Least Productive Weekend Ever (For Me)

My lengthy to-do list got very little crossed off of it this weekend. What happened to my nesting momentum? I feel like all I did this weekend was clean up dog hair and do laundry. However, in trying to stay positive, here is what I DID accomplish...

- Finished writing out all of my thank you notes for baby showers.
- Made a delicious new meatloaf recipe & made an extra loaf to freeze for after the baby arrives (Mozzarella Stuffed Italian Meatloaf... amazing).
- Survived the wacky October snowstorm. (4-5 inches and we haven't had snow before Halloween since the 1950's!)

In the beginning...

After an hour or so...

My mums were very confused.

Getting 2 all-wheel drive vehicles was an excellent choice.

It's official. Indy loves snow!



- 3 loads of laundry.

- Vacuumed, swiffered, dusted & cleaned the bathroom.

- Took Indy to the groomers for the first time where they made him look & smell pretty (he even got a cute little Halloween bow... awwh). I'm not sure who the groomers spoiled more... me or the dog. He'll definitely be going back next month!

Daddy is not pleased with our manly dog wearing a ghost bow.

Indy got an excellent "Pawgress" Report from Pet Smart.

- Did not go into labor during the snow storm (Tim was very appreciative of this).

- Bought a new pair of wedges that actually fit. Your feet really DO get bigger from pregnancy. I went from a 7.5 to an 8 and my current pairs of flats are sooo tight.
- Attempted to make a fabric flower and it was disastrous. I don't even want to show you. It looks terrible.

Annnd there you have it. Seems like I did a good amount, but most of these things weren't on my actual to-do list. I'm simply reiterating them to make myself feel better. And I kind of do! Mission accomplished. Hopefully I have another baby-free weekend in my future to git 'er done.

Tutorial City

Tutorials are fantastic for visual learners like myself. People are always asking where I find ideas for craft & sewing projects, so I thought I'd share my favorite tutorials with you from various blogs and websites. Some of these things I've made and some are on my "to-make" list. Basically, anytime I come across one I like, I save it to my Favorites list.  Needless to say, it's becoming a pretty long list!

These are also projects that would make great Christmas gifts! I know, I know, no one wants to talk about Christmas yet, but if you start planning for it now, it'll be a more joyous time of year and you won't have to pay retail and deal with crowded parking lots. Plus, it'll be from the heart... awwwh.

Infinity Scarf Tutorial

Basic sewing supplies, less than 2 yards of fabric and you can have 2 of these beauties.

One for yourself and one as a Christmas gift. Flannel is nice, but you can also use a stretchy knit fabric or even linen. Depends on the style you want to achieve.

Link: http://hisforhandmade.blogspot.com/2010/10/infinity-scarf-tutorial.html

Wine Gift Bag Tutorial

This is one of those addictive projects. Once you make one and realize how easy it is, you'll end up making 5 more. Great for gift giving, and then your recipient can reuse them at BYOB's.

Link: http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/12/how-to-make-wine-gift-bag.html

Magazine Gift Bow Tutorial

Another fun & creative way to wrap up your Christmas gifts. I went nuts one year and made like 40 of these. Now I have a container full of them and whenever I need to wrap a gift, I just use plain paper and slap on a colorful bow.

Link: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-gift-bow-from-magazine-page.html

Tote Bag Tutorial

You could easily get carried away with this project, as well. Reusable bags are all over the place now and I feel like I never have enough of them. (I actually feel guilty when I forget mine and walk out with my goods in plastic.) This alone could be a gift, or you could fill on with more homemade goodies. I'll take one filled with tums. This preggo heartburn is killing me.

Link: http://www.purlbee.com/the-twenty-minute-tote/

French Pouf Tutorial

Stick one of these anywhere & it's instantly cuter.

Link: http://www.prudentbaby.com/2011/09/how-to-make-french-pouf-from-t-shirt.html#more

Citrus Scrub Tutorial

Move over, Bath & Body Works. (Does anyone still shop there, anyways?)

Package your DIY scrub in a fancy jar with some ribbon and gift away!

Link: http://petitelefant.com/how-to-citrus-scrub/

Potted Wheat Grass Tutorial

This is another great gift that looks expensive, but it's so not. Maybe you wouldn't give this as a Christmas gift. Hostess or housewarming gift... absolutely. These would look super cute lining a windowsill in the winter. Green grass... remember that?

Link: http://blogs.babble.com/the-new-home-ec/2011/10/04/how-to-plant-wheatgrass/

Wool Poncho Tutorial

This is one project I need to jump on while it's currently in style.

You don't have to sew ANYTHING. No excuses. You have to make one now.

Link: http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/09/diy-wool-poncho.html

And since we're talking about the holidays, enjoy this little number!

Pineapple is neither a pine, nor an apple. Discuss.

I can't seem to get Mike Myer's SNL character out of my head!

I'm Linda Richman. Call me, we'll talk. No big whoop.

Back to pineapple...

My husband and I have found a great way to ditch the winter blues.

True, it's now March, but we woke up to 20 degrees this morning and I froze my scalp off

walking to my car because I didn't blow-dry my hair like an idiot.

However, slicing up a fresh pineapple last night made us feel like we were on a tropical island. We got a little goofy because it tasted so fresh and delish.

You might say we were high on pineapple.

I could think of worse things to be high on.

[Pineapple corer/slicer... one of the few worthwhile gadgets]

[Pineapple guts]

Mmm this makes me want a Hawaiian pizza.

Mark my words... I'll be making one of those very soon.

Snow Day Numero Dos

We had THUNDERSNOW last night.

That's when it's snowing, and there is thunder & lightening at the same time.

Mother Nature dumped about 10 more inches of snow on us.

She's being a real jerk lately.

My office is closed.

Tim could get a ride to work... but there are no cars to work on if he did go in.

The county courthouse is closed, therefore, the parking garage is free today.

Our cars have been there since Tuesday night.

We don't have to dig them out which is ah-mazing.

So what are we doing today?

A whole lotta nothing!

We went out for breakfast to our favorite place which is conveniently located two blocks away.

[1776... a good year for America.]

A bunch of crazies were out driving on the unplowed streets.

Mainly Jeeps & SUV's.

We stood & watched a sedan attempt to get out of it's parking spot.

(So helpful, we are.)

They were not successful.

So far, Southwest's website says our flight is ON TIME for tomorrow morning at 9am.

Let's hope it stays that way. 

We need to get the heck out of here!

SNOW DAY!

Snowwww!

I want to wash my hands, my face, my hair with snowwwww!

The meteorologists were wrong again.

We woke up to heavy snow, which has already dumped 5+ inches on us.

I called my boss and told her that commuting to work just wasn't in the cards for me today. My little Honda Civic wasn't having it. Tim didn't go to work either, so we're having ourselves a semi-lazy little snow day!

We shoveled our front sidewalk (and our neighbors, too, aren't we nice?) and then paid the parking meters for the rest of the day. Yep... the parking ticket jerks were out giving tickets in a snow storm. We went up to the 6th level of the parking garage for kicks 'cause that's where we got engaged during a snow storm back in December of '09. 

Awwwwh.

We even came back & had an old fashioned snow ball fight while shoveling the walkway behind our apartment building.

The Cheese Ball Award goes to Meg & Tim!

I got Tim in the man parts. 

And then I took a well-deserved snowball to the head.

Truce.

The worst of the snow isn't starting until around 5pm. We might get up to a foot! 

(That's a lot for around these parts, we are snow wussies)

As long as the runways at the Philly airport are cleared by Friday morning, we're happy.

We are heading to Miami for the weekend. 

My skin needs some vitamin D real bad. It's fed up with this climate.