Christmas Skirt

Well it's been hard to focus on any Christmas plans at all with the baby due anytime yet. My due date is 3 days before Christmas so our plans have been one big question mark...which is fine I mean what better gift could we get? 

Well anyways it saw some awesome fabric at Walmart and knew that I should really make Emrey something "christmasy" even if she just wears it to church the Sunday after or something. 

So here's a sneak peak of her "christmasy" skirt. I'm planning on adding a white tulle pettiskirt to peak out of the bottom, we'll see if I get that accomplished though. I'll share more details and the tute I used when I'm finished.

Until then...

Baby Cardigan Onsie

This is my I'm 38 weeks and growing anxious project :]

I can't wait to see him in it. Seriously.

Impatient

It's getting worse everyday

Haha

He'll be worth the wait

I used Diesel In Bloom's Tutorial

http://dieselinbloom.blogspot.com/2012/09/cardigan-onesies.html?m=1

Camera Strap Cover Tutorial

As of yesterday I'm officially 9 months pregnant! 

I have 26 (+/-) days until I meet my son. Needless to say I've been keepin myself busy, I think in an attempt to occupy my mind so the days don't draaaag on. Since starting sewing this is defiantly the most I have ever sewn. I'm doing something everyday or every other day. A tunic for my daughter, a fabric storage bin, patches on my Hubbs pants (which I never do), a pair of baby pj pants. If you follow me on Instagram you already know that though haha. (my name on there is audriellew) 

So today while I was thinking about the things I should put in my hospital bag and remembered my camera I decided it was time to sew a camera strap cover for  it. I've wanted to for like 2 years but today I finally got around to it. Refer back to the keeping myself busy part.

 So after looking on Pinterest I came across this tutorial by Sew Caroline  

It was a fast and easy sew, which is basically the only kind I do haha. 

I did alter it to include an elastic strap for holding my lens cover so I can quit holding it in my front teeth while I take photos haha. I didn't use interfacing either, I just used some thick material I had on hand. Also the Pom Pom flower I made to be detachable by just securing it with a safety pin. I can see it getting dirty fast. Here's my "No Sew Pom Pom Tutorial" also.

Happy sewing!

Thick & Creamy Frappe at Home

I love dessert

I love coffee flavored dessert

Tiramisu, coffee flavored ice creams, java chillers at Sonic. You name it.

So when I saw a holiday mint frappe recipe I was intrigued. I already make my own iced coffees (weekly) at home so I was excited to see how frappes come together.

Well I wasn't digging the recipe that I saw but it taught me the main idea of how to get the frappe texture at home and not some runny mess.

Coffee frozen in ice cube trays!

Genius

So here's my recipe. I have been waiting to put it up on here until I was able to make it again/perfect it but I just haven't gotten around to buying more ice cream so be looking out for updates to this version.

Thick & Creamy Frappes

Serves 1-2

6-8 frozen coffee ice cubes

2-4 TBL of milk or half and half

1/2 cup ice cream of your choice. I used coffee flavored. Vanilla or chocolate would be way yummy too

1-2 TSP sugar (or to taste)

Add all ingredients to blender.

Blend, stir, blend, stir, until all ice chunks are small and ground down fine.

If mix is too thick add more milk (TBL at a time) 

Top it off with whipped cream and or chocolate syrup (ice cream topping)

If you are wanting more variation in flavor omit sugar and add flavored creamers in lieu of milk. Pumpkin spice, hazelnut, the combinations are endless :)

Happy blending!

About Me

Hey everyone glad you could drop by! I just realized that I didn't have an "About Me" section, which kinda makes it difficult to figure out who the heck I am without sifting through years of posts and getting small snippets here and there. So I'll try and give you an overview, I get curious on others blogs that I've enjoyed so I'll divulge.
For starters I'm the one in the middle :D
I'm 25
Very blessed and married.
Working on my 3rd baby, due in December, a boy (my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage)
A proud Kansan.
A self taught sewer. I learned 3 years ago by watching youtube and reading tutorials by bloggers.
Love to cook and eat. Nothing fancy. Just food, real food.
Health Fanatics/Work out fanatics drive me nuts. I feel like its such a waste of a Life. Eat healthy normal sized portions of food you cooked yourself and dont sit around all day, its that simple. My husband and I look great simply because of that. Not because we only eat organic or post about the gym everyday.
I love the Lord. I mess up a lot. I drift a lot. The Lord chases me anyways and sometimes I slow down enough to notice. There is never a time I remember not knowing who God was.
When I start a project I 90% of the time must finish it right a stinking way or I get the twitches haha jk but seriously.
I'm getting better.
I am an assistant for Lilac Lane Patterns. I do this from home a little each day during nap time.
When I'm feeling naughty I order my Starbucks Breve.

DIY Fall Family and Maternity Photos

So our fall pictures took about 10 minutes, 15 tops to take. Basically that's how long my daughter/husband lasted. At least we got that long haha. She was whining because she just woke up and kept getting pissed when I would have her stand anywhere but right next to us. There are tears in her eyes in most the shots but I'm still glad we did them. In five years all that will be forgotten.

So here are some of our DIY Family/Maternity Pictures, tripods are amazing!

Oh what a cute shot...

 Oh wait the sono picture was just covering her crying face. 

She was mad because she thought she wasn't in the picture...

Here is my absolute favorite shot. The last pose we took. My husband took this for me. 

I cant decide if I like the B&W one or Color better 

Hope this gave you some ideas on how to save money on Family pictures!

Another Simple Baby Blanket and A Shower

 So my BFF :D is expecting also (5 weeks ahead of me) and the turd isnt finding out the sex. That always makes it difficult to pick fabric out but when I saw this it just fit. The nursery is green and gray and she really likes owls, it couldnt have worked out better. So glad I came across it, I mean it only took me 45 minutes lol. I made her one of my "Simple Baby Blankets"  and a matching burp rag. The only difference is I did square corners instead of rounded. I've made so many of these but each one feels so very different and personalized. I love them

This is us and our bumps at the Baby Shower she threw me. So sweet of her.

I have some really great friends!

Taken at the beginning, I was really blessed with gifts!

Really adorable diaper cake!

 Big sister opening her brothers gifts for him

Boppy Cover Tutorial

I whipped this boppy cover up in around 45 minutes to an hour. It's so soft and new looking, perfect for a new little one that I didn't want using an old dingy one (it also had pink flowers all over it haha). The tutorial I used was so great and had a picture for every step which I loved. I would suggest sewing Velcro on parts of the closure so the flap doesn't come open all the time.

http://sewleelaa.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-make-boppy-cover.html?m=1

Happy Sewing!!

Mine is a little ill fitting but my boppy is lumpy and well love haha

Nursery Update #2

My little Baby Bears nursery is coming along. I love starting these types of things way earlier 

and just slowly letting them come together.  you get fresh ideas along the way, its not matchy-matchy, and its so less stressful.  I'll try and do a more detailed one when its finished but if you have any questions I'll try and answer just comment. 

 Here's the ombre quilt I made for the little guy. Again hopefully I can get around to making a post on just it. This quilt was so fun and easy. Took me 2 hours to cut and sew!  The crib skirt is an upcycle from an old bed skirt we didn't use anymore. I used velcro and a hot glue gun for that project :D  I really love how the decal turned out too.

 My husband came up with the awesome antler tie backs to hold his DIY curtains. I am in love with them. You can see my curtain post DIY peg board info here

See his side table? 

Yeah that came from a tree we cut down a couple weekends ago. 

It'll be nice to put a lamp on for night nursing and a glass of water, again for night nursing haha. 

I'm really struggling with lamp ideas though :(

DIY peg board info  here

7 more weeks till I can smooch and snuggle my little guy! I'm so excited to do this again.
Pregnancy and Child rearing is such a beautiful blessing and God given privilege.

Chicken Alfredo and Bonus Chicken Alfredo Pizza Recipes

So way back in the day my sister in law lived with us for a few months while she went to college. My husband and I were newlyweds and I was still learning how to cook. Brick oven baked roasts and thrown out batches of brick bread that refused to rise. Most coming with lessons learned, like roasts are best slow roasted (crock pot preferably) and yeast wants warm water not scaulding hot :). Anyways she made this recipe and I loved it. So much so I remember sorta awkwardly sneaking bites of her leftovers...

It also makes me think of her late husband who she was newly dating at the time. 

Never fails when I make this I think of her haha. Love you Nik! 

Adapted a little

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
  2 tbls flour

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
  1/2 cup milk

• 1 tsp minced garlic

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  1 tsp salt
  1/2 tsp pepper
  1/4 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package 

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat, when melted add minced garlic. Let cook for one minute. Next add flour to butter. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add milk/cream, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Stirring constantly. Stir in oregeno/Italian seasoning. Turn off heat then add cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Pour over drained noodles in the noodle pan and stir together.

Top with pan cooked chicken 

Great with extra Shake Parmesan cheese ontop (the pizza topping kind) 

Speaking of pizza this is a great recipe for  Alfredo pizza! Top your crust with this sauce and minced chicken and onion then ontop of that add mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15-20 min or until golden brown.

Nursery Peg Board Organizer

I love how this organizer turned out. I love being organized and this really fits the bill for my nursery as far as that goes. The funnest (have we decided if that's a word or not yet?) part was screwing it to the wall without power tools! Yah! That doesn't take 50x as long haha. My problem with projects are when they pop into my head I make them happen right away, not waiting. I saw the peg board baskets at Walmart and this project came to mind and I immediately went to my hardware store and bought peg board and had them cut it to size. Once I got home I was putting it on the wall haha. No waiting until my husband got home (with a drill) to do it. 

It goes along with his nursery really well and will be great for storing pacies, socks, and whatever else. It's also nic because hardware stores have about 100 different hooks and things to add to your peg board.

Hope you're inspired to make your own for your craft room, or whatever room you need more storage in! 

Curtains...Check

The curtains in the nursery are finished! Yah! I love crossing things off my "list" because that means I can quit obsessively thinking about it and pinning a hundred thousand ideas that pertain to whatever the latest "thing" on my list is. Ahhhh

Much better

Really the whole idea from these curtains came from the bottom camping fabric. It's from the Big Sur line from Birch Organics. I actually don't know why I even bothered mentioning that because it's impossible to get this print. I pinned it like a year ago (pre pregnancy) and loved it then by the time I could use it it was basically no where to be found. After a long search I did finally find a half yard on an etsy shop. They had a half yard left after what I bought. 

I was originally thinking a burnt orange would look awesome with it but again back to the cheap thing. You see someone have me a bag of fabric and patterns about. A month ago and the more I looked at this thick navy blue fabric the more I thought I should just use it instead of spending like $30 on yards and yards of fabric. I'm not super crazy with them but I'm loving them more and more every time I walk into the nursery just to scowl/pick them apart haha.

Here are some of the ways I thought of making them. I'm super visual so I laid all the options out and took pic of them. 

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 3 won. 

I need to press them but I doubt I ever will...

Ps sorry about the quality of the photos I've gotten super lazy lately and just use my phone