Saturday, March 24, 2012

Teal, Coral, & Yellow Nursery Reveal

The nursery is finished! I was happy to do this because we were in an apartment and about to move when we had Presley, so I never really got to "do" a nursery.

Let me show you around.

Top Left
I used this idea from Sew Dang Cute's blog to make a pretty treatment for that semi-circle window that let's in way too much light. The curtains are from Ikea. Best place for curtains.

Top Right
A shot of the back corner of the room where the crib area and window come together. The rug I wrote about here is peeking out in this pic.

Bottom Left
That's my nursing corner. There's a little rug made of upcycled t-shirts that I bought on Etsy on the ottoman since that sucker was in bad shape. It was the first thing I purchased in these colors that set the tone for the rest of the room. Those painted frames are empty. because I'll eventually put photos of Addie in them. Oh, and that's the changing pad cover I wrote about here.

Bottom Right
Not a very exciting picture, but you can see the entrance to the room and how I hung a "Good Morning Sunshine" print you'll see below.

The crib area is pretty much the focal point of the room. I wrote about the bedding here and here. I'm using the BreathableBaby bumper and this tulle bedskirt, both in white. My favorite part of the room is the artsy display. Those little yellow birds are actually salt and pepper shakers I took borrowed from my mom's house, and the yellow puffy thing was on top of a Nothing Bundt Cakes's cake. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

These are the printables I used in the room:
You Are So Loved by The Wheatfield | Love by Children Inspire Design | Peacock by Children Inspire Design | Good Morning Sunshine by ??? (I thought it was Children Inspire Design also, but I can't find it anywhere on the website.)

And this is the other art used in the room:
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. -Psalm 139:14
My best friend made this as part of the sprinkle/shower decor. It goes perfectly in the room.

Rainbow Art
I made this in the 6th grade. We use tiny little pieces of punched paper to create a textured image. I only made a 96 on the assignment because there was some white space left in the sky. Whatever. Glad my mom kept this.

Name Canvas
I bought the vinyl name on Groupdealz a couple of months ago. The canvas as super simple to make: First I painted the entire canvas a light yellow. Then I mixed a coral color with a little water to make a thick glaze and scraped through it with a very hard brush as it dried. Finally I used a craft pom pom to dap that same yellow around the edges. Staple gun a pretty, yellow polka ribbon, and I have a cheap and quick art project. I intend to put a print of Addie's foot or hand on the bottom right corner.


Now we just need a baby!!!


Linked to:
Today's Creative Blog
Sugar Bee Crafts
Sew Chatty
Making the World Cuter
(My entry into Making The World Cuter, sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines.)
Skip to My Lou



Kirchhoff Menu & Activities: Week of March 25, 2012


Kirchhoff Menu & Activities
Week of March 25, 2012


Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Food
L: leftovers
L: leftovers
Snack: oatmeal squares
L: leftovers
D: steak, baked potatoes, & something green (cooked by Grant & Oma)
Snack: celery & pb
Meals for Presley taken care of by Oma
Meals for Presley taken care of by Oma
Meals for Presley taken care of by Oma & Lolli
Whatever is at the house (probably something Oma or Lolli left)
Activities
AM: church
PM: make Easter topiaries w/ Presley
Evening: About Face Blogs 
P @ Pre-School
AM: About Face Blogs 
PM: Hair appt.
Evening: egg canvas painting w/ Presley
P @ Pre-School (Dance Day)
AM: Make schedule/plans for Presley for rest of week
PM: Work on School Stuff
Evening: Family Night
P @ Pre-School
Oma & Pappy staying w/ Presley
AM: Shower & last minute preparations/grooming
PM: Have a baby
Evening: recover
Good day for visitors @ hospital.
Oma & Pappy staying w/ Presley
AM: Work on School Stuff
PM: Rest & bond
Evening: Hospital family photos
Good day for visitors @ hospital.
Lolli staying the w/ Presley
AM: Work on School Stuff 
PM: Rest & bond
Evening: Complete The Sibling Book section w/ Presley
AM: Taylor’s Bounce House Bday Party
PM: Come home from hospital (have Presley show Addie “around” the house)
Evening: Relax as as family/Plans for next week
Last Week’s Keepers
Won’t Make Again


Thursday, March 22, 2012

SFG: Vegetables Have Been Planted

As of 3 weekends ago, we have a vegetable garden! Bring it on, Armageddon!

Unfortunately, other than being a dictator, I haven't had much to do with getting it started since I've been on "restricted activity" until Baby A gets here. But it sure is easy on the eyes to watch my husband work. ;P



A couple weeks prior to these pics, he set up the 4x4 raised garden. I talk about that and the kind of soil mix we used in this post.


Calloway's Nursery had all the vegetable seedlings out that should be planted now for this zone, which made choosing easy for me. I didn't have to worry if I was buying something and planting too early or too late.


So, in the above picture, we have from top to bottom, left to right (like you're reading): 

Row 1: Rutger's Select Heirloom Tomatoes, Bush Pickle Cucumber, Straight 8 Heirloom Cucumber, & Italian Parsley
Row 2: Patio Tomato, Classic Eggplant, Supersett Yellowneck Squash, & Genovese Sweet Basil
Row 3: Okra, Strawberries, Strawberries, & Upright Rosemary
Row 4: Velencia Orange Pepper, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Red Salad Bowl Lettuce, & Grapefruit Mint



Miss P is proud of "her" garden, although this is really what she was doing while the hubs was planting:





If she wasn't so darn cute...

It was about to rain, and we wanted to get the plants in before it did. So sectioning off the garden came the weekend after. I like that we did this as the entire thing looks neater and more organized.


He loosely set out the planks of wood before planting just to get spacing.


While he planted, I spray painted. I did this for no other reason than I wanted some red in our backyard. I only painted the side that would be on top because I'm lazy wanted to conserve paint.


I also painted the tomato cages. And then found some at Lowe's already painted for a dollar cheaper than what these were. Arg.


And the hubs drilled the planks into garden sides. Nice and neat.

We've been blessed with lots of rain since then, and I swear the plants look a little taller and perkier. Can't wait until we see something!

p.s. I want to give a nod to our other backyard addition.


This lil' pomegranate tree was given us from my mom and her boyfriend. Thanks guys!


Happy lil' family the night we planted it.

Linked to:





Monday, March 19, 2012

Carseat Redo: A Project I Never Want to Repeat

BEFORE
Miss P was a gender surprise, so I chose as close to "gender-neutral" as I could. It was fine at first until all of my girlfriends chose the same pattern for their boys. Started to get to me. When I found out #2 was a girl, redoing the car seat was one of the first projects that I knew I needed to complete.

 AFTER
I was inspired by this post at Make It and Love It to recover the car seat, but the idea of ripping apart all those seams seemed daunting. Perhaps now, though, I should have done it the way she suggested.

So here's what I tried.

I used this pattern from Etsy for the cover seat cover and canopy. (More on that in a sec.) And this post from Calico provided a guide to make the car seat blanket.


The blanket part was pretty simple to figure out, and I would make another one in a minute.

I was not so happy with the actual cover & canopy, however. The pattern was difficult to follow because the photos were a grainy black and white. It was also hard to figure out exactly where to cut the actual pattern piece. I had to read and re-read to make sure I had it right, so the project took a loooong time. I found myself avoiding it because it just wasn't enjoyable.

I would definitely consider myself an immediate sewer, which is who this pattern is geared towards, and making the cover wasn't hard in the end. But it was simply just irritating to follow the pattern instructions. I would suggest better pictures on the pattern, more of an explanation on where to cut (or not cut) the pattern pieces (especially the pleat triangle), and streamline the wording.

Even though the seam ripping in the my original inspiration seemed like an overwhelming task at first, I should have done it that way. It seems like it'd be more time-consuming but worth it in the end because it looks so much more tailored to my car seat. Plus the instructions were free.


Moving on...The main patterned fabric is part of the Enchino Fall 2011 collection called Forest Patchwork in Pink purchased from this Etsy shop. It was pricey but oh so worth it. I now understand the love affair people have with Enchino. Words can't describe what this looks like in person. So fun and random and whimsy and bright.


The Minky is Cuddle Dimple Dot in Opal from Fabric.com.


And I think the fuzzy trim is this one from Hobby Lobby. That part on the canopy that looks like piping is just a random hot pink trim I had laying around.


My habit of imperfect cutting left my canopy kind of squished. (One side goes farther down on than the other, not allowing the canopy to open fully.) But the pretty blanket covers it up and provides enough shade - I hope -so I'm not too worried about it. And definitely not going to do it again.


I love the fabric, and with the blanket on top, it's not that bad. But I don't plan on doing this project again. I found custom-made ones on Etsy for less than I spent on fabric for this one. Would have been so worth it.



But Baby A will be comfy cozy, and hopefully no one will mistake her for a boy. Glad it's over!

Linked to: 




Sunday, March 18, 2012

Kirchhoff Menu & Activities: Week of March 18, 2012


Kirchhoff Menu & Activities
Week of March 18, 2012


Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Food
L: Arby’s (use coupons)
D: Grilled Kielbasa, mac n cheese, & spinach salad
Snack: trail mix
L: leftovers
D: Slow Cooker Sour Cream Pork Chops, stuffing, corn on the cob, sautéed fresh veggies
Snack: cereal
L: out
Snack: apples & pb
L: pb & banana sandwich
D: leftovers
Snack: cheese & crackers
L: frozen Amy’s enchiladas 
D: Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken, mashed potatoes, & green beans
Snack: cereal
L: frozen pot pie
D: leftovers
Snack: cheese & crackers
L: out
D: Vegetarian Quinoa Chili w/ Fritos, cheese, & sour cream
Snack: apples & pb
Activities
AM: Church
PM: Spent all day @ hospital
Evening: Leaving evenings open this week for rest and family time
AM: About Face Blogs & final prep for JBF sale
PM: Take down St. P’s Decor, put up Easter, & tidy house for cleaners
Evening: Leaving evenings open this week for rest and family time (P’s new High Five magazine)
AM: Housecleaners out/Starbucks for Classwork
PM: make banana bread & JBF Drop Off
Evening: Leaving evenings open this week for rest and family time to do something like this
AM: Finish Big Sister Book & make Easter baskets
PM: JBF Early Shopping
Evening: Leaving evenings open this week for rest and family time
AM: Sewing catch up
PM: OB Appt. & make mobile
Evening: Leaving evenings open this week for rest and family time to do something like this
AM: Presley’s Growth Stick
PM: Gift for Camille
Evening: Titus Women’s Panel
AM: Presley’s Dance Photos
PM: Camille’s Bday Party
Evening: Leaving evenings open this week for rest and family time

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Kirchhoff Menu & Activities: Week of March 9, 2012


Kirchhoff Menu & Activities
Week of March 9, 2012


Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Food
L: out
D: grilled cheese & tomato soup
Snack: smoothie
L: out
D: pot pies w/ added frozen veggies
Snack: cereal
L: out
D: spaghetti & green beans
Snack: smoothie
L: leftovers on a picnic
D: puffed pastry quiche w/ spinach
Snack: cereal
L: out
D: Slow Cooker Sour Cream Pork Chops, stuffing, corn on the cob, sautéed fresh veggies
Snack: smoothie
L: leftovers
D: mac n cheese w/ added broccoli & sausage
L: leftovers
Snack: green smoothie
Activities
AM: Take G to airport & church
PM: Tour hospital w/ P
Evening: Organize and plan both blogs
P @ Pre-School
AM: Dentist, QT, & About Face Vibraderm Appt.
PM: Meet w/ Becka 
Evening: 3 About Face Blogs
P @ Pre-School
AM: QT & Aveda Hair Appt.
PM: Mani/Pedi
Evening: 3 About Face Blogs
AM: Feed the Ducks Play Date
PM: Work in Garden
Evening: felt birds on mobile
P @ Pre-School
AM: OBGYN appt. & Meet w/ Katy
PM: Read for Class & Plan Next Week’s School Agenda
Evening: 2 About Face Blogs
AM: St. Patrick’s Play Date
PM: Work in Garden
Evening: personalized canvas for Addie’s room
AM: sewing machine time (appliqué shirts, car seat strap covers, & sew buttons on cardigan)
PM: family time
Evening: Grant time
Last Week’s Keepers
Mushroom Bourguignon
Won’t Make Again
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