Springtime- for a minute anyway...

My daffodils have sprung, which must mean it's Spring!

Well, it should, anyway. This picture was taken last week. Today, it was sleeting and.... well, I'm not sure what to call the other wintry precipitation we got today- it was too wet to be snow, but it was coming down in HUGE chunks.
Anyway, I'm sure that just killed my pretty flowers. Ah, spirngtime in the Ohio Valley. Never predictable, except that it's always unpredictable.

During the week of warm weather, Ava and I were outside everyday. And she LOVED it. We went to the park a couple of times, to the zoo with Kathy and Ellie, and to play outside at mamaw's.


This is the first year she actually knows what to do with bubbles.

Well, kinda.

You're not supposed to eat them silly girl!

Seeing how much fun she has outside really makes me hate my yard more and more each day. I regret buying a house and not having the forethought to consider a child running around the property. Oh, how we live and learn.

We did get estimates on a new deck though (yikes!). Hopefully we'll have it installed in time for our big girl's second birthday!

New dresses

Oh, how I love my little girl in a dress!! Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?? The dress is pretty cute too. I used the tutorial from Prudent Baby. This is actually the second of these dresses that I've made, but the other one is having issues- I used the snaps that the pattern called for, but I can't get the snaps on the front of the dress. UGH.

So instead of snaps, I made buttonholes (!) and used some buttons I already had.

Yes, this dress is a little short. No, she had better not even *think* about wearing something this short when she's a teen. You can't tell from these pictures, but I made a really cute little diaper cover out of the paisley fabric to match. That's the whole reason this dress is so short- so that while she's playing, you can see that cute little bum covered in paisley.

I've been thrifting a lot recently. I found a men's shirt that looked like it should have been a little girl's dress all along.

So I bought it, washed it, and started cutting...

and a few short hours later, I had this-

An awesome little shirtdress.

I used crossgrain ribbon for the waistband instead of contrasting fabric, mainly becuase the ribbon matched, and my spare fabric did not. However, I really like the way it turned out. The orange ribbon really pops.

After I had already sewn the placket shut, I decided to swap out the buttons from the plain white ones to these fun blue flowers I got from Chris's Grama's stash.

I am totally in love with this pattern. I think I'll make more.

the Circle Skirt

I *finally* made something for myself-
This Circle Skirt!
I can't tell you how EASY it was- it took me about 20 minutes to sew it up (well, it should have anyway- I readjusted the elastic waistband a couple {ok, 4} times).

So, like the name implies, it's a circle of fabric. More like a donut.
Which means there are NO SEAMS to sew! the only sewing involved is attatching the elastic for the waistband and the hemline, which I don't really like doing.
I made this one out of a bed sheet that I got at a thrift store.
I thought it was white with little grey polka dots, but upon further inspection, I decided the dots are actually purple. No matter.

It still needs the bottom hem. I think I'll just wait until I get my serger, then add a rolled hem. That will make this project the easiest skirt ever!

Oh, and guess what else I made?

Fresh, homemade buttah. Mmmmm.

Things to do:

I probably should have set goals for myself at the New Year like everyone else.
But I'm slow.

March- decorate kitchen walls


April- plant things in flower beds in back yard, tidy front yard


May- put together a recipe binder


June- make strawberry freezer jam


July- make felt food for my girl


August- read a classic


September- pick (and possibly can) apples


October- pick and carve a pumpkin


November- sew a tree skirt, or possibly an adorable Advent calendar


December- make homemade hot chocolate mix

Mom's Birthday

A few years ago, my mother and I kinda stopped giving each other birthday gifts. Neither of us ever know what gift to tell the other person to buy, so we just started buying each other a bouquet of flowers and having dinner together on our birthdays.
This year, I bought her a bouquet of red tulips. My girl was with me when I picked them out, and when she saw me put the flowers in our cart, she pointed to a pink bouquet and said "more." So we got Mom the pink ones too.

For dinner, I made Mom her favorite, my stuffed shells. It's like manicotti, only I find it too difficult to stuff those stupid shells without tearing them. I think the shells are just cuter anyway.

Want the recipe? It's-
1 jar pasta sauce
3/4 box jumbo shells, cooked
15 oz ricotta cheese
2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T garlic powder (more or less to suit your taste)

Preheat your oven to 350 while you're mixing the ricotta, egg, Parmesan, seasonings, and nearly all of the mozzarella (I leave out about a handful to sprinkle on top right before it's done).
Pour about 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 13X9 pan, just enough to cover the bottom.

Fill your shells.

Side note here- I absolutely lovelovelove my cookie scoop. I use it for just about everything but cookies. I've found that it's the perfect size for these shells. Filling the shells is super quick, and less messy than using a spoon.

Pour the rest of your sauce over the shells, cover with foil, and bake until bubbly (about 45 minutes). Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Then eat way more shells than you had intended to just because this is a meal that is not often made at your house because your husband is the one person in the whole world that doesn't like ricotta cheese. ://cough cough//:

Anyhoo, I also baked her one of her favorite cakes. I have no idea what it's called- I just call it the Summer Cake because it reminds me of warm, sunny days.

It's full of yummy things, like mandarins, lemon, pineapple, and Cool Whip. Very summery, no?

I hope you had a great birthday, Mom.