Summer Purse

I made one of these bags already and I really liked it so I decided to make another one.  This one turned out so cute, but I couldn't keep it because I had made it to give to my sister for her Birthday Gift!  My sister is also getting married in June so this will make not only a good summer purse but also a great carry on for her honeymoon! 

 



Sisters Bridal Shower

Sorry I have not posted in awhile.  I have been super busy with work and getting ready for my sisters bridal shower!  Pinterest totally inspired to try and do some different things.  First of all I thought why give store bought gifts away; I am crafty and so I found this cute pattern for potholders on Pinterest! Here is the link to where I got the potholder pattern and picture of how mine turned out!  http://homemade.tipjunkie.com/circle-potholders-free-pattern/

Since the shower was at 11 my sister-in-law and I did a brunch.  I made these little mini egg dishes.  Guess what - I also found this recipe on Pinterest!

http://www.emilybites.com/2011/10/sausage-egg-cheese-hash-brown-cups.html

What to drink?  Well we had a coffee, lemonade/limeade that was really good, and a drink that we called punch with a "punch." (it had champagne in it)  However, in the lemonade/limeade we made these little ice cubes that you see below.  Great idea because all punch needs ice to keep it cold and fruit always makes it look a lot nicer! 

http://katykelley.tumblr.com/post/8558530895/ice-cubes

My one other touch that I added from Pinterest was various jars wrapped in burlap with a ribbon.  They were cute and the colors I used were a perfect match to be used in my house!  I wonder how that happened!!

http://16lstreet.blogspot.com/2012/02/daffodil-days.html

I don't know what I would do with out Pinterest!!  Now I am onto planning the Bachelorette Party!

My New Purse

I am proud to say that I have finished my first ever sewing project - a new purse or rather maybe it should be called a bag because of its size! 

I started it on a Saturday afternoon with two of my girlfriends and now it is finally complete and ready for me to carry!


I also completed a cute little wristlet last night to go with it.....

What do you think?

It felt like the first day of Spring!

Although today was not the first day of Spring it sure felt like it.  We also had some amazing days with beautiful temperatures during the week, but I didn't get to enjoy them much.  Today was just more special because it was Sunday, The Lord's Day, and it was beautiful!  My day started with a nice long walk with Celia.  I brought her to the park where she can just run off the leash!  The only bad thing is that since all the snow is melted it has uncovered all the little nasties that the geese left behind in the fall.  We call Celia a Dirty Girl because she is like a vacuum cleaner and just sucks everything up.  I got to keep my eyes on her so she doesn't do it, but it was still enjoyable!

After our walk Peter and I went to church where Pastor Jim delivered a great sermon on avoiding idols.  I would not do a good enough job explaining it, so here is the link to our church website and you can listen to it yourself!!  http://www.calvarygr.com/

We then proceeded to go home and wax my car before heading off to lunch at 12:30 with my parents.  It was a fun lunch because my nephew Case was there and he is just a little cutie.  He loves watching Celia, but can't pet her because he is super allergic.  He can say dog in his own cute little way and it just makes me smile!  His favorite book is even one about a dog!

My favorite part of Sunday's, besides attending church, is just relaxing with Peter.  I was able to take a super long nap, but when I got up since the weather was so beautiful we went for a bike ride without the dog!  We tried to get a picture of the both of us riding but it didn't turn out so Peter just snapped one of me!

After the bike ride we started making dinner which we decided was going to be one of our all time favorite Summer Meals - Beer Brats!  Although we didn't fire up  the charcoal grill they were still amazing and we had Peter's sister Erin over to enjoy them with us!

(before going on the grill)



Those are the highlights of my Sunday afternoon.  What did you do on you Sunday afternoon?  Also interested to hear what your sermons were about!

Faithful & Obedient

Since I am new to blogging many of you that are checking out my posts for the first time have no clue who I am or what has been going on in my life.  Well today I can fill you in a little!  People that know my husband and I know that we love kids.  In fact we love to give to kids and for Christmas purchased gifts for two families whose kids we love!  We would have done more but my husband was on workman's comp because the ladder he was on broke while he was on it 20ft in the air working. (Not a fun call to get while you are at work)  He was fortunate to only break is collar bone.  Anyhow, that is a story in and of itself!

Back to kids - Peter and I have been married for 5-1/2 years and almost 2-1/2 years ago decided that we were ready to start a family.  Unlike a lot of people this has not been an easy road for us.  Throughout trying I was laid off from my teaching job, brought back, had my hours reduced... story of many peoples lives right now.  This just added stress as if the entire process was not stressful enough!  Long story short we are still do not have any kids!  I have been tested Peter has been tested, and we are finally ready to embark on trying out fertility.  We went a few weeks ago to visit and talk with a Doctor in Grand Rapids.  Tomorrow (Thursday 3/1/12) will be my first ultrasound.  I have not had an IUI treatment yet, but tomorrow during the ultrasound they will be able to tell me how my eggs are looking.  From here we will be able to set up the first IUI procedure. 

Some of our friends know about this others to not.  I have been praying for faithfulness and obedience with whatever God's plan is.  I know that his plan is the perfect one and if we are able to conceive this way then that is awesome.  If he wants us to head down a different path then he will send us there.  Please pray that we are patient, faithful & obedient.  If you have ever been through fertility you can get very anxious so you know where my brain is at right now.

If you are reading this and have went through fertility either successfully or not I would love to hear about it.

Fun new Wreath

I finally put the finishing touches on a new wreath for my dining room door.  I had a yarn wreath there and just wanted something new. 

So, here it is......



The wreath is wrapped with burlap and then I cut out about 75/85 - 2 & 3" circles and just placed them all over.  Some are layered others are not.  Lastly, I cut pieces from the fabric I used and just tied a simple bow at the top of the wreath.

Eventful weekend

Quite an eventful weekend

Who doesn't love the weekend?  I especially love weekends that are full of fun ending with a lazy Sunday! 

My Friday night started with dinner at Rockwell's downtown Grand Rapids for my friend Erin's birthday.  It was so much fun to catch up with her and some others that I used to teach with.  Here is a picture of me with my favorite two Spanish teachers!

Saturday started off with a nice long walk outside with my baby Celia!  Then I got ready and headed out for breakfast with my sister-in-law Kara.  We were on a mission to plan my sister's bridal shower and bachelorette party!  We went to Wealthy Street Bakery and each had amazing danishes!  After we were done we did a little antique shopping.  I have been looking for a bench to go with my new dining room table and chairs.  The bench that came with the set was $500 and I thought WOW - I think I can find something else way cheaper.  Guess what I did!!  I found the bench below on Saturday for $35.  It is the perfect length and everything for my table.  Although I bought it re-finished already I will have to re-finish it again because the green does not go with my decor! I think that I will be leaving the top as is (because it matches my table) and staining the bottom black.  If anyone has any good techniques for staining furniture to make it look antiqued and rustic let me know!  Also in the picture below is a planter that I got after my grandma passed away.  I just put some stuff inside it right now that looks horrible, but that also needs to be re-finished and I am not sure how I want to do it yet.

After getting my bench on Saturday I went to buy material for a purse that I am going to make next weekend with some of my girlfriends.  Yes we are going to have a sewing party!  Here is a picture of my fabric selections - I will post a picture of the purse/bag when it is done!

Now Saturday evening - Peter and I were invited to a friends surprise party and everyone was to bring a munchie.  I decided to try something new that I found on Pinterest.  The carmel apple dip that I made was a hit and so easy I would do it again in an instant!  In the picture from Pinterest (below) they show it package very nicely for a gift, since I made it for a party I put it in a pie plate.  The ingrediants were 1 container of the T. Marzettis (not sure I spelled that right) carmel apple dip, 8oz. of cream cheese (I used light cream cheese because it is softer and I thought it would be easier to mix in carmel) and then lastly I topped it off with heath bar candy pieces.  It was really good and somewhat healthy right since I used low fat cream cheese and apples were involved!  Although the apple dip was good, it was fun to be with all our friends for an evening of games, fun and laughter! 

Finally Sunday - The Lord's Day came, which is my favorite day of the week, and we were able to go to church and worship!  Had great sermon on why it is important to use our spiritual gifts, and then a nice relaxing day at home.  Now I am off to bed to watch Glory Road with my husband.  Have a great night!