The Monkey

 And here's my first baby:

Summer!

Ahhh... the great outdoors during summer!

We were lucky to inherit this awesome outdoor dining set from a friend (BARELY USED! HOLY BUCKETS!) and so we no longer have to use the plastic set that I got at Menard's. YAY! (Don't worry, I will have pictures soon, but today it's nasty outside so no pictures... sorry).

But still, I can't help but look at Pottery Barn's latest and greatest because the style totally doesn't fit our house. HA. What style does you might ask? Well, think Mad Men, 50's, 60's, etc.. since our house was built in 1949 it has all the original stuff to it.

And then I get a bit jealous of all the lake houses and shore houses (um, RHONJ, their beach houses are awesome!) and think, how awesome would these be?

Pottery Barn Tavern Stacking Armchair - $199

Pottery Barn Soleil Chair - $159

Ahhh... summer! Sitting outside and enjoying the lovely weather!

To Do This Week

1. I absolutely HAVE to get the garden beds raked out. Unfortunately Bimmer Man slaughtered my only good Hosta in the back yard so I have to go to Home Depot for their 4-for-$10 perennial special and replace it. Oops.

2. Fold laundry.

3. Stare in wonder and amazement and envy at the new West Elm catalog. DID YOU SEE THE RECIPES IN IT???? I want to try the guacamole. YUM.

4. Get the Monkey to a portrait studio. She's growing so quickly that I want to make sure we get photos of how little she is.

5. Clean. As much as I can... We shall see. If I Swiffer at least once, it's been a great cleaning week.

6. Make BBQ pork tenderloin. On the grill.

7. Somehow read the book for book club. Maybe just watch the movie instead. HAHA. That totally reminds me of high school.

8. Find my spring and summer clothes. I don't know where half of them are.

9. Figure out WTF my computer is so freakin' slow. Methinks it's almost time for a new one.

And now some pics of the Monkey:

And Introducing...

The stats:

The Monkey was born on March 21, 2012 at 1:23 in the afternoon. She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and pretty much came out screaming like a banshee. The girl has got lungs.

So this is what has been taking up all of my time. HA!

I will get back to more "regular" blogging in the next week or so (maybe, we'll see what the little one's schedule starts looking like!).

And actually I have a pretty funny story to tell:

Short preview: I accidentally got into the wrong car at the post office.

Happy Monday!

My Pregnancy Necessities

I figured that since I'm getting close to the end (Yay! I can count the days on one hand!), I can now share with you the items that helped me the most through pregnancy. Ya, I know... not all of you are pregnant, even close to being pregnant or already have kids. That's ok. Everyone is different and as I have learned... all pregnancies are VERY different. Totally cool. No big deal. This is my last "pregnancy" post anyway...

And as I have said before - I do not plan on becoming a "mommy blogger." Nope, no thank you... I may post pictures every once in awhile and projects and crafts but no, I refuse to become a mom that posts pictures of trips to the park, the zoo, the mall... nope, definitely not me! I will still post pictures of Rusty. He's awesome.

Back to the point of this post:

1. Zantac. Oh, the heartburn. Prevacid is also a very nice option to have!

2. LONG tank tops from Arden B. (Yeah, I know... they're not a maternity store, but I'm telling you - you will rock the long tank tops by the end... plus they're way comfy!)

3. Burt's Bees Mama Bee Oil. Yes, I definitely believe slathering this stuff on morning, noon and night helped with stretch marks (I have only as many as I can count on two hands. Very awesome). People say they're genetic and I believe there is something to that... however... when you get itchy, use this stuff. It will not only save your skin but also your sanity. It's $7.99 at Target - I go through a ton of it - maybe like a small bottle every few weeks?

4. Ice water. I don't know why, but it tastes fantastic. And I drink at minimum 4 liters of water per day. Yes, that's right 4. Sometimes 5. And I can NEVER drink it out of a glass glass - instead it has to be a huge plastic cup - I think it's because I swear... I can totally taste the dishwasher soap. Gross, right?

5. Yoga pants. I live in them when not at work.

6. For morning sickness: Ask for Zofran, Phenergan, Reglan or anything stronger than B6 & Unisom from your OB. You will function. You may not feel normal, but these will allow you to function.

7. On the same note... in regards to side effects: Fiber gummies, peaches, pears, strawberries, and whatever greens you can keep down. Staying regular is the key to happiness (I found out the hard way. Ouch).

8. Scentless lotions, body wash, shampoo, conditioners - at least for the first few months. Everything smells different, tastes different, etc... Get scentless and I promise, you'll be thanking me later! Then at like 24 weeks, get a bunch of different scented body washes from Bath & Body Works. You'll be surprised at what you pick out and what you think smells funny!

I think 8 is a good, well rounded list of items... pregnancy can be difficult sometimes, it can be rough, I thought I'd share what makes it easier for me so maybe I can help someone else be a bit more comfortable (or maybe a tad bit more prepared!). 

My Fabric Shopping Secrets

Le sigh. Fabric makes me so happy. And there are so many online fabric stores now that it's really hard for me to NOT browse fabric weekly and check to see if they have any fabulous fabrics on clearance.

So I'm sharing my secret shopping spots. Yikes, am I really ready to give them up?

Fabric.com
(They have a variety of fabric but since they are well known, they sell out quickly of new and popular fabrics... like Joel Dewberry and some super cute Amy Butler stuff. They don't have as many Japanese prints though. Fabric.com has made at least 3 mistakes on orders, BUT their customer service is awesome and they've always come through with the CORRECT fabric so don't discount them because of this...)

Hawthorne Threads
(This is one of my favorite stores to shop because of the bulk discounts and the fast shipping. They've NEVER made a mistake on any of my orders!)

Pink Chalk Fabrics
(Ooohhh.... this is my favorite place to order patterns from. Like you know... the tunic that I never finished because I can't even get the cut pieces around me to see if the tunic fits. This June though... I WILL have that tunic finished! They have some great deals on fabrics and such a variety as well, you can find more specialized fabrics and more designers)

PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT being paid at all by any of these places. Instead, I'm sharing with you my secret tools to finding fabric that you may like. A lot. And cannot stop yourself from purchasing.

One more quick tip: Before you purchase fabric anywhere, I ALWAYS put the name of the fabric I'm looking at into the search bar in Google Shopping. You can see the price of shipping, where it's cheapest, etc... and find even better deals. These three fabric stores have always had the leading prices AND the best service. Don't forget to check out fabric on Etsy.com too - I've found bargains for cuts of fabric (just 1 or 2 yards!) and sellers have been easy to work with.

Do you have any favorite online fabric stores to share with me? What are some of your fabric shopping tips?

Mudroom Envy

So as y'all know... we don't have a mudroom. Instead we have a fantastically carpeted back porch that is pretty much useless 8 months out of the year unless it's to let the dog out. And store recycling until Tuesday (which is recycling day).

I'm jealous of mudrooms. I have this obscene envy of mudrooms.

Seriously.

Have you ever tried to vacuum dried mud out of carpet? It's um, well, not really very fun. Frustrating actually. Or how about ginormous leaves? Did you know that oak tree leaves get stuck in vacuum cleaners? Or that seed starting kits have a tendency to spill all over on carpeted areas of your house? Or um, worn boots to pick up dog poop and realized that you HAVE to take your boots off OUTSIDE to go inside to put them on the boot tray? Yeah.... gross...

So if I could have a mudroom, here's some of the stuff that I would want:

Lockers from Ballard Design

Backless Bench from Ballard Design

Boot Tray from Ballard Design
(I actually bought a knock off one at Target last year for the front entryway and I LOVE it!)

Salvaged Wood Shelf from West Elm

Recycled Denim Jute Rug from West Elm

Oversize Seagrass Basket from West Elm

Ahhh... mudrooms... I really want one!

Don't Worry

I'm still here. And still pregnant.

With heartburn, acid reflux, hip pain, back pain and left foot swelling to boot... Thank goodness my last day at work is next week - quite honestly, I can't sit in one spot for more than 30 minutes without it being painful so...

But Rusty has had a bath, the floors are clean (sort of), the bathrooms are clean (mostly), Rusty's dog food is set for the next two months, and I've been a crocheting fool (I'm looking into craft fairs for this spring/summer/fall to sell scarves and stuff...). I've got only a few last minute things to get, food to make and then we should be all set.

Hopefully.

2012 Gardening

I've got a problem with my yard.

There's not enough sun.

When we first moved in, I had the trees trimmed and there was plenty of sun in the backyard to grow tomatoes and other veggies. Two years later... the trees have grown and now my "garden patch" is shade. DAMNIT. Last year I got about 3 tomatoes, TONS of basil, TONS of jalepenos (which Rusty liked the best...) and only two banana peppers.

So the trees need to be trimmed again. But this time I want a quote to know how much it would be to just take one HUGE tree down. I know. Shoot me. I want to take a tree down. But here's the thing about it - the tree sits at the corner of our house, eventually the roots will probably wreck the foundation of our house, they might topple the fence over, and I swear, this tree pees something every 6 weeks. If it's not those stupid helicopter thingys, it's leaves. If it's not leaves it's something else. Not to mention all of this stuff goes straight into our gutters which means that either Bimmer Man or I have to climb up onto the roof to clean them out. And we have to clean them out at least once a month. Seriously. it's a huge pain. Did I mention that one branch sort of grows funny and every time it storms it looks like it'll take down power lines to our house? YIKES. So I think that needs to go.

But in any case... this year I'm going to have to do tomato plants in pots around the yard in the sunny spots. I know - we're going to be those "weird" people that have plant pots in strange areas of the yard. Whatever. Call me weird - but my tomatoes taste awesome. Fresh BLT anyone?

And there's a few new flowers that I want to try too (I go for perennials):

This is a Gayflower a/k/a Blazing Star I think I'm going to put this in the back of the yard by the compost pile. It drains like you wouldn't believe back there and it's in the sun for about 7 hours per day.

Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts - This is another perennial that I want to try. I have major plant envy of a neighbor down the street with HUGE Bleeding Hearts. I want to grow HUGE Bleeding Hearts (the only thing I can grow really well in the front beds are Cosmos, Russian Sage, and Bee Balm). Bleeding Hearts are for the shade and do well all summer long. Le sigh. I need plants that do well all year and not just for a few weeks in the spring.

I'd like to plant Astilbe but again... it's early to midsummer blooming and I already have so many of those plants that by August our front beds are just green. Boo to that! My plan is to go to the local nursery in June and start hounding the people that work there about what I can plant that is going to bloom in July/August/September. Well, besides vegetables. Maybe I should just fill our front beds with veggies!

Happy Friday!!!

To Sew List This Week

I um, accidentally ordered too much zig zag fabric. Like 4 yards too much. So I need to use it up.

Want to know the embarrassing reason of WHY I ordered too much?

Because I didn't look at the width. Oops. Generally speaking, home decor fabric is much wider than the fabric you find on bolts at places like JoAnn Fabrics and Hancock Fabrics. I thought I'd have to make 4 total curtains and not just 2 - but 2 looks good enough for me so...

These pillow covers that I pinned on Pinterest are on my list:

I think I might have to modify the design a bit though - I think I might keep the pocket side on the front and add in a buttonhole. Yikes. That would be my first attempt at buttons. Maybe not.

I can ALWAYS make tote bags (but I never have any of those handle thingys so I make my own with the fabric I have on hand):

I don't know... anyone have any other ideas? Does anyone want anything? I can sew... I just need some ideas!