18
Jul

Caspian Finn’s Baptism

We have had so many family events going on here in the last couple weeks with Caspian's baptism, Matilda's 3rd birthday, my birthday.......summer is just that way around here.  But for now I thought I would share some special pictures of our little guy's big day.Usually we baptize our kids around the 3-4 month mark, but as it goes with the third child, we were a little bit late with Mr. Caspian. We kept his baptism small and intimate with just close family.We chose my husband's youngest sister, Katie, as Caspian's Godmother.  We decided not to have a Godfather … continue reading

16
Jul

Charm Pack Baby Quilt Tutorial ~ Guess Whoooo Loves You?

My mom, Grandma Jane, is back with another one of her wonderful quilting tutorials!  Take it away, Mom........ Guess Whooo Loves You? I don’t know about you, but there are lots of sweet little babies making their appearance in my world these days! Every time I turn around a young person at work (or my husband’s office), nieces, nephews, friends of my children—someone is having a baby! Love it. (Notice how I said “young” person at work—what happened to me being that “young person” at work?)Anyway…the easiest ever little crib-sized quilt is made with one charm pack … continue reading

13
Jul

What is home? ~ Happy Home by Jennifer Paganelli Book Review

I was recently sent a copy of Jennifer Paganelli's new book 'Happy Home' for my review, but rather than just tell you about the book, I thought I would take a moment to talk a little bit about the idea of 'home'.What truly makes a house a home?  The structure on it's own is generally four walls and a roof, but at what point does it become a home?  Is it with the addition of people? Furniture? Things?  I don't think so.  I think it's so much more.Merriam-Websters Dictionary defines a home in several different ways. One of the definitions of home states … continue reading

12
Jul

Summer Picnic Dress ~ Free PDF Pattern and Tutorial

The Summer Picnic Dress (aka Little Linen Dress) has taken me quite a while to put together for you guys, but I said I would make it available, so it is finally here! If you are a beginner sewer and would like to try your hand at garment sewing this is the perfect pattern for you to try.  There is a little bit of gathering, which is a great skill to learn, but other than that it's really straight-forward sewing. I've graded the pattern from size 12 Month through Size 4.  For the patterns I sell, I typically do more sizes, but since this one is free, I just kept … continue reading

11
Jul

LEGO DUPLO Read & Build Review: $100 Lego Sweepstakes

So there's a new, fun LEGO DUPLO toy in town and the girls and I got a chance to try it out last week. We absolutely love blocks and we love books, so we were very happy to be given this opportunity to play with the LEGO DUPLO Read & Build set!So here's how this works. Basically it's a storybook that instructs you to build certain things as you read through the story. Different block sets go with different stories and we were given the story "Let's Go! Vroom!"."Let's Go! Vroom!" is about Racer Joe who goes out driving and gets stuck somewhere. Pilot Penny … continue reading

9
Jul

Zealous Good: A Meaningful Way to Donate

I don't promote a whole lot of different organizations on this blog, but when I was contact by Zealous Good in Chicago (about guest posting on the blog), I knew I wanted to share them with you all.  They are a wonderful organization, doing wonderful things for the community.  Please take a moment and read the following post from Zealous Good.........Zealous Good: A Meaningful Way to Donate Giving your old stuff away to a charity is a great thing. However, when you donate, do you really know whom it’s going to? How it’s helping? If it’s actually helping that … continue reading

8
Jul

Happy 3rd Birthday Miss Matilda Jane

Happy 3rd Birthday our sweet girl!Today is your 3rd Birthday Miss Matilda Jane.  You are such a special part of our lives and there are a few things I would like to remember about you today......1. Your favorite color is blue.2. You are sweet and cuddly.3. You sleep with your little stuffed puppy dog and you love him.4. You can be found most days wearing a tutu.5. Your favorite tv shows are Team Umizoomi and Dora the Explorer.6. You love to take baths.7. You love to play dress up.8. Pretend play is a favorite and you like to pretend to be a puppy dog, a knight or … continue reading

5
Jul

Recipe: Baked Apple Pancake

Looking for a delicious family breakfast or a new go-to brunch idea.....how about a Baked Apple Pancake? Easy and inexpensive, but packed with flavor. Not to mention the fact that it will make your house smell heavenly. Give it a try......you're going to like it!Baked Apple PancakeSERVES 6Ingredients:2 apples, thinly sliced1/2 stick of butter1/2 cup brown sugar1.5 teaspoons cinnamon5 eggs1/2 cup flour1/2 cup milkDirections:Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Melt butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.  Toss the apples into the butter mixture and stir to … continue reading

3
Jul

DIY Craft: No-Sew Fabric Covered Box Tutorial

This past weekend I was out and about running errands on my own.  And I'm sure most of you mom's know.......I sort of felt like I was on a mini-vacation. Anyway, I stopped off at one of my favorite local thrift stores and, come to find out, the entire store was 50% off.  50% off at a thrift store?  Yes, I couldn't believe it either.  I picked up a bunch of things that I just couldn't go home without and this little metal box for 50 cents was one of them. Here is what the box looked like when I brought it home:   Not very exciting, but it was just … continue reading

2
Jul

Spring Sewing Swap Stuff

I recently participated in a 'Spring Sewing Swap' over at Sewing In No Mans Land.  Did you hear about this?  Basically you just signed up and used three words to describe yourself / your style.  Then we were each paired up with someone and given only their name, shipping address and their three descriptive words.   We weren't give a dollar value to send.  You were just supposed to send a package that you would like to receive in the mail yourself.  I thought this just sounded like such a neat idea.I quickly sent my package out prior to heading to quilt market.  I … continue reading