summer is a comin'

I know what you Northerners are thinking - it's not even March yet! Here in Texas, though, we enjoy a very early Spring which is a full blown Summer by April or May. In fact, according to Texans, this winter has been unnaturally cold & snowy. (Just so you don't get too jealous, I'm sure we'll be having cold weather again in no time!)

All that to say - it is a gorgeous sunny day with temps in the mid 50's and it just feels like Spring & Summer are right around the corner. And Ainsley & I have spent the morning driving around with the windows down shopping for summery fabric, shorts & tanks for Ainsley, and beach toys. Almost as good as the wonderful weather is that I found all of this:



for less than $25!!

I am THRILLED!


[be watching for a post about two new homemade summer dresses for Ainsley - I am quite excited about this!]

You may or may not have noticed that one of our homemade Valentine's cards was made out of fabric. Dana from MADE put together a tutorial awhile back for Quilted Notecards, which I thought looked both easy and fun. My take on it for Valentines was sewing together some fabric scraps, cutting out a heart from it, and sewing it to a little card. It was QUITE simple, yet I think the cards look pretty cool. Plus, the sound of the needle going through the paper is addictive. Try it - you'll love it!

a few of my favorites on Etsy...

Click the photo to see the item in its Etsy shop

In honor of...

International Pancake Day, I wanted to share my Dad's pancake recipe. He has some kind of brilliant knack for making fluffy, delicious pancakes. My siblings and I were always excited to hear he was making them. Though my attempts don't come close to his, the recipe still turns out great.

Without further ado, here it is...

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 c. milk
1/3 c. oil
2 c. flour
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar

Directions:
Beat eggs; add milk & oil. Stir in flour and other dry ingredients. Beat until smooth (my dad says "forever"). Cook on a moderate-hot griddle or skillet. Serves 3-4. (For our family of 6, Dad doubled the recipe. If I'm serving eggs & sausage too, then I make half a batch for Heath & I.)


So, women - take a night off and make pancakes tonight! :)

everyone else has snow days; I want one too!

I awoke this morning and glanced out the window only to discover that our neighborhood had been transformed overnight. The trees are frosty white and everything is covered with a wonderful layer of snow! I don't know what it is, but I love waking up to a fresh white snowfall (and it hardly ever happens here in Dallas). It makes me want to cozy up next to a fire, or at least with a yummy cup of coffee and read all day. I've probably been conditioned from all the years in school that snow in the morning may mean a snow day. And snow days are the best! I love being able to NOT do whatever it was I was supposed to do and DO the wonderful things that I love - like bake or create or sew or paint or read or just play! The danger with hoping for a snow day is that we very well may not have a snow day and the day will continue as it was supposed to. It didn't seem like a mundane day until there was the hope of something else. Funny how that works...

Anyway, here in Dallas, the roads are looking okay right now so life and work will probably continue as always. If there's still snow after breakfast though, I will be taking Ainsley out because one of the things she talks about the most is playing in the snow! And even if we don't get a snow day, the world still looks magical and clean with all that snow out there!

getting ready for v-day

The wheels in my head have been turning lately, trying to think of ideas to celebrate Valentine's Day. I saw this on Made By Rae's blog and loved its simplicity. She called it "The Easiest Heart Garland. Evar." and I have to agree. I found the cheapie craft felt sheets at JoAnn, picked out some fun colors and ended up with 12 sheets - 2 of each color. All together - $3!!

So, here's how to replicate this heart garland:

Cut hearts out of felt. I used 72 for my garland.
Put them in some kind of order in a stack.

Machine sew them together. It's easiest to start with the top of the heart, rather than the point. Sew all the hearts together.Admire your handiwork and...decorate your house!

Remember the curtains in my kitchen that I don't like anymore? They've been replaced by this fun garland! And I'm loving it!!