A quilt for Baby.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and was able to spend time with their loved ones and share lots of love and laughter. I know I did and I am reminded how blessed I am to be surrounded by so many people who care about me.

As of Tuesday, I am 35 weeks along and have 35 days until my due date (33 now). That seems so close! Things at the house are coming together. Baby Girl's room is looking like an actual bedroom and our cats are slowly adjusting to all the new things coming into the house!

This is a post I've been itching to publish! And today I'm finally doing it.

I can't wait to show you one of my favorite things we have awaiting Baby's arrival. Her new quilt!

I had her quilt made by a friend of mine, Dannielle, who is just simply amazing. [Visit her website here] She's crafty, she's creative and she sews! I'd seen other quilts and fabric projects Dannielle has made for others and knew she was the one to ask for a job like this. You see, this isn't any ordinary baby quilt. The fabric for this quilt is very very special.

The pinks and grays and blues are all old t-shirts that my husband and I could part with. Baby will always have a bit of us with her when she has this blanket. The pink backing is from a cashmere blanket I've had since college that has been to every apartment I've rented, every house I've lived in and beyond. It was the perfect color and the perfect softness for this.

The extra special features in this quilt are the white fabric pieces. The white hexagons and the trimming around the edges? Oh, yea, those are parts of my wedding dress.

When I presenting Dannielle with the idea of possibly taking a pair of scissors to my dress and creating a quilt for the baby, I was afraid she would call me nuts and refuse. On the contrary, she loved the idea! And it made me feel less crazy for suggesting it.

The truth is, the wedding dress will mean so much more in/on a blanket than it ever will just hanging in my closet. It got its use 2 years ago and now I can let it live on in something much more special and lasting.

My husband was on board. Dannielle was on board. So, the plan was executed.

She started with all the fabric I gave her: old t-shirts, my cashmere blanket and most importantly, my wedding dress.

Then she cut all those swatches into the half-hexagon shapes and laid them out.

She sent me pictures along the way to make sure I still liked the color scheme. . .  & of course, I did!

Once she had it where we both were happy, she got to sewing!

All that was left was to add the trimming on the edges (the satin from the bottom of my wedding dress) and the backing (my old pink cashmere blanket).

And it was done!

I'm beyond happy with what Dannielle was able to create and I LOVE the hexagon pattern, as opposed to a standard square pattern.

I hope this quilt will be something Baby takes with her beyond childhood and can treasure as much as we are sure to treasure her.

Scarves Organized.

There are a lot of ways to organize scarves that I've found online. I used to keep all mine in a basket on the bottom shelf of our closet.

That was until my cat decided it was her new bed and kept sleeping in said basket. Not wanting my scarves to smell like kitty fur, I had to find a new way.

I've seen them hung on hangers.

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And I've seen them tucked in shoe organizers.

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I've also seen them folded in a drawer.

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But what's been working great for me is hooking them on a rod in an unused section of our closet. I can see all of them and I even have them color coordinated. Watch out!

It's easy to pick the right color for any outfit quickly.

And when I'm done wearing one, I just tie it right back onto the rod and it's ready for next time.

How do you organize your scarves?

Happy Organizing!

Mozzarella Fails.

“If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.” 

― Steven Wright

Contrary to the quote above, I chose to expose my failures today. I've failed not once, but twice at making baked mozzarella cheese snacks. I just can't get it right. 

Recently, I attempted the homemade mozzarella sticks. Looked easy enough and I had the right ingredients. Seemed fool-proof! 

I was so bummed that the cheese just oozed out all over. 

Then a few weeks later, I attempted what seemed like another fool-proof snack: Pizza balls. Literally there are three ingredients. Pizza dough, pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese sticks. I made sure that the dough was sealed tight but somehow it got out again!

So, I failed again! 

Do any of you have an actual fool-proof way of keeping the cheese from getting everywhere? I need help. . . 

[un] Happy Cheesin' it!

2 year anniversary.

I'm only about 2 months overdue with this post. I'd like to blame it on pregnancy, but the truth is that's not fair. I've just put it off and then forgot about it. My husband and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary on October 8.

You might remember my post last year about our anniversary photo done at the pond where our wedding reception took place. We took a photo in a similar pose to our wedding photo and it appears we're holding the year prior's image. See original post on how I Photoshopped it here.

Fall 2012

This year, of course, we did it again. I plan to do this every year to document how our family grows.

Fall 2013

It's hard to see myself pregnant and see the weight I've gained. My hair is much longer - thank you hormones! Hubby looks the same (he's even wearing the same fleece). But hopefully in next year's picture, we'll have a beautiful little 9 month old girl and I won't look like a moose. You can even tell it was hard for me to sit up straight. Belly gets in the way these days more than I anticipated!

I love this tradition we've started and look forward to seeing our progression as the years pass.

Happy Monday!

Christmas Card Display.

It's been 11 months since my husband and I moved into our new home. I was flipping through old blogs about when we moved and came across the one about settling in.

I thought it would be timely to show you again how I organized and displayed all the Christmas cards we received (while homeless at Christmas last year). Even though it was January when we moved in, once we got in I was anxious to put all the lovely cards up somewhere to appreciate since we spent the month of December setting them aside.

If you'd like to read the original post click here.

All I used were some basic ribbon and mini clothes pins (found at most craft stores or box stores) to secure the cards to the ribbon. You could use tape if you decide the pins aren't your thing, of course.

Click on the photo to view larger.

This year I'm using the neat card display stocking I usually use since I was able to bust out all the decorations again! It's crazy to think that it's been 2 years since I saw most of the Christmas stuff.

Is your house all decorated for Christmas already? When did you start (I mean, did you wait until after Thanksgiving like I did) or did you have stuff up at Halloween?

Happy Holidays!