Spring Hair Makeover

My sister Jessica, is a hairstylist and recently gave Marina from Just Sew Sassy a fresh new cut for spring. You can read all about it at Just Sew Sassy. 

Thanks for the feature on Jessica Just Sew Sassy. 

April Fool's Day Inspiration: Turkey Meatloaf Faux Cupcakes

Surprise your family on April Fool's day with Turkey Meatloaf Faux Cupcakes for dinner. They look like cupcakes and even have frosting. 

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

My Favorite Books for Babies

I am dying to purchase a few new books because I have largely memorized the majority of our board book collection. Here are a few of my sons favorite books at around 12 months old.  Even if you do not have children books make wonderful presents.

Inexpensive Bookshelves

Little Girl Inspiration: Bow Board

  I made a bow board for my daughter before she was born, and it was full before she was born.  I have been looking for a new frame to make her bow board and I finally found one at a local D.I. (thirft store).  It was only 3 dollars and they had just put it out to be sold and I snatched it right up! 

I first took it from being gold, to white.  I used Krylon white spray paint, gloss.

I measured the frame so I could center the first ribbon.

I laid the ribbon out before I glued them so I could see where I wanted them first.

Some helpful tips that I don't have pictures of is use the glass to wrap batting, and your fabric around.  Glue the batting and fabric tightly around the glass and then attach the ribbon.  Mine didn't have any glass in the frame left,  and I wish it did because it would have made this a lot easier.  It also holds the bows in place better.

Then here you have it, it's all done!  I am so excited to hang it up in her room.  I have already hung some of the new bows I have made for her on it.  I am sure this one will be full soon too, we will see if I can find one any bigger than this one!

Inspiration Upcycle: Woman's shirt into Girl's skirt!

First of all, I have to say I am no seamstress.  I took one sewing class a long time ago, and so I just kind of    take what I know, and make up the rest.  So please do not look to closely, I know I have a lot of mistakes!  Also Since I was trying to figure out how to make this skirt for the first time on my own, I didn't do a full tutorial.  I will still try to walk you through what I did. I know I found this on someone's blog at one time, but I  couldn't find it when it was time to make it.  So here is my version!

Garden Inspiration: A Guide to when to start planting your Vegetables

So this year I am starting out on a new adventure, I am planting my very first vegetable garden!  We have only lived in our home for a year, and last planting season came up on us to fast last year and we weren't able to plant anything.  So this year we are getting ready in advance, and I thought I would share with you about some tips about when to plant certain things.  I got them in a list of groups, so I will post them the same as I got the info.

Pantry Organization Inspiration

Spring is officially here next week and it's time to clean and organize. Typically pantries are meant to be functional not pretty. I have been trying to be more organized at my house and I found a few pantries that are both functional and pretty.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We hope you remembered to wear green and are enjoying the day. My

Corned Beef is waiting in the fridge and I'm looking forward to trying it.

If you are stumped for St. Patrick's Day ideas check out these posts:

Food Inspiration: Green Smoothie

One Charming Party has a recipe for a Green Smoothie that looks tasty. The smoothie is naturally green because it contains spinach. This would be the perfect breakfast on St. Patrick's day. The smoothie looks much more appetizing than scrambled eggs dyed green with food coloring.

Reading Inspiration: St. Patrick's Day Books

I love children's books and have a slight addiction to them. Reading books about a holiday can help children enjoy the day more. The pictures and stories bring the traditions to life. Here are some fun St. Patrick's day books for your family.  

Food Inspiration: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned Beef and Cabbage is a classic St. Patrick's day dish. I have never made it personally so I searched for variations from some of my favorite cooks and websites. Many of the recipes I found called for beer.  If you are uncomfortable cooking with alcohol you can substitute with a beef broth.  (Be advised though that the flavor of the dish would be altered)

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Accessory Inspiration: Flower clip tutorial

Since having my baby girl, I have become a bit obsessed with making all kinds of bows, and fabric flowers.  I found a really cute flower at a boutique shop, but thought it was too much money.  I thought it would be easy enough for myself to make, and it was!

Food Inspiration: Irish Soda Bread

This delicious bread is the perfect side dish for St. Patrick's Day. This recipe calls for currants but raisins are also traditionally used.

I love cooking with orange zest. A microplane is a wonderful tool that makes zesting a breeze. When zesting make sure you only go over each area of the peel once. The white pith can have a bitter taste but the orange portion is full of fragrant oils.

Tradition Inspiration: St Patrick's Day

  

I remember Leprechauns coming to visit our school when I was little. They would leave green footprints behind and generally cause mischief. St. Patrick's day is a perfect opportunity to begin new traditions.   

I have been looking for inspiration to make my St. Patrick's day a little more memorable.  Green can become boring and redundant after a while so I also searched for rainbow and gold ideas. Click on the link beneath each picture to read more about the idea.  

Celebration Inspiration: First Birthday

I knew I wanted to do something special for my son’s first birthday. The first year flew by faster than we could imagine. My tiny baby had turned into a jabbering, walking toddler. I found inspiration for the party at wonderful websites such as Kara's Party Ideas and One Charming Party. I loved pouring over the gorgeous party pictures featured there.  

Home Inspiration: Vinyl

For the first four months of our little bug's life we were living in a small apartment.  We could not do much to decorate, or paint the walls because we were renting.   I knew I wanted to have a tree painting or do something like that but I couldn't decide what because I had a pretty big space to fill.  Then Kelsey gave me an awesome idea!  Vinyl!  Vinyl is seriously an amazing thing.  I went on etsy and found the perfect bubble tree that matched her bedding perfectly.  I was able to pick out the colors I wanted the tree to be and everything.  It was super easy to put on the wall too.  They said you would only be able to apply it once, and if you took it down it would no longer stick again.  When we moved into our home, we decided we were going to try taking it with us.  It worked!  It is now with us in our home, and I still LOVE it!

This is a picture of it when it was in our apartment.  

I will show pictures of her updated nursery in a later post!

Such a simple way to improve a nursery, in your home or if you are renting an apartment.  

~Jessica

Dinner Inspiration: Garden Chowder

Although it is March, it can still be chilly outside. This soup recipe is one that my entire family enjoys. I first tasted Garden Chowder at a restaurant called Zupas.  I loved it and immediately went home and tried to find the recipe.  

Kitchen Redo

 We haven't completely finished the kitchen yet, but I at least have to show you what we have done so far. I will have to post the full redo once it's all completely done.

Before