Is it really Friday already?!

Can I toot my own horn for a second and say I worked out every morning this week!! There were a couple mornings it took everything in me to get up, stretch and get ready to go to the Y. Little buddy has been a little off with his nights this week. For some reason he's been waking up around 4 or 5 in the morning, and a couple times at 11. I really don't know what's up with him, maybe he's teething? But it makes for a really long night, and an even more tiring morning.

I finally made a couple bibs out of laminated cotton! Never again will this babe of ours be wearing a cloth bib when it comes to meal time. They're just such a pain in the behind, and don't always come clean when washed. The laminated cotton wipes clean so easily...it's amazing! So I went to my favorite local fabric shop Textile Fabrics, and got myself some houndstooth laminated cotton!



This little bib comes complete with food catcher and a snap...so he can't take it off :) I've already made a couple, and definitely plan on making more. I think I may even try to sell a few in my etsy shop. I think every mom needs to have a couple of these, and there are some wonderful laminated cottons out there...especially for sweet baby girls.

A second project I finished (but didn't really plan on) are these adorable granny square slippers! I had started them awhile ago, and decided to finish them as a gift, but I felted them too long, which made them a little too small for the intended recipient, so now they're mine...I'm not complaining :)

If you crochet, you can find the pattern on ravelry here

We have a fun little weekend planned, and there's much to do to prepare, so I'd better get going! Enjoy your weekend :)

A view from our Bungalow...

Woke up to this beautiful sight this morning...




I wouldn't want to wake up to it every day mind you...I did that the first 20 years of my life. But every once in awhile, the soft powdery stuff is just what I need. I'm imagining all of the kiddos out there getting layered upon layered with clothes, getting ready to go sledding, or build some snow forts. I really hope we get a good snow like this next year, so I can share my favorite childhood winter games with our little buddy!

Until then...be save and have fun all you snow bunnies out there!

New Year, New Start

This is my first non-baby related post in quite sometime, and it is LONG overdue.

They say 9 months to gain the weight, 9 months to loose it...well Addison is 9 months old, and I still have some lbs to shed. 10 will get me to pre-baby weight, but I'm setting my goal a little higher, as I wasn't in amazing shape to start off with. So my new goal is 20 lbs in 3 months, which will put Addison at 1 year old! I think that's doable...right?

I wish I were, but I am not a very self motivated person...so Russ and I did the very cliche thing at the beginning of the year, and became members of the YMCA. New year, new start. Our Y offers loads of great classes, and has both an indoor and outdoor pool. So far, 1 week in, I feel great! I've started the Couch to 5k program all over, running 3 days a week, and then taking classes (upper body sculpt, butts and guts, and pilates) 3 days a week. Can I just say that so far this has been one of the best decisions we've made? It feels great to have an hour or so all to myself to just think, run, be active, all the while Addison is enjoying some play time with other kids...win win in my opinion. And, when they open the outdoor pool, I fully intend on taking advantage of the free daycare and sitting by the pool for an hour or so all by myself...does that make me a bad mom? ha. Don't worry, after I've gotten my sun, I'll snag the little guy and play with him in the pool too :) Currently I'm feel pretty determined and motivated to stick to our morning routine...I'll let you know how it goes!

Another "New Year, New Start" thing for me is cooking. I truly admire all of you out there that can just throw ingredients together, and make something absolutely amazing. Give me yarn, fabric, or something else crafty...I can hang, but cooking is just not my thing. But I'd like it to kinda be my thing, so with the help of dear Martha, I've been looking up healthier recipes, and trying one out each night this week. So far, every recipe has been a complete success, including my first ever quiche last night! I still have a couple more to try out this week, but am on the hunt for more for next week. If you have a healthy yummy recipe you love...PLEASE send it my way :) It truly is rewarding to put a little hard work in to get something pretty great out of it. Now if I could just learn to love cleaning, I just might be the perfect little housewife...haha.

Of course there are tons and tons of new projects I'd love to tackle this year, including repainting our living room, redecorating, and lots and lots of art projects. But I'm REALLY excited about a little handmade exchange I've become a part of. You may have seen posts like this roaming around facebook (including mine), but basically I made a post and the first 5 people to respond I will send something homemade too...and they will each send me something homemade, as well as the 4 others that responded first. Then they have to repost. I love that I get to make things for some people I know, and others that I don't. And I cannot wait to get some lovely handmades in return :)

I'm so thankful and blessed to be where I'm at right now. This weekend I get to spend it with my two favorite boys in the whole wide world, and I cannot think of anything better then that!

Enjoy your weekend!

You didn't think I'd go without posting a new picture of this little man did you?

Um...

I don't really know what happened, but I just now realized that I have yet to post both Addison's 8 and 9 month pictures...Yikes!

UGH! I'm totally thrilled and excited to see him grow and learn how to do new fun things...but where did my teenie tiny baby go?! The cuddling days are pretty much over (with the exception of nap time). But there are so many other sweet things he's been doing of late. He claps when we ask him to. He plays peek a boo with us. He's starting to wave to say hello and goodbye. He feeds himself (carrot sticks, banana, and these little sweet potato puffs). It gets everywhere, but thankfully we have our faithful pups that keep the floor clean...ha.

We're not quite crawling yet...although when motivation strikes, he makes it happen...



And if you can walk (with a little assistance) who needs to crawl!



His bright smile, and contagious giggles never cease to amaze me. We are so thankful and blessed to have this little guy in our life.

A little breather...

This past week was crazy busy for me. Yesterday was the first ever Nashville Handmade Craft Fair! Being the constant procrastinator that I am, I waited until the week before the show to make most of the pieces I had for sale. When will I learn to start things in advance?! Haha!

Anyways, now that the show is over, I definitely feel a bit relieved to not be on a time crunch!! All of the things I need to get done before Thanksgiving seem like a breeze after last week. Russ' parents, Bubbe and Bops, will be coming into town Wednesday for the holiday...hooray! Needless to say, I should probably be cleaning and not blogging, but I wanted to let you all know that I've added lots of new goodies to the ole etsy....

I've also put up more booties! So if you're looking for a great baby gift...check em out www.ohjustdandy.etsy.com

Have an amazing Thanksgiving!!

Matchy match

I know it's real dorky, but I love it when Addison and my hubby Russell match! And by match, I mean, wearing the same shirt, not just coordinating outfits ;) So Russ has this lumberjack, red and black checked jacket he wears a lot, and I've just been thinking how stinking cute would it be if Addison had one to match! I've been looking around, and everything I've found is just to pricey for this momma.

I had lost hope, until after flipping through one of my craft books, Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner (One of my absolute favorite fabric designers), I came across this adorable pattern for a jacket!

*The little jacket in the bottom left corner*
(Image via Annamariahorner.com)

The pattern calls for 2 midweight fabrics to make more of a Spring coat, but I figured with the right fabrics and a little fudging, I could probably make the pattern work for what I wanted to create.



The white snuggly fabric is really not the easiest thing to work with. The raw edges shed like crazy! There were little white fluffs in just about every nook and cranny. I'm sure the real sewers out there would be appalled at my DIY techniques, but overall the goal was accomplished, so I can't complain. Fall is here (even though it doesn't feel like it today) and I just cannot wait to see Daddy and Baby Boy as lumberjack buddies (pictures of the pair will be coming soon...i promise! haha)

A little shameless self promotion...

So, I have a little shameless self promotion to do...he. For awhile now I've wanted to make an over-sized doily into a kitchen/bath mat. I finally gathered the materials and made one for myself just a couple weeks ago. I got such an overwhelming response from people who really seemed to enjoy them, so I decided to start making them for sale in my etsy :) So if you're looking for a great Christmas/Birthday gift, head on over to my etsy and take a look! I can make these in a variety of different colors, and I hope to have a few more mats in different styles up soon!



Thanks for taking a look :)