Bunny Cakes

Toddler Quilt

I am not the seamstress in our family.  That title is maintained by sister (and mom).  I prefer to do more crafty/graphic design type stuff which is usually paper based.  Over time this difference between my sister and I has worked itself into a nice exchange system.  Anything I need sewn my sister willingly does for me and anything she needs designed and printed I do for her.  It has become the perfect give and take relationship.  There are no complaints and only feelings of great gratitude and a happy-to-help mentality (speaking for myself).  I assume my sister feels the same way, because if she didn't she would certainly let me know.  This is all to say that I really don't sew and don't have a need to.  So I was surprised to find myself at the sewing machine last Friday night.  Yes, sewing!  I was inspired to make little B$ a quilt so he could have a nice snuggly blanket when he transitioned from the infant room to the toddler room at daycare.  I was also inspired use up some of my fabric stash which hasn't seen the light of day in years.  I promised myself I wouldn't go out and buy any fabric and that I would make do with whatever fabric I had even though it may not be perfect.  And even though I wouldn't call the quilt perfect, it gives me great joy to know that little B will cuddle with something which I made everyday at school (don't worry sis, our perfect arrangement will stay as is).

The inspiration for the quilt I made came from two sources.  My main source of inspiration were the quilts my aunt made for my twins when they were first born.  They were high loft quilts and the boys loved them (they still do, even though they are too big for them).  My aunt told me she was slightly embarrassed that they were high loft quilts, but I don't think they boys would have loved them so much if they weren't.  My other inspiration was blabla's new coverlets: simple and sweet.  I ended up using three different Japanese inspired fabrics.  I had to sew together two pieces of fabric for each side of the quilt (not bad at all).  Then I sewed the sides together, inserted my high loft (3/4") batting and then sewed up the last side.  To keep the batting in place I tacked down the corners and middle of the quilt using embroidery floss.

This is my favorite picture of the quilt posted in my IG account.

-K

My New Obsession

For the past month I have had a crazy obsession.  As with most obsessions, it is a complete time-suck and consumes my precious free time.  The worst thing about it is, it's an online obsession.  After staring at a computer screen all day at work, the last thing I want to do is spend my free time in front of a computer, yet there I am.  I consider my obsession to be one of the best internet services of all time--pure freakin genius.  As a 'visual' and 'creative' person, I really had no fighting chance against it.  I have also gotten my sister hooked.  Now for the reveal...my obsession is Pinterest, a site that let's you keep track and organize pictures and content you find online (more here).  Instead of saving url links and not being able to find them later, all I need to do is 'pin' the picture from the website and Pinterest will save the picture on my virtual pinboard and the link back to the site where I found the picture.  I can create as many pinboards as I want to organize my pictures and links (i.e. Holiday Baking, Halloween, Etsy Finds).  Pinterset also makes it easy to discover more content and ideas and allows me to follow other pinners who share my style or interests.  You need to have a Facebook or Twitter account to join.  If you do not have either of these, then you can easily create a Twitter account and get started pinning.  Check out my boards and my sister's.  Here are some of pins from my 'For the Home' board...

Here is what my main Pinterest page looks like, which shows all my recent pins as well as any pins from the people I am following:

Happy pinning!

-K

I Get By With a Little Help from My Friends

Geez, I really don’t know what the deal is with me using Beatles' songs/lyrics as blog titles. Sometimes the Beatles just sum it up so perfectly.

As any new mom to be, I have had a good time getting the nursery/nest together. It’s been fun to look at the catalogs and play and imagine the “what ifs” of nursery creating. Ok, I will be completely honest…while I like doing this, K loves it (which is an added bonus to get free advice/personal shopper---my non-existent ankles will only carry this bloated body so far in the mall these days). K is a really great resource, but was never really keen on my choice of seating (which was a glider). So, while the cat was away at the beach, I made “un-authorized” (hehe) purchase of a glider from craig’s list.

Although the glider that I purchased was in immaculate condition and the cushions were custom made, the cushion fabric definitely was not something that went with my color scheme. A cushion re-cover was definitely in my future. The one big problem was, well, I am more of quilter and not really a sewer (there’s a big difference between the two---I am definitely in the quilting camp, but I am interested in the signing up for the sewers’ summer sessions).

Like a deer in headlights, I was confused, dazed, and didn’t know which way to turn. What to do? Call in the reinforcements of course! Mentioning the glider dire straits to my girlfriends, they felt confident that we would be able to pull something respectable together. (I calmly nodded my head and thought, oh, crap, I hope this isn’t a disaster, but if it is, the baby won’t really care---I am told that babies are non-judgmental like that). I brought the cushions to the next hangout session and where the cushions received a through examination (and were deemed very well made). I was told how much fabric to buy (and being that I am considering doomsday scenarios in my head, I buy a lot more than what I was told).

Armed with the required materials and my machine (less the all important cording foot that I had purchased ---Mommy’s brain is for REAL), my wonderful (and brave) girlfriends, Andrea, Pam, and I set off. My back-up plan (to just use the current cushions and throw a blanket over the glider) was quickly discarded when Andrea handed me a stitch ripper and calmly announced that we would use the existing pieces of the cushions to create our pattern. *GULP*

I had thought that I would be making the cushions on my own, but getting advice and help from my Andrea and Pam, however, the girls would not hear of it. On top of the free labor and pattern creation, any time questions, concerns, or despair entered my mind, Andrea and Pam were there to soothe away the negativity and keep me on track. While I was making piping, Andrea and Pam were sewing up ties or planning out the next move. It was an awesome moment when you realize how great your friends really are! 10 yards of piping and many hours later, the covers were complete! AMAZING!

This is definitely one of those projects that you think to yourself, “I can’t freaking believe I made this!” Instant project love. Thank you so much Andrea & Pam! Couldn’t have done this without you both! I will think of you both when I am gliding the baby to sleep.

~A

My Contribution to Easter Dinner

So, again, I am a little late with my post. I am sure that you are probably sensing a trend at this point. It’s a little sad considering that I have no kids---K whips up great posts with the most gorgeous pictures like she’s just putting on a pair of pants or something. Others, ahem, have to work at things a little more. 

Those of you who know me, probably got a good laugh when you read the title of this post, either that or you thought the world was coming to an end. You see, I am not inclined to the culinary arts at all. My only inclination is eating said arts (I can do that until the cows come home). When I speak of my contributions to holiday meals with the family I am usually referring to my marriage. See I married a chef---a wonderful, handsome, kind man who loves me for who I am and that is a woman who can barely boil water. I see my marriage as the GREATEST contribution (ever) to the holiday family meal. It’s also the easiest---I just show up with my hubby and bam my part is over. Life is certainly sweet sometimes.

This Easter, things took a dramatic turn. I have been mulling over some of my short comings and I have decided to take a more active role in the meal preparation. I had been reading over at Angry Chicken’s about the bread that she makes in the dutch oven and thought this style of baking is for me. I mentioned this to the hubs and he found a recipe in the latest William Sonoma catalog (of all places!) The results were impressive (even if I do say so myself). It was pretty easy---easy enough that I would do it again.

I also, somehow got roped into making the quiche. Thankfully no one died.

~A