazing! My friend was friends with the cook and she spoiled us with yummy Thai food.

24 layer chocolate cake! Thanks Catherine for finding this gem for us:)

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge on our way back to the hotel at the end of the night

Grand Central Station

Central Park



Ground zero in the works

The view from our Hotel room, it was so awesome at night too! It was the 32nd floor

The toy store was unbelievable and I took a million pictures.

Finally!

Something for me to wear! I made my first skirt using this tutorial and it turned out great! I had some issues along the way but not near as many as I expected since I've never done something like this before. The zipper was a learning curve but I got it in and it actually looks decent. (thank goodness for this tutorial) I am for sure going to be doing more projects like this in the future since I LOVE the way it turned out.

Using up Fabric

I've been going through all my fabric scraps trying to use them to finish little projects I've been meaning to do. With some extra canvas I had laying around I made this cute little pouch for my sewing machine cords. It turned out pretty well and it is nice to have them all put together. Enjoy:)

How I will store it:)

The pouch itself

The goods...

and my personal favorite the straps.

Another Baby Blanket

Here is another baby blanket I did. It is a simple receiving blanket made out of two pieces of flannel that I quilted with long lines..that you can't see. Then I zigzagged the edges then after trimming up the edges a little I washed it to get a cute little uniform fray.

Fall is Full of Change

August was full of ups and downs so when September came and even the hint of fall weather was in the air I decided I needed change. I started with a totally new hair cut right before our August trip to Utah...HELLO BANGS! Haven't seen you since grade school. It looks good, sorry for the lame picture, and I adore the change. Since I was feeling so great about that change we had to update a few things in the apt to give it a small make over after we got rid of certain items we weren't using anymore:) We started off with buying table cloths for our dining room table instead of the toddler plastic that we have been using over the years. Then our poor shower curtain needed to be retired since my son and I had thrown up on it a few times and washing it shrunk the poor thing. We went with something dramatic but nice and I have to say I am loving the change that comes with fall.

My bangs...LOVE THEM...sorry this isn't a glamor shot but I was camping.


The Table...yes that is real fruit and we love having easy access to it.


Here is the new bathroom. Levi spray painted a piece of art he got on his mission and we bought towels and the curtain to match.

Motor Free Mondays

I've decided to have Motor Free Monday's. This is one day a week that I will not use my car(unless an emergency). When I was serving an LDS mission in WV we had cars but restrictions on how many miles we could go and so once a month we would have a car fast where we would not use our car for anything for one day. This could be quite the challenge at times but it taught me a lot and we rarely went over our mileage for the month. So that is where the idea came from but I think I want to do it just to save a little money and encourage walking a little more plus it is a little better on our environment too. I live in a fairly walkable community so this shouldn't be too hard to do, plus Monday is laundry day. Wish me luck.

Ruffle Butts

I went to baby shower the other week and was inspired to make ruffle butt onsies out of some scraps for part of the gift. It turned out really cute. I sure do wish I had some pinking sheers because I am not a fan of how much they shrunk after I washed them. I did a couple of cute ruffles in the front too but didn't get a good picture of it.

The Finished Product

The moment many of you have been waiting for has finally arrived! We are done! Levi did most of the work but I did the finishing touches and was the manager. We did it together and we have decided not to ever do anything like this again. It turned out way cute and I can't wait to start using it to store my sewing goods and for other uses over the years. A big thanks to my friend Julie for all the advice and the use of her sander. Without her this couldn't have been done, THANKS JULIE! The contrast between the before and after pictures is stunning so please enjoy. Also, if any of you are in need of black paint let us know, we bought way too much and opened both cans...oops.

Before:

After:

Open

Church Tote

I have been wanting to make Clark a church tote for all his quiet things for a while and finally did it! I love it and it has worked out great for church. I messed up on the straps, which means they probably won't last as long as they could last but I will fix that when I have to. He did the art work and I traced it on the fabric and carefully sewed it on the pocket. It wasn't my idea but it turned out great after I made it a bit larger then called for.

Crib Activity Quilt

I recently(within the last month or so) finished a quilt for a friend. It was a love/hate relationship with quilting as usual but I got through. It became more of an activity quilt since the batting was a bit thick and it had lots of textures and I tied it. It is way cute and my friend loved it so I guess that should make it worth it. Also, here is a sneak peak of the dresser we have been working on and finally finished. (Post coming soon)

Sanding and Painting

A lot of you are asking so here is the sanding and painting portion of my dresser project. The sanding went fast and Levi did a good job and we both painted(bought way too much paint so if you need some let me know) The last picture is a sneak peek of what it is looking like. Hopefully we will finish soon and I will show you the before and after pics.

Stripping

First of all...get your mind out of the gutter...secondly doesn't it look so much better already?

Levi has been a saint and has done all the hard work under my direction and only burned himself once. We are excited to sand it down and get it painted.